Chapter 116: Chapter 106: Six Paths / Reincarnation Bureau; Stealing Corpses
If this incident were handled properly, the Lu Family, the Gu Family, and even the Zhu Family could all suffer a major setback!
As Chang Younian’s Master, he naturally approved of the plan. But then his gaze fell to the Broken Blade in his hand. His expression turned complex as he departed, muttering to himself:
"The Huangfu Family... So it’s already been nineteen years."
「Outside the City」
Having just climbed out of the cave entrance, Cheng Zongyang departed as if no one was watching, heading in the direction of West City.
He had entered the Wilderness World from his own ho to sort through so dicinal materials.
He confird that he had enough Tier Three dicinal materials for himself, and that there were enough Foundation Establishnt dicine Baths to last his younger siblings for three or four months. Only then did he leave, completely satisfied.
In fact, he had plenty of Tier One and Tier Two dicine as well.
Even though many of the dicinal materials were not needed for the ti being, he had no intention of taking them all out at once.
It was better to leave them in the Wilderness World to avoid the trouble of having to explain everything.
He then gave half a bottle of Tiger Bone Wine to Li Lu, offered a few words of advice, and left the County Town.
Making his way through the darkness, he arrived near the corpse pile. He held his breath and felt around until he found the Soul Crystal Stone buried in the ground.
Information imdiately surfaced.
——
[Low Tier Soul Crystal Stone]
Collection Progress: 965/1000
——
"Hiss—"
Seeing this progress, Cheng Zongyang was not pleased, but alard.
There were two mountains of corpses here. Although they had been mostly burned, new bodies were still being thrown on top.
The number of bodies was no less than a thousand.
And yet, the Crystal Stone still wasn’t full.
It was still short 35 points!
’Good heavens, even this many bodies isn’t enough to fill it. Under normal circumstances, limited to a hundred-ter radius, how long would it take
to collect everything?’
Cheng Zongyang now had a much clearer understanding of the Crystal Stone’s requirents.
He imdiately moved to the other corpse pile.
Soon, the Crystal Stone’s progress began to increase.
It was gaining progress at a rate of about one point per minute.
’Good grief. Once it absorbs everything from one area, any extra ti is just wasted.’ Cheng Zongyang was rendered speechless by the rate of collection.
After waiting for thirty-five minutes, the Crystal Stone’s progress bar filled up and it began to emit a red light. He imdiately retreated, disappearing into the nearby mountain forest.
Without delay, he entered the Wilderness World. He ca out of the small market hut, lit a bonfire to illuminate his surroundings, and then took out the Soul Crystal Stone.
Recalling the instructions for using the Soul Crystal Stone, he placed it on the ground and said in a low voice, "Co out."
At that mont, a panel appeared before him.
——
[Notice:
①: To release a Soul Slave, two bodies that have been dead for no more than 24 hours are required as vessels for it to reconstruct its flesh. The better the physical constitution of the bodies, the better the resulting Attributes.
②: As the Soul Slave absorbs the bodies to reconstruct its flesh, you can shape its appearance according to your will. Once the creation is successful, its appearance cannot be changed.
③: Upon completing its physical reconstruction, the Soul Slave will bind to you, becoming your servant. This bond is permanent unless you personally release it.
④: The Soul Slave will carry the mories of its original soul and will possess one Talent Ability.
⑤: The Soul Slave will have 10 free Attribute Points to allocate. Once assigned, they cannot be changed or reallocated. The Soul Slave cannot gain more attribute points after this.
⑥: The Soul Slave will have the one-ti ability to copy one of your own Skills. Once the Soul Slave has acquired the Skill, it cannot be upgraded or changed later. Ti limit to copy a Skill: 24 hours.]
[Release?]
[Yes] [No]
——
Cheng Zongyang frowned as he carefully read through all the notices.
’The description didn’t say anything about needing bodies. Why is it only telling
now?’
He could clearly see a lot of important information in these notices.
The most important of which was related to the Soul Slave’s base Attributes.
The 10 free Attribute Points were one thing, but the base Attributes were even more important! There was no doubt that the higher its base Attributes, the more powerful the Soul Slave would be after its creation.
To give the Soul Slave better base Attributes, the natural choice for vessels would be Martial Artists.
’Ordinary people... The physical condition of the surrounding refugees is pathetic. Using their bodies would be a complete waste of a Soul Crystal Stone.’
At that mont, the n in black suddenly popped into his mind.
’They were all Eighth-Grade Martial Artists. Maybe Qi Yue will kill another one or two of the others? If so, I’ll have a source for the bodies.’
’A Seventh Grade Martial Artist is too much to hope for, and I don’t have ti to find one anyway.’
’Not unless I put off using this Soul Crystal Stone indefinitely.’
’That’s obviously impossible. My Wilderness World needs developing, and the Wilderness Rice needs planting.’
’Waiting around for who-knows-how-long to stumble upon the corpse of a Seventh or even a Sixth Grade Martial Artist is unrealistic.’
’I have to go back...’ Cheng Zongyang thought, exasperated.
’And I just got out here.’
But he didn’t know yet if Qi Yue had killed those n from the Iron Bone Gang. He would need to find Li Lu and inquire about the location of the bodies.
With this in mind, he put away the Soul Crystal Stone, left the Wilderness World, and headed back to the County Town.
In South City, Li Lu was roused from a deep sleep, having been summoned for a task.
As he was preparing to leave, he was startled to see Cheng Zongyang standing silently at his door.
"Weren’t you—!" Li Lu quickly cut himself off. He glanced back inside his house before stepping out, closing the door, and whispering, "Is there sothing else you need?"
Cheng Zongyang noted Li Lu’s governnt official uniform and asked in return,
"It’s your shift this late at night?"
Li Lu sighed. "Just got a last-minute summons from the higher-ups. We’re heading outside the city to organize the refugees to clear away the bodies and tell people to wait for dical treatnt."
This took Cheng Zongyang by surprise. ’Treatnt?’
"Has the County Magistrate solved the plague? Is there dicine now?"
Li Lu looked at Cheng Zongyang with suspicion. "Weren’t you just heading for the dicine vault?"
Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "I was on my way, but I didn’t dare get close. n from the Four Great Gangs stole all the dicine. Qi Yue killed one of them, but I don’t know how many others he got after that. That’s why I ca to ask you about the situation."
"What? The Four Great Gangs stole the dicine?" Li Lu’s expression was one of shock. "Does this an they’re openly turning on each other?"
Cheng Zongyang said, "Never mind that. I need you to do sothing for . Find out where they’ve put the bodies of the n Qi Yue killed. I’m looking for sothing. Once you have the information, write it on a slip of paper and toss it into the house at No. 28, South Pond Sixth Lane."
Li Lu thought for a mont. The task wasn’t difficult, but he offered a word of caution.
"If the gangs haven’t retrieved the bodies, they’ll likely be taken to the coffin ho in the West City Corner. But in a situation like this, they’ll probably try to sneak into the coffin ho to take them. Otherwise, their only chance is to wait until the next day when the bodies are moved to the Chaotic Burial Mound northwest of the city."
Hearing this, Cheng Zongyang smiled. "Got it. I’ll go take a look. Whether you find out anything or not, just toss a note into the courtyard of that house."
"Alright. No. 28, South Pond Sixth Lane, correct?" Li Lu asked, just to be sure.
"That’s right."
With that said, Cheng Zongyang swiftly departed.
Li Lu also donned his governnt official’s cap and hurried to the County Magistrate’s Office to assemble.
Half an hour later, Cheng Zongyang found the coffin ho in the West City Corner.
The place was quite large and very old. As he stood at the entrance looking at the building, a gloomy, ice-cold feeling washed over him.
The surrounding area was filled with dilapidated, abandoned houses, inhabited only by a few holess beggars.
The masked Cheng Zongyang entered the coffin ho, put his blade to the guard’s neck, and claid he was there to deliver seven or eight corpses.
After a bit of searching and examining the bodies, Cheng Zongyang identified three n in black, each with a different build and bone structure.
Clearly, these three were his targets.
As for the governnt official he had killed, that body clearly hadn’t been brought here.
’Unless they’ve cultivated powerful External Skills to a certain Realm, an Eighth Grade is no match for a Seventh Grade Martial Artist. It’s like slicing through lons and vegetables!’
Without a second thought, Cheng Zongyang knocked the guard unconscious, took all three bodies into his Wilderness World, and then made a swift retreat.
’The Soul Crystal Stone’s instructions only ntioned two bodies, but having an extra one couldn’t hurt. It might prove useful.’
However, as he made his way toward South City and passed by so gang territories, he heard the fierce sounds of battle cries.
A chill went down Cheng Zongyang’s spine, but he didn’t break his stride. ’Chang Younian has made his move!’ he thought.
’The Four Great Gangs were caught red-handed, and they even killed governnt officials. I knew Chang Younian wouldn’t let an opportunity like this pass him by.’
He didn’t care what Chang Younian planned to do; he simply left the County Town.
It was enough for him to stir these muddy waters from the shadows; wading into them himself was out of the question. And his only reason for stirring the pot was to cause a bit of trouble for Chang Younian.
He avoided the brawling gangs and family Martial Artists along the way, finally reaching the cave entrance and leaving the County Town behind.
On the main road, Cheng Zongyang watched as black smoke from the corpse pyres filled the surrounding forest and shrouded more than half of the County Town. It was as if a boundless wave of Resentful Qi was eroding everything in its path.
A flock of crows tried to flee the County Town but beca lost in the black smog. Flapping their wings frantically, they tore through the smoke overhead and flew toward the forest west of the city, only to plunge back into the haze one after another and disappear.
This night, countless citizens in the city were gripped by terror. Babies cried, and cats and dogs cowered in fear. It was destined to be a sleepless night.
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