Wen Jiu took a closer look.
A golden talisman hung against the corpse's chest. It was the source of the glow, and it kept every trace of the male corpse's aura from leaking out.
It was clearly extraordinary.
And worth a fortune.
But Wen Jiu didn't dare take it right away.
"Why did he do this?"
Wen Jiu fell into thought.
Why had he been unwilling to let anyone find his corpse, even after death?
If the White Zombie hadn't found him by following the Yin Qi he gave off, no other Corpse Nurturer would have thought to look for a body in undisturbed earth. If Corpse Nurturers couldn't find him, other cultivators had no chance.
Even Wang Nian still complained about the conditions in the Dead Corpse Land and didn't dare go too close. Other cultivators were even less likely to come.
With that in mind, Wen Jiu left the talisman untouched and began feeling over the corpse, hoping to loot it for treasures.
The battlefield above had already been cleared. Perhaps the corpse hidden underground had been overlooked.
After a thorough search,
he came up empty-handed.
Just as Wen Jiu was growing disappointed, the White Zombie grew so anxious it swayed like a roly-poly toy. It bent down and forcibly pried open the corpse's mouth. The next moment, a blood-red bead enveloped in Blood Qi and dense Death Qi came into view.
Wen Jiu sensed at once what kind of blood it contained: cultivators' blood.
He'd buried corpses in the Death Ground for so long.
He knew it all too well.
But judging by the amount and the density of the Death Qi, it couldn't have come from just a few people—or even a few dozen.
It had to be hundreds, at the very least!
Its value
was beyond measure!
"Is that why he used the talisman to seal away his aura?"
Wen Jiu picked up the blood bead, then glanced at the excited White Zombie beside him. He examined the bead carefully, but found nothing suspicious, so he simply shoved it into the White Zombie's mouth.
Such a vast amount of cultivators' blood, along with the Death Qi, would undoubtedly give the White Zombie an unprecedented boost.
Still, Wen Jiu couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.
But this wasn't the time to investigate.
He'd put it in the White Zombie's belly for now and look into it properly later.
Next, Wen Jiu looked at the corpse on the ground. After thinking it over, he decided to bury it again.
He wouldn't take the talisman.
He'd leave the corpse hidden underground.
Once he had a mutation slot, he'd come back for it.
Corpse Nurturers didn't dig around looking for bodies, and cultivators wouldn't come to the Death Ground. Under normal circumstances, no one would find it.
By dusk,
Wen Jiu had buried the White Zombie and was ready to head back with the others.
While they waited for the other Corpse Nurturers to finish burying their bodies, Wang Nian had asked him about his harvest. Wen Jiu shook his head, saying he hadn't found even a single newly formed Yin Soul.
"Don't rush. If Yin Souls were easy to find, I wouldn't need your help. And don't go too deep just to look for one."
Wang Nian gave him a warning.
He didn't want such a promising Unorthodox Path prodigy getting into trouble through impatience.
After all, if anything happened to Wen Jiu,
Wang Nian would have to handle a lot of things himself.
"Thank you, Senior." Wen Jiu clasped his hands.
Wang Nian nodded.
He said no more.
Soon,
Wen Jiu returned home.
To his surprise, his older sister, Wen Ya, was waiting at the door.
She held a large bowl covered with a lotus leaf. Before Wen Jiu could say anything, Wen Ya hurriedly spoke, displeasure showing between her brows. "I heard you had a perfectly good Qi Refining Method to choose from, but you went and picked the Unorthodox Path of corpse nurturing instead?"
Wen Jiu nodded.
At the sight of his sister's angry gaze, he felt a little afraid.
But he wasn't even scared of zombies.
Was this what they meant by the power of blood ties?
Once they were inside, Wen Ya snapped again. "Do you know that practicing an Unorthodox Path can shorten your life and damage your body? Even if you achieve a little success someday, you won't live long... And people won't like you, either."
"Smells great."
Wen Jiu didn't take the bait. He only focused on the big bowl. He had no idea what to say—he couldn't exactly tell her the truth.
Wen Ya kept scolding as she lifted the lotus leaf. "You really never let me rest easy. Do you know that even if your Unorthodox Path got you first place in cultivation, there's still a good chance you wouldn't make it as an Apprentice Disciple?"
"I know, Sis... Don't worry. I've thought it through." Wen Jiu answered through gritted teeth.
Wen Ya sighed helplessly. Then she took a book from her clothes. Evergreen Skill was written on the cover.
It was clearly a proper Qi Refining Method.
But Wen Jiu couldn't understand why his sister had it.
As far as he knew, laborers weren't allowed to cultivate. Each person could only take one cultivation method, and it couldn't be passed on.
Anyone who passed one on without permission
would die!
Anyone who practiced one without permission
would die, too!
"Sis? Where did you get this?" Wen Jiu asked at once.
Wen Ya said quickly, "Don't worry. Old Madam Xu gave it to me. This is the Xu Family's Qi Refining Method. The Xu Family can pass it on among their own people freely; the sect doesn't regulate it."
"Sis, we can't take this."
Wen Jiu knew full well:
if he practiced this method, it wouldn't be so easy to leave unscathed later.
Receiving someone's cultivation method
created a debt of gratitude.
Cultivation held that every cause must bear fruit.
To leave unscathed, he would have to repay that kindness. Otherwise, it would become an obstacle to his cultivation in the future.
But a kindness as immense as being given a cultivation method
wasn't easy to repay.
Wen Ya, however, was thinking about something else. She only knew this was her brother's one chance to get a Qi Refining Method. "Take it. This is the only chance you have right now to get a Qi Refining Method!"
Wen Jiu stood firm. "Sis, I can't take it. I've already asked Steward Wang. There are other ways to become an Apprentice Disciple. I'm confident I can do it through another path... You have to trust me!"
At that,
Wen Ya tried to say more.
But Wen Jiu firmly handed the book back.
He also told Wen Ya, "Sis, you can't practice Evergreen Skill either. Find a chance to return it."
"You..."
Wen Ya was at a loss for words.
She understood her brother's thinking.
But here at Corpse Peak, ordinary people like them had no choices.
Having a way out
was already a blessing.
When she tried to speak again, Wen Jiu cut her off. "Sis, when is Steward Xu coming back?"
Wen Ya replied, "Old Madam Xu said he was sent out on a sect mission... He could be gone for as little as a year, or as long as three to five."
As little as a year.
As long as three to five.
That meant he still had time.
Wen Jiu put those thoughts aside, picked up the big bowl, and began eating in great mouthfuls.
Watching him, Wen Ya couldn't help smiling warmly. After thinking it over, she dropped the subject and took some silver pieces from her clothes, placing them on the table.
"If it isn't enough, go buy yourself something else to eat."
Wen Jiu didn't refuse the silver.
A Corpse Nurturer only earned three taels a month—barely enough to keep an ordinary person fed. For him, it wasn't nearly enough.
Night fell.
After Wen Ya left, Wen Jiu cultivated as usual. When the hour of the Pig arrived, he went to recite the Corpse Nurturing Incantation.
Unfortunately,
he didn't encounter another Yin Soul.
After he got home, the Daily Settlement Panel appeared again.
This time,
the rewards were substantial!
[Daily Settlement Panel Lv1 (51/100)] [Daily settlement!] [Recited the Corpse Nurturing Incantation for one hour and practiced the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art for one hour. Panel experience +1, Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Incantation experience +10, Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art experience +1] [Buried corpses in the Death Ground for three hours and searched for Yin Souls for three hours, continuously absorbing corpse aura and Death Qi. Panel experience +1, corpse aura +6, Death Qi +6] [Gathered Earth Fiend Yin Qi and nurtured a corpse in the Corpse Nurturing Ground for twelve hours with a large amount of cultivators' blood. Fed it a First-grade High-quality Magic Tool—the Soul Devouring Orb (damaged)—containing the Essence Blood of 276 cultivators. Panel experience +1, Dead Body Mutation experience +6, +18, Corpse Nurturer experience +1, Blood Transformation Body experience +50 (daily absorption limit reached), Cultivator's Essence Blood +1330, Death Qi +828.] [Consumed two bowls of inferior Spirit Rice and two pieces of non-grade demonic beast meat. Body Tempering experience +0.2]
The next moment,
his personal panel popped up.
Wen Jiu immediately noticed three things.
[Remaining Death Qi: 834] [Remaining Cultivator's Essence Blood: 1330]
And one more.
The blood bead had actually been a First-grade High-quality Magic Tool.
Though damaged,
it was still First-grade High-quality.
He'd learned a little about magic tool grades from other people. He didn't know whether the information was accurate, but it was enough to go by.
An ordinary Qi Refining cultivator could barely afford a First-grade Low-quality magic tool.
Even Steward Xu from the side peak would struggle to buy a First-grade Mid-grade magic tool.
A First-grade High-quality magic tool—
even ordinary cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Stage might not be able to afford one.
It was worth a fortune!
The Soul Devouring Orb was damaged, but it was still First-grade High-quality.
Wen Jiu was overjoyed.
But once the excitement passed, fear crept in.
An innocent man was guilty of possessing a jade treasure.
If anyone found out he had a First-grade High-quality magic tool, Wang Nian wouldn't even wait for anyone else—he'd be the first to come after Wen Jiu.
"This thing's a hot potato... No, I have to put it back in the corpse's mouth and use that talisman to hide its aura."
With that,
Wen Jiu hurried out in the middle of the night.
He brought the White Zombie and rushed back to the burial ground.
He couldn't afford to care about the cold,
or the Yin Souls.
Only after returning the now-empty Soul Devouring Orb to the corpse's mouth did Wen Jiu feel safe enough to head home.
But even after he got home,
he was still uneasy.
He lay awake for a long time.
He felt at a loss, too.
Before you continue