Su Lianyue looked at him and then at the roasted goose in her hand. She smiled. “Nothing exists outside the heart? Well, let’s take this goose as an example. The two of you didn’t know each other and yet you scorched it on your first encounter. How can you say that nothing exists outside the heart…?”
“Nonsense!” Xiao Chen flicked his sleeves. He believed that she would be giving him a proper and reasonable explanation but his anticipation was repaid with babbling nonsense.
Su Lianyue said earnestly, “What I’m saying is that if you treat me like the Senior Sister we met today, would you still care if you’re sharing a goose with a Devil’s Practice follower? This goose doesn’t belong to the Devil’s Practice. What crime did it commit?”
Xiao Chen shivered. Suddenly, all his past memories emerged in his mind like old dreams and he remembered that woman following the Devil’s Practice: Hua Weiyang.
Back then, he didn’t know Hua Weiyang’s true identity. By the time he found out, he was already too deeply in love with her.
Xiao Chen took a deep breath. Had he ever treated Weiyang like a Devil’s Practice follower? Perhaps, his current self was just unwilling to face this dilemma in his heart.
Be it the Devil’s Practice or the Orthodox Path, what did either matter? His lover was gone. If Weiyang was in front of him now, would he distance himself from her? If Weiyang was revived, would he… Wait!
Xiao Chen’s body shook as an abrupt idea surged into his mind. Someone defied heaven and resurrected him. What about Weiyang? Why couldn’t the same happen for Weiyang? Why couldn’t people defy heaven and resurrect her?
That bud of an idea blossomed into extreme turbulence in his mind. His confusion about what happened all those years ago had only deepened. His clearest memory was of his Master protected his soul under everyone’s nose after he was executed at the Mystic Cyan Sect.
Was that all to it? The Samsara Jade was the world’s most valuable treasure, known to be immortal. Not even gods can destroy it. But why did it break into four pieces? It must have suffered an unimaginable hit…
“Young Master?”
The gentle voice calling his name finally knocked Xiao Chen out of it. Without missing a beat, he leapt and started weaving back and forth toward the end of the night. He crossed countless mountain tops without knowing his destination. The night was bleak and desolate. Gusts of cold wind brushed past his ears and rustled loudly next to eardrums. He pushed his speed to the extreme.
Xiao Chen finally stopped when he was about a hundred miles away, where he could vaguely make out moving silhouettes nearby. He landed on a treetop soundlessly and watched the people moving furtively under the moon and the stars.
What he saw was two people clad in red moving some intact corpses under a large tree. There were twenty or so pale-faced corpses in varying outfits arranged neatly.
Xiao Chen’s heart jumped. Corpse Refinery Sect disciples! The battles between the Devil’s Practice and Orthodox Path cultivators had gotten more intense. Many had died in the vicinity of the Ghost-wailing Hill. Now the Corpse Refinery Sect disciples were running around, picking up the corpses at night. But what did they need these corpses filled with grievances for? Was it purely for refining Corpse Puppets? Or perhaps the Corpse Refinery Sect was a bunch of necrophiliacs?
Now that he thought about it, the Corpse Refinery Sect was the most mysterious faction among the four main Devil’s Sects. No one knew when the sect was established. Even stranger was the fact that they would never interact with other Devil’s sects. The sect was so mysterious that the only thing people knew about them was that the Corpse Puppets they refined were very powerful, and nothing about their origin.
Neither did anyone know the purpose of their existence. Aside from Ye Wuxin’s recent ambitions, the sect tended to keep a low-profile. What they were up to was entirely a mystery.
Xiao Chen watched the two disciples arrange the corpses, count them, and then take out the “Corralling Pouch” that the Corpse Refinery Sect used for stashing corpses. They rested under the tree after corralling the twenty or so corpses, seeming to be discussing something.
The distance, coupled with the wheezing wind, made the conversation inaudible to Xiao Chen. He shed off his aura and sneaked over. In the dark, he made no noise jumping and landing. The two disciples noticed nothing.
When Xiao Chen came close, he heard one of them sigh. “We’ll probably be able to become third-rank disciples after bringing so many corpses back, right?”
The other replied, “Forget it. Wang’er has been here for ten years but only became a third-rank disciple last year. I fear we’ll have to wait for another three to five years…” He heaved a deep sigh. “But speaking of this, we’ve been bringing so many corpses back in the past two years. What are they for? Don’t they tell me they’re really trying to revive that Divine Corpse…”
Their expressions changed when they mentioned the Divine Corpse. Xiao Chen’s expression did, too. He heard the disciple on the left whisper, “Speaking of the Divine Corpse, can it really resurrect someone? I, for one, don’t believe it…”
The one on the right sneered. “You’re not the only one! Who in the sect believes that? No one’s seen that so-called Divine Corpse! We don’t even know if it exists. The Elders, and perhaps even Ye Wuxin, are probably fooled…”
His sect mate glared at him before he could finish. “You dare call the Sect Leader’s name! Do you want to die?”
The one on the right sneered. “That heartless creature conspired to kill his own Master for his personal matter. The way I see it, the Corpse Refinery Sect will one day fall to ruins in his hands. Either way, he’s just a puppet under someone’s control and a slave obeying someone’s orders. What’s there to fear? That day, I heard someone say he’s been preoccupied ever since he returned from the rear mountain. It’s as if he’s been frightened out of his wits…”
He continued to blab, his words like an unceasing torrent pouring out of his mouth. The one on the left hastily looked around and said solemnly, “Won’t you shut that mouth? Do you really want to die? What if someone hears you? Not only will you die, but your soul might even be sent to that place, never to reincarnate…”
His sect mate’s disdainful expression faltered the moment he heard the words “that place”. He couldn’t help shivering and dared not to continue.
Xiao Chen frowned after hearing their conversation. Back on the Changyin Mountain Range, he seemed to have heard about “that place” from Yuyang Zi and the two Blood Corpses that came to capture him. They mentioned that they wanted the Corpse Refinery Sect to be forever released from the restrictions of that place.
Just what kind of place was capable of striking such fear into everyone in the Corpse Refinery Sect, to the point that they didn’t even dare to call it by name? Moreover, they could only cut themselves off from that place with the Divine Corpse’s help. Their words implied that they weren’t trying to use the Divine Corpse to win over that place. Rather, only when it was awakened, would it be able to undo the restrictions.
More than ever, Xiao Chen felt that this world had too many unimaginable existences. What he saw now—Daoist League of the Five Continents, Immortals’ League, ten main families in Violet Manor—was, at best, the tip of the iceberg. Perhaps, not even that.
Su Lianyue shook her head with a smile. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind hit them in the face and permeated deep into their skin. She felt a chill and shuddered. She wrapped her hands around her shoulders and huddled closer to Xiao Chen. Lowering her voice, she asked, “Young Master, are you cold?”
The one on the right sighed and rose to his feet. “Countless people have come for the extraordinary treasure in the past month. Now that it’s showing up in these few days, even more will probably die. The more, the better. Best if all of them dies.”
Xiao Chen’s brows furrowed tightly. It wouldn’t be hard to go up to the two disciples and interrogate them right now, but he didn’t want to alarm the sect now.
The bright moon gradually peaked in the sky, spilling moonlight as gentle as water. Su Lianyue sat atop a slab of stone inside the cave, humming a song and painting her nails with polish. She seemed bored to death after Xiao Chen left.
“Why did you come back, Young Master? Did you miss this gentle night?”
Xiao Chen fanned the air in front of his nose with a frown. “What did you do?” The moment he entered the cave, he was hit by a wave of strange-smelling fragrance. It wasn’t pungent, but he was wary that this demoness was up to no good.
Su Lianyue smiled sweetly at him. With a slight twist of her slender waist, she put away her jade bottle. Her gentle movement was enough to bewitch anyone looking at her. She laughed and said, “You left me all alone, Young Master. If a beast barges in at night, won’t I be taken advantage of? Of course, I’ll have to scatter some medicated powder around the cave. I’ll remove it if it doesn’t please you.”
“No need.” Xiao Chen walked over to her. “I saw two Corpse Refinery Sect disciples earlier.”
“Oh? Did you kill them?”
“No. I didn’t want to alarm anyone.”
Su Lianyue chuckled. “It’s alright. Sit down and tell me slowly. There’s no need to be in a hurry when the night is long,” she said, shifting a little to the side.
Xiao Chen flicked the hem of his robe and sat down. He told her a summary of what he heard earlier. “Divine Corpse, that place, and Ye Wuxin being preoccupied after returning from the rear mountain.”
Su Lianyue sank into contemplation and slowly leaned toward him. She said softly, “Young Master, don’t you think the moon is beautiful tonight?” Her voice was as fine as drizzle. Xiao Chen clenched his fingers and said gloomily, “I’m being serious…”
She clasped a hand over her mouth and giggled. “I think the moon is more important. Young Master, won’t you come moon-watching with me? The flowers under the moonlight paint such a breathtaking scenery. The bright moon tonight is a rare sight, you know.”
Xiao Chen slowly released his clenched fingers and looked at her. One hour later, the two of them stood on the precipice under the bright moonlight. What should have been hidden in the darkness finally showed itself. In the distance, they could see a desolate palace, altar, and ancient buildings…
Their clothes rustled noisily in the mountain wind. Su Lianyue smiled. “Does the moon tonight suit your taste?”
“With a beautiful woman for company, naturally it is to my taste.” Xiao Chen leapt using the tip of his foot and fell down the precipice. Su Lianyue followed after him. They were currently at a branch of the Corpse Refinery Sect. They would surely be discovered in daytime but the night provided enough cover that no one would see them. The moon also happened to be bright tonight.
They landed on the branch of a large tree and saw numerous people making strange motions on an altar in the distance. The group of people took out some corpses’ internal organs, chanted some spells, and started praying. This scene was as hair-raising as it was unfathomable.
“What are they doing?” Xiao Chen turned his head the moment he spoke. However, they were standing so close when they landed on the branch that he nearly kissed Su Lianyue’s face when he moved his head.
Su Lianyue noticed his strange gaze and moved aside. “Sacrificial prayers? Or maybe they’re accumulating malicious grudges? I don’t know either. The Corpse Refinery Sect is full of lunatics. You can’t judge their actions using common sense.”
It was rare for her to be this serious. Xiao Chen looked in the other direction and saw a yellow-robed Taoist leading two neat lines of people toward the altar. Those people walked so stiffly that they didn’t seem to be living beings.
“They’ve got a lot of corpses. Don’t tell me they’re all to revive that Divine Corpse?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go closer so we can hear what they’re saying.”
The two of them were no ordinary cultivators. In the dark, they landed on the ground without the slightest noise and approached the altar quietly. For some reason, Su Lianyue became more impatient the closer she got to the altar and kept quickening her pace. When they were about to move past two large trees, Xiao Chen suddenly held onto her shoulder.