Night Pursuit

Dead Corpse Land.

Amid the fog of Yin Qi.

Two men and a woman wore the Night Patrol Division's black night-patrol robes. One held a Yin Dispelling Talisman to drive away the bone-chilling Yin Qi around them, while another held an Evil Warding Talisman to ward off attacks from Yin Souls. The woman held a Black Ghost Head.

The Black Ghost Head continuously released ghostly energy that spread downward, creeping across the ground as if searching for something.

Before long.

The female cultivator stopped in her tracks.

Beneath the night sky, her stern face suddenly lit with delight.

The two beside her followed suit, fixing their eyes on her and eagerly asking, "Did you find what the Tower Master wanted?"

"No." Her answer drew disappointed silence from them, but her next words made their faces brighten. "Though I didn't find what the Tower Master wanted, I did discover a newly formed Black Zombie... Its corpse aura is incredibly rich and dense—truly rare. That Corpse Nurturer must have put in a lot of effort. If we take it, we can sell it for at least fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones. We'll make a fortune!"

"Fifty..."

The two men exchanged a glance.

That was right.

They were tempted.

Even though they served in the Night Patrol Division and worked for the Tower Master, they earned only five Low-grade Spirit Stones a month.

Five Low-grade Spirit Stones barely covered daily cultivation and renting a cave abode. They were left with practically nothing—life was tight.

Seeing that the two were still pondering, the female cultivator hurriedly spoke up. She pointed at the Ghost Head in her hand, and it suddenly opened its mouth in a frenzy, spewing a vast stream of ghastly ghostly energy into the ground, where it wrapped the Black Zombie tightly.

"Don't worry. I have a ghost art, the Spirit Extinguishing Technique, that specifically counters Corpse Nurturers. It can block the spiritual connection between a Corpse Nurturer and a Black Zombie... This Black Zombie's corpse aura is incredibly rare in its density, but it's only just formed, so it's merely comparable to Qi Refining Layer One... As long as its Corpse Nurturer isn't nearby, a few Corpse Suppressing Talismans will be enough to deal with it!"

As she spoke.

The female cultivator took out three Corpse Suppressing Talismans.

The other two exchanged a glance, then immediately began digging up the corpse.

"We'll leave as soon as we're done."

"Right."

Suddenly.

An angry roar came from beneath the ground.

It was the Black Zombie!

Just as the two had dug a foot down and exposed its corpse, the Black Zombie burst furiously from its burial pit, unleashing a surge of corpse aura.

Its aura also rose sharply.

From newly formed to the middle stage.

In an instant!

"How did it suddenly reach the middle stage?" The female cultivator hurriedly tossed out all three Corpse Suppressing Talismans, but the Black Zombie's corpse aura shattered every one of them.

The other two also turned pale and hurriedly retreated.

The female cultivator cried, "Don't retreat! A middle-stage Black Zombie is worth at least a hundred spirit stones. We've struck it rich... I still have a top-grade first-tier, low-grade Corpse Suppressing Talisman, but you'll have to make up for what I spend!"

The two men's expressions changed again.

They were overjoyed.

Over a hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones!

This trip had paid off big!

Meanwhile.

Wen Jiu could clearly feel a thick layer of ghostly energy firmly blocking his spiritual connection with the Black Zombie.

It was like a dark cloud covering the moon.

Fortunately, the Black Zombie was still an anomalous Black Zombie, bound to his Corpse Nurturer panel, so Wen Jiu could still sense its existence.

He could also sense what was around it.

Three people.

Two men and a woman.

All were at Qi Refining Second Layer.

Two were ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

The remaining one was a ghost cultivator.

"Three of them..." When the Black Zombie was immobilized by the Corpse Suppressing Talisman, Wen Jiu didn't hesitate. He crushed his Signal Talisman at once.

At the same time, he hurried toward the nearest Night Patrol Division outpost where its disciples were stationed.

Though the Three Rivers Ghost Concealment could break the Corpse Suppressing Talisman and let the Black Zombie escape, Wen Jiu wouldn't make it use that unless he had no other choice.

After Wen Jiu explained the situation, Wang Nian hurried over.

His clothes were disheveled.

He had clearly been woken from his sleep by Wen Jiu's Signal Talisman.

Before Wang Nian could ask anything, Wen Jiu hurriedly said, "Brother Wang, someone's searching for something in Dead Corpse Land in the middle of the night."

"Hm!"

Wang Nian was startled.

Two words immediately flashed through his mind—spies!

He quickly asked, "How do you know?"

"My Black Zombie, buried in Dead Corpse Land, discovered them." Wen Jiu phrased the Black Zombie's theft differently.

If he reported that the Black Zombie had been stolen, asking the Night Patrol Division—and Wang Nian—for help would leave him owing them a favor.

But if he was the one who had discovered people plotting in secret, then he would have rendered the Night Patrol Division a great service.

Wang Nian's expression shifted. "Could they be the spies who've been causing such a stir lately? Come on! Let's go take a look."

A nearby Night Patrol Division disciple hurriedly spoke up as well. "I'll send a message and summon the nearest Night Patrol Division disciples for support."

Soon.

Wang Nian flew toward Dead Corpse Land with the two of them on his sword.

Just before they reached Dead Corpse Land, seven or eight black figures appeared in the night, their auras restrained yet exceptionally powerful.

They were Night Patrol Division disciples.

Among them was a steward at Qi Refining Third Layer.

His name was unknown.

But everyone called him Manager Liu.

His aura was far above Wang Nian's.

Wen Jiu remembered him. A few days ago, he had come to Dead Corpse Land to question them. He wasn't on the same side as Li Ye.

"I've already heard the situation... Can you still sense their presence through the Black Zombie?" Manager Liu's gaze fell on Wen Jiu.

When he saw Wen Jiu, he looked a little surprised.

He knew Wen Jiu; some Night Patrol Division disciples had mentioned him recently.

He cultivated the Unorthodox Path.

Yet he had reached Qi Refining Layer One in just a month.

But Manager Liu didn't think there was anything surprising about that. Cultivating the Unorthodox Path meant trading one's lifespan, foundation, and future for cultivation.

Reaching Qi Refining Layer One in a month was nothing impressive.

It was shortsighted, in fact.

He would never amount to much in the future.

But he hadn't expected that the spies whose tracks they couldn't find would be discovered by this kid through sheer luck.

Wen Jiu nodded. "I can!"

"Lead the way!" Manager Liu gave Wen Jiu a grudgingly approving look, though his opinion that the Unorthodox Path was shortsighted remained unchanged. But as he looked Wen Jiu over again, his expression suddenly changed.

"Qi Refining Second Layer!"

Seeing Manager Liu's surprise, Wang Nian asked in confusion, "Fellow Daoist Liu, what do you mean by Qi Refining Second Layer?"

When he noticed Manager Liu looking at Wen Jiu, Wang Nian turned his gaze to him as well and immediately released his Spiritual Sense.

Qi Refining Second Layer!

Holy crap!

So he was talking about Wen Jiu.

"Wen, when did this happen?" Good kid, he'd reached Qi Refining Second Layer so quickly.

This had rewritten the history of the side peak.

No wonder he was someone Wang Nian had taken a shine to!

Wen Jiu hurriedly replied, "I was lucky enough to break through tonight."

But he wasn't in the mood to listen to everyone praise him. He quickly pointed to their left. "Brother Wang, they're in that direction! They're trying to escape toward the Valley of the Dead!"

"Beyond the Valley of the Dead lies the Hundred Mile Dense Forest. If they get inside, they'll be hard to find."

Wang Nian had no time to dwell on his shock and delight. He hurriedly flew after them on his sword.

The Night Patrol Division disciples immediately followed.

But they couldn't help looking at Wen Jiu.

Qi Refining Second Layer.

Good grief.

He hadn't even become an Apprentice Disciple yet, and he was already at Qi Refining Second Layer.

The Night Patrol Division's steward was only at Qi Refining Third Layer!

Nothing like this had ever happened at the side peak.

Though Wen Jiu followed the Unorthodox Path, it was still astonishing. After all, the side peak had seen Unorthodox Path cultivators before.

Meanwhile, the three raced through the Yin Qi, and they could already hear the sound of swords cutting through the night sky.

The pursuers were coming for them.

"What's going on?"

"Their Spiritual Sense can't possibly reach this far. They shouldn't be able to find our tracks. Why are they still following us?"

The female cultivator was just as bewildered. She instinctively glanced at the Black Zombie slung over the male cultivator's back, then shook her head.

Impossible.

She had already used ghost arts to sever the spiritual connection between the Corpse Nurturer and the Black Zombie.

The two shouldn't be able to sense each other anymore.

But if it wasn't the Black Zombie...

What else could it be?

"Forget it. Give me the Black Zombie. We'll split up and run!" The female cultivator reached for the Black Zombie on the man's back.

The two men exchanged a glance, then chose to hand the Black Zombie over to her. After all, they hadn't cultivated any arts to suppress Black Zombies.

If the Black Zombie broke free of the Corpse Suppressing Talisman, they'd be trapped with no way out.

The female cultivator continued, "Hurry through the Valley of the Dead and into the mountains!"

With that.

Carrying the Black Zombie, the female cultivator raced off in another direction.

Feeling this, Wen Jiu's expression tightened. He was just about to speak when a thought flashed through his mind.

Perhaps tonight was an opportunity.

An opportunity to become an Apprentice Disciple ahead of time!

[I'll ask for some recommendation votes.

Yesterday, it went up by 200.

You're seriously amazing!

The second update will still be at five in the afternoon.]