Mentor and Ravenous Wolf
"Then how do you explain where you went during the twenty-odd days you disappeared after leaving the secret realm?"
Song Wen was speechless. He hadn't expected that even after killing Du Qiu, Shi Shou would still be able to track his whereabouts.
But Song Wen didn't dwell on this, since everyone in the Corpse Dissection Cave knew that he had been away from the sect for more than twenty days, and it couldn't be kept secret.
With a mocking smile on his face, Shi Shou waved his left hand before Song Wen could explain.
A powerful surge of spiritual energy descended from the sky, enveloping Song Wen.
Song Wen instinctively tried to use his spiritual power to block it.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he gave up resisting.
This spiritual energy wasn't meant to kill him, but rather to trap him.
Seeing that Song Wen was restrained, unable to move or speak, Shi Shou summoned a flying sword, lightly jumped onto it, used his spiritual power to pull Song Wen, and flew towards the outside of the sect.
Song Wen used his Divine Sense to perceive the spiritual force binding him. It wasn't too strong; even a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refinement could break free.
In other words, Shi Shou did not discover his true strength and only regarded him as a minor cultivator at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer.
Song Wen had no idea where Shi Shou was taking him, but it was heading out of the Corpse Demon Sect, which was exactly what Song Wen wanted.
Within the Corpse Demon Sect, he couldn't act openly; but outside the Corpse Demon Sect, Song Wen could act freely, whether fighting or fleeing.
Song Wen understood that Shi Shou couldn't wait for him to reach the Qi Refining Sixth Layer and was most likely going to make a move against him.
But what exactly is Shi Shou plotting?
Why did he make him cultivate the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>?
Why are we heading out of the sect again?
Filled with countless questions, the two quickly arrived a thousand miles away from the Corpse Demon Sect by flying at high speed on their swords.
Just as Song Wen felt he was far enough away from the sect and was preparing to make his move.
Shi Shou suddenly stopped the sword light and headed towards a valley at his feet.
Song Wen keenly sensed that there was a cave several acres in size in a Xiao Shan hill next to the valley, and there were the breaths of eight living people in the cave.
These eight people were all cultivators, but their cultivation levels were not very high; seven of them Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and one Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
Moreover, Song Wen was extremely familiar with the aura emanating from these eight people; they, like Song Wen, all cultivated the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>.
This only made Song Wen more curious about Shi Shou's purpose in bringing him here.
Song Wen abandoned the idea of taking immediate action; he had a premonition that he could find a better time to act.
Shi Shou dragged Song Wen into the cave.
On the ground in the center of the cave, an array was carved, and nine stone pillars stood around the array. All eight cultivators were chained to the stone pillars.
Of the eight people, seven were men and one was a woman, and the woman was the only one whose cultivation had broken through to the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
The woman was over forty, yet her skin was fair and she still retained her charm. It was easy to tell from her face that she must have been an extremely beautiful woman in her youth.
Upon seeing Shi Shou arrive, the woman looked distressed and spoke in a mournful voice.
"My lord, why have you trapped me and these people in this cave? What do you want to do?"
Beside him, another young man tied to a stone pillar roared.
"Master's wife, how could you be so foolish? We are all people with the five Spirit Root, and we all cultivate the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art> passed down by Shi Shou. Obviously, he has long harbored ill intentions towards us. We are all spiritual materials for him to improve his cultivation."
The young man's voice was filled with hatred. Born into a humble family, he had always regarded Shi Shou, who had taught him Cultivation Method and guided his cultivation, as a father figure, and felt deep respect and gratitude for him.
Little did they expect that it was all a scam.
Seven years ago, when he was still young, he fell into Shi Shou's carefully designed trap the moment he met him.
The woman's face was filled with sorrow and disbelief, and tears the size of soybeans fell like raindrops, soaking her grief-stricken face.
Still clinging to a sliver of hope, the woman asked.
"Shi Shou, is what Shi Meng said true?"
Shi Meng was the young man who had just spoken; his name had been given to him by Shi Shou.
Back then, when he was only thirteen years old, he was begging for food by the roadside. He got into a fight with other beggars over half a rotten piece of fruit and was beaten until his head was bleeding and he was on the verge of death.
On his deathbed, Shi Shou descended from the sky like a Buddha who saves the world from all suffering.
Not only did they heal his injuries, but they also killed the beggars who had attacked him in front of the then-young Shi Meng.
"From this day forward, you are my disciple, Shi Shou. If you don't want to be bullied, you must cultivate diligently. In the future, if you encounter enemies, you will have to kill them with your own hands."
Shi Meng still vividly remembers Shi Shou's teachings from back then. He has always adhered to his master's teachings, showing no mercy to the enemy, being ruthless and eliminating them completely.
But he never expected that his master was the real ravenous wolf.
Shi Shou remained unfazed by his dao companion's questioning.
A chain flew out of his storage ring, bound Song Wen, and then the chain itself flew into the air, dragging Song Wen and binding him to the remaining stone pillar.
Song Wen offered no resistance whatsoever, allowing the chains to bind him tightly.
He discovered that the chain was just a Law Artifact, and with his current strength and powerful physique, he could easily shatter it.
After tying up Song Wen, Shi Shou spoke to the woman.
"Wanrou, we were once dao companion, I'll let you die knowing the truth."
"Back then, you and I were rootless, wandering Rogue Cultivator. Although we lacked Cultivation Resources and had low strength, we lived a relatively carefree life."
"But I am unwilling to accept this fate and do not want to live an ordinary life."
"More than thirty years ago, I accidentally stumbled into an ancient cave abode and found the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art> cave abode."
"After I switched to cultivating the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>, my cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, quickly breaking through to the Late Qi Refinement."
"When I broke through to the Late Qi Refinement, my cultivation speed suddenly dropped. That year, I was already thirty years old. If I couldn't improve my cultivation level as soon as possible, I would never have the chance to Foundation Establishment in this lifetime. To quickly improve my cultivation level by cultivating the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>, there is a shortcut: absorb the Essence Blood cultivators and refine the Spiritual Qi contained within it to improve my own cultivation level."
"So I joined the Corpse Demon Sect, but because I was too old, I could only be an outer disciple."
"I became a corpse catcher for the Yin Fiend Hall, and began to torture and kill cultivators everywhere, using their Essence Blood to nourish my cultivation."
"Finally, twenty years ago, after experiencing countless life-or-death crises, I made a great contribution to the sect and obtained a Foundation Establishment, successfully Foundation Establishment."
"But after reaching the Foundation Establishment, I discovered that I had absorbed too much of the Essence Blood of other cultivators over the years, resulting in my Qi and Blood being mottled and my Essence Blood being impure. My cultivation had almost come to a standstill."
"For the past twenty years, I have cultivated diligently day and night, but I have still been unable to break through the Foundation Establishment Early Stage."
"There's always a way out! I found a solution in the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>. It's to devour the spiritual power and Essence Blood of others who also cultivate the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>."
"Using the same spiritual power and Essence Blood as mine, it can help me break through the shackles of my cultivation, and also condense my Essence Blood and improve its purity."