In a barren wasteland, more than a dozen men in black gathered, with the corpse of a powerful presence lying beside them.
Ever since Lin Huanhuan and the others had escaped, these men, having lost their commander, had chosen to strategically relocate to another place.
“Guh, I never thought the boss would be so weak. To think he died so easily. Why don’t we just split up the loot and leave?”
“That doesn’t sound quite right. Aren’t we supposed to return to the cult? If we stay out too long, someone might come after us.”
“Gua, to think we’d actually get a Foundation Establishment corpse! I say, why not refine the boss’s corpse into a zombie and have it serve us? As for his soul, who knows what we could use it for. At least the boss won’t go to waste.”
They bickered over the corpse of the Iron-masked Man, each with their own opinion, unable to persuade the others. Yet, none of them brought up the matter of chasing after Lin Huanhuan and the others.
As they spoke, one cultist suddenly noticed that the Iron-masked Man’s corpse seemed to be trembling slightly, and he was shocked. The others focused their attention on it. They saw that the Iron-masked Man’s rigid corpse really was changing. In his ashen pupils, countless wriggling bugs seemed to be dancing, and his body wobbled unsteadily, as if about to rise.
The cultists all stepped back in unison, speculating wildly.
“I know this! The boss is about to become a zombie! I could tell at a glance that he’s good material for corpse refining. See, wasn’t I right? Maybe he’ll even turn into a Corpse King.”
“Nonsense! I think the boss’s will hasn’t faded yet—he’s forcing his soul back into his body. Maybe he’s planning to find some unlucky guy and seize his body.”
“You mean you can directly obtain the cultivation and memories of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and the price is just losing your own memories? Is there really such a good deal in this world? Isn’t that too sweet?”
As they argued, the Iron-masked Man’s corpse began to change again. One particularly slow-witted cultist stepped forward, trying to get a closer look.
Puchi——
Suddenly, blood splattered onto the slow-witted cultist’s face. He was confused and looked closely, only to see a hand shrouded in black mist piercing through the Iron-masked Man’s chest, shattering his heart and ending him completely.
“Iron-mask, dead is dead, why struggle on the brink of death? As for your subordinates, inheritance, wife and daughters—don’t worry, I’ll take care of them all for you.”
With a casual flick, the hand threw the Iron-masked Man’s corpse to the side, revealing a figure wrapped in black mist, wearing a cloak.
“Lord Netherworld? So it was you.”
“Mm.” Netherworld nodded and said, “Since I’m here, your good days have come as well.”
After a pause, he continued, “Next, you’re to hunt down those two escapees. One Foundation Establishment and a group of cultists went after two Qi Condensation peak cultivators, yet the strongest among you got killed instead. Truly, useless.”
A cultist closest to him asked, “Lord Netherworld, we’re wounded and might need some time to recover.”
Netherworld glanced at him and replied coldly, “The mission comes first. Deal with the enemy before you worry about anything else.”
Another cultist spoke up, “We’re going ahead to hunt them, but what about you, Lord Netherworld?”
“Of course, I’ll remain in the rear to direct operations.”
“Gua, so Lord Netherworld wants us to march off to die? How thrilling.”
Facing this repeated questioning, Netherworld finally lost patience. He seized the cultist nearest him; black smoke enveloped the man. He struggled desperately, but when the smoke cleared, only a skeleton remained.
Netherworld stood with his hands behind his back: “If anyone else dares show disrespect, this will be their fate!”
The cultists, seeing this, dared not say another word. They could only obey, following Netherworld’s orders to search for Lin Huanhuan and the others.
*****
“What? We can’t send reinforcements until tomorrow? By then it’ll be far too late!”
Lingyun Sect, Punishment Hall.
After hearing what the Punishment Hall disciple had just told her, Ye Jinxiu felt it was utterly ridiculous. The more experienced Punishment Hall disciple waved his hand to calm her down, speaking evenly:
“I know you’re anxious, but there’s no need to panic. The truth is, most of the Punishment Hall disciples are out on missions. There’s not much we can do—try to understand our difficulties.”
Ye Jinxiu tried to argue: “But my two friends can’t wait that long! They’re in danger right now—can’t you make an exception?”
“Rules are rules. Everything must be done according to them.”
The experienced Punishment Hall disciple was firm. The younger disciple beside him wanted to say something, but stopped after the other stomped on his foot.
“But…”
A look of despair crossed Ye Jinxiu’s face, but the Punishment Hall disciple only said indifferently, “Enough, that’s all. The next disciple will be here soon. Go back for now, and wait for news.”
Ye Jinxiu had walked in full of hope, but left with endless disappointment.
The younger Punishment Hall disciple asked his senior, “But don’t we have backup staff? Why do we have to put it off till tomorrow?”
The other glared at him. “So what? Don’t we need to save those for emergencies? Anyway, the rules are written that way.”
He continued, “Last time we investigated her case, we even tracked it to the Lin family’s noble daughter. In the end, nothing happened to her—but we almost got into trouble ourselves. Honestly, not tripping her up was already merciful!”
“Anyway, it’s just two ordinary disciples. If they really had connections, they’d go to the elders. If the elders were involved, things would move immediately.”
The younger disciple opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat—just like his once lofty ambitions.
Outside, Ye Jinxiu gazed at the sunset, clenching her fists in frustration. “No, I can’t just give up. Lin Huanhuan and the others might still be in danger.”
“If Punishment Hall will take that long, the Lin family’s side shouldn’t be like this. I’ll go to them for help. Yes, that’s what I’ll do.”
*****
In the cave.
Lin Huanhuan looked at her rather bedraggled appearance, quickly tidied herself, and then walked over to Dong Yuner, gazing at her.
Finding herself a bit bored, Lin Huanhuan began muttering to herself, “Once we recover a bit more, we can set out and head back. That Iron-masked Man definitely needs to heal. Those cultists probably won’t catch up so soon.”
“Ye Jinxiu should have returned to Lingyun Sect by now. If she sees we haven’t come back, she’ll probably bring people to look for us. Or maybe we’ll return first.”
As she spoke, she suddenly noticed Dong Yuner’s body twitching slightly, as if she was about to wake up. Lin Huanhuan hurried closer, only to see Dong Yuner’s lips move a few times before she coughed up a mouthful of black blood.
Lin Huanhuan’s eyes widened. “How could this be? The dagger was poisoned? Why is it only showing effects now?”