Hearing those words, Wen Jiu's expression froze.
It was exactly as he had suspected—Gong Chi intended to keep him at Feixian Peak and even take him as a disciple.
Before Wen Jiu could speak, Gong Chi continued, giving him no time to hesitate. "On the main peak, the discrimination against the Left Path is far worse than here at Feixian Peak. With your mere second-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, even if you pass the assessment, you won't be valued more than an ordinary first-layer Qi Refinement disciple. In these past days, you've encountered the Bloodcloak Tower and heard about the Blood Fiend Abyss. Liu Xiao is crippled, Mu Canglong's life and death remain unknown, and as for the other Night Patrol disciples, there's no need to even mention them. You should understand by now why the Left Path is unwelcome."
"I understand." Wen Jiu nodded.
But inwardly, he found it amusing. If anyone else had said this, he might have believed it was heartfelt—but what right did Gong Chi have to say such things?
He was definitely going to the main peak. A wise man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.
Feixian Peak only had seven elders, yet two were undercover agents, and the remnants of the Bloodcloak Tower were still keeping a close watch on the place.
This was no place for him to stay. Even if the Land of Mangled Corpses allowed him to steadily absorb death energy and yin energy, it still wasn't worth the risk.
Besides, he had already absorbed most of the blood energy from the Land of Mangled Corpses. If he stayed, he would only be able to gather death and yin energy—but where would he find the blood energy needed to cultivate the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body and the Blood Ghoul Hand?
Yet from what Gong Chi was saying, it seemed he neither wanted Wen Jiu to participate in the assessment nor go to the main peak to cultivate.
As for his true motives, Wen Jiu wasn't sure yet, but one thing was certain—he was trying to pull him into the depths.
His Left Path talents might earn him special cultivation at Feixian Peak, but they would also attract the attention of true Left Path heretics.
Seeing Wen Jiu nod, Gong Chi smiled in satisfaction. "As long as you understand. It's not that I'm unwilling to let you go to the main peak, but rather that it isn't the most suitable place for you. I don't want to see you go there and be buried. As the saying goes, 'Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix'—you've heard this before, haven't you?"
"I have," Wen Jiu replied, "and I understand your meaning, Elder Gong. But to suddenly take me as your disciple—I feel rather uneasy."
He neither accepted nor refused outright.
If he agreed too quickly, it would seem fake, and Gong Chi might not believe him.
If he refused outright, who knew how Gong Chi would react?
Delaying was the best option.
In just ten days, the Black Ghoul would complete its transformation into a Three-Fiend Walking Corpse. He could deal with Gong Chi then. If the elder truly insisted on blocking his path, he would have to resort to drastic measures.
It wasn't as if he had no trump cards.
He wouldn't play that card easily, but if he did, a mere side-peak elder like Gong Chi wouldn't be able to handle it.
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"You have ten days to give me an answer." Gong Chi, however, was not so easily fooled. In ten days, the assessment would begin.
If Wen Jiu hadn't given him a definite answer by then, Gong Chi would likely take action.
Wen Jiu cupped his fists in salute, deliberately revealing a complex expression. After all, his persona was that of an inexperienced young cultivator—being too calm would seem unnatural. "I will think it over carefully and not disappoint your kindness, Elder Gong."
"Go."
Gong Chi waved his hand.
Wen Jiu turned and left.
But even long after he was gone, Gong Chi's eyes remained fixed on his departing figure.
A moment later, Gong Chi slowly withdrew his gaze, murmuring to himself,
"A Left Path genius like this... It would be a waste to send him to the main peak. If I could bring him into the Heaven's Left Alliance, that would be a great merit…"
Rushing all the way home, Wen Jiu gulped down two cups of water as soon as he arrived. The noise drew his sister, Wen Ya, over, her face filled with confusion and a hint of concern.
"What's wrong?"
Wen Jiu shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about an important decision in life."
Worried that someone might be listening through the walls, he didn't say anything more. If Gong Chi had heard this, it would have been the perfect answer.
Seeing his reaction, Wen Ya didn't press further. She simply reassured him with a gentle smile, "It's okay. Just choose boldly. If you make the wrong choice, your sister will always be here for you!"
"Mm-hmm."
Wen Jiu nodded, gazing deeply at his sister.
In that moment, he made up his mind.
He had to go to the main peak.
Anyone who stood in his way—would die.
Shaking off his thoughts, Wen Jiu immediately rushed to the land of scattered corpses and began absorbing the blood energy from the heart of the site using his Corpse Eye. He needed it to cultivate both the Ghostface Pagoda and the Blood Transformation Body of his Black Ghoul.
His goal was to evolve the Black Ghoul into a Three-Fiend Walking Corpse as fast as possible while also pushing the Blood Transformation Body to the fourth level.
And so, for the next few days, Wen Jiu buried himself in the land of scattered corpses. In just five days, he gathered five to six hundred drops of refined blood, bringing his total reserves to an astonishing 6,500. However, he left 6,000 untouched, using only the surplus to cultivate the Ghostface Pagoda. Even then, the results were impressive—it allowed him to steadily raise ghostly spirits from the first layer of Qi Refinement to the second.
The only downside was that the number of lingering souls in the land of scattered corpses was dwindling. The souls he attracted now were mostly wandering spirits from outside Feixian Peak, far inferior in quality.
This meant nurturing them consumed more ghostly energy.
But Wen Jiu didn't care.
He was determined to drain every last drop from this place before leaving forever.
At the same time, he occasionally sneaked over to the trade market in Baihua Mountain to sell Soul-Seizing Talismans. Unlike before, when he would only visit every six or seven days, he now went once every three days, even selling top-tier Grade-1 lower-rank talismans.
Once his Black Ghoul evolved into a Three-Fiend Walking Corpse and his Blood Transformation Body broke through to the third layer, those lower-rank talismans would be of little use to him. Instead of hoarding them, it was better to convert them into resources for corpse cultivation.
Unfortunately, even if he pushed his spiritual power to the limit, he could only craft around twenty talismans a day, with only one or two reaching top-tier quality.
If he wanted to rely on them alone to advance his Blood Transformation Body to the fourth level within ten days, it simply wasn't financially feasible. In the end, he would still have to dip into his reserves of refined blood.
Not too much, though—probably just four or five hundred drops.
Since he couldn't yet cultivate the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body, it wasn't a big deal to use that amount now. He could always find a way to replenish it later.
This was the advantage of stockpiling resources.
If he hadn't saved up refined blood before, he would be struggling now.
Days passed in the blink of an eye.
As the assessment date drew near, the elders of the Monitors' Hall and Feixian Peak had yet to return.
The only good news was that the formation had been established, and the Fiendflame Volcano was gradually stabilizing.
They would likely return in a few days.
Even if the assessment was delayed, it wouldn't be for long.
However, there was still no news of Mu Canglong. Whether he was dead or alive remained unknown, which left Wen Jiu puzzled.
What confused him even more was that the Blood Robe Tower had shown no signs of movement.
Had they really gone through all the trouble of stirring up chaos in the Blood Fiend Abyss just to trigger the Fiendflame eruption? Was that all there was to it?
Just as Wen Jiu was racking his brain over this mystery, his Devourer Yin Insect reached full experience, successfully mutating and merging with his Yin Arts.
Another trump card in his hand.