The Strange Female Corpse

The monster before him was terrifyingly fast. He had to end this quickly. Ideally, he would kill it with a single strike; failing that, he needed at least to leave it temporarily unable to move.

The monster seemed to have guessed Su Ye's intentions. Its four arms shifted and fused into one, and a strange green light suddenly burst forth.

"Wooo... wooo..."

A violent gale swept through the courtyard, sending gravel and roof tiles flying. Where their powers clashed, an eye of the storm formed in an instant.

"Rumble—!"

A tremendous roar, like the mountains crying out and the seas raging, shook all of Hedong County. The once-quiet town seemed to come alive.

Countless homes and buildings lit up. The incessant tremors beneath the ground sent those who knew nothing of the truth scrambling out of their homes, shouting:

"Run! The earth dragon's turning over!"

The night watchmen struck their copper gongs again and again.

"Clang... clang!"

"The earth dragon's turning over! The earth dragon's turning over! Everyone, run for your lives!"

On the city wall, a group of constables all turned their eyes toward Jia Mansion. A man dressed in a constable's uniform immediately ordered, "Hurry to the county office and report this to the County Lord!"

In the rear courtyard, Su Ye cut the monster into pieces with a single slash. A notification appeared on the panel in real time.

Killed [Early Aperture Opening Realm · Dried Corpse]. Gained 115 Assistance Points.

Killed [Early Aperture Opening Realm · Dried Corpse]. Gained 112 Assistance Points.

Available Assistance Points: 8,653.

This was the most Assistance Points he had ever had. Su Ye didn't intend to spend them right away. He would wait until he returned to the Demon Suppression Division and got his reward technique before deciding.

He then searched the corpses on the ground for a long time. At last, he found two booklets tucked inside a tattered red wedding gown.

"These are movement techniques, but there isn't a single breath-concealment method." Su Ye muttered to himself and casually opened them.

[Shadow Concealment Breath Swallowing Technique—Yellow Grade High Rank] recorded.

[Treading Snow Without a Trace—Yellow Tier Mid-grade] recorded.

"Now that's an unexpected windfall."

The heart of the Shadow Concealment Breath Swallowing Technique lay in its dual concealment. It could hide one's cultivation realm as well as suppress the aura of a living person. Once mastered, even someone a full major realm above the user would find it difficult to see through them.

As for its method of concealment, it drew the user's aura into the surrounding environment, blending the two into one. It could even imitate the aura of corpses and Killing Intent, achieving a seamless effect.

"When you're sleepy, a pillow comes along." He had planned to return to the Demon Suppression Division and trade contribution points for this kind of Martial Arts, but now it had come right to his door.

On the surface, he was at the early stage of the Meridian Opening Realm. If he used the system to increase his strength by a large margin, people would inevitably grow suspicious. Now that he had a concealment method to cover himself, he could avoid some trouble.

"A tall tree catches the wind." He understood that much. Now that he had plenty of Assistance Points, Su Ye spent 280 of them to raise the Shadow Concealment Breath Swallowing Technique directly to mastery.

As his true qi circulated faintly, he felt the aura around his body draw inward. His once-sharp presence abruptly changed, becoming utterly ordinary—the sort that wouldn't stand out even in a crowd.

"Crack."

A faint sound came from the rubble. A hand reached out from a pile of collapsed stones, and Su Ye's attention left the movement technique panel.

With a quick stride, he reached the rubble and began clearing away the stones piled as high as a mountain.

A young man in the uniform of a Demon Suppression Division lieutenant was revealed beneath them. He was covered in blood and, upon noticing Su Ye, immediately cried out in delight, "Brother, did you come because you received my distress signal?"

"Indeed."

"I'm Yang Tao. Thank you, brother, for coming to my aid." Yang Tao glanced around, seemingly searching for signs of the others.

"Brother, did your companions go after the Demonic Beasts?"

"Lieutenant Yang, you've misunderstood. I came alone. I have no companions."

Su Ye knew the man must have misunderstood, but he had no intention of explaining. After all, there had been dozens of Demonic Beasts, along with two dried corpses from the Aperture Opening Realm.

Considering his current strength, his record was far too impressive by comparison. It would be hard not to arouse suspicion.

"That dried corpse was in the Aperture Opening Realm. Lord Su, how did you manage it?" Yang Tao asked curiously, looking at the younger face before him. Su Ye, like him, was dressed as a lieutenant.

"When I arrived, things were already like this. Perhaps some senior passing through was responsible."

Hearing this, Yang Tao hurriedly stood and bowed toward the empty sky, then kowtowed three times with a resounding thud. Relieved, he said, "It seems I wasn't fated to die today. Thank you, senior, for saving my life."

"Thank you, Lieutenant Su, for coming to help. I'll repay you someday."

"Lieutenant Yang, you're too kind. We both serve the Demon Suppression Division. Besides, the Division has long had a rule against standing by and doing nothing." Su Ye's tone was calm.

Yang Tao's face lit up with the joy of having survived. He slapped his forehead, hurried back, and started clearing away the rubble as he explained, "The county magistrate's family and people from all the major clans in town are being held underneath."

The floor tiles in the pavilion had already been smashed to pieces. Yang Tao quickly pried up the remaining slabs, revealing the bluestone steps beneath.

Su Ye slowly made his way inside. Dozens of figures lay on their backs in the dim candlelight, all unconscious. The youngest was only seven or eight.

As Su Ye roused them one by one, his body suddenly went rigid. He whipped around—and saw a strange figure standing at the entrance to the bluestone stairway. He hadn't noticed when it had appeared. His heart lurched; power erupted through his body, and he shot into the air.

As Su Ye rushed toward it, the figure at the entrance drifted rapidly away. Only when he emerged from the secret chamber did he finally get a clear look at its appearance.

Something was wrong.

It was unmistakably a woman's body, tall, with a full chest, facing him directly.

Yet at the neck, all he could see was the back of a pitch-black head. As gusts of yin wind swept by, the Strange Female Corpse drifted rapidly upward into the sky.

Su Ye didn't dare act rashly. The moment he had chased it out of the secret chamber, he'd sensed a cold gaze sweep over his entire body, sending sweat running down his spine. It felt as though he had plunged into an icy pit.

His body stiffened, unable to move at all. Only when the cold gaze disappeared did he realize that he had unconsciously been holding his breath.

"Phew..."

Only after the woman's figure gradually vanished did Su Ye let out a long breath. What kind of ghostly thing was that? Just one glance from it had left him this tense.

He was, after all, a Martial Artist in the Meridian Opening Realm. Yet he had been reduced to such a sorry state. The confidence he'd gained from his strength had completely vanished.

"Lieutenant Su, did you notice anything amiss?" Yang Tao asked in confusion as he led the newly awakened people out of the underground chamber.

Su Ye's brows furrowed. Pretending nothing was wrong, he said, "I saw a figure move near the chamber entrance, so I chased after it."

"Did any of you see it?" he asked, turning toward the others.

Yang Tao replied, "We didn't. Lieutenant Su, did you find anything when you chased after it?"

"I didn't find anything unusual. Perhaps I was just seeing things for a moment. My apologies for the spectacle." Su Ye gave an awkward smile and said no more.

Yang Tao was puzzled. Though he couldn't sense Su Ye's exact strength, as a lieutenant in the Demon Suppression Division, he should at least be in the Late Body Tempering Realm. Those in the Late Body Tempering Realm were all vigorous and robust; they wouldn't easily lose their focus.

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