Old Liu had naturally grasped Ye Xiu’s meaning. He took off his dark sunglasses, tracing a circle in the air with his finger, and said, “This barrier is actually a vortex. The center of the vortex constantly absorbs the scent of the Corpse Flowers from Raven Alley. Once the scent disappears, the barrier ceases to exist.”

Ye Xiu snatched the sunglasses from Old Liu and placed them over his own eyes. The glasses appeared no different from ordinary shades, but when he looked through them, the Eternal Lotus Dream Palace ahead remained entirely unchanged; he could see nothing resembling a vortex. Ye Xiu yelled back at Old Liu, “Hey, where did you see a vortex?”

Old Liu picked up the thin noodle knife he was holding and flung it forward with force. The blade shot out like a drawn sword, surging ahead.

Ye Xiu stared intently at the noodle knife. After it traveled a short distance, a fluid substance, like an air current, wrapped around it tightly. Suddenly, a powerful vortex erupted, pinning the knife firmly to the ground. The fluid substance continued to flow toward the vortex’s center, which churned and grew larger.

Old Liu reeled in the noodle knife using a thin thread, explaining, “That fluid substance we saw must be the fine pollen of the Corpse Flowers. This pollen is what activates the entire barrier.”

Ye Xiu nodded, then pulled on the old woman behind him and asked, “Where is this Corpse Flower fragrance originating from?”

The old woman had resided in Raven Alley for untold millennia; the scent of the Corpse Flowers was nothing remarkable to her. She tilted her head toward the sky and murmured, “It’s about time. These villagers should be heading to the Archway to worship the Goddess Mèishū.”

“Worshiping Goddess Mèishū!” Ye Xiu immediately shifted his gaze to the surroundings of the flagstone path, following the old woman’s direction. At that moment, the shambling zombies ceased their crow-like cries. With their eyes still stark white and their movements limping, they began to move toward the edge of the village. The further out they walked, the denser the crowd became. As the throng pushed forward, some figures were knocked over, yet they crawled their way toward the Archway regardless.

The old woman spoke as she followed the flow of people, lowering her head and turning her prayer beads: “At this time every day, everyone must kneel before the Archway to pay homage to Goddess Mèishū.”

Old Liu quieted his mind, forming a plan. After a brief wait, he gestured for Ye Xiu to follow him, saying, “I suspect the scent of the Corpse Flowers is emanating from inside that Archway. Or perhaps, what we saw earlier wasn’t the Archway at all.”

Ye Xiu followed closely behind the old woman, harboring his own doubts: “There is another village outside the Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation. You ventured deep into it; you must know better than me—there is no Archway there. What is the connection between these two villages, one inside and one outside this realm?”

“They must be connected, or perhaps it’s an ancient image visible to ordinary people,” Old Liu muttered, baffled. He covered his mouth, adding, “The talismans I placed outside the previous village were indeed my magic. This means the two villages aren't merely illusions. Could this village in the mortal realm itself be a settlement of the shambling undead?”

“Impossible!” Ye Xiu flatly rejected his guess. “You remember that child, Xiǎolóng, from before? His entire family was eloquent and sought medical help when they fell ill. Can the shambling undead do such things?”

“Damn it, could it be Selective Superimposition?” Old Liu trembled as he uttered the term.

Ye Xiu froze by the roadside, staring hard at him. “What is that? A scientific term? Selective Superimposition.”

Old Liu regained his composure and explained, “In other words, there is a mysterious power within this Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation. It can make the original shambling undead appear normal in the eyes, or perception, of certain people. It uses the superimposed shadows of how these undead lived before to deceive those it selects!”

“Deceiving the selected people, luring us into this Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation!” Ye Xiu’s hands began to sweat. If this were true, the master of this formation must possess immense power. “Then what is its objective?”

“Just as you acquired the Reaper’s Scythe, it’s possible that something within the Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation wishes to manifest in the human world once more, thus requiring certain people or events to assist it.” Old Liu realized the gravity of the situation. He recalled, “No wonder I sensed a certain aura the moment I arrived in that previous village. It seems both you and I have been chosen by the Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation as the array-breakers.”

“Damn it, from the outbreak of the Virulent Bird Parasitic Sickness, to the village being destroyed by the vicious birds, and now here—we’ve been playing someone else’s game the whole time.” Ye Xiu couldn't fathom which celestial being possessed such astounding strategic prowess, but the evidence was inescapable; he had no choice but to believe it.

Old Liu settled his nerves. His initial excitement about entering the Nine Poisonous Fierce Formation had evaporated; now he felt like a mere pawn. He sighed, “There’s no choice. Since we’ve reached this level, we can only press forward.”

Ye Xiu took a sharp breath, looking coldly at the old woman’s back. By this time, the two of them had blended in with the undead and reached the Archway at the village entrance. A surging crowd filled the area: some stood, some lay prone, some constantly twisted their arms, and others had wrenched their necks completely around behind them. But when that pure black Archway began to shed what looked like flower petals, every single figure involuntarily knelt down, as if their Goddess Mèishū were about to descend.

“Kneel quickly, or those things will attack you,” the old woman urged, stepping back to beckon Ye Xiu and Old Liu. “Inside Raven Alley, everyone must occasionally mimic the caw of a crow, and every dusk, they come here to worship the Life-Extending Flower left by Goddess Mèishū.”

“What kind of crap is Life-Extending Flower? Isn’t it just the Corpse Flower?” Old Liu spat out harshly. He held his head high, observing the sea of people before him. At that instant, nearly all the shambling undead appeared almost normal, hands crossed over their chests, ready to begin their prayer.

Ye Xiu was stunned by the spectacle—thousands kneeling together beneath an Archway, from which dark red petals drifted down. These petals gently floated over the people and slowly seeped into their bodies.

“It is indeed the Corpse Flower entering the body!” Old Liu quickly pulled out the small vial from his waist pouch. He uncorked it and sprinkled some onto Ye Xiu before saying, “The Corpse Flower can turn living flesh into a corpse flower. Perhaps Mèishū used this very thing to transform her kin into living zombies.”

Ye Xiu pointed cautiously at the old woman in front of them. She was also bathing devoutly in the falling Corpse Flower petals. Yet, when the petals landed on her back, there was no sign of dissipation or integration. How, then, was the old woman’s longevity achieved?

Old Liu noticed this as well. He was about to question the old woman when, abruptly, a thousand heads turned toward him and Ye Xiu. The original white eyes of those figures all flashed a fierce, killing red.