The Geared Immortal

New Journey: Chapter 6

/*unedited*/

Under the chaotic and dangerous situation, two figures began to frantically move roundabout beside a black wagon. It has taken them a lot of time as they carefully set up an array formation on the ground.

Shin Jiao and Ling Ya tried their best to quickly finish the array. She didn't know whether this array would work against the undead creatures, but it should be as it works well against demonic creatures. She calls this array the hallowed ground or the sanctuary. This array emits a certain Qi which would affect those with evil aura in their body.

While Shin Jiao is assisting her, he can clearly see the gathering of white energy in this place. This means that this array gathers the holy energy in the surroundings. Shin Jiao felt baffled at the array and began to study it secretly.

His glasses carefully took pictures of the array and how it was formed step by step. This would be an additional knowledge for him after this so-called hallowed ground is finished. The array formation Shin Jiao has learned from Gubu's records is varied and very intricate but the world is too vast and there is no limit to what knowledge he can gain by learning and experimenting. Every now and then one can discover new things and the array in front of Shin Jiao one such thing.

It took them a while before finishing the array, and as usual once Shin Jiao is concentrated in researching something his attention was solely focused on it. This is one of his traits that are both negative and positive. Luckily in his mission, while he was on earth he didn't encounter accidents while he is deep in thought.

But now it is different, it seems that his absolute sense and his danger sense are connected. No matter how deep his thoughts are, he would always be warned by his senses.

Hence while working at the array, he is always aware of the situation in the village.

"We're done here. Can you please help me call some survivors to take shelter in this array formation?" Ling Ya said as she also noticed the destruction happening around them.

Shin Jiao nods his head and immediately disappears from where he stood. His sudden movement gave Ling Ya a little surprised and taken aback. Though she has high cultivation than the young man he is able to move faster. And she was really amazed at the young man's knowledge in an array formation. Without his help, she would not have finished the complicated formation this fast.

"What an interesting young lad… Hopefully, Jin is okay, this horde is not normal. I think these things are being controlled. And with their numbers, the controlled could not fully utilize their prowess or else we are all in trouble." Ling Ya muttered as he gazes turn towards a direction.

…

Meanwhile, Shin Jiao is currently running towards a location where he suddenly felt some strange sensation. His gaze is currently locked on a strange moving dark aura from a distance. He didn't know why but he is really attracted to the aura as if it is pulling him towards it.

"This aura seems to have a thick darkness element in it. This is weird… it's even giving me Goosebumps…" Shin Jiao muttered as his shadow can be seen weaving through the walls and the houses.

Shin Jiao ran as fast as he could as he follows the aura. Using his eyeglasses the line of sight obstacle is useless to him as his glasses like his old goggles would see infrared and aura. As he keeps on chasing after the eerie aura he suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a crossroad.

Then from the dark alley, a number of undead beasts slowly pour out like an unending tide.

"Damn… is this a trap?" Shin Jiao muttered.

Graaahh!!!

Suddenly Shin Jiao heard a voice that seems to be not from the beasts. It is clear that the source of it is like those zombies from the movies he has seen on earth. So Shin Jiao tried to scan his surroundings, but due to the number of undead beasts, it is hard for him to identify his target. Even using his absolute sense in this situation is still not feasible.

"I guess I have to clear this area first before I can search for that dark aura." Shin Jiao said as he grabs the sword inside his spatial tool.

He didn't bother in concealing that he has a spatial tool because right now he is alone.

As the undead creatures' creeps near him, Shin Jiao began his onslaught. No matter how many the undead beasts are, they immediately fell on his sword. He used shadow steps and the three sword skills he has; bursting point, humming blade, and perfect defense sword. These skills made him look like the God of death claiming the souls of the undead creatures around him.

When all of the undead beasts fell, Shin Jiao found himself facing two tall zombies. The corpses of the undead beasts are all over the street, while Shin Jiao's figure is currently standing in the middle of the street. The two tall zombies have made their move a long time ago while Shin Jiao made his move against the horde. But the two are unsuccessful in grabbing him as he is like a loach in muddy water. And with his speed and danger sense, he is able to evade those decrepit hands full of sharp claws.

"So this is how you guys look like… I would admit that you both are disgusting." Shin Jiao said as he looks at the two zombies standing in front of him unmoving.

Their rotting bodies clearly show that they have died while fighting against a powerful creature. From the looks of it, the two have died with just one hit from that creature. Since they are both gold core realm, then the only beast that can one-shot kill them is a level 5 beast or a level 4 beast king.

Graaahhh!!!

The zombies moaned as they suddenly move forward. This time Shin Jiao was a little surprise as the movements of the zombies are not sluggish at all. They move like normal humans, just a little coarse. They lack the finesse that a normal cultivator movement has.

"How can they move like this?" Shin Jiao thought as he observes his two opponents who are now starting to attack him.

Swoosh!!!

The sound of a sword cutting through the air reached Shin Jiao's ears. Upon hearing this he quickly uses shadow steps as he uses fine movements without wasting too much effort to dodge each of the incoming blades.

The two zombies are cultivators who use thin swords. One of them has a wind Qi aura while the other one has water Qi aura. Their tattered cultivator's robe of blue and green respectively shows that they are just normal cultivators that seem to come from this village.

"These things weakness should be their heads right?" Shin Jiao muttered as he took a stance to counter an attack.

When one of the zombies swung his sword, Shin Jiao immediately step forward while shifting his body to the right side of the zombie.

In this position, he now has a clear and unobstructed view of the zombie's right temple. So without a word, Shin Jiao immediately thrust his sword towards the zombie's head. As Shin Jiao's sword drew closer, the zombie suddenly turns its head facing Shin Jiao.

It didn't even evade the strike as its glowing ember like eyes seems to be looking straight at Shin Jiao.

Puchi!!!

The sound of sharp metal puncturing flesh enters Shin Jiao's ears. While his sword easily rips through the zombie's thick skull, Shin Jiao smiled at the easy win.

But before he can rejoice in killing the zombie, Shin Jiao suddenly noticed the zombie moved his hand towards his neck.

"What the heck!? This thing is not dead yet?" Shin Jiao shouted in shock.

He wanted to use a bursting point but his sword has already skewered the zombie's head so it is already too late. At this time Shin Jiao's only option is to dodge the incoming decaying hand. So he quickly moved his head as the sharp nails passed by nearly hitting his ear.

After dodging the clawed hand, Shin Jiao immediately twisted the sword which is currently skewering the zombie's head. By doing this the sword was able to slice the head in half.

Blood and brain matters scattered as the top portion of the zombie's head flew up after Shin Jiao shifted his sword and completely cutting the top portion of the zombie's head off. Shin Jiao immediately jumps back as Shin Jiao notices that the other zombie began to move towards him swinging its sword in a wide range.

Shin Jiao barely dodge the sword when he noticed the other zombie with half of its head now gone is actually chasing after him with one of it's hand-stretched forward trying to grab his neck.

"What the heck!? This thing is still moving? How?" Shin Jiao suddenly felt that something is not right as he quickly uses shadow steps to get away from the seeming accurate grasping claws of the zombie.

He not only has the problem with the claw chasing closely after him but also the sword currently swinging towards his body.

Shin Jiao decided to use his gun and began shooting the two zombies. Six silver flashes suddenly went off from Shin Jiao's hands and from that the two undead cultivators suddenly found themselves having three holes each.

One of them now has its head blasted completely, and two shots blasted both of their chests open. After attacking, Shin Jiao immediately distanced himself from the two powerful zombies. This time he was dumbfounded because though the zombies were stopped yet they didn't die.

Their rough breathing still lingers in the air and one of them still has its eye glowing ember.

"Damn it! How can I kill these things?" Shin Jiao thought as he carefully watches the two zombies.

He slowly positions himself in a striking position as Shin Jiao decided to fight the two zombies in front of him. He knows that if a regular cultivator faces one of these things, they would die with no question. So he needed to find the weakness of this new enemy of his.

Then Shin Jiao saw that one of them immediately lifted its head and seems that its gaze fell upon his figure. It suddenly moves forward, this time its body seems to be covered with a thin layer of light film.

"Shit! Qi field…" Shin Jiao cursed as he moved backward with rapid steps.

The zombies swung their swords towards him, as Shin Jiao dodge every attack and sent his own but would always be blocked by the Qi field of the creatures. Even the headless zombie is also emitting its own Qi field.

As Shin Jiao exchanged a few blows to both of the creatures, he found himself at a disadvantage. It seems that the two have almost an unlimited stamina and their Qi seems to be almost unlimited too. But this is due to what Shin Jiao has observed so far. The only consolation he has in this fight is that the zombies are unable to hit him.

"If this continues on like this then, I would definitely lose this fight." Shin Jiao thought.

This is the first time he felt so helpless against his opponent. As no matter how hard he attacks them, they won't flinch or even feel any pain. Plus the two zombies are way stronger than him so he is almost running out of options.

"I still have another way to end this…" Shin Jiao muttered as a sudden idea comes to his mind.

When he was just a trainee and a lowly student of his master, he saw his master one night standing on a shallow river.  At that time, he wanted to escape and have leisure time on the river. Upon discovering that most of the trainees in the camp are already asleep, he decided to stroll around the camp silently.

Nobody knows his real ability at that time and thinks that he is just a newbie. And so he stealthily avoided the guards and was able to get out of the camp.

While carefully weaving through the woods, he arrives at the river bank but suddenly stopped. This is because he discovers that he not alone and there is someone who came to the area first.

Shin Jiao decided to leave but he notices that there is something about the movements of the person currently standing in the river, so he decided to investigate.

He then discovers that the person is actually their instructor, a person whom he will call his master later on. Shin Jiao slowly crept through the woods and came closer. From his position, he can clearly see the movements of the man and the forms he slowly made.

"This is a new sword technique? I've never seen this one in the books." Shin Jiao thought as he tried to recall the things he learned from his research on martial arts and techniques.

As someone who likes to study, Shin Jiao excels in reading and learning then applying what he learned in an actual situation. Hence, he is skilled in many things.

But right now, right in front of his eyes, a new martial arts technique that he had never seen or read before is happening. So without blinking, he watches in awe.

The base instructor slowly and carefully executes each of the forms. And these forms also slowly embedded themselves in Shin Jiao's mind. Then Shin Jiao saw something incredulous, and that is whenever the sword touches the water it actually didn't even make any ripples. It was as if the sword and water are one.

Upon seeing this Shin Jiao gawked in amazement. But then before he can realize it, another impossible thing happened. Their base instructor finished the form and leaps out of water in one move. Then before he could land on the river bank, Shin Jiao saw the river exploding.

From the number of the explosion in the river, it seems that it was the same amount of number that the instructor's blade hit the water.

Shin Jiao was startled upon hearing the explosion which exposes his position. When he was discovered, the base instructor wanted to finish Shin Jiao off because he saw something that he should not have seen.

When the man brandishes the sword towards the young trainee in front of him he was immediately amazed.

Shin Jiao saw the movements of the instructor; hence as a martial arts enthusiast, his mind immediately went into thinking on ways to counter the move.

And so the two began to exchange blows. Shin Jiao didn't cower as he uses a stick to fight against the instructor's sword. And to the instructor's amazement, Shin Jiao was able to parry his attacks. This resulted in him becoming the instructor's disciple and learning the move.

The martial art move was called Primal Slicer.

It is a move that blends with the elements in one's surroundings. And once it becomes successful, one has the ability to cause chaos within one's desired target.

It is a very powerful technique that is very difficult to defend against. But sadly Shin Jiao was not able to finish his master's training as he was suddenly deployed. Upon his return, he learned about his master quitting the training camp.

Then before he quit the agency and after a long search, he learned that his master has died in the mountains due to an incurable disease. He then saw a manual that his master was keeping, and that manual is the complete form of the technique. Though he was not able to use it anymore yet he still learned it by heart.

Though Shin Jiao was not able to finish his training however he is confident that he can use it in this fight. Since he came to this world and began cultivating, his mind became sharper and everything in his memory became easy to access, though not all the time.

"If I can remember correctly, this is the first form." Shin Jiao muttered as he slowly held the sword on his hand pointing slanted towards the ground.

As he positions himself to have another bout against the two zombies, Shin Jiao's anxiety slowly faded.

His mind began to recall the moves and the pattern of movement, its crucial principle, and weakness. With this, his confidence rose and as he saw the incoming undead creatures he began to execute the moves in his mind.

The first slice was able to pass through the thin Qi field covering one of the zombies. Then the sword brushed against one of its arms. Just like the river water, the sword actually enters the arm like the sword on his hand and the zombie flesh are one.

In an instant, Shin Jiao's figure passes through one of the zombies. And before he turns around one of the zombie's arm suddenly exploded turning into powder. The explosion made the zombie stagger back and was thrown a few meters hitting its companion.

Shin Jiao felt elated upon seeing this, though the technique is a bit lacking still he discovers that it is effective. His only regret is that he didn't try learning it earlier. But now, he decided to master it so that he can use it against those opponents which are stronger than him.

Shin Jiao once again positioned himself to have another bout, this time his purpose is to make the zombie's body explode.

But this time he was dumbfounded as he suddenly saw the two zombies, ran away from him.

"What the?..." Shin Jiao didn't expect that the two zombies would run away.

So without a word, he immediately chased after them. But then before he can run further, from one of the corners of his eyes, he saw an aura which he is very familiar with.

"That… that is mana manipulation." Shin Jiao muttered as he stops on his track and immediately followed the location of the person who wielded mana.

He then saw a man being eaten by three undead beasts, while one of the undead beasts had its head cut off. It seems that the man fought with all his might but still lost his life. Then he followed the dark alleyway as he ran through the rooftop. Then he suddenly saw a little boy's leg being eaten by a dog-like beast. Shin Jiao didn't hesitate and immediately fired a shot and killed the undead dog.

Then he looks at the woman on the ground and he can clearly see natural energy or mana slowly forming on her head.. But he sighs heavily as he was too late to save the boy's leg, but at least he saved someone who could be a powerful mage.