Elder Ye Chen of the Supervision Hall's main peak, Ji Qiubai's master, was a neutral figure. He never discriminated against unorthodox cultivation methods, and among his disciples were both Qi Refining cultivators and practitioners of the Left-Hand Path. In fact, he himself practiced some Left-Hand techniques. If Wen Jiu were to catch his eye, he might actually gain his favor. After all, though Wen Jiu only had an inferior spiritual root, his talent in unorthodox cultivation was undeniable. Among the corpse-nurturing lineage of Yinzou, no one had progressed as swiftly as he had—not even Mu Canglong's father.
Before long, Gong Chi returned to the main hall of the Night Patrol Division.
But just as he stepped inside, a figure silently emerged from the shadows beside the hall, following him at an unhurried pace. His footsteps made no sound, and his presence seemed nonexistent. As he passed through the darkness, he vanished completely, like a ghostly specter. Yet, he wore the attire of a Night Patrol Division deacon—none other than the division's most mysterious third deacon, Ye Luo.
Sensing his presence, Gong Chi's steps faltered briefly. He glanced back before hastening his pace, striding quickly into the main hall and heading straight for the small attic on the top floor.
He shut the door. Activated the formation. Everything was done seamlessly.
As soon as he entered, Ye Luo spoke first.
"The Alliance Leader sent me to inform you that Senior Yinyang Chen has divined using life arts. The corpse of Blood Ink Three Thousand is still on Feixian Peak, as is the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body… They have never left Feixian Peak!"
Gong Chi's expression turned grave upon hearing this.
Even though he had doubts, the mere mention of "Senior Yinyang Chen" left him with no choice but to believe it.
"But I've already searched every place I should have on Feixian Peak, using my divine sense to dig three feet into the ground, yet I've found nothing."
Feixian Peak wasn't large.
Where could they be hidden?
Over the past few days, he had meticulously scoured an area spanning thirty miles from the base to the peak of Feixian Peak at least five times. Yet, he had uncovered nothing.
Ye Luo replied, "Senior Yinyang Chen's divinations have never been wrong. He says the corpse of Blood Ink Three Thousand is there… Perhaps some kind of talisman is obstructing your divine sense."
"That's not impossible," Gong Chi conceded. "Then I will search again more carefully. Go back and tell the Alliance Leader that I will find the corpse before the assessment deadline."
"You don't have that much time," Ye Luo said.
Gong Chi's face darkened. "Why?"
"The Alliance Leader is furious. He's already beginning to question your loyalty." Ye Luo's black eyes locked onto him, filled with suspicion.
"My loyalty to Tianzuo is as clear as the sun and moon," Gong Chi declared solemnly. "Tell the Alliance Leader that if I fail to find it, I will personally go to Tianzuo to receive my punishment." His voice was firm, and only then did Ye Luo's sharp gaze ease slightly.
What Ye Luo didn't know was that Gong Chi spoke with confidence because he had a backup plan.
That backup plan was Wen Jiu.
He hadn't found Blood Ink Three Thousand's corpse, but he had discovered a top-tier unorthodox talent for Tianzuo Alliance. Not only would the Alliance Leader not blame him, but he might even reward him instead.
Yet, at that moment, Ye Luo sat down rather than leaving. He picked up a pot of cold tea and took a sip, showing no intention of departing.
"I can't return yet. Tianzuo received word that the Merciless Iron Mask, Ye Chen, has been away from the main peak for half a month now, and he's still missing. I suspect he's watching from the shadows."
Gong Chi's brows furrowed even deeper.
He was well aware that Ye Chen had returned. That was why he had deliberately injured himself, so he could remain on Feixian Peak.
His plan was to use Ji Qiubai's death to draw the main peak's attention to Feixian Peak and earn merit to offset his previous failures.
For safety, he had even instructed Bai Changxin, the master of the Blood-Clad Tower, to stir up trouble in the Blood Fiend Abyss, hoping to divert Ye Chen's attention. But to his surprise, Ye Chen seemed completely uninterested in the Blood Fiend Abyss.
And now, he still hadn't appeared.
That was the most unsettling part.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"However, there's no need to worry. The Alliance Leader has already taken additional measures in the Blood Fiend Abyss to buy us time to find the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body." As Ye Luo spoke, he slowly retrieved ten black talismans from his storage pouch.
At first glance, their extraordinary quality was evident.
Gong Chi took a closer look, and his expression turned to delight.
Dispelling Talismans.
First-tier, high-grade.
Drawn personally by Senior Yinyang Chen.
They could break through any formations or talismanic obstructions below the second tier.
Each talisman was worth over a thousand low-grade spirit stones, but compared to the value of the Yin Fiend Blood Curse Body, it was nothing.
"Five for each of us. You search the main peak, I'll search outside the main peak… We start tonight."
"Agreed."
—
Corpse Remnants Wasteland.
Back at the Corpse Remnants Wasteland, Wen Jiu wasted no time. He used the Ghost Face Pagoda to cultivate Yin Souls until they reached the second level of Qi Refining. By nightfall, he succeeded. Once done, he eagerly had his Black Ghoul devour them.
Now, he just had to wait for midnight's settlement.
In the meantime, Wen Jiu focused on crafting talismans.
A single top-quality first-tier low-grade Soul-Seizing Talisman might not be a trump card, but in large quantities, it could become a deadly weapon.
Quantity could bring quality.
After all, Soul-Seizing Talismans weren't as easy to guard against as conventional spells or formations. At critical moments, they could prove extremely useful.
More importantly, they helped conceal his identity. Who would suspect that a beginner Yin Talisman Master could produce top-tier low-grade Soul-Seizing Talismans?
After exhausting his spiritual power, Wen Jiu had crafted a total of thirty talismans—ten more than usual.
Among them, three were of top-tier quality.
That was when he realized that ever since he started nurturing Gu within himself, his spiritual power had increased significantly.
A pleasant surprise.
Midnight arrived.
The settlement began.
[Daily Settlement Panel Lv2 (165/1000)]
[Daily Settlement!]
[Chanted the Corpse-Nurturing Mantra for three hours: +30 Corpse-Nurturing experience.]
[Spent ten hours in the Corpse Remnants Wasteland, absorbing corpse energy and death energy: +1 Panel Experience, +20 Corpse Energy, +20 Death Energy.]
[Devoured five second-level Qi Refining Yin Souls, one jin of corpse blood, cultivated corpses for twelve hours using the Corpse-Nurturing Mantra, supplemented with fresh cultivator blood, low-grade Corpse-Nurturing Beads, and the Three-Fiend Corpse Coffin for six hours: +1 Panel Experience, +100 Corpse-Nurturing Experience, +50, +3, +6, +12, +2 Corpse-Nurturer Experience, +24 Blood Transformation Experience, +20.]
[Crafted thirty first-tier low-grade Soul-Seizing Talismans: +1 Panel Experience, +30 Soul-Seizing Proficiency Experience.]
[Self-Nurtured Gu for twelve hours: +1 Panel Experience, +24 Gu Experience.]
In the next instant—
His personal panel flashed, and the Black Ghoul's experience bar filled up completely.
The upgrade panel shifted dramatically.
[Three-Fiend Ghoul—Corpse-Nurturing (Lower Realm 0/3000)]
[A Three-Fiend Ghoul is a postnatal fiendish corpse, exceptionally powerful, fearing nothing and being countered by nothing. It can also awaken unique corpse-based divine abilities.]
Then—
A notification popped up.
[Undergoing Transformation…]
[Awakening…]
At that moment, Wen Jiu sensed something stirring inside the Corpse-Nurturing Coffin—his Black Ghoul was…
No. Or rather, it should be called a Three-Fiend Ghoul.
At this moment, the corpse energy within the Three-Fiend Ghoul erupted suddenly, reaching an unprecedented level. Even a first-grade mid-tier Corpse Nurturing Coffin struggled to contain it, as if the energy could burst out at any moment.
"I underestimated the commotion caused by its transformation into a Three-Fiend Ghoul," Wen Jiu thought. He had originally assumed that using the Corpse Nurturing Coffin would be sufficient.
But from the looks of it, that wasn't the case.
Realizing this, Wen Jiu immediately activated a Swift Talisman and rushed out of Fei Xian Peak, distancing himself as much as possible.
As he moved, the corpse energy inside the coffin grew denser. Then, after running twenty miles in one breath, it suddenly exploded.
In an instant, the overwhelming corpse energy engulfed a hundred meters around him. Its sinister aura spread several miles, causing livestock to panic and flee. Those that couldn't escape wailed in despair.
Then, right before Wen Jiu's eyes, the Three-Fiend Ghoul began moving—its arms and legs twitched freely. Its entire body contorted unnaturally, emitting unsettling cracks and pops, like a sinister entity that had slumbered underground for centuries.
The next moment—
The Three-Fiend Ghoul leaped into the air, dragging a dense trail of corpse energy behind it. In an instant, it carried Wen Jiu a hundred meters away.
And during this flight, Wen Jiu could feel it still undergoing transformation.
No.
It was awakening.
Its color began to change—dark skin became etched with intricate, indistinct patterns formed from condensed fiendish energy. Though their meaning was unclear, they exuded a powerful, ominous presence. When these patterns covered its entire body, its eyes abruptly shifted—an overwhelming force of fiendish and corpse energy erupted from them.
Even at close range, Wen Jiu felt his heart pound in terror. The pressure from those corpse eyes exceeded even Gong Chi's presence.
It was comparable to Ji Qiubai during their battle back then!
"An innate corpse mystic ability?"
The thought leaped into Wen Jiu's mind. Otherwise, he couldn't fathom what else could exert such immense pressure on him.
After all, even when a Black Ghoul transformed into a Three-Fiend Ghoul, no matter how sinister or fierce it became, it had never given him this kind of oppressive feeling before.
As soon as this thought formed, the fiendish and corpse energy that had just erupted was abruptly reabsorbed into the ghoul's corpse eyes.
At the same time—
All surrounding corpse energy and fiendish aura were sucked into its eyes as well, along with the frightened souls of the beasts fleeing in the forest below.
Then, as Wen Jiu glanced downward, a skill panel for the Three-Fiend Ghoul surfaced before him.
[Three-Fiend Ghoul Skills: Blood Refining Body, Third Stage (1520/2000) Ghost Arts·Three Rivers Concealment, First Stage (0/500) Innate Corpse Mystic Ability·Law-Avoiding Soul Capture, First Stage (0/1000)]
[Law-Avoiding Soul Capture]
[An innate corpse mystic ability. Upon awakening, the ghoul gains a Law-Avoiding Corpse Body—any five-element spells, yin arts, or special corpse-suppressing techniques used against it will automatically be weakened by thirty percent. Additionally, its Soul-Capturing Eyes can consume ten percent of its corpse energy to extend a hundred-meter radius, seizing the souls of those within range. These souls can be devoured for nourishment or probed for their deepest memories, extracting information useful to the corpse nurturer.]