Translator: Cinder Translations
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Song Wen looked at the unconscious, delicate young girl who had fallen from above, and a wave of restlessness surged within him.
The girl had fallen into a coma, with a few scrapes on her body but no serious injuries.
Due to the friction from the fall, parts of her clothes had torn, exposing patches of her skin, marked with faint bloodstains.
Song Wen's heart felt as if a gentle hand was stirring his emotions. A trace of desire silently crept into his mind, causing his thoughts to become unsettled and his blood to surge.
Since devouring the Blood Serpent at the Su family estate, Song Wen had noticed that his vitality had become overwhelmingly vigorous, likely due to the immense life force contained within the Blood Serpent.
Often, during meditation, his abundant energy would cause his blood to surge, and his body would respond inappropriately, forcing him to halt his cultivation.
Song Wen hadn't thought much of it at first—seven emotions and six desires were part of human nature, and even cultivators didn't need to suppress their emotions completely.
He figured that over time, as his body gradually absorbed and refined the life force, these desires would naturally fade.
Usually, when he was alone in the cave, he would either practice a secret technique or refine a substitute puppet to distract himself, and the desire would temporarily dissipate.
But today, at the peak of his vital energy, the appearance of a scantily-clad, unconscious young girl in front of him made it difficult for him to control himself, as evil fire blazed within him.
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Meanwhile, the middle-aged male cultivator descended along the cave, dropping about twenty zhang (approximately 66 feet), and finally landed in a spacious underground cave. On the ground, he found his daughter, confirming she had only passed out. His heart settled with relief.
However, he soon noticed an invisible barrier near his unconscious daughter.
It seemed that when she fell, she had struck the barrier before landing on the ground, which explained why she hadn't been seriously hurt.
A sense of unease immediately rose within the middle-aged cultivator. This barrier was clearly part of a defensive formation. It seemed he and his daughter had accidentally stumbled upon a secluded retreat belonging to a powerful cultivator.
But why would a powerful figure choose such a desolate, spiritless place to go into seclusion?
The only explanation he could think of was that this was the hiding spot of some demonic cultivator, someone practicing forbidden arts, who had secluded themselves here in secret.
The middle-aged man was instantly on high alert.
If he were here alone, he wouldn't mind dying. However, with his young daughter also present, he couldn't allow her to fall into the hands of a demonic cultivator. Otherwise, she would undoubtedly suffer inhuman torment.
He could only pray that their presence had not disturbed the secluded cultivator, and that they still had a chance to quietly escape.
Without hesitation, he grabbed his unconscious daughter and attempted to flee toward the cave's exit.
Suddenly, the barrier dissolved, and a figure cloaked in black mist emerged slowly from the darkness.
The sudden appearance of this strange figure made the middle-aged cultivator freeze in place, unable to move. His body stiffened as terror engulfed him, and cold sweat drenched his back.
The figure raised their hand, and with a wave, the formation barrier vanished, transforming into streams of light that fell into the figure's hand. Then, without a word, the figure disappeared completely.
From start to finish, the figure hadn't even glanced at him or his daughter.
The middle-aged man's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
Even though the figure hadn't spoken or shown any hostility, a profound sense of oppression and fear lingered in the cultivator's heart.
After a few moments, the middle-aged man regained his composure, picked up his daughter, and fled toward the cave's entrance as quickly as he could.
He had no intention of staying in that cave any longer than necessary.
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Song Wen left the cave and flew toward East Huafang Market.
Since he could no longer suppress his desires, he decided to follow his heart.
During his seclusion in the cave, he had set up six Sacred Gu to guard the area. It seemed that the father and daughter duo, due to their low cultivation levels, were deemed no threat to Song Wen by the bugs, which was why they hadn't been expelled or warned.
Half a day later, Song Wen disguised himself as a robust man in his thirties and appeared in the alley where he had previously resided.
He made his way directly to Zhao Dapeng's yard and knocked on the gate.
Song Wen intended to rent a yard.
On his way to Zhao Dapeng's yard, he passed by the place where he had previously lived. That yard had already been rented out due to the expiration of the lease.
Even if that yard were still vacant, Song Wen had no intention of continuing to live there.
Before long, Zhao Dapeng opened the gate.
"Who are you looking for?" Zhao Dapeng's tone was somewhat impatient.
"Hello, Manager Zhao, I'm a new wandering cultivator and would like to rent a yard in this alley," Song Wen replied.
As he spoke, Song Wen took the opportunity to glance inside the courtyard and felt a tinge of disappointment upon not seeing the figure of the mouse-eyed man, Zhao Dapeng's brother.
Where did the mouse-eyed man go?
Could it be that he failed in his attempts to raise corpses and had to destroy the evidence?
With such questions in mind, Song Wen extended his spiritual sense and instantly surveyed Zhao Dapeng's courtyard.
Within Zhao Dapeng's yard, there was a secret underground chamber where the mouse-eyed man was imprisoned.
To Song Wen's surprise, the mouse-eyed man was still alive.
However, he had been tortured by the miasma of death to the point that he no longer resembled a human; he looked utterly horrifying.
His body was emaciated, with skin stretched tight over his bones like a transparent film, and his limbs twisted out like those of a spider, barely supporting his weight. He occasionally emitted unintelligible whimpers.
It was unclear what method Zhao Dapeng had used, but the mouse-eyed man's flesh had been completely eroded by the miasma, yet a trace of life force remained within him, refusing to dissipate.
This left the mouse-eyed man as a grotesque entity that was neither human nor corpse.
Song Wen cast a deep glance at Zhao Dapeng, filled with astonishment.
How had Zhao Dapeng managed to allow a non-cultivator to simultaneously possess both miasma and vitality for an extended period without the body collapsing?
Even as a corpse cultivation practitioner in the Foundation Establishment stage, he believed it would be difficult for him to achieve such a feat.
Zhao Dapeng glanced at Song Wen and said, "Recently, many wandering cultivators have come to the market, among which are several who are unidentified rogue cultivators. They have seriously disrupted the order of the market. If there's no one who can vouch for you, this alley is not a place for just anyone to stay. What's your name, what level of cultivation do you have, and can anyone vouch for you?"
Song Wen smiled, "Manager Zhao, please don't be offended; I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yan Feng, and I'm at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement. I'm an alchemist."
As he spoke, Song Wen handed a jade vial to Zhao Dapeng, which contained five Essence Pills valued at about fifty spirit stones.
Zhao Dapeng understood and accepted the jade vial, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
"Since you're an alchemist, it seems unlikely that you're a rogue cultivator committing crimes. You don't need anyone to vouch for you. There's only one vacant yard left in this alley, and it's the one across from us. The monthly rent is ten spirit stones."
Song Wen flipped his hand and produced thirty spirit stones, handing them to Zhao Dapeng.
"From now on, we'll be neighbors. I hope Manager Zhao will look after me."
With the benefits received from Song Wen, Zhao Dapeng was in a good mood.
"Of course."
Author's Note: A brief spoiler: In the following two chapters, there will be a particularly explosive plot that some readers might find hard to accept.
(End of the Chapter)
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