282: First, instantly kill the BOSS.

"Should we go find that Senior first?"

Zhou Yan said this as if casually.

"No, we have to leave."

"Damn it, I don't want to stay in this ghostly place for a single second longer."

The Middle-aged Man propped himself up to stand, but his wife pushed him back down.

"What are you trying to prove! If there are still zombies outside right now, any one of them could kill you. Do you want me to be a widow?"

The Middle-aged Man shrank back his neck, but his mouth remained stubborn.

"But we can't go there with them! That guy surnamed Hu isn't dead yet; who knows if he was sent by that so-called expert to raise zombies."

"I don't think he's any good either. Everything that happened today is too sinister; it's better to leave early."

This was actually exactly what Zhou Yan wanted to say.

That so-called Senior clearly had issues, but it wasn't convenient for him to say it directly because he felt a gaze falling upon them.

At the same time, Bearded Man appeared on the map again, currently in the Wealthy District.

Various signs indicated that they were likely being watched by that "Senior," so they couldn't afford to expose themselves even more.

Furthermore, Zhou Yan couldn't let the couple leave because they still carried that special mark. To prevent accidents, he had to keep them by his side.

"You can't put it that way," Jiang Hongyue spoke up to persuade them at Zhou Yan's signal.

"None of us have much strength left now; it's always good to recover a bit."

"Since this Bearded Man knows how to raise zombies, whether he's being directed by someone or not, it shows he's not simple."

"If we leave him out there, he'll undoubtedly be a huge threat to us as we are now. It's better to rest first, and once we've recovered some strength, we'll go pay our respects to that Senior and seek protection."

"If that Senior really has problems, we won't be able to escape anyway. But if he doesn't, then he must be a broad-minded and benevolent Cultivator. He surely won't blame us for disturbing his cultivation and might even come out of seclusion early to protect us."

Jiang Hongyue's face, modified by Zhou Yan, was quite approachable, and his words were reasonable because he truly didn't know the Senior had issues; Zhou Yan had not told them his thoughts beforehand, so his persuasion was spoken from a conventional perspective.

Upon hearing this, the others also felt it made sense.

Going to find the Senior carried some risk, but staying here was also dangerous. It was better to proactively travel together than to wait for death where they were.

On the way, Wang Yao, seeing the somber atmosphere, took the initiative to strike up a conversation with the Old Daoist Priest.

"The zombies here seem quite troublesome. Why did you choose to come here in the first place, Daoist?"

"It wasn't originally this difficult," the Old Daoist Priest replied. "That Senior often goes into seclusion. Whenever he does, the townspeople issue tasks to the outside world for self-protection."

"Usually, there are only some small zombies at the Qi Refining level, which aren't much of a threat. Occasionally, if luck is bad, Foundation Establishment Stage zombies might appear to harm people, but even that is extremely rare."

"Today, we ran into Bearded Man raising zombies. Not only are there many Qi Refining zombies, but there were even two Foundation Establishment Stage zombies. Such a situation is simply unheard of."

"If it were like this every time, we wouldn't have come here to risk our lives for that small reward."

"If you ask me, it's that so-called Senior who is raising the zombies. Bearded Man might just be someone doing his bidding."

"The 'probability of casualties' mentioned in the past was likely intentional on his part. He's probably practicing some evil technique and using this method as bait to specifically lure Cultivators in."

The Middle-aged Man clearly still wanted to leave, but since the two of them were in poor condition and couldn't escape alone, he rambled on like this, trying to get everyone to give up on finding that Senior.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan could clearly feel the mark on the man becoming darker and darker.

As for this kind of person, Zhou Yan didn't know whether to call him smart or stupid.

He wanted to use wild speculation to achieve his goal, but he happened to guess the truth, which instead drew the other party's special attention. Truly, disaster comes from the mouth.

Along the way, the Middle-aged Man seemed to have opened a floodgate of words, driven by his previous frustration, and didn't hold back in badmouthing that "Senior."

The mark on his body also grew from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a human head. If it were to manifest, it would likely cover his entire back in a while.

Fortunately, they had arrived at the Wealthy District by then.

Unlike during the day, there was no one on guard here now.

The group quickly passed through rows of houses, heading toward the core area.

Right then, the light dot representing Bearded Man on the map disappeared again.

What's going on? Why is it flickering?

"Greetings, Fellow Daoists. I wonder what brings you to my dojo so suddenly?"

An old man wearing an apricot-yellow Daoist robe suddenly appeared before everyone.

With his appearance, everyone except Zhou Yan immediately looked grave.

If it were just a normal appearance, it would be fine; they themselves weren't incapable of arriving so quietly.

But this old man in the apricot-yellow robe had a withered face and sunken eyes. His face was as deathly pale as the zombie transformed from the Female Corpse, only his Aura was far more powerful.

Seeing everyone's reaction, the old man grinned.

This smile was even more terrifying; the corners of his mouth stretched all the way to his ears, and two fangs shone bright white.

The Middle-aged Man broke into a cold sweat upon seeing this, his words beginning to stutter.

"S-Senior, we are just passing through, s-sp..."

Before he could finish, the old man circulated his mana and gripped him through the air, lifting him up.

"You're already here, why keep up the act? Weren't you analyzing everything so logically on the road just now?" The old man narrowed his eyes and grinned, simultaneously manipulating his mana to snap the Middle-aged Man's neck with a crack.

"Perfect, I'll clear up some rumors for everyone."

"Not a single word he just said was a rumor."

"Well then, rumor-clearing over."

"Please... die now!"

The Middle-aged Man fell to the ground, on the verge of death due to his broken neck.

Then, the old man's Aura completely erupted—it was the Core Formation Stage!

At the same time, the side quest before Zhou Yan's eyes, which previously only showed task conditions, updated accordingly.

[Kill the boss to complete the reward settlement.]

BOSS [Drought Demon · Tree Zombie]

[Realm: Early Core Formation Stage / Late Nascent Soul Stage]

[Vitality: 150k / 150k]

[Mana: 10k / 10k]

[Special State: Neither Living Nor Dead (After death, only a small amount of previous cultivation remains; transforming back to the living state restores full power)]

Seeing the Middle-aged Man fall, the female Cultivator ignored the Core Formation grand Cultivator standing before them and threw herself onto him, wailing loudly.

The Old Daoist Priest also looked horrified, instinctively shielding his disciple behind him, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

"A D-Drought Demon! How can it be a Drought Demon! How could there be a Drought Demon here! It's over... everything is over!"

The young disciple was also affected by his Master's emotions, clutching his hem and trembling.

Wei Cheng instinctively glanced to his side, only to see that the four-person group, which originally had the lowest cultivation, showed no fear at all.

No, that's not right—that honest-looking fat Cultivator seemed to be trembling too?

Wait... something's not right?

"Heh... heh hahaha, hahahaha!"

A loud laugh erupted from Zhou Yan, instantly shattering the heavy atmosphere.

With a casual wave of Zhou Yan's hand, the dying Middle-aged Man's neck healed instantly. Not only that, but everyone's injuries were completely restored.

At this moment, his cultivation was revealed in full—Late Core Formation Stage!

Before anyone could react, Zhou Yan flashed in front of the old man and grabbed him by the neck.

"Core Formation! How can it be Core Formation! How could there be a Late Core Formation Stage here!" the old man screamed in shock.

Then, lightning crackled and instantly enveloped the old man's entire body.

He struggled desperately and wailed incessantly, but Zhou Yan's hand held him like an iron vice. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't break free, and his mana was firmly suppressed.

The terrifying scene was instantly reversed.

Everyone's terrified gazes now shifted to Zhou Yan.

His honest face, paired with such actions, instead created an even stronger sense of pressure.

As for Zhou Yan himself, he felt at ease.

Why didn't you say so earlier! If I'd known the ceiling for this instance was only the Late Nascent Soul Stage, why would I have bothered pretending to be in the Qi Refining Stage?

As long as I force out this old guy's trump card, I'll clear the level!

Zhou Yan no longer felt any fear of the unknown.

The final boss's health bar was even visible. He'd just instakill the first phase and wait for the second phase to emerge.

Kill the boss first, then watch the plot.

As for why he still held back and didn't reveal his Nascent Soul cultivation?

Naturally, it was because the boss was too weak.

Zhou Yan was afraid that if he went all out, he would scare the opponent into fleeing directly without entering the second phase.

So, he planned to bait him first.

If the opponent really could resist transforming, he would just crush him to death with his Late Core Formation Stage cultivation.

Anyway, with the health bar visible and the support of his Middle Stage Nascent Soul Divine Sense, he wasn't afraid of the boss faking death.

Sure enough, just as the opponent's health was about to hit bottom, a sudden change occurred.

"Dammit! How could I... how could I die like this!"

"She's still waiting for me... I can't die... I can't die!"

Amidst the interlacing lightning, the already somewhat charred figure roared hoarsely, his trembling hands suddenly grabbing Zhou Yan's arm.

The marks on everyone present suddenly manifested.

As the marks glowed, everyone felt their heads spin. When they came to their senses, they were in the sky above a city on the brink of dusk, slowly falling. Their landing points were scattered and far apart.

Zhou Yan's hand went empty; the old man's figure had vanished.

Phase two had officially begun.

Looking at the massive city and the enormous number of zombies within it through his Divine Sense, Zhou Yan smiled.

Now he truly felt confident.

Early Stage Nascent Soul against Late Nascent Soul Stage—this is going to be a satisfying match!

"Hahaha... hahahaha!"

The moment the Path of Slaughter title was placed back on his head, Zhou Yan couldn't help but burst into laughter.