Translator: Cinder Translations
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Before the three bandit cultivators reached the cliff top, the scattered silver beetles had already informed Song Wen of their presence.
Song Wen was agitated. He just wanted to quietly recover his spiritual power here, but now he faced these three audacious cultivators trying to rob him.
It was as if the world was constantly filled with malice—just like the little beggar who tried to steal his buns, or the poisonous test given by Ji Yin, or Shi Shou making him practice flawed techniques.
It felt like the entire world was against him.
Perhaps this is what it means to be "in the world of martial arts, with no control over one's fate."
Song Wen could choose to escape. With his speed, even the Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator would be unable to catch him.
However, he didn't intend to flee without giving them a piece of his mind... or blade—he wanted them to pay a bloody price!
He also needed to replenish some essence blood.
"Big Brother, there's a cave here," said the Qi Refining Fifth Layer Second Sister.
The male cultivator stopped the Second Sister who was about to charge in and said, "Second Sister, don't be reckless. If that person is hiding in this cave, they are sure to have set up traps."
The Second Sister nodded, and a fireball appeared in front of her.
"Go!"
The fireball flew into the cave, which was shallow, only a few meters deep, and soon crashed into the cave wall.
The firelight flickered in the cave, revealing that it was empty and there were no signs of any formations. It didn't seem like a place where someone could hide.
"They should not be in this cave," the male cultivator said.
Suddenly, a sound of breaking air came from above.
Looking up, it was the younger sister.
At this moment, the younger sister had become a corpse, with all her essence blood, organs, and brain matter missing, leaving only an empty skin.
The skin was intact, as if something had entered her body and hollowed out her flesh from within.
This was naturally the result of the Black-Bellied Beetle's work.
"Little Sister..." The male cultivator's eyes turned bloodshot, filled with sorrow and hatred.
He flew up and caught the younger sister's corpse.
"Little Sister..." The Second Sister also cried out in sorrow.
"Who did this?" The male cultivator suppressed his grief and asked angrily.
They hadn't heard any unusual sounds from below the cliff, neither fighting nor the release of spiritual power.
Everything suggested that the younger sister had been ambushed and killed instantly, almost without a chance to resist.
"Let's go up and take a look!" The male cultivator stored the younger sister's body and said to the Second Sister.
In a cave a hundred meters away, Song Wen peered out and watched the two figures moving away, his gaze dark.
...
The two searched the bushes at the top of the cliff. Besides a few drops of blood on the grass, there were no other findings, not even a footprint.
It was as if the murderer had flown in, killed the younger sister, and then flown away.
Who could have silently killed the younger sister?
Could it be a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
But why would a Foundation Establishment cultivator choose to ambush when targeting three Qi Refining cultivators?
The male cultivator looked around with no results and then said to the Second Sister.
"I'll check from above; be careful."
With that, the male cultivator used flying technique and soared into the sky.
As he flew, he shouted, "You shameless scoundrels hiding in the dark, daring to kill my sister. I will find you and tear you to pieces."
Before he finished speaking, the male cultivator suddenly flew off in the distance, going further and further away.
Seeing the elder brother flying off, the Second Sister suddenly realized something. Her face changed dramatically, and she also took to the air, trying to leave.
Just a few meters off the ground, she saw several half-foot-long needles flying out from the nearby trees.
The needles were thin and fast, chasing the wind and lightning!
The Second Sister did not dare to be careless. She summoned a one-zhang red ribbon, which spun and coiled in the air, just as the needles were about to be entangled.
The front of the needle suddenly opened, and dozens of fine needles, as thin as a hair and glowing with a faint blue light, indicating potent poison, were shot out.
The sudden change left the Second Sister flustered.
She hurriedly cast a shield spell, and a layer of spiritual power shield appeared around her.
Fearing that the shield spell alone might not block dozens of fine needles, the Second Sister produced a talisman from her hand and activated it.
A fierce wind suddenly appeared in front of the Second Sister, conjured out of thin air.
The powerful gust of wind swept up the needles, causing them to lose their accuracy.
Just as the Second Sister thought she could relax, she suddenly sensed with her spiritual perception that two beetles were attacking from behind.
She turned around and waved the red ribbon in her hand towards the beetles.
Suddenly, beetles attacked from all directions.
It was like fighting with two fists against four hands!
The Black-Bellied Beetles quickly closed in and breached the spiritual power shield.
Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her back, and her body fell from mid-air, lifeless.
Song Wen emerged from the dense forest, glanced up at the male cultivator who was almost disappearing into the sky, and put away the Vajra Talisman he was holding, feeling a bit speechless.
When it came to fear and timidity, this person took the cake.
At the first sign of danger, he turned and ran, even tricking the Second Sister into being a sacrificial pawn.
Song Wen approached the Second Sister's body, absorbed her essence blood, took her storage bag, and used a fireball to turn the corpse to ashes before descending the cliff.
He now understood that there were likely many bandit cultivators in the area. Using the flying boat to escape would easily expose him, so it was safer to remain hidden in the forest.
The cliff was already exposed and could not be stayed at any longer.
Song Wen traveled dozens of miles, finding a wild beast's den on a slope to hide in.
The next day, after his spiritual power had largely recovered, Song Wen used his flying boat to head towards the sect.
He had come with five people but was returning alone. With no one else to guard against, he flew straight towards the sect at full speed.
In just one day and night, he successfully returned to the Corpse Demon Sect.
As he approached the entrance of his cave residence, he saw an unexpected visitor.
Du Qiu!
He was the inner sect disciple who had initially guided Song Wen and the other five into the Corpse Demon Sect.
"Ji Yin greets Brother Du. Are you here for something? Is there anything I can assist you with?"
Song Wen's initial surprise gave way to a flattering demeanor.
Du Qiu replied, "Ah, it's Junior Brother Ji Yin. I'm just passing through. Farewell, Junior Brother."
With that, Du Qiu turned and left.
Song Wen looked at the cliff not far from his cave residence and twitched his lips.
Passing through? Why the hell are you hanging around the cliff then?
Is he contemplating suicide?
That doesn't fit either; the cliff next to his cave wasn't even ten meters high. Du Qiu, at Qi Refining Seventh Layer, wouldn't die from such a fall.
Just now, Song Wen sensed that Du Qiu's cultivation was only at Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
When he joined the sect, Du Qiu was already an inner sect disciple, meaning he was at Qi Refining Seventh Layer then. After two and a half years, he remained at Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
Song Wen smirked. What a waste!
However, it seemed like this waste was spying on him!
Was he sent by Shi Shou?
A surge of hatred and urgency arose in Song Wen's heart.
He suspected that once he revealed his cultivation level as Qi Refining Sixth Layer, Shi Shou would likely take action against him.
This suspicion was based on the fact that the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" was safe only before reaching Qi Refining Sixth Layer. After reaching Qi Refining Sixth Layer, uncontrollable corpse transformation issues would arise.
Shi Shou might be waiting for this exact moment.
However, this also meant that he was temporarily safe and still had time to improve his strength.
For a moment, Song Wen considered fleeing the Corpse Demon Sect, but thinking of the lingering soul aura left in the sect and the sect's brutal methods against deserters, he dismissed the idea.
The sect retains the soul aura of all its disciples, not only to confirm if they are alive or dead but also to hunt down deserters.
With a cultivator's soul aura, no matter how well one hides their cultivation aura or where they conceal themselves, the Corpse Demon Sect can find them through secret methods, unless one can change their own soul.
Once in the Corpse Demon Sect, one is a part of it for life, in both life and death.
While alive, disciples must contribute to the sect, and in death, their remains will not be wasted.
(End of the Chapter)
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