"All right, all right. See? I'm fine, aren't I? Stop crying." Though she did not know what had happened, Du Xiner still comforted the Pure Heart Saintess softly.
But Du Xiner's words were like a knife plunged into the Pure Heart Saintess's heart, causing her unbearable pain. She barely rallied herself and introduced, "This is the current Human Emperor, Jiang Li."
Du Xiner covered her little mouth. "So this is the one Senior Sister always mentioned..."
Remembering something, she wiggled her brows at the Pure Heart Saintess and revealed a mischievous smile. The Pure Heart Saintess pursed her lips and smiled, though it was a strained smile.
"Human Emperor, Human Emperor, I heard your martial prowess is unmatched, that you are the foremost in the Nine Provinces, capable of anything in heaven or earth, able to stand shoulder to shoulder with immortals. Is that true?" Du Xiner asked curiously.
"I once thought I could do anything too, but now I've discovered that I can neither attain Ascension to Immortality nor reverse life and death. I am merely an ordinary mortal."
The atmosphere became somewhat delicate. Jiang Li helped the Pure Heart Saintess up and said, "The Red Dust Pure Land has recently been planning rotating assignments. Every Golden Core Cultivator will be sent down to small towns to experience life for several years. This time, I wanted to ask what suggestions and thoughts you have."
Du Xiner's eyes lit up. This meant she could return to the sect, but they soon dimmed again. She no longer had any possibility of making progress. Returning to the sect would only waste resources; she might as well stay here forever.
"I... I'm fine here."
"Mm. You fulfill your duties without leaving your post, work diligently without asking for anything in return, and continue cultivating earnestly after coming down the mountain. I will report this truthfully to Daoist Qingyu."
"Hey, how can you do that?" Du Xiner grew anxious and glared at Jiang Li with puffed cheeks. "And why is the Human Emperor handling matters of our sect?"
If the Sect Leader learned she had such an attitude, she would surely commend her and send a talented Senior Sister to replace her. Wouldn't that be wasting her Senior Sisters' time for nothing?
"Your sect's management standards are lacking. I'm offering Daoist Qingyu some advice." Seeing that Du Xiner still wanted to speak, Jiang Li smoothly changed the subject and casually asked, "Let's not talk about this. We didn't see Yuan Ling in Upper River Town. Where did she go?"
"Um—I don't know. Senior Sister Yuan Ling has often been leaving Upper River Town lately, and each time she's gone for several months. But she'll return during the autumn harvest. Um, that should be within the next few days."
Unable to find Yuan Ling anyway, the two simply stayed in Lower River Town to keep Du Xiner company.
Jiang Li took out the Remote Communication Talisman and called Zhang Konghu. "Kong Hu, go to the Southern Border and find the Gu Tribesmen. Investigate what level of cultivation is required to refine a Corpse Gu capable of making the dead move freely and remain unaware that they are already dead."
After hearing this, Zhang Konghu carried his bowl and rushed toward the Southern Border, ignoring Meng Jiang Emperor and Wei Emperor's calls of "Finish eating before you go!"
Several days quickly passed. Du Xiner felt that she had been living so happily. Senior Sister Jing Xin and Human Emperor Jiang were with her, teaching her cultivation, explaining cultivation knowledge, and telling her tales and curious anecdotes from the Nine Provinces.
She had even told Human Emperor Jiang about how her cultivation had stopped increasing. Human Emperor Jiang had merely patted her head and told her this was normal. Cultivation could not be rushed; things would gradually get better. He had gone through such times himself.
But Du Xiner did not see the dimness in Jiang Li's eyes.
How could a corpse's cultivation possibly improve? "Junior Sister Xiner, we still need to inspect the situation in other towns. It is time for us to leave."
The Pure Heart Saintess used her Divine Sense to detect that Yuan Ling had finally returned. A rare ferocity flashed through her eyes, but it vanished in an instant before Du Xiner could notice.
The Pure Heart Saintess and Jiang Li flew to Upper River Town with perfect tacit understanding and pinned the drunken Yuan Ling to the ground.
"Who are you people?! How dare you lay hands on me in our Red Dust Pure Land... Senior Sister Jing Xin?"
At first, Yuan Ling was fierce and vicious with drink emboldening her, but the moment she realized it was the Pure Heart Saintess, she immediately behaved herself.
The Pure Heart Saintess said nothing. She grabbed Yuan Ling and brought her to an empty room, then threw her into a corner. The entire process was exceedingly rough, with no regard whatsoever for the Saintess's former graceful and dignified image.
To become a disciple of the Red Dust Pure Land, Yuan Ling was naturally quite beautiful herself. As a Gu Tribeswoman, even after leaving her clan, she still liked to adorn herself with silver earrings and hair ornaments. Her clothing was also rather revealing, easily stirring men's interest.
The Pure Heart Saintess hurt her badly, scattering her silver ornaments and tearing her revealing clothes further, yet she did not dare utter a single cry.
Yuan Ling had never seen the Pure Heart Saintess so furious.
Jiang Li silently followed behind her, letting the Pure Heart Saintess vent. Jiang Li was angry about what had happened, but the Pure Heart Saintess was even angrier than he was.
Two entire towns of the Red Dust Pure Land had become lands of the dead. She believed this was her dereliction of duty—a grave dereliction of duty!
"Speak! What were you doing? Why didn't you return for months?"
"There's nothing here, only a bunch of mortals who know how to farm. I went to the Meng Jiang Dynasty to have fun for a while." Yuan Ling answered obediently, then hurriedly defended herself, "But I came back every autumn harvest. Look, every year I handed over the Spirit Grain on time and according to plan. Never once was I late."
It felt as if a ball of fire burned in the Pure Heart Saintess's chest, yet she could neither spit it out nor vent it.
Yes. It was precisely because there had never been a problem with the Spirit Grain that no one came to inspect.
It would have been better if there had been a problem with the Spirit Grain—then the problems with these two towns could have been discovered!
"Then why isn't there a single living person in all of Upper River Town and Lower River Town?!" the Pure Heart Saintess asked through gritted teeth. Yet her tone was less an interrogation than a furious rebuke.
Yuan Ling froze after hearing this, sweat immediately beading on her forehead. At first, she had thought Senior Sister Jing Xin was furious only because she had abandoned her post without permission. She had thought the matter of using corpses was already behind her.
"S-Senior Sister, what are you talking about..."
"Answer me!" The Pure Heart Saintess's shout was so loud that Yuan Ling's heart seemed to skip a beat.
She forced herself to explain in a stammer, "I... I didn't want to do it either. Going to have fun in the Meng Jiang Dynasty required Spirit Stones, so I took a little from the Spirit Stones used to purchase Spirit Grain, just a little... Those troublesome peasants thought I gave them too few Spirit Stones and refused to work. I was furious at the time, so I killed several of the troublemakers leading the protest..."
"Then people started shouting that they would report me to the sect. My mind went blank, so... so I killed them all. Afraid the sect would discover it, I used Corpse Gu to control their dantians so they could continue planting Spirit Grain. Look, Senior Sister, if they plant Spirit Grain, we won't need to give them Spirit Stones anymore. Isn't that wonderful?"
What Yuan Ling did not say was that after she raised the Corpse Gu with corpses, the sect still issued Spirit Stones for her to purchase Spirit Grain. Naturally, she would not give Spirit Grain to a group of dead people. She spent it all on pleasure in the Meng Jiang Dynasty instead.
"What about Lower River Town?! Du Xiner is your Junior Sister. How could you bring yourself to do that?!"
Yuan Ling said tearfully, "I had no choice. Lower River Town was too close to here. I was afraid Junior Sister Du Xiner would notice something suspicious, so I killed her too. While I was at it, I killed everyone in Lower River Town as well."
Yuan Ling cried, "Senior Sister, you are magnanimous and merciful, so please forgive me this once. I didn't do it on purpose!"
The Pure Heart Saintess said coldly, "Do you know that you are already dead?"
In the eyes of the Pure Heart Saintess and Jiang Li, Yuan Ling was also a corpse controlled by a Corpse Gu—only, she herself was utterly unaware of it!
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