That day, after Jiang Liu finished his cultivation and washed up, he took a look at the intelligence report handed to him by Murong Yin.
Jiang Liu frowned because he noticed that in a small county town below Xia County, martial artists had been disappearing one after another recently, a method that resembled the previous tactics of Corpse Valley.
Jiang Liu thought for a moment and then decided to go and investigate himself. Since the inhabitants of Corpse Valley were likely to be defeated by ordinary people, sending more people would only be providing them with nourishment.
"I'm going to go and check it out myself. I suspect it's someone from Corpse Valley, and this person's strength is unknown. They've been missing for a long time, so I guess they're quite strong," Jiang Liu said to Murong Yin.
Murong Yin looked at Jiang Liu with reluctance and said, "Can't we send someone else to check?" Because once Jiang Liu goes to Xia County, it will take at least a month.
Jiang Liu shook his head and said, "That's not appropriate. If they are from Corpse Valley, the people we send will just become nourishment for them. If Qin Bailian and Yi Yue have recovered from their injuries, then sending them would be fine."
Murong Yin could only nod helplessly. In fact, she understood that sending Jiang Liu was the best solution under these circumstances.
Jiang Liu had been by her side all this time, and now that Jiang Liu was suddenly going out, she was a little reluctant to let him go.
Jiang Liu stroked Murong Yin's hair, pulled her into his arms, and patted her back. Murong Yin hugged Jiang Liu tighter.
That evening, Jiang Liu also told Feng Yue the news, and Feng Yue also seemed very reluctant to part with him, after all, the three of them had been living together for a long time and had gotten used to it.
However, considering that Jiang Liu would be back soon, they didn't say anything more. But the ensuing game of Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game) between the three of them was quite fierce.
The next morning, Jiang Liu fled with the Fire-Winged Monkey. He feared that if he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to set off that day.
Murong Yin and Feng Yue watched Jiang Liu's fleeing figure, exchanged a smile, and then lay down to continue resting. The two of them had been quite exhausted last night, but fortunately they had worked together.
After several days of flying, Jiang Liu was finally carried to Xia County by the Fire-Winged Monkey.
Upon arriving in Xia County, Jiang Liu sent the Fire-Winged Monkey to find food on their own.
Afterwards, Jiang Liu went directly to the Listening Wind Pavilion's residence here, which was a secret house left behind by the Sun Moon Sect.
Jiang Liu appeared at the Listening Wind Pavilion's residence. Even before he got close, he could sense that there were quite a few people there.
However, Jiang Liu then sensed that these people were not very strong, and there were probably more people on the periphery.
Although the defenses are quite tight, a single high-level martial artist can easily infiltrate the area.
Jiang Liu directly released his Divine Sense to cover the entire base, found the person in charge here, and then transmitted his voice to her.
Before long, Tang Rong, the person in charge here, appeared in front of Jiang Liu.
"Master, you've arrived." Tang Rong bowed to Jiang Liu.
"Okay!" Jiang Liu nodded and said, "Tell me in detail about the information that has happened recently regarding the disappearances of martial artists."
Tang Rong agreed and began to explain in detail to Jiang Liu.
During this period, Xia County had been almost completely peaceful until this strange incident occurred, which is why Tang Rong remembered it so clearly.
As Tang Rong explained, the more Jiang Liu learned, the more certain he became that this was definitely the work of the remnants of Corpse Valley, and that this person was quite powerful.
Because all the missing martial artists had vanished without a trace, it was only after their family and friends came to report that Listening Wind Pavilion learned of the incident.
Only a seasoned martial artist of the ninth rank or above could do that; otherwise, they would definitely leave traces.
There is no other way now but to go to Xiawei County, the county where the martial artist went missing, to investigate, or rather, to wait for him to come to us.
After listening to Tang Rong 'Tang Rong report, Jiang Liu said to her, "Alright, you can leave now! Be careful during this time."
"Yes!" Tang Rong turned and walked back into the camp. Then she looked back at Jiang Liu's departing figure and sighed inwardly. Her benefactor was as indifferent as ever.
After leaving Xia City, Jiang Liu summoned the Fire-Winged Monkey.
Before long, the Fire-Winged Monkey came into Jiang Liu's sight.
Jiang Liu leaped into the air and flew directly towards Xiawei County, with the Fire-Winged Monkey following closely behind.
Several hours later, Jiang Liu flew to Xiawei County with the Fire-Winged Monkey.
Seeing that it was already night, Jiang Liu decided not to go into the county town. He found a place in a dense forest outside the town to sit and rest, while the Fire-Winged Monkey went to find food.
Not long after, the Fire-Winged Monkey caught three wild rabbits and handed them over to Jiang Liu.
After Jiang Liu took it, he began to roast the wild rabbit, which he hadn't done in a long time. Before long, the aroma of roasted wild rabbit filled the air.
Then, the human and the monkey began to feast. After they had eaten their fill, the Fire-Winged Monkey flashed away and disappeared without a trace.
Jiang Liu continued to sit cross-legged in place and began to cultivate the Saintly Sky Art.
Soon, the sounds of cultivation emanated from Jiang Liu's body. Strands of turbulent energy gradually formed a turbulent Primal Qi Storm, affecting the fluctuations of the surrounding Essence Particles.
This surge of energy quickly alerted the Corpse King, who was hiding here, more than ten miles away from the Jiang Liu.
The Corpse King originally planned to refine the Corpse Golems here, and then go out to find martial artists to practice with a few days later.
The Corpse King sensed the fluctuation of this vital energy and immediately showed joy on his face, because he sensed something unusual in this fluctuation of vital energy.
Ordinary martial artists wouldn't be able to create this kind of disturbance during their cultivation; only high-level martial artists could produce such a commotion.
So the Corpse King feels like the heavens are on his side; he never expected to encounter a high-level martial artist in such a remote place. If he can refine this person into Corpse Golems, that would be another great help.
Immediately, the Corpse King unleashed its power and darted toward the source of the energy fluctuations, quickly reaching the area within range of the energy fluctuations.
The Corpse King saw a young martial artist sitting cross-legged in the distance, absorbing vital energy to cultivate, but the speed at which he absorbed vital energy seemed a little different.
Because of the distance, the Corpse King couldn't sense the cultivation level of the martial artist who was cultivating. However, the Corpse King wasn't too concerned about this, thinking to himself, "Could this martial artist be stronger than me?"
Could Grandmaster possibly emerge from such a remote little county? The Corpse King was extremely confident in his own strength.
Immediately, the Corpse King used his movement technique to fly rapidly towards Jiang Liu, while simultaneously opening his large hand, preparing to knock Jiang Liu unconscious with a single blow.
Suddenly, Jiang Liu Divine Sense sensed something amiss; a chilling aura was rapidly approaching.
Jiang Liu quickly stopped his cultivation, his figure flashing as he retreated. Once he regained his footing, he saw a person dressed in the insignia of Corpse Valley standing before him.
"Hehehe, kid, I didn't expect you to be so quick-witted. I'm quite satisfied with you. You'd better obediently become my Corpse Golems!"
After the Corpse King finished speaking, he spread his fingers and waved his hand, sending a chilling surge of energy directly towards Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu looked calmly at the person from Corpse Valley before him. Hearing that the person called himself "this king" and that his strength was that of Grandmaster, then he must be the Corpse Valley Master, Corpse King.
Jiang Liu really didn't expect to encounter the Valley Master of Corpse Valley, Corpse King, here. It was like a stroke of luck.
If this Corpse King is killed, then Corpse Valley can be said to be destroyed. Jiang Liu then sent a message to Fire-Winged Monkey.