After crossing over, he has no taboos among the zombies.

Chapter 1355

As Qin He stood in front of the Long family mansion, he happened to see a group of guards dressed in tight-fitting clothes carrying several huge wooden boxes into the house. The medicinal fragrance seeping from the cracks in the wooden boxes was mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood—the unique scent of the healing elixir "Blood Velvet".

The vermilion gate was a full two zhang tall, with lifelike dragon patterns carved on the copper rings. After a hundred years of rubbing, it had developed a warm patina. The guards at the gate had their swords drawn half an inch from their sheaths, and their eyes were as sharp as eagles.

The two white marble lions, each about ten feet tall, stood before the gate, their eyes gleaming fiercely. Their beards were thick and bushy, and a faint spiritual energy flowed around them. These were auspicious guardian beasts nurtured by spiritual patterns. At this moment, the spiritual light in their eyes was even stronger, clearly indicating that they had been activated to a state of alert.

Several servants hurried past carrying the bound iron chains, their steps quick but they dared not utter a sound, and they even subconsciously shrank their necks when passing the stone lion.

The sounds of clashing weapons, chanting of martial arts techniques, and the hum of alchemy furnaces could be faintly heard from inside the mansion. The clash of weapons was a well-organized joint attack practice, while the hum of the alchemy furnaces was more rapid, accompanied by the alchemist's low shout, "Keep the fire steady!"

Beneath the surface of prosperity lies an unspeakable tension. This is the Long family, the most prominent family in Yunlai. When the pillar of the family is in danger, even the deepest foundation cannot hide the anxiety.

Following the directions of passersby, Qin He circled around to the side courtyard on the west side of the mansion.

Even before we got close, we could hear a great commotion.

Five temporary sheds were set up in the open space of the side courtyard. The steward of the Long family, dressed in a blue close-fitting outfit with sweat dripping from his forehead, was directing his servants to distribute spirit stones to the cultivators who were queuing up.

Everyone who stepped forward to register, regardless of their cultivation level, received a brocade bag containing fifty spirit stones, which was called "tea money".

Several accountants sat behind a table, quickly registering the information of the applicants. The inkstones, brushes, and paper were piled up like a small mountain. One of the accountants' brushes were even curled. He kept adding water to the inkstone to grind the ink.

"The Long family is indeed wealthy and powerful!" A ragged cultivator in the queue muttered to himself, holding a brocade bag. "Other families settle accounts afterward, but here they give you a tea fee just for registering. They're sparing no expense."

"However, if we can really rescue the Dragon Family Patriarch, the Dragon Family will probably be willing to give a reward."

The cultivator beside him sneered, but couldn't hide his excitement: "What's sincerity? We'll give you another two hundred high-grade spirit stones if you come back alive, but the Dragon family's expression clearly shows that this is a mission with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death."

The cultivator paused and added, "The three Divine Bridge Realm cultivators who signed up yesterday went to buy the highest-grade Heart Protection Pills last night."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of Dragon Knights escorted a carriage covered with a black cloth, and the stretcher and coffin inside could be vaguely seen, making the atmosphere even more somber.

The group consisted of all sorts of people, including independent cultivators, sect disciples, and mysterious figures, with cultivation levels ranging from the Dao Palace Realm to the Other Shore Realm.

An elderly man from the Other Shore Realm walked to the front of the shed, and the steward immediately bowed to greet him and led him to the depths of the side courtyard—that was the meeting place of the Long family's high-ranking members, obviously for a private discussion.

Qin He mingled in the crowd, a smile flashing in his eyes as he looked at the wooden sign in front of the tent that read "Rescue the Ancestor, and a Valuable Treasure Will Be Given".

The Long family is clearly in a hurry, and that's a good thing.

When it was his turn, the steward looked up and scanned him, his spiritual energy probing his entire body.

Qin He deliberately suppressed his cultivation to the mid-stage of the Dao Palace Realm, a realm that was neither too high nor too low—more stable than the early stage of the Dao Palace Realm, yet less likely to attract attention than the Divine Bridge Realm.

"Name? Cultivation level?" The steward picked up his pen to record.

"My name is Wei Wu, and I am at the mid-stage of the Dao Palace Realm."

The steward nodded and handed over the brocade bag: "Gather here at dawn in three days. We will depart together. No one may leave the group without permission. You must obey the Long family's command. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

The brocade pouch felt heavy in his hand, cool to the touch from the spirit stones. Qin He stroked the dragon embroidery on the pouch's opening, sensing the faint residual spiritual energy. This was an item hastily made by the Long family.

Just as Qin He took the brocade bag, someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.

"Excuse me, sir, please wait a moment."

He turned around and saw four people standing in front of him.

The leader was a burly man with a bare upper body, tanned skin, and muscles that bulged like dragons. He carried two short hammers at his waist and exuded an extraordinary aura.

This was a typical conjoined cultivator. The man grinned and said, "I am Zhou Shan, a late-stage Dao Palace cultivator. I would like to invite you to join my team."

"These three are my companions, Liu Yu'er, Zhao Xiaojia, and Wu Gou. I would like to invite you to join me on this trip." Zhou Shan stepped aside to make way for the three people behind him and introduced them to Qin He.

"Team up?" Qin He raised an eyebrow and looked at the group.

Liu Yu'er was a woman dressed in green, holding a silver sword, with a jade hairpin in her hair, and beautiful eyebrows and eyes.

Zhao Xiaojia was a twenty-year-old youth in the middle, with bright eyes, a bulging body, and talismans sticking out.

Wu Gou was a thin man in a gray robe with scars on his face. His fingertips were always unconsciously rubbing the curved knife in his hand. When he looked at Qin He, his eyes lingered for a moment on Qin He's brocade pouch and storage bag.

“That’s right.” Zhou Shan lowered his voice. “The Ghost Ship area is dangerous. There are black miasma that can cloud the mind and sea monsters. Last year, a caravan accidentally entered the area and didn’t even leave a distress signal.”

"If we team up and look out for each other, we'll have a better chance of survival if we encounter danger, and if we do find rare treasures, we can work together to dig them out so that others won't steal them from us."

Liu Yue's voice was clear and melodious as she added, "The three of us are independent cultivators from the vicinity of Yunlai. Brother Wu is a friend we just met. If you come, we'll be all together. Five people, no more, no less, just right."

Qin He pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "I am Wei Wu. I will trouble you all to look after each other on our journey to the Ghost Ship Sea."

"Haha, okay, it's settled then. Let's find a tavern, grab a bite to eat, and then we can come up with a plan." Zhou Shan was overjoyed to hear Qin He agree, patted Qin He's shoulder heavily, and said with a smile.

Just then, a bell rang from the depths of the side courtyard, striking three times in succession. The deep sound of the bell silenced the entire courtyard for a moment.

The steward stood on the shed and shouted: "Attention all cultivators, assemble early tomorrow at noon to collect the specially made protective talismans and boat tickets from the Long family. Board the ship promptly at 5 a.m. the day after tomorrow. No delays are allowed."

The crowd stirred immediately; no one had expected them to set off ahead of schedule, which only confirmed the Long family's eagerness.