Gu Zheng Shun (Seeking Reads, Seeking Votes)

"Keep it for now. You can take a string of characters, scramble them, and hand them to someone else to translate."

Wang Yu muttered to himself.

Next, Wang Yu crossed the entire Corpse Raising Ground, coming almost to the very edge of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect's protective formation, beneath a Great Locust Tree!

"Brother Wang, you finally came. You were nearly half an hour late—I thought you didn't want this thing anymore."

Wang Yu narrowed his eyes.

A man emerged from behind a willow tree. He differed somewhat from the disciples of Heavenly Corpse Peak. The others were all gaunt and skeletal, their qi and blood depleted.

This man, however, was robustly built. Aside from the heavy dark circles beneath his eyes, there was nothing unusual about him.

A Locust Wood Black Coffin rested diagonally across his back. He spun a grayish-white arm in his hand as though idly playing with it, greeting Wang Yu as if nothing were amiss.

"Gu Zheng Shun, don't play games with me."

Gu Zheng Shun was an Inner Disciple of Heavenly Corpse Peak. When he had entered the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, he had taken a Foundation Establishment Steward from the inner sect as his master. He had a lineage behind him, and his master's master was even a Core Formation Elder of Heavenly Corpse Peak.

His backing could already be considered a towering mountain.

It was precisely because this man could produce a useless Second Tier Corpse Refinement severed arm, while only possessing Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivation, that Wang Yu had dared to trade with him.

"Ah, Brother Wang, that is rather unfair. This Corpse Raising Ground is secluded to begin with, with few people passing through. Encountering a little accident is perfectly normal—it was not intentional on Gu's part."

"Hmph—"

Wang Yu did not press the matter further. After all, that arm truly was something he urgently needed. "Here are one thousand Spirit Stones. Let's trade."

"Fine."

Gu Zheng Shun readily agreed and did not raise the price at the last minute. Normally, the prices of Second Tier Refined Corpses varied tremendously depending on their type and strength.

The expensive ones cost thirty or forty thousand, while ordinary cheap Refined Corpses could be bought for eight or nine thousand. Someone like Wang Yu, purchasing only a severed arm, was exceedingly rare.

But a Second Tier severed arm could only be used as food for an intact Refined Corpse, or kept as patching material. Its price was not especially high.

One thousand Spirit Stones was already quite a lot.

This severed arm had come from a Second Tier Divine Strength Corpse. Its strength surpassed that of Refined Corpses of the same tier. Once Wang Yu used it to repair his missing left arm, he would gain another means at his disposal.

Thus, he was not losing out.

Once the transaction was complete, Wang Yu turned to leave, but Gu Zheng Shun called out, "Brother Wang, please wait."

"What else is it?" Wang Yu asked with a frown.

"It is nothing major. I heard that Brother Wang has a Profound Bone Token. I wonder if you would be willing to trade it to me."

At those words, Wang Yu's heart turned cold. That dog-bred Zhao Shang had sold him out again!

The Profound Bone Token was closely related to his later plans for leaving the sect. There was no chance he would trade it away. Moreover, there were only a few months left before the five-year rotation, yet Zhao Shang had suddenly revealed it to Gu Zheng Shun.

Was he trying to kill with a borrowed knife?

If so, then the condition for Gu Zheng Shun's cooperation with Xu Jiao Jiao had most likely been this token. It was quite the prized morsel.

His eyes shifted as Wang Yu asked in return.

"The Profound Bone Token—I have it.

"I presume Brother Gu learned of it from that bastard Zhao Shang. What use do you have for this token? With Senior Brother's background, obtaining one should not be difficult."

Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng Shun first nodded, confirming the source of the information, then explained:

"The Profound Bone Token is connected to a resource site of the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect, Profound Bone Mountain, where a special material called Profound Bone Wood is mined.

"It provides tremendous aid to the growth of Refined Corpses. That is what Gu seeks. Is this explanation satisfactory?"

Wang Yu frowned.

"Why do you specifically want the one in my possession?"

Gu Zheng Shun paused briefly before continuing.

"There are two types of Profound Bone Token. One is an Extraction Token, while the other is a Mountain Lord Token. The one in your possession is a Mountain Lord Token.

"It can preside over all affairs at Profound Bone Mountain. There are only three Mountain Lord Tokens. Gu knows he cannot obtain the other two, so he can only set his sights on Brother Wang's."

So that was it!

Ever since obtaining this Profound Bone Token, Wang Yu had investigated information regarding it as well. But there was little he could learn, because Profound Bone Mountain was simply too far from the Mountain Gate.

The Red Kite Demon Domain contained twenty-three provinces. The five great demon sects divided the fertile lands and Spirit Veins among themselves.

The Inverse Spirit Blood Sect occupied four provinces in the west. Half of its border adjoined the Great Lake Spirit Domain, while the other half belonged to the Joyful Union Sect. They were somewhat stronger, possessing five provinces.

Profound Bone Mountain lay within one of the Four Provinces, in a place called Feng Province, far from Blood Abyss Province, where the Inverse Spirit Blood Sect Mountain Gate was located!

The mountains were high and the Emperor was far away; imperial authority could not reach the countryside.

This meant that the interests of Profound Bone Mountain could be controlled by the three Mountain Lords. The value of this token was far greater than Wang Yu had imagined.

Gu Zheng Shun had laid everything bare before him without concealing anything, but he had his own purpose as well.

"Brother Wang, what have you decided?"

Seeing that Wang Yu remained silent for so long, Gu Zheng Shun could not help urging him on. He also promised:

"I can exchange an ordinary Profound Bone Token for your Mountain Lord Token, and add one thousand Spirit Stones on top. Once we reach Profound Bone Mountain, you and I can form an alliance as well—advance together and retreat together.

"Profound Bone Mountain is not a safe place. It holds many dangers, and you do not know that side very well either. With Gu's assistance, you can quickly gain a foothold.

"As for Xu Jiao Jiao, I guarantee that not a single word will leak out."

Beneath this sugar-coated barrage, Wang Yu immediately came to his senses.

The reason the other man had told him everything was because he had taken a fancy to Wang Yu's strength. After all, Wang Yu coming to this meeting meant that Xu Jiao Jiao was dead. She had been a Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator, not some weakling.

This attempt to win him over indicated that Profound Bone Mountain was more dangerous than he had imagined. Otherwise, Gu Zheng Shun, the grand-disciple of a Core Formation mighty expert, would not have offered him so many conditions.

"Fine! I agree."

Gu Zheng Shun was immediately overjoyed. He tossed back the one thousand Spirit Stones Wang Yu had just given him, then took out an ordinary Profound Bone Token and handed it over.

Wang Yu likewise gave the Mountain Lord Token to Gu Zheng Shun. Both sides were very satisfied with this transaction.

He was unwilling to show his face publicly. The Mountain Lord Token represented not only benefits, but also a great deal of trouble—it was a path to disaster.

Wang Yu had left home to seek refuge from disaster in the first place, while also washing away those abilities of his that could not see the light of day, giving himself more excuses to attribute them to fortuitous encounters.

Zhao Shang would certainly never have imagined that he would be willing to yield. After all, in their interactions, Wang Yu had always been domineering and sharp-tongued, almost never taking Zhao Shang seriously.

Gu Zheng Shun's scheme had failed. Instead, he had recognized Wang Yu's strength and swiftly made his choice, exchanging great benefits for Wang Yu's support. His decisiveness was not to be underestimated.

—A win-win!

With the transaction concluded, Gu Zheng Shun took out a Jade Slip and gave it to Wang Yu. It recorded a great deal of firsthand information about Profound Bone Mountain. After Wang Yu gave it a rough look, his heart tightened.

He only felt that the situation over there was incomparably complicated, and he could not help feeling somewhat hesitant. Yet if all went smoothly and he successfully gained a foothold, perhaps it could help him reach Qi Refining Peak even faster.

"Then Wang shall take his leave. See you in three months."

"Fine, see you again in three months."

After leaving that secluded place, Wang Yu encountered no further trouble on his way back. He was somewhat puzzled as to why he had not seen Su Qing Shan.