Two Dead Cities

Pure Heart Saintess spread her divine sense, enveloping both towns.

It wasn't just Upper River Town that was a dead city—Lower River Town was the same! The so-called lives of these people were nothing more than a group of corpses going through the motions!

No wonder the Red Dust Ancestor, whose very presence could shake the Dao hearts of immortals and gods, had stirred not a single ripple here. How could the dead feel anything for a beauty!

A chill ran down her spine. She had never seen anything like this.

There were eight small towns near the Red Dust Pure Land, and what worried Pure Heart Saintess was whether the other six were in the same state as these two.

The other six towns were far away, beyond the reach of her divine sense.

Fortunately, Jiang Li gave an answer quickly.

"The other six towns are normal." Jiang Li thought for a moment, then added an extra explanation, "All living people."

Pure Heart Saintess thought to herself that he might as well not have explained.

Pure Heart Saintess's divine sense could cover two towns because that was her limit.

Jiang Li's divine sense could cover eight towns because there were only eight towns.

Even knowing the other six were normal, Pure Heart Saintess couldn't muster any joy.

"How long has it been since anyone from your sect came here? If even a single Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator had shown up, things wouldn't have come to this."

This technique of keeping corpses acting as they did in life was extremely sophisticated. Only someone at the Spirit Transformation Stage or above could detect the anomaly.

Pure Heart Saintess explained in a low, dejected tone, "Spirit Transformation cultivators have already transcended the need for food. To the elders of the sect, Spirit Grain is a trivial matter—no need to worry about problems with it. So the sect only sends disciples with no hope of further advancement, Golden Core Stage cultivators, to station here. One Nascent Soul Realm manager oversees the eight towns, and that should be enough to prevent any issues."

"But now, there's a huge issue!" Jiang Li said gravely.

The two descended to the small tavern below, where the Shop Assistant greeted them warmly.

"Oh, two guests I don't recognize—must be from out of town. That's rare. Is this fairy from the Red Dust Pure Land?"

Seeing Pure Heart Saintess's stunning beauty, the Shop Assistant asked uncertainly. Pure Heart Saintess said nothing, only nodded.

"Shop Assistant, I have a few questions."

Jiang Li placed a Low-Grade Spirit Stone on the table.

"Guest, you really shouldn't—you two are honored guests from the Red Dust Pure Land, how could I take your money?" The Shop Assistant was startled and quickly refused.

After a bit of back-and-forth, the Shop Assistant still accepted the spirit stone.

Transactions here were done in copper coins; a single Low-Grade Spirit Stone was an extremely rare item.

Pure Heart Saintess raised an eyebrow slightly. The Shop Assistant's movements were natural and fluid, without the slightest stiffness. By sight alone, there was no telling him apart from a living person.

She examined him carefully with her divine sense and found a Gu Worm in his Dantian and another in his Sea of Consciousness—one male, one female. One controlled movement, the other controlled thought. It was a highly skilled corpse-controlling technique.

A technique unique to the Gu Tribesmen! And as far as she knew, the disciple stationed here was a Gu Tribesman!

She kept this discovery to herself, quietly watching Jiang Li and the Shop Assistant talk.

"Has any particularly beautiful fairy passed through here in the last few years?"

The Shop Assistant answered without hesitation, "Now that you mention it, two years ago—no, three years ago—a fairy as beautiful as a painting passed through here. Everyone dropped their meals and ran out to see her, but the fairy didn't even glance at us. She walked straight through barefoot. Some people wanted to follow her, but Fairy Yuan stopped them."

"Fairy Yuan is..."

"That's Fairy Yuan Ling, the one stationed here."

"So Fairy Yuan Ling saw this painting-like beauty too. What was her reaction? Did she look enchanted? Did she try to take the person away?"

The Shop Assistant was startled and quickly lowered his voice, "Guest, don't say such things. Fairy Yuan Ling wouldn't lose her composure like that. She was perfectly calm, just gave a faint praise—'very beautiful.'"

Pure Heart Saintess furrowed her delicate brows. Junior Sister Yuan Ling was a Gu Tribesman, so naturally she wouldn't be a descendant of the Red Dust Ancestor. Why wasn't she affected either?

Strange. Very strange.

Jiang Li, as if he hadn't noticed anything wrong, chatted idly with the Shop Assistant—about this year's harvest, where Yuan Ling was now, how many spirit stones the Red Dust Pure Land used to buy Spirit Grain, whether there was any skimming, and so on.

The Shop Assistant, thinking these two were investigators sent by the Red Dust Pure Land, answered everything truthfully.

Finally, Jiang Li asked with a grin, "Did you know you're already dead?"

The Shop Assistant looked bewildered. "Guest, what are you talking about?"

"Haha, just joking, just joking." Jiang Li laughed it off and let the confused Shop Assistant get back to work.

"Was it Yuan Ling?"

"Don't jump to conclusions. You heard it too—Yuan Ling wasn't affected by the Red Dust Fairy. This isn't as simple as it looks."

"Yuan Ling should only be at the Golden Core Stage. But judging by the level of Gu Worm cultivation, these people act just like the living, not even knowing they're dead. There's no way a Golden Core cultivator could pull this off."

"Besides, it's not just the Gu Tribesmen who know how to use Gu."

Jiang Li had traveled the world for many years and seen all kinds of bizarre things. Naturally, he thought more broadly than Pure Heart Saintess, who had only spent a few symbolic years down the mountain before returning to her sect.

Unfortunately, the Gu Tribesmen were in decline and had chosen to live in seclusion, so Jiang Li didn't know much about them either.

"Yuan Ling isn't here. No telling where she went."

"Let's go to Lower River Town. I sense a Golden Core female cultivator there—should be one of yours." Jiang Li swept his divine sense over both towns again but found no Golden Core aura in Upper River Town.

Du Xiner sat cross-legged within a cheap Spirit Gathering Array, cultivating diligently, but she had no idea what had been going on in recent years—her spiritual power had not increased in the slightest. She felt her body was like a leaky bucket; however much spiritual energy entered, that same amount leaked out.

"Maybe I really am not cut out for cultivation. Coming here was the right choice for me," Du Xiner said with a self-deprecating smile. She felt that choosing to come to Lower River Town was the correct decision. "Someone like me staying in the sect would only be a burden. Better to leave."

"Who said you were a burden?" A crisp voice sounded in Du Xiner's ear. She then noticed the Pure Heart Saintess standing before her, and beside her stood a rather handsome man.

But for some reason, tears seemed to be welling up in the Saintess's eyes.

How could the Pure Heart Saintess not feel sorrow? She had no deep impression of Yuan Ling, but Du Xiner left a lasting mark on her memory.

The Golden Core Stage junior sisters saw her as an exalted Saintess, too afraid to approach her. Among them, only Du Xiner had dared to frequently seek her out to ask about the Dao of cultivation.

And now, after a few years apart, they were separated by life and death.

In the Pure Heart Saintess's eyes, Du Xiner was also a moving corpse! "It is Senior Sister who has failed you. It is Senior Sister's dereliction of duty..."

The Pure Heart Saintess knelt on the ground, embracing Du Xiner, sobbing.

Du Xiner, not understanding the situation, could only maintain her cross-legged posture and gently pat the Pure Heart Saintess on the back.