Translator: Cinder Translations
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"It's impossible. This place is over a thousand miles away from the Poison Miasma Swamp. Ji Yin is only at the Qi Refining Third Layer. How could he cross such a distance in just one day?"
Yan Gao immediately denied.
Yan Qiu also found it somewhat unbelievable. However, upon further thought, with Yan Feng and his men, who were chasing Ji Yin, all dead, Ji Yin must have hidden his true cultivation level.
If Ji Yin had the cultivation level of the Mid Qi Refining Stage and used speeding talismans, it would be reasonable to travel a thousand miles in a day.
Yan Qiu voiced her speculation.
After hearing this, Yan Gao said, "What you say is not impossible. So, what should we do?"
Yan Qiu replied, "As for the plan, you and I will continue to pursue Ji Yin. The others will take Ghost Three back to the clan and bring news of Ji Yin's escape. In case we fail to catch Ji Yin, the clan needs a contingency plan."
Yan Gao, robust but simple-minded, couldn't offer a better suggestion. He nodded in agreement.
"Alright, let's do that."
He waved his hand and took out a flying boat, saying, "Xiao Qiu, come aboard. We will chase Ji Yin on this flying boat."
The two of them boarded the flying boat and headed towards the direction of the Corpse Demon Sect.
Meanwhile, the others escorted Ghost Three, also on a flying boat, returning to the Yan family's headquarters.
...
After distancing himself from Ghost Three, Song Yi didn't dare to slack off and maintained full speed on his journey.
He knew that since he had accidentally encountered Ghost Three, the Yan family could catch up with him at any time. Now was not the time to relax.
So, he pushed his speed to the limit, using the speed talisman and his Blood Escape Technique to travel at full speed.
As the sun gradually set, a small city appeared ahead of Song Yi.
This city was named City of Three Corpses, under the jurisdiction of the Corpse Demon Sect.
The City of Three Corpses was rich in Mysterious Iron ore, and almost all the ordinary people in the city were slaves of the Corpse Demon Sect, generations enslaved to mine Mysterious Iron ore, with no hope of ever escaping.
To ensure the perpetual servitude of these mining slaves, the Corpse Demon Sect even bred a specific type of people: tall men were selected naturally, while female slaves were subjected to violation, forced to bear offspring.
For these mining slaves, suffering was endless, whether in life or in death.
After their deaths, their bodies would also be fully utilized.
Although they endured endless suffering and could barely produce any essence blood, they could be used in the Great Corpse Refinement Formation to refine Corpse Qi, aiding the cultivation of the disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect.
In other words, Song Yi himself was tainted by the fruits of these mining slaves. For his cultivation of the Blood Refining Art of the Corpse King, the need for Corpse Qi was far greater than that of ordinary disciples. Much of this Corpse Qi came from the vertical wells in the caves.
Their souls would also be drawn out and refined into various sinister artifacts.
Song Yi planned to stay overnight in the City of Three Corpses. The reason he didn't travel at night was that he knew the Yan family would mobilize all their forces to find him that night. Traveling at night would increase the risk of exposure, with few cultivators on the road.
The City of Three Corpses was only two hundred miles away from the Corpse Demon Sect, with a large number of Corpse Demon Sect disciples and wandering cultivators traveling between the two places.
Therefore, there were large flying ships traveling between the two places.
Song Yi planned to return to the Corpse Demon Sect by flying ship tomorrow.
With only one Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator in the Yan family, their influence was not enough to affect the large commercial ships belonging to the Corpse Demon Sect.
From afar, Song Wen could see the gates of the City of Three Corpses. There were not only city guards but also several Yan family cultivators.
His eyebrows jumped involuntarily, suspecting that his whereabouts might have been exposed.
He then glanced at his chest, where he carried six storage bags taken from Yan Feng and his companions.
In the cultivation world, cultivators can fragment their spiritual power and attach it to disciples or items, forming spiritual imprints.
Cultivators can perceive the approximate location of disciples through these spiritual imprints.
However, Song Wen dared to carry six storage bags with him, indicating he had come prepared.
The spiritual power of Qi Refining cultivators, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators, is a manifestation of soul strength.
Any form of soul strength would be devoured by Song Wen's physical body and become nourishment for his spiritual sea.
When Song Wen first heard about spiritual imprints, he had this suspicion.
To confirm his suspicion, he tested it with Chen Yi and Senior Brother Xu.
Without exception, he easily devoured the spiritual imprints left on the items by them. When Song Wen grasped items with their spiritual imprints, he could clearly perceive that their spiritual power had been swallowed by him.
Later, he also confirmed with the two that they indeed lost their sensitivity to the items.
He tested with Chen Yi because they were familiar and easy to approach.
He tested with Senior Brother Xu because his strength surpassed his own.
These two tests, one strong and one weak, fully proved that his speculation was correct.
After calming his mind and trusting in the Golden Finger, Song Wen dismissed his chaotic thoughts.
"The Yan family cultivators appearing at the City of Three Corpses probably discovered traces of Yan Feng and his companions' deaths, roughly deducing my speed, which led them to thoroughly investigate the City of Three Corpses."
Before entering the city, Song Wen controlled his breath through his physical body. He fully displayed only cultivation level of Qi Refining Fourth Layer and concealed all traces of Corpse Qi.
Then, using the mortal realm's Disguise Technique, he changed his appearance to that of a middle-aged cultivator.
In this way, not only did Song Wen change his appearance, but his aura was completely concealed. Even Guo Tao, who had been with him for many days, would find it difficult to recognize him.
Song Wen did not show his Outer Sect disciple token of the Corpse Demon Sect to enter the city. It was apparent that the upper echelons of the City of Three Corpses had been infiltrated by the Yan family. Showing the token would only expose his identity.
Identifying himself as a wandering cultivator, Song Wen paid a spirit stone and smoothly entered the City of Three Corpses.
There were many people coming and going in the City of Three Corpses, with quite a few cultivators and ordinary people among them.
Most of these ordinary people were nearly naked, emaciated, and looked like mining slaves oppressed by the Corpse Demon Sect for generations.
However, not all ordinary people were poor. Among them were also those well-dressed, healthy-looking individuals.
In any era, there are always those among humans who betray their own kind to gain personal benefits.
These well-dressed ordinary people belonged to this category.
They assisted in tyranny, helping the Corpse Demon Sect oppress ordinary people, bowing and obeying cultivators, and treating mining slaves as mere pigs and dogs.
Song Wen watched all this impassively, neither angry nor pitying.
He walked directly into a cultivator's inn. Paying a moderate fee of one spirit stone, he requested a higher-priced room and settled in.
(End of the Chapter)