The little zombie quickly hopped backward, moving away.
Seeing the little zombie retreat, Zhao Yan said to Wang Xianzhi:
"I'm still useful here, you two should hurry and go back."
Seeing they didn't move immediately, she urged, "Hurry up and go, your staying here won't be of much help."
Wang Xianzhi felt a pang in his heart. Zhao Yan was telling the truth; staying would only make them a burden to her. It was better to leave so Zhao Yan could act without restraint.
"I understand, Master."
"Hurry, Xin Xin."
Wang Xianzhi took Wu Jiaxin and walked backward.
For their safety, Zhao Yan asked Wang Xianzhi to take General Black Tiger with them. With General Black Tiger, their safety would be greatly enhanced.
"Sister Zhao, be careful. For your safety, don't push yourself too hard," Wu Jiaxin said worriedly.
Zhao Yan acknowledged her words. Once the two were out of her sight, she turned to look forward.
The little zombie had been drawn away by those people. For Zhao Yan, this was a golden opportunity. The treasure in the pool was now unguarded.
This was the perfect time to take it.
As she walked towards the pool, a scream came from behind her.
"Oh no, it's an uncorrupted bone! Everyone, form a formation quickly!"
"Damn it, how could an uncorrupted bone appear in this place?"
The voices behind her were filled with panic, and Zhao Yan grew anxious as she listened.
She looked back and saw streaks of talisman light flashing behind her, followed by the sounds of weapons clashing.
Pushing aside the weeds behind her, she saw dozens of Xuanmen Taoists holding peach wood swords, surrounding the little zombie.
After encircling the little zombie, they began attacking it with talismans and treasures radiating Yang energy.
Zhao Yan clicked her tongue as she watched.
The little zombie was holding its own against dozens of Xuanmen Taoists.
She understood that as more Xuanmen Taoists gathered, the little zombie would not be able to win.
After observing for over ten seconds, Zhao Yan began to retreat.
She picked up a wooden stick and poked it into the pool to gauge its depth.
The water in the pool was murky, making it impossible to tell how deep it was.
Testing it with the stick, she realized the pool was at most half a meter deep.
The next step was to drain the water from the pool.
She didn't know what was in the pool. If she reached in to feel around, she might encounter something unpleasant and injure herself.
To drain the water, she only needed to create a channel for it to flow out.
Holding the wooden stick, Zhao Yan began to work diligently.
After three to four minutes, she had dug a channel and started draining the water.
She estimated it would take at least three minutes to completely drain the pool.
She couldn't just stand there waiting; she needed to observe the situation behind her.
With that in mind, Zhao Yan crouched down and crept backward.
Finding a hidden spot, she climbed up a tree, where she could see farther.
Standing steady, she looked at the scene ahead and exclaimed, "Good heavens."
The Xuanmen Taoists surrounding the little zombie had increased from dozens to about a hundred.
Some Xuanmen Taoists had even formed rescue teams, ready to pull any Taoist attacked by the little zombie out of the combat zone.
"They are truly united."
Upon reflection, it made sense. After all, the little zombie was an uncorrupted bone. Without knowing if it was good or evil, they wouldn't dare let it escape.
More importantly, as an uncorrupted bone, the little zombie was highly valuable.
As she was thinking, Zhao Yan looked behind her and saw that the water in the pool was almost completely drained.
"No more watching, let's check the treasure in the pool."
She jumped down from the tree.
Before she could reach the pool, she felt a strong surge of Yin energy emanating from it.
She arrived at the pool and saw that the water had been drained.
A thick layer of ice had formed at the bottom of the pool.
In the center of the pool lay a transparent bead.
The bead was about the size of a fist and emitted a black mist.
The reason for the abundant Yin energy in Jiuling Mountain was this bead.
Zhao Yan cautiously poked the bead with the wooden stick. The bead rolled a few centimeters in the pool.
Seeing that the bead didn't change, she quickly reached out and picked it up.
As soon as she held the bead, Zhao Yan felt her hand become ice-cold, as if she were holding a large ice block.
The moment she grasped it, the bead stopped releasing Yin energy.
As she wondered what was happening, she noticed the Yin energy within the bead flowing into her body.
The icy coldness made her shiver uncontrollably.
Zhao Yan quickly stuffed the bead into her bag.
Then, she forced out the Yin energy that had entered her body.
Just as Zhao Yan put the bead into her bag, a piercing shriek sounded from behind her.
The sound was clearly not human.
"Oh no, the uncorrupted bone has suddenly gone berserk! Everyone, don't hide your treasures. Use whatever you have and don't let the uncorrupted bone break through our formation!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan quickly took out two speed-boosting talismans, stuck them to her feet, and bolted forward.
It must have been her taking the bead that enraged the little zombie.
As she put the bead into her pocket, the Yin energy in Jiuling Mountain gradually weakened.
At this rate, within an hour, the Yin energy in Jiuling Mountain would completely disappear.
With the two speed-boosting talismans, she reached the foot of the mountain behind the range in just over five minutes and took a detour.
About ten minutes later, she arrived at the front foot of Jiuling Mountain.
Seeing Wang Xianzhi and Wu Jiaxin pacing back and forth anxiously at the foot of the mountain, Zhao Yan walked over to them.
They were so worried, staring intently at the path up the mountain, completely unaware that Zhao Yan had arrived beside them.
"Ahem!" Zhao Yan cleared her throat lightly.
Wu Jiaxin quickly turned around. Upon seeing Zhao Yan beside her, the worry on her face vanished, and she happily grabbed Zhao Yan's arm.
"Sister Zhao, where did you come from? I was so worried about you."
"You don't know, many people were injured in this mountain. I wanted to go see you, but Brother Wang wouldn't let me. I was worried to death."
Wang Xianzhi patted his chest, the heavy stone in his heart finally lifted. He continued Wu Jiaxin's words, "There were many people lying on the ground halfway up the mountain. If you listen closely, you can still hear the groans coming from the mountainside. It was truly terrifying."