Yin Fiend Hall's Direct Disciple

That day.

As usual, Song Wen arrived at the Corpse Dissection Cave.

He had just entered Yuan Cheng's cave and had yet to speak when Yuan Cheng beat him to it.

"Extreme Yin, there is a batch of special corpses that needs handling. Today, use Corpse Dissection Table No. 8 to process them."

A corpse dissector's table was generally fixed.

For instance, the table Song Wen used had always been No. 73.

All the tables had drainage channels that guided the blood from corpses into the great blood pool in the central area of the Corpse Dissection Cave.

Tables No. 1 through No. 9, however, were different. Each of those nine tables had its own independent blood pool, and the blood from the corpses was collected separately.

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Song Wen's heart jolted.

Could they be special corpses like that old woman again?

Nothing unexpected had happened when he dissected the old woman's corpse last time, but upon further reflection, Song Wen had come to understand.

The old woman had clearly been a powerful Gu Master, one who raised Gu within her own body. Her corpse might have concealed all manner of strange and powerful Gu insects. Whenever Song Wen recalled the process of dissecting her body, he felt a lingering chill of fear, along with relief at having survived it.

Perhaps seeing Song Wen's hesitation, Yuan Cheng spoke directly before Song Wen could say anything.

"Junior Brother, there is no need to worry. They are merely the corpses of mortal children; there will not be any danger.

"However, this batch of corpses is somewhat special. When dissecting them, Junior Brother must give it your all and make sure everything is as perfect as possible."

Song Wen glanced at Yuan Cheng, and more than half the unease in his heart faded. He cupped his hands and replied, "Understood, Senior Brother."

This time, Yuan Cheng directly handed over four storage bags and a jade bottle.

One of the four storage bags contained the corpses, while the other three were for storing the separated skin and flesh, internal organs, and bones.

The jade bottle was for collecting blood.

Song Wen came to a stop before Corpse Dissection Table No. 8 and extended his spiritual sense into the storage bag. Sure enough, just as Yuan Cheng had said—

There were a full hundred mortal corpses inside the storage bag. What Yuan Cheng had not made clear was that all of them were children under five years old. A few were even newborn infants.

Looking at these children's corpses, even Song Wen, who had long grown accustomed to dissecting corpses, could not help feeling nauseated.

The cruelty of Devil Dao cultivators truly exceeded ordinary imagination.

Song Wen knew that these hundred children must have possessed special birth dates and eight characters. Their bodies were born with certain unusual powers, and Devil Dao cultivators often used them for cultivation, corpse refinement, or the forging of ghostly beings.

However, Song Wen knew that none of this had anything to do with him. He only needed to dissect the corpses.

Only by being cold and ruthless could one survive in the Corpse Demon Sect, in this cruel world of cultivation.

Song Wen had no grand ambitions or lofty ideals. He only wanted to live.

Song Wen casually took out a corpse and placed it upon the dissection table.

It was the corpse of a little girl, judging by her height, around four years old. After steadying his mind, Song Wen raised his blade and brought it down, beginning the dissection.

Since they were all children's corpses, Song Wen worked quickly. There were only a hundred of them, and in just over two hours, he had finished dissecting every corpse.

This was the first time in half a year since entering the Corpse Dissection Cave that Song Wen was not the last person to finish.

Carrying the four storage bags and the jade bottle, he went to Yuan Cheng's cave.

Before he even stepped inside, he saw a young man dressed in rich brocade, his face gloomy, seated in the cave's only chair.

That chair had originally belonged to Yuan Cheng, yet Yuan Cheng now stood properly at the young man's side, looking like a loyal subordinate.

When Yuan Cheng saw Song Wen enter, he hurriedly asked.

"Extreme Yin, have you finished dissecting all the corpses?"

Although Song Wen did not know the identity of the brocade-clad young man, he knew the other party must have an extraordinary background. He first respectfully cupped his hands toward the young man, then bowed to Yuan Cheng and said.

"Reporting to Senior Brother Yuan, the dissections are complete."

As he spoke, Song Wen waved a hand. Using spiritual power to support them, he sent the storage bags and jade bottle floating through the air toward Yuan Cheng.

Yuan Cheng did not take the four storage bags and jade bottle. Instead, the brocade-clad young man snatched them first.

He first examined the blood in the jade bottle, then inspected the storage bags one by one. A trace of satisfaction briefly appeared on his gloomy face.

The brocade-clad young man nodded and said to Song Wen.

"Your cultivation is not much, but your corpse dissection skills are fairly decent."

Song Wen did not know the young man's identity or how to address him, so he could only bend at the waist and salute.

"Thank you for your undeserved praise, Senior."

At this moment, Yuan Cheng took over and introduced him to Song Wen.

"Extreme Yin, this is Senior Brother Wu Sui, a direct disciple of Yin Fiend Hall. Senior Brother Wu Sui's master is Elder Wu Ren, the Hall Master of Yin Fiend Hall."

A direct disciple of Yin Fiend Hall!

Wu Sui!

The Hall Master of Yin Fiend Hall was named Wu Ren!

This fellow is probably a second-generation cultivator, isn't he?

Though this was what Song Wen thought, his expression became somewhat fearful and somewhat delighted, as if meeting Wu Sui were an enormous honor.

Song Wen bent even lower, his voice carrying a hint of excitement as he said.

"Outer sect disciple Extreme Yin greets Senior Brother Wu Sui."

Satisfied with Song Wen's reaction, Wu Sui nodded and said.

"You have some sense, little fellow. If you can advance to the late Qi Refining stage within six years of entering the sect, you may come to Yin Fiend Hall and find me."

After saying that, Wu Sui's figure turned into a series of afterimages and vanished from the cave.

Watching Wu Sui leave, Yuan Cheng cast Song Wen an envious look.

"Junior Brother Extreme Yin, I never expected that after meeting Senior Brother Wu Sui only once, you would gain his favor. What good fortune you have."

Song Wen instead put on an act of only now realizing it and asked in confusion.

"May I ask, Senior Brother Yuan Cheng, does Senior Brother Wu Sui have some other mysterious identity besides being a direct disciple?"

In the cultivation world, the status of a direct disciple was indeed noble, but in a demonic sect, it was another matter entirely.

Masters blood-sacrificed their disciples, used them to cultivate or refine corpses; they treated disciples as furnaces to harvest yin and supplement yang—of course, there were also those who harvested yang to supplement yin; there were even cases of masters seizing their disciples' bodies...

In any case, masters harming their disciples was a common occurrence in Devil Dao sects.

Thus, being a direct disciple in the Devil Dao was not necessarily a good thing.

In the end, the cultivation world still revered strength above all else. No matter how exalted a direct disciple might be, they were still only a Qi Refining cultivator, not truly an expert.

When ordinary disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm, their status would automatically rise to elder. Direct disciples, meanwhile, would be called Demon Sons or Demon Maidens.

Yuan Cheng said with a trace of envy in his expression.

"Senior Brother Wu Sui is the biological grandson of Wu Ren, the Hall Master of Yin Fiend Hall. Moreover, his aptitude is exceptional. It is said that he possesses a seventh-grade superior spiritual root. Senior Brother Wu Sui is only sixteen years old, yet his cultivation has already reached the seventh level of Qi Refining. In a few years, he will likely succeed in Foundation Establishment."

Yuan Cheng's expression became somewhat complicated.

Foundation Establishment was his greatest aspiration. Yet because he had no backing, despite having entered the ninth level of Qi Refining years ago and being only one step away from the peak of Qi Refining, he had no choice but to stand guard in this hellish place, the Corpse Dissection Cave, in exchange for sect contribution points. He hoped that one day, he could obtain a precious Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect.

As he watched himself grow older, with fewer and fewer years remaining before he reached sixty, urgency filled Yuan Cheng's heart.

In truth, Foundation Establishment Pills could also be found beyond the major sects. Every few years, a small number would appear in the various cultivator markets.

However, these Foundation Establishment Pills were mostly exorbitantly expensive. With aptitude that was not particularly good, Yuan Cheng had spent nearly everything he earned in order to reach the peak of Qi Refining as quickly as possible. He simply could not afford a Foundation Establishment Pill.