[Black Ghoul—Corpse Nurturing (Upper Realm 0/2000)]

Upon reaching the Upper Realm, Wen Jiu could clearly sense the surge of corpse energy from the Black Ghoul through their bond, even from outside the Dead Land of Remnant Corpses. The surrounding yin energy of the burial site also skyrocketed along with it.

In an instant, within a hundred feet of where the Black Ghoul lay, the yin energy reached its peak—comparable to the very center of the Dead Land of Remnant Corpses.

A single ghoul was equivalent to hundreds, if not thousands, of ordinary remnant corpses!

Fortunately, this was happening within the Dead Land of Remnant Corpses, where no Night Patrol disciples were stationed. Had it occurred elsewhere, the overwhelming aura spreading outward would have alarmed the Night Patrol cultivators, forcing them to draw their swords and activate their talismans.

But then—something completely unexpected happened.

The terrifying corpse energy and yin aura, which had initially spread like ripples, were suddenly sucked back into the Black Ghoul's body in one swift motion.

Within a hundred feet, all traces of its energy vanished.

"Is this concealment?"

He had only heard of Qi Refining cultivators being able to suppress their aura and hide their presence. If a cultivator of the same realm—or even one slightly above—did not deliberately probe with their divine sense, they would be unable to detect the concealed individual's location or true cultivation level.

He hadn't expected the Black Ghoul to instinctively master this ability after advancing to the Upper Realm.

This was a good thing.

It meant he could nurture the ghoul in secret.

Hide it away without attracting attention.

"Now that it has reached the Upper Realm, the next step is to cultivate it into a Walking Ghoul." Wen Jiu's mind swiftly recalled the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Method.

For a Black Ghoul, nurturing only required the right environment. But transforming it into a Walking Ghoul was far from simple.

It was like a cultivator breaking through from the third to the fourth layer of Qi Refining. Though it seemed like just a single step, the leap from early-stage to mid-stage was significant. This breakthrough was often more difficult than all the previous advancements combined.

That was why, despite the Night Patrol having more than a dozen supervisors, only three had the rank of steward.

According to the Yin Province Corpse Nurturing Method, transforming a Black Ghoul into a Walking Ghoul required two critical elements: an immense amount of blood and a vast supply of Earth-Fiend Yin Energy.

Blood nurtured the corpse spirit.

Once the corpse spirit reached a certain level, it could form a soul. However, unlike a true soul, a corpse soul did not grant intelligence. Instead, it allowed the Walking Ghoul to mimic human movements—walking, running, crouching—giving it a semblance of life.

Earth-Fiend Yin Energy, on the other hand, stabilized the soul.

Since a corpse soul was artificially created and lacked intelligence, it was far more fragile than a human soul. Without Earth-Fiend Yin Energy to reinforce it, a cultivator's divine sense attack could easily shatter it.

Fortunately, Earth-Fiend Yin Energy could be drawn using the Corpse Nurturing Mantra.

If he needed a larger supply, he simply had to improve his mastery of the technique. Wen Jiu glanced at his current progress.

[Technique: Corpse Nurturing Mantra (Entry Level 484/500)]

"In two days, I should reach Minor Achievement."

Once he achieved Minor Achievement, he could draw in even more Earth-Fiend Yin Energy.

But the blood—now that was a real problem.

He wasn't a heretical cultivator, so slaughtering mortals was out of the question. And the core region of the Dead Land of Remnant Corpses was currently sealed off by a formation. If he wanted a steady supply of blood, his only option was to cultivate corpse blood himself.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

He had already set aside some of his own refined blood essence for cultivating the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body, so that was off-limits.

"For now, I'll see how much experience I gain after tomorrow's daily settlement…" If the experience growth was satisfactory, he would postpone the corpse blood cultivation.

After all, he didn't have enough spirit stones to buy demonic beast or demon blood and refine corpse blood using the Corpse Eye.

Even entry-level demonic beast or demon flesh cost one low-grade spirit stone per pound.

He simply couldn't afford it.

…

The next morning.

After half a month of absence, Wen Ya suddenly appeared, bustling in with a bundle of food. She had brought a special type of leaf-wrapped rice ball, filled with various meat and vegetable stuffings—something similar to zongzi.

Only after asking did Wen Jiu realize that today was a festival.

Fei Xian Peak did not observe it.

But mortals did.

Spring had passed, and summer was approaching. In the mortal world, today was known as the Summer Solstice, a time to eat green dumplings to welcome the new season.

It was a symbol of good fortune.

A wish for a bountiful harvest.

"Sis, have some too." Seeing his sister immediately start cleaning his house upon entering, Wen Jiu quickly tried to stop her.

Wen Ya ignored him. "Look at this mess—things thrown everywhere… You didn't even fold your blanket!"

Hearing this, Wen Jiu felt a warmth rise in his heart.

This kind of nagging—something he thought he would never hear again, being far from home.

"Sis, you keep cleaning. I'll bring some to Brother Wang next door." After tasting one green dumpling, Wen Jiu grabbed a handful and stepped out.

Just as he expected—

Cultivators didn't celebrate the Summer Solstice.

And that made sense.

Cultivators don't need to follow mortal customs like seeking good omens or praying for a bountiful harvest.

When Wen Jiu returned after delivering the green rice cakes, Wen Ya had already tidied up the house. The clothes Wen Jiu had left scattered on the bed were now neatly stored in the wardrobe.

Seeing Wen Jiu enter, Wen Ya quickly said, "Looks like I'll have to help you find a wife. Otherwise, how can this place ever feel like a home?"

"A marriage push?"

Wen Jiu chuckled in surprise.

But then, Wen Ya's tone shifted, and her expression changed along with it. "By the way, Old Madam Xu wants to invite you over for a home-cooked meal. She's probably trying to win you over. Are you going or not?"

"I'm not going. Maybe another time," Wen Jiu shook his head without hesitation. "Just tell her that my duties at the Night Patrol Division and my cultivation are keeping me busy. Once I have some free time, I'll personally visit."

Right now, if he went, he wouldn't have the qualifications to negotiate on equal footing.

If he even hinted at wanting to take his sister away, it would undoubtedly offend the Xu family.

So, he had to wait until he was in a position where they could talk as equals.

When that time came, he could use his status as an Enforcer under Mu Canglong to take his sister out of the Xu household.

"Mm-hmm."

Wen Ya nodded, saying nothing more.

She had a good guess as to what her brother meant by "another time."

…

After seeing his sister off, Wen Jiu started drawing low-tier Soul-Seizing Talismans. Once he had finished thirty, he headed to the trade market.

This visit to the market surprised him—it was noticeably more chaotic and noisy than usual.

After sitting down and listening for a while, he learned that a subsidiary cultivation family under Fei Xian Peak had been attacked the previous night. Out of over three hundred people, only three to five had survived. The rest had all been devoured by Gu worms.

The deaths were gruesome beyond words.

"Could this be connected to the Blood Garment Tower?"

"Almost certainly. Besides those remnants, who else would dare target Fei Xian Peak's vassal forces?"

"Ordinary rogue cultivators or demonic practitioners might kill a few people at most, but who would go as far as exterminating an entire clan?"

"Fei Xian Peak has already sent a number of disciples over, but I bet the attackers have long since fled. Going there now is pointless."

Hearing these discussions, Wen Jiu felt a chill tighten around his heart.

Great.

Things were getting more chaotic.

How long had it been since life had felt stable?

Fortunately, as an apprentice disciple, he wasn't required to take on missions. Otherwise, he might have already found himself caught in the crossfire.

"This is probably just the beginning…" Wen Jiu thought grimly. After selling off his Soul-Seizing Talismans, he left.

Back home, he started working on mid-tier Soul-Seizing Talismans, determined to stockpile a few for emergencies.

Whether to sell or use them himself—he wanted the flexibility to choose.

The worst thing would be needing them and not having any.

Time passed quickly.

Midnight arrived.

Time to check his progress.

As Wen Jiu had expected, now that his black ghoul had reached the upper stage, even with a low-grade Rank-One Corpse-Nurturing Pearl and a Level 2 panel, spending twelve hours in the corpse-nurturing ground had only earned him six experience points. At this rate…

Gaining two thousand experience points would take nearly four hundred days.

On its own, that wouldn't be too bad. Compared to regular Qi Refinement cultivators—who might take years or even decades to advance from the third to the fourth level—four hundred days wasn't much at all.

But given the current situation at Fei Xian Peak, he didn't have the luxury of time.

Moving slowly meant living with constant anxiety.

What if something unexpected happened?

A cultivation family of over three hundred had just been wiped out overnight. Among them, there had undoubtedly been Qi Refinement second-layer cultivators like him.

"Looks like I need to find a way to sell these mid-tier Soul-Seizing Talismans." Wen Jiu was still contemplating this when he suddenly heard knocking at the door.

At midnight.

Someone was knocking?

Knock, knock, knock!

Wen Jiu instinctively tightened his grip on his Corpse Eye.

The next moment, a voice called out—

"Daoist Wen, Enforcer Mu has ordered me to summon you to the Night Patrol Division."

Hearing that it was Mu Canglong's order, Wen Jiu put away his Corpse Eye, ready to dress and open the door. But before he could move, Wang Nian had already opened it and greeted the visitor.

Seeing Wang Nian casually chatting with the messenger, Wen Jiu finally relaxed.

For that, he was deeply grateful.

Wang Nian was clearly making sure the visitor was legitimate before letting him respond.

****

****

[ Read 50 Chapters ahead at patreon.com/DaoistMist ]