Cultivating To Immortality

Chapter 777: Hidden Corpse

By the stream.

The grassy area was open, with fragmented sunlight filtering through the leaves and dappling the stream.

The young girl’s pale, bare feet dipped into the water, playfully splashing the stream.

Raising a few drops of water.

She held a uniquely shaped, small and exquisite insect flute in both hands, her red lips slightly parted as she gently held one end of the flute and slowly played it.

The flute’s melody was melodious and lingering, the young girl’s eyes curved into crescents, and a Yang Talisman circled her body.

What a naive and innocent young girl.

The three individuals hidden in the forest, observing the young girl, thought the same.

Each of the three had a Yang Talisman, a Yin Talisman, and a Blank Talisman on their bodies.

"This Yang Talisman will go to Brother Chen first."

One of them spoke, looking at the Cultivator surnamed Chen with a calm expression.

"I hope Brother Chen will keep his promise."

"Naturally."

The three were about to make their move when the melodious insect flute music in their ears suddenly changed.

A faint, peculiar flute sound drifted into their ears.

It was fragmented and continuous, like countless tiny wings vibrating rapidly.

"Hmm?"

The three looked around vigilantly but found nothing unusual.

Until someone looked down and discovered the dense, small black insects on their robes.

"Ah—"

Streams, forests, rock crevices... countless tiny Gu insects of various forms emerged from thin air.

These Gu insects gathered into three streams of insects, instantly attaching themselves to the three Talismans.

They began to frantically suck the faint Spiritual Qi emanating from the Talismans themselves.

The three were terrified, feeling the mark connecting the Talismans to their minds being eroded and stripped away.

The Talismans themselves glowed brightly, as if pulled by an external force, and began to fly uncontrollably towards the young girl by the stream.

The few people desperately urged their Spiritual Qi to stabilize the Talismans and kill the Gu insects.

But these Gu insects were extremely small, numerous, and tenacious, possessing a peculiar resistance to Spiritual Qi attacks, making them difficult to completely disperse for a time.

"Demoness!"

The leader knew that the root of everything lay with this woman, and his Spiritual Qi surged wildly as he charged towards Xiang Zhaoling.

The other two also brought out their Spiritual Artifacts.

"Guo li—"

Just then, a gigantic long tongue swept in from nowhere, coiling around the three individuals and their Spiritual Artifacts.

Gulu gulu.

The tongue retracted.

Amidst the desperate shouts of the few, this enormous greenish-gray giant toad swallowed them whole, closing its mouth.

The giant toad’s swollen poison glands glowed faintly.

"Guo gua—"

The giant toad’s eyes were half-open, looking very sleepy and bored.

Three Talismans, pulled by invisible threads and surrounded by countless tiny Gu insects, floated unsteadily to the stream’s edge.

They landed steadily in Xiang Zhaoling’s pale, open palm.

The flute music stopped abruptly.

Three blue butterflies appeared on them for a moment, and the Talismans were instantly refined.

The giant toad’s previously turbulent belly suddenly glowed faintly.

Then it deflated considerably.

"Guo gua..."

The giant toad made a dissatisfied smacking sound.

"Hehe." Xiang Zhaoling smiled sweetly and leaped onto the giant toad’s back.

"Brother Gua is amazing!"

She patted Brother Gua’s head: "There’s nothing fun here, let’s go out."

"Guo li—"

The giant toad grumbled, carrying the young girl on its back, and wiggled its way in a certain direction.

All sorts of encounters and battles occurred in various parts of the Strange Mountain Range.

On the edge of the deep mountains.

"Are these so-called Righteous Path Cultivators all this weak?"

A man with an enchanting face sat before a corpse, his hands glowing with a faint spiritual light.

"After all, they are Cultivators from the Border Region, incomparable to those from the Central Region, so it’s normal."

The other person was also young, with a somewhat stiff expression, looking at the corpse with a hint of indifference.

The corpse was clad in a light green Daoist robe, now somewhat tattered, with only one wound on its body, the blood dried.

"Heh."

The enchanting man chuckled lightly.

"What was this person’s name again?"

"Ke Huai."

The other person took out a Jade Slip and tossed it to him.

"A Disciple of a small Sect, the Ziyang Sect."

The enchanting man wiped the spiritual light from his hand across his face, instantly transforming into Ke Huai’s appearance.

With a flick of his finger, he conjured a clear water screen, then tugged at the corners of his mouth and touched his face in front of it.

"He doesn’t look very good."

His tone held a hint of disappointment.

"Not as good as myself."

"..."

The other person was somewhat speechless.

"Ke Huai", however, persisted.

"How about we go find that Song Yan, kill him, and wear his skin?"

"That kid looks, well, seventy to eighty percent as handsome as me..."

"No."

The other person pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "Elder Xin Shan previously gave special instructions. Although this person’s cultivation is ordinary, he possesses some strange methods."

"Before the plan begins, do not create unnecessary trouble, lest you alert the enemy and ruin the grand scheme."

"All flowery language, are you going to the capital for the imperial examination?"

"Ke Huai’s" face was full of disdain: "...How can Song Yan be considered anyone important? Is he worth such caution from you all?"

His tone was full of defiance, and a twisted, malicious look flashed across his face.

"Did Liu Ciming say the same?"

He snorted coldly.

It was originally just a casual mention, but his colleague’s and Xin Shan’s attitudes suddenly intensified the malice in his heart.

How could a mere Cultivator from the Border Region who had just Broken Through to the Foundation Establishment Realm be worthy of their high regard?

Making him hesitant?

"Senior Liu Ciming only said that everything should follow Senior Xin Shan’s arrangements."

The malice in "Ke Huai’s" eyes surged for a moment, then was forcibly suppressed.

Turning into a hint of coldness: "Hehe, never mind..."

"It’s nothing but relying on some dog-shit luck. When the time comes, I’ll just take his life. Let’s see how many breaths he can last under my Demonic Technique."

"What’s the name of this skin you’re wearing?"

The enchanting young man changed the subject, as if the previous argument didn’t exist.

He poked his colleague’s body with interest.

"Yang Kaijun."

The person next to him answered concisely, seemingly accustomed to his companion’s offense.

"He’s the one the Hu Family asked us to kill first."

"Oh, oh, so it’s him."

"You... next time, you should listen carefully when people speak."

"Ke Huai’s" face showed a playful smile, and he waved his hand.

Immediately, a deeper, more profound spiritual light surged from "Ke Huai’s" palm, completely enveloping the corpse on the ground.

The corpse, along with its clothes, the bloodstains on the ground, and even the lingering battle aura, rapidly transformed under the creeping of the spiritual light.

Eventually, it turned into a moss-covered, weathered rock and deadwood, indistinguishable from the surrounding rocks and withered trees, perfectly growing in place, leaving no trace whatsoever.

"When their families discover the body later, what kind of expression will they have?"

He looked at this masterpiece before him with satisfaction.

"Let’s go."

The enchanting young man, in the guise of "Ke Huai", seemed to be stretching his muscles.

"There are still a few days to familiarize myself with this person’s identity. Where did this kid get so many Spirit Stones and treasures?"

"Oh, right..."

A lecherous look flashed in his eyes: "As the Young Lord of the Yang Family, Yang Kaijun should have many young women in his clan who like him."

"You go quickly and find a few female Cultivators, they must be beautiful and refined, with graceful figures."

"Ambition."

"Yang Kaijun" scoffed, but there was no hint of desire in his eyes.

"After the selection, I do need to return to the Yang Family. I heard the Yang Family has a secret treasure; I’ll take this opportunity to acquire it."

"Whether it’s offered to the Elders above or kept for personal use, it’s good."

"Hey, I want a share."

"..."

"Haha, excellent."

"Ke Huai" clapped his hands and laughed, "’Borrowing a corpse to return a soul’, acquiring spiritual items and secret treasures, toying with Dao Companions and female relatives."

"This is what a Demonic Technique should be used for!"

"When that Song Yan is killed and I take his place, allow me to enjoy a few more days in this human world."

"Yang Kaijun" nodded: "As you wish."

The two exchanged glances, saying no more.

Their auras quickly converged, like two ordinary Qi flows merging into the wilderness.

They silently left the area along a hidden path, disappearing into the deep green of the mountains... Song Yan did not use his Sword Dao escape technique, nor did he fly on his sword.

He merely walked slowly through the dense forests of the Strange Mountain Range with the physique of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He casually released his Divine Sense, often sensing the surrounding Spiritual Qi fluctuations appearing and disappearing.

Both Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Cultivators were present.

However, Qi Refining Cultivators naturally feared the Foundation Establishment Realm, and ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators were mostly wary of Song Yan’s strength, so none actively attacked him.

Therefore, they mostly avoided him.

Just as Song Yan thought he would simply leave the selection area like this, he arrived at a gray-white mountain rock covered in moss.

His footsteps suddenly halted.

"?"

This mountain rock looked ordinary, with two wild ferns growing diagonally from its crevices.

However, for some reason, he inexplicably felt that something was not quite right here.

Song Yan himself couldn’t explain where this feeling came from.

He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them again, and the deep pupils showed faintly visible lotus patterns.

Insightful Void Sword Eye activated.

Within it, a dreamlike blue-purple color subtly flowed.

The scene before his eyes instantly twisted and peeled away.

What Song Yan saw now was no longer gray-white rock.

It was, astonishingly, a corpse dressed in luxurious Magical Robes.

The man’s face was ashen and twisted, his chest pierced by a fist-sized, charred hole.

"Oh?"

Song Yan was slightly startled.

Someone died?

The corpse’s face was distorted, but still relatively intact, allowing its appearance to be vaguely discerned.

"Yang... what was his name again?"

Yang Kaijun, the Young Lord of the Dragon Pool Mountain Yang Family.

Before the selection officially began, the surrounding Cultivators occasionally mentioned him in discussions, and Song Yan had seen him once.

They were completely unfamiliar.

At the time, he paid attention because Junior Sister Yuerong was a Disciple of the Yang Family.

The Young Lord of a prominent local clan from Dragon Pool Mountain, dying silently here?

Song Yan looked up in confusion, gazing at the sky.

Although it was only the selection stage, there were no spiritual clouds showing the internal situation to the outside world yet.

However, the selection area was supervised by Cultivators from the Six Major Sects, and if a participating Cultivator was on the verge of death, the Formation here would trigger an alarm.

Even if it was just life-threatening severe injuries, rescue Disciples would arrive.

Although a writ had been signed, whether in the selection or grand competition stage, a death was always a major problem.