Refining Corpses

The fastest update to Seeking the Dao in the Mortal World!

Back at the Small Tavern, the Fat Shopkeeper was already inside, warming the wine and waiting for them.

Qin Yi didn't stand on ceremony and sat down opposite him, saying, "Now it's your turn to treat me."

The Fat Shopkeeper warily covered the wine jug. "I've cleared up your confusion, shouldn't you be treating me to more?"

Qin Yi scoffed, "You're the one who asked me for help; I'm being lenient by not asking you for money."

The Fat Shopkeeper glanced at him, then reluctantly poured him a cup of wine. "I've waited for almost half a year, and even the king has changed three times, and all I've got is a mere beginner at the fourth level of the Phoenix Realm... and he even has the audacity to ask me for help..."

"Get to the point, can we not bring up the whole 'changing the king' thing?" Qin Yi nearly spilled his wine in his face. "Besides, is the fourth level of Fengchu really that weak? Fine, I'm leaving! You think I'm going to meddle in some lousy town and lousy well?"

"No, no, no... He's still a helper, after all." The Fat Shopkeeper smiled apologetically and put a piece of meat on his plate.

Qin Yi outwardly expressed displeasure, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps it was because his cultivation attributes were too strong, coupled with his slender physique, that others were often misled by his cultivation level.

In reality, Qin Yi's cultivation time was relatively short, while his martial arts training time was much longer—over ten years, including the original owner's training period. In his combat strength composition, the fourth level of the Immortal Dao Beginning Immortal Dao was merely auxiliary; his true combat power currently lay in his Innate Martial Arts, which best complemented his use with the Wolf Tooth Club.

In fact, the combat ability of early-stage immortal cultivators is not necessarily comparable to that of martial artists. Dong Huazi's Phoenix Beginning Stage Seventh Layer Immortal Dao Phoenix Beginning Realm is clearly no match for Li Qinglin. An experienced top-tier martial artist is by no means weaker than an immortal cultivator at the Phoenix Initial Completion. Only when an immortal cultivator reaches the Qin Xin level, involving "cultivating the mind" and "the Dao Embryo," and comes into contact with some more profound Principle, can they be considered to be able to easily defeat mortal martial artists.

Although Qin Yi's martial arts haven't reached their peak, combined with the sharpness of his Wolf Tooth Club, he's basically comparable to a cultivator at the eighth or ninth level of the Phoenix Realm. Furthermore, his mastery of Daoist Arts gives him a significant advantage over ordinary martial artists; his actual combat strength should be considered to be in the early stages of the Qin Xin realm, roughly equivalent to a typical transformed demon.

The fact that he was able to single-handedly defeat Three-Eyed Wolf Demon in its Transformation Stage on the Witcher's desolate mountain is proof of that, and he has improved considerably since then.

Furthermore, now that Liusu has recovered a certain level of soul power, she can be of great help. If others only treat him as a low-level cultivator at the fourth level of the Phoenix Realm, they will probably suffer a terrible defeat.

"Since you want my help, shouldn't you at least tell me your name?"

The Fat Shopkeeper looked at him strangely. "Why do I always feel that you're really looking forward to hearing me say my surname is Pi?"

"Well..."

"You can call me Humble Origins," the shopkeeper said. "The Humble Origins that stands in contrast to the noble families."

"... I think you've got something wrong. Since when can even a Small Tavern owner in a town call himself Humble Origins? How can someone who hasn't reached the level of a county tyrant dare to call himself Humble Origins?"

"Social standing is relative," the shopkeeper said leisurely. "In this town, if Qingxu Temple and Wang Yuanwai are considered high-class families, then I am slightly better off than ordinary villagers, barely qualifying as Humble Origins."

That makes some sense.

"Compared to cultivators from prestigious lineages, someone like me, a self-taught cultivator, is considered Humble Origins," the innkeeper continued. "Compared to the Righteous Path of humanity, I, a demon living in seclusion here, am considered Humble Origins. Compared to the powerful Demon City, I, a wandering traveler, am considered Humble Origins. No matter how you compare me, I am not among the elite, but I am better off than ordinary people. What else could I be but Humble Origins?"

Qin Yi's heart stirred slightly, but he looked at his chubby face without saying a word.

"You've already asked me whether I'll give birth to piglets or mice, so you must be suspicious of my origins. A monster is a monster, but since you're suspicious, there's no point in trying to hide it from you..." Humble Origins took a sip of wine and laughed, "What, you want to slay a demon? You can't beat me, I'm a Transformation Stage Completion great demon, a great demon, you know."

"Yes, yes, the great demons in the Transformation Stage are all terrifying, majestic, and especially fierce."

Why do I feel like you're laughing?

"No, no," Qin Yi laughed. "I mean, since you think it's inconvenient for demons to live in seclusion among humans, and you know there's Demon City, why don't you go live Demon City? It's more suitable for you."

"Demon City..." Humble Origins's fat face twitched, as if recalling something extremely terrifying. "I've been there before. The Guo Country eat raw meat and drink blood, the Xiao Kingdom live in trees, and the only decent one is White Kingdom... The king said it was a Chenghuang, but to me it was clearly a Taotie! The first thing he said to me was, 'This Electric Mouse looks delicious!'"

Qin Yi: "..."

Humble Origins sighed, "The Demon City isn't suitable for all demons. Demons still retain strong animalistic instincts. Carnivorous demons, herbivorous demons, and other plant-based creatures remain on the same food chain. If you've ever been to the Demon City, you'll know that rabbit demons and sheep demons are rare. Their status in the Demon City isn't much higher than humans, unless they have high-ranking officials protecting them. Of course, someone like you, a complete novice, couldn't possibly have been to the Demon City..."

"Herbivorous demons..." Qin Yi was taken aback. He hadn't really paid attention to this, and now that he thought about it, he realized he had never seen any rabbit or sheep demons.

"The Chenghuang is supposed to be herbivorous, and its favorite food is all kinds of fruit..." The Humble Origins was extremely annoyed. "She doesn't eat people, so why would she want to eat me? Do I really look that delicious?"

"Chenghuang doesn't eat people!" Qin Yi's face remained expressionless, but his heart was churning.

What did Ying Li say back then?

Yes, Ying Li didn't explicitly say that Chenghuang ate people; he was just subtly guiding his thoughts in that direction. There was no other reason than to create more distance between this human and his king, preventing them from getting involved.

But does Cheng Cheng really need his Ying Li obstruction?

That's unnecessary.

Qin Yi sighed inwardly.

Humble Origins course, the poor man had no idea what was going through Qin Yi's mind. He just sighed and said, "It's better to go back to the human world. I can open Small Tavern, listen to music, sleep, and watch the kids play with firecrackers—nothing is more important than my life."

"Then you should find a place without cultivators to live in seclusion. What's the point of running off to the edge of a sacred mountain?"

The Humble Origins stared with his small eyes. "I was awakened here, I took form here, I existed hundreds of years ago, before Qingxu Temple even existed, I was the first one here!"

Now for the main point. Qin Yi slowly said, "So you're protecting the villagers? A monster?"

"To be honest, whoever wants to do stupid things like protecting the villagers can do it," Humble Origins said calmly. "But I can't let some selfish fools ruin this place. Where will I go when the land is barren and desolate?"

Qin Yi said, "I would like to hear the details."

"That Qingxu, he's long since reached the end of his life. He appears to be 'alive' now, but he's turned himself into a zombie, trying to achieve immortality." Humble Origins said, "A corpse hidden in the Gen earth is extremely incompatible with water, a sign of a great drought. You probably know that Drought Demon are based on this principle. If he's truly turned into a corpse, not only will the land be scorched for miles, but at least the lifeblood of this town will be cut off."

Qin Yi nodded slightly and asked, "You can't beat him?"

The Humble Origins retorted confidently, "I have no idea how strong he is; I haven't tried!"

Qin Yi: "??"

"Nothing is more important than my life. Who knows what kind of cultivation someone who can Refining Corpses has? What if he kills me just by glancing at me from afar?" Humble Origins said righteously. "Anyway, the art of Refining Corpses is not allowed in the Righteous Path. I can just lure someone else to deal with him, can't I?"

"... That makes a lot of sense." Qin Yi chuckled, "So you deliberately caused the Wang Yuanwai's house to run out of water. He has a large business, so by posting notices outside, maybe you can attract some truly skilled people to discover the problem and come to intervene?"

"That's right, we tried it once three years ago, but it failed," Humble Origins said. "But now, the deeper the Refining Corpses goes, the more severe the drought becomes, and the signs of the earth's veins are already visible in the sky. If I add some interference, let alone Taoist Qinghe's cultivation level, even if it were several times stronger, he wouldn't be able to draw water back into the well. The Wang Family's drought has already been reported to the county, which will surely attract some attention... But I didn't expect that after all this trouble, what arrived was actually a mere beginner at the fourth level of the Phoenix Realm..."

Qin Yi cupped his hands in farewell. "Farewell. You may continue to wait for the truly accomplished cultivators."

"Wait, wait, wait." Humble Origins tugged at his sleeve, forcing a smile. "You've seen it too. The people of Qingxu Temple have already decided to kill us. If the Wang Family members 'die of illness,' then no one will care about the water shortage anymore. If Qingxu completes the Refining Corpses, it'll be truly over. If we cooperate, there might still be a chance..."

"What's it to me?" Qin Yi turned and left. "Your life is more important than mine? Goodbye."

"Fire generates earth, and the earth's veins for Refining Corpses must contain yin fire." Humble Origins said from behind, "I observe that your Ming Tang a point on your face) is vigorous, and your eyes shine brightly. It seems you practice Fire Element Technique Method. Don't you have any interest in fire?"

Qin Yi didn't stop walking. He waved his hand and went straight out the door.

The Humble Origins stared in astonishment at his retreating figure, muttering to himself, "Did I misjudge him? Shouldn't this be a passionate, righteous young hero emerging from a sect, upholding justice and acting on behalf of heaven? How come he's even more of a coward than me!"