Chapter 396: The people of the Wasteland State have very advanced ideas

In the span of one night's sleep, I encountered two groups of zombies.

The zombies held agricultural tools such as shovels and rakes, seemingly looted from villagers' homes. These tools had now become dangerous weapons.

"Honestly, this is typical of Barren Land. You wouldn't encounter something like this anywhere else. It's quite an eye-opener," Lu Yang quipped, a smile playing on his lips. He drew his Azure Edge Sword, his expression relaxed, its blade gleaming brightly in the candlelight.

Although the zombies were numerous, armed, and had surrounded the ancestral shrine, the two of them were formidable Golden Core stage cultivators. They were powerful enough to establish small aristocratic families or even found sects outside. There was no way they would be trapped by these rural zombies.

"No wonder the villagers didn't want us to stay in the village. They must have been afraid of danger, talking about being eaten by corpses. Were they referring to this situation now?"

Although the villagers hadn't been particularly friendly, Meng Jingzhou wasn't one to hold a grudge. Helping the village solve this problem wouldn't be a big deal.

"Look, there's a woman among the corpses!" Lu Yang exclaimed in surprise, pointing at a disheveled female zombie.

Meng Jingzhou looked confused. "Who divides the dead by gender? Isn't it normal to have female corpses?"

"What I mean is, aren't you currently affected by karmic backlash, unable to meet women? Now you can meet female corpses. This indicates that your karmic backlash only applies to living people. The dead, demon races, and so on, are not included. If you can't resolve your issue in Barren Land, you could stay in the Demon Realm for a while, until you reach the Nascent Soul stage."

"Go to hell! I don't believe Senior Sister won't come back!" Meng Jingzhou retorted angrily, taking the lead and charging towards the zombies.

"Collapsing Fist!" Meng Jingzhou clenched both fists, forming a horn-like shape, and thrust them forcefully at the zombies.

Boom!

The zombies exploded. Those surging into the ancestral shrine were sent flying by the punch, clearing a path.

"Huh, these corpses are quite hard," Meng Jingzhou said, surprised. He had thought they were wild corpses from somewhere, with fragile bodies that a single Collapsing Fist would easily destroy.

"Immortal Fairy, these zombies aren't contagious, are they?" Lu Yang had originally wanted to stop Meng Jingzhou, intending to figure out if there was any danger before acting. Now, it seemed a bit late.

"What do you mean by contagious?" The Undying Immortal Fairy asked, puzzled by Lu Yang's question.

"Like, if a living person gets bitten, they turn into a zombie too."

The Undying Immortal Fairy looked at Lu Yang as if he were an idiot, not understanding why he would think that. "Of course not. In fact, I've never even heard of such a thing. Why would you think that?"

"Just a sudden thought."

Assured that there was no risk of infection, Lu Yang confidently joined the fight against the zombies.

Upon engaging in combat, Lu Yang also discovered that these zombies were surprisingly tough. They must have been refined by a powerful expert.

"But you think you can eat us? What a pipe dream!" The two burst out laughing and threw all the zombies out of the ancestral shrine.

From the zombies' perspective, they had surrounded Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. But from Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's perspective, they had surrounded the zombies.

"None of you will escape! Today, we brothers will eliminate this menace for the people!"

As the two were about to unleash their ultimate techniques to sweep away the horde of zombies, an old voice echoed from nearby.

"Young brothers, please show mercy. They mean no harm!"

The person who appeared was the old man who had initially refused them lodging.

"I told you they ate people just to scare you both. They actually wanted to eat the offerings in the ancestral shrine. It was just a coincidence that you two were there."

Hearing this, both of them were stunned. Upon closer thought, it seemed the zombies had never intended to attack them from the very beginning.

They tentatively stopped fighting and discovered that the zombies indeed didn't attack them. Instead, they bypassed them and entered the ancestral shrine.

After all the zombies had entered the ancestral shrine, the two approached the old man and asked for an explanation.

The old man sighed and said, "I am the village chief of Jianshi Village. Explaining the matter of these zombies might be hard for you two to believe, so perhaps you should see for yourselves first."

They watched as the zombies surged into the ancestral shrine and circled around the steaming hot steamed buns. Before long, the buns turned cold, completely devoid of heat, and only then did the zombies stop.

When they left the ancestral shrine, they saw the zombies, holding shovels, rakes, plows, and other tools, marching in unison and orderly fashion out of Jianshi Village.

The three followed the zombies. The zombies didn't go far; they stopped when they reached the fields, picked up their shovels, plows, and other tools, and began to dig and cultivate the land.

Some zombies even carried water from the riverside using shoulder poles, diligently watering the fields.

Other zombies, without tools, squatted on the ground, pulling weeds and crushing pests.

The zombies had a clear division of labor, looking like diligent old farmers.

After planting the crops and completing their day's tasks, the zombies, still holding their tools, walked from the fields to the village entrance, then from the village entrance to the cemetery at the village's end. There, they used their tools to dig holes and bury themselves.

Lu Yang: "..."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

Both of them painfully rubbed their temples, thinking they were hallucinating.

"Do people in your Barren Land all use zombies to farm?"

This was far more advanced than any other prefecture; even their Dao-Seeking Sect couldn't compare.

Their Dao-Seeking Sect used the Green-Eyed Water Buffalo clan and the Third Elder for farming.

The village chief of Jianshi Village explained helplessly, "It's not as you two imagine. We are just ordinary villagers; how could we afford to keep so many zombies?

"Actually, we don't know where these zombies came from. One night, by chance, while we were resting under a tree at the village entrance, we saw a group of zombies approaching. At first, everyone was very scared, thinking they would attack us. But after some interaction, we realized these zombies had no intention of harming anyone. Perhaps because they ran out of energy, they stopped and remained in our village.

"Although our village doesn't have a corpse driver, when I was young, I followed one for a while and learned a little. So, I tried steaming buns and feeding them to these zombies.

"This method actually worked. The zombies started moving again. That's when someone suggested, 'Can we make them farm?' I thought it was a good idea, so I guided these zombies and asked them to cultivate the land.

"That's how it is. We rest during the day, and in the evening, we steam a pot of buns and place them in the ancestral shrine. At night, the zombies crawl out of the cemetery, absorb the yang energy from the buns, and begin farming. Since everyone is still afraid of the zombies, all households close their doors at night.

"After they finish farming, the zombies automatically bury themselves. The next night, they repeat the process."

"Honestly, ever since the zombies started farming for us, our lives have become much easier, and we've had more free time for other things. So why didn't you let us stay?"

The village chief confessed honestly, "Weren't we afraid you would discover these unowned zombies and report them to the authorities? The authorities would then search for their owners, and once found, wouldn't we have to do all the farming ourselves again?

"We originally intended to scare you away, but who would have thought you wouldn't leave? Instead, you even stayed in the ancestral shrine. I saw that the matter would be exposed regardless, so rather than you getting hurt by the zombies, I decided to step forward and explain."