âTruly astonishing.â
Wen Yang surveyed the surrounding furnishings and laughed,
âBeneath Long Mountain, a thousand-zhang gorge, the White Bone Divine Palace, and to think it was constructed on such a grand scale reveals just how prosperous and powerful the Nether Ghost Path was during Lady Shi Jiâs era.â
âNine Demon Kings, seventy-two Fire Crows, five hundred Asurasâ¦â Jiang Liyan also sighed, âIf the Nether Ghost Path could retain but a fraction of its former glory today, why would we fear not rivaling the Kunlun Taiqing Sect?â
Wei Dongliu spoke slowly,
âYou only know one side of the story, not the other. Even in that era, ancient Kunlun also had three thousand Nascent Soul Cultivators.â
âThe Kunlun Mountain Range, in all directions, north, south, east, and west, contained two hundred sects both big and small; amongst them were powerful forces like the Divine Flame Path, yet they were cut down as easily as one would chop a melon or slice a vegetable by the cultivators of ancient Kunlun.â
âIf it were not so, how could the vast Kunlun Mountain Range be entirely occupied by the Taiqing Sect today?â
Both were rendered speechless, their hearts churning like a torrential river.@@novelbin@@
The term âancient Kunlunâ appeared infrequently even in the texts of the Nether Corpse and Heavenly Demon Paths, not to mention such a precise number as âthree thousand cultivators.â
Those who understood it so clearly were either cultivators from Kunlunâs side (after all, it was their ancestral history) orâ¦
â¦elders who survived from the Ancient Era.
Wei Dongliu, as if unaware of what the two were thinking, simply savored the delightful rise in his Synchronization Value of a mysterious persona and then continued walking forward.
Leftward lay the Ghost Sectâs quarters;
Updated by NovGâ.co
Rightward lay the Nether Corpse Sectâs quarters.
Last time, the Flying Asura had taken Qiu Changtian and Xu Yinglian to the left.
This time, he intended to lead them to the right.
âWei Dongliu.â Just as he was about to step forward, Jiang Liyan suddenly called out from behind.
âWhat is it?â Wei Dongliu paused and looked back.
ââ¦Nothing.â Jiang Liyan inexplicably backtracked.
She initially wanted to say something along the lines of âage cannot impede us,â but when the words reached her lips, they suddenly wouldnât come out.
Because she suddenly realized that she had never truly understood this âFellow Wei.â
Even towards the red-haired, double-pupiled Wei Demon Lord, her interest had been nothing more than a whim.
Seeing that Jiang the Witch had fallen silent, Wei Dongliu was indifferent and continued walking forward.
Passing through the main hall and arriving at the back temple, he saw numerous coffins scattered like mountains, mercury and sulfur flowing backwards like rivers. It seemed as though a grand formation was laid out, but in reality, there was no formation at all, just a haphazard accumulation.
âCorpse refining chamber.â Wen Yang said gravely, touching a protruding coffin, âThis⦠is made of Phoenix-Imprisoning Wood. You canât find this wood anymore. Only in the Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Southern Border, shrouded in miasma, might there still be some.â
âSee if there is anything useful,â Wei Dongliu said indifferently, âTake anything that is useful.â
âAlright.â So Wen Yang hopped onto a coffin, scavenging around, agile as a cat.
Jiang the Witch, having nothing else to do, approached to ask,
âFellow Wei, when will you activate that⦠uh, that very impressive Demon Lord Dharma Body of yours?â
âOnly in times of trouble will I transform into the Dharma Body.â Wei Dongliu looked at her with a hint of a smile, âAre you eager for trouble to arise?â
âAh, no, no, no!â Jiang the Witch shook her head hastily, âI am justâ¦â
She spoke disjointedly, soon hanging her head dejectedly, unable to continue.
Wei Dongliu was not unaware of her fanciful thoughts, but as a mysterious grandee, he did not care for matters of romantic interest and thus turned his head away indifferently.
Wen Yang alighted from the pile of coffins and laid out three items on the ground, saying,
âThese are the only three worth taking.â
He introduced them one by one from left to right,
âThis piece of wood on the left is Phoenix-Imprisoning Wood, exceedingly suitable for crafting sealing-type Magic Artifacts. Whether itâs the Five Elements or Yin Yang Dual Qi, it is difficult for them to penetrate Phoenix-Imprisoning Wood.â
âIsnât Phoenix-Imprisoning Wood an attribute of wood?â Jiang Liyan asked curiously, âIf confronted with metal or elements of fire, can it still resist corrosion?â
âOf course,â Wen Yang said, âBack then, the Nether Ghost Path used a secret technique to process the Phoenix-Imprisoning Wood⦠Pity itâs already been lost.â
âThe green pearl in the middle is called the Corpse Preserving Pearl. As long as itâs placed under the tongue in the mouth, the physical body wonât decay.â
âThis item is used to seal and nourish corpses, but the method of refinement is also lost. Therefore, now our Sect can only replace it by injecting a large amount of mercury into the bodies.â
âHow disgusting!â Jiang the Witch immediately expressed disdain upon thinking of the pearl being stuffed into a corpseâs mouth.
âThis pearl, of course, has never been used before.â Realizing what she implied, Wen Yang quickly explained.
âThe item on the far right is the Hiltless Locust Wood Sword. Iâm not sure what itâs for, but I thought Iâd bring it for you to see.â
âHm?â Wei Dongliu looked closely and it indeed was the Hiltless Locust Wood Sword.
But this sword⦠Wasnât it supposed to be hanging in the treasure room of the Ghost Sect next door?
It was then Wei Dongliu suddenly realized.
As a Flying Asura and a Nether Corpse, it makes sense that his magical treasures would be stored with the Nether Corpse Sect.
As for why, from Qiu Changtianâs point of view, the sword seemed to hang in that treasure roomâof course, it was becauseâ¦
Wei Dongliu sighed, reached for the Hiltless Locust Wood Sword, and said:
âIâll take this one, the rest you can divide among yourselves.â
Jiang Liyan and Wen Yang first paused, then were pleased.
They were surprisedâthat what was this Hiltless Locust Wood Sword exactly, to make Wei Dongliu pick it without hesitation?
Considering his frequent inquiries about the Flying Asura, could this sword possibly be the key magical treasure to control the Flying Asura?
Their pleasure stemmed from the fact that Wei Dongliu, surprisingly, did not want to hog all the spoils but was willing to share with them!
If it were some other Demon Path Cultivator, they would have used their deeper cultivation to claim everything for themselves long ago.
Wen Yang did offer information support, so he chose the Phoenix-Imprisoning Wood without much fuss.
Jiang the Witch had contributed nothing to the expedition and felt unusually embarrassed to take anything. But then she thought, if Wei the Demon Lord is giving me something, what is there to be embarrassed about?
âWei friend,â she then said earnestly, âI accept your kindness and will repay it in the future.â
In other words, she had nothing to exchange at the moment and could only count it as a favor owed.
Wei Dongliu was somewhat surprised, because his willingness to share was not out of a desire to seek Jiang the Witchâs favor, but because he completely disdained the other two worthless itemsâhis standards were, after all, incredibly high.
But Wei Dongliuâs character was not created to become stronger, but to gather information about the Hell Path⦠a purpose he had not forgotten.
Forming good relations with Jiang Liyan and Wen Yang, or even indebting them to him, was naturally also a way of expanding his network.
So he nonchalantly waved his hand and said:
âSuch trivial items are hardly worth mentioning.â
This carefree and unruly approach, compared to the habitual penny-pinching style of most Demon Path Cultivators today, was indeed like night and day.
Seeing this, Jiang the Witch and Wen Yang once again had their suspicions about the âold monsterâ reaffirmed, lending more credibility to their earlier conjectures.
Lost in thought, Wen Yangâs expression grew distant. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly adopted a sincerely inquisitive posture and earnestly said:
âWei Qian⦠Wei friend, I too accept this kindness. However, I have a question. If itâs not a bother, could you enlighten me?â
âWhatâs the question?â a languid Wei Dongliu asked.
âItâs aboutâ¦â Wen Yang hesitated, glancing at Jiang Liyan beside him.
He and Jiang Liyan were well-acquainted, but he had not shared some of the deepest secrets about himself with her.
Yet, after his cover was blown by the creature in the Mirror Lake Divine Palace, Wen Yang felt if Jiang the Witch delved deeper, she would likely guess most of it.
Rather than not be forthcoming, he thought it better to speak openly about it here, to deepen the connection and bond.
Having made up his mind, Wen Yang let out a deep sigh and asked:
âMy question is, if a man⦠has been subjected to a secret technique from the womb, his soul extracted and placed into his sisterâs bodyâ¦â
ââ¦then does he truly count as a man? Or is he a woman?â