Now, the spirit stones needed to buy experience-boosting talismans could already be earned by selling low-tier Soul Reaping Talismans. These low-tier talismans weren't worth much—about a hundred taels per piece, meaning ten of them were only worth a single low-grade spirit stone. However, their production cost was minimal. One low-grade spirit stone could buy thirty sheets of talisman paper, and even factoring in the cost of demonic beast blood ink, a single spirit stone could still yield twenty completed talismans. With a perfect success rate, these twenty talismans would reliably bring in a profit of one spirit stone. The only downside was that they weren't easy to sell.

There weren't many mortals on Feixian Peak, and Death Peak outright forbade transactions with mortals. Even if they had money, they couldn't buy them. The only viable customers were the offspring of cultivators—those who had money and were willing to spend it on such talismans.

…

The next morning, Wen Jiu carried his batch of talismans to the marketplace, found a quiet corner, and set up his stall while casually listening to the gossip around him.

To be honest, after hearing bits and pieces a few times, he found himself enjoying the chatter.

The market stalls were mostly run by old cultivators—average talent, mediocre cultivation, but they had lived long, seen much, and made plenty of connections. They always knew things Wen Jiu didn't.

"Have you heard? Manager Zhao from the Demon Suppression Division hasn't been seen for a while now."

"Who?"

"Zhao Three-Blades."

"You mean that Manager Zhao, the one who could slay a demon in just three strikes? Maybe he's just out on a mission."

"But the division has no record of him taking a mission. There's no sign of him in the Corpse Remnants Deadland either. My nephew works at the division, so I suspect he was a traitor and has already been secretly dealt with by the Peak Lord!"

"Damn, those bastards actually infiltrated the ranks of the division's managers?!"

Listening to the hushed conversation between the old cultivators, Wen Jiu wasn't surprised.

The Night Patrol Division operated the same way—if someone was suspected, they were taken away on the spot, never to be seen again.

"So, who exactly are these people after corpses and the Yin Blood Curse Body?" Wen Jiu was extremely interested in cultivating the Yin Blood Curse Body.

If he had it, he wouldn't even need to practice Yin-based talisman techniques—he wouldn't have to worry about enemies targeting him directly.

But for now, he didn't dare to cultivate it.

Even so, the idea itched at him.

And he was curious—who were these people?

After staying at the market for an hour or two, he successfully sold all forty of his low-tier Soul Reaping Talismans. He then bought twenty sheets of higher-tier talisman paper from a nearby stall and returned home.

He continued refining his body with Earth Fiend Yin energy while also infusing spells into his Corpse Eye. Over the past ten or so days, he had accumulated a vast amount of Yin techniques within it—over ten times the amount stored in his dantian.

Yet, it had only filled half the Corpse Eye's capacity.

If he could fill it to the brim, he had no idea just how powerful he would become when unleashing its full force.

Would he be able to instantly kill a third-layer Qi Refining cultivator?

…

He trained until dusk.

As night fell, Wen Jiu suddenly sensed an immense surge of Yin energy and corpse qi erupting outward.

Like ripples on water, it spread across twenty to thirty miles.

Ordinary cultivators might not be sensitive enough to notice—it would just feel like a sudden cold breeze. Only those knowledgeable about corpse qi and Yin energy could recognize it for what it was.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

To Wen Jiu, however…

It felt as normal as drinking water.

The moment it spread, he sensed it.

"With so much Yin energy and corpse qi bursting out at once… If my Black Ghoul absorbed all this, wouldn't it be overwhelmed and explode?"

But after his moment of amusement, Wen Jiu grew suspicious.

What exactly had happened?

He thought about investigating, but as soon as he opened his door, he saw groups of sword-riding cultivators streaking through the sky.

There were even flying artifacts shaped like boats.

One after another, they passed overhead—over a hundred of them in total.

At that moment, Wen Jiu instantly abandoned the idea of investigating.

Half an hour later, Wang Nian suddenly returned, hurriedly calling Wen Jiu to his room the moment he arrived.

"Big news! Huge news!"

Wang Nian shut the door behind him and immediately activated a soundproofing talisman.

Wen Jiu quickly asked, "Brother Wang, what happened?"

Wang Nian took a gulp of water, his eyes filled with excitement.

"The Peak Lord and his people were exploring the Corpse Remnants Deadland and found the corpse of Xue Mo Qian, the master of the Blood Robe Tower, hidden in an underground cave!"

"Blood Robe Tower? Xue Mo Qian?"

Wen Jiu looked confused.

But from Wang Nian's expression, he could tell this was a big deal.

Wang Nian stood up, eyes alight with excitement.

"Blood Robe Tower—five years ago, they terrorized three mortal kingdoms surrounding Death Peak. Their members infiltrated everything from county offices to the emperor's court. Even Death Peak had trouble dealing with them… The Corpse Remnants Deadland? That's where the final battle between Blood Robe Tower and our Death Peak cultivators took place!"

"Ah, I see."

Wen Jiu straightened his posture, listening intently.

Through Wang Nian's explanation, Wen Jiu learned about the Bloodclad Tower—an infamous heretical sect that, at its peak, boasted seven thousand Qi Refinement cultivators, five hundred thousand mortal followers, and a terrifying leader at the pinnacle of Qi Refinement.

Back in the great battle at Fei Xian Peak, had the Peak Lord of Deadman's Peak not broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage just before his final moments, the thousands of corpses scattered across the battlefield would have belonged to Deadman's Peak disciples, not members of the Bloodclad Tower.

Even so, after the battle, the remaining disciples of Deadman's Peak scoured the battlefield seven or eight times. Their spiritual senses searched the area more than a dozen times, yet they never found the corpse of the Bloodclad Tower's master—Xue Mo Qian.

Many had seen Xue Mo Qian suffer a spiritual attack from Deadman's Peak's newly ascended Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Many had watched as Xue Mo Qian, gravely wounded, plummeted into the depths.

But without a body, no one dared to confirm his death. After all, heretical cultivators always had ways to cling to life.

Who could have expected that, due to a traitor's actions within Fei Xian Peak, a subterranean cave would be unearthed—revealing Xue Mo Qian's corpse, now transformed into a ghoul? It was precisely for this reason that the traitor had infiltrated Fei Xian Peak.

Because in Xue Mo Qian's possession was the Bloodclad Tower's most powerful secret technique—the very technique that had allowed him to reach peak Qi Refinement at the astonishing age of fifty-six.

Fifty-six years old and already at the peak of Qi Refinement.

That was eight years faster than Deadman's Peak's most legendary ancestor from three hundred years ago!

One could only imagine how formidable that secret technique was.

"Brother Wang, was Xue Mo Qian really at peak Qi Refinement at fifty-six?" Wen Jiu asked.

If he remembered correctly, the corpse they found had bone age markings indicating fifty-six years.

And its cultivation level had indeed been peak Qi Refinement.

Wang Nian nodded. "Impressive, isn't it? Kid, you may have talent in the heretical arts, but compared to him, you're still far behind."

"Was Xue Mo Qian the only one at peak Qi Refinement in the Bloodclad Tower?" Wen Jiu asked again.

Wang Nian found the question odd. "Of course! Do you think reaching peak Qi Refinement is that easy? Even after all the chaos with the Bloodclad Tower, Deadman's Peak has only managed to cultivate two peak Qi Refinement disciples so far."

Hearing Wang Nian's answer, Wen Jiu immediately understood.

The rumors were likely false.

And that so-called corpse was probably fake as well.

If the Bloodclad Tower had no other peak Qi Refinement cultivator, then the body buried underground had to be Xue Mo Qian's.

Wang Nian spoke again. "Now that Xue Mo Qian's corpse has been dug up, I bet the entire Deadman's Peak will be in an uproar."

Wen Jiu remained silent, listening.

To be honest, he smelled a conspiracy.

First, the overwhelming surge of corpse energy and yin energy that had spread through the sky.

Now, the news of Xue Mo Qian's body being unearthed was spreading so quickly that even Wang Nian knew about it.

How could this not be intentional?

Wang Nian continued, speaking enthusiastically about the Bloodclad Tower—sometimes in awe, sometimes in anger.

Wen Jiu listened quietly.

But in his mind, all he could think about was Xue Mo Qian.

That secret technique… it had to be the Blood Curse of Yin Fiend Body.

At the thought of this, Wen Jiu subconsciously touched the storage pouch at his chest—because that very technique was inside.

Good thing he hadn't rushed to cultivate it.

Otherwise, he would have been the first to die.

"Looks like things won't be peaceful in the coming days." Fei Xian Peak's sect master had orchestrated such a spectacle—it was obvious he was plotting something big.

Wen Jiu sighed inwardly but felt a small sense of relief.

At least, for now, he was just a trial disciple.

At the very bottom of Fei Xian Peak.

Not involved.

And not qualified to be involved.

—

In the following three days, discussions about the Bloodclad Tower spread like wildfire. Even the lowly laborers had heard about Xue Mo Qian's unearthed corpse.

At the same time, the Land of Scattered Corpses had its seal lifted.

The gravekeepers could resume their work.

And Wen Jiu could once again enter to cultivate.

Unfortunately, the core area of the Land of Scattered Corpses was now sealed by a formation, preventing him from absorbing its blood energy.

But on this very day—

His Black Ghoul experience bar maxed out.

Breakthrough!