Midnight Inquiry

When Wen Jiu arrived at the Night Patrol Division on Flying Immortal Peak, the place was eerily quiet, inside and out. With every candle extinguished, only a few night-watch disciples were barely visible in the darkness, along with the strange roars of beasts coming from who knew where.

When Wen Jiu arrived, they merely glanced at him, then resumed standing there like Stone Puppets.

Led by an unnamed Night Patrol Division disciple, Wen Jiu passed through stone alleys and Ancient Towers, making his way to the highest point of the Night Patrol Division.

Before a stone hall crouched on the mountainside like a giant beast in the dark.

"Come in with me."

Mu Canglong, who had been waiting at the entrance, spoke in a deep voice. Then he walked into the stone hall at an unhurried pace.

Wen Jiu hurried after him.

Wen Jiu had wanted to ask what this was all about, but just as he opened his mouth, Mu Canglong raised a hand and cut him off.

Soon,

Wen Jiu was taken up to the third floor.

They crossed the third-floor corridor and stopped before a room flickering with candlelight. "Go in. The elder wants to see you."

An elder!

Wen Jiu's heart tightened.

The elder in charge of the Night Patrol Division?

With questions swirling in his mind, Wen Jiu knocked on the door. Inside, an old man with a head of white hair stood before a square table. His face was lined with age, but his eyes were bright and his spirit vigorous. He had been writing something by candlelight, but stopped as soon as Wen Jiu entered.

Then the old man lowered his head and slowly came around the table, stopping in front of Wen Jiu. His steps were slow, but his whole body radiated an immense pressure that made Wen Jiu feel as though he were standing before a terrifying giant beast.

It also gave Wen Jiu a spine-chilling intuition: the other man could crush him to death with a single finger!

"Elder!"

Wen Jiu took a step back to escape the invisible pressure, then bowed.

The White-Haired Elder did not respond. He stood with his hands behind his back, staring down at Wen Jiu. Only after several breaths did he speak coldly. "You've been nurturing corpses in the Dead Corpse Land for so long. Have you ever been to the central region?"

Before Wen Jiu could answer, the White-Haired Elder said coldly, "Answer truthfully. If your answer satisfies me, you'll become an official disciple. If it doesn't, you and your Black Zombie will be buried there."

The words fell.

Wen Jiu's heart lurched.

He hurriedly replied with a respectful bow, "This disciple has only gone once or twice, and only wandered around the outskirts. I didn't dare venture deeper... I was only at Qi Refining Layer One back then, and my body couldn't withstand the Yin Qi in the central region."

"Come here!"

The White-Haired Elder's voice suddenly turned cold.

Wen Jiu had barely taken two steps forward when the elder seized his wrist, gripping it like the claw of a giant beast.

Right after, Wen Jiu felt a Spiritual Sense sweep over his entire body, from head to toe, leaving nothing unchecked.

At that moment,

Wen Jiu's mind went into overdrive.

He thought frantically about what to do.

How could he get out of this?

But the other man was an elder of the Night Patrol Division. Even if Wen Jiu summoned his Black Zombie, it wouldn't be a match for him. All he could do was force himself to stay calm.

Having his life in someone else's hands, there for the taking, was truly loathsome.

Utterly hateful!

Fortunately, after a few breaths, the White-Haired Elder released him. Wen Jiu looked down and saw that his wrist had turned faintly blue from the grip.

It stung, too.

"No wonder you reached Qi Refining Second Layer so quickly. The Yin Qi has already invaded your body this severely."

The White-Haired Elder continued coldly, "Among those Wicked Path Cultivators who practiced the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art, some lived to Qi Refining Sixth Layer. But you're only at Qi Refining Second Layer, and the Yin Qi has already reached your organs and flesh. I'm afraid you won't even live to reach Qi Refining Fourth Layer!"

Hearing this, Wen Jiu knew the other man had mistaken the way he used Earth Fiend Yin Energy to temper his body for Yin Qi invading his body.

At once, Wen Jiu came up with a plan. He hurriedly followed the elder's line of thought and played weak.

"Please save my life, Elder!"

The White-Haired Elder gave a cold laugh. "You've got a little sense, at least. But we'll talk after you reach Qi Refining Third Layer and survive. For now, tell me everything you know about the Dead Corpse Land!"

"Yes!"

Wen Jiu hurriedly nodded.

He told the elder everything he knew about the Dead Corpse Land, along with the process of nurturing his corpse, but said nothing about Xue Mo San Qian's corpse or the Black Zombie's Blood Transformation Body.

The Night Patrol Division's elder seemed more concerned with the central region, and kept asking about it.

Wen Jiu answered truthfully.

When it became clear that he couldn't get anything more out of Wen Jiu, the White-Haired Elder finally let it go, though Wen Jiu could tell he was somewhat dissatisfied.

Even displeased.

Just then, Mu Canglong 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 from his shoulders.

He felt like he'd just walked across a mountain of blades, and wanted nothing more than to get away from the Night Patrol Division.

But things didn't go as he'd hoped. When Mu Canglong entered the room, he secretly used a voice transmission technique to tell Wen Jiu not to leave yet.

A little while later,

Mu Canglong came out of the hall.

His expression had not changed, and it was impossible to tell what had happened. He looked as though nothing had happened at all.

"What the elder asked you is none of my business, so don't tell me." As soon as he came out, Mu Canglong spoke. "I heard from the elder that the Yin Qi in your body is very severe. It's already reached your internal organs and flesh?"

As he spoke,

Mu Canglong took a jade bottle from his Storage Bag. Inside were more than a dozen pills.

"These are Body Nourishing Pills. They can nourish the body, dispel Yin Qi, and invigorate the blood. They're not particularly good pills, but they'll be very useful to you."

Wen Jiu accepted them respectfully.

"Thank you, Steward Mu."

Mu Canglong spoke as they walked. "The Unorthodox Path may bring rapid improvement, but it also takes a heavy toll on the body. You should slow down from now on... The person who lived the longest while practicing the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Art only reached the age of fifty-seven and Qi Refining Sixth Layer. If you want to live longer, slow your cultivation."

"Understood."

Wen Jiu nodded.

He said nothing more.

If people found out he wasn't afraid of Yin Qi and was instead using Earth Fiend Yin Energy to temper his body, they might cut him up and study him.

"All right, go. Don't tell anyone about what happened today... Otherwise, I won't be able to protect you."

After leaving him with those words, Mu Canglong turned and headed back into the hall.

Wen Jiu took one last look inside the stone hall. The place gave him the creeps. Thinking of the Night Patrol Division elder's face, he hurried away.

Even after he returned home,

Wen Jiu still felt uneasy.

That Night Patrol Division elder had left him deeply unsettled.

He had also made Wen Jiu feel a genuine flash of loathing.

Loathing for his own weakness.

The feeling of being held in someone's palm, there for the crushing, was unbearable.

Inside the stone hall,

Mu Canglong returned once more.

As though nothing had happened earlier, he respectfully addressed the White-Haired Elder. "Elder Gong, I've received word that the Blood Robe Tower's remnants have joined forces with some Wicked Heretics and rogue cultivators. They're preparing to settle scores with the Lineage families under Flying Immortal Peak... Should we take action?"

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

The White-Haired Elder spoke in a deep voice.

Mu Canglong nodded. "The peak is now off-limits. Only the Sect Master's trusted aides are allowed up there."

"The Blood Robe Tower's remnants and those Wicked Heretics clearly came for Xue Mo San Qian's corpse. Their talk of settling scores with the subordinate families is just an attempt to divide our attention and forces."

The White-Haired Elder spoke plainly. Then he slowly folded the paper he had written earlier and handed it to Mu Canglong.

Mu Canglong accepted it respectfully.

But he did not unfold it to read.

Instead, he continued, "If we do nothing, I'm afraid no Cultivation Households will be willing to pay tribute in the future."

The White-Haired Elder spoke with a dark expression. "Then we'll act. The Sect Master is probably examining that corpse right now, trying to uncover Xue Mo San Qian's secret method... A method that let someone reach Qi Cultivation Great Perfection at fifty-six. It's enough to make anyone's heart flutter."

Mu Canglong looked up but said nothing.

Only when the White-Haired Elder waved did Mu Canglong turn and leave, taking the Night Patrol Division disciples with him as he left Flying Immortal Peak in the dead of night.

Meanwhile,

Wen Jiu lay on his bed, lost in thought.

He wondered what exactly was going on at Flying Immortal Peak.

But after turning it over in his mind again and again, he still couldn't figure it out.

So he decided to think about where to sell the Soul Seizing Talismans instead.

Selling them on Flying Immortal Peak was clearly unrealistic. If he wanted to sell them, he'd have to find a trading market where no one knew him.

With that thought, Wen Jiu took out the map of the area around Flying Immortal Peak that he had picked up earlier and studied it. He spotted the Rogue Cultivator market at Lian Wu Mountain.

Li Ye was there.

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

But it could also draw an investigation.

Forget it.

He'd go somewhere else.

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

Fifty li east of Flying Immortal Peak lay a Rogue Cultivator trading market called Baihua Mountain Market.

According to the map, three to five thousand cultivators gathered there year-round. There were Rogue Cultivators, rogue cultivators who robbed others, disciples from other peaks, and even disciples from the sect's main peak. He wouldn't be short of buyers if he went there to sell Soul Seizing Talismans.

[See you tomorrow, fellow Daoists.]