Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology

Tielan Mountain, shrouded in dark clouds, was cold and eerily silent.

Goo... goo…

A partridge shrieked wildly atop a tree branch, its ghostly green gaze flickering with a disturbingly human-like light.

Swish!

At that moment, a strange wave surged forth, startling the partridge into a panicked flutter before flying off.

Moments later, the partridge fell to the ground. Upon closer inspection, it had inexplicably turned into a dried corpse, its essence blood seemingly drained completely.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, the mountain peak cracked open, and shadows leapt forth one after another.

In mere moments, hundreds of dark figures stood upright on the earth.

Looking closely, their faces were ashen green and dark, fangs jutted from their mouths, and thick black fur covered their bodies.

The weakest among them were Mao Zombies, with cultivation equivalent to the Core Formation stage.

Additionally, several zombies hovered in the air.

The flying zombies, at a minimum, had Purple Mansion cultivation—there were over twenty here. Some had skin that appeared unusually supple, almost like that of the living.

They raised their heads in unison and gazed toward the sky. Facing the full moon, they extended their hands and knelt repeatedly in worship.

Zombie moon worship!

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Taiyin Essence was exceptionally pure. Combined with the power of the Seven Stars in a Row, a single night of breathing here was equivalent to decades of arduous cultivation.

"Heh..."

A low, guttural voice echoed across all directions.

At that moment, the zombies lowered their heads and bowed themselves to the ground.

Whoosh!

Yin Wind howled, and black mist coalesced into a two-zhang-tall zombie.

This zombie had jet-black steel-like skin, dagger-sharp fangs, blood-red eyes, and two short, black dragon horns protruding from its forehead.

Drought Evil!

Legend states that when a flying zombie's cultivation surpasses a certain threshold, it transforms into a Drought Evil, marked by anomalous features unlike ordinary zombies.

This dragon-horned Drought Evil was the leader of the zombies gathered here.

After completing their moon worship, bloodshed was about to descend upon the human world.

Even the weakest Drought Evil had Primordial Spirit cultivation, coupled with the ability to influence the weather over a thousand miles. It could effortlessly annihilate an entire city.

Deep within the shadowy forest,

a master-disciple duo observed everything from a distance. The master, with a square-shaped face, appeared weathered and travel-worn. His thick eyebrows nearly met in a single line.

The disciple, in contrast, looked a bit dull and simple-minded, lacking cunning or wit.

In his master's hands, a spinning compass whirled as though it might burst at any moment.

"Master, so many zombies... let's just run," the disciple stammered, his face pale and legs trembling.

"Nonsense, do you think I stand a chance against them?"

Lin Zhen Taoist glared at his disciple before saying, "That's a ten-thousand-year-old Flying Zombie turned Drought Evil, a creature even Heavenly Masters fear. Quickly notify County Magistrate Zhang and have the villagers evacuate immediately!"

After speaking, Lin Zhen Taoist began retreating step by step, his gaze fixed unblinkingly ahead for fear the zombies might notice them.

Of course, he was no match for these zombies. He was simply a small-time Taoist who had stumbled upon an inheritance. How could he possibly contend with such threats that even prestigious sects found troublesome?

Better to focus on evacuating as many villagers as possible before the zombies fully ended their moon worship ritual.

Lin Zhen Taoist had long been acquainted with County Magistrate Zhang, and the latter would likely believe his words.

The two slowly withdrew.

If nothing unexpected happened, then an unexpected calamity was inevitable.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, the disciple tripped over a tree branch and let out a cry.

Lin Zhen Taoist hurriedly covered his disciple's mouth, but it was already too late. Across a distance of ten li, the gaze of the dragon-horned Drought Evil swept over.

"Oh? A cultivator? Not bad."

The dragon-horned Drought Evil spoke in a hoarse voice.

Swish!

In a flash, the dragon-horned Drought Evil appeared before the duo.

"It's over!"

Confronted with overwhelming pressure, Lin Zhen Taoist found himself powerless, closing his eyes and waiting for death.

"Ahhh!!"

All of a sudden, an intense wave of pressure descended.

The air was filled with the dragon-horned Drought Evil's screams of agony.

Lin Zhen opened his eyes to discover the night had turned into day, with a golden sun hanging in the heavens above.

White smoke rose from the dragon-horned Drought Evil's body.

"Damn it! Everyone, attack!"

The dragon-horned Drought Evil roared, commanding the hundreds of zombies to charge toward the sun in rage.

Most were reduced to ashes before they even reached their goal. A few managed to make contact with the sun only to be ruthlessly dismembered by the sound of treasure swords being unsheathed.

"What Divine Skill is this?"

Lin Zhen Taoist exclaimed in awe.

Such a powerful cultivator!

At this moment, the dragon-horned Drought Evil finally adapted to the sunlight.

"Roar!!!"

A surge of demonic energy erupted as countless jet-black smoke dragons spewed from its mouth.

The smoke dragons obscured the golden light, covering hundreds of miles, carrying deathly malice that withered all life in their path. Vegetation blackened and wilted, transforming into smoke dragons that returned to their master.

These smoke dragons fused back into the dragon-horned Drought Evil's form, which vanished, replaced by a colossal black dragon spanning thousands of zhang.

The Drought Evil didn't merely embody the power of drought; it had grown to possess far more devastating abilities.

This black dragon harbored magical might capable of draining the vitality of lands across a thousand miles.

No sooner did the black dragon emerge than a tremendous golden Eight Diagram appeared.

This was Mao Zhong's Eight Diagram Primordial Spirit.

The Eight Diagram emitted eight golden beams, forming a cage to trap the black dragon inside.

The dragon furiously rammed into the pillars of the Innate Eight Diagram Array.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pillars began to crack.

"Such incredible power,"

Mao Zhong marveled from atop the Sun Jade Carriage.

The Drought Evil was no mere name—it possessed an indestructible Vajra Body, an endless supply of Demonic Qi, exceptional speed, and a continuous boost from the Seven Stars in a Row, providing near-limitless energy.

If it were just him, he might not be able to take down this foe.

If the Drought Evil escaped, it would undoubtedly leave devastation in its wake.

But with Song Lin added to the mix, the outcome was nearly assured.

Song Lin took out the Pure Yang Golden Fire Lamp, whose golden flames steadily eroded the Drought Evil's Demonic Qi.

Thus, with one maintaining the array and the other targeting the foe, they eventually sealed the Drought Evil inside the Heavenly Burial Coffin. However, Song Lin refrained from allowing the coffin to absorb the zombie's power.

"Let's refine the Drought Evil into a Taoist Soldier."

"That might be risky—it could lead to backlash."

"No matter."

Song Lin's own Pure Yang Primordial Spirit was the perfect counter to such entities.

At this point, the pair noticed the master-disciple duo.

"Thank you, immortal, for saving our lives,"

Lin Zhen Taoist stepped forward and bowed.

"Your courage is commendable. Not bad. Whose teachings do you follow?"

"I have no formal master."

"Oh? No master and yet reaching Core Formation? Impressive. Would you like to join the Pure Yang Sect? Would you be willing to become my third disciple?"

Song Lin admired this man. Despite being middle-aged, he carried a deep sense of justice and compassion for the people—a rarity in this world.

"Disciple greets Master!"

Lin Zhen bowed deeply.

Having defeated a Great Demon, the group returned to rest while Mao Zhong secluded himself to refine the Drought Evil.

Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the Tiger Talisman Key remained unknown.

In the meantime, Song Lin resumed cultivating Divine Skills, occasionally using his Pill Furnace to refine the energy from Chiyou's two Harmonization Pills.

Chiyou could be awakened at any moment, though doing so would waste the pills' Harmonization power.

After some consideration, Song Lin summoned the Furnace of Eight Trigrams, preparing to recreate the Nine-Transformation Golden Pill.

As proven, the increase in insight achieved under the effects of the pill was considerable.

Furthermore, crafting the Nine-Transformation Golden Pill would allow him to share its benefits with the Taoist Alliance, aiding their recovery of lost Primordial Energy.

"Yu Zheng, prepare the materials,"

Song Lin instructed Lin Zhen, who stood by his side.

"Yes, Master."

As the oldest disciple of the Pure Yang Sect, Lin Zhen quickly took charge of mundane affairs and established a strong rapport with everyone, becoming something of a steward. His talent for cultivation was also noteworthy.

Song Lin intended to groom Lin Zhen as his successor.

If his guess was correct, the grandmaster of this world's Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect ought to be none other than Lin Zhen. While studying the Taoist Alliance's history, he had come across faint records suggesting that the sect's founder bore the character "Zhen" in his name.

Given Lin Zhen's character, entrusting him with the sect when the time came for Song Lin to leave put his mind at ease.

Time flowed steadily onward.

With the dragon-horned Drought Evil refined, it unwittingly drew the attention of a certain being deep in the void.

From a distance of countless millions of miles, a streak of black light hurtled toward this land.

From every corner of the void, more and more streaks of black light followed in its wake.

At this rate, in ten years' time, the black lights would descend upon this realm.

The Upper Pure Demon Tribulation wasn't child's play. Yet, the two cultivators remained oblivious to the impending world-ending crisis.