At the Limit

A day later.

Chen Luo, who had just started working as a corpse burier, was transferred away. The direction he was sent in was precisely the area where the valley lay.

That place was now claiming lives every day. The County Yamen already did not have enough corpse buriers, so with an experienced man like Chen Luo whose identity had been verified joining them, they naturally put him to work immediately.

"Just in time. The corpses here have been piling up for a long while. If they are not dealt with soon, something will happen."

When the soldiers guarding the checkpoint saw Chen Luo and the others approaching from outside the valley, they greeted them without the slightest suspicion. Then they led them to the corpse pile within the valley. They were the ones stationed here, and if the corpses were not handled properly, they would be the first ones in danger. Naturally, they were extremely proactive about it.

Three newcomers had come with Chen Luo as well.

These newcomers were all destitute men with nowhere else to turn. They had not even learned the basic skills of a corpse burier. The County Yamen had assigned them as Chen Luo's subordinates. He could now be considered a superior official among Qingya County's corpse buriers, holding the same position Third Uncle had held back then. From this alone, it was clear that Qingya County was desperately short of corpse buriers. Forget experienced hands—even people who could merely make up the numbers had been dragged in.

As Chen Luo entered the valley again, he immediately sensed the changes within it.

Compared to before, the temperature in the valley was higher.

It was the depths of winter, yet flowers had actually bloomed in the valley. Butterflies even fluttered between the blossoms. Such an inconceivable sight left the three novice corpse buriers behind him dumbfounded.

"Look less, speak less, and work more!"

The soldier walking ahead gave them a warning without turning his head.

The three immediately lowered their heads at the sound of his voice and followed behind Chen Luo, trudging obediently toward the corpse pile.

Chen Luo acted no differently from them. When they had passed through the checkpoint earlier, he had clearly sensed another powerful aura.

This aura was just as powerful as that of the dead Old Daoist Lichen.

As expected of the Imperial Court. Experts were as common as Chinese cabbages, one after another.

"We're here. This pile is yours to deal with." The soldier leading the way stopped.

All four of them were stunned.

A hollow in the valley that had once been empty was now nearly filled level with corpses. There were no fewer than a hundred and fifty bodies inside. Every one of them had been a martial path expert, and even the weakest had reached the Internal Qi Realm.

Anyone who dared come in pursuit of immortal fate was surely confident in their own strength.

Unfortunately, confidence could not save their lives. Now, every last one of them had become a corpse lying here.

No one even knew their names.

I struck it rich!

Chen Luo's heartbeat quickened a little.

So many Jianghu Wanderers were enough for him to upgrade all his current External Brains. Those good-for-nothing brains that had made him kneel and call Old Daoist Lichen "Grandpa" could finally be dismissed.

"Handle these first. More corpses may be sent over later. Bear with it for the next few days. Once this stretch is over, there will be reward money from above."

After giving a few simple instructions, the soldier turned and left.

His task was to set up defenses. Burying corpses was none of his concern.

"Boss, how do we do this?"

After the soldier left, the three newcomers stood to one side and looked eagerly at Chen Luo, waiting for his orders.

"Dig the pit first."

Chen Luo swept his gaze over them and assigned them a simple task.

The three newcomers immediately picked up their tools and began digging with all their might. Chen Luo took the opportunity to feel over the corpses one by one.

Contacted Dead Person's Brainwaves, damage degree 71%. Read?

Contacted Dead Person's Brainwaves, damage degree 32%. Read?

Messages kept flashing across the screen. Throughout the process, Chen Luo continually searched for brains with relatively high integrity, as well as brains possessing special abilities. Having used his Golden Finger for so long, he had gained a fairly good understanding of his own ability. Through touch, he could now read some information.

More than ten minutes later, Chen Luo straightened up.

The External Brains stored within his body had been completely upgraded. Other than the few most crucial brains, he had discarded all the rest that lacked any special traits.

The Jianghu Wanderers who had died in the valley were of extremely high quality. After replacing them, Chen Luo could clearly feel that his abilities had improved.

He did not yet know exactly what new changes had appeared, but they were certainly beneficial ones.

The only pity was that the Royal Brain remained the only one possessing Immortal Cultivation Aptitude. The other brains might have been powerful, but when it came to immortal cultivation, their aptitude was just like Chen Luo's own: utter rubbish.

This matter also gave Chen Luo a glimpse into the Immortal Cultivation World.

Cultivation aptitude alone was enough to bar ninety-nine percent of the people in the world. Only the remaining one percent were qualified to touch that mysterious world.

And among that one percent, how many could truly attain the Dao and become immortals?

Every realm eliminated a great number of people. The one person who ultimately succeeded would surely be a child chosen by heaven, the kind born in human form with the luck of ten thousand fortunes gathered upon him.

"Is some important figure inside?"

Gathering his thoughts, Chen Luo raised his head and glanced toward the mine tunnel.

The soldiers had sealed off the area with the mine tunnel as the center, which meant some important person had definitely entered it. Chen Luo had simply never seen them. He did not know whether that person was a true Immortal Cultivator. Still, he merely looked and felt no great curiosity. The real benefits had long since been taken away by him; all that remained were scraps from the table.

The day's work ended quickly.

At nightfall, the soldiers who had brought them in escorted them back out.

The Imperial Court's army was now stationed here, with experts secretly guarding the place as well. They did not fear ordinary Jianghu Wanderers at all, so they did not make things difficult for the corpse buriers. After issuing rewards, they allowed them to return and rest, merely reminding them to report back on time the next day.

For the next several days, Chen Luo reported to the valley on time.

Under his guidance, the three corpse buriers gradually learned the trade. They did not dare touch troublesome corpses, but they could already handle bodies killed by simple blade wounds. With the three of them sharing the burden, Chen Luo no longer stood out so much.

Once he had achieved his goal of "borrowing brains," Chen Luo no longer took corpse burying as seriously as he had in the beginning. Aside from occasionally replacing a few brains with more valuable ones, he spent the rest of his time slacking off.

On the fifth day, he simply took sick leave.

His leave request said, "I've been poisoned."

This excuse was very useful. In the corpse burier trade, poisoning was an extremely common occurrence. One careless mistake could cost a person their life. More than half the corpse buriers in the County Yamen had died of poison. Thus, upon learning that Chen Luo had been "poisoned," the County Yamen approved his leave without another word. Not only that, they even gave him a sum of "burial expenses."

This frightened Jiang Danian badly. Afterward, he specifically bought some medicinal supplements and came to visit Chen Luo. Only after confirming that Chen Luo was fine did he leave.

Night.

Chen Luo sat cross-legged alone in the courtyard, holding the Jade Slip that had changed his fate.

The Jade Slip's glow was no longer as bright as it had been at first. On closer inspection, there were even tiny glass-like cracks within it. After so many days of use, some of the power inside had likely been depleted.

"Black Tiger Fist is completely useless now. The Poisonous Insect Medicinal Agent no longer works either, and I still haven't found a brain with aptitude..."

Chen Luo recalled everything he had done during this period.

In the end, it all pointed to one conclusion.

His Martial Dao cultivation had reached its limit.