At this moment, Rufina Howard began to talk about the Ironhide Revenant—the same type we had encountered before, that Ironhide, Little Black.
This kind of Ironhide Revenant ranks in the middle among zombies. Their defining traits are copper skin and iron bones. I remembered that time—it took me considerable effort to split open Little Black’s back and insert the jujube pit nail, but he was able to recover from it.
Rufina Howard explained that these revenants have two extremes: one form possesses a body so hard that no blade, spear, sword, staff, or even magic can pierce it—tough and agile. I recalled how easily I opened Little Black’s back that day and asked her about it.
"Don’t ask yet, Ethan. Listen to me finish, and you’ll understand."
Rufina continued, saying there’s another form—one that makes its body extremely soft. Relying on the Golden Soulstone within, it locks its flesh in place so that even if injured, it can rapidly heal using the Soulstone. As long as the Soulstone isn’t shattered, it remains immortal.
"Both forms are extremes, but there’s another, Ethan—like your family's Ironhide. Its body is tough, but not to the point of being immune to all harm, and it also has regenerative powers. Once at the Ironhide level, they begin to develop autonomous consciousness."
I nodded.
Ironhide Revenants, as Rufina and I discussed, originate from the constant cultivation of White and Purple Revenants. Later, when an Ironhide’s abilities reach their peak, it evolves into a Flying Revenant—capable of flight like a ghost, with a hardened body, regenerative powers, and even some magical arts.
Most of these revenants are formed in places steeped in resentment. I’d seen one before—the basement where Little Black emerged, filled with corpses and that pool of flesh and blood. The memory alone makes me nauseous.
I blinked, thinking about it. Even the Soul-Stealing Ghosts have their own magical arts.
Then there are the Crouching Corpses and Wandering Corpses—two extremely powerful types. Their bodies can dissolve into earth or water, ascend to the heavens or burrow underground, and even change their forms. These kinds of revenants are exceedingly rare.
"That sounds far-fetched. Little sister, have you ever seen one?"
Rufina Howard shook her head.
"No, they only exist in legends. The final type, the Bone-Transcending Revenant, is the ultimate form—able to cross between the realms of yin and yang, roam the nine heavens and the underworld, truly immortal."
I smiled, but inside, I felt a bit helpless. If I ever encountered something that powerful, I’d be finished in an instant. Even Lord Wraith told me that if I entered the Nether Syndicate, I should find him a Soul-Guiding Lantern. I sighed in resignation.
"Ethan, the crimson Golden Soulstone you’re looking for is only found in Blood-Sucking Revenants."
I let out a sound of surprise and glanced at Rufina Howard. She seemed to have more to say.
There are six levels of revenants, and perhaps more beyond that. But based on their abilities—or rather, their feeding habits—they’re divided into three main categories.
The first category is the Blood-Sucking Revenants. Regardless of the six types above, these feed on blood—it’s essential for them. Their Soulstone is always crimson. But only those at Ironhide level or above possess a Soulstone. I smiled, thinking that if I fought Little Black now, I’d probably win.
The second category feeds on the Essence of Sun and Moon—a supernatural energy gathered at certain places during sunrise and sunset. These revenants seek out such spots during the transition, absorbing the mixed essence to replenish themselves. The strangest thing about them is their ability to use various magical arts.
The third category is the Yang Energy-Feeding Revenants. They don’t kill; instead, they capture strong men and keep them caged, absorbing their Yang energy bit by bit each day. This is similar to some ghosts, but fundamentally different—they only drain a little at a time, never all at once like ghosts do.
I finally had a general understanding of the types of zombies. By now, night had fully fallen. Outside, the streets were ablaze with lights and lively activity. Looking down, I saw a festival underway—a crowd in bizarre costumes, many dressed as zombies. I sighed.
The three of us went downstairs, where Old Ren was already waiting for us outside. I walked over and asked him.
"Did you find anything unusual?"
"There’s something odd—the mummified corpse in the museum seems to be..."
"A practitioner of the occult, right?" Rufina Howard looked at Old Ren and asked. He nodded.
"Smart girl."
"What’s going on?"
Rufina Howard gave a mysterious smile.
"Tonight, we’ll open the coffin and examine the corpse."
I let out a noise of surprise.
Rufina’s plan was to sneak into the museum at night, open the glass coffin, and thoroughly inspect the mummified corpse. She’d only done a brief check today since she couldn’t get close, so tonight she intended to investigate thoroughly.
That mummified corpse had not a drop of blood left in its body. Normally, if bitten by a zombie, one becomes a Walking Corpse—different from what I’d seen before, where Tang Cai used Taoist arts to control them. These Walking Corpses attack people, but once the body decays to a certain point, they disappear.
It’s not like in TV shows—getting bitten by a zombie doesn’t turn you into a zombie. That’s why zombies are so rare.
Old Ren also said that, even from a distance, he could smell corpse energy coming from the museum, specifically from the mummified corpse. Rufina Howard confirmed this today.
"And that corpse?"
"Ethan, not only is there corpse energy, but also a hint of Taoist magic. That mummified corpse is likely a Taoist priest."
This chapter isn’t over yet~.~ Click next page to continue reading!
I immediately remembered—the museum storyteller mentioned a rumor about a Taoist coming to subdue zombies.
The chance of someone bitten by a zombie becoming a zombie is even lower than a corpse spontaneously transforming. Most are caught and burned before they can bite anyone.
We lingered in front of the museum, checking the surroundings, and found security guards everywhere. The most critical issue was—we didn’t have a key.
Just then, Ranran smiled and walked toward the museum. After chatting with one of the guards, she quickly became friendly with him. Soon, she led the guard away to a nearby bar after he said goodbye to his colleagues. We watched in stunned silence.
A short while later, Ranran returned with the key and handed it to us. I looked at her in amazement.
The number of pedestrians dwindled—the time was past midnight. Only the barbecue shop near the hotel was still bustling.
But there were still security guards around the museum.
At that moment, Rufina Howard took out five long purple talismans, chanting under her breath. After a while, she waved her hand, sending two talismans flying onto two patrolling guards. Instantly, their expressions changed—they wandered around, dazed.
The remaining three talismans flew into a small building beside the museum.
"There’s probably surveillance, right?"
"We’ll delete the footage later."
Rufina said, and with no one around, we strode over, opened the museum door, and went inside. It was pitch dark. After finding the switch and turning on the lights, we approached the platform holding the zombie.
"Go ahead, Ethan."
I made a sound of surprise. What we were doing was already a crime. I smiled, gathering malevolent energy in my hand. In that instant, the mummified corpse before me suddenly snapped its eyes wide open and stared at me.
I nearly dropped everything in shock, hurling the malevolent energy at the thick glass coffin. With a bang, a strange smell filled the air, and I quickly covered my neck.
Staring into the gaping, black eyes of the corpse, a chill ran down my spine.
Without a word, Rufina Howard stepped forward, cracked off the corpse’s hands with two loud snaps, and looked around.
"Rufina, you—"
Looking at the now mutilated corpse, I noticed its hands were crossed over its neck. Only now did I see that its neck was covered in sharp, tiny holes.
"It was probably drained of all blood by a zombie and died. Not sure if it became a Walking Corpse, but Ethan, look—even though the clothes are decayed, this thing..."
Rufina said, flipping the corpse over. I saw that although its back was splitting open, an octagram tattoo was still visible.
With a crack, the whole corpse shattered into pieces. I looked at the remains, then at Rufina Howard, and sighed—something big was going to happen in the village tomorrow.
After leaving, we found the surveillance room and deleted all footage from tonight.
"That’s not enough." At that moment, it was Ranran—drunk, standing at the door. As soon as she came in, she grabbed the computer with the surveillance data, opened the case, yanked out all the wires, and destroyed the hard drive and storage cards.
"Isn’t that a bit much?"
"If this blows up, it’ll be bad. Old Stone will be furious, and my paycheck is definitely in danger."
I burst out laughing. Then we left the museum together. Suddenly, I felt something strange—someone was watching me. Even though I hadn’t activated my ghost network, the sensation was chilling.