After leaving the Transmission Pavilion, the group of gravekeepers gathered together, their faces filled with satisfaction and anticipation. The hardship and exhaustion of spending the past two days in a land of death—surrounded by blood-soaked mud, lingering yin energy, and scattered corpses—were completely swept away in this moment. Many even began to feel fortunate for choosing to be gravekeepers rather than spending a lifetime as ordinary laborers.
However, Wen Jiu noticed that when others saw the Yinzhou Corpse Refining Manual in his hands, a faint trace of disdain flickered in their eyes, as if they found it repulsive. Seeing this, Wen Jiu silently tucked the manual into his robe and left the marketplace with the others, saying nothing.
Whether or not he could become an apprentice disciple of the Peak of the Dead wasn't really important to him at the moment. What mattered most was increasing his strength. If he ultimately couldn't become an apprentice disciple, then he would find another path. There was always a way.
As for leaving the Peak of the Dead to become a rogue cultivator? Wen Jiu wasn't that foolish. Here, he had backing. He had a place to belong. Why would he choose the life of a lone wanderer? He would rather remain a gravekeeper than become a rogue cultivator.
Besides, seeing how these Qi Refining cultivators looked down on unorthodox methods, Wen Jiu suspected that being a rogue cultivator might be too dangerous. What if some so-called "righteous" faction decided to eliminate him just because of his chosen path?
—
That night, after having a bowl of plain noodles at the marketplace to satisfy his hunger, Wen Jiu hurried home and began cultivating the techniques recorded in the Yinzhou Corpse Refining Manual—starting with the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art.
Strictly speaking, the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art was also a Qi Refining technique. It could lead to the Qi Refining stage, but instead of drawing upon normal spiritual energy, it required absorbing yin spiritual energy—a mixture of yin energy and spiritual energy—at yin-rich locations and during yin-heavy hours.
None of this posed a challenge for Wen Jiu. After all, he lived right next to the land of the dead.
Notably, the first page of the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art contained a warning written in blood by its author:
"Do not rush. Haste leads to failure. If you recklessly pursue speed in cultivation, you will be harmed by yin spiritual energy and lose years of your lifespan!"
This was the only major caution when practicing the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art.
Seeing this, Wen Jiu better understood why the white-haired elder had said that no one would choose him as an apprentice disciple. But as a corpse nurturer, Wen Jiu was naturally immune to the corrosive effects of death energy, yin energy, and corpse energy. Instead, these energies served as nourishment for him.
So he wasn't worried at all.
Suddenly, a translucent prompt appeared before his eyes:
[Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art]
[Rank: Qi Refining Technique (Two Levels, Can Be Cultivated to Qi Refining Level Two)]
[Would you like to cultivate this technique?]
"Yes!"
Wen Jiu was delighted. If he could directly choose to cultivate it, did that mean he didn't need to worry about finding a yin-rich location or waiting for yin-heavy hours?
In the next moment, his personal status panel appeared:
[Wen Jiu]
[Age: 23]
[Lifespan: 23/73]
[Realm: None]
[Techniques: Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art (Level 1, 0/1000)]+
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
[Lv1 Corpse Nurturer (0/100)]
[Secret Arts: Mutated Undead]
[Undead—Undergoing Mutation (0/100)]+
[Death Energy Remaining: 8]
[Corpse Energy Remaining: 8]
"The Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art and the mutated undead both have a plus sign."
Noticing this, Wen Jiu tapped the plus sign next to the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art.
[Technique: Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art—Beginner (1/1000)]+
[Death Energy Remaining: 7]
"I can use death energy to directly improve the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art?" Wen Jiu was thrilled. Without hesitation, he used up the remaining seven points.
When the experience value of the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Art reached 7 points, Wen Jiu immediately felt a few wisps of cold energy forming and circulating in his dantian. This must be the yin spiritual energy described in the manual.
"Once yin spiritual energy begins accumulating in the dantian, it means the cultivation process has begun!" A smile spread across Wen Jiu's face. "If I reach 1000 experience points, will that mean I've stepped into Qi Refining Level One?"
If that's the case, then this is way too fast.
After all, these eight points of death energy were accumulated from burying corpses in the Death Grounds over the past eight hours. Today, though he hadn't worked a full eight-hour shift, he'd still managed six.
If he could gain six points of death energy per day, that meant he'd only need 166 days to reach the first level of Qi Refining?
As far as he knew, normal cultivators required at least a year to reach that stage. Only those with exceptional talent could shorten the time.
No wonder this was considered an unorthodox path.
It really was fast!
Without hesitation, Wen Jiu invested another eight points of corpse energy into the evolving dead body.
[Corpse – Mutating (8/100)]+
If a full 100 points meant a successful mutation, then in less than ten days, he'd officially become a corpse-raiser!
…
Midnight arrived before long.
[Daily Settlement Panel Lv1 (3/100)]
[Daily Settlement!]
[Burying corpses in the Death Grounds for six hours: continuously absorbing corpse energy and death energy. Panel EXP +1, corpse energy +6, death energy +6.]
[Raising corpses in an extremely Yin environment for eight hours: panel EXP +1, corpse mutation EXP +6, corpse-raiser EXP +1.]
Wen Jiu hadn't expected that after the daily settlement, the corpse's mutation progress would jump straight to 14 points.
And he still had six points of death energy left over.
"Burying corpses in the Death Grounds grants death energy, while raising corpses in an extremely Yin environment provides experience. With this double boost, wouldn't that mean a corpse could fully mutate into a White Jiangshi in just five days?"
Realizing this, Wen Jiu was overjoyed.
Although White Jiangshi had many weaknesses and their exact strength was unclear, this speed was truly astonishing.
So this was the power of unorthodox cultivation?
It was fast—almost frighteningly so.
At this pace, it was no wonder most practitioners of this path had short lifespans.
Thankfully, his corpse-raiser trait made him immune to the corrosion of Yin energy, death energy, and corpse energy.
…
The next morning.
Just as the sky began to brighten, a knock sounded at his door once more.
"It's me!"
It was his sister, Wen Ya.
Wen Jiu quickly got up and opened the door.
As soon as he did, he saw her holding a large ceramic bowl again, covered with a lotus leaf like before. But this time, the leaf struggled to fully cover the contents—it was slightly raised, and besides the usual spirit rice, a faint aroma of meat wafted out.
The scent was strange.
Unusual.
At the very least, Wen Jiu had no memory of it.
With a bright smile, Wen Ya lifted the lotus leaf and said excitedly, "Hurry up and eat! There's meat today... Let me tell you, this is beast meat! It's incredibly nourishing, strengthens the body, and even speeds up cultivation. In this first year, we definitely won't be able to compete for the top three spots, but we have to make sure we don't fall behind!"
"Sis, isn't beast meat more expensive than spirit rice?"
In his memories, there was no mention of beast meat.
But the fact that it could both enhance physical strength and accelerate cultivation meant it had to be more valuable than low-grade spirit rice.
In Wen Jiu's mind, obtaining something always required giving something in return.
For this bowl of spirit rice and a piece of beast meat…
What had his sister given up?
Had she really just taken a servant job?
Wen Ya shook her head, seeming unwilling to elaborate. "It's just a little more expensive… Now eat up, or you'll be late for work again."
"Sis, if you don't tell me, I won't eat." Wen Jiu's tone was firm.
Seeing his determination, Wen Ya sighed helplessly. "It's fine, don't worry about me. Someone like me, a menial servant, has no future anyway. The fact that a cultivator's steward even took notice of me is already the best possible outcome… Besides, this way, I can bring you food and help you build up your strength. And maybe, when that cultivator's steward returns in a few days, he can even help you get an apprentice disciple position."
Hearing this, Wen Jiu understood.
Not a servant.
Most likely… a concubine.
Looking at his sister, who still wore a bright smile, Wen Jiu suddenly felt a deep ache in his chest. After a long silence, he decided not to press the matter further.
He only asked one thing:
"Sis, who is he?"
Since things had already come to this, there was no changing them.
At the very least, he needed to know who that man was.
He would make some discreet inquiries later.
If she was just a concubine, then fine. For a servant, becoming the concubine of a cultivator's steward was actually a decent path—this wasn't Blue Star, where people still talked about love and romance.
But if that man was an old cultivator looking for a human furnace…