The Unorthodox Path

As far as Wen Jiu knew,

Corpse Peak had a main peak and side peaks.

There was only one main peak.

But there were more than a hundred side peaks.

The place where he lived, the Dead Corpse Land, and this marketplace all belonged to Lian Wu Mountain, one of the side peaks.

Though they all fell under Lian Wu Mountain's jurisdiction, neither corpse buriers nor mortal servants were usually allowed to enter the cultivators' marketplace at will. So when Wen Jiu arrived, everywhere he looked was full of cultivators.

Male cultivators flew on swords.

Female cultivators strolled on spirit beasts.

And all kinds of spirit beasts made their homes around the marketplace.

The place where Wen Jiu lived—and that stretch of the Dead Corpse Land—seemed like an entirely different world.

"This isn't like what they show on TV." Wen Jiu looked around excitedly. Even a blade of grass seemed fascinating to him.

Before long,

under the middle-aged steward's lead, the hundred-odd corpse buriers followed a path beside the main road to the marketplace entrance.

When they drew closer, Wen Jiu saw that beyond the enormous, three-zhang-tall archway, strange golden characters kept surging up from the ground, flying into the sky in orderly fashion and gathering into a vast, pale barrier.

From afar, it was impossible to see with the naked eye. Only when they were right beside it could they make it out. Just as Wen Jiu was wondering what it was, the middle-aged steward said in a deep voice, "This is the Guardian Killing Formation. Anyone without a Disciple Token who enters will die! If you don't want to die, stand right where you are, you hear me? Anyone who moves around, don't blame me for taking away your chance to cultivate."

At his words,

the crowd saw the middle-aged steward's menacing gaze and dared not look around anymore. But Wen Jiu noticed anticipation on the faces of some corpse buriers, rather than the shock and elation others showed at hearing the words "chance to cultivate."

Clearly,

some of them had known all along.

"Corpse buriers can actually cultivate?" Wen Jiu's heart began to flutter with excitement.

But he still had his doubts.

Until he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.

Could someone who wasn't a disciple of an Immortal Mountain cultivate immortal arts too?

A short while later,

the doors of a three-story ancient tower on the edge of the marketplace, called the Dharma Transmission Tower, slowly opened. An old man in a white robe, his hair white as snow, emerged at an unhurried pace. The moment he appeared, the middle-aged steward abruptly shed his usual ferocious demeanor.

He actually hurried over to him with a fawning smile, then bent low and said respectfully, "Elder Chen, I've brought all the corpse buriers under my command."

"Mm." The White-Haired Elder nodded. After casting a detached glance over the crowd, he turned and headed back inside. "Bring them in. Once they've chosen, leave at once... Don't disturb my cultivation."

"Yes, Elder Chen."

The middle-aged steward bowed his head.

When he turned his gaze back to the corpse buriers, his menacing expression returned.

"Follow me inside in an orderly line. You have three hundred breaths to choose a Basic Cultivation Method... I'm sure many of you already have a target in mind and know the rules, but I'll still warn you: cultivation methods aren't passed on lightly. If the method in your hands gets out, you'll bear the consequences."

After his warning, the middle-aged steward walked inside at an unhurried pace. The corpse buriers, many of whom had been full of longing and anticipation from the start, hurried after him.

Wen Jiu was overjoyed and quickly followed close behind.

At last, he understood why his sister had told him to do a good job.

Being a corpse burier was hard work. They spent all year in the Death Ground, and if they were too heavily eroded by Yin Qi and Death Qi, they would die.

Why, then, had she told him to do a good job?

Shouldn't he be more careful, living in a Death Ground?

It turned out corpse buriers could cultivate!

Once inside the tower,

he found himself facing row upon row of bookshelves packed with books, each three zhang high and stretching all the way to the ceiling.

There must have been at least ten thousand volumes.

After everyone had filed inside and stood in place, the middle-aged steward said in a deep voice, "You have three hundred breaths to choose for yourselves."

The White-Haired Elder added, "Whatever cultivation method you choose here is a matter of fate; you cannot change it. I'll also remind you that a year from now, the three with the highest cultivation can become Apprentice Disciples ahead of time and enter my Corpse Peak. So think carefully about which cultivation method you choose."

At that, all hundred-odd people were delighted.

Becoming Apprentice Disciples ahead of time—

That didn't just mean enduring nine fewer years of hardship. It also meant getting the support of Corpse Peak sooner.

They could become Immortal Masters sooner.

That was the very reason they had been willing to sign away their freedom and become corpse buriers. Now they had a chance to make that hope come true ahead of schedule.

How could they not be excited?

After the White-Haired Elder nodded, the crowd surged toward the bookshelves like a wave.

Wen Jiu didn't follow them right away.

He had no interest in the shelves marked for basic Qi Refining. He wanted to find a cultivation method for Corpse Nurturers in the tower. The Daily Settlement Panel had made him a Corpse Nurturer and given him secret arts.

But it hadn't given him a comprehensive cultivation method.

So he would have to find one himself.

But searching blindly wouldn't do.

He needed to ask the White-Haired Elder.

If he couldn't get an answer, it wouldn't cost him anything.

But if he did, it could save him a lot of trouble.

And so Wen Jiu swallowed his pride, walked respectfully over to the White-Haired Elder, and said, "Greetings, Old Immortal Master."

"You only have three hundred breaths."

The White-Haired Elder spoke indifferently.

Wen Jiu asked, "This junior wants to find cultivation methods related to corpse refinement and corpse nurturing. I ask the Old Immortal Master to point me in the right direction."

"Corpse refinement? You come to my Dharma Transmission Tower, yet you want to learn the Unorthodox Path!" The White-Haired Elder seemed surprised and displeased, but still pointed the way for Wen Jiu. "Go straight ahead. There's an Unorthodox Path section at the dusty end."

"Thank you, Old Immortal Master."

Wen Jiu clasped his hands.

He also bowed to the middle-aged steward.

Then he hurried past the dazzling rows of books and ran toward the bookshelves at the end of the corridor, where the White-Haired Elder had pointed.

A short while later,

Wen Jiu finally found the dusty section.

Books on corpse nurturing, corpse refinement, and unorthodox arts like gu cultivation were piled there, but the dust on them was as thick as their covers.

Clearly, no one had touched them in a long time.

Wen Jiu hurriedly flipped through them one by one. At last, he found a fairly comprehensive book: Yin Province Corpse Refining Record.

It contained not only methods for corpse refinement and corpse nurturing,

but also a cultivation method for Corpse Nurturers.

The two together

were exactly what Wen Jiu needed most right now.

But after getting what he wanted, Wen Jiu wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he continued flipping through the other books.

Every little bit he could read was worth reading.

Every little bit he could remember was worth remembering.

In the blink of an eye, three hundred breaths had passed. The White-Haired Elder's deep voice rang out, and only then did Wen Jiu start to leave.

But as he was leaving the ancient tower, the White-Haired Elder watched him for several breaths before sneering, "A schemer, choosing the Unorthodox Path instead of cultivating the magnificent Qi Refining Method of the Righteous Path!"

Wen Jiu pretended he hadn't heard.

But as he passed the old man, he heard him say, "Boy, the Unorthodox Path may let you cultivate quickly, but you live in a Death Ground and suffer the erosion of Yin Qi every day. You're cultivating corpse-nurturing arts too, keeping company with Yin Qi and Death Qi. When you finally succeed, I'm afraid it'll be the day you die... So even if you rank first in cultivation a year from now, no one will choose you as an Apprentice Disciple of Corpse Peak."

Wen Jiu froze at those words.

But the moment he came to his senses, the White-Haired Elder had already yawned and turned to leave, giving Wen Jiu no chance to speak.