Feeling somewhat embarrassed by his thoughts, Park Su did not want Xu Nuo to discern his intentions. He slightly turned his head, subtly struggling to free himself from Xu Nuo's embrace, directing his gaze towards the massive zombie circle.
In just five or six minutes of their conversation, the circle had filled with zombies. Park Su took a quick glance and estimated there were about thirty of them, nearly half of the total zombies present.
Knowing that this was a trap set by Xu Nuo, Park Su was no longer worried but rather excited. Xu Nuo had mentioned that he could eliminate more than half of the zombies with this formation.
Moreover, Xu Nuo had told him not to underestimate his Taoist skills, and for some reason, when Xu Nuo said it so coolly, Park Su thought he looked incredibly cool, and in his heart, he had already secretly equated Xu Nuo with Master Xu Nuo.
His concern quickly turned into anticipation to witness Master Xu Nuo's display of Taoist prowess. What kind of formation could kill over thirty zombies instantly?
As he pondered this, he suddenly remembered that Xu Nuo had saved him earlier, using an impressive Taoist technique right in front of him. He couldn't help but steal a glance at Xu Nuo, his emotions growing more complex.
However, he didn't have time to dwell on it because Xu Nuo had already started his move. Park Su focused his attention entirely on Xu Nuo, watching him make several hand seals that seemed effortless, whispering something with his lips. Then, seven points around the zombie circle lit up, and these lights quickly connected, enveloping the zombies within.
Even if Park Su were not the brightest, he could sense this was the real killing blow. He watched with unblinking eyes as the circle of light connected by the seven points engulfed the zombies.
There was no gory slaughter as he had imagined; only after the light dissipated did a pile of ashes remain. Park Su, looking at the ashes, couldn't help but think of the technique Xu Nuo used to save him, noting its similarity, though this one was clearly designed for large-scale annihilation, leaving him both astonished and envious.
He swallowed hard, looking at the ash heap. He wondered how many times Xu Nuo could use such a high-damage formation in a day. But at least for now, Xu Nuo's energy expenditure didn't seem that significant. If it were him, aside from the energy consumption, the physical toll alone would be too much to maintain such composure. No wonder Xu Nuo's reputation for killing spread far and wide, and no base dared to provoke him.
However, Xu Nuo was not entirely satisfied with his handiwork. The talisman had been rushed, and the spiritual energy infused was insufficient, resulting in a narrower range of effect than he had hoped for. The number of zombies he killed in one go was far less than anticipated. But when he saw Park Su's face filled with both surprise and a hint of admiration, his dissatisfaction diminished. Oh well, at least half were taken care of; they should be able to handle the rest and rescue people along the way.
If other Taoist practitioners knew Park Su's thoughts, they would likely be envious enough to curse him. After all, given the spiritual energy consumption from the previous day, Xu Nuo was still able to produce seven low-tier killing array talismans and four mid-tier purification talismans, something they wouldn't even dare to dream of. Indeed, the prodigy of the Taoist world was extraordinary.
Park Su might not have understood that such techniques weren't something everyone could employ, but it did not detract from his awe. He turned to Xu Nuo with disbelief, asking, "That's it? It's done?"
Xu Nuo nodded, frowning slightly, "It's a pity the power was less than I expected. I thought it could handle at least fifty, and lure in the wandering zombies as well, but clearly, the spiritual energy in the talisman wasn't enough.
At most, it could only attract the zombies currently wandering around our house, and I noticed the circle I set up was too small to accommodate more zombies."
"Even if they were lured here, not all could be killed, leaving behind some blood scent, which isn't ideal. Rather than that, we'll need to expend more effort to deal with the ones still roaming outside. You can practice your skills, and I'll help you teach a lesson to those who are restless, ensuring we can live in peace here!"
Park Su, looking at Xu Nuo who spoke with a stoic expression, silently poked a voodoo doll in his mind. He was doing this on purpose, right? Being so formidable and still claiming to have underperformed. How could one go on living with abilities that couldn't measure up? He felt his own powers were no longer impressive and had an urge to give Xu Nuo a good thrashing. What should he do about this feeling?
While Park Su was still reeling from the blow in the wind, Green Vine was already voicing her grievances. She had initially thought these zombies would be her prey for the day, but she hadn't anticipated someone else beating her to the punch.
What frustrated her even more was the heat emanating from that formation, which scared her. Her previous sense of danger regarding Xu Nuo, the human, was indeed correct; he was truly terrifying! She didn't even get a chance to compete for the spoils.
However, once the energy had dissipated, Green Vine almost immediately sensed the crystal nuclei left amidst the pile of ashes. She hadn't expected that the nuclei would survive such intense heat.
With her newfound obsession with the nuclei, Green Vine naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. She didn't subscribe to the human notion that whoever killed the zombie owned the spoils.
Moreover, Xu Nuo didn't seem to have any intention of collecting the nuclei himself. If that was the case, how could she let this chance go to waste? After all, wasting was a shameful act!
So, she extended her vines directly into the pile of ashes, which was almost like a small mountain, sweeping out the crystal nuclei. Her movements were so vigorous that she scattered the ashes everywhere, some of which were even carried by the wind towards their current position.
Park Su couldn't hide this even if he wanted to because Green Vine's actions were akin to a famished person pouncing on food. With the ashes blowing towards them, he couldn't remain calm knowing that these were the ashes of humans.
Fortunately, the person next to him shared his dislike for having such things on him and promptly applied a dust-avoiding talisman, causing the ashes to drift right past them without sticking!
Park Su let out a silent sigh of relief but knew he should explain Green Vine's behavior to Xu Nuo. After all, Xu Nuo, having been with him for so long, knew that Green Vine was an obedient subordinate, always following orders. Without Park Su's authorization, she wouldn't dare act so rashly.
If it had been the old Park Su, he might have considered concealing the matter of the crystal nuclei. But now, having witnessed Xu Nuo's formidable Taoist skills, he was even more determined to stick close to this "big thigh." Gaining Xu Nuo's trust became paramount.
Without much hesitation, he said, "I had Green Vine collect the crystal nuclei because they contain energy that can enhance our abilities. Not many people know this secret yet, and the zombies aren't that powerful now, so we can take advantage of this to gather as many as possible.
When zombies become stronger later on, collecting these nuclei will become much more difficult. Don't worry, even though Green Vine took the nuclei from the zombies you defeated, I won't forget your share."
Xu Nuo sensed a wealth of information in Park Su's words, and with his eyes closed, he asked, "How did you find out that these nuclei are effective for abilities?" He suddenly recalled the events of the previous day and continued, "Is it related to the energy you absorbed when you went berserk yesterday?"
Park Su, unsure how to explain his knowledge of the nuclei, took the opportunity when Xu Nuo mentioned his episode the previous night, "This was actually something I discovered by accident yesterday. After Green Vine killed a few zombies and absorbed their nuclei's energy, I felt a surge of energy pass through her body to mine. So, I had her collect these nuclei, thinking they could help us with our ability training!"
Xu Nuo sensed another question left unanswered in Park Su's words. Why would the energy absorbed by Green Vine pass into Park Su's body? He had always thought Green Vine was merely Park Su's pet, and he didn't believe that the energy absorbed by a pet would transfer to its master. Evidently, Green Vine was more than just a simple pet.
With a scrutinizing gaze, Xu Nuo looked at Park Su. Although he had never asked, he had always found Green Vine's appearance quite peculiar. Initially, he had assumed Park Su kept Green Vine in the spatial ring he had sold to him.
However, upon reflection, Xu Nuo knew that spatial rings could not contain living beings, and no one knew this better than he, the creator. Yet, Park Su's Green Vine clearly possessed self-awareness, making it more akin to a living creature.
Moreover, from his recent observations, Green Vine seemed to be under some form of control by Park Su. Though Xu Nuo was still unaware of what exactly could restrain such a formidable entity as Green Vine, he at least believed it wouldn't harm Park Su.