Midnight Inquiry

When they arrived at the Flying Immortal Peak's Night Patrol Division, the place was exceptionally quiet, both inside and out. With all the candlelight extinguished, only a few night-shift disciples could be vaguely seen in the darkness, along with strange beast roars coming from somewhere unknown.

When Wen Jiu arrived, they merely glanced at him before continuing to stand like Stone Puppets.

Led by an unknown Night Patrol Division disciple, Wen Jiu traveled through stone alleys and past ancient buildings, arriving at the highest point of the Night Patrol Division.

Before a stone hall that resembled a giant beast coiled on the mountainside under the dark night.

"Follow me inside."

Mu Canglong, who had been waiting at the entrance of the stone hall, spoke in a deep voice before striding into the stone hall.

Wen Jiu quickly followed.

Wen Jiu originally wanted to ask what was going on, but before he could speak, Mu Canglong interrupted him with a raised hand.

Soon.

Wen Jiu was led to the third floor.

Then, passing through the corridor on the third floor, they stopped in front of a room flickering with candlelight. "Go in, the Elder wants to see you."

Elder!

Wen Jiu's heart tightened.

The Elder in charge of the Night Patrol Division?

With doubt, Wen Jiu knocked on the door. He saw an old man with a head full of white hair standing in front of a square table. His face was aged, but he was spirited. He was writing something under the candlelight, and stopped abruptly when Wen Jiu entered.

Then, he slowly walked out from behind the square table and approached Wen Jiu. Although his steps were slow, he exuded an extremely powerful pressure that made Wen Jiu feel as if he were standing before a terrifying giant beast.

It also gave Wen Jiu a chilling intuition: the other party could crush him with a single finger!

"Elder!"

Wen Jiu took a step back, avoiding the invisible pressure, and then bowed.

The white-haired old man did not respond. He remained standing with his hands behind his back, staring down at Wen Jiu. After a few moments, he spoke coldly, "You've been nurturing corpses in the Dead Corpse Land for so long, have you ever been to the central area?"

Without waiting for Wen Jiu to speak, the white-haired old man said coldly, "Answer truthfully. If you answer well, you will become a formal disciple in the future... If you answer poorly, you will be buried there with your Black Zombie."

As the words fell.

Wen Jiu's heart skipped a beat.

He then quickly and respectfully said, "Disciple has only been there once or twice, and only wandered the edges, not daring to go deep... At that time, I was only at Qi Refining Layer One, and my body couldn't withstand the Yin energy of the central area."

"Come here!"

The white-haired old man suddenly said coldly.

As Wen Jiu took two steps forward, he was abruptly grabbed by the wrist, as if caught by the claws of a giant beast.

Immediately after, Wen Jiu felt a Spiritual Sense scanning him from head to toe.

At this moment.

Wen Jiu's mind was in a frenzy.

Thinking about what to do.

How to escape.

But when he thought of the other party being an Elder of the Night Patrol Division, even summoning his Black Zombie wouldn't be enough to defeat him, so Wen Jiu could only force himself to remain calm.

This feeling of his life being in someone else's hands, to be crushed at their whim, was truly disgusting.

Truly detestable!

Fortunately, after a few moments, the white-haired old man released his hand. Wen Jiu looked down and saw that his hand had turned somewhat bruised.

It also stung a little.

"No wonder you could reach Qi Refining Second Layer so quickly. It turns out the Yin energy has already entered your body so severely."

The white-haired old man said coldly again, "There are Unorthodox Path cultivators who practice the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art and have lived to Qi Refining Sixth Layer... but you are only at Qi Refining Second Layer, and Yin energy has already entered your internal organs and flesh. You probably won't even live to Qi Refining Fourth Layer!"

Hearing this, Wen Jiu knew that the other party likely mistook his body refining with Earth Fiend Yin Energy as Yin energy entering his body.

With this, Wen Jiu immediately had an idea. He quickly followed up on this topic and acted weak.

"Please, Elder, save my life!"

Hearing this, the white-haired old man sneered, "You do have some intelligence. But you'll have to survive until Qi Refining Third Layer first... Now, tell me everything you know about the Dead Corpse Land!"

"Yes!"

Wen Jiu quickly nodded.

He recounted the situation of the Dead Corpse Land and the process of nurturing his corpses, but he did not mention the Xue Mo San Qian corpses or the Black Zombie's Blood Transformation Body at all.

However, this Elder of the Night Patrol Division seemed more concerned about the central area and kept asking about it.

Wen Jiu answered truthfully.

Seeing that he couldn't get any more information, the white-haired old man let it go, but Wen Jiu could sense his dissatisfaction.

Even some displeasure.

Just then, Mu Canglong suddenly knocked on the door.

"Elder!"

Hearing Mu Canglong's voice, the white-haired elder's displeased expression finally changed. He waved for Wen Jiu to leave.

After leaving the room.

Wen Jiu felt as if a great weight had been lifted.

He felt like he had just walked through a mountain of knives and wanted to get away from the Night Patrol Division as quickly as possible.

But fate had other plans. As Mu Canglong entered the room, he secretly used a sound transmission technique to tell Wen Jiu not to leave yet.

A moment later.

Mu Canglong walked out of the hall.

His expression hadn't changed much, making it impossible to tell what had happened, as if nothing had occurred.

"Don't tell me what the elder asked you," Mu Canglong said immediately upon exiting. "Did the elder say your yin energy intrusion was very severe, already affecting your internal organs, flesh, and blood?"

As he spoke.

Mu Canglong took out a jade bottle from his storage bag, revealing over a dozen pills inside.

"These are Body Nourishing Pills. They can nourish the body and expel yin energy to invigorate blood. They aren't exactly top-tier pills, but they'll be very useful for you."

Wen Jiu respectfully accepted them.

"Thank you, Steward Mu."

Mu Canglong said as he walked, "Unorthodox paths may offer rapid progress, but they also severely damage the body. Slow down your cultivation speed in the future... The longest-lived person cultivating the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art only reached fifty-seven years old and Qi Refining Layer Six. If you want to live longer, you should slow down your cultivation."

"Understood."

Wen Jiu nodded.

He didn't say much more.

Because if anyone found out he wasn't afraid of yin energy and instead used Earth Fiend Yin Energy to temper his body, he'd likely be dissected for research.

"Alright, let's go. Don't mention today's events to anyone... or I won't be able to protect you."

With that parting remark, Mu Canglong turned and walked back into the hall.

Wen Jiu cast a deep glance at the stone hall, feeling an unsettling chill. The thought of the Night Patrol Division elder's face made him quicken his pace to leave.

Even after returning home.

Wen Jiu was still somewhat uneasy.

The Night Patrol Division elder had brought him too much anxiety.

It also gave him a genuine sense of disgust.

Disgust at his own weakness.

That feeling of being held in someone's palm, able to be crushed at will, was unbearable.

Inside the stone hall.

Mu Canglong returned once more.

As if the previous events had never happened, Mu Canglong spoke respectfully, "Elder Gong, I've received news that remnants of the Blood Robe Tower have allied with some wicked heretics and rogue cultivators. They are preparing to settle scores with the families affiliated with Flying Immortal Peak... Should we take action?"

"Didn't you see the Peak Master today?"

The white-haired elder spoke in a deep voice.

Mu Canglong nodded. "Entry to the peak has been forbidden. Only the Peak Master's confidantes are allowed access."

"The remnants of the Blood Robe Tower and the wicked heretics are clearly after Xue Mo San Qian's corpse. This so-called 'settling scores' with the affiliated families is merely a ploy to distract our attention and strength," the white-haired elder stated plainly. He then slowly folded the document he had been writing and handed it to Mu Canglong.

Mu Canglong respectfully accepted it.

But he didn't unfold it to read.

Instead, he continued, "If we do nothing, I fear no immortal cultivation families will be willing to offer tribute in the future."

The white-haired elder, his face grim, said, "Then act. I imagine the Peak Master is currently studying that corpse, trying to find Xue Mo San Qian's secret technique... A technique that allowed someone to reach Qi Cultivation Great Perfection at fifty-six years old. It's truly tempting."

Mu Canglong looked up but said nothing.

Only when the white-haired elder waved his hand.

Mu Canglong immediately turned and left, then took the disciples of the Night Patrol Division and departed Flying Immortal Peak that very night.

Meanwhile.

Wen Jiu lay on his bed, lost in thought.

He pondered the situation at Flying Immortal Peak, but couldn't figure it out.

He decided to think about sales channels for the Soul Seizing Talisman instead.

Selling it at Flying Immortal Peak was obviously unrealistic. If he were to sell it, he'd probably have to go to a trading market where no one knew him.

With that in mind, Wen Jiu took out the map of the area around Flying Immortal Peak he'd found earlier and looked at it. He saw the rogue cultivator market at Lian Wu Mountain.

Li Ye was there.

If he went, he might be able to kill him.

But it would also attract an investigation.

Never mind.

He'd find another place.

Wen Jiu's gaze fell on the other side of the map.

Fifty miles east of Flying Immortal Peak, there was a rogue cultivator trading market called Baihua Mountain Market.

According to the map's information, this place was always crowded with three to five thousand cultivators, including rogue cultivators, bandit cultivators, disciples from other side peaks, and disciples from the main sect's peak. Selling the Soul Seizing Talisman there shouldn't be a problem for sales.

[See you all tomorrow, fellow Daoists.]