When Wen Jiu took a closer look, he saw a golden talisman on the corpse's chest. It emitted a faint glow, sealing off all traces of energy from escaping. Clearly, this talisman was extraordinary—its value immeasurable. But Wen Jiu didn't dare take it outright.
"Why did he do this?" Wen Jiu fell into deep thought. Why would this man go to such lengths to prevent anyone from finding his body, even in death? If it hadn't been for the white ghoul tracking the lingering yin energy, no burial worker would have ever suspected there was a corpse hidden beneath untouched soil. If even the burial workers couldn't find it, then other cultivators certainly wouldn't.
The environment of this forsaken graveyard was so repulsive that even Wang Nian still hesitated to approach, let alone other cultivators.
With that in mind, Wen Jiu didn't touch the talisman. Instead, he began searching the corpse, hoping to scavenge some valuables. The battlefield above had already been cleared out, but perhaps this corpse, buried underground, had been overlooked.
After a thorough search, he found nothing.
Just as he was feeling disappointed, the white ghoul suddenly became anxious, rocking back and forth like a tumbler doll before forcefully prying open the corpse's mouth. The next moment, a blood-colored bead, saturated with death energy, was revealed.
In an instant, Wen Jiu recognized what kind of blood it contained—the blood of cultivators.
Having buried corpses in this forsaken land for so long, he was all too familiar with it. But judging by the sheer amount of blood within the bead and the density of its death energy, it wasn't just from a few people, or even a few dozen.
It had to be from hundreds—perhaps even more.
Its value was beyond estimation.
"So this is why he used the talisman to seal off his aura?" Wen Jiu held the blood bead in his hand. Glancing at the excited white ghoul beside him, he examined the bead carefully. Finding no immediate clues, he simply stuffed it into the white ghoul's mouth.
Such an immense amount of cultivator blood and death energy would provide an unprecedented boost to the white ghoul. But Wen Jiu had a nagging feeling that things weren't so simple.
However, now wasn't the time for further research.
For now, he would let the white ghoul consume it. He could investigate it later.
Next, Wen Jiu turned his attention to the corpse on the ground. After some thought, he decided to rebury it. He left the talisman untouched, allowing the body to remain hidden underground. He would come back for it once he had an available slot for further ghoul refinement.
The burial workers wouldn't dig up a sealed corpse, and no cultivator would venture into this forsaken land. Under normal circumstances, no one would ever find it.
—
By evening, after burying the white ghoul, Wen Jiu prepared to return with the others.
While waiting for the rest of the burial workers to finish, Wang Nian approached him, asking about his harvest. Wen Jiu shook his head, claiming he hadn't even found a single newly-formed ghost.
"No rush. If it were that easy to find ghosts, I wouldn't need your help. But listen, don't go too deep just for the sake of finding them," Wang Nian cautioned.
He didn't want such a promising talent in unorthodox cultivation to ruin himself by being too eager for results. If Wen Jiu got himself killed, Wang Nian would have to take care of things himself—something he'd rather avoid.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior," Wen Jiu clasped his hands in respect.
Wang Nian nodded and said no more.
Soon after, Wen Jiu returned home.
To his surprise, his sister, Wen Ya, was waiting at the door.
She held a large ceramic bowl, its top covered with a lotus leaf. Before Wen Jiu could say anything, Wen Ya frowned and spoke with displeasure.
"I heard you didn't pick a proper Qi cultivation method and instead chose an unorthodox corpse refinement technique?"
Wen Jiu nodded.
Facing his sister's angry gaze, he actually felt a hint of fear—though he wasn't even afraid of ghouls.
Was this the pressure of bloodline suppression?
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Once inside, Wen Ya's anger flared again.
"Do you even realize that practicing unorthodox arts damages your lifespan and body? Even if you manage to achieve something, you won't live long... And people won't respect you!"
Wen Jiu ignored her words and focused on the bowl instead. He had no idea how to respond—he obviously couldn't tell her the truth.
Wen Ya, still fuming, removed the lotus leaf.
"You really don't let me rest easy. Do you know that even if you become the top disciple using unorthodox arts, there's a high chance you won't even qualify for an apprenticeship?"
"I know, sis… Don't worry. I have my own plans." Wen Jiu braced himself and spoke.
Wen Ya let out a helpless sigh. Then, she pulled out a book from her sleeve. The cover bore three words: Changchun Gong (Everlasting Spring Technique).
It was a proper, orthodox Qi cultivation technique.
But Wen Jiu was curious—where did she get it?
As far as he knew, servant-class disciples weren't allowed to cultivate. More importantly, each person was only allowed to take one cultivation method, and it was strictly forbidden to share it.
Those who secretly shared cultivation techniques—
Would die!
Those who practiced unauthorized techniques—
Would also die!
"Sis? Where did you get this?" Wen Jiu asked immediately.
Wen Ya quickly reassured him. "Don't worry. This was a reward from Granny Xu. It's the Xu family's Qi cultivation technique. They're allowed to pass it down within their family, so it's not restricted by sect rules."
"Sis, we can't accept this."
Wen Jiu understood all too well.
If he cultivated this technique, leaving in the future wouldn't be so simple.
Receiving guidance from another creates a karmic bond. In cultivation, karma dictates that every cause has an effect. If one wishes to walk away unscathed, they must repay this debt of gratitude; otherwise, barriers will form in their cultivation path. However, repaying such a profound kindness is no simple matter.
Yet, Wen Ya's concerns were different. She only knew that this was her younger brother's only chance to obtain a Qi cultivation method. "Take it—this is your only opportunity to learn how to cultivate Qi!"
Wen Jiu firmly refused. "Sister, I can't accept this. I already spoke to Steward Wang Nian—there are other ways to become an apprentice disciple. I have confidence that I can succeed through those means. Please trust me!"
As his words fell, Wen Ya wanted to say more, but Wen Jiu resolutely pushed the manual back into her hands and added, "Sister, you can't cultivate this Changchun Art either. Find a way to return it."
"You…" Wen Ya was at a loss for words. She understood her younger brother's reasoning, but in a place like Dead Man's Peak, ordinary mortals like them had no choices. Just having a path forward was already a blessing.
She wanted to argue further, but Wen Jiu interrupted her. "Sister, when will Deacon Xu return?"
Wen Ya replied, "The old woman said he was sent on an external sect mission… at the shortest, a year; at the longest, three to five years."
A year at the earliest. Three to five years at the latest. That meant there was still time. Wen Jiu set aside his thoughts and picked up a large bowl, eating in big mouthfuls.
Wen Ya watched him and couldn't help but smile warmly. After a moment of consideration, she took out some broken silver and placed it on the table. "If this isn't enough, buy yourself some more food."
Wen Jiu did not refuse the silver. After all, as a gravekeeper, he only earned three taels per month—barely enough for an ordinary person to survive, let alone someone like him.
—
Night fell.
After Wen Ya left, Wen Jiu resumed his usual cultivation. At the hour of Hai (9–11 PM), he recited the Corpse-Nurturing Mantra as usual.
Unfortunately, there were no wandering spirits tonight.
When he returned home, his daily status panel appeared again.
This time, the gains were significant!
[Daily Status Panel Lv1 (51/100)]
[Daily Summary]
— Recited Corpse-Nurturing Mantra for one hour, cultivated Yinzhou Corpse-Nurturing Technique for one hour: +1 panel experience, +10 Corpse-Nurturing Mantra experience, +1 Yinzhou Corpse-Nurturing Technique experience.
— Buried corpses for three hours, searched for wandering spirits for three hours, continuously absorbed corpse energy and death energy: +1 panel experience, +6 corpse energy, +6 death energy.
— Drew upon Earth Fiend Yin Qi, assisted corpse-nurturing with large amounts of cultivators' fresh blood for twelve hours, fed a first-grade superior magic artifact—the damaged Soul-Devouring Pearl—containing the refined blood essence of 276 cultivators: +1 panel experience, +6 corpse mutation experience, +18 corpse-nurturing experience, +1 corpse-keeper experience, +50 blood transformation experience (reached daily absorption limit), +1330 cultivator blood essence, +828 death energy.
— Consumed two bowls of inferior spiritual rice, ate two portions of non-ranked demonic beast meat: +0.2 body-refinement experience.
The next moment, his personal status panel popped up.
Wen Jiu immediately noticed three key pieces of information:
[Remaining Death Energy: 834]
[Remaining Cultivator Blood Essence: 1330]
And most importantly—
That blood pearl was actually a first-grade superior magic artifact!
Although damaged, it was still first-grade superior.
He had overheard bits and pieces about magic artifact rankings from others. While he couldn't confirm the accuracy, it served as a useful reference.
For ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators, affording a first-grade inferior magic artifact was already difficult. Even someone like Deacon Xu from the side peak would struggle to acquire a first-grade mid-tier artifact.
A first-grade superior magic artifact?
Even late-stage Qi Condensation cultivators couldn't necessarily afford one.
This was an item worth a fortune!
Even though the Soul-Devouring Pearl was damaged, its value remained astonishing.
Wen Jiu was overjoyed. But after the excitement faded, a deep fear crept in.
A common man is innocent, but treasuring a jade may bring disaster!
If anyone found out he possessed a first-grade superior artifact, he wouldn't even need to worry about outsiders—Wang Nian would be the first to make a move against him.
"This is a hot potato… No, I need to put it back in the corpse's mouth and use that talisman to conceal its aura."
With this thought, Wen Jiu set out immediately.
Bringing the White Ghoul with him, he rushed toward the burial grounds.
The cold night? The presence of wandering spirits? None of that mattered now.
Once he placed the now-empty Soul-Devouring Pearl back in the corpse's mouth, Wen Jiu finally felt at ease and returned home.
Yet even after arriving back, he remained restless, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
A vague sense of helplessness lingered.
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