He had already reached the second layer of Qi Refining.
Putting everything else aside, just in terms of cultivation, Wen Jiu needed to become an Apprentice Disciple to obtain the subsequent techniques of the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art. He had also thought it through: since he had already decided to make a show of himself, he might as well go all out.
This was an opportunity.
One that came once in a thousand years.
The Dead Corpse Land stretched for ten li. After nightfall, the Yin Qi within it grew extraordinarily strong, making it impossible for Spiritual Sense to fully spread through the area. Beyond it lay the Hundred Mile Dense Forest, where finding someone would be like searching for a needle in the sea once they plunged into it.
If the three of them hadn't coveted the Black Zombie, they would never have encountered such an opportunity. Even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to deal with it.
"Brother Wang, they've split up."
After making up his mind, Wen Jiu spoke.
As soon as the words left his mouth,
before Wang Nian could stop, Manager Liu eagerly asked, "Can you still sense where they are?"
As he asked, he had already taken several Yin Dispelling Talismans from his hand.
They were much higher-grade than the Yin Dispelling Talismans Wang Nian had used earlier to scatter the Yin Qi.
"They split up in that ravine three breaths ago." Wen Jiu hurriedly pointed to the ravine shrouded in dense Yin Qi.
As soon as he finished speaking,
Manager Liu flew off on his sword, tossing one Yin Dispelling Talisman after another toward the place where the three had parted.
Boom—
Boom—
One Yin Dispelling Talisman after another was activated.
In an instant, they scattered the Yin Qi across several hundred zhang around them.
"You killed more than a dozen of my Night Patrol Division's disciples and think you can run?" Manager Liu continued tossing out Yin Dispelling Talismans as if they cost him nothing. The killing intent in his eyes grew stronger and stronger, making even Wang Nian, standing nearby, feel a chill.
After he had thrown out more than a dozen Yin Dispelling Talismans in a row, two figures were finally exposed before everyone.
Seeing that the two were dressed in the Night Patrol Division's uniforms, Manager Liu's fury blazed even hotter. He flew straight at them on his sword.
The other Night Patrol Division disciples hurried after him.
Wang Nian was about to move when Wen Jiu called out to him. "Brother Wang, let's go after the other one. I can sense where she is."
"Let's go!"
Wang Nian was delighted.
After glancing back at the Night Patrol Division's people, he added, "Wen, you're sure she's alone?"
"Mm-hmm."
Wen Jiu nodded.
He pointed to the other side of the Dead Corpse Land.
Wang Nian immediately flew after her on his sword. He had already taken out Yin Dispelling Talismans, their quality about the same as the ones Manager Liu had just produced. He had pulled out four or five at once, abandoning his usual thrift.
Before Wen Jiu could say anything, Wang Nian hurriedly said, "Wen, this is your chance, a chance that comes once in a thousand years. Normally, since you've reached the second layer of Qi Refining, becoming an Apprentice Disciple—or even a full disciple—should be well within your grasp... But the problem is that you practice an Unorthodox Path. There aren't many stewards who despise the Unorthodox Path, but some do exist. So you need proof that you didn't reach this level by damaging your lifespan or foundation, or by draining your potential to forcefully raise your cultivation."
Wang Nian continued, "This lone spy is the perfect proof! But she's a Night Patrol Division disciple, so she probably has plenty of techniques and other means. And you'll have to face her alone. If I help you, it won't count... So it's up to you to decide what to do."
Wang Nian's expression was grave. He very much wanted to help Wen Jiu become an Apprentice Disciple and join Corpse Peak.
But those were the rules.
There was nothing he could do. Wen Jiu would have to rely on himself.
Wen Jiu looked at Wang Nian, whose expression was serious but who was clearly thinking of him. A warmth rose in his heart, and he immediately answered, "Brother Wang, leave her to me."
Wang Nian nodded and gave Wen Jiu's shoulder a firm pat. In a low voice, he said, "Good! I'll use a Recording Talisman to record everything from nearby... Don't worry. If she has a trump card you can't handle, I'll step in immediately."
"Thank you, Brother Wang."
Wen Jiu clasped his hands in gratitude.
When he turned back, his gaze had already locked onto the ghost cultivator speeding through the fog of Yin Qi. Then he leaped down.
Wang Nian wasted no words. He tossed out five top-grade first-tier inferior Yin Dispelling Talismans, worth a total of thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.
But if they could help Wen Jiu,
then the spirit stones were well spent!
Boom—
With a thunderous sound, the five Yin Dispelling Talismans instantly scattered the Yin Qi across several hundred zhang.
The female cultivator's expression changed abruptly. She hurriedly held up the ghost head to block the blast, then let out a long breath of relief when she realized they were only Yin Dispelling Talismans.
Then she saw that the only person who had jumped down was Wen Jiu, dressed in plain cloth.
The steward at the third layer of Qi Refining was merely watching from the air on his sword. The female cultivator immediately understood what was going on.
"They actually think they can use this old lady as a stepping stone!" As soon as she spoke, the female cultivator hurled the ghost head in her hand at Wen Jiu. It instantly transformed into an eight-foot-tall ghost creature that surged toward him, its aura rising higher and higher.
It firmly outmatched Wen Jiu.
Seeing this, Wang Nian's expression changed.
A Yin Soul on par with the peak of the second layer of Qi Refining!
Just as Wang Nian hesitated over whether to intervene, an explosive crack rang out. The Black Zombie behind the female cultivator suddenly erupted with surging Blood Qi. Its corpse Qi shattered the Corpse Suppressing Talisman, and before the female cultivator could react, the Black Zombie's sharp ten fingers were already stabbing toward her.
The female cultivator was horrified. "How is this possible? That Corpse Suppressing Talisman should be enough to restrain a higher-realm Black Zombie. How could it fail to—"
Her voice cut off abruptly.
The Black Zombie had already lunged at her. She hurriedly summoned a black-mirror magic artifact, then sprayed a mouthful of rich vital blood onto it. Once it had been dyed crimson, she aimed it at the Black Zombie.
In an instant,
torrents of bloody ghost Qi poured out.
They swept toward the Black Zombie.
The Yin Soul ghost creature that had originally been charging at Wen Jiu also turned toward the Black Zombie. The Black Zombie didn't retreat; its corpse began to glow with blood-red light as well.
"As expected of a Night Patrol Division disciple. You even have a ghost artifact!" But when Wen Jiu saw the ghost artifact, he didn't have the Black Zombie evade. Instead, he ordered it to keep pressing forward.
At the same time,
Wen Jiu raised his hand and fired a stream of Yin magic into the Black Zombie, helping its corpse Qi reach its peak.
Watching this, Wang Nian's heart pounded.
Was this really a fight between cultivators at the second layer of Qi Refining?
He felt that even if he joined in, he wouldn't gain much of an advantage.
And that Black Zombie—
He remembered that Wen Jiu had only raised it recently.
Now it was actually powerful enough to stand against a ghost artifact and a Yin Soul ghost creature. This kid's talent for the Unorthodox Path was freakish!
No wonder he had taken a liking to him!
But this wasn't the time to celebrate.
Wang Nian also took out a magic artifact, ready to provide support at any moment. After all, Wen Jiu had only reached the second layer of Qi Refining that very night.
He might be strong.
But there had to be limits.
In the next instant,
the Black Zombie pounced on the Yin Soul ghost creature, biting down on its body in a single snap. Then it swallowed it bite by bite. No matter how the ghost creature roared and attacked the Black Zombie, it remained utterly unmoved.
Like a mountain.
The Black Zombie swallowed the surging bloody ghost Qi as well, refusing nothing that came its way. The female cultivator's expression changed abruptly.
She had wanted to pull away,
but after discovering that the Black Zombie had bitten down on her, she couldn't get free.
She couldn't even retrieve the ghost artifact.
"Just how strong was this Black Zombie when it was alive?"
As far as the female cultivator knew, the stronger a corpse had been in life, the stronger the zombie refined from it would be after death.
For the mid-realm Black Zombie before her to be powerful enough to suppress her ghost artifact and ghost creature, hadn't it been refined from a dead cultivator at the Late Qi Refining Stage?
"No, I can't let this go on!" Seeing that she could no longer regain control, the female cultivator decisively abandoned the ghost artifact and ghost creature in her hands.
She pulled out several talismans and was about to throw them.
She would buy herself one last chance to escape.
However,
Wen Jiu's streams of Yin magic kept shooting toward her.
The female cultivator hurriedly released ghost Qi and threw out talismans to block them. But after blocking them several times, she began to sense that something was wrong.
Wherever the Yin magic splashed,
it began to spread!
It was corroding the ghost Qi!
The Yin magic that had touched her arm had even seeped into her flesh and blood, spreading upward like a poisonous worm.
And it was getting faster and faster.
When she tried to use ghost magic, she discovered that the moment she tried to move the ghost Qi, the Yin magic directly corroded and devoured it.
"You're not from Corpse Peak!" the female cultivator cried out. She threw out every talisman she had saved over the years in one desperate burst.
Then she fled in panic.
However,
she hadn't gone far before she fell to the ground with a thud.
Life had left her.
Watching this, Wang Nian's heart was swept by raging waves. He was also overjoyed, as if he himself had killed the female cultivator.
"Wen, beautifully done!"
He had only just entered the second layer of Qi Refining,
yet he had killed a second-layer Qi Refining spy from the Night Patrol Division.
What kind of record was that?
How many official disciples could pull that off?
But after Wang Nian landed and looked closely at the female cultivator's corpse, still marveling, he was startled by how horribly the Yin magic had corroded it.
When he looked at Wen Jiu, he couldn't help swallowing nervously.
Thank goodness this kid was from Corpse Peak.
Not an enemy.
Before long,
a large contingent of Night Patrol Division disciples arrived.
As for the other two Night Patrol Division spies, Manager Liu had killed one with a single sword strike, while the other had had both legs severed and was taken to the Night Patrol Division's dungeon.
When the Night Patrol Division's people arrived where Wen Jiu was, they saw the female cultivator's gruesome death and their expressions changed one after another.
It was even worse than having both legs chopped off.
When they learned from Wang Nian that Wen Jiu had killed her alone, every Night Patrol Division disciple was even more shocked.
The way they looked at Wen Jiu was no longer the same as before.
Just as Wen Jiu was preparing to tidy up and leave, the arrival of one person drew everyone's attention.
"Steward Mu!"
"Steward Mu!"
It was the Night Patrol Division steward he had seen that day.
Besides him,
there were also other stewards, including Li Ye.
When Li Ye saw that Wen Jiu had already reached the second layer of Qi Refining, and the Black Zombie behind him had a stronger aura than Wen Jiu himself,
he was shocked.
How was this possible?
It had only been a short while.
Wen Jiu had actually reached the second layer of Qi Refining with the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art, and raised a Black Zombie stronger than himself.
How was this possible?
Even with a talent for the Unorthodox Path, he shouldn't be this strong, should he?
His spiritual root was only an Inferior Spiritual Root.
Just as Li Ye was marveling at this, the Night Patrol Division's Steward Mu carefully examined the female corpse and the Black Zombie, then spoke.
"Good, very good. In just two months, you've reached the second layer of Qi Refining with the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art. That proves your talent for the Unorthodox Path is astonishing... Though your spiritual root is poor, you have a gift for the Corpse Raising Method. And now you've killed one of my Night Patrol Division's spies all by yourself. Would you be willing to join Mu Canglong's command?"
As soon as he said this,
the Night Patrol Division disciples grew solemn.
Wang Nian did too.
But the most astonished were Li Ye of the Night Patrol Division and the other stewards.
[Please keep reading, please keep reading!
Fellow Daoists, please be sure to keep reading.
The new-book period makes continued reading incredibly important.
Thank you, everyone!
May you all have someone like Wang Nian by your side!]
Before you continue