"Thank you for the reminder, sir!" Wen Jiu expressed his gratitude, then immediately asked, "May I ask why I need to be so careful in choosing?"
Liu Xiao kept walking, his expression briefly turning serious. "Because those who cultivate in unorthodox paths often practice heretical sorcery, curses are not uncommon. If you choose a corpse weapon that has been cursed, it could backfire on you… However, the power of a curse is easy to identify. Just examine it carefully with your spiritual sense."
"Thank you for the guidance."
With a mix of nervousness and anticipation, Wen Jiu quickly followed along.
Before long, they arrived at the Night Patrol Division's treasury.
It was beyond Wen Jiu's expectations—the treasury was actually underground, and along the way, stone statues of axe-wielding guardians stood watch. With his spiritual sense, Wen Jiu could tell at a glance that these statues were anything but ordinary.
Stone Golems!
Creations of puppet masters, one of the many arts within cultivation.
Each of these stone golems exuded an aura on par with a black ghoul.
Utterly absurd.
After passing over a hundred stone golems, Liu Xiao finally stopped in front of a massive stone door with Wen Jiu.
A chubby disciple of the Night Patrol Division, who had been lounging beside the entrance, quickly got up and greeted Liu Xiao with a fawning smile.
"Uncle, what brings you here?"
"Cut the nonsense," Liu Xiao reprimanded, though he didn't seem truly annoyed. Then, shifting the topic, he ordered, "Open Treasury Bǐngzǐ. I'm bringing Wen Jiu in to select a weapon."
"Wen Jiu?"
The chubby disciple's expression immediately showed his surprise upon hearing the name.
"Uncle, is this the first Gravekeeper in fifty years to be promoted by killing enemies? And he cultivates an unorthodox path, that one?" As he spoke, he couldn't help but size Wen Jiu up, clicking his tongue in amazement.
Indeed, an unorthodox path.
Even his body was colder than normal.
Wen Jiu simply cupped his fists in a polite gesture without saying much. He also didn't take offense—after all, there was no contempt in the other disciple's gaze when he mentioned the "unorthodox path."
The next moment, Liu Xiao scolded impatiently, "Why are you running your mouth?"
The chubby disciple immediately stopped talking and hurried to open the door.
The stone door rumbled open.
Liu Xiao led Wen Jiu inside.
They passed several storerooms before finally stopping at the tenth one at the very end, its stone door covered with talismans.
As soon as the door to the tenth room opened, an overwhelming mix of energies surged out, making even Wen Jiu—a corpse-raiser—feel uneasy. Corpse energy, blood energy, demonic energy, and even a strange black aura.
Now he understood why the door was covered in talismans.
For an ordinary person, just being exposed to this for a few moments would be unbearable, and if they were corrupted by it…
That would be a disaster.
But for Wen Jiu?
It was nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Warm, even.
Liu Xiao shielded himself with spiritual power and stepped inside. Wen Jiu followed, taking in the sight of the weapons neatly arranged throughout the room.
Each one had a bizarre shape, vastly different from the standard swords and sabers used by orthodox Qi Refining cultivators.
There were weapons shaped like hands.
Weapons shaped like bones.
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Even weapons shaped like eyeballs.
With such grotesque designs, was it any wonder they weren't well received?
Sigh.
No wonder the reputation of unorthodox cultivators was so bad.
The moment you pulled out one of these weapons, people would immediately slap a "villain" label on you.
Suddenly—
Wen Jiu's attention was drawn to a withered, hand-shaped artifact at the center of the display. The aura it emitted unsettled even him.
"That is the Lifeless Hand, a top-tier Grade-1 mid-rank demonic artifact… It was forged by an unorthodox Qi Refining cultivator at the sixth level who slaughtered a hundred thousand mortals in the process. The sheer resentment it carries is overwhelming—just looking at it is enough to make people uneasy," Liu Xiao explained.
His words snapped Wen Jiu out of his trance.
Hearing the phrase "slaughtered a hundred thousand mortals" sent chills down Wen Jiu's spine—staying in the sect was definitely the right decision!
A hundred thousand.
Even if it were a hundred thousand pigs, that scene would be beyond gruesome.
Let alone human beings.
These damn unorthodox cultivators!
Wen Jiu quickly averted his gaze.
Liu Xiao pointed to a stone rack displaying over a dozen corpse weapons, each with a unique shape.
"These are all Grade-1 low-rank corpse weapons. Pick one freely, but don't bother with anything else… nothing here is good news."
Wen Jiu nodded, his excitement skyrocketing as his gaze landed on the rack.
Without hesitation, he extended his spiritual sense, carefully inspecting the dozen or so Grade-1 low-rank corpse weapons.
From what he knew—
Even the cheapest Grade-1 low-rank artifact cost at least dozens of low-grade spirit stones.
Some ranged from seventy or eighty stones, while others exceeded a hundred.
Considering that his monthly salary was only three low-grade spirit stones, it would take him thirty or forty months to afford one.
But now he could get one for free—how could he not be thrilled?
This proved it—
In a sect, when it was time to prove yourself, you had to do it.
Otherwise, where would opportunities like this come from?
"You take your time looking. I'll go find you a Corpse-Nurturing Pearl," Liu Xiao said before heading deeper into the treasury.
"Thank you, Manager." Wen Jiu expressed his gratitude. His divine sense swept over the first bell-shaped magical artifact—Corpse-Control Bell—before his gaze fell on the description beneath it.
Corpse-Control Bell.
A low-grade Tier 1 corpse artifact, capable of commanding a hundred corpses and temporarily transforming dead bodies into White Ghouls for a corpse cultivator's use.
"It's about quality, not quantity."
Wen Jiu skipped over the Corpse-Control Bell.
As he examined item after item, he felt the cursed energy that Liu Xiao had mentioned. Even just a brief sweep of his senses made his heart uneasy. Though he was a corpse cultivator, Wen Jiu instinctively felt that these things were best left untouched.
However—
Even after scanning through all the items, he couldn't find one he was satisfied with. But when Liu Xiao returned with the Corpse-Nurturing Pearl, Wen Jiu suddenly noticed something on the highest shelf—a corpse artifact emanating an intense aura of blood energy.
It was a blood-red, round eyeball.
Palm-sized.
No description.
Only a talisman was pasted on it, sealing it in place.
Yet even the talisman couldn't suppress the surging blood energy within.
Liu Xiao noticed Wen Jiu's gaze and explained, "That's a Corpse Eye. No one knows who refined it, but it can absorb blood energy from its surroundings and transform it into refined blood. It can even draw blood out of thin air. If placed in a city of mortals, it could drain an entire city dry within an hour… From what I know, this belonged to a late-stage Qi Refining corpse cultivator."
"Hmm?" Wen Jiu's eyes flickered with intrigue.
His Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body required vast amounts of refined blood.
And now, right here in this treasury, there was a Corpse Eye that could absorb blood energy.
Could it be related to that person?
"Additionally, it contains Yin-based techniques, making it a powerful weapon in battle. They say that when its original owner was killed, three Demon-Slaying Bureau officials perished under its power!" Liu Xiao continued, then added, "I advise you not to covet it. While I trust that our Night Patrol Division won't allow you to use it for mass slaughter, it's still a damaged mid-grade Tier 1 artifact. Its rank fell to low-grade because of its damage… It's not within your selection range!"
Hearing this—
Wen Jiu understood immediately.
And at the same time, he made up his mind. He wanted that Corpse Eye.
"Brother Liu!"
"If there's ever anything within my power to help with, just ask!"
Rules were rigid.
But people were flexible.
Since Liu Xiao was willing to explain, that meant there was room for negotiation.
Sure enough, just as Wen Jiu expected, Liu Xiao suddenly chuckled. "You're a clever one… Rules are dead, but people are alive. If I say it falls within the rules, then it does."
"Many thanks, Brother Liu!"
Wen Jiu got the message instantly.
Because he understood—
He made the offer within his capabilities.
If something was beyond his reach or too dangerous, then he couldn't be blamed.
"Take it."
Liu Xiao handed it over.
Then, he also gave Wen Jiu the low-grade Tier 1 Corpse-Nurturing Pearl.
With both items in hand, Wen Jiu was overjoyed.
If he had to purchase them himself, who knew how long it would take to save up enough spirit stones?
But after showing his strength just once, he got them both.
"Thank you, Brother Liu!" Wen Jiu expressed his gratitude once again before following Liu Xiao out of the treasury.
Afterward—
Liu Xiao took the time to familiarize Wen Jiu with the Night Patrol Division.
He explained everything that needed to be said.
It wasn't until noon that Wen Jiu was finally able to leave.
Returning home—
The first thing Wen Jiu did was eagerly replace the unranked Corpse-Nurturing Pearl in his Black Ghoul's mouth with the low-grade Tier 1 version.
Then, he patiently waited for the daily settlement to assess the efficiency of corpse nurturing.
At the same time—
Wen Jiu began refining the Corpse Eye.
By nightfall—
He finally succeeded.
From this moment on, the Corpse Eye was his.
However—
After refining it, Wen Jiu realized something.
The Corpse Eye wasn't as simple as Liu Xiao had described.
It had another, unknown ability.
But due to its damage—
It was currently unusable.
Even so, Wen Jiu understood—
This was the true core ability of the Blood Eye.
That ability was—Blood Nurturing!
Had it not been for the detailed annotation in his daily settlement panel, he might never have known.
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