Immediately, Xu Taiping's clone, holding a bunch of white crystal chrysanthemums, walked towards an elegantly quaint three-story building ahead.

 

After the clone left, Xu Taiping didn't rush to depart. Instead, he concealed his aura and hid in a covert spot, quietly listening to the sounds outside the courtyard.

 

Roughly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea passed.

 

A chilling coldness spread from the direction of the small building.

 

Xu Taiping carefully glanced towards the building.

 

He saw a woman in red slowly step out of the doorway. After silently observing the white crystal chrysanthemums in the hands of Xu Taiping's clone, she gently took them into her own hands.

 

This woman in red was naturally the female Flying Zombie from Listening Wind Pavilion.

 

Through his clone's eyes, Xu Taiping noticed that when the female Flying Zombie took the chrysanthemums, her originally pale and resentful face surprisingly revealed an incredibly sweet smile.

 

Her eyes, which were once indifferent and cold, now seemed as soft as the sunlight in spring.

 

This was no ghostly apparition, but clearly an innocent and naive young girl.

 

The female Flying Zombie held the white crystal chrysanthemums in her arms, and with a smile, she began to gently tear off the petals one by one.

 

At that moment, Xu Taiping heard footsteps approaching from outside the courtyard.

 

These footsteps were very light, clearly employing a special technique, and would have been inaudible if one wasn't listening intently.

 

Without a doubt, these were the disciples of the Ancient Yue Sword Sect who were guarding outside.

 

Xu Taiping held his breath and placed a concealing herb in his palm, his figure disappearing from the spot.

 

The Ancient Yue Sword Sect disciples, completely unaware of any anomaly, passed by Xu Taiping with light steps, vigilantly heading towards Listening Wind Pavilion.

 

Xu Taiping then turned and left the front courtyard of Listening Wind Pavilion.

 

Although he had left the courtyard, through his clone's eyes, he could still vaguely see the disciples passing by the female Flying Zombie.

 

As described in the Nine Mansions' secret texts, the female Flying Zombie was oblivious to their presence, continuing to tear the petals from the white crystal chrysanthemums in her arms.

 

She resembled a girl who had fallen in love, lost in a sweet illusion.

 

After confirming this, Xu Taiping no longer hesitated. He immediately used his True Qi to open his mute acupoint and quickly headed towards the western cliff.

 

"That female Flying Zombie has already torn one white crystal chrysanthemum. I must circle around to the back courtyard of Listening Wind Pavilion from the western cliff before she tears off all seven."

 

"Then, I'll give these Ancient Yue Sword Sect disciples a big surprise with my clone."

 

With these thoughts, he briskly made his way towards the side of the cliff.

 

Xu Taiping felt not the slightest sympathy for these Ancient Yue Sword Sect disciples.

 

…

 

Atop the cliff behind Listening Wind Pavilion.

 

"Snap!"

 

A hand, with blood seeping from under its fingernails, gripped the cliffside like a steel claw, forcefully digging into the rock.

 

Then, with a powerful pull, the hand hoisted the body of a young man up from below the cliff.

 

"Huff…"

 

Climbing along the cliff without daring to breathe heavily, he finally reached the top, standing before the courtyard wall that was two to ten meters high.

 

The distance wasn't far, but with the fierce winds howling around the cliff, without a martial arts master's physique, Xu Taiping wouldn't have been able to climb up in one go.

 

"Only two white crystal chrysanthemums left."

 

Xu Taiping once again checked the number of chrysanthemums torn by the female Flying Zombie through his clone's eyes.

 

He also noticed that after tearing off the petals of five chrysanthemums, the sweet smile on the female Flying Zombie's face had turned into a sorrowful expression, occasionally sighing to herself.

 

Combining this change in the female Flying Zombie's expression, Xu Taiping guessed that, unless something unexpected happened, once she tore off the petals of the seventh chrysanthemum, she would begin a massacre.

 

"Bang!"

 

Just then, Xu Taiping, standing by the courtyard wall, suddenly heard a sound like iron striking.

 

Hearing this noise, a sense of unease suddenly surged in Xu Taiping's heart.

 

While keeping an eye on the number of flowers at Listening Wind Pavilion, he found a more secluded corner and silently climbed the courtyard wall.

 

After reaching the top of the wall, Xu Taiping witnessed a scene he would never forget.

 

In the center of the small courtyard, atop an artificial hill, were beautifully arranged flower beds, and within them grew the heads of young girls.

 

Bunches of vividly colorful flowers sprouted from the tops of their heads.

 

The scene was both nauseating and bizarre.

 

However, his attention was quickly drawn to a girl laid out on a table—it was none other than Lin Buyu.

 

Lin Buyu was still in a state of unconsciousness.

 

What slightly relieved Xu Taiping was that her robe was still on her, and the runes emanating from it were swirling around her, protecting her.

 

"That must be the male Flying Zombie."

 

Xu Taiping's gaze shifted, and he saw the man standing in front of the table.

 

The man was ten feet tall and extremely burly, with grayish-brown skin, a fierce face with fangs, and a cleaver in his hand.

 

He looked almost exactly as described in the Nine Mansions' secret texts.

 

At that moment, the male Flying Zombie suddenly lifted the cleaver in his hands and began to chant as if praying for something.

 

When the chanting ceased, he gripped the cleaver with both hands and fiercely chopped towards Lin Buyu's neck.

 

"Bang!"

 

Before Xu Taiping could intervene, Lin Buyu's robe suddenly billowed, and the runes in front of her blocked the cleaver once again.

 

Yet, the tension on Xu Taiping's face did not dissipate because he had clearly seen that although the male Flying Zombie's cleaver did not harm Lin Buyu, it had torn a slit in her robe at the shoulder.

 

"Could this be the chopping knife mentioned in the Nine Mansions?"

 

Xu Taiping murmured.

 

Although he didn't know which attempt this was by the male Flying Zombie, he knew he couldn't wait any longer. He closed his eyes and concentrated, sensing the presence of his clone.

 

Through the clone's eyes, he saw that the female Flying Zombie had also torn the sixth white crystal chrysanthemum, and the Ancient Yue Sword Sect disciples had timed their descent from the building.

 

Without further delay, Xu Taiping used the last bit of strength in his clone to burst into wild laughter—

 

"Hahahaha!"