When he arrived at the Night Patrol Division of Fei Xian Peak, the entire place was eerily silent. With all the candles extinguished, only a few night watch disciples could be vaguely seen standing in the darkness, along with the occasional strange beastly roars echoing from an unknown distance.

As Wen Jiu entered, they merely cast a glance at him before resuming their rigid, statue-like stance.

Led by an unfamiliar disciple of the Night Patrol Division, Wen Jiu traversed through stone alleys and passed ancient buildings before finally reaching the highest point of the division.

Before him stood a stone hall, massive and imposing, like a great beast crouched in the mountainside beneath the night sky.

"Follow me inside."

At the entrance of the hall, Mu Canglong was already waiting. His voice was low and steady as he turned and walked into the hall without hesitation.

Wen Jiu quickly followed.

He had intended to ask what this was all about, but just as he was about to speak, Mu Canglong raised a hand, cutting him off.

Before long, Wen Jiu was led to the third floor.

They walked down a long corridor before stopping at a dimly lit room where candlelight flickered.

"Go in. The Elder wants to see you."

The Elder? Wen Jiu's heart tensed.

The Elder who oversaw the Night Patrol Division?

With a mix of uncertainty and apprehension, Wen Jiu knocked on the door. When it opened, he saw an old man with a full head of white hair standing in front of a square table. His face was deeply wrinkled with age, but his eyes were sharp and full of life. He was in the middle of writing something under the candlelight, but upon Wen Jiu's entrance, his brush abruptly stopped.

Then, with a slow and deliberate motion, he stepped away from the table and approached Wen Jiu. His steps were unhurried, yet his mere presence exuded a suffocating pressure, making Wen Jiu feel as though he were standing before a terrifying beast.

A chill ran down Wen Jiu's spine as an alarming thought crossed his mind—this man could crush him to death with a mere flick of his finger!

"Elder!"

Instinctively, Wen Jiu took a step back to escape the invisible pressure before bowing respectfully.

The white-haired elder remained silent, hands clasped behind his back, looking down at Wen Jiu with an emotionless gaze. Only after a few tense moments did he finally speak in a cold tone.

"You have spent a long time raising corpses in the Land of Remnant Corpses. Have you ever ventured into the central region?"

Before Wen Jiu could reply, the elder's voice turned even colder.

"Answer truthfully. If your answer satisfies me, you will become a formal disciple. If not, you and your black ghoul will be buried there together."

At those words, Wen Jiu's heart sank.

Without hesitation, he quickly answered with utmost sincerity.

"I've only been there once or twice, but I never dared to go deep. I only lingered around the edges because, at that time, I was only at the first level of Qi Refinement. My body couldn't withstand the intense Yin energy of the central region."

"Come here."

The elder suddenly barked the order.

Wen Jiu took two cautious steps forward before the old man abruptly seized his wrist. The grip was like the talons of a monstrous beast, clamping down with terrifying force.

Immediately, Wen Jiu felt a powerful spiritual sense scanning his entire body, sweeping through him from head to toe without missing a single detail.

In that moment, Wen Jiu's mind raced frantically, searching for a way out.

How could he escape?

What could he do?

But as soon as he recalled that this man was an Elder of the Night Patrol Division, someone even his black ghoul wouldn't be able to defeat, he forced himself to remain calm.

The feeling of having his life held in someone else's hands, of being at their mercy, was utterly infuriating.

Absolutely loathsome.

Fortunately, after a few moments, the white-haired elder released his grip. Wen Jiu looked down to find that his wrist had turned slightly blue from the force, a sharp sting lingering on his skin.

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"No wonder you advanced to the second level of Qi Refinement so quickly. The Yin energy in your body has already become quite severe."

The elder's voice remained cold as he continued.

"Those who cultivate the unorthodox Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Technique… some have managed to live until the sixth level of Qi Refinement. But you? You're only at the second level, yet the Yin energy has already invaded your organs and flesh so extensively. I doubt you'll even make it to the fourth level before it kills you."

Hearing this, Wen Jiu immediately realized that the elder had mistaken his Earth Fiend Yin Energy Body Refinement for excessive Yin energy invasion.

This was an opportunity.

Seizing the chance, he quickly played along, adopting a distressed expression as he pleaded.

"Elder, please… save my life!"

At this, the white-haired elder let out a cold chuckle.

"You do have some wits about you. But whether you live or not depends on whether you can survive reaching the third level of Qi Refinement. For now, tell me everything you know about the Land of Remnant Corpses."

"Yes, Elder!"

Wen Jiu bowed his head and obediently recounted everything—the layout of the Land of Remnant Corpses, the conditions of the area, and his methods of raising corpses. However, he carefully avoided mentioning the three thousand blood-ink corpses or the black ghoul's Blood Transformation Body.

The elder, however, seemed far more concerned with the central region. He continued pressing Wen Jiu with questions about it.

Wen Jiu answered as truthfully as he could without revealing anything dangerous.

Eventually, when the elder could extract no further useful information, he finally relented. But Wen Jiu could sense his dissatisfaction.

Perhaps even irritation.

Just then, a sudden knock came from the door.

"Elder."

Hearing Mu Canglong's voice, the elder's displeased expression shifted slightly. With a wave of his hand, he signaled for Wen Jiu to leave.

…

Stepping out of the room, Wen Jiu finally let out a breath of relief.

It felt like he had just walked through a mountain of blades, and all he wanted was to get as far away from the Night Patrol Division as possible.

But things rarely go as planned. As Mu Canglong entered the room, he secretly used a voice transmission technique to tell him not to leave just yet.

A moment later, Mu Canglong stepped out of the hall.

His expression remained unchanged, giving nothing away, as if nothing had happened at all.

"The elder questioned you, but don't tell me what he asked." As soon as he came out, Mu Canglong spoke immediately. "The elder mentioned that the Yin energy in your body is extremely severe—it has already invaded your internal organs, your flesh, and blood?"

As he spoke, Mu Canglong took out a jade bottle from his storage pouch, inside which a dozen or so pills could be seen.

"These are Body-Nurturing Pills. They help nourish the body, dispel Yin energy, and invigorate the blood. They're not exactly top-tier pills, but for you, they'll be quite useful."

Wen Jiu respectfully accepted the bottle.

"Thank you, Steward Mu."

As they walked, Mu Canglong continued, "Side paths and unorthodox techniques may allow for rapid progress, but they also damage the body tremendously. Slow down your cultivation speed a little… The longest-living cultivator of the Yin Province Corpse-Nurturing Technique only made it to fifty-seven years old, at Qi Refinement Level Six. If you want to live longer, ease up a bit."

"I understand."

Wen Jiu nodded, saying nothing more.

Because if anyone found out that not only was he unafraid of Yin energy, but that he was actually using Earth Fiend Yin energy to temper his body, they might just cut him open for research.

"Alright, go. Don't mention what happened today to anyone… or even I won't be able to protect you."

Leaving those words behind, Mu Canglong turned and walked back into the hall.

Wen Jiu took one last deep look at the stone hall, a chill creeping up his spine. The face of that Night Patrol Division elder lingered in his mind, making him quicken his pace to leave.

Even after returning home, Wen Jiu still felt uneasy.

That elder had unsettled him too much.

And with it came a deep sense of loathing.

Loathing for his own weakness.

That feeling of being completely at someone else's mercy, as if they could crush him with just a flick of their fingers, was unbearable.

…

Inside the stone hall.

Mu Canglong returned, acting as if nothing had happened. He respectfully addressed the white-haired elder, "Elder Gong, I've received word—what remains of the Blood-Clad Tower has joined forces with some unorthodox cultivators and rogue cultivators to wipe out the vassal families under Feixian Peak… Should we make a move?"

"You didn't see the Peak Lord today?" the white-haired elder asked in a deep voice.

Mu Canglong nodded. "The peak is now restricted—only the Peak Lord's most trusted followers are allowed in."

"The remnants of the Blood-Clad Tower and those unorthodox cultivators are obviously after the corpse of Xue Mo Sanqian. The so-called purge of the vassal families is just a diversion to split our focus and weaken our forces."

The white-haired elder stated it plainly. Then, he carefully folded a document he had written earlier and handed it over to Mu Canglong.

Mu Canglong received it respectfully but didn't open it. Instead, he continued, "If we don't act, in the future, no immortal cultivation family will dare to pay tribute to us."

The elder's face darkened. "Then we act. The Peak Lord is likely studying that corpse right now, trying to uncover the secret techniques of Xue Mo Sanqian… A method that allows one to reach the peak of Qi Refinement at fifty-six years old—who wouldn't be tempted?"

Mu Canglong glanced up but said nothing.

The white-haired elder waved a hand dismissively.

Without hesitation, Mu Canglong turned and left, leading the Night Patrol Division disciples away from Feixian Peak that very night.

…

Meanwhile.

Wen Jiu sat on his bed, deep in thought.

Thinking about what exactly was going on at Feixian Peak.

But no matter how he pondered, he couldn't figure it out.

So he shifted his focus to the sales channels for Soul-Seizing Talismans.

Selling them at Feixian Peak was obviously unrealistic. If he wanted to sell them, he'd need to find a trading market where no one knew him.

With that in mind, Wen Jiu pulled out the map he had previously obtained of the area surrounding Feixian Peak and started scanning it. His eyes landed on the rogue cultivator market at Lianwu Mountain.

Li Ye was there.

If he went, he might be able to kill him.

But that would also attract an investigation.

Forget it.

Better to pick another location.

His gaze shifted to the other side of the map.

Fifty miles east of Feixian Peak was a rogue cultivator trading market called Baihua Mountain Market.

According to the map's notes, this place was always bustling with three to five thousand cultivators—rogue cultivators, rogue warriors, disciples from subsidiary peaks, and even main peak disciples from major sects.

Selling Soul-Seizing Talismans there should be easy.