Corpse-Bone Abyss

"!"

There was definitely something wrong with this "True Person Jiang"!

Under the boy's stare, Li Qingfeng's hair stood on end. Belatedly realizing it, he found it rather absurd.

He inwardly cursed himself. A cultivator at the middle Qi Refining stage, frightened by a mere mortal-what a coward he was.

Song Yan and Li Qingfeng both looked toward Qin Ying.

But she remained seated there, silent, holding Gu Qingqing's life talisman.

Why hadn't Senior Sister Qin gone to find that True Person Jiang yet? If she didn't act soon, something might happen to Junior Sister Gu...

Song Yan was growing anxious, and Li Qingfeng had the same question.

He sent Song Yan a voice transmission. "Senior Brother Song, do you think Senior Sister Qin is testing us?"

"I imagine if she acted, there'd be nothing left for us to do."

"..."

Song Yan was somewhat baffled, but he also felt that this plump junior brother had a point.

"Senior Brother Song, with Senior Sister holding the fort here, nothing can go wrong. Let's investigate the surroundings and see if we can find any clues."

After a moment's consideration, Song Yan transmitted, "All right. Stay nearby. I'll look around the rest of the village."

Li Qingfeng stood and said to the boy, "Little brother, that tea of yours has given me a terrible stomachache. I'm afraid I usually eat too much rich, meaty food."

Afraid of sullying his senior sister's ears with those words, he deliberately lowered his voice. "Um... where's the privy?"

The boy was a little suspicious. He hadn't seen any of the three drink the tea, but assumed he had simply missed it. "I'll take you there."

After the boy and Li Qingfeng left, Song Yan informed his senior sister, "Senior Sister, I'm going for a walk around the village."

"..."

Qin Ying nodded, then added, "Come back before the feast begins."

"...All right."

It was already dusk. Outside the Jiang Household, the village was largely deserted. Only a scattered few people were leaving their homes and heading toward the Jiang Household, seemingly coming to attend the evening's celebration.

To the right of the Jiang Household's entrance stood an old well. Following the path east in front of it led to an archway and a low wall.

Sounds of laughter and play came from beyond them.

Song Yan passed through the archway into a courtyard. Five children chased and tussled with one another like little horses freed of their reins, running past him.

One little boy, who had gone off to do something earlier, had fallen behind the group and was hurrying anxiously to catch up.

"Ow!"

He tripped and was about to fall beside Song Yan.

"Careful."

Song Yan reached out to steady him. His little hand was ice-cold.

"Oh... thank you, big brother."

"You're welcome."

Song Yan nodded. "Go play."

So full of life.

These children actually seemed perfectly normal...

Song Yan pondered.

By now, he could almost be certain that this so-called "True Person Jiang" was the culprit behind everything.

But...

How had this True Person Jiang turned Peach Blossom Hollow into a village of the dead?

Was it... a trapping formation?

No. If he was relying on a formation, it would mean the formation was already active, yet Song Yan had sensed no spiritual power fluctuations from any formation.

Was it... threats and bribes?

That wasn't right either. Song Yan could tell that everyone in Peach Blossom Hollow, men and women, old and young, stayed here of their own accord. What about the outsiders? Where had the cultivator from Jiangyun Prefecture and Junior Sister Qingqing gone?

"..."

...Some sinister Dao art?

Probably not. Otherwise, why hadn't he appeared to put a curse on the three of them when they entered the village?

Unless...

Suddenly, the expression vanished from Song Yan's face.

What was that?

A patch of white in a nearby flower bed looked somewhat familiar.

He slowly approached and stared blankly at it.

A paper figure?

"..."

Song Yan looked back. Of the children running around together, only four remained.

Unless...

The three of them were the final batch.

The sun swiftly sank, about to disappear beyond the horizon.

"Pingping, on such a joyous day, why are you cooking rice here instead of going to the Jiang Household for the feast...?"

Leaning on his walking stick, the village chief left the great banyan tree at the village entrance where people gathered to gossip and headed toward the Jiang Household. Passing a house, he paused briefly.

"Go on, Village Chief. Goudan and I can't eat those fine things... we haven't the fortune for it."

Chen Jiping was an outsider with a bitter lot in life. Her husband had died just after she married into the village.

The village chief sighed, turned, and left.

"..."

Buzz...

At one particular instant, a piercing ringing sounded in Chen Jiping's ears.

Her figure, bent over the table, suddenly straightened, and the light left her eyes.

Like a doll, she walked stiff-limbed out of the house. Her shoulders and neck twitched from time to time, and her facial muscles looked somewhat unnatural.

She headed toward Incense Burner Peak.

On Incense Burner Peak stood a Daoist temple, neither large nor small. This temple was where the "high immortal," Jiang Xiao, cultivated in seclusion.

A large bluestone lay before the temple, with a voluptuous woman reclining upon it.

"Mmm..."

Night had fallen, and the weather had already turned cold.

Yet she was wrapped in nothing but a thin piece of silk.

Yawning lazily, she watched the walking corpse approach the temple from outside. After a single glance, she paid her no further attention.

Her long, fair legs simply shifted, crossing the other way.

Only then did Jiang Xiao, True Person Jiang, emerge from the temple.

He watched Chen Jiping approach, his gaze roaming over her voluptuous body as though looking at a toy.

"Why keep just her?"

Bai Yulu asked casually, though her voice sounded somewhat strange.

"Although she has no spiritual root, for some reason, she cultivates the Blood Refining Ancient Manual at an astonishing speed."

"Who knows how many times faster than those other pigs in the village."

Jiang Xiao gently stroked Chen Jiping's cheek and untied his sash.

"One more or one less makes no difference anyway."

"Whew..."

Jiang Xiao tilted his head back, intoxication written across his face. "Keep her. We'll have another helper."

"We?"

Bai Yulu sneered. "I don't need a helper."

Jiang Xiao scoffed inwardly.

Of course she didn't. There was only one reason a middle first-tier demon beast dared raise her voice at him.

It was solely because behind her stood one of the Chu Kingdom's two great Demon Race powers.

Corpse-Bone Abyss.

"You spent three years setting up this Blood Refining Grand Formation, and now you're going to use it after luring in just one Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"With that Immortal Sword your master bestowed on you, you might well be able to kill that Foundation Establishment cultivator alone."

"The other two are only at the middle Qi Refining stage. Aren't you being a little too timid...?"

Jiang Xiao did not even open his eyes. "There's no reason to covet credit and advance rashly. Lure in too many Foundation Establishment cultivators, and things could go wrong. This is just right."

"That Qin Ying is an Inner Sect disciple of the Dongyuan Sect, and she'll probably become a True Disciple before long. Using it on her isn't exactly a waste... hiss..."

He frowned, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

"It won't cause too much of a commotion, and we have plenty of time..."

Jiang Xiao kicked the puppet-like Chen Jiping aside, then walked toward Bai Yulu. "Plenty of time for everything."

He licked his dry lips, bent down, and reached out to stroke Bai Yulu's bare ankle, then roamed deeper, inch by inch.

Pink mist surfaced in Bai Yulu's eyes, making her look all the more enchanting and alluring.

"You're certainly bold at a time like this."

The strip of silk slipped to the ground.

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