Reward

"Ah!"

The female corpse let out a piercing scream as it entered the corpse-burning furnace.

She realized she had been tricked and struggled with all her might.

But the furnace was no ordinary one. Clusters of flames, like invisible chains of rules, prevented the female corpse from breaking free.

Soon, she quieted down.

She merged with the flames, and scenes from her life flickered into existence.

The female corpse was clearly no ordinary person, and Li Ye was intensely curious about her identity.

He stared intently at the floating fragments.

The girl was born into a cultivation family, living a life of luxury with excellent upbringing and considerable cultivation talent.

She was a proud daughter of her generation.

The woman's life was simple and clean.

But she had an elder sister, three years her senior, who had fallen in love with a handsome young man from out of town two years prior.

Due to their mismatched social standing, the family strongly opposed the relationship.

Seeing her sister unhappy, the girl suggested they elope.

So, they eloped.

Not long after, the family received a ransom note.

It demanded their family's ancestral spirit ginseng in exchange for the sister's return.

The kidnapper was the girl's sister's lover.

However, the letter bore the mark of the Demonic Path.

The spirit ginseng was sent, but the sister did not return.

She died.

A tragic death at the hands of the Demonic Path.

The girl was heartbroken, believing she was responsible for her sister's death.

Thus, she launched a furious revenge against the Demonic Path, seeking the unfaithful man who had killed her sister.

Finally, the man appeared, but he had set a trap.

Several powerful figures from the Demonic Path appeared simultaneously, surrounding and attacking the lone girl.

In the end, both sides perished together.

"No wonder she said no man is any good. It seems that after the Corpse Cultivator gained sentience, it inherited some memories from the girl's body."

Li Ye suddenly understood.

After witnessing the girl's life, he felt a sense of loss.

This was a cultivation genius with a bright future.

What a pity…

Li Ye gained a deeper understanding of the cruelty of this world.

Buzz!

A white mist surged out, entering Li Ye's body before integrating into his internal organs and limbs.

The next moment, his body erupted with crackling sounds as his skin, muscles, bones, and tendons were all tempered simultaneously.

Boom!

A faint tremor echoed within Li Ye's body, and he broke through to the fourth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

The white mist did not dissipate and continued its tempering.

A moment later, another light sound echoed within Li Ye's body, and he broke through to the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

"Two levels…"

Li Ye was very dissatisfied.

The woman was a Corpse Cultivator.

And she only gave him two levels of Body Tempering cultivation.

As he was complaining, he discovered a passage of scripture inexplicably appeared in his mind.

It seemed to be the Corpse Suppressing Incantation.

But it was longer, with a total of eighty-one characters.

Corpse Suppressing Incantation: If you recite this within a single breath, it will inflict effective damage on corpses.

"An enhanced version?"

Li Ye was excited.

What's most important in the corpse-burning room?

Survival, of course.

He currently only had a mere five layers of Body Tempering cultivation, and encountering some major Fierce Corpses would still be troublesome.

Now, with this enhanced Corpse Suppressing Incantation, his chances of survival would greatly increase.

This was far more precious than two layers of Body Tempering cultivation.

A killing intent enveloped the area as the door opened.

The Black-Clad Academicians were stunned.

Li Ye was sitting on the ground, leisurely cleaning his ears.

He survived?

The knives in the Black-Clad Academicians' hands froze mid-air, their mouths agape.

The leader, usually expressionless, was slightly dazed. "...You're alright?"

Li Ye stood up, brushed off his pants, and with a flourish, ran a hand through his messy long hair. He cupped his fists in a salute to everyone, gesticulating wildly.

"It all happened so fast! As soon as I entered the room, the white burial shrouds fluttered."

"Before the corpse could even rise, I leaped forward and gave it a thousand-pound drop."

"Then a left hook sent it crawling on the ground, and I followed up with a sweeping kick, knocking the female corpse down a second time..."

Li Ye's story grew more animated, his saliva flying, his hands constantly mimicking his actions.

Eventually, he grabbed the bronze basin, wooden bucket, and other items in the room, putting on a whole show.

"Supreme Lord Laozi, by the urgent command of the law, Five Guardian Spirits, Four Heavenly Kings, heed my decree and capture that Fierce Corpse..."

Li Ye struck a delicate pose with his fingers, shouting like an opera singer. His performance left the Black-Clad Academicians exchanging bewildered glances.

"Boss, is he crazy?"

"I think he's traumatized."

A few of them murmured.

The leader twitched his nose and frowned. "Such a strong smell of alcohol..."

So he hadn't sobered up yet.

As the words fell, Li Ye suddenly collapsed onto the ground and fell asleep.

"Find someone to collect the ashes. The family is waiting outside."

The leader said helplessly.

"The first person to survive after eating roast chicken. Interesting."

"Tomorrow, I'll treat him to steamed buns. My treat."

Before leaving, the leader gave the order and tossed down the day's wages.

"Fake alcohol!"

The next day, Li Ye opened his eyes on the floor of the corpse-burning room and ate a steamed bun.

It was beef and scallion filling, very delicious.

This wasn't a reward for completing a difficult task, but purely for his performance yesterday.

So Li Ye ate with peace of mind.

As night fell, the Black-Clad Academicians rushed in.

As expected, the leader, somewhat curious, inquired again about what happened last night.

Because in his opinion, that corpse was no ordinary one.

Li Ye claimed he couldn't remember, vaguely recalling it was a big sister whom he had beaten into the corpse-burning furnace with a few punches and kicks.

The leader shook his head and didn't ask further.

To him, this was just a trivial matter.

For the next several days, Li Ye didn't encounter any Corpse Transformations and lived peacefully.

The rewards were Body Tempering cultivation ranging from a few days to a month.

One morning, Zhou Bao found Li Ye and brought some bad news.

Liu Sanshou was dead.

He was that thin man who could never put his master thief skills to good use, always smiling at people with slightly yellowed teeth.

Last night, a corpse rose, and Liu Sanshou died on the spot.

The Fierce Corpse was suppressed by the Black-Clad Academicians and dealt with by a probationary Corpse Incinerator.

Note: Black-Clad Academicians do not burn corpses, even after suppressing them.

Li Ye, carrying the remaining half-pot of Daughter Red wine from last time, arrived at Liu Sanshou's grave.

He offered incense and burned paper with Zhou Bao, paying their simple respects.

"...The emperor is young, and treacherous officials hold power."

"The Great Gan Dynasty's national fortune is declining day by day?"

"When will this era end?"

Zhou Bao couldn't help but grumble.

Of the thirteen Corpse Incinerators from the morning more than ten days ago, only he and Li Ye remained.

"If we stay here, we'll die sooner or later."

Zhou Bao cursed, feeling extremely stifled. But if not here, where else could he go?

Li Ye thought for a moment, then took out a coarse cloth pouch from his embrace.

It was filled to the brim with copper coins, and he tossed the coin pouch to Zhou Bao, who looked taken aback.

"You won't be able to practice your incantation. Go down the mountain and find a livelihood."

Li Ye patted Zhou Bao's shoulder and said, offering encouragement.

The Corpse Refining Courtyard did not 'kidnap' Corpse Incinerators; they could resign and leave.

"Brother Li Bai, you haven't spent a single coin."

"I can't take this. I feel like I'm close to mastering the Corpse Suppressing Incantation, and I can hold on for a few more days."

Zhou Bao weighed Li Ye's coin pouch and said, firmly refusing.

The daily wage at the Corpse Refining Courtyard was twenty coins, which was quite generous in these chaotic times.

With pork, one could buy three taels. With flour, one could buy a pound of flour.

Li Ye ate steamed buns every day and hadn't spent a single coin.

A total of five hundred and fifty-five coins was a considerable sum.

He persuaded him a couple more times, but Zhou Bao refused no matter what, insisting on mastering the Corpse Suppressing Incantation.

Seeing this, Li Ye didn't press further.

Suddenly, Zhou Bao said, "Brother Li Bai, have you heard?"

"That famous Night Roaming God has come to our area. The Divine Concealment Sect and the local authorities have all mobilized."

Night Roaming God? What is that?

Li Ye was puzzled.

The Night Roaming God was a person, or more accurately, a thief.

He specialized in operating at night, stealing anything from small items like chickens and ducks, to medium-sized treasures like gold and silver, and even large assets like sect resources and cultivation manuals. He had never failed to get anything he set his sights on.

He was known as the Night Roaming God!

"It's rumored that this person has a pair of divine legs, extraordinary talent, and unparalleled movement techniques."

"The night before, he committed a crime in Gui City, and by the morning of the next day, he appeared in Liang City, a thousand miles away. Isn't that incredible?"

Zhou Bao said with great admiration.

Traveling a thousand miles in a night? Li Ye was astonished.

This was truly a divine being.

Faster than the high-speed rail in his previous life.

No, it was possible he just traveled a thousand miles during the night.

After all, he stole things in the middle of the night.

"He visited the Prefect's mansion a few days ago, and then many of the Prefect's treasures vanished."

"Tsk, tsk, the Prefect is a notoriously corrupt official. I wonder what treasures the Night Roaming God stole to make this dog official so anxious."

Zhou Bao was incredibly curious.

In the afternoon, a bloody corpse was carried into the Corpse Refining Courtyard