The Unremarkable Little Taoist Master

The vampire had no idea how long he had been running, but he finally arrived at the mouth of a cave. Breathing heavily, he looked coldly at the dark entrance and walked in without hesitation. Once inside, the vampire quickly set up a simple barrier and began to regain his strength.

However, the Jiangshi King wasted no time and launched his strongest attack. The vampire was caught off guard and was violently slammed against the wall, looking quite disheveled with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, creating a terrifying sight.

In the eyes of the Jiangshi King, the vampire seemed to be the ugliest thing in the world. He attacked again. Seeing the Jiangshi King charge towards him once more, the vampire dared not take the hit head-on.

Instead, he rolled to the side, evading the Jiangshi King’s assault, which left a human-shaped dent in the cave wall. The vampire gasped in shock and thought to himself, “If he hits me, will I meet my maker?”

Fear began to settle in the vampire’s heart. He decided it was time to find an opportunity to escape. Taking the initiative, he launched an attack, sending a swarm of blood-red bats flying towards the Jiangshi King. The Jiangshi King did not dodge but instead spun around a few times.

His hands crashed into the red bats, which disintegrated into red mist without a single sound, vanishing without a trace. The corners of the vampire’s mouth twitched in despair, and he nearly shed tears, looking extremely pitiful. The Jiangshi King seemed to mock him, but with a body that was stiff like a corpse, any grin he had appeared to be a horrifying smile.

With no other options, the vampire lunged at the Jiangshi King, producing a dull sound upon impact. He opened his mouth wide, letting out a ghastly wail that sounded miserable. It turned out the Jiangshi King was impervious to blades and had an incredibly tough body, while the vampire was merely crashing into him. One could easily imagine the pain he felt.

The vampire’s eyes ignited with fierce flames as he unleashed two blood-red orbs of light, which struck the Jiangshi King with tremendous force. Caught off guard, the Jiangshi King let out a painful howl. Seeing the pain etched on the Jiangshi King’s face, the vampire transformed into a massive bat and swooped out of the cave, disappearing in a flash of red light.

As he vanished into the sky, the Jiangshi King shook his enormous head and surveyed the surroundings, realizing that his prey had escaped. Enraged, he roared loudly, sending echoes resounding through the entire valley. The Jiangshi King sniffed the air for the vampire’s scent, then leapt forward while emitting strange growls.

The valley began to tremble violently as the vampire sped ahead without looking back, frantically fleeing as if he had lost his mind. The Jiangshi King pursued closely behind, and from all corners of the valley, countless zombies emerged, trailing closely behind their leader.

The scene was utterly terrifying. The vampire felt a bitter sense of despair upon seeing the countless zombies behind him, realizing that he had truly stirred a hornet’s nest and that this situation would not be easily resolved.

With the vampire running for his life, the zombie horde followed relentlessly. He cursed the Jiangshi King and his entire family in his thoughts, feeling his stamina slipping away. The growing army of zombies weighed heavily on him; it seemed he might genuinely be trapped here.

Then, a thunderous roar echoed throughout the valley, sending waves of unease through the vampire. Suddenly, a large group of zombies appeared at the valley’s exit. They looked like ordinary zombies, not particularly strong, but there were many of them-at least a hundred zombies staring directly at the fleeing vampire.

The vampire forced a bitter smile, realizing that he was truly at the end of his rope. Just as he was preparing for self-detonation, a black-robed man appeared in the sky. With a flick of his hands, the hundreds of zombies ahead transformed into black mist, dissipating into the air with the wind. The vampire stared in shock at the black-robed man.

Astonished, the vampire looked at the black-robed man, feeling an overwhelming aura emanating from him. This sensation was reminiscent of only one being-Cain, the first vampire and the ancestor of the vampire lineage. No one knew how powerful Cain truly was, but this man’s aura was eerily similar, though Cain’s was laced with a bloodthirsty scent, while the presence before him radiated raw ferocity.

The black-robed man appeared even more powerful. The Jiangshi King stood back, watching as the black-robed man saved the vampire, but said nothing. Instead, he turned and let out a couple of roars, causing all the zombies to retreat like the receding tide.

Time passed, and the vampire managed to pry his eyes open, finding himself in what seemed like a humble dwelling. The black-robed man was sitting there, sipping tea. The vampire attempted to express his gratitude in broken Chinese, and the black-robed man responded with an enigmatic smile.

Then, in a cold tone, he asked, “Do you want revenge?” The vampire was taken aback, unsure of the black-robed man’s intentions. Noticing the vampire’s confusion, the black-robed man’s impatience became apparent as he glared at him, as if to say that refusal would mean immediate action.

The black-robed man looked at the vampire again and firmly repeated, “I’ll ask you once more: do you want revenge?” The vampire felt transported back to the moment when the Thousand-Faced Granny self-destructed to protect him, with his eyes void of emotion. He nodded quietly.

The black-robed man smiled and said, “I can give you power-immense power-but you need to do something for me.” The vampire’s expression grew serious as he looked at the black-robed man with confusion and asked, “You’re so powerful. What could you possibly need me to do?”

The black-robed man shook his head and said, “I am powerful, but this world has many others who are strong as well. In fact, there are plenty of individuals who possess the capability to eliminate me in an instant.” Upon hearing this, the vampire’s face reflected a moment of confusion, suddenly feeling as though he lived in two separate worlds.

The black-robed man seemed to revel in the vampire’s bewilderment, smiling as he spoke. “I can grant you power, status, and everything you desire, but the condition is that you must pledge your loyalty to me.”

The vampire began to recall vivid memories of his past, and a determined expression surfaced on his face as he nodded vigorously. Seeing the vampire’s acceptance, a smile crept onto the black-robed man’s face, exuding an air of nobility. He then reached into his robe and produced a small, crystal-like orb, radiating with immense power.