True Cultivation of Youdao

The sky overhead was dim and lusterless, and a thin mist shrouded the loamy earth underfoot.

The winding, rugged path ahead resembled a great snake slithering over sand dunes, carving a trail into the woods that led to the unknown.

Xu Qing still remembered Liu Youdao's words before they set out: after sunset and a full meal, he would take them to the Yi Zhuang.

He wasn't sure what a Yi Zhuang was.

However, a little thought allowed him to make some educated guesses.

Liu Youdao was a bona fide corpse dealer, usually busy herding and selling corpses. If Liu Youdao could sell them to the Cui Family Mill before, perhaps today he would be reselling them elsewhere, and this place was likely the so-called Yi Zhuang.

As Xu Qing pondered, Liu Youdao, who was sitting at the front of the stretcher, suddenly intensified the ringing of his bell. At the same time, the leading zombie altered its path, veering towards the right side of the narrow road.

"Baa—"

From the left side of the path, a chaotic bleating of sheep could be heard.

Xu Qing's gaze was drawn that way, and he saw an old shepherd by the roadside ahead.

The old man was draped in a yellowed, curly sheepskin felt cloak and held a pipe in his hand. He puffed on the mouthpiece, his eyes fixed on the corpse-herding procession, much like an old farmer on a village field ridge, eager for a spectacle.

Xu Qing was utterly bewildered. Who would be out herding sheep in the dead of night?

But what puzzled him even more was yet to come.

As they passed the flock, Xu Qing detected no hint of the usual sheepy odor. In his experience, the pungent smell of sheep was enough to make your head spin whenever you passed a flock!

After the corpse-herding procession moved past, the shepherd cracked his whip, the crisp sound echoing clearly on the night path.

Xu Qing's confusion remained unabated. As he passed the old path where the shepherd had been, he deliberately paid attention to the ground, but he couldn't find a single pellet of droppings.

Sheep had straight intestines; they defecated wherever they walked. Wherever a flock of sheep passed, their droppings were easily found.

These sheep were not normal!

Xu Qing couldn't help but recall the folk legends of the Beast Creation Art, an evil technique that could transform living people into sheep that could only bleat.

As goosebumps prickled his skin, another figure, clad in red and floating without touching the ground, drifted towards them on the dirt road ahead.

"Sheep, delicious."

A gust of Yin wind swept by, and the woman's voice carried a low, dreamlike hum.

By the time Xu Qing snapped back to reality, the red-clad figure had already passed them.

His nostrils twitched, and he detected a lingering scent in the air – the peculiar incense smell that arose only when burning money for the deceased.

In the short distance of the corpse-herding journey, he had encountered no less than three unholy entities. Xu Qing's heart sank. How many more denizens of the underworld were there outside Linhe Fang?

Fortunately, after the woman in red drifted away, following the scent of sheep, he encountered no more strange people or events.

It was around the second watch of the night, a time when the night was profoundly still, as if even the insects and birds were weary and had ceased their calls.

The ethereal sound of the bell seemed to be a sound isolated from the rest of the world. Just as Xu Qing was wondering how much longer they had to travel, a faint light appeared on the pitch-black road ahead.

Xu Qing looked into the distance and vaguely saw the flicker of lanterns and torches, illuminating a building.

The Yi Zhuang was near!

At this point, Liu Youdao, who was sitting at the front of the stretcher, put away his censer, and the speed of the entire corpse-herding procession instantly returned to normal.

With the Yi Zhuang within sight, Liu Youdao's tension eased. He hopped off the carrying pole and walked forward at a leisurely pace.

The other zombies, carrying the corpses on the stretcher, followed closely behind.

But when they were still two to three li away from the Yi Zhuang, something extraordinary happened!

From the dark woods beside them, a man in a white robe, covered in blood, suddenly burst forth.

The man's eyebrows were sharp, and his eyes, with more white than black, were narrow like crescent moons.

He held his sword upside down and, with a smile, blocked Liu Youdao's path.

"Hold on, old sir. This junior is new to this area and unfamiliar with the directions. May I ask where this place is? And if I were to head north to Luojing from here, how far would it be?"

Liu Youdao looked at the young man. Seeing his extraordinary attire and appearance, and the bloodstains on him, he suspected he was no ordinary person. Adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble, he replied kindly, "This is the Yi Zhuang of Liucun Village. Fifty li to the south is Linhe. If you wish to head north to the capital, you must follow the Liucun road all the way east. It's about a hundred li to Jinmen Prefecture City. Once you reach the prefecture city, just keep heading north. Then, whether you travel by water or land, you can reach the capital directly."

"Thank you, old sir! This junior is in a hurry to travel, so I shall take my leave!"

With that, the eerily handsome youth in the blood-stained white robe rose from the ground as if clad in wings, and with a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, he tore through the air towards the northeast.

Liu Youdao bared his old yellow teeth. Judging solely by the young man's movement technique, he knew that the other party's cultivation must be far superior to his own.

It was fortunate that he was experienced and never easily offended people in the martial world, otherwise, he might not have lived to his current age.

After the brief interlude of asking for directions, Liu Youdao set off again. However, before he had traveled two li, another stranger on the road blocked their path!

And this time, there was more than one person blocking the way!

"I am Zuo Zixiong, a Baihu of the Jingji Divine Machine Camp. May I ask, old sir, if you have seen any evildoers from the Tianxin Cult pass this way?" Zuo Zixiong, clad in light armor and carrying two sabers and two swords, spoke first.

"This old man's eyes are dim, I haven't seen anyone."

"You old ghost dare to lie with your eyes open!" Cui Yuanlong, also a Baihu, grabbed Liu Youdao by the collar, his face fierce. "I can still smell the scent of the evildoer in front of you. Are you in league with the Tianxin Cult and intentionally harboring them? If so, we'll take you back to the capital for punishment first!"

On the side, Zuo Zixiong stepped forward and pulled Cui Yuanlong's hand away, his tone calm. "Old sir, perhaps you could think a little harder. As long as you tell the truth, we will not make things difficult for you."

As he spoke, Zuo Zixiong's hand seemed to rest casually on the hilt of the saber at his waist.

"..."

Liu Youdao had been in the Yinmen trade for many years, seeing all sorts of ghosts and people alike. Officials, however, were often more troublesome than ghosts, caught as they were between the living and the dead.

After a moment of silence, he finally recounted the story of the white-robed man asking for directions. Upon hearing this, Zuo Zixiong and Cui Yuanlong's thoughts instantly became clear.

What a perfect case of "hiding in plain sight"!

They had been pursuing the demon from the capital, and never in a million years would they have imagined he would dare to double back.

Without further hesitation, the two turned and hurried back in the direction of the prefecture city!

Liu Youdao watched them disappear, a growing unease settling in his heart for reasons he couldn't quite pinpoint. Something felt off.

Unable to figure it out, he decided to continue on his way to the nearby Yi Zhuang. As for what had happened tonight, he'd just keep it to himself.

"Where is the old man headed?"

Just as Liu Youdao was about to set off, a familiar voice called out from behind him.

"Old senior, I should thank you for selling me out. If not for that, I might not have been able to shake them. But in my life, I hate traitors the most. What do you think I should do?"

Liu Youdao's withered body trembled violently. He strained with all his might to turn his head, only to see the same white-robed demon from the Tianxin Cult, who had asked him for directions earlier, now standing behind him.

A flash of sword light, like a silken ribbon, cut through the air. He tried to explain, but only a gurgling sound escaped his lips.

His vision then began to fall downwards. In that process, he saw the blood gushing from his neck, his slightly hunched back, and the yellow dirt road behind him.

The white-robed man, his eyes as eerie as a ghost's, sheathed his sword. He then glanced at the Zombies standing frozen, still holding their poles.

"A mere parlor trick, unworthy of true refinement," he scoffed.

With a light snort, the white-robed man looked north before leaping away towards the southwest.

The night wind blew gently, carrying a strong scent of blood from the front of the stretcher.

Xu Qing, who had witnessed the entire event, was still in a daze.

The corpse driver who had refined him into a Zombie was dead?

Xu Qing, holding the bamboo pole, stood frozen, afraid to move.

Only when he confirmed that the corpse driver, whose head had been severed, truly wasn't getting up did he dare to shift his weight.

The moon was cold and the stars were sparse. The surrounding stench of blood might attract unwanted attention. Xu Qing dared not linger, but he didn't know where to go.

The Yi Zhuang ahead was a place for corpse dealers to conduct their business, so he definitely couldn't go there!

He couldn't just wander into the woods and become a roaming zombie, could he?

Xu Qing's mind raced. Suddenly, he had an idea, and his gaze fell upon Liu Youdao's headless body.

That's right! He still had the Duren Sutra. He could obtain more information by supernaturally guiding the departed!

With this thought, Xu Qing felt as if a fog had lifted, revealing a clear sky!

Releasing the bamboo pole, he approached Liu Youdao's corpse with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

The thick smell of blood in the air was like a potent drug, causing his Adam's apple to bob involuntarily.

So fragrant, truly so fragrant...

Xu Qing suppressed the primal desires lurking within him, held his breath, and focused his mind, striving to remain clear-headed.

The viscous blood was still stringing from the neat cut on the corpse driver's neck, unable to be fully absorbed even by the dry yellow earth.

Xu Qing forced himself to ignore the discomfort and reached out, placing the corpse driver's head back in its position, aligning it with the severed neck.

Floating in the sea of desire, the world is unpredictable.

As the pages of the Duren Sutra turned, the corpse driver's life began to rewind.

The corpse driver was an orphan, with no parents. The villagers called him Tiedan, or "Iron Egg," because he always liked to wander around the village in his open-crotch pants.

On the Qingming Festival when he was twelve, Tiedan, who had been raised by the village, did as he always did and sneaked to the graveyard not far from the village after dark to "borrow" food offerings.

Whether it was dried meat, steamed buns, or pastries and preserved fruits, if it was placed on a grave, he took it all, eating and carrying it away without hesitation!

This day was happier for him than New Year's. He couldn't understand why the adults were so sad.

An untamed child with no one to look after him, he had never heard the old saying that walking a dark path too often could lead to encountering evil spirits, let alone eating offerings from graves!

On the night of the Qingming Festival, as Tiedan was sitting by a prominent family's grave, eating preserved fruits, a pair of withered white hands with sharp nails suddenly emerged from the grave mound behind him!

Tiedan had no idea that the person in the grave had only recently been buried, nor did he understand the dangers of a reanimated corpse!

As he was forcefully pulled into the grave by the ghostly hands, all he could do was cry and yell for his godmother to come and save him.

A child with no relatives, raised by the entire village, how could he have a godmother?

You might think not, but he actually did!

However, his godmother was not a living person, but the old willow tree he had worshipped at the edge of the village.

To expect a willow tree to come and rescue him was sheer folly, wasn't it?

But if one were to investigate further, it was indeed quite mysterious.

Just as Tiedan was about to be dragged into the grave, a corpse driver appeared, shaking his bell as if descending from heaven, and pulled Tiedan back from the gates of hell!

The corpse driver told Tie Dan that when he passed the east end of the village earlier, he felt tired and leaned against an old willow tree to rest. While resting, he had a dream. He dreamed of an old woman in a green jacket with thick hair who struck up a conversation with him. She said her godson was lost playing in the west end of the village and asked him to help call him back if he passed by.

So, he came.

After Tie Dan heard this, he snuffled and decided then and there that he wouldn't go anywhere else, not even back to his village. He planned to dedicate himself to following the corpse driver and venturing into the world.

The corpse driver had no apprentices or children, and seeing how bright Tie Dan was, he took him in.

Time passed slowly. As the corpse driver stooped and grew old day by day, the young Tie Dan behind him gradually grew taller and began to shake a bell in his hand.

However, Tie Dan was lively from a young age and didn't follow the rules like his master.

The old master had repeatedly warned him that corpse driving must have its limits. Corpses of those who died of illness, drowned themselves, were struck by lightning, burned, or had incomplete limbs could not be driven.

But those whose heads were severed and then reattached, or who died by hanging or in a standing cage, could be driven.

In short, there were many profound subtleties to this!

Tie Dan agreed verbally, but after he took care of his lame master until his end, he completely let loose.

Whether they died unjustly, accidentally, or were poisoned by a lover with arsenic, he dared to drive them home!

In addition, he expanded his corpse driving business, learned the methods of refining corpse workers, and began acting as a black market dealer, selling them everywhere.

As a result, his reputation grew larger and larger in the Xiangyin area, and he naturally acquired a new moniker: Liu Youdao.

He was surnamed Liu because his godmother was an old willow tree.

He was called Youdao because everyone said he was a true cultivator with profound skill!

As the old saying goes, good and evil are of one's own making; fortune and misfortune are self-invited.

Liu Youdao earned considerable fame and fortune due to the broad scope of his business. However, because some of his dealings were not honorable, he secretly offended many people.

As he got older, he began to fear this and that, afraid that one day he would be sound asleep and suddenly a pair of hands would drag him into a grave!

What should he do about this? After much thought, Liu Youdao finally came up with an idea.

As the saying goes, a tree that is moved will die, but a person who moves will live.

At worst, he could pack his bags and leave. In a place where no one knew him, he could open a shop for spirit relocation and burial, and do readings for people. Wouldn't that be more comfortable than now?

Once he made up his mind, he packed his bags and, after wandering around, arrived at Linhe Fang. He opened a mortician's shop on Jingxia Street and, in just a few days, successfully handled several cases due to his excellent business acumen.

The biggest of these was the corpse workers needed by the Cui Family Mill!

Seeing this, Xu Qing basically understood what happened next.

Finally, he sighed.

Liu Youdao did not die unjustly!

You planned to wash your hands of the business and stop doing those against-the-rules things, so why couldn't you control yourself and engage in that guilty conscience-stricken trade again?

The Duren Sutra says: The human path values sincerity from the heart; the immortal path values life and constant good fortune; the ghost path values the end and constant misfortune.

Except for immortals, whether human or ghost, there comes a time when the last page is turned.

The Duren Sutra finally assessed Liu Youdao's life as Earth-grade, low-tier.

This was the first time Xu Qing had seen an Earth-grade rating!

In addition to the unexpected rating, the rewards obtained from this corpse-crossing were also very pleasing!

A Soul Herding Bell, a Corpse Driving Whip, and several books imprinted in his mind: the Thirty-Six Corpse Driving Curses, the Funeral and Memorial Book, the Yingui Acupoint Locating Method, Corpse Sayings, and the Corpse Nurturing Scripture.