Bonded Corpse

Outside this border city, most corpses had already been transported by the corpse haulers.

Therefore, Xu Ran naturally knew about the Powdered Corpse Ning Caize had just mentioned.

Thus, after hearing this, he shook his head. "In terms of visual and olfactory impact, it definitely isn't as strong as that corpse. But, well, anyway..."

He was still muttering mysteriously, unusually timid and evasive.

He looked so irritating that someone might want to grab an iron shovel and smack him.

Still, after he put it that way, they at least had a rough idea of what to expect.

It was definitely sinister, but as long as it wasn't too disgusting, it probably wouldn't be too excessive, right?

Yes! After coming to this Corpse Burial Wasteland, even if these corpses were monsters, they would coil up; even if they were evil, they would lie down. In the end, they would obediently be buried by them!

Seeing that they had already worked themselves up mentally, Du En didn't need to waste any more breath. He simply took the lead in digging.

Estimating the corpse's shape and size, they dug a suitable pit. Since it was a sinister corpse, they dug as deep as possible.

The Yin Evil Black Soil transformed into wisps of black vapor. At this hour, before the sun had risen and spread its light, it was not easy for the vapor to dissipate, and it seeped into everyone.

The corpse buriers were already used to it. They found it much more bearable than yesterday's rain, so it wasn't a major problem.

But Xu Ran, this guest corpse hauler, felt as though he had suffered misfortune for eight lifetimes. Even digging soil made his teeth chatter with cold!

"Hiss! So cold! What is this—right, Yin Evil seeping into the body. How do you even endure it? No, that's not right. Old Ning was left with a chronic illness because of this..."

"You brat, don't spout nonsense. How could I start coughing just because of something this simple? Cough, cough, cough..."

Eager to salvage his dignity, Ning Caize had only spoken halfway before inhaling the Yin Evil black vapor and erupting into violent coughing, making the rest of his sentence utterly unconvincing.

Du En paid no attention to this little interlude that eased the tension.

What concerned him at this moment was that corpse.

Through his estimations, he noticed that something was wrong with it. It didn't seem like a single corpse?

He frowned inwardly and silently quickened his pace.

With the pace driven faster, by the time the sunlight finally arrived late, a large pit had been dug.

"Push the cart straight in?" Ning Caize said anxiously and impatiently. "That doesn't seem to work. Unless we take off the wheels, it isn't deep enough."

He contradicted himself as he looked toward Du En.

The others also turned toward him in unison.

Du En's eyes remained calm. He only asked Xu Ran, "You're not keeping this cart, are you?"

"Uh, probably not. In any case, I don't think the boss and the others want to see it again." Xu Ran sounded uncertain.

Du En nodded silently. "All right. Since you don't want it, give it to us."

"Huh? This... isn't impossible, but, uh, is now really the time to discuss that?"

Xu Ran's face grew somewhat wooden. Although he had interacted with Du En many times and they could be considered familiar with each other, he still couldn't quite keep up with Du En's rhythm at a time like this.

Almost instinctively, he looked at the others, then was astonished to find that after hearing this exchange, they had actually calmed down.

So that was it—stabilizing the troops' morale!

No. I'm just thinking that if we don't discuss it now, you might take the cart and run after we finish burying the corpse.

Du En thought this silently.

Although this corpse hauler's handcart was not particularly valuable, its basic materials were quite sturdy. Moreover, after being steeped for years in the blood and corpse fluids of Qi Refining cultivators, it already counted as the embryonic material of a magical artifact.

Of course, that was not the only reason Du En had his eye on it. There were two others.

First, it could be used as a means of transport. He could put tools, prey, medicinal herbs, and other things on it instead of carrying everything around when hunting or doing something else.

Second, it could serve as bait, attracting carrion-eating birds and beasts. Its effectiveness was comparable to that of a fresh, rotting, stinking corpse.

The only problem was that it would be difficult to haul it to the small courtyard because the road was not wide enough. He would have to chop it apart and modify it afterward.

Xu Ran had no idea that Du En was thinking about such things.

Seeing that morale had stabilized, he was instantly filled with admiration!

As expected of someone born suited for the corpse-burying trade. The moment he arrived in this border city, he had immediately brought it back to life!

Seeing the admiration in Xu Ran's eyes, the other corpse buriers also could not help but raise their heads and puff out their chests, as though the praise had been directed at them.

Of course, no matter how idly they imagined things to distract themselves, they still had to gather their emotions and face today's urgent sinister corpse.

"Let's begin."

Du En spoke as he arrived at the proper position.

"All right, let's begin. You all stand back."

Now that the moment had arrived, Xu Ran's nervousness surged once again.

But Du En did not give him any chance to let it develop. He drove the shovel into a gap, then levered it up violently, prying the Corpse Bag off the handcart and sending it flying into the large pit.

His eyelids lowered slightly.

That last heave had carried some lingering remnant resonance. Passing through the Corpse Bag's seal, it traveled along the iron shovel and tried to influence and interfere with him.

But it was merely a remnant resonance. Let alone the fact that his Yellow Earth Technique had already reached mastery—even with the Minor Accomplishment he had possessed yesterday, he could have driven it back and dispersed it without changing expression.

This is the first time...

Du En thought silently as he watched the Corpse Bag be dispelled, revealing the corpse inside.

"Ugh!"

Wei Ming, the youngest among the corpse buriers, had never been baptized by the Powdered Corpse. The instant he saw the body, he could not help forcing a short whimper from his throat.

Although the other corpse buriers did not change color drastically, they all frowned tightly.

It was a corpse—no, it should be two corpses fused into one.

Two men had been murdered. Their hands were clasped tightly together and raised high, while their feet pressed against each other and kicked straight out, like close friends who had shared hardships and faced life and death together.

One man's face had been stretched open and fixed in a wide grin, with fear and despair lingering within it. The other's face had not been fixed. As the flesh rotted, it swayed faintly, looking like it was crying and laughing at once.

"Tsk! Just trying to create a sense of mystery!" Ning Caize declared, demonstrating his extensive experience. He could not help sneering. "It's only the flesh of their hands and feet that's stuck together, and the two faces are somewhat..."

There was actually a subtle unease in his heart. As he spoke, he could not help staring intently at the corpse. Then, all at once, he stopped talking. Like a man who had seen a ghost, he widened his eyes and gaped.

"Ah, this... ah, this..."

He babbled incoherently, hurriedly looking up at Xu Ran for confirmation.

Xu Ran withdrew the Corpse Bag, hooking it with the iron shovel. He merely nodded, indicating that it was true.

"Ah!"

Ning Caize immediately cried out and staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground, leaving the other corpse buriers baffled.

At this moment, Du En's calm voice rang out. "The leader of the Blood Eagle Gang and the leader of the Iron Hand Gang. I never expected that those two were the ones killed by an Evil Cultivator and made into this."

"Huh?"

"What?!"

This time, the other corpse buriers were frightened as well.

The corpse itself did not possess excessively dense evilness—or rather, that evilness was hidden subtly. But the identities they had held in life were enough to frighten the people struggling to survive in the Shack District out of their wits.

They had been bullying and extorting people, amassing wealth through ruthless levies, crushing countless households until they were broken and destitute, while growing ever stronger themselves. They had already reached the Late-stage Qi Refining realm and were unrivaled among the Underlying Layer. The leaders of the Bully Gang—two of them—and they had actually died?!

They had died without the slightest ripple, only to be made into this posture of intimate friends and family after death, fused together as one, their bodies stuck together!

"Ah!"

"Ah!!!"

Just like with the Fried Corpse last time, its evilness had erupted and revealed itself while it sank into the pleasure of its delicious meal. Now, when people realized the identities of this Bonded Corpse, its evilness suddenly exploded, following their fear and hatred of the two gang leaders as it tore open their emotions and minds.

Poof~

A handful of yellow soil was tossed down onto the corpse.