Chapter 1202: The Drought Demon Emerges, the World-Destroying Disaster

A graveyard in the suburbs of Quyi County.

A shadowy figure, furtively dancing an inexplicable jig, caused a large door to appear beneath their feet.

Following the door, they entered an underground tomb.

The figure rubbed their hands together in excitement. The method had indeed worked, opening the tomb.

However, the tomb chamber was empty. There were no rare treasures or invaluable antiques as imagined, only a dark, black coffin. Blood-stained nails pinned down its four corners, and a palm-sized seal rested on its lid.

He stealthily took the seal. The words "Town-Suppressing" were inscribed on its bottom.

After taking the seal, the figure hastily departed, unaware that the coffin was shaking.

The Corpse-Driving Sect.

“Generally, there are two cultivation methods for the Void Refinement Stage: tempering oneself in the mundane world or strengthening oneself through combat...”

As Zhao Po advanced to the Void Refinement Stage, Lu Baqian personally tutored him, imparting various techniques for this stage.

Zhao Po was listening intently when he suddenly heard a crisp sound from Lu Baqian's pocket, as if something had shattered!

Lu Baqian pulled out an item from his pocket: a shattered jade disc.

“Oh no, the seal is broken!” Lu Baqian's expression changed drastically.

“Sect Master, what's wrong?” Zhao Po quickly asked.

“The seal has vanished!”

“The seal? What seal?” Zhao Po still didn't understand.

“Six thousand years ago, one of our sect's ancestors, for unknown reasons, lost control of a zombie he had refined. At that time, the zombie had already cultivated to the 'Imperishable Bone' stage, just half a step away from the legendary 'Dry Ghoul'!”

“The ancestor engaged in a desperate battle with his zombie, sealing it away at the cost of his own life. Only fragmented news reached the sect.”

“However, the location of the crucial sealing ground was never passed back, preventing our sect from dealing with that zombie all this time.”

“Now, six thousand years later, though that zombie was sealed, since it has broken free, it must have already cultivated to the Dry Ghoul realm!”

Zhao Po's expression also changed drastically upon hearing this. The emergence of a Dry Ghoul, turning a thousand li of land barren, was a world-ending catastrophe!

“All of our sect elders' cultivation is reliant on their respective zombies, and a Dry Ghoul possesses absolute control over other zombies. They cannot participate in battle. Throughout the entire sect, only I can act!”

“We could ask the imperial court for help!”

“There's no time. Once a Dry Ghoul emerges, it will inevitably flee. If it fully establishes itself, even cultivators at the Tribulation Transcension Stage won't be able to stop it. We must go immediately!”

Lu Baqian took out a compass, rotated the pointer, and it finally settled on the East!

“It seems that Dry Ghoul is in the East!”

For some reason, Zhao Po felt a sudden unease. He had a premonition that something bad was about to happen.

He feared the Sect Master's journey would be fraught with peril.

“Sect Master, is there no other way to deal with that Dry Ghoul?”

“There is one other method. That ancestor possessed a Town-Suppressing Seal, which has a miraculous effect on Dry Ghouls. However, the Town-Suppressing Seal was forged by the legendary reclusive Divine Craftsman Wang Family!”

Lu Baqian sighed, “The Divine Craftsman Wang Family vanished a century ago; no one knows their whereabouts.”

“It seems battling the Dry Ghoul is destined to be my fate!”

“Is this accursed seal finally broken?” The coffin shook as Nv Ba muttered to herself. How long had she waited for this day—three thousand years, or five thousand?

Zombies, as long as their intellect remains intact and their bodies are not destroyed, grow stronger with time. Seals can only slow their rate of growth.

Over these six thousand years, she had slowly grown stronger, finally advancing from an Imperishable Bone Zombie to a Dry Ghoul.

However, becoming a true Dry Ghoul was not so simple. Dry Ghouls are abhorred by heaven and earth; only by enduring the Heavenly Tribulation, Earthly Tribulation, and Human Tribulation can one become a true Dry Ghoul.

Five hundred years ago, tribulation clouds appeared in the tomb chamber, striking her until she was on the verge of death. Fortunately, she endured it; that was the Heavenly Tribulation.

The Earthly Tribulation was the Town-Suppressing Seal pressing down on her coffin. Only its removal would signify the successful passing of this tribulation.

With the Town-Suppressing Seal taken by a tomb robber, only the Human Tribulation remained.

“My current realm is half-step Tribulation Transcension. After I emerge, I should encounter a cultivator of comparable strength. Only by defeating them will I pass the Human Tribulation!”

Nv Ba chuckled. This was her domain; she was invincible below the Tribulation Transcension Stage. Unless her opponent used the Town-Suppressing Seal, they could never defeat her!

“If you ask me, our approach is wrong. If we're looking for ghosts, then of course, we should look in a graveyard,” Officer Lu analyzed seriously.

“You have a point,” Officer Meng nodded, agreeing with his colleague.

They had patrolled the county town for half the night without encountering a single ghost. Rather than waiting passively, it was better to take the initiative.

The two newly recruited constables, eager to distinguish themselves, were determined to resolve the inexplicable haunting incident.

“I heard there's a desolate plot of land in the Quyi County suburbs often used for burials. Perhaps a ghost of someone who died unjustly might have formed there.”

The two immediately agreed and went to the graveyard in the suburbs.

Graveyards are typically places of extremely potent Yin energy, where even physically weak mortals could fall victim to evil influences.

When Meng Jingzhou arrived, he yawned, and a slight leakage of his aura immediately dispersed the Yin energy.

“Hey, hey, we're working, mind your image,” Lu Yang reminded him. “We're wearing uniforms; we represent the imperial court. If a ghost sees us, they'll think we're slacking off.”

Meng Jingzhou scoffed, “Mind your own business?”

As the two bickered, the ground before them suddenly loosened, and an aura, terrifying in its intensity, surged skyward!

Appearing before them was a stunningly beautiful woman. Though her complexion was pale, it did nothing to diminish her beauty.

Bathed in moonlight, Nv Ba was pleasantly surprised to find that the extreme Yin energy was much stronger than before her sealing, capable of helping her further strengthen herself.

She then set her sights on the two constables on duty.

“Two young constables? Perfect. I haven't eaten in a long time. You'll be my first meal!”

Nv Ba unleashed a terrifying aura, making the two constables tremble in fear.

A Dry Ghoul emerged, turning a thousand li of land barren!

Death energy spread from beneath her feet, eradicating all vitality in its path!

The death energy spread for a full two *zhang* before stopping at Lu Yang's feet.

However, Nv Ba's focus was entirely on Meng Jingzhou, so she didn't notice this anomaly.

Nv Ba opened her mouth and bit Meng Jingzhou's neck, then let out a shriek of agony, rolling on the ground in pain.

“Who are you?! How can you possess such terrifying Yang energy!”

Nv Ba was in unbearable pain. Logically, Yang energy should have nourished her, but his Yang energy was too abundant and potent.

“I think I heard the Grand Elder mention this thing is a Dry Ghoul?” Meng Jingzhou poked Nv Ba. Wherever he poked, smoke sizzled, as his supreme Yang aura corroded her.

Such dense Yang energy was practically her bane. Was the Human Tribulation truly this difficult to overcome?

Nv Ba steeled herself. Becoming a true Dry Ghoul was indeed not that simple.

In that case, she would fight with all her might!

Nv Ba unreservedly unleashed her half-step Tribulation Transcension aura. Under such terrifying pressure, all other zombies would be forced to submit. She was truly the King of Zombies!

She was the embodiment of disaster!

“Come on, let this Queen see what abilities you possess!”

“Stop howling and behave,” Meng Jingzhou impatiently pressed Nv Ba to the ground. He had thought he found the source of the haunting, but unexpectedly, it was a Dry Ghoul.

“Tribulation... Tribulation Transcension Stage?” Nv Ba panicked. Only a mighty expert at the Tribulation Transcension Stage could subdue her so effortlessly!

“So, should we eliminate her?” Lu Yang drew his Azure Edge Sword. Since it was his first time seeing a true Dry Ghoul, he would use his Azure Edge Sword out of respect.

“Another Tribulation Transcension Stage cultivator? And a sword cultivator at that?”

What a joke! One Tribulation Transcension cultivator possessed the Yang energy that was her greatest weakness, and the other was a sword cultivator, renowned for the most potent offensive techniques. Nv Ba had anticipated the Human Tribulation would be difficult, but not *this* difficult.

How long had she been dormant? Had cultivators at the Tribulation Transcension Stage now stooped to becoming constables?

“Don't kill me, I surrender!” Nv Ba quickly kowtowed in submission. Even if she became a true Dry Ghoul, she couldn't defeat these two.

“Look, isn't she wearing clothes from the Corpse-Driving Sect? Is she one of the sect's lost zombies?” Meng Jingzhou asked. Nv Ba's clothes were tattered, but he could barely make out that they belonged to the Corpse-Driving Sect.

“She is indeed. How about we send her back to the Corpse-Driving Sect and let them handle her?”

Nv Ba was about to rejoice at the prospect of survival when she heard Lu Yang pour cold water on the idea.

“That might not be easy. Her cultivation level is likely too high for the Corpse-Driving Sect to suppress her. It would be troublesome if she escaped from their hands.”

“I won't run, I absolutely won't run!” Nv Ba quickly declared. Seeing that Lu Yang hadn't sheathed his Azure Edge Sword, she immediately revealed her weakness.

“There's a magical artifact called the Town-Suppressing Seal. With it, I won't be able to escape!”

“Really? Where is this Town-Suppressing Seal?” Lu Yang asked suspiciously.

“I can sense that the Town-Suppressing Seal that originally sealed me was taken by someone, and they went in that direction!” Nv Ba pointed in a certain direction.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looked in the direction she indicated, recalling the surrounding map. “That direction... that's Guyuan County, isn't it?”