The moment those words were spoken, Wen Jiu's heart skipped a beat. Even after living two lives, he couldn't help but feel a wave of panic and tension.
"Senior, let me think again..." He immediately started racking his brain, instinctively recalling the corpse and the Soul-Devouring Blood Pearl. His anxiety deepened, but he forced himself to shake his head. "Senior, there really hasn't been any movement. I only perform the Corpse-Nurturing Chant at the Hour of the Boar, and during that time, there was absolutely nothing unusual."
As soon as he finished speaking, his heart pounded in his chest. Could it really have something to do with that corpse?
However, the black-armored cultivator didn't seem willing to believe him, and his eyes remained cold and piercing.
The next moment, he turned to a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator in black armor. "Steward Mu, should we bring him back to the Night Patrol Division for a thorough interrogation? He was the only person at the scene of the dismembered corpse last night. He must know something."
At these words, Wen Jiu's expression changed dramatically. Wang Nian, who stood beside him, also stiffened.
Wasting no time, Wang Nian stepped forward and explained, "Steward Mu, this boy's elder sister is the concubine of Steward Xu, and his parents died in service to Dead Peak. If he had seen or heard anything, he would surely speak without reservation. He wouldn't dare to hide the truth."
"Steward Xu's brother-in-law?" The mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator scrutinized Wen Jiu for a few moments before waving his hand dismissively. "Forget it. Let's give Steward Xu some face."
The black-armored cultivator who had been pressing the issue clenched his fists, but in the end, he backed down. Still, his gaze toward Wen Jiu remained icy.
Seeing this, Wang Nian quickly shot Wen Jiu a meaningful look and said, "Many thanks, Steward Mu."
Wen Jiu immediately followed suit, bowing deeply. "This junior is grateful to Steward Mu."
Steward Mu simply waved his hand, allowing Wang Nian to take Wen Jiu away. "Next."
As he was led away, Wen Jiu's heart kept pounding uncontrollably, and he struggled to calm himself.
Before long, all the corpse buriers had been questioned.
To Wen Jiu's surprise, the black-armored cultivator who had singled him out didn't trouble anyone else. He had only targeted Wen Jiu.
Once the cultivators of the Night Patrol Division departed, Wen Jiu felt a wave of relief wash over him. He quickly turned to Wang Nian and thanked him sincerely.
At the same time, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He never thought it would be Steward Xu's name that saved him. For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.
But then, something suddenly clicked in his mind—why had that black-armored cultivator only targeted him? Was it because of his unorthodox cultivation methods?
Unorthodox cultivation… was it really so distrusted?
As he was lost in thought, Wang Nian spoke.
"Don't worry. This has nothing to do with you. Just focus on your work. As long as I'm here, you're safe in the Dismembered Corpse Wasteland."
"Thank you, Senior Wang," Wen Jiu said, but noticing there were others around, he quickly corrected himself.
Then he asked, "Senior, what exactly happened? Why did the Night Patrol Division personally come to investigate?"
The moment Wen Jiu voiced the question, the other corpse buriers also looked over curiously.
"Last night, during the Hour of the Ox, three disciples of the Night Patrol Division were killed while patrolling near the Dismembered Corpse Wasteland." Wang Nian sighed, his eyes clouded with worry. But in the next moment, his expression turned impatient. "Get back to work. Knowing too much won't do you any good. This has nothing to do with you all."
The corpse buriers were startled and quickly dispersed.
But just as Wen Jiu was about to leave, Wang Nian suddenly turned, his impatience replaced by a much gentler demeanor. "You should get back to work too. If the Night Patrol Division looks for you again, have someone come find me."
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"Many thanks, Senior." Wen Jiu bowed once more in gratitude.
——
Above the Dismembered Corpse Wasteland, four cultivators of the Night Patrol Division hovered midair on their swords. At the front, Steward Mu's sharp eyes scanned the land below as if searching for something.
After a long silence, the Qi Refining third-layer cultivator in black armor spoke up again. "Steward Mu, should we send more people to conduct a thorough search of the wasteland? Those traitors risked attacking our Night Patrol Division disciples here. They must be looking for something in this place!"
Steward Mu shook his head. "Back when we first cleaned up the battlefield, the disciples of the Side Peak searched it three or four times. Our Night Patrol Division brothers also searched the entire night yesterday. Searching again would be pointless."
"Then…"
"There are corpse buriers working here during the day, and Wang Nian is overseeing them. The traitors wouldn't dare make a move now. For the time being, we'll just have to strengthen our patrols at night and hope those bastards haven't found what they're looking for yet."
As he finished speaking, Steward Mu withdrew his gaze and turned to the black-armored cultivator. "That corpse burier, Wen Jiu—did he offend your Li family?"
"N-No…" The black-armored cultivator's face stiffened, and he quickly shook his head.
Steward Mu shot him another glance but said no more.
Then, he flew away on his sword.
Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the Forsaken Corpse Wasteland was tense. News had already spread that three second-layer Qi Refinement disciples from the Night Patrol Division had been killed.
Some speculated that remnants of the Blood-Clad Tower were taking revenge. Others believed there was a hidden traitor within the sect's side peaks. In short, rumors were flying everywhere.
For several nights in a row, when Wen Jiu went to recite the Corpse-Nurturing Incantation and tend to his corpse, he ran into disciples from the Night Patrol Division. Fortunately, Wang Nian had already put in a word for him, so when they saw that Wen Jiu was genuinely there to nurture corpses, they didn't give him any trouble.
Still, Wen Jiu couldn't shake his unease for several days. His mind kept replaying the image of that male cultivator's corpse, which had reached the peak of Qi Refinement, and that first-grade superior-quality Soul-Devouring Blood Pearl.
The fact that the man had hidden his own body underground and used talismans to conceal its aura was already suspicious. And now, with people from the Night Patrol Division being killed in the Forsaken Corpse Wasteland, it seemed even more unusual.
Two oddities combined—Wen Jiu didn't believe it was just a coincidence. There had to be a connection.
"Could it be that there's something else on that corpse, or something inside the Soul-Devouring Blood Pearl, that I haven't discovered yet?"
He speculated boldly, unable to suppress his curiosity.
But no matter how intrigued he was, he didn't dare investigate. Even when searching for wandering spirits during the day, he made sure to steer clear of the burial site. He avoided it as much as possible—who knew if someone from the Night Patrol Division was watching?
Just like that, a few more days passed.
After ten days and the consumption of over four hundred units of cultivator blood essence, his white ghoul's Blood Transformation Body had finally advanced to the second stage.
[Black Ghoul Skill: Blood Transformation Body, Stage Two (0/1000)]
Wen Jiu tested it by using a bit of cultivator blood essence.
It still increased the experience by one point.
But he didn't continue using it.
He only had 890 units of cultivator blood essence left, so he decided to conserve it. There was no rush—it would always be available when needed.
At the same time, after successfully hunting down three newly-formed wandering spirits, his white ghoul had finally undergone its first real transformation into a black ghoul.
A true evolution.
While it still feared sunlight, it no longer had many of the previous weaknesses. Moreover, with the Blood Transformation Body ability, sunlight's damage to it was significantly reduced. At most, exposure to sunlight would suppress thirty percent of its combat strength.
But that was no big deal.
After all, the Forsaken Corpse Wasteland was mostly shrouded in darkness.
At this point, Wen Jiu had officially become a corpse nurturer.
A true practitioner of the heretical path!
At the same time, his black ghoul's status panel had undergone some changes. It was no longer as simple as before.
[Wen Jiu]
[Age: 23]
[Lifespan: 23/73]
[Realm: Qi Refinement, First Layer]
[Cultivation Method: Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Technique (Second Layer, 61/1000)]+
[Spells: Corpse-Nurturing Incantation (Beginner, 210/500)]
[Body Training: Strength and Vitality (1.7/1000)]
[Lv1 Corpse Nurturer (16/100)]
[Secret Technique: Aberrant Corpse Transformation]
[Black Ghoul – In Nurturing (Newly Formed, 0/500) PS: Black ghouls have three stages—Newly Formed, Mid-Tier, and High-Tier. Upon reaching the High-Tier stage, they can evolve into Walking Corpses, gaining mobility and immunity to sunlight.]+
[Black Ghoul Skill: Blood Transformation Body, Stage Two (1/1000)]+
[Death Energy Reserve: 210]
[Corpse Energy Reserve: 60]
[Cultivator Blood Essence Reserve: 890]
However…
Neither the black ghoul's evolution nor the Blood Transformation Body reaching the second stage truly excited Wen Jiu. His mind remained fixated on that male cultivator's corpse and the Soul-Devouring Blood Pearl.
He had a strong intuition—
There was still something undiscovered.
Or rather, the Soul-Devouring Blood Pearl was far from ordinary.
Three days later, Wen Jiu finally got his chance. The number of Night Patrol Division disciples patrolling the Forsaken Corpse Wasteland at night had decreased. Even so, he remained cautious and waited another four days.
For four nights straight, he saw no sign of the Night Patrol Division.
Then, he sought confirmation from Wang Nian and learned that the Night Patrol Division had been dispatched to handle other recent murder cases.
Only then, on the night of the fourth day, did Wen Jiu quietly return to the Forsaken Corpse Wasteland with his black ghoul, heading toward the burial site.