Chapter 46: Corpse Bone Abyss
This “Immortal Jiang” definitely had something wrong with him!
Li Qingfeng felt his hair stand on end as the youth stared at him. Only after the fact did he feel somewhat absurd about it.
He cursed himself inwardly. A cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining had actually been frightened by a mortal. His courage was truly small.
Song Yan and Li Qingfeng both looked toward Qin Ying.
Yet she remained seated there, silent and still, clutching Gu Qingqing’s life talisman in her hand.
Why had Senior Sister Qin not yet gone to find that Immortal Jiang? If she did not act soon, who could guarantee that something would not go wrong with Junior Sister Gu…
Song Yan felt somewhat anxious in his heart, and Li Qingfeng shared this doubt.
He transmitted his voice: “Senior Brother Song, do you think Senior Sister Qin is… testing us?”
“If she were to act, there would be nothing left for the two of us to do.”
“…”
Song Yan found this somewhat puzzling, yet he felt that his chubby junior brother’s words were not without reason.
“Senior Brother Song, with Senior Sister holding down the fort here, nothing should go wrong. Let us go investigate around and see if there are any clues.”
Song Yan pondered for a moment, then transmitted his voice: “Fine. You stay nearby. I will go look around the rest of the village.”
Li Qingfeng stood up and said to the youth: “Little brother, I drank your tea and now my stomach hurts terribly. I’m afraid I’ve eaten too much greasy food lately.”
He feared that these words might dirty his senior sister’s ears, so he deliberately lowered his voice. “Where… is the outhouse?”
The youth looked somewhat suspicious. He had not seen any of the three drink tea, but simply said he had not noticed: “I’ll take you there.”
The youth and Li Qingfeng departed. Song Yan reported to his senior sister: “Senior Sister, I am going to walk around the village.”
“…”
Qin Ying nodded, then added: “Return before the banquet begins.”
“…Alright.”
It was already dusk. Stepping out of the Jiang residence, the village was empty and desolate, with only a sparse few people emerging from their homes and heading toward the Jiang residence, apparently to attend tonight’s celebration.
To the right of the Jiang family’s entrance stood an ancient well. Following the small path ahead of the well eastward, there was an arched gateway and a low wall.
From that direction came the sounds of playful laughter and shouting.
Song Yan passed through the arched gateway into a courtyard. Five children, like untamed colts, chased and played with one another, running past him.
A small boy, who had apparently been doing something just now and had not caught up with the group, scrambled in a panic to catch up.
“Ouch!”
He accidentally tripped and was about to fall right beside Song Yan.
“Careful.”
He reached out a hand to steady him. The small hand was ice cold.
“Ah… thank you, big brother.”
“It’s nothing.”
Song Yan nodded. “Go play.”
Such vitality.
These children, on the other hand, appeared quite normal…
Song Yan pondered.
Now he could almost certainly confirm that this so-called “Immortal Jiang” was the culprit behind everything.
But…
“How did this Immortal Jiang turn Peach Blossom Dock into a dead village?”
Was it… a trapping formation?
No, if it relied on a formation, that would mean the formation had long been active. Yet he had not sensed any spiritual energy fluctuations belonging to a formation.
Was it… coercion and bribery?
That was not it either. Song Yan could see that every man, woman, old, and young in Peach Blossom Dock had stayed here of their own free will. What about those outsiders? Where had the cultivator from Jiangyun Prefecture and Junior Sister Qingqing gone?
“…”
Could it be… a sinister technique?
That was likely not it either. Otherwise, when the three of them had walked into the village, wouldn’t they have appeared to place some sort of hex on them?
Unless…
In an instant, the expression on Song Yan’s face vanished.
What was that?
In the flowerbed not far away, a flash of white caught his attention, feeling somewhat familiar.
He walked forward slowly and stood there staring at it.
A paper figure?
“…”
Song Yan turned to look back. The group of children now numbered only four.
…
Unless…
The three of them were the last batch of people. …
The sun quickly sank down, about to vanish beyond the horizon.
“Pingping, on such a joyous day, instead of going to the Jiang residence for the feast, why are you here still cooking rice…”
The village chief leaned on his walking staff, heading from the big banyan tree at the village entrance where people gathered to gossip toward the Jiang residence. He passed by a private home and paused for a moment.
“Village chief, you go ahead. Gou Dan and I… we cannot enjoy such fine food. We don’t have that fortune.”
Chen Jiping was an outsider, her fate most bitter. Shortly after she had married into the village, her husband’s family had passed away.
The village chief sighed and turned to leave.
“…”
Hummm…
At a certain moment, a piercing ringing sounded in Chen Jiping’s ears.
Her hunched figure suddenly stood upright, her eyes losing their luster.
She moved like a puppet, her limbs stiff as she walked out of the house. Her shoulders and neck twitched from time to time, and the muscles on her face were somewhat unnatural.
She headed toward Incense Burner Peak.
Atop Incense Burner Peak stood a modest Daoist temple. This temple was the place of quiet cultivation for the “immortal” Jiang Xiao.
Before the temple lay a large blue stone, upon which reclined a voluptuous woman.
“Mmm…”
Night had fallen, and the temperature had already dropped.
Yet she wore nothing but a thin piece of silk draped over her body.Apart from this, nothing at all.
She lazily yawned, glancing at the walking corpse approaching the temple from outside. She merely took one look and paid no more attention.
A pair of long, pale white legs casually crossed and uncrossed.
At this moment, Immortal Jiang Xiao finally emerged from the Daoist temple.
He watched as Chen Jiping drew ever closer, his gaze roaming over her voluptuous body as if examining a toy.
“Why did you leave her alone specifically?”
Bai Yulu asked offhandedly, though her voice sounded somewhat strange.
“Although she has no spirit root, for some reason, her speed in cultivating the Blood Refinement Ancient Scroll is astonishingly fast.”
“Faster than all the other pigs in the village by who knows how many times.”
Jiang Xiao gently stroked Chen Jiping’s cheek and untied his own sash.
“Either way, one more or one less makes no difference.”
“Hah…”
Jiang Xiao tilted his head back, his expression one of intoxicated bliss. “Keep her. We could use another helper.”
“We?”
Bai Yulu sneered. “I certainly don’t need any helpers.”
Jiang Xiao scoffed inwardly.
Of course she didn’t need one. A mid-stage first-tier demonic beast dared to raise her voice at him. There was no other reason.
It was purely because of what she represented behind her—one of the two great demonic beast powers of the Chu Kingdom.
Corpse Bone Abyss.
“Your Blood Refinement Grand Formation has been laid for three years, and now you’ve only lured a single Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet you’re going to use it?”
“With that immortal sword bestowed upon you by your master, perhaps you could slay that Foundation Establishment cultivator all on your own.”
“The other two are both at the mid-stage of Qi Refining. Your courage is truly too timid…”
Jiang Xiao did not even open his eyes. “There is no need to be reckless and overextend. If too many Foundation Establishment cultivators are lured here, it will easily lead to trouble. Now is just right.”
“That Qin Ying is an inner disciple of the Dongyuan Sect, and she will likely become a true disciple before long. Using it on her would not be considered a waste… hiss…”
He frowned slightly, seeming somewhat displeased.
“It will not cause too great a disturbance, and we have ample time…”
Jiang Xiao kicked aside the puppet-like Chen Jiping, then walked toward Bai Yulu. “All the time in the world.”
He licked his dry lips, leaned down, and reached out to caress Bai Yulu’s bare ankle, then inch by inch, traced his way deeper.
A pinkish mist appeared in Bai Yulu’s eyes, making her appearance all the more seductive and alluring.
“At a time like this, your courage is quite bold indeed.”
That piece of silk slid to the ground.
…