Corpse Collector

Dew clung to the grass and trees, while blue mist veiled the morning.

When the sun rose in the east, the spirit refiners of Tiansang Spirit Palace had long since awakened, breathing in and circulating spiritual energy everywhere—among the woods, in cool pavilions, in other people's little courtyards...

Branches rustled, spirit magpies cawed, and everything was tranquil and beautiful.

Yet along a Secluded Winding Path, two furtive figures crept over—one tall, one short.

The taller figure was a burly man with sandbags tied to his arms. He was hunched over, glancing left and right with the guilty look of a thief.

Beside him stood a somewhat shorter young man who only reached his neck. A longsword hung at his waist, and excitement filled his face.

"Senior Brother Liu, how did such a good thing as collecting a corpse fall into our laps? Aren't Outer Court elders usually the ones handling this?" the shorter young man, Zhou Zuo, asked.

"Of course it was arranged. Did you think this opportunity would just fall into your lap for free?" The burly Liu Zhen looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to the two of them, he finally let out a breath. "I heard Boss Wen gave away quite a few Spirit Crystals."

"I see..." Zhou Zuo narrowed his small eyes, rubbing his hands as he lowered his voice. "So whose corpse are we collecting?"

"Xu Xiaoshou!" Liu Zhen said as he walked. "I heard that for this Wind and Cloud Tournament, he entered closed-door cultivation to break through the Third Realm. Counting the days, today should be the day. If he still hasn't come out after so long, that means he's already dead and gone."

"The Third Realm?" Zhou Zuo stared in shock. Wasn't that cultivation roughly on par with his own? "What profit is there in the Third Realm? Might as well let him fend for himself!"

"What the hell do you know!" Liu Zhen gave him a knuckle to the head. "This Xu Xiaoshou has been in the Spirit Palace for nearly three years. Forget everything else—this courtyard alone is worth over a thousand Spirit Crystals."

"Hiss, he's that rich?"

"Of course! I also heard that this guy has a Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword on him!"

Zhou Zuo's eyes nearly popped out. "A Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword?"

That cry of surprise was probably loud enough for half the people nearby to hear.

"Keep it down!" Seeing dissatisfied gazes cast their way, Liu Zhen gave the top of his head another knuckle. Was this kid shouting because he was afraid no one would hear him?

The two chatted idly as they wound through twists and turns, finally spotting a secluded little courtyard shrouded by a grand formation.

Liu Zhen, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped.

"It's quite far... Ow!"

Zhou Zuo, walking behind him, slammed straight into Liu Zhen's back. He rubbed his forehead in pain and complained, "Senior Brother Liu, why did you suddenly stop..."

Being short, his view had been blocked. Once he stepped out to the side, he immediately understood why Liu Zhen had stopped.

More than ten people were actually sitting cross-legged in front of the courtyard.

None of them spoke. They simply sat there cultivating, and at first glance, the scene looked strangely harmonious.

"Why are there so many people?"

Zhou Zuo was dumbfounded. He looked up at Liu Zhen, his eyes full of confusion. "Didn't you say Boss Wen spent a lot of Spirit Crystals to secure this opportunity?"

Liu Zhen was already too angry to speak. Hearing that, he slapped Zhou Zuo on the head.

"Can't you see it? Every last one of these bastards has become a demon!"

"Damn it, they aren't cultivating anywhere else and came all the way here instead. The news must have leaked!"

Zhou Zuo rubbed his head with a miserable expression, thinking, Even so, you can't take your anger out on my head.

The dozen or so people seated before the courtyard had clearly noticed the newcomers. They immediately burst into laughter and casually teased them.

"Oh, more people have come. You're a little late this time—the sun has already risen in the east."

"That's Liu Zhen, right? Who's the kid beside him? A newcomer? Did you bring him along to broaden his horizons?"

"I say, Liu Zhen, you really didn't put your heart into this. I came before dawn, and there were already people here..."

"Tch, I came last night."

"I came the day before yesterday!"

"I came three days ago!"

The area before the courtyard instantly became a noisy clamor. No one knew whether they were boasting, but in the end, someone even claimed to have squatted here for an entire month, earning respectful looks from everyone.

Liu Zhen felt his head spin. He snapped, "What are you all doing here?"

"Ah, Liu Zhen, we understand without saying it!"

"Don't ask. If you ask, it's the Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword."

Zhou Zuo nearly laughed aloud. So this intelligence was common knowledge? Heh, who had just told him not to say it?

He glanced at Liu Zhen and swallowed the words on his lips. That guy's face was as black as if he had swallowed firecrackers, like he might explode the next second.

Liu Zhen felt like his lungs were about to burst from anger. This was intelligence Boss Wen had traded a huge amount of Spirit Crystals for—how had it become so cheap?

There was no way his own people had leaked the news. That could only mean every one of these bastards had bribed the elders as well.

Just as that person had said, they understood without saying it...

Damn it, which elder was so immoral that he sold one piece of intelligence to so many people?

The words were stuck in his heart, impossible to say, making him feel as miserable as constipation. The two of them stood at the road entrance, and the air seemed filled with awkward crow caws.

But the people before the courtyard seemed to have gone through this many times. They patted the ground with practiced familiarity.

"Liu Zhen, come over. Sit here."

"Don't stand on ceremony. Just treat it like your own courtyard."

"Pfft!" Zhou Zuo failed to hold back his laughter.

Liu Zhen slapped him to the ground, then walked over with a dark expression. Halfway there, however, he stared toward the courtyard in shock.

The invisible barrier shrouding the courtyard began to ripple. The next moment, it split apart, revealing the entrance to the small courtyard.

The people sitting cross-legged before the courtyard noticed the change as well and turned their heads. Someone glanced at the sky and realized something was wrong.

"It's only the Hour of the Dragon. Didn't they say the formation wouldn't lift until noon?"

"Who lifted the formation? No one here understands formations. Liu Zhen, was it you?"

Liu Zhen nearly rushed over and slapped that person into the dirt. He was so far from the courtyard—how could he possibly lift the formation?

And who the hell were they? Were they that familiar with each other?

Could they stop shouting his name all the time with such enthusiasm?

Liu Zhen was speechless toward this group of overly familiar people, but this was not the time to dwell on that. He fixed his attention on the courtyard entrance.

Creak!

The door opened. A tall, thin figure leaned against the doorway with a Black Sword hanging upside down from his hand, his eyes heavy with sleep.

"What are you all making such a racket for so early in the morning? Are you going to let people sleep or not?"

Xu Xiaoshou was practically drunk with frustration. He had originally planned to cultivate last night, but then he thought about it—he breathed even while sleeping, and breathing was cultivation...

So he simply lay down!

Who would have thought that after swatting one mosquito, there would be another? Then after swatting that one, three more came!

Several mosquitoes kept him awake. He tossed and turned all night before finally managing to fall asleep, only to be woken up by people again first thing in the morning!

Although the courtyard had a soundproofing formation, it was not particularly advanced.

These people's voices had grown louder and louder, entering as a constant "buzz buzz buzz," just like mosquitoes. It was truly unbearable.

So he came out with his sword!

Xu Xiaoshou had spent three years in the Outer Court. How could he not know what these people were thinking? They were simply waiting for him to die in closed-door cultivation so they could collect his corpse and take the chance to skim some profit!

Sorry, when one me fell, another me stood back up.

Leaning against the doorway, he swept his gaze around and teased, "Everyone, why are you gathered outside my door so early? I, Xu, do not sell breakfast."

Everyone stared at the sword-wielding man at the door, completely stunned.

Xu Xiaoshou?

He had broken through and emerged from seclusion?

Talent was an insurmountable threshold. Xu Xiaoshou had spent three years proving to everyone that he was born with the fate of the Third Realm. How could a mere bout of closed-door cultivation possibly help him break through?

What kind of dogshit luck was this?

"Xu Xiaoshou?"

"You're not dead?"

"What's going on? You... broke through to the Fourth Realm?"

Xu Xiaoshou was just about to speak when he suddenly saw the information panel in his mind update.

Suspected, Passive Value, +12.

Xu Xiaoshou was delighted. Last night, he had still been worrying whether he would need to actively release the scent of his flesh to attract mosquitoes if he wanted to gain Passive Value in the future. Now it seemed...

It was not limited to attacks. Suspicion worked too?

Could it be that any words or actions appearing in a passive form would increase his Passive Value?

Adding the six attacks from mosquitoes last night, he already had eighteen Passive Value.

But he had been bitten so many times last night, and each time had only given him "+1." Why had this time produced a "+12"?

Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled. He looked at everyone present and counted carefully. There were seventeen people.

Could it be that roughly, perhaps, twelve people among them doubted that he had broken through to the Fourth Realm?

"Is he Xu Xiaoshou?" Zhou Zuo finally made his way to Liu Zhen's side and asked quietly.

Suspected, Passive Value, +1.

Xu Xiaoshou was amused. His hearing was exceptionally sharp. Among so many corpse collectors, there was actually someone who did not even know the corpse himself?

He carried the Black Sword out of the courtyard gate, and everyone immediately shuffled backward.

To steel his resolve for closed-door cultivation, Xu Xiaoshou had spent every Spirit Crystal he possessed, breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats to buy this Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword.

The sword was named Hidden Pain, signifying pain deeply concealed. If he could not break through, then he would die alongside this sword.

Now that he had successfully broken through to the Fourth Realm, with this Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword in hand and the White Cloud Sword Technique he had cultivated in his mind for three years... though he had only learned one move, he might not be without the strength to fight this group.

The person with the highest cultivation here was Liu Zhen at the Spirit Refining Fifth Realm. Those higher-realm bosses would not lower themselves by personally coming to collect a corpse.

That was why, upon seeing Xu Xiaoshou emerge from seclusion, everyone instinctively wanted to retreat.

One man raised his sword, and everyone was alarmed.

"You came to collect a corpse over my, Xu Xiaoshou's, head. Why didn't each of your bosses come personally?"

Whether by cultivation or seniority, Xu Xiaoshou, who had spent three years in the Outer Court, was already considered an old hand—he could even be called one of the senior disciples.

Otherwise, he could not possibly have accumulated so many assets: a courtyard and a spirit sword.

Those stronger than him had all entered the Innate Stage and gone to the Inner Court. As for the so-called bosses still lingering in the Outer Court, some of them had once followed behind him like ducklings trailing their mother.

Thus, when he shouted those words, no one dared refute him. Even Liu Zhen, one realm above him, remained silent when he saw spiritual light flowing across the Black Sword on Xu Xiaoshou's shoulder.

"Go back wherever you came from!" Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand as though chasing ducks.

No one had expected Xu Xiaoshou to seize the initiative the moment he appeared. Their momentum was completely crushed, and they turned around to leave dejectedly, not daring to mutter another word.

"Senior Brother Liu, are we really just leaving?" Zhou Zuo asked cautiously.

Liu Zhen glanced at Xu Xiaoshou. Though unwilling, could he really rush over, kill him, and then carry away his corpse?

Leaving aside the fact that private fighting was forbidden within the Spirit Palace, whether they could even defeat him was a question in itself.

"Let's go." He sighed and followed the crowd away.

"Wait!"

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly called out from behind, as though he had remembered something.

Everyone turned back, not understanding what he wanted, only to see Xu Xiaoshou plant his sword into the ground and shout, "You come when you want and leave when you want. Do you really think I, Xu, have no temper at all?"

Everyone became angry as well. They had wasted several hours waiting, gained absolutely nothing, and were already being generous by turning around and leaving. What more did he want?

"What do you want?" Liu Zhen frowned. If their group truly joined forces to attack him, how could Xu Xiaoshou possibly withstand it? Had closed-door cultivation turned his brain stupid? Did he want to fight seventeen alone?

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. "It's nothing. Don't get worked up. I only want to ask a few questions."

No one spoke. Xu Xiaoshou said pleasantly, "If I said I broke through to the Fourth Realm, would you believe me?"

Everyone was stunned. He had called them back just for this lousy question? Still, in order to leave, they all nodded like chicks pecking rice.

"Mm-hm."

"We believe it, we believe it!"

"Senior Brother Xu is truly amazing. You're already at the Fourth Realm, so can we leave now?"

Xu Xiaoshou froze. Why were they reacting like this?

No, no. Doubt me. Please doubt me as much as you want!

He shouted inwardly. He had finally come up with a way to farm Passive Value—why was no one playing along?

Seeing how desperately everyone wanted to leave, an idea flashed through his mind. He sheathed his sword, stood up, and said calmly, "To be honest, everyone, I, Xu, have actually already broken through to the Fifth Realm..."

"How is that possible?"

"Hehe, Senior Brother Xu, you must be joking..."

Everyone spoke up. They were not blind. Your Fourth-Realm cultivation aura is shining as brightly as a lightbulb, and you claim to be at the Fifth Realm?

Telling barefaced lies without even blinking—what a talent.

Suspected, Passive Value, +15.

Xu Xiaoshou was delighted. So this was how it worked?

But there were only fifteen. That meant two people actually believed him? Were they idiots?

"Hehe, actually, I've already broken through to the Sixth Realm..."

Everyone: ???

Suspected, Passive Value, +17.

Good heavens, these were not corpse collectors at all. They were a batch of tools for farming Passive Value!

Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands. "No more pretending. I'll lay my cards on the table. I'm actually already at the Seventh Realm..."

Everyone felt veins bulging on their foreheads. Was Xu Xiaoshou making fools of them? Was this fun?

Suspected, Passive Value, +13.

Eh, why had it gone down instead?

Xu Xiaoshou was focused only on the panel in his mind and did not notice everyone's expressions. He immediately added, "All right, all right, I'm not joking. I'm already at the Eighth—"

"Xu Xiaoshou, don't push people too far!"

"A scholar may be killed, but never humiliated!"

"Brothers, get him!"

Xu Xiaoshou jumped in fright. Only then did he come to his senses and see seventeen smoke-faced black expressions before him. He shuddered, flashed back into the courtyard, and the door slammed shut with a bang, the formation activating at once.

My dear heavens, they were only a few questions. Was that really necessary?

Like they had swallowed firecrackers!