"If it weren't for you waking me up, I'd still be sleeping at the bottom of the marine abyss, you know? If not for your zombie blood, you wouldn't have been able to enter the barrier; it was Nu Ba's aura that awakened me," Houqing said, slightly reproachfully, but still seemed interested while looking at Lin Tian.

"Tell me, where is Nu Ba now?" Houqing eagerly asked.

Lin Tian didn't answer immediately, instead probing, "What's your relationship with Nu Ba? Enemies? Friends? Or a couple?"

"Hehe, you really have a lot on your mind. Nu Ba and I are neither enemies nor friends, much less a couple; we are rivals," Houqing chuckled softly, glancing at Lin Tian, but still honestly admitted.

"Rivals?" Lin Tian was taken aback—could being rivals be considered a kind of relationship?

"Just rivals. Back then, the four of us were fighting for..." Houqing spoke with certainty but stopped after the opening, pretending to be impatient, "Why am I talking so much with you? Hurry and tell me, where is Nu Ba? What's her current strength?"

Lin Tian pouted, feeling a little indignant. You seem young and yet you're calling others 'kid'? But thinking about how Houqing is the Zombie Ancestor and thousands of years old, older than even the Lin Family ancestors, it seems not entirely unreasonable.

After considering, Lin Tian decided to speak honestly: "I don't know where Nu Ba is. Because of a tectonic shift, the seal broke—oh, right, do you know what a tectonic shift is?"

"Do you think I'm ancient and know nothing? Instead of 'tectonic shift,' couldn't you just say 'earthquake'?" Houqing said disdainfully.

Lin Tian smiled awkwardly, then continued, "After Nu Ba broke the seal, she encountered me and turned me into a zombie. That was the first time I saw her. The second time was over the Purple Flame Gold Sword, which was also the last time. Up until now, I don't know where she is. As for her strength, she's already manifested gold wings—is that considered a mark of strength?"

"She's already manifested gold wings?" Houqing was evidently surprised but then became relieved: "She must have volunteered to be sealed, with minimal loss of power. After breaking the seal and absorbing your Taiyin Xuan Qi, it's no surprise she could manifest gold wings."

Houqing spoke somewhat to himself, while Lin Tian listened with dismay—not knowing why a dignified Zombie Ancestor would voluntarily get sealed. However, Houqing did not seem willing to explain.

When Lin Tian wanted to say something else, Houqing impatiently said: "Okay, I've asked. You may leave now."

Leave? I haven't gotten the zombie blood yet—how could I go? Lin Tian wasn't shy, and was not afraid of Houqing accusing him of being a cheat, so he directly said, "Houqing Ancestor, I have another request."

"What is it? Quickly say it, I still want to sleep," Houqing tersely replied.

"A friend of mine is at death's door and needs the blood of the four Zombie Ancestors or their descendants to concoct an elixir to save her life. I humbly ask the Houqing Ancestor to grant a Blood Pearl."

"What kind of strange illness could require zombie blood to concoct an elixir?" Houqing frowned slightly and muttered. However, he still waved his hand and a Blood Pearl flew towards Lin Tian: "Take it—and leave, quickly."

Lin Tian was overjoyed, immediately reaching out to catch it, examining it briefly, and then with a thought, the Blood Pearl absorbed into his palm, temporarily stored within.

"Thank you, Houqing Ancestor." Lin Tian sincerely bowed, having finally obtained the second vital material after many trials—the first was naturally his own blood.

Houqing's generosity surprised Lin Tian. Perhaps like Houqing said, with the zombie clan dwindling, offering assistance is welcomed, or maybe as a senior ancestor, he was too embarrassed to be stingy before a junior. Regardless, he had secured Houqing's blood.

"What are you still standing around for?" Houqing ordered again to leave.

"Well... I have one more favor to ask of Houqing Ancestor. Charlotte's memory has been tampered with, please assist in restoring her memory. After all, she has done quite a bit for you; surely the Ancestor won't turn a blind eye?" Lin Tian thought for a moment and said directly, thinking it wouldn't hurt to try asking again, having already done it once. With such a great expert present, not utilizing them would be foolish.

"Really afraid of you—here, take it." Houqing was somewhat intimidated by Lin Tian, almost questioning his own judgment; this kid was so shameless, could he truly be a promising zombie?

Nonetheless, Houqing reached towards the pool, a water bead flew over, and after a flash of red light in his palm, he tossed the water bead to Lin Tian.

Lin Tian eagerly caught it, curiously inspecting the water bead, noticing strands of crimson light moving within the otherwise transparent bead.

"This water bead..." Lin Tian was somewhat confused—it seemed a casual throw, with no instruction on its use, was it for ingestion? External application? Thrice daily, or bathed in water?

"She was under a Blood Clan secret spell; give the bead for her to swallow, and the spell will break," Houqing explained.

"Ah, understood. Thank you, Houqing Ancestor," Lin Tian expressed his gratitude.

Houqing said nothing more, simply waved his hand, meaning 'don't bother me if there's no issue', then jumped back into the jade coffin.

Lin Tian truly had more to discuss, and before Houqing shut the coffin cover, eagerly asked, "Houqing Ancestor, where are Jiang Chen and Ying Gou sealed?"

If this matter was clarified, it would save the effort of searching blindly; like lost flies, who knows when they will be found.

Houqing paused his action, hesitated a moment before nonchalantly replying: "I don't know."

With that, the coffin lid shut with a bang, then the jade coffin spontaneously floated up and with a splash, submerged into the water. This time the jade coffin didn't rise but sank down, disappearing beneath the surface in the blink of an eye.

Lin Tian quickly ran to the poolside, shouting loudly, "Houqing Ancestor, hold on, I have more questions to ask you!"

His response was a series of bubbles, the bubbles churned as the coffin sank deeper, completely ignoring Lin Tian.

Lin Tian was frustrated, with still a pile of questions in his mind unasked. Back then, regarding what the four Zombie Ancestors had fought for, Houqing only said half, intentionally leaving the other half unspoken. Who sealed the four Zombie Ancestors? For what reason?

Why did Houqing claim Nu Ba volunteered to be sealed? And—why did Houqing recognize Ning Luoxi's Meteor Burst? All these questions flooded Lin Tian's mind, far exceeding ten thousand why's, yet Houqing refused to divulge anything.

Most regrettably, he couldn't ask about the whereabouts of Jiang Chen and Ying Gou. Presumably, these two Zombie Ancestors were also sealed in some hidden corner; without luck, finding them would be a lifelong pursuit.

The only consolation was Xu Feibai possibly being a zombie of Jiang Chen's line, a barely viable lead.

Oh no—I was so engrossed in thought, I forgot to ask Houqing how to get out. Lin Tian inwardly cursed, suddenly recalling the most critical matter.

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