Loose Ends

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, when the black aura at the wound had completely dissipated, and the blood was almost no longer black, and even the skin and flesh had gradually shown some signs of healing, Yan Chixia, whose forehead was already slightly sweaty, finally calmed down and stopped his practice. He let out a long sigh of relief as the firelight in the pearl gradually faded.

The life force within this precious pearl is truly rare. Now that the demonic poison has been expelled, it should not be wasted easily. Let the remaining injuries heal on their own.

The Swordsman Xiahou beside him was even worse off. He almost collapsed to the ground the moment he saw Yan Chixia stop.

It's nothing more than holding on this long to protect others.

The man in short clothes, however, was quick to notice and stepped forward to help the swordsman, then sat him down beside him.

By this point, the color of the fire bead had visibly dimmed, clearly indicating that the battle had taken a toll.

However, the results have been quite remarkable.

As the bloodstains seeping from her back turned into a normal bright red, a faint trace of color returned to Zhiqiu Yiye's face, which was originally as pale as paper and even had a bluish-black tinge upon closer inspection. Her brows relaxed slightly, and her breathing seemed to be a little more steady than before.

Seeing that the situation had indeed calmed down, Yan Chixia turned around and handed the pearl back to its original owner without any hesitation, his face showing a relieved and gratified expression.

"This treasure is truly effective! In this way, the demonic poison has been almost completely eradicated. The remaining traces can be completely eliminated with the residual power of this bead in the body, supplemented by medicinal soup, given time."

"This young fellow's life has been saved!"

He turned to the Daoist priest and solemnly clasped his hands in greeting again, "Young friend, your precious pearl has rendered a great service! On behalf of this fellow Daoist from Kunlun, I thank you for the life-saving grace of gifting the pearl!"

"I dare not accept such praise, Senior Yan, please do not be so kind—"

The fake Daoist priest quickly returned the courtesy with humility, feeling quite excited inside. It seemed that this "pledge of allegiance" had been very worthwhile!

Not only did they successfully make contact with more than one key plot character, but they also did Yan Chixia a huge favor and personally witnessed the value this prop could have in certain specific plot situations.

He merely stroked the dull surface of the fire pearl, feeling a pang of heartache, but outwardly remained composed as he carefully put it away.

Just then, Zhiqiu Yiye on the bed suddenly let out a very faint groan, her eyelids trembling, as if she was showing signs of waking up.

Swordsman Xiahou immediately stood up and stepped forward, his expression a mixture of wariness and concern. Yan Chixia also bent down and whispered, "Fellow Daoist? Can you hear me?"

Behind the two, everyone's eyes were fixed on them, knowing full well that once the injured Kunlun disciple truly awoke, the information he could provide might be the real key to their Mission World.

It was precisely because of this generous spirit of "spending no expense" to help with the rescue that their group could only be considered as being initially accepted as "one of their own" by Yan Chixia and the Swordsman Xiahou.

As if remembering something, he suddenly smiled, and the short-sleeved man silently raised his arm and gestured to the white man Oliver, causing the latter's face to darken.

That gesture looked very familiar.

I have to pay extra!

Just as these "strangers" who had arrived were all full of ulterior motives.

The Underworld.

Amidst the endless, rolling mountains of corpses, a figure stands atop a skeleton as white as jade.

Despite the skeleton's desperate struggle and roars, the sound of metal rubbing against stone echoing throughout its body, accompanied by the vast power of Yin surging from every inch of its bones, like an immeasurable tide rising from the underworld, carrying the surrounding heavy Sha Energy and surging wildly upwards, causing the disheveled white hair to fly wildly.

Even so, it couldn't withstand the weight of that blooming golden lotus, which was almost as heavy as the central earth element, and also faintly exuded an ancient and vast sense of indestructibility, which pressed down inch by inch.

"---- Black Mountain, we had a prior agreement! How dare you do this!"

A fierce roar erupted from between the violently opening and closing jaws, like the sound of weapons shattering. Anyone who heard it could clearly feel the overwhelming violent rage emanating from this "jade skeleton"!

They have clearly fallen into a situation where they are at the mercy of others, yet they show no sign of restraint.

The murderous intent, almost tangible, reverberated with the voice, causing even the dense, pervasive aura of deathly bones around them to tremble.

The figure, however, seemed oblivious, observing for a long time before finally speaking softly.

"He has some Daoist background, and it should be that he cultivated this Daoist body using the Taiyin Corpse Dissolution method when his lifespan was about to end. However, he was too eager for quick success and mixed corpse evil yin energy into his cultivation to temper his true body. Although his cultivation progressed more than a hundred times faster, his foundation was not pure, and he was blocked from the real flesh and blood regeneration and the refinement of an immortal body."

"Then, within this yin soil, the remains of the dead are nourished, the dragon veins are activated, and a large acupoint of white bones is created to gather pure yin energy, attempting to seize that bit of pure yang vitality from the extreme of yin, and to give birth to ordinary flesh and blood—hmm, this should be the way to raise corpses."

"That's true. This Yin-type body, while it can't be called jade bones, but rather evil bones, does indeed bear some traces of 'unyielding bones' from birth."

For some reason, the golden lotus in his palm paused in mid-air.

The figure shook his head after glancing at the faint, horn-like protrusions on the crystalline skull.

"They even wanted to shape it ahead of time, which was quite an idea—unfortunately, it was all for naught."

The words had barely left his mouth.

In an instant, the overwhelming rage surging around the skeleton suddenly subsided, as if all the struggles and roars just now were nothing but illusions.

Even the two eerie flames between the skulls ceased their frantic tremors and instead condensed into a bottomless pool of cold water. Amidst the turmoil of consciousness, a sound completely different from the previous violent one slowly spread out, its tone calm and devoid of any anger, leaving only an ancient charm that had weathered many storms.

"Fellow Daoist, you truly have excellent insight. You were able to discern my true nature with just a glance."

"But in that case, even if you summon me using the power of your Primordial Spirit, you are definitely not the true form of that Black Mountain."

It had thoroughly understood the situation, and so only now was it finally willing to peel away the deliberately constructed facade of "lack of wisdom and strategy," revealing some of its true inner intentions.

"When the righteous path is difficult to use, one resorts to the evil path; when the evil path is blocked, one seeks the path of ghosts; and even now, one still calls oneself a humble Daoist."

"Heavenly Corpse, I'm not sure whether to call you Heavenly Corpse or Heavenly Master?"

A faint sigh lingered, the white-haired figure's words a mixture of mockery and lamentation, echoing softly amidst the eerie mountain of corpses and sea of bones.

Upon hearing this, even the jade-colored skeleton fell silent for a long time, the eerie fire within its skull flickering uncertainly, as if lost in distant memories.

After a long silence, a dry, bitter laugh finally broke the silence. "I never imagined that someone in this world could see through this old Daoist's trick."

"I have not heard of the title 'Celestial Master' for hundreds or even thousands of years, nor should I accept it. You may simply call me 'Heavenly Corpse.'"

Then, the jade-colored skeleton changed the subject slightly, its deep-set eyes looking at the other person with a hint of inquiry, "However, even so, this old Daoist still has a question in his mind."

"For many years, I have secluded myself in the Yin Earth Burial Ground, raising corpses and gathering evil spirits, using the ways of ghosts to purify myself, and no one has ever seen through my true nature. But I wonder how this fellow Daoist managed to discern my past identity?"

The white-haired figure seemed completely unconcerned by the question, and with a casual wave of his hand, the golden lotus, as beautiful as the moon reflected in water, quietly scattered into specks of light and vanished.

"Although the essence of this 'Dragon Tiger Mysterious Fiend Refining Yin Cave True Dao Scripture' has long been lost, it is not truly that no one can discern its true nature."

This is a lie.

It was simply that this being, who called himself the "Old Demon Black Mountain," used the Heavenly Heart to reflect all things and manipulate all phenomena. Thus, he could see that the principles of the world were somewhat like the lines on the palm of one's hand. Therefore, he easily glimpsed the true form of the fundamental method on this Heavenly Corpse and thus learned the true name of the scripture.

On the contrary, the corpse seemed to be startled upon hearing these words. The two eerie flames within its skull flickered violently, as if its emotions were genuinely stirred and it could hardly contain itself.

After a moment of silence, it spoke with a hint of disbelief and a hint of probing, its voice even more hurried than before.

"This scripture is extremely dangerous and has always been passed down only to high-ranking practitioners of the lineage. However, the lineage of our Dao has long been severed—fellow Daoist—no, senior, could you perhaps have been a direct descendant of the Three Mountains Orthodox Lineage in the past?"

There was clearly a misunderstanding in their words.

However, the "Old Demon Black Mountain" did not directly answer his question, but merely offered a casual and indifferent remark, his tone as cold as an abyss.

"Heavenly Corpse, if you're just trying to stall for time and wait for the others to come and lend you a hand, then forget it."

"You've already covered the last piece of the puzzle."

"I pity you for your arduous cultivation and the merits you accumulated in your lifetime. Although your death may have violated the laws of Heaven, you did not personally commit any great evils. Therefore, I will show you some leniency and say a few words. But you must also give me an explanation for what happened today."

At this point, an invisible sense of oppression spread out, as if the surrounding space had been completely frozen.

In the end, that indifferent voice simply offered two cold choices.

"—Will it be death and the annihilation of one's cultivation, or surrender?"