Who Brought Him into the Cultivation World?

”Have you noticed something strange?”

In the Sea of Consciousness, the Artifact Spirit rarely put on a serious face and then asked Han Yu a question.

What strange thing?

It seemed that nothing normal ever happened around him.

”Don’t act so frivolously when I’m being serious, I’m telling you.”

Glass rolled its eyes dramatically at him and then expressed its doubt.

”Don’t you think the methods of the Corpse Refining Lineage are very similar to your current cultivation techniques?”

In its eyes, when they first encountered the Corpse King, it was just that the body was exceptionally strong, nothing unusual.

Besides, at that time Han Yu’s strength was low, and he didn’t have the mind to consider these things.

The second time they met, the corpse was entirely different, brought out by Bai Bufen, with a strong body and even Divine Techniques.

Although the Divine Techniques were artificially infused, if not for unexpectedly encountering Han Yu and getting thwarted, such a specially controlled Corpse King would have been quite troublesome.

Not to mention, those people in Zhanzhou Prefecture would have been powerless against it.

The third time they encountered the corpse, it was even more different; its strength in the physical body could almost rival the power of a Great Perfection Cultivator.

The key point is that this kind of corpse not only had Divine Techniques but was also more agile when controlled.

And it was especially shameless; if it couldn’t win, it would self-destruct.

The energy contained within its body was simply terrifying.

”So, they’re imitating me?”

Han Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully; indeed, it did bear some resemblance to him.

The difference was one was a living person, and the other was a corpse.

”Pah! How can you be so conceited? If anyone’s being imitated, it’s the Glazed Bottle, what’s it to do with you?”

Glass gave him a big eye-roll; it must be acknowledged that Han Yu had reached his current state all due to the Glazed Bottle’s facilitation; both his physical body and Divine Techniques were a result of it, and it seemed as if the Bottle intentionally steered him away from the orthodox cultivation path.

”But according to those people’s analysis, it seems like the Bottle is imitating their path.”

Looking at it from a time perspective, the Corpse Refining Lineage’s inheritance has been around for so long, and Han Yu hasn’t even had the Glazed Bottle for two years, so it’s hard to say if the Bottle was learning from them, or if it’s just a coincidence.

”Don’t dismiss it; I feel this is very important for you.”

Glass had an unusually solemn expression, speaking in a deep voice.

Han Yu’s face froze as he fell into deep thought.

”What are you standing there stunned for? Did you hear me?”

Glass seemed to notice Han Yu’s oddity, speaking irritably.

”You’ve finally started to act like a serious Artifact Spirit.”

Han Yu suddenly sighed, thinking that this is what an Artifact Spirit should be doing, considering its owner’s interests.

”I’ll slap you, believe it or not!”

Glass instantly got agitated; it had always wanted to be in charge instead, how could it take orders from Han Yu?

Man and spirit bickered all the way, arguing for three days until they reached Dongyi City.

At this time, the Artifact Spirit was satisfied, retreating to lie back on the Dragon Blood Stone, looking like a victorious rooster, perfectly content.

”In quarrels, you’re this...”

Glass gestured with its pinky, waving it in the Sea of Consciousness.

Unfortunately, its own hand was tiny already, so the pinky was even less significant; the damage was minimal, and Han Yu simply ignored it.

At this moment, Dongyi City was somewhat quiet; as Han Yu walked through, despite the people’s peaceful life, he still felt something was missing.

”I realized why it feels so quiet.”

Han Yu stopped midway, striking his palm in surprise.

Cultivators—there were no cultivators visible in this city, only common people’s regular lives, unusually calm.

He used to be used to seeing cultivators, and cultivators used to blend into the secular world, which was why he couldn’t react immediately.

”What’s so strange about that? This place is next to Dongling City; don’t the cultivators in this area have to head there to seek you? Presumably, there were quite a few casualties in recent days, so they wouldn’t dare to wander around.”

Glass in the Sea of Consciousness snickered.

Perhaps it was right; with the two areas so close, if traveling at full speed, it might only take half a day to get there—the likely busiest destination.

Disastrous; doesn’t that mean this side has the most casualties?

What about my Pills?

Should I turn back?

”To the left!”

Glass abruptly spoke up, scaring Han Yu, who quickly readied himself, but once he was prepared, apart from a few passing pedestrians on the left, nothing else happened.

”Look more carefully.”

The Artifact Spirit spoke with irritation.

To Han Yu’s left, besides a wide official road and occasional passing commoners, there was a row of vendors.

Not far away was a simple tavern, just a shop with a few tables outside for passersby to drink at; the shop was quite empty, with only one customer at four tables.

Another cultivator?

Judging by the attire, it was indeed a cultivator’s garb, but it seemed almost the same style as his own, his being the one Che Dapao lifted from some unlucky underling.

And the back looked familiar, especially the eye-catching Big Gourd at the waist.

”Huangfu Liang?”

Han Yu exclaimed in surprise; the figure ahead paused, turning slowly, almost startling him.

This guy looked like he had been through a lot, appearing much more weathered, especially with that face, looking unwashed for about seven or eight days.

Originally a rugged fellow, he now appeared even more shabby.

”Sob sob...”

Upon seeing Han Yu, Huangfu Liang seemed to have a sudden fit of hysteria, hugging him with a bout of wailing, like a hundred-plus-pound child, extremely aggrieved.

”Damn it!”

Han Yu felt very embarrassed because the guy’s actions attracted a continuous crowd of onlookers, and they were pointing and commenting from time to time.

After all, seeing one big man hugging another and crying in the street looked strange no matter how you saw it.

Soon a group of Palace Guard hurriedly came over, seeing Huangfu Liang crying uncontrollably, they quickly approached.

”Sir, what’s happening here?”

They asked while casting strange glances at Han Yu.

Damn! How did this guy get promoted to Guardian too?

Han Yu was incredibly surprised; how come Ou Mingdong was relegated, and this guy was too.

Because of me? Impossible, it’s all in the past, and the elders of Langya Mountain didn’t give me any trouble then.

Furthermore, with the current predicament concerning the Corpse Refining Lineage, they probably don’t have the time to deal with these little issues.

”I’m fine, you all go back to what you should be doing.”

Realizing his loss of composure, Huangfu Liang wiped his tears and quickly dismissed the Palace Guard, smiling awkwardly.

”Shopkeeper, more wine please.”

After seating Han Yu, Huangfu Liang called for more wine, and before long, two jars of aged wine were placed on the table, and the other just gulped down two big bowls without a word.

Seeing this guy drinking non-stop, even Han Yu, no matter how slow, could guess that something had indeed happened.

He grabbed Huangfu Liang’s wrist preventing him from reaching for more wine, sighed and asked.

”Did something happen?”

Huangfu Liang remained silent for a long time before he finally opened his mouth sorrowfully.

”I’ve lost my Dragon Blood Stone...”

-----------------

”Lost?”

Quan Xiaotong stood up in great surprise, actually not only him, but even Gao Feng was very surprised.

”Yes, it’s gone, like it vanished into thin air, it’s impossible to trace any mark of the two people.”

Gao Feng sighed as he said.

When Quan Xiaotong started to trace the roots of the Corpse Refining Lineage, he set the breakthrough point on the legend in Qingzhou Prefecture, and Gao Feng arranged for people to handle it.

But the reports from the spies outside surprised both him and Quan Xiaotong.

The traces of the two Divine Gaze Realm cultivators who escaped from Qingzhou Prefecture more than two hundred years ago were lost after finding their Sect.

Why?

Because that Sect was already gone, there’s no way to figure out when it disappeared, it’s even unclear if the Sect ever existed.

At that time, no one seemed to delve into the background of these two cultivators, and the events occurred during the chaos of the previous dynasty when the former dynasty hadn’t been established, so expecting any official investigation was impossible.

Definitely, no cultivators among the common folk would care about this.

”So Qingzhou Prefecture can only be considered a cold case for now.”

Quan Xiaotong sighed helplessly. Honestly, since he took over as the Tower Master until now, he had never been so troubled.

He was used to having everything under control, and the feeling of being veiled in layers of mist was truly unbearable.

”How many spies did this military maneuver alert?”

Quan Xiaotong thought of the earlier plan again and turned to ask.

Gao Feng did not look pleased, and replied in a deep voice.

”Twenty!”

”Damn it!”

Quan Xiaotong couldn’t help but curse, no wonder he was so displeased, twenty is simply outrageous.

No wonder the opponents were so clear about the Imperial Court’s actions; surely, they must also have a thorough understanding of him.

Afterwards, Quan Xiaotong looked at the list for a while, and his face turned even darker. Although these people weren’t from the lowest levels, they were definitely not in high positions, it’s impossible for the opposition to produce only such minor players.

There must be bigger fish.

”What do you plan to do with these people?”

When this question was asked, Feng Buping hurriedly came in on command.

Quan Xiaotong shook his head and slowly said, ”Let’s have Feng Buping give it a try first, see if anything can be gained, then decide. These people are not in the right positions; I suspect there’s still a big fish out there.”

”As for these people, after Feng Buping finishes probing...”

At this point, Feng Buping suddenly chimed in.

”The Commander said he’ll be the villain, and deal with those sent to him by executing all of them!”

Quan Xiaotong sighed and nodded.

The human mind is hard to fathom, though everyone works for their own master, these twenty people have been in the Fifth Tower for too long, their relationships with many brothers in the tower must be deep, not killing is impossible.

Killing them all, though not wrong, would more or less make many people unhappy in their hearts.

Quan Xiaotong is merely a Tower Master, and still under the jurisdiction of the Ascension Tower Inspectorate, usually required by the other towers, but in action often needs the aid of others, something Che Dapao must have considered.

Thus, it’s indeed more suitable for him to kill, since he’s nominally the head of the Fifth Tower and can directly control it when needed.

”I didn’t expect your guess to be right.”

At this point, Gao Feng said dispiritedly, referring to the matter concerning the Corpse Refining Lineage.

Though Quan Xiaotong’s guess seemed extremely outrageous at first, it turned out he was right.

Given the timing and place, the Corpse Refining Lineage couldn’t possibly be a newly emerging force, and Dongling City’s incident further proved the opponent’s strength.

Thus, it truly was a headache.

”No worries, after all, there are still some gains.”

Quan Xiaotong kept replaying the Dongling City incident in his mind, suddenly letting out a soft laugh.

Gao Feng was puzzled, apart from sensing the opponent’s strength on the surface, where were the gains?

Honestly, he became increasingly unable to understand this subordinate he once promoted single-handedly, perhaps just like the reason he recommended him initially.

He is the most suitable!