Words Manifest Reality

Li Ye stared at the Corpse Incineration Furnace before him, utterly certain.

This was the "divine artifact" he had bought from some Duoduo.

Because he had found an identical chip on the back of the furnace.

It had been damaged during shipping in his previous life. He had argued with the seller for several days over it, only to be blocked in the end.

The Corpse Refining Courtyard was enormous, with fifteen courtyards in total. Twelve of them were places for incinerating corpses, while the remaining three served as offices and resting quarters for the management.

Other than during corpse incineration, the Corpse Refining Courtyard did not restrict personal movement.

With disasters year after year, order in chaos, demons running rampant, and people living in misery, those who came to do this line of work were all pitiful souls with no way to survive.

Even those skilled in methods for suppressing corpses, talismans, and the like could only be ants struggling at the very bottom in a world where Great Experts were everywhere.

If they stayed in the Corpse Refining Courtyard, they had a bowl of food and wages every day. But once they went down the mountain, the land stretched barren for thousands of miles, refugees were everywhere, and they could not even fight for a piece of tree bark.

Going out meant death.

Li Ye had no intention of leaving. After shoveling the ashes from the furnace and taking them outside to bury, he returned, shut the gates, and sat on the steps, staring blankly at the sky.

What he needed to do now was keep a low profile—an even lower profile.

He had to minimize his chances of coming into contact with people. The more people he dealt with, the greater the danger.

Guarding such a divine artifact, if he got slaughtered before he had a chance to grow stronger, he would regret it for eight lifetimes.

Li Ye was very clear-headed.

"Once I'm strong enough, I'll go out and take in the sights of this world."

"For now, I'll be a transparent man."

Li Ye thought, secretly making up his mind. Let there be floods and savage beasts outside—he would not leave the door even if beaten to death.

First, he would lie low.

Soon, dawn came.

The Corpse Refining Courtyard delivered breakfast: two steamed corn buns the size of fists.

It was not much, but it would not starve anyone to death.

Naturally, the taste left much to be desired.

Li Ye pinched his nose and swallowed them down. He happened to be sleepy too, so he returned to his room and buried his head under the covers to sleep.

The Corpse Refining Courtyard usually worked at night.

Only after night fell and the corpses came into contact with moonlight could they determine which ones might undergo corpse transformation.

Those corpses would then be sent to the Corpse Refining Courtyard.

Those that showed no abnormalities would be buried normally.

However, a small number of fierce corpses showed signs even before nightfall.

When Li Ye woke from his sleep, he felt refreshed. After washing his face and finishing dinner, new corpses were delivered.

Black-Clad Academicians surged in like a tide and guarded the gates, and a murderous chill immediately spread through the courtyard.

Li Ye had barely entered the Corpse Incineration Room when someone locked the door behind him.

This was to prevent a failed incineration from allowing the corpse to burst through the door and cause trouble.

As for whether the Corpse Incinerator would be in danger, that was not something they considered.

A corpse covered by a Corpse Wrapping Cloth lay quietly on the rack.

Beside it were an incense stick, an incense burner, some needles and thread, paper money, towels, and other such items.

These were the standard supplies every day. The dead deserved respect, and they tried to let them leave with some dignity.

Wounds were stitched and mended. If the corpse's face was dirty or disheveled, it had to be simply wiped clean and tidied up.

As for burial clothes or new garments, those with family had already been changed into them beforehand. Those without family, naturally, had no one to prepare anything for them.

After all, even the cheapest clothes would add up to no small expense over a year.

The Corpse Refining Courtyard could not possibly waste such a large sum of money.

Yesterday, Li Ye had just transmigrated and had also been faced with a corpse transformation, so he had not had time to go through these procedures.

Today, he had to follow the rules.

He first lit the fire and warmed the furnace.

Then he brought over the incense burner and placed it before the corpse, before fetching a copper basin as well.

He lit the incense and burned the paper money, performing a simple act of worship.

"Heart as clear as water, water itself the heart. No wind stirs, no waves rise..."

Li Ye's hand holding the spirit money trembled slightly as he muttered the Taoist Cycle Incantation.

Alone with a corpse, Li Ye, a youngster who had crossed over from the twenty-first century, would be lying if he said he was not afraid.

"Big brother, now that you've gone, don't look back."

"Let everything from your life vanish like smoke. There's plenty of money and crowds of beauties ahead, waving you on."

"Go to the world that belongs to you."

Li Ye muttered.

When he finished, he lifted the Corpse Wrapping Cloth, revealing a young face. He was handsome, and had died with blood flowing from his Seven Orifices.

Black qi gathered at the corpse's glabella, faint Signs of Corpse Transformation appearing.

Li Ye's heart tightened. After giving the corpse a simple wipe-down, he pushed it into the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

The flames roared. Perhaps because this Corpse Incineration Furnace was anything but ordinary, the fire was exceptionally powerful, and the corpse quickly merged with the blaze.

During the process, Images drifted out one after another like slides.

This time, Li Ye was prepared and saw quite a few Images from the other man's life.

They made his face flush red and left him gasping heavily.

The Youngster had been born into a wealthy household, clad in fine silk and fed exquisite food. At thirteen, he had dallied with a maidservant and lost his virginity.

After that, lust became his life. Any maidservant in the residence with even a little beauty would inevitably have an improper relationship with him.

Every one of them had been willing.

One day, a Taoist Nun whose charm still lingered came to the Youngster's home. She was immensely powerful, yet even she could not escape the Youngster's silver tongue.

The Taoist Nun fell, and brought the Youngster onto the path of cultivation, where he soared into the heavens.

After arriving in the cultivation world, the Youngster refused to mend his ways, and even more women fell for him.

The later Images flashed by too quickly for Li Ye to see clearly.

In a daze, he saw someone slaughter the Youth's entire family, seemingly out of hatred over a stolen wife.

In the final Image, the Youth died miserably on the bed of a woman of the dust, his yang essence drained dry. Blood flowed from his Seven Orifices as he died.

By the bedside stood a woman with seductive eyes, her long forked tongue flicking out as she watched the Youth's corpse with amusement.

Human bodies were still too fragile. Even someone as strong as the Youth had fallen to the physique of the Demon Race.

Li Ye could not help shivering. "A Snake Demon has appeared nearby?"

The Youth was clearly not a Disciple of the Divine Concealment Sect, but the fact that he had been sent here meant he had died in one of the cities near the Divine Concealment Sect.

The nearest cities were three in number: Qingcheng, Licheng City, and Yang City.

The Snake Demon had to be in one of those three cities.

But this was not something a lowly Corpse Incinerator like Li Ye needed to worry about.

If the Snake Demon caused trouble, the Disciples of the Divine Concealment Sect and the authorities would deal with it. It was not his concern.

Buzz!

A stream of white mist shot out and entered Li Ye's body.

Body Tempering cultivation again?

This guy should have been beyond the Body Tempering Realm, shouldn't he?

Li Ye waited expectantly, only to discover that after entering his body, the white mist gathered on his... tongue.

"Blegh blegh blegh blegh..."

Li Ye's tongue trembled as though someone were tugging it, glowing with light as it vaguely began to change.

What the hell was this?

Not Body Tempering cultivation?

A trace of doubt flashed through Li Ye's heart.

At the moment the transformation was complete, a piece of information inexplicably appeared in his mind:

Words Manifest Reality: women believe whatever you say.

Li Ye was dumbfounded.

The chimney went out, and waves of killing intent filled the courtyard.

A Black-Clad Academician stepped forward and cautiously opened the door lock.

When they saw that Li Ye was safe and sound, everyone let out a sigh of relief without prior agreement.

The Leader of the Black-Clad Academicians tossed down several Copper Coins, then hurriedly retreated.

During the process, he did not say a single word to Li Ye.

As though speaking to him would bring them bad luck.

Li Ye paid it no mind. He put away the Copper Coin and swept up the ashes.

That Youth had dallied with women and brought about his entire family's slaughter. The Black-Clad Academicians had not asked for the ashes; he should have had no surviving relatives.

So Li Ye took the Youth's ashes to the place designated by the Corpse Refining Courtyard for disposal, then returned to his own small courtyard and shut the gate tight.

"Words Manifest Reality!"

Li Ye spoke softly, then discovered that he had entered a peculiar state.

In this state, his tongue seemed like lightning, becoming exceptionally nimble. His speech could be slow or fast; when fast, his tongue bloomed lotuses and his words poured like rain, spitting out over a hundred characters in a second.

If it came to an argument, who could be my match?

No, this skill seemed to have other abilities too.

A thought flashed through Li Ye's mind. He picked up a rusty Iron Nail and placed it in his mouth. With a flick of his tongue, the Iron Nail snapped into several pieces...