His gaze remained fixed on the two treasure ships slowly approaching, as he silently speculated about their origins and purpose.
This expedition to the Blood Jiangshi Legacy Mansion was lively indeed. Every sort of demon and monster had emerged, adding several unpredictable variables.
"Senior brother, look at those two treasure ships. One is giving off dense corpse qi, while the other is shining with Buddha Light. They're clearly not together. Besides, I keep getting the feeling they might not be from our Azure Wave Archipelago."
Qing Chen lowered his voice as he spoke to Xu Jiuling beside him.
Xu Jiuling nodded, his brows tightly furrowed. "Indeed. I fear this journey will be even less peaceful now. You must be more careful, Junior Brother Qing."
As the two spoke, the treasure ships drew closer and closer, and Qing Chen finally got a clear look at the people aboard the eastern ship.
Every one of them wore tattered black robes, with bronze corpse coffins floating behind some and bulging Yin Corpse Bags slung across others;
some had even refined themselves into half-human, half-corpse zombie bodies, their skin deathly gray and utterly lifeless.
"These fellows are clearly practitioners of the Corpse Dao," Xu Jiuling said in a low voice, a trace of gravity in his tone.
"Judging by their attire and the traces of their secret techniques, they may be from the nearby Three Corpse Archipelago."
On the western treasure ship, meanwhile, stood a group of monks draped in splendid kasayas.
Their expressions were peaceful, their palms pressed together as they murmured scriptures, faint Buddha Light surrounding their bodies in stark contrast to the evil aura aboard the eastern treasure ship.
"The Three Corpse Archipelago to the east? Buddhist practitioners to the west?" Something stirred in Qing Chen's mind, and a trace of