Big Black and the Corpse Demon Cult

In the muddy ground at the foot of the mountain, dots of bloodstains wound their way forward. Seeing this, Su Ye's footsteps suddenly quickened, and he plunged straight into the depths of the dense forest.

Not long after, he finally found the Black Commander by a giant rock. The fierce bird was holding something tightly in its beak, its wings half-drooped, its claws kicking up dust as it fled madly deeper into the mountain forest.

Seeing this, Su Ye's legs exerted force, and the thick tree trunk he held onto trembled violently. Leaves rustled, the autumn wind whistled past his ears, and he lightly stepped on the ground, like a swallow gliding through the air. In a few breaths, he had caught up to the black shadow ahead.

The Black Commander suddenly felt something amiss behind it and spun around. Its pupils contracted as it looked at the approaching figure. It spat out the wings in its beak and said resentfully, "Kid, do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

"Oh. Do you have any trump cards left?"

As he spoke, Su Ye had already closed the distance and brought his Ghost Head Saber down with all his might without hesitation.

"Clang!"

The sound of metal colliding echoed far and wide. The Black Commander was using its left claw to desperately block the incoming blade.

Seeing this, Su Ye couldn't help but show surprise. Although he had only used half his strength, this large bird, having lost one wing, could still block it. He had truly underestimated it.

The Black Commander was not as relaxed as Su Ye imagined. It was not skilled in frontal combat, and blocking the Ghost Head Saber before it was its limit.

As Su Ye continued to increase the pressure, the cold glint of the blade gradually neared the crow's chest.

"Stop... Stop, I was wrong, I was wrong."

Su Ye seemed not to hear, his arm continuing to exert force.

Seeing the blade getting closer and closer, even feeling a stinging sensation on the skin beneath its feathers.

The Black Commander repeatedly begged for mercy, "Stop quickly, I have information to tell you."

"Magistrate Chen of Linshan County is in a cooperative relationship with us."

"The Corpse Demon Cult!"

"I also found traces of the Corpse Demon Cult within Linshan City."

Seeing that the person before him remained unmoved, the Black Commander immediately used a Secret Technique to communicate: "I am willing to pledge allegiance to you."

The voice that suddenly appeared in his Sea of Consciousness made Su Ye's downward press pause. The information itself was tempting, but what truly surprised him was this voice.

This was a secret telepathic transmission. He had heard of it before; only cultivators above the Aperture Opening realm could condense their thoughts and transmit them directly into someone's ear.

He slowly retracted his long saber, then placed it back at the Black Commander's neck. Su Ye's gaze was deep: "What method did you just use? You're only in the Body Tempering Realm, yet you can use secret telepathic transmission."

The Black Commander said somewhat proudly, "This is our race's innate talent. Most of us can use it after reaching adulthood.

However, I was born with a strong spirit. I am currently one hundred and eight years old, and I still have sixty years until adulthood."

Su Ye directly interrupted, "You just said you were willing to pledge allegiance to me, what method is that?"

The large bird hesitated slightly. Seeing this, Su Ye moved his wrist, and the wide blade moved slightly closer to its neck.

"Sigh... Sigh!"

A transparent crow phantom suddenly appeared in Su Ye's mind. At this moment, he was like the crow, but the crow phantom was more condensed and much larger.

"This is..."

Su Ye exclaimed in surprise.

The crow phantom immediately explained, "This is my spiritual imprint. Now, both of us are in your Sea of Consciousness. How can your soul be stronger than mine?"

Su Ye remained silent, staring directly at the crow phantom.

Seeing this, the crow said with a pained expression, "Big Brother, please spare my life. From now on, if you tell me to go west, I will never dare to go east. Big Brother, please imprint this onto me."

"From now on, my life will depend on just one thought from Big Brother."

Su Ye recalled the contracts he often saw in novels in his past life and couldn't help but ask, "Are you talking about a contract?"

"Yes, yes, it's that kind of life-and-death contract. As long as you have the slightest thought, I will wish I were dead." The crow grinned, making exaggerated gestures.

This world actually had something like a contract. If it was as the crow said, sparing its life would be acceptable. After all, having a flying scout to gather information would save a lot of effort.

With that thought, Su Ye looked at the crow: "You are quite decisive."

As the Black Commander voluntarily opened its mind, Su Ye, without any prior instruction, imprinted the spiritual imprint into the crow's body.

After a while, the man and the bird sat facing each other. Su Ye said calmly, "Tell me about the information you mentioned earlier."

Hearing Su Ye's softened tone, the Black Commander's expression relaxed, and it said flatteringly, "Ahem, Boss, your divine might is unparalleled, unlike ordinary mortals."

"Don't change the subject. You just mentioned Magistrate Chen, the Corpse Demon Cult, and your massacre of the towns."

"Yes, yes, Magistrate Chen was aware of all these schemes."

"Magistrate Chen, as the local official, how could he be so wicked? Isn't he afraid of exposure?"

The Black Commander stammered for a long time: "I don't know, I only heard the Great King say that even if the old magistrate didn't agree, we would still proceed as planned."

"Aren't you afraid of attracting the attention of the Demon Suppression Division?" Su Ye asked curiously.

"Not exactly. Only two of the brothers sent out to hunt last night returned. The remaining three waves of brothers have not been seen since."

"The Great King then sent me to investigate the anomaly. There were a total of three towns. One is here, Boss, and another was a Martial Artist who had luckily broken through a bottleneck."

The Black Commander showed a look of relief: "The last one was a hidden message left by the Demon Suppression Division when they departed. The Great King learned of this and secretly eliminated them. Then, he sent Hu Dang to the county yamen to demand benefits."

"Boss, I heard from Hu Dang that the old magistrate initially refused outright, but after we promised him three thousand catties of blood and flesh medicinal pills, he readily agreed."

Hearing this, Su Ye's expression gradually turned cold. Flesh and blood elixirs were refined from the bodies of humans or Demonic Beasts. One pound of elixir required twenty pounds of flesh and blood to refine.

As for the elixirs in the hands of the Demonic Beasts, they were naturally made from human flesh. He hadn't expected Magistrate Chen to collude with the Demonic Beasts, and now he was asking for so many elixirs. He wondered what scheme was behind this.

"You gave them," Su Ye's voice deepened.

The Black Commander cackled in his hoarse voice, "They all ran away, who would care about him then."

Su Ye nodded slightly, then asked, "Who is Hu Dang?"

"Hu Dang? He and I are both Commanders under the Qu Mountain Demon King."

"Big Black, how many Commanders are there like you? And the Qu Mountain Demon King you mentioned, what kind of strength does he have?"

The Black Commander was clearly stunned for a moment, looking at Su Ye with a bewildered expression. "Big Black is..."

"You'll be called Big Black from now on. Don't you want to?"

"How could I possibly refuse?"

"There are only me and that Hu Dang as Commanders. His strength is about the same as mine."

"As for the Qu Mountain Demon King, he belongs to the Tiger Demon clan. It's said he has some background. He broke through to Meridian Opening decades ago, and he's probably even stronger now. I don't know his exact strength."

From Big Black, he learned that they had split into three groups to go to various towns for the final harvest. The signal for assembly would be at dawn, after which they would flee.

Now that the Demonic Beasts were acting separately, it was a good time to harvest Assistance Points.

However, the Qu Mountain Demon King was too strong. With his current strength, it would be difficult to take him down.

Hu Dang was different. His strength was at most the same as Big Black's. If he were to kill Hu Dang, he could gain a considerable amount of Assistance Points.

At that time, his strength would grow significantly, and then he could deal with the Qu Mountain Demon King.

With this in mind, Su Ye signaled Big Black to quickly tend to his injuries. He then turned and walked deeper into the dense forest. Finding a secluded spot, he slowly opened his system panel.

His gaze quickly swept across the panel.

Remaining Assistance Points: 370