“All right, all right, see? I’m fine, stop crying already.”
Though she had no idea what had happened, Du Xin’er still spoke softly, comforting the Holy Maiden Jing Xin. But her words were like a blade piercing into the Holy Maiden’s heart, bringing suffocating pain. Forcing herself to appear composed, Jing Xin said, “This is the current Human Emperor, Jiang Li.”
Du Xin’er lightly covered her mouth.
“So this is the one senior sister always mentioned…”
She thought of something and playfully blinked at Jing Xin, revealing a mischievous smile. The Holy Maiden’s lips curved slightly, but the smile was forced.
“Human Emperor, Human Emperor, I’ve heard that your martial strength is unmatched, that you are the number one in all the Nine Provinces—able to traverse heaven and earth, comparable to Immortals. Is that true?”
Du Xin’er asked curiously.
“I too once thought I was omnipotent,” said Jiang Li calmly, “but now I see that I can neither ascend to the Immortal Realm nor reverse life and death. In the end, I am but a mere mortal.”
The atmosphere turned subtle and heavy. Jiang Li helped the Holy Maiden Jing Xin to her feet and asked, “The Red Dust Pure Land is planning some rotational assignments lately, so that every Golden Core cultivator spends a few years living among mortal towns. We wanted your input on this—what do you think?”
Du Xin’er’s eyes lit up. That meant she might return to the sect—yet the light quickly faded. Now that she knew her cultivation could no longer progress, returning to the sect would only waste resources.
She sighed softly.
“I… I’d rather stay here.”
“Hmm, loyal to your post, diligent and with no excessive desires. I’ll report to Daoist Nun Qingyu truthfully that, even after descending from the mountain, you remain steadfast in cultivation,” Jiang Li said with a calm voice.
“Eh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Du Xin’er puffed her cheeks angrily and glared at Jiang Li.
“Besides, why is the Human Emperor involved in our sect’s matters anyway?”
If the Headmaster found out about her attitude, she might actually reward Du Xin’er and send a more talented senior sister to replace her. But that would mean wasting the other’s time for nothing!
“You sect folks have poor management. I’ll share some advice with Daoist Nun Qingyu on her behalf.”
Seeing Du Xin’er about to retort, Jiang Li subtly changed the subject, asking casually, “Enough about that. We didn’t find Yuan Ling in Upper River Town—where did she go?”
“Uh… not sure. Senior Sister Yuan Ling has been leaving Upper River Town often these days, sometimes for months at a time. But she always returns by the autumn harvest—so, around this time.”
Since Yuan Ling couldn’t be found, the two simply stayed in Lower River Town, keeping Du Xin’er company for a few days. … Jiang Li later took out his Remote Communication Talisman and contacted Zhang Konghu.
“Konghu, head to the Southern Frontier and find the Gu Clan. Investigate what level of cultivation is needed to refine a Corpse Gu capable of making a dead body move freely—so much that the corpse itself doesn’t even realize it’s dead.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Konghu immediately left, bowl still in hand, ignoring Emperor Mengjiang’s and Emperor Wei’s pleas to “finish eating first before you go.” … Days went by quickly.
Du Xin’er felt as if she were living in bliss—having both Senior Sister Jing Xin and the Human Emperor Jiang teaching her cultivation, explaining knowledge, and sharing all sorts of tales and legends about the Nine Provinces. She even confided in Jiang Li about her stalled cultivation.
Jiang Li only patted her head and said it was nothing unusual, that cultivation could not be rushed; progress would come in time. He admitted that he himself had faced similar times before. But Du Xin’er didn’t see the dimness in Jiang Li’s eyes.
How could a corpse’s cultivation ever advance?
“Junior Sister Xin’er, we must inspect the other towns as well. It’s time to leave.”
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin had already sensed Yuan Ling’s return through her Divine Sense. A rare ruthless gleam flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared quickly, not letting Du Xin’er notice.
With perfect tacit understanding between them, Jing Xin and Jiang Li flew toward Upper River Town, landing before a drunken Yuan Ling and pressing her face-down onto the ground.
“Who are you people! How dare you attack me, a disciple of the Red Dust Pure Land… Wait—it’s Senior Sister Jing Xin!”
At first, Yuan Ling’s wine courage made her reckless, but the moment she realized who it was, she instantly quieted down. Without a word, Jing Xin grabbed her by the collar, dragged her into a deserted room, and threw her hard against the wall.
The entire process was violent and rough—showing none of the grace or gentleness usually seen from the Holy Maiden. To become a disciple of the Red Dust Pure Land, one’s appearance could not be ordinary. Yuan Ling herself was indeed beautiful.
As a woman of the Gu Clan, even after leaving her tribe she still loved adorning herself with silver earrings and headdress. Her clothes were always revealing, easy to stir a man’s desire. Now, she ached all over from Jing Xin’s rough handling; her silver ornaments were in disarray, her already revealing garments torn.
But she dared not utter a word of protest. Never before had Yuan Ling seen her senior sister enraged like this. Jiang Li quietly stood behind her, letting Jing Xin vent her anger.
He too was furious—but compared to Jing Xin, his fury was pale. Two entire towns of the Red Dust Pure Land turned into grounds of death. To Jing Xin, this was nothing short of dereliction of duty.
Grave dereliction!
“Speak! Where have you been these past months, and why didn’t you return?”
Jing Xin’s voice was like a whip crack.
“There’s nothing here but mortals farming the land. I went to the Dream River Dynasty for a while,” Yuan Ling answered honestly, then quickly added, “But I always come back for the autumn harvest! See? Every year I hand in the spirit grain exactly according to schedule. Never once late.”
Jing Xin’s chest felt as if fire was burning within, but no words could vent it. Yes—precisely because the spirit grain supply had never failed, no one had come to inspect! If only there had been a problem with the spirit grain, this tragedy might have been discovered sooner!
“Then explain why not a single living person remains in Upper River Town and Lower River Town!”
Jing Xin’s teeth clenched; her voice was no longer a mere question—it was a snarl. Yuan Ling froze, cold sweat beading on her forehead. She had assumed her senior sister’s anger was over her neglect of duty, and thought the matter of the corpses would stay buried.
“S-Senior Sister, what are you talking about?” she stammered.
“Answer me!”
Jing Xin shouted. The force of her voice struck like thunder, making Yuan Ling’s heart skip a beat.
“I-I didn’t want to do it either,” Yuan Ling said through trembling lips.
“I needed spirit stones to have fun at Dream River Dynasty. So I took some of the ones meant to buy spirit grain from the mortals, just a little… but those wretched peasants complained the payment was too low and refused to sell! I got angry and killed a few of the ringleaders…”
“Then some shouted they’d report me to the sect, and I panicked—I just… killed them all. To avoid being found out, I used Corpse Gu to control their Dantian so they could still farm the spirit grain. Look, senior sister, with them still planting the grain, we wouldn’t even have to pay out spirit stones anymore—it was such a good idea!”
What Yuan Ling didn’t say was that she later continued to collect the sect-issued spirit stones for buying spirit grain—yet instead of using them for that purpose, she squandered them in endless indulgence and pleasure-seeking at the Dream River Dynasty.
“And Lower River Town?!”
Jing Xin’s voice turned icy.
“Du Xin’er is your junior sister. How could you bear to kill her as well?”
Yuan Ling sobbed, her voice breaking.
“I had no choice! Lower River Town was too close to here. I was afraid Junior Sister Xin’er would notice something strange, so I killed her too—along with everyone else in the town…”
Yuan Ling cried louder and louder.
“Please, senior sister, forgive me this once! I didn’t mean any of it! I truly didn’t!”
The Holy Maiden Jing Xin remained expressionless, her eyes chillingly calm. She said, “Do you even realize—you are already dead?” In the eyes of Jing Xin and Jiang Li, Yuan Ling was no longer alive—just another corpse controlled by Corpse Gu, unaware of her own death.
(End of Chapter)