Chapter 140: Scripture of Corpse Liberation

There were no gold, silver, jewelry, medicinal pills, or secret treasures in the parcel, only several books, all of which were rubbings of martial arts manuals from the Tianhe Sect.

Among them was a drab, gray book that looked completely ordinary, yet its title was strikingly eye-catching.

"The Corpse Dissolution Scripture!?"

Upon seeing the gray book, the woman furrowed her brows. "Could this be the cultivation method of the Corpse Dissolution Pool, one of the three evil arts of the Huanyuan Cult?"

As a long-standing heretical sect, the Huanyuan Cult possessed two other blood-curdling and spine-chilling evil arts alongside the "Yin Pellet" and "Yang Pill."

One of them was the Corpse Dissolution Scripture.

This scripture utilized a unique secret technique to soak human corpses in a pool, releasing corpse qi. By absorbing the corpse qi from the pool during cultivation, one's internal energy could undergo a mutation, granting it extremely potent corrosive properties.

The more corpses there were, the denser the corpse qi in the Corpse Dissolution Pool became, and the deeper the mutation of the cultivator's internal energy.

Upon reaching the Dan Realm, battles ultimately came down to internal energy.

The depth, purity, and attributes of the internal energy were all crucial factors.

If one's internal energy was tainted with even a trace of corpse qi, its attributes would undoubtedly ascend to a higher level.

To a certain extent, it was arguably no less formidable than cultivating two inner mental arts simultaneously.

The woman pondered for a long moment and said, "This Corpse Dissolution Pool is indeed extraordinary."

Elder Fang's expression turned somewhat unkind as he said, "It is rumored that at the main altar of the Huanyuan Cult, there is a gigantic Corpse Dissolution Pool with tens of thousands of corpses buried beneath it. Furthermore, a vast number of fresh corpses are thrown in daily to nourish the cult's monsters. Such an evil art is better not left intact."

With that, Elder Fang gathered his internal energy, intending to destroy the Corpse Dissolution Scripture in his hand.

"Wait!"

The woman stopped Elder Fang. "Though the Corpse Dissolution Scripture is extremely precious and useless to the likes of us, it holds many things worthy of study. Let me examine it further before we destroy it."

Elder Fang hesitated and said, "After all, this is an evil object. If word gets out, it will be troublesome."

"It's fine."

The woman gave a faint smile and began flipping through the Corpse Dissolution Scripture in her hand.

The scripture contained not only the methods for forging the Corpse Dissolution Pool and wielding corpse qi, but also techniques for fusing it with one's internal energy, concluding with a few venomous martial arts.

After about the time it takes to burn half a stick of incense, the woman turned to the final page and said with a trace of disappointment, "The evil arts of this Huanyuan Cult amount to nothing much after all."

With a forceful squeeze of her palm, the Corpse Dissolution Scripture in her hand was reduced to fine powder.

Elder Fang smiled and said, "An evil object is ultimately just an evil object. How could it ever compare to the profound depths of our Tower Without a Tower's 'Night Wind Listening'?"

The woman nodded and said nothing more.

...

A Glimpse of Heaven.

After exchanging a palm strike with Elder Fang, Yang Xing felt the blood and Qi roil within his body, and his Dantian trembled violently.

Fortunately, his "Iron Cloth" had reached the fourth stage, the Myriad Phenomena Realm, otherwise he likely would have sustained internal injuries from this clash.

In storybooks, one could suffer internal injuries and remain completely unfazed, but reality was far from the case.

Once internally injured, minor cases required months of recuperation, while severe ones could damage one's foundational roots.

...

"That old bastard was completely intent on killing me. What a pity about that old hag's parcel."

Yang Xing narrowed his eyes. He could feel that the parcel was heavy with books, which he assumed must be the secret martial arts manuals of the Tianhe Sect.

After resting for a moment, he opened Wu Sen's parcel.

It was packed with gold and silver jewelry, alongside a large stack of silver notes, many of which were stained with blood. In addition to these were two martial arts manuals.

One was the "Eight Directions Sword Technique," and the other was a secret technique known as the "Qi Sealing Art."

"A secret technique!?"

Seeing the secret technique, Yang Xing felt a sudden surge of excitement in his heart.

Secret techniques differed from standard martial arts manuals in that they required a vast amount of time in cultivation before they could be utilized.

For instance, the Tianhe Sect's Hundun Acupoint-Sealing Technique was a secret technique used to stimulate body acupoints over a short period to boost one's strength.

And the "Qi Sealing Art" found inside Wu Sen's parcel was likewise a secret technique.

This secret technique could seal one's personal aura, preventing others from sensing it. Its effect was similar to the "Qi-Hiding Skill" Yang Xing had previously practiced, but its effectiveness far surpassed it.

"This is truly a fine treasure. No wonder Wu Sen remained on the Prefecture Wanted List for years and still stayed at large."

A smile appeared at the corners of Yang Xing's mouth. Currently, his body harbored both Azure Dragon internal energy and Xuanwu internal energy. At close range, an Upper Dan Realm expert like Huang Zhen could still detect clues.

With the addition of this "Qi Sealing Art" combined with the "Qi-Hiding Skill," the probability of being discovered would be vastly reduced.

After two nights of slaughter, Jade River Mountain was somewhat less chaotic than before, but infinitely more perilous.

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp.

By now, the shrimp had mostly been devoured, leaving only a few small and large fish behind.

Yang Xing sat cross-legged in a corner of A Glimpse of Heaven, recovering his internal energy.

...

Jade River Mountain, inside a cavern.

Three men were hiding within the cave, their expressions somewhat disheveled, yet their eyes gleamed brightly.

One of the thin, short men trembled as he said, "Big brother, we've struck it rich this time! There are at least over thirty thousand taels of silver here."

To them, over thirty thousand taels of silver was undoubtedly a colossal fortune.

The burly man beside him could not suppress the joy in his eyes, but then said in a solemn voice, "Let's hurry and leave. It's far too dangerous here—even Qiu Xiaochi, one of the three major benefactors of the Wang family, is dead."

When they first entered Jade River Mountain, the three of them had pooled their strength, retaining the ability to fight when encountering enemies. But as time went on, the opponents they encountered grew increasingly stronger, forcing them to flee in all directions.

Just yesterday, they had witnessed with their own eyes the Wang family's benefactor, Qiu Xiaochi, pursuing Bai Ziyun of the Tianhe Sect. After a fierce battle between the two, both had plunged off a cliff to their deaths.

Both of these individuals were Upper Dan Realm experts, widely renowned top-tier martial artists of the Jianghu in ordinary times.

The slightly taciturn man beside them also nodded. "Let's go. I keep having an ominous feeling."

The three of them stood up, preparing to leave the cave.

"Who!?"

Suddenly, the thin, short man looked toward the cave entrance, terror flashing in his eyes.

...

Hearing this, the two brothers hurriedly looked toward the mouth of the cave.

Slash!

Slash!

At that very moment, two sharp sabers pierced through their chests and abdomens, blood staining the blades red.

The two men collapsed limply, their mouths slightly agape, a trace of astonishment lingering in their eyes.

"Big brother, third brother, don't blame me... don't blame me..."

The thin, short man said coldly, "I will take good care of your families."

With that, he delivered two more stabs to his brothers. Only when their auras had completely vanished did he snatch up the parcel and dash out of the cave.

Some brothers will cross mountains and seas for you, while others will stab you in the back.

...

Jade River Mountain, outer perimeter.

Several corpses lay scattered across the ground, and two men were busy looting the bodies.

Both men had physical disabilities—one walked with a limp, while the other was blind.

The limping man picked up a shattered book from the ground and complained, "Another half-destroyed manual! These people are so hateful, actually tearing up such precious martial arts manuals."

The blind man constantly patted down a female corpse nearby, murmuring, "Count yourself lucky we can scavenge on the outer perimeter. If we'd gone up the mountain, who knows how many times we'd have died."

The limping man couldn't help but remind him, "Stop patting. That's an old hag, even older than your third maternal aunt, and she doesn't have a single complete tooth left in her mouth."

"Damn it all, no wonder it felt so sunken."

The blind man cursed as he withdrew his hand, complaining, "You could have given me a heads-up beforehand."

The two of them looted the corpses with practiced ease, letting out muffled cheers of joy whenever they discovered something of value.

The limping man looked at a corpse on the ground and puzzled, "Why does this guy look so familiar... He looks just like Qiu Xiaochi, the Wang family's benefactor."

The blind man asked in shock, "Really?"

To low-level figures like them, the "Matchless Tiger" Qiu Xiaochi was a tremendously famous individual.

The limping man said, "His facial contours match, but he's smashed to a pulp anyway. Who cares who he is, a dead man is a dead man..."

The blind man hurriedly said, "Quick, check if he has any secret manuals or silver on him."

"There's five hundred taels of silver, but no manuals found."

The limping man rummaged through the corpse's clothing, then laughed aloud, "An inner armor! I found an inner armor, blind man, we've really struck it rich this time!"

The blind man's face lit up with extreme joy as he said, "Let's see what grade it is. A top-quality inner armor is worth tens of thousands of taels of silver."