Reaching the Peak

A day later.

Chen Luo, who had just started as an Undertaker, was transferred. The direction he was sent was precisely the area where the valley was located.

People were dying in that place every day. The County Yamen was already short-handed when it came to Undertakers. With Chen Luo, an experienced person whose identity had been verified, joining their ranks, they naturally needed to put him to work immediately.

"You've arrived just in time. The bodies here have piled up for a long time. If they aren't dealt with soon, something bad will happen."

Seeing Chen Luo and the others walking from outside the valley, the soldiers guarding the Checkpoint welcomed them without any suspicion. They then led them to the body disposal area inside the valley. As the people stationed there, they were the most at risk if the bodies weren't handled properly, so they were very proactive about this matter.

Along with Chen Luo came three new recruits.

These newcomers were desperate and struggling, having never even learned the basic skills of an Undertaker. The County Yamen had arranged for these people to be Chen Luo's subordinates. He was now considered an official among the Qingya County Undertakers, holding the same position as Third Uncle once did. From this, it was clear that Qingya County was severely short of Undertakers; not to mention experienced veterans, even people who could just make up the numbers were being brought in.

Stepping into the valley again, Chen Luo clearly felt the changes within it.

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

Despite it being the dead of winter, flowers were blooming in the valley, and butterflies were even fluttering among the flower bushes. This incredibly bizarre scene left the three new Undertakers behind him stunned.

"Look less, talk less, work more!"

The soldier walking in front instructed them without turning his head.

Upon hearing the voice, the three immediately lowered their heads and followed behind Chen Luo, honestly and obediently heading towards the body disposal area.

Chen Luo behaved just like them. When he passed the Checkpoint earlier, he clearly sensed another powerful aura.

This aura, like that of the deceased Old Daoist Lichen, was very strong.

As expected of the Imperial Court, experts were like common cabbage, one after another.

"We're here. This pile will be handled by you." The soldier leading the way stopped.

The four of them were dumbfounded.

A previously recessed area in the valley was now almost filled with bodies, numbering at least one hundred and fifty. All of these people were Martial Path experts, the weakest of whom were in the Internal Qi Realm.

Those who dared to seek Immortal Destiny were certainly confident in their own strength.

Unfortunately, confidence couldn't save their lives; now they all lay here as corpses.

No one even knew their names.

'I'm rich!'

Chen Luo's heart rate quickened slightly.

So many Jianghu experts were enough for him to completely upgrade his existing 'External Brains'. The useless brain that made him want to kneel and 'call Grandpa' when facing Old Daoist Lichen could finally be fired this time.

"Deal with these first. More bodies might be sent later. It'll be tough these next few days, but once things calm down, there will be rewards from above."

After giving a brief explanation, the soldier turned and left.

His task was to set up defenses; burying bodies wasn't his responsibility.

"Boss, how should we do it?"

After the soldier left, the three newcomers stood by, looking eagerly at Chen Luo, awaiting his orders.

"First, dig a pit."

Chen Luo glanced at them and assigned them a simple task.

The three newcomers who were assigned the task immediately took out their tools and started digging with great effort. Chen Luo himself took this time to touch each of the bodies one by one.

'Contacted dead person's brainwaves, damage level 71%, read?'

'Contacted dead person's brainwaves, damage level 32%, read?'

Messages constantly flooded his vision. During this process, Chen Luo kept looking for brains with higher integrity and those with special abilities. Having used the Golden Finger for so long, he had a relatively good understanding of his abilities and could now read some information through touch.

After more than ten minutes, Chen Luo straightened up.

The External Brains stored within his body had been completely upgraded. Apart from the few most crucial brains, the rest of the brains without any special characteristics were discarded.

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

He didn't know the specific changes yet, but they were definitely for the better.

The only pity was that the only brain with 'Immortal Cultivation Aptitude' was still the Royal Brain. The other brains, while strong, had aptitude for Immortal Cultivation that was as useless as Chen Luo's own.

Through this incident, Chen Luo also gained a glimpse into the Immortal Cultivation World.

Just this cultivation aptitude alone was enough to block 99% of the people in the world. Only the remaining 1% were qualified to access that mysterious world.

And among this 1%, how many could truly achieve Dao and become immortal?

Each Realm would eliminate a large number of people. The one who ultimately succeeded must be a chosen one, the kind of person blessed with immense fortune.

"Are there any important figures inside?"

Withdrawing his thoughts, Chen Luo looked up at the location of The Mine.

These soldiers were blocking the area with The Mine as the center, which meant that some important figures must have entered it. It was a pity that Chen Luo hadn't seen anyone so far. He didn't know if the person who went in was a true Immortal Cultivator. However, he was just looking; he didn't have too much curiosity. The real benefits had already been taken by him long ago; what was left were just some scraps.

The day's task was quickly completed.

As darkness fell, the soldiers who had brought them in sent them out again.

With the Imperial Court's army stationed here and experts secretly guarding the area, they weren't afraid of ordinary Jianghu wanderers at all. Therefore, these people didn't make things difficult for the Undertakers. After giving out the rewards, they let them go back to rest, only reminding them to report on time the next day.

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

Under his guidance, the three Undertakers also slowly got the hang of the job. They didn't dare touch the more troublesome corpses, but they could handle those who died from simple knife wounds. With these three sharing the workload, Chen Luo's presence became less conspicuous.

After completing the goal of 'borrowing brains,' Chen Luo's attitude towards 'burying corpses' was no longer as serious as it was initially. Apart from occasionally updating with a few more valuable brains, he spent the rest of his time slacking off.

On the fifth day, he simply took a sick leave.

The leave request stated 'poisoned.'

This excuse was very useful. In the Undertaker profession, poisoning was a very common occurrence. A slight mishandling could cost one's life. More than half of the Undertakers in the County Yamen died from poisoning. So, upon hearing that Chen Luo was 'poisoned,' the County Yamen approved it without a second thought. Not only that, but they also gave him a sum for 'burial expenses.'

This incident startled Jiang Danian. Afterwards, he specifically bought some tonics and came to visit Chen Luo. He only left after confirming that Chen Luo was fine.

Night.

Chen Luo sat alone in the courtyard, holding the Jade Slip that had changed his destiny.

The luster of the Jade Slip was no longer as bright as it was initially. Upon closer inspection, there were some small glass-like cracks inside. It seemed that prolonged use had consumed some of the power within.

"Black Tiger Fist is completely useless, the Poisonous Insect Medicinal Agent has no effect, and I still haven't found a brain with aptitude..."

Chen Luo recalled everything he had done during this period.

Ultimately, it all pointed to one conclusion.

He had reached the peak of his Martial Path cultivation.