The faint light of a melted candle cast shadows on the wall. While the spiritual lights were off, the shadows of two men slipped over the wall and silently advanced.
Suddenly, the spiritual lights turned on. Elder Su stood with the sect leader in front of Fang Yuan, who was reclining on a bed.
"Brother, the sect leader and I came to meet you."
"Oh, esteemed elder... you shouldn't have gone to such trouble. I truly don't deserve this much attention."
"Brother, don't say that. You are the savior of my only daughter."
The sect leader looked at Fang Yuan's frail body. He ran a hand through his white hair. He felt something was off about Fang Yuan, an unpleasant sensation crept over him, but how could he uncover the truth?
"Elder Su, could you please leave us alone for a moment."
"sure, sect leader."
When he left, the sect leader glanced at Fang Yuan and said, "Now I can talk; to be honest, I'm a bit curious about you. Who exactly are you, Lu Zheng?"
"Pardon me?!"
"I don't get the right feeling when I look at you. Maybe you currently have no ill intentions, but I feel like something is off."
"I don't want you to feel ungrateful for what you did, but I can't trust you. As the old saying goes 'Dead has no boundaries' and you... don't seem to be a living person. I don't know why I get that feeling from you."
"But I'm sure you can understand... I don't see you as a pathetic being just because you're a zombie hunter."
"You might have mutated under the influence of the death aura. I've heard this is common among zombie hunters. It's like a gradual death; this aura envelops the body and causes changes that ultimately lead to death, but some individuals are different and their bodies experience a rare mutation..."
"They're neither dead nor alive. They're somewhere between death and life."
"And something that has no fear of death, because it's already dead, is scarier than anything in this world..."
"Hahaha, or maybe I'm just worrying too much... I hope you've regained your health... You can go into the sect and take a look around. I know you understand this old man's concerns..."
The sect leader exited the room. Fang Yuan smirked.
[That man... has a sharp sense, but unfortunately, he isn't strong enough to discern the truth behind the scenes. Still, caution is required. Nevertheless, the magical disguise has effectively hidden my zombie identity.]
Fang Yuan left the room. He was at the first hanging temple. In the main courtyard, many disciples were lined up, practicing in orderly rows. They were learning swordsmanship's fundamentals and repeating various techniques.
On the other side, some disciples were engaged in cultivation while others tried to apply more complex techniques using spirit energy.
Fang Yuan passed by them, his gaze fixated on the surrounding buildings connected by a cobblestone path.
"Senior sister! Are you practicing again??!"
Suddenly, a girl's voice caught Fang Yuan's attention. He quietly made his way towards the source of the voice.
In a not-so-large courtyard, a girl lay on the ground. As her attendant bandaged the wound on her arm with a spiritual cloth, she was giving her a healing potion.
"Senior sister! You shouldn't push yourself this hard!"
"To make progress, I have to give it my all... Yuno, you know better than anyone that nothing comes easily in this world."
Yuno lifted the spiritual cloth from the wound and looked at the depth of the injury.
"Senior sister Yan'er... power can't fill our existential void. I can't bear to see you pushing yourself so hard. Please take a little rest."
"I know you want to help senior sister Su Yun. But first, you have to be well yourself. Do you think if you get hurt or injured, how senior sister would react?"
Yan'er got up from the ground; even though her whole body ached, she forced a smile. She knew Yuno spoke the truth. But she couldn't accept such a reality.
The world was a ruthless guesthouse that mercilessly killed the weak guests. Defeat was unacceptable; every small mistake could lead to a massive disaster. In such circumstances, what did a small injury matter?
Fatigue could be eliminated with sleep. Hunger was cured by food, but what could be done about weakness? In the tense situations of those days, every second was valuable.
Yan'er did not forget for a moment that today's suffering was tomorrow's peace.
Fang Yuan smiled and was about to leave when suddenly a sword flew towards him.
"Hey!!! Who are you???"
Yuno appeared on the wall, her arm wrapped in a red ribbon, watching Fang Yuan with a threatening gaze.
[This girl... is a mage?]
Yuno immediately waved her red ribbon in the air, creating a cloth dome above her.
[She can even create a small realm? Impressive.]
Creating a realm was like establishing a parallel world that amplified the user's power several times. When Yuno revealed her realm, Fang Yuan immediately concluded she was a dual user.
Fang Yuan raised his hand to dispel the misunderstanding, but Yuno attacked immediately.
Fang Yuan twisted softly at his waist, and the red ribbon brushed softly past him. Simultaneously, he struck to disrupt Yuno's balance and quickly moved aside.
"Who are you!!?"
Now Yan'er had also caught up with them.
Seeing Yuno lying on the ground, she ground her teeth and raised her sword.
[Why do kids these days try to force everything?]
But inwardly, he let out a wicked laugh. This training fight could reveal the level of the sect's immortals.
As the sword came down at full speed to create a vertical cut, a smirk appeared on Fang Yuan's face as he swiftly struck with the back of his hand to deflect the blade and then, while pivoting on his left leg, kicked Yan'er in the stomach, sending her to the ground.
[Hahaha, it seems the level of this sect isn't that concerning!]
But still, three venerable elders and the sect leader were a significant threat to him.