Yang Ye.
That was the name of the immortal steward.
After his sister left, Wen Jiu silently committed that name to memory.
In the days that followed, due to the increasing presence of Yin energy in the Dead Grounds, the middle-aged overseer did not have the corpse buriers work for too long each day—though they still labored for around six hours daily.
At sunrise, they went out.
At sunset, they returned.
Perhaps because his sister had brought him low-grade spirit rice and beast meat, Wen Jiu noticed a slight increase in his daily experience gains. A single bowl of low-grade spirit rice and a piece of low-rank beast meat granted him an additional 0.1 points of Body Refining experience.
However, reaching the first level of Body Refining required 1,000 experience points.
It was better than nothing.
At the very least, the spirit rice and beast meat fully replenished his energy and stamina each day.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed.
And tonight was the night the corpse would undergo its transformation.
At the stroke of midnight, the daily settlement began.
[Daily Settlement Panel Lv1 (18/100)]
[Today's Settlement!]
[Cultivated the Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Technique for two hours: Panel Experience +1, Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Technique Experience +2]
[Buried corpses in the Dead Grounds for six hours, continuously absorbing corpse energy and death energy: Panel Experience +1, Corpse Energy +6, Death Energy +6]
[Nurtured a corpse in an extremely Yin-infused environment for twelve hours: Panel Experience +1, Corpse Mutation Experience +12, Corpse Nurturer Experience +1]
[Consumed one bowl of low-grade spirit rice and one piece of low-rank beast meat: Body Refining Experience +0.1]
Immediately after, Wen Jiu opened his personal information panel.
The day before, he had been just 8 points away from completing the corpse mutation. With today's settlement granting him 12 points, the transformation should have succeeded.
As expected.
Looking at the Corpse Nurturer panel again, the "Corpse Mutation Experience" had changed.
[White Ghoul—In Nurturing (0/200)]
However, the extra 4 experience points did not carry over. Wen Jiu had anticipated this.
Once a corpse transformed into a ghoul, it entered a completely different stage. At that point, merely absorbing Yin energy was no longer enough for rapid growth. The Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Record had detailed notes on this.
A corpse that mutates into a ghoul must undergo further transformation. After becoming a White Ghoul, it would begin the process of evolving into a Black Ghoul. This required the corpse nurturer to chant a corpse-nurturing incantation for an hour every night at the Hour of the Boar (9 PM to 11 PM), drawing upon Earthly Fiend Yin energy to nourish the White Ghoul.
This process was called Spiritual Awakening.
Earthly Fiend Yin energy nurtured a corpse's spirit. Once a corpse spirit was formed, the corpse nurturer could establish a connection with the ghoul, controlling it at will.
However, forming a corpse spirit was only the first step in the transformation into a Black Ghoul—its physical body also had to be nurtured.
The Yinzhou Corpse Nurturing Record stated that at least 100 drops of human blood had to be placed in the White Ghoul's resting ground every day for it to feed upon. Furthermore, this blood could not be ordinary—it had to come from a person born under the Four Yin Signs: a Yin year, Yin month, Yin day, and Yin hour.
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With enough of this special blood, the White Ghoul could develop an impervious body, resistant to both weapons and spells.
As for how long this process would take—
There was no definite answer.
If one had an abundant supply of blood, the transformation would be swift.
If only 100 drops were available each day, then the duration would be uncertain.
"Where am I supposed to find blood from someone born under the Four Yin Signs? I can't just go around killing people, can I?" Wen Jiu fell into deep thought. Now he understood why the dark arts were so despised—if a mere Black Ghoul already required human blood, what would the later stages demand?
Then, an idea struck him.
He calculated his own birth date and Eight Characters of Fate.
After a careful analysis, he realized that he himself was a Four Yin individual.
Using his own blood would work.
But if he had to bury corpses every day and perform heavy labor, would offering 100 drops of blood daily eventually drain him to death?
"I wonder if a cultivator's blood could serve as a substitute?" While the blood of a Four Yin individual was undoubtedly special, the blood of cultivators was also highly potent. If it could be used instead, he could relocate the White Ghoul back to the Dead Grounds.
The earth there had long been soaked in blood.
It could drink freely.
—
The next morning.
As usual, his sister Wen Ya brought him a bowl of spirit rice and a piece of beast meat.
Wen Jiu ate every last bite.
Ever since he had asked for the immortal steward's name, he had refrained from asking further questions—because asking wouldn't change anything.
It would only make his sister feel worse.
After his sister left, Wen Jiu once again headed to the Dead Grounds to bury corpses. But just as he was about to begin, the middle-aged steward unexpectedly halted the work and, in a rare moment, introduced himself to everyone.
"The name's Wang Nian, you little brats. You better remember it!"
Wang Nian swept his fierce gaze over the crowd.
Then, he continued, "According to the rules, I'm not just in charge of overseeing your burial work—I'm also responsible for your cultivation. There were things I should've told you the day you entered the Scripture Hall, but I was in a bad mood at the time."
Wen Jiu was at a loss for words.
This overseer was really straightforward.
What else was he going to say?
As Wen Jiu waited in anticipation, Wang Nian continued, "First, you should know that before coming to Deadman's Peak, you were all tested for spiritual roots. Aside from three of you, the rest possess inferior spiritual roots—the lowest of the low. Hard work is your only way forward."
"Under normal circumstances, if you persist in cultivation, even with inferior spiritual roots, you should reach the first level of Qi Refining within three years."
"As long as you maintain this pace, the ever-growing Yin energy won't damage your foundation too much."
"But if anyone slacks off and disrupts this rhythm… don't blame me for killing you early. Either way, if your foundation is eroded by Yin energy, you won't make it far. You won't live long."
Every word Wang Nian spoke carried weight, like a warning before a killing blow. But to Wen Jiu, it sounded different.
Though this man's words were harsh, every sentence was for their own good.
It seemed he was someone who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
Wait a minute!
Wen Jiu suddenly realized something.
Most of the grave diggers had inferior spiritual roots, but three of them didn't?
They didn't need to spend three years just to reach the first level of Qi Refining.
Didn't that mean the top three cultivators a year from now would inevitably be those three?
Why did this feel so suspicious?
Three people, exactly.
And a year from now, there were exactly three slots.
A rigged system… Damn.
Wen Jiu was speechless.
He quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed three figures huddled together in the corner of the crowd, barely suppressing smug smiles.
One of them was the same person who had looked down on him outside the Scripture Pavilion when he was reading The Yin Province Corpse Cultivation Record.
Looks like…
There was a high chance it was these three!
Wen Jiu glanced at Wang Nian again. This usually fierce and ruthless overseer seemed different today. "He brought this up in front of everyone—was he dissatisfied with them?"
…
Dusk approached.
Wang Nian left, and the others gradually dispersed.
Wen Jiu found an excuse to return to the burial grounds and dug up the white stiff corpse.
Upon seeing the male cultivator's corpse again, Wen Jiu noticed that not only was it covered in thick white fur, but its eyes had turned a deep red, like blood pearls. Its claws had grown to an inch long, razor-sharp. But what terrified Wen Jiu the most were its two fangs.
Just like in those Uncle Ying horror films—pale white, stained with blood, grotesque and terrifying. If that thing bit someone…
"Jump on your own."
Though the white stiff hadn't developed intelligence, it could still understand simple commands and move normally.
Moments later, the white stiff hopped into the Dead Grounds.
Wen Jiu had it stand watch while he chose a spot where the blood-soaked earth was thickest and dug a pit.
"Get in."
Once the white stiff lay inside, Wen Jiu immediately buried it in the blood-soaked soil. Then, just before the Hour of the Boar (9–11 PM), he returned under the cover of night and chanted the Corpse Nurturing Mantra over the burial site for an entire hour. If not for the white stiff keeping him company, he wouldn't have dared come at night—who knew if ghosts were lurking around?
After finishing the mantra, Wen Jiu quickly left.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the daily progress report.
If his experience points increased, it would prove that a cultivator's blood could substitute for the blood of a Four-Yin person.
That would be incredible news for him—after all, in the Dead Grounds, the one thing he'd never run out of was cultivators' blood.
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