Chapter 70

Translator: 549690339

Belch!

A sound echoed from within Xue WuXin, as if he had just had a hearty meal and belched.

His pale face flushed a little.

His spider web-like veins withdrew from countless bodies back into him. A cold, damp aura enveloped him, turning his just-revived color again into an appalling pallor.

“The people from Borderlands have tainted blood. It needs to be refined to purify it. However, after sucking the blood essence of so many people, my injuries should be about half healed.”

Xue WuXin murmured to himself.

He looked out beyond the boundless mountains, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The Borderlands would be the place where he would rise to power.

“I need to find a place to refine the blood essence and heal my injuries. Once my strength is restored, 1 will perform the grand blood sacrifice, purify the blood essence, and cultivate.”

“Haha, await my revenge, everyone!”

Xue WuXin, in high spirits, rose into the air and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Only on the hillsides were left over a hundred withered bodies, with traces of terror still visible on their shrivelled faces.

The rush to find skilled experts swept across Qi Country. Those who came to the endless mountains to search for experts were obviously not only led by the Minister of War’s son and his party.

The endless mountains were fraught with danger. The seekers often came in groups, led by guards or hired experts, and entered the endless mountains together.

One day, a team searching for skilled experts arrived at the foot of the slope.

“Let’s take a rest here, who knows where this expert is hiding.”

“Why is Xu Yan so lucky to find an expert?”

“Don’t be downhearted! How can an expert be easily found? Xu Yan also searched for many years, and he even got tricked by fraudsters.”

A group of nobles began to ascend the slope under the protection of their guards.

“Allh!”

Suddenly, a scream echoed out.

“What the hell! You scared the hell out of me!”

“What happened? You’re a top-notch expert in the martial world, how can you be so scared? Ah…”

Screams resounded endlessly.

All looked at the sight on the slope, feeling coldness creeping up on them with goosebumps all over.

Over a hundred corpses lay on the slope, emanating a horrifying pallor. Each body was shriveled, as if the blood had been sucked dry.

The mummified faces still retained the colors of terror on the verge of death.

“This is… this is…”

Someone recognized the identities of the corpses.

“The eldest son of the Minister of War!”

“The second son of the Minister of Rites!”

“And…”

Fear surged in everyone’s hearts. They unconsciously looked around, as if evil spirits were choosing their next victims.

“How did they die?”

A brave expert stepped forward to examine the corpses, the more he saw, the more horrified he became.

“The corpses are shriveled like mummies…”

It’s too bizarre!

How long had the Minister of War’s son and his group been in the endless mountains?

Even if they died, they wouldn’t turn into mummies.

Moreover, each person’s death was extremely frightening, as if they saw something terrifying before their death.

“This is One-Blade King, a renowned top-notch expert in the capital, he’s dead too!”

People continuously recognized the identities of the corpses, including a few well-known leading martial artists.

More than a hundred people, with numerous experts, equipped with strong crossbows and other weapons, all perished on the slope without a trace of a fight.

It seemed as if they all died simultaneously!

They directly turned into mummies!

This eerie scene left everyone shocked, no longer interested in searching for experts.

“Let’s leave, it’s too dangerous here in the endless mountains!”

A group of people didn’t dare to stay and all fled down the mountain.

“Bring the body of the Minister of War’s son, and take theirs too, back to the capital.”

Yes, take their bodies back to the capital. Their deaths are too strange. We must investigate. Isn’t Xu Yan a martial artist? Perhaps he can find some clues.”

Someone suggested.

The others agreed with the idea, bringing back the bodies could also bring them rewards.

Concerning whether they would be suspected of being murderers, it was absolutely impossible. The bodies were strange, and besides, with their strength, they were incapable of killing the party led by the Minister of War’s son.

In the capital city, Xu Yan had successfully broken the Qi Blood Realm and realized the Innate Realm cultivation technique, his mood was high.

Emperor Qi sent people to convey his congratulations and wanted to hold a banquet to celebrate his advancements in martial arts. However, Xu Yan declined.

After staying in the capital for a few days, Xu Yan set off to return to the East River County.

Not long after Xu Yan left the capital, the news about the mysterious deaths of the Minister of War’s son and his party in the endless mountains spread among the officials.

The bodies were brought back.

Emperor Qi even personally inspected them.

The mummified bodies, with residual fear on their faces, were uncanny.

“Lord Guo, bring your grandson back quickly.”

“Yes, Lord Guo, this matter is too strange!”

The officials were in a frenzy.

Their own sons were also searching for experts.

Moreover, most of them had gone to the endless mountains.

The Ministers of War and Rites were both devastated, suffering a tremendous blow.

Guo Rongshan also realized that something was wrong. Was there some monster in the endless mountains?

He immediately sent a message to Xu Yan.

He immediately utilized the newly established carrier pigeon system for communication.

Upon his promotion to King of Qi, getting appointed as the mentor to the Grand Elder and Crown Prince, he delegated a few trained carrier pigeons from the Qi country’s pigeon post, specifically for communication between Donghe County and the capital.

This ensured smooth and swift communication between Donghe County and the Qi King’s residence.

Xu Yan, after a dusty journey, rushed back to Donghe County. Barely having time to have a meal with his parents and offer them some cultivation advice, he received a message from his maternal grandfather via carrier pigeon.

Withered corpses?

Strange circumstances of death?

He was instantly intrigued.

“I once read in an ancient text about a legend of a creature called ‘Corpse Treants’, which is fond of feasting on human blood. Could they have encountered a Corpse Treants?”

Once this thought crossed Xu Yan’s mind, his interest was immediately piqued.

It’s said that Corpse Treants are brutal, bloodthirsty and extremely powerful. Given that I’ve now reached the stage of grand accomplishment in the realm of Qi and Blood, my strength has increased significantly. It’s high time I put my strength to the test.”

“If it’s indeed a Corpse Treant, it would be worth a try.”

Xu Yan, overcome with excitement, immediately set off for the Capital.

He had only read about the Corpse Treants in an ancient book. The story hadn’t been passed down among the common folks, so probably only a handful of people knew about this legendary creature.

The Capital.

Xu Yan, who had not long since left, had returned.

“Where are the bodies?”

He immediately went to the place where the bodies were kept.

There he saw several withered bodies.

Emperor Qi and all his ministers were present.

Upon examining the bodies, Xu Yan frowned. The corpses appeared to have been drained of their blood and shriveled up.

There was a faint chili lingering within the bodies.

However, compared to the description in the ancient text, the wounds on the victims were not suggestive of an attack by Corpse Treants. There were no bite marks.

According to the legend, the bites were supposed to be on the victims’ necks.

Furthermore, victims of Corpse Treants wouldn’t directly turn into shriveled corpses, but rather turn a cyanotic black color due to the corpse poison.

However, these bodies were neither cyanotic black nor had any traces of corpse poison.

They had completely turned into mummies.

It was as if they had been sun-dried, and even after such a long time, there was no sign of decomposition.

“What were you able to deduce from this?”

Emperor Qi asked.

While continuing to examine the bodies, Xu Yan shook his head and said, “I initially thought that these might be murders committed by the legendary Corpse Treants. But, judging from the bodies, it doesn’t seem to be their doing.”

“What are ‘Corpse Treants’? ”

Emperor Qi and his ministers looked at each other in confusion, not having heard of such a creature before.

“It is a kind of creature known for being extremely violent and feasting on human blood,” Xu Yan explained briefly.

Emperor Qi and his ministers were horrified. Could such a frightening creature actually exist in this world?

“Young Master Xu, how did you find out about Corpse Treants?”

One of the ministers, driven by curiosity, asked. He prided himself on having extensive knowledge and having read numerous books. He was well-informed about astronomy, geography, history, and relics. However, he surprisingly had never heard of this creature, which led him to harbor some doubts about whether Xu Yan was making up stories.

“I read about it in an ancient book, a very old one at that. It is said to be the only existing copy,” Xu Yan responded.

Read it in a book?

Caught off guard, the minister involuntarily said, “Can the things written in books really…”

However, he couldn’t finish his sentence.

All of a sudden, he realized something. It was rumored that Xu Yan believed in the legends from books, and, in spite of ridicule, he sought out a master to learn true martial arts from.

Eventually, he actually succeeded in cultivating a formidable martial arts technique from the stories told in the books!

Given that, the legends in the books might indeed be credible!

After realizing this, he couldn’t muster up the courage to finish his statement.

Xu Yan continued to examine the bodies, even undressing the corpses to have a thorough check.

The Minister of War started tearing up and trembled, about to protest. However, at the formidable gaze of Emperor Qi, he ultimately decided to keep silent.

He quietly watched as Xu Yan turned to the corpses.

“Strange. If it wasn’t the Corpse Treants, then what was it?”

Xu Yan was perplexed, combing through his memory of the ancient text he had read, which had no mention of such cases.

Suddenly!

His gaze focused on a small hole in the chest area of the withered bodies, appearing as if something had pierced their hearts.

“This is…”

Frowning, Xu Yan touched the wound, which was so small it seemed as if a tiny awl had made it.

“A mosquito?”

The bodies were drained of blood and turned into mummies with a small wound in the heart area.

Involuntarily, Xu Yan visualised a giant mosquito knocking over the son of the Minister of War, its proboscis embedded in the heart, sucking out all the blood.

“Could it be the work of some sort of blood-sucking demon that resembles a mosquito?”

Xu Yan couldn’t help but recall the Fire-Maned Wolf. It had transcended the category of ordinary beasts; no ordinary beast could possess such formidable strength.

Could the creature that killed the son of the Minister of War and others be a similar entity, one that had transcended the realm of ordinary beasts?

After pondering for a while, he said, “I do not know what creature could’ve committed these murders, possibly a demon of some sort? I will go back and ask my master. Perhaps, he knows.”

His master was a recluse who seemingly knew everything. He should know which creature caused this.

Could there be such a creature lurking in the Endless Great Mountain?

All of a sudden, Xu Yan was interested in the Endless Great Mountain. He was also intrigued by these unknown demons. He decided to ask his master whether he could go to the Endless Great Mountain to hunt these creatures given his current strength.

“I shall return and ask my master.”

Bounding with excitement, Xu Yan left, getting ready to return to Donghe County and ask his master about what kind of creature could drain humans of their blood and how strong it would be.. More importantly, he needed to know if he was capable of handling it!