But Ma Xiong hadn't fully processed what was happening yet, because despite his frantic efforts to regain control just moments ago, he had failed. Frustrated, he quickly asked Elder Qian, "Hey, Elder Qian, why aren't they listening to me? Tell Ma Xiong how to control them."

Elder Qian, seeing Ma Xiong was still joking at a time like this, snapped at him, "Ma Xiong, damn it! Is this the time for jokes? You use your psionic power, of course! Hurry up and use your power!"

Hearing this, Ma Xiong slapped his own forehead. Right—how could he have missed something so simple?

So, Ma Xiong immediately closed his eyes and concentrated. A terrifying scene instantly materialized in his mind: the zombies he had managed to control stood frozen, unmoving, as the pursuing zombies tore them limb from limb, and then the attackers surged toward him.

Ma Xiong snapped his eyes open. That horrific vision wasn't mere imagination; it was happening right beside him. The zombies under his control were already being dismembered. It seemed Ma Xiong had no choice but to seize control of another ten.

He quickly retracted the Yin Qi he had placed on the first ten zombies, instantly feeling his own energy surge with Yin Qi. Then, fixing his gaze on the ten zombies ahead, those ten immediately recoiled in unison, froze in place, and then knelt down.

The zombies charging from the rear naturally couldn't comprehend why their comrades were kneeling to Ma Xiong, so they relentlessly charged forward. The kneeling zombies were instantly smashed into dust by the impact.

Ma Xiong didn't have time to think; he swiftly recalled his Yin Qi and projected it onto the ten zombies immediately in front of him.

Those ten zombies, predictably, also knelt down, only to be trampled and destroyed by the ones behind them.

This way, Ma Xiong rotated his control, until only the last ten zombies remained. Ma Xiong felt utterly drained from constantly drawing in and releasing Yin Qi; each projection felt significantly more taxing than the last, and the control itself was wavering. By the end, Ma Xiong could barely manage five, leaving five others outside his sphere of influence. Fortunately, since he only controlled five, he could still squeeze out a faint thread of Yin Qi to cloak himself and the other three people. This way, the approaching zombies would sense the strong Yin Qi emanating from them and refrain from attacking.

Ma Xiong decided to use this brief window of lucidity to explore the mechanics of his control.

He closed his eyes again. A scene manifested in his mind: five figures stood in two rows before him, while he sat upon a rather luxurious ebony chair. Before him rested a Bao Gong desk, upon which lay brushes, ink, paper, and a collection of command talismans.

Ma Xiong mused that this was akin to an official court trial. The papers were clearly for drafting orders, and the command talismans probably served the function of ancient wooden slips—the authorization required to enact a command.

With a flourish, Ma Xiong scrawled several large characters across the paper: Execute those remaining zombies.

Then, he tossed down a command talisman.

The moment the talisman left his hand, the five controlled zombies lunged toward the remaining five as if driven mad. Since the targeted zombies were unprepared, they were swiftly obliterated by the other five.

Ma Xiong instantly snapped back to awareness, seeing his companions staring at the scene before them with matching looks of astonishment and disbelief. Finally, one of them breathed out, "Incredible."

Ma Xiong, however, wasn't blinded by the reality of his achievement. He modestly turned to Lu Zong and said, "Not bad, but don't heap on too much praise. Ma Xiong might get arrogant, you know."

The words were barely out when Ma Xiong felt his body weaken drastically, overcome by a dizzying nausea. His vision swam wildly, and a strange, violent energy seemed to batter him from within, causing his entire body to heat up. Finally, Ma Xiong couldn't hold it in and vomited.

After throwing up, Ma Xiong felt much better; at least the weakness had receded. He felt as though he hadn't even participated in the battle, his body brimming with vitality.

Furthermore, controlling the zombies was now effortless; he could essentially track their every move.

Ma Xiong asked aloud, "What just happened? Why do I feel my Yin Qi is stronger now than when we first started?"

Elder Qian said excitedly, "Perhaps when you reclaimed the Yin Qi from those fallen zombies, you absorbed some of theirs as well. It seems you’ve taken another step closer to death," he added with a touch of schadenfreude.

Wow, if I can absorb Yin Qi, I’ll become a formidable monster someday.

Ma Xiong realized he no longer needed to close his eyes to imagine communicating with them. Now, whatever he thought was instantly transmitted, and he could feel their responses echoing back to him. This was why Lu Zong looked doubtful when Ma Xiong paused for a long moment before declaring he knew the way forward.

Ma Xiong announced, "I am the Zombie King here now. We have wireless communication."

Lu Zong stared at Ma Xiong for a long moment, then uttered, "Impressive. High-tech stuff!"

Soon, the zombies were nearly all dealt with by the group. Elder Qian surveyed the carnage, his voice tinged with lingering fear. "Ah, if you hadn't consumed that Reanimation Pill back then, we’d probably be one of these zombies now. Thank goodness for Ma Xiong."

Seeing that the external threat had largely vanished, Lu Zong slowly stood up from his corner and cautiously looked outside, saying, "It's clear, thankfully. No immediate danger. Let's get out of here quickly."

Suddenly, Ma Xiong stopped Lu Zong, who was already moving toward the exit, and questioned him, "Lu Zong, hold on. I need to ask you something. Why are you here? How did you end up here? Shouldn't you be back in that tent?"

Lu Zong turned back to Ma Xiong, a flicker of alarm crossing his face, though he quickly regained composure. He hurriedly replied, "Didn't Elder Qian say the spatial stability here isn't great? Perhaps the space I was in accidentally shifted, and that's how I got here. I think this place is really unsafe, and it’s spawned all these zombies. Let's leave now."

Ma Xiong didn't press the issue further. Having finally found Lu Zong, he wasn't in the mood to interrogate him. If Lu Zong refused to tell the truth, it must be because he encountered something he shouldn't have. Given the recent ordeal, Ma Xiong decided it was best to address that later. The immediate priority, as Lu Zong suggested, was escaping this cavern.

Ma Xiong turned to Elder Qian, "Elder Qian, Lu Zong is right. I think our most crucial task now is escaping. How do you suggest we get out?"

Elder Qian stroked his beard, and his expression suddenly eased into one of contentment. He told Ma Xiong, "We aren't leaving, hehe. We aren't leaving."

His statement startled both Ma Xiong and Ge Mei. "Not leaving? Why not? We need to get out to survive! What are we staying here for?"

But what shocked the other two equally was that Lu Zong showed no fear or even curiosity at such a bizarre statement. Instead, he sank to the ground, looking dejected, as if lost in thought.

Elder Qian explained, "Have you forgotten the purpose of our entry? I mentioned earlier that this place is merely a transfer station to our ultimate destination. Therefore, I propose we search from here directly."

"A demon? You mean the Demon Pagoda? Is the legendary Demon Pagoda inside this place?" Ma Xiong asked eagerly, curiosity piqued.

Elder Qian nodded. "Yes, the legendary Demon Pagoda is housed within. I suspect this is just a segment of it. Did you forget that fox spirit from earlier? That was a demon, wasn't it, Lu Zong?"

Lu Zong looked at Elder Qian with a flustered confusion, stammering, "Oh, oh, yes, yes," before bowing his head again, silent. He simply stared blankly at the ground.

Noticing how strangely quiet and detached Lu Zong had been since the beginning, Ma Xiong pressed, "Lu Zong, how do you know this is part of the Demon Pagoda?"

Lu Zong became even more agitated as he explained, "Oh, I was guessing, I was just guessing, hehe." He tried to make his expression look natural, but Ma Xiong didn't believe him for a second. Though Lu Zong was his best friend, Ma Xiong certainly wasn't going to carelessly risk his life at this critical juncture.

Seeing that Lu Zong was clearly concealing something, Ma Xiong decided not to press further. If he had a guilty conscience, the truth would surface eventually; there was no need to rush it now. He turned back to Elder Qian. "Elder Qian, what should we do now? Give us a plan."

Elder Qian pointed to the hole he had chiseled in the wall. "We'll crawl into that hole. I believe we'll find a clue there, and then we can easily find our way out."

Ma Xiong nodded. It seemed that was the only course of action left. Without another word, he followed Elder Qian toward the opening. He glanced at the distracted Lu Zong, stepped forward, pulled his arm, and said, "Lu Zong, we're good friends. There are some things friends shouldn't keep secret from each other. But if you choose to hide it, you must have your reasons. I won't force you to tell me, and I won't blame you. Now, let's go quickly."

Lu Zong looked up at Ma Xiong with a dazed expression, then muttered to himself, "Elder Qian? Demon Pagoda? Ge Mei? Huh? What's going on? Where's Han Chong? Wait, where is Han Chong?"

Hearing Lu Zong rambling to himself, Ma Xiong found it very strange; he had no idea what Lu Zong was talking about, so he urged him on. "Hey, Lu Zong, let's go now! Don't worry about that. The most important thing right now is finding the exit. Stop dawdling. Let's hurry."

Only then did Lu Zong slowly stand up and follow behind Ma Xiong, crawling into the hole after Elder Qian. Fearing Lu Zong might be spaced out behind him, Ma Xiong positioned himself at the very rear, letting Lu Zong walk just ahead, ensuring he wouldn't get lost.

Elder Qian had already managed to enlarge the opening somewhat. It had been scorched by his earlier use of fire, so the air inside was scarce, but it was just enough to hide in for a while.