Translator: Cinder Translations
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While Song Wen was deep in thought, the female cultivator suddenly reached out to take the spirit stones from Song Wen. After inspecting them with her spiritual sense and being satisfied, she placed them into her storage.
"I've stayed in the Transmission Hall for so long and this is the first time I've encountered someone as interesting as Elder Shi. I've made up the contribution you were missing."
Song Wen clasped his hands in gratitude, "Thank you, steward."
The female cultivator nodded, stood up from her seated position on the meditation mat, and turned to walk into the Transmission Hall.
Before entering, she reminded him,
"Wait here for a moment while I make the copies of the techniques."
As Song Wen watched her figure disappear into the hall, he felt a lingering unease.
He had made two mistakes: first, he didn't realize the elder token contained information about contributions, and second, his chosen techniques exceeded his available contribution points.
Fortunately, it hadn't drawn the female cultivator's attention.
After waiting for a short while, Song Wen grew more anxious, but the female cultivator finally came out.
She handed Song Wen the four jade slips and said,
"These are the techniques you requested."
"Thank you!"
Song Wen took the techniques, not daring to stay a moment longer, and turned to head down the mountain.
The female cultivator watched Song Wen leave, a cryptic smile appearing on her lips.
"This Elder Shi has a great secret. If I'm not mistaken, twenty years ago, when he first established his foundation, he was already practicing the Sword Flight Technique."
"I hope the secrets you carry won't disappoint me!"
Song Wen would never have guessed that what he considered mistakes had actually exposed him due to the techniques he selected.
A quarter of an hour later, as the female cultivator was meditating, a look of surprise crossed her face.
"How did the spiritual mark I left on the jade slips disappear? Logically, someone at the Foundation Establishment stage should never have been able to detect a mark left by a later-stage cultivator, and even if they did, they shouldn't have been able to erase it so quickly."
However, the astonishment on her face soon turned to greed and eagerness.
The more mysterious Shi Shou was, the greater the secrets he might have, and the more she would gain.
"You can't escape the temple if you've fled the monk. Shi Shou, I don't believe you won't return to your cave!"
Moments later, the middle-aged female cultivator received a sect transmission,
"The soul aura of Foundation Establishment Elder Shi Shou has dissipated within the sect."
"Shi Shou is dead! How is that possible? He left less than two quarters of an hour ago."
"Who could kill a Foundation Establishment elder of the Corpse Demon Sect near Corpse Demon Mountain without attracting the attention of Golden Core cultivators within the sect?"
A sudden thought flashed through the female cultivator's mind, and her eyes widened momentarily.
"Could it be that the person who just received the techniques wasn't Shi Shou but someone else in disguise?"
The more she considered this possibility, the more anxious she became. Everything about the situation seemed suspicious, and she did not want to get involved.
She took out a jade slip that recorded the daily accounts of the techniques copied in the Transmission Hall.
She altered the records of Shi Shou's technique copies on the jade slip, changing it to her own name.
After all, the accounts, spirit stones, and sect contributions would all match up. Even if the sect audited, nothing unusual would be found—perhaps they would only wonder why a later-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was practicing these four relatively basic techniques.
...
Song Wen wandered through the market, making several rounds.
During this period, Song Wen had changed his aura no less than ten times and had quietly devoured the spiritual mark left on the jade slips and Shi Shou's soul.
After confirming that no one was following him, Song Wen finally returned to his cave abode with peace of mind.
Except for the Sword Flight Technique, he placed the other three jade slips into the stone alcove in the Corpse Fiend Well.
As for the Sword Flight Technique, he chose to practice it immediately.
Being cautious, he did not use Shi Shou's high-grade flying sword. Instead, he had just bought a low-grade spiritual flying sword from a talisman shop in the market as a Foundation Establishment loose cultivator, spending 4,000 spirit stones on it.
This flying sword wasn't the best; it was a standard item produced by the Corpse Demon Sect's Talisman Refining Hall.
But it was still a spiritual item, and its flying speed was far superior to Shi Shou's top-grade flying sword.
For a life-preserving item like this, Song Wen was never stingy.
In the days that followed, Song Wen continued his routine of dissecting corpses and practicing, while also stealing blood essence from the corpse-dissection cave.
After reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, the amount of blood essence his body could hold increased more than tenfold. Song Wen estimated that when his blood essence was full, it could even rival that of some Golden Core cultivators.
Each time his blood essence was full, he could condense more than twenty bottles of blood essence. With each bottle priced at 140 spirit stones, he could steal over 3,000 spirit stones from the corpse-dissection cave each time.
After killing Shi Shou and obtaining a large sum of spirit stones, plus what he got from the Withered Blood Secret Realm, and after spending for Foundation Establishment and purchasing techniques, he still had 43,000 spirit stones left.
The resources consumed for his daily cultivation had not reduced his spirit stones but rather increased them.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, he occasionally sold blood essence in the market and bought cultivation resources. Sometimes he ran into Chen Yi and chatted a few words.
Since Song Wen succeeded in establishing his foundation, he noticed that Chen Yi's mood had remained low and melancholic.
However, Chen Yi never mentioned the specific reasons.
During this period, Song Wen had also seen Chen Feihe several times.
Initially, Song Wen approached Chen Feihe to obtain an elder token, but now that he had already entered the Foundation Establishment Transmission Hall, he no longer needed it from Chen Feihe.
Even though he no longer needed anything from Chen Feihe, Song Wen did not sever ties with him.
Having a connection with someone who had a Golden Core ancestor behind him was always beneficial.
To Song Wen's surprise, despite Chen Feihe's problematic inclinations, he was still a decent person.
After several interactions, Song Wen realized that Chen Feihe was not the kind of sinister or scheming person he had expected, which made him another friend he could talk to in the Corpse Demon Sect.
However, each time they met, Song Wen had to pretend to be a "断袖" (a euphemism for someone with homosexual inclinations), which made him uncomfortable.
One day, Song Wen suddenly received a message from Chen Feihe.
The message contained only a few words but instantly made Song Wen's heart race.
[There may be a major change soon. Stay away from the Corpse Demon Sect!]
Song Wen looked at the message, his expression shifting.
What kind of crisis required him to stay away from the Corpse Demon Sect?
Could the crisis be happening within the sect?
[Elder Chen, could there be a major event happening in the Corpse Demon Sect?] Song Wen, puzzled, inquired through the message.
[I can't say exactly what's happening. As a loose cultivator, you still have the chance to leave the Corpse Demon Sect. Leave as soon as possible.]
Looking at Chen Feihe's reply, a hint of unease flashed in Song Wen's eyes.
Loose cultivators still have a chance to leave!
Does this mean that sect disciples have no chance to leave?
Will they inevitably be caught up in the crisis?
Estimating the time, Song Wen figured that the Outer Affairs Hall should still be open. He hurriedly left his cave and headed toward the Outer Affairs Hall.
(End of the Chapter)
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