On the east side of Burial Immortal Town, the Suishui River, two hundred zhang wide, seems to break off here and plunge down, forming a magnificent cliff waterfall that resembles a beheaded great dragon. That is why this place is known as “Killing Dragon’s Mouth.” The Nine Li tribe salvages the interdimensional coffins from the Blood Sea Coffin Dock.
They must then carry the coffins over two hundred miles through the extremely perilous Departing Spirit Fog Domain, and later climb the steps along a narrow path to reach Killing Dragon’s Mouth. Only at this place can they board the massive ancient bronze warship—long prepared in advance—to transport the interdimensional coffins to the various tribal cities downstream.
After Stone Nine Chamber entered Burial Immortal Town, the gray mist cloud that had enveloped the three people dispersed.
“Bang! Bang!”
Li Weiyi and Gao Huan fell to the ground. …
“Welcome, Master, your presence graces us!”
Xing Wanxing, Fang Tong, and Yan Qingqing—three formidable martial artists of the Earth Wolf King Army—hurried forward and respectfully bowed before Stone Nine Chamber. These three, leading over a thousand soldiers, had arrived at Burial Immortal Town one day earlier than Stone Nine Chamber.
They had already slaughtered all more than two hundred people of the Nine Li tribe left in the town—who had been tasked with reception, food, additional supplies, and mooring the ships. The corpses were piled high at the center of the market town, forming a grotesquely bloodstained little mountain.
Xing Wanxing, Stone Nine Chamber’s tenth disciple and also one of his “moneybags,” was not tall, portly, and he laughed as he said: “We’ve interrogated everyone who needed interrogating. This time, the coffins dredged up from the Blood Sea by the Nine Li are from the Cang Li Tribe.
It is led by the Cang Li Tribe’s foremost talent of the current cycle, Li Songlin, with the man hailed as the number one figure of the past thousand years of the Cang Li Tribe, Cui Cang Li, accompanying.”
“I only care about how much profit we can make this time,” said Stone Nine Chamber.
Xing Wanxing had already calculated everything clearly: “Li Songlin brought along five thousand people. No less than a thousand coffins will be dredged up. If we manage to steal them all, even at a conservative price of a million Spring Surge coins each, the profit will be enormous.”
“They say the interdimensional coffin is worth a fortune, something only a great cultivator can even play with. It truly is priceless, a profit of zero investment with ten thousand percent gains,” Stone Nine Chamber said in high spirits.
Xing Wanxing continued with a smile: “If among them there is one particularly rare interdimensional coffin, one coffin could fetch a million Spring Surge coins. Converted into silver coins, that’s ten million!” He added, “Moreover, among the Nine Li tribe only the future tribal leader has the qualification to bear the tribe’s name.
If we can capture Cang Li, then surely the Cang Li Tribe will obediently pay another million Spring Surge coins to ransom him?” Stone Nine Chamber’s heart soared even higher. He thought that though the journey was uphill and long, it was totally worthwhile!
Yan Qingqing, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a curvaceous and graceful figure and eyes that shone with charming allure, was of the canine-like aberrant race. Her ears were hairy like animal ears and a vibrant red tail hung down from her skirt. She coquettishly reminded, “Master, our main goal this trip is not merely the money.”
“Who said it isn’t about money? I, as your teacher, am here for the money.”
With over a hundred million silver coins in view, it was no wonder Stone Nine Chamber’s eyes gleamed greedily. Even if he were a sect leader like Longmen or Zuo Qiu ruling an entire state with millions of household members, he would definitely be attracted by such a sum.
To maintain such a massive army, how could one do without grain and pay? … After Stone Nine Chamber dropped Li Weiyi to the ground, Li Weiyi immediately got up and saw that Stone Nine Chamber and the other three had gone off to hold a secret discussion in the distance. So, he quickly scanned his surroundings.
All around were robust men in brown monk robes bearing arms, and also a few towering half-beast, half-human monsters—only accounting for one or two-tenths—but each one looked ferociously imposing. Yet when they looked at the two of them, their expressions were a mix of suspicion and awe. Li Weiyi quickly formed an idea.
Pretending to be arrogant and fierce, he beckoned one of the sturdy men who looked rather timid, “Yes, you—the one over here, come!” Though Gao Huan could not understand the words, he sensed Li Weiyi’s demeanor was far too overbearing, and his heart pounded with anxiety.
The timid-looking sturdy man stepped forward, immediately plastering a submissive smile on his face, feeling even more nervous than Gao Huan. Pointing with his thumb in the direction of Stone Nine Chamber, Li Weiyi asked, “Do you know who we are?”
“Know, know,” the timid man replied repeatedly.
“Then tell me, who exactly do you think we are?”
The timid man had no idea who Li Weiyi and Gao Huan were. Everyone had been hastily drawn from the Earth Wolf King Army after an arduous long march, arriving in Burial Immortal Town only yesterday.
The so-called timid man was not truly timid, but he was afraid of the reputation of Stone Nine Chamber behind these two, so he had furtively avoided Li Weiyi’s gaze just now. After all, being brought back by the power cloud of King Jiu Zhai made one no ordinary person.
Knowing he could not afford to offend them, the timid man spoke honestly, “We arrived only yesterday, and after a night of cleansing and setting things up we haven’t had time to rest. Forgive my poor eyes—I truly do not know the identity of you honored guests.
But to travel with King Jiu Zhai, you must be extraordinary beings whom we can only look up to.” Li Weiyi exhaled a hidden sigh of relief and patted the timid man’s chest, “That’s good. We two are the close attendants of King Jiu Zhai.
Now, is there any food?”
“Yes, yes…”
The timid man hurried away to fetch it. Taking Gao Huan by the arm, Li Weiyi followed suit. He did not want to remain beneath the ever-watchful eyes of King Jiu Zhai; sooner or later, he would be revealed.
Fortunately, Stone Nine Chamber was engrossed in a meeting with a highly classified and important guest, discussing various arrangements for seizing the interdimensional coffins, and had no time to deal with these two “little wolf cubs.” This highly classified guest, clad in a silver robe over a white garment and wearing a black Buddha Head Mask, possessed an athletic figure.
From his graceful demeanor and the delicate, smooth white hands that held a bamboo flute, one could tell he must be quite young. Yet despite his youth, facing the fearsome Stone Nine Chamber he stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes indifferent not in arrogance but devoid of any sign of fear.
He said, “The sect leader’s intention is clear—not only to seize the coffins but to kill everyone. Only if the slaughter is bloodcurdling enough can we stir up major chaos in Li Prefecture.” Stone Nine Chamber, whose sole interest was profit, furrowed his brows, “You noble ones of your million-household clans are even more ruthless than we bandits.
Previously, none of you mentioned killing everyone. Here, we are talking about taking the lives of Li Songlin, the head of the Cang Li Tribe, as well as five thousand Li commoners…” The guest with the Buddha Head Mask laughed, “What’s the matter?
Afraid?
Scared of provoking those old monsters in Nine Li Mountain and Nine Li City?” Stone Nine Chamber shook his head, “What I’m saying is, seizing coffins comes with a price, killing people comes with another price. Extra money must be paid!” …
Under the guidance of the timid sturdy man, Li Weiyi and Gao Huan enjoyed a satisfying meal in the rough and ready Firehead Camp of the Earth Wolf King Army. They ate to their fill, and their energy and fighting spirit were instantly restored.
Gao Huan was busily packing up provisions for a quick escape, whispering, “Just now as I passed through the center of the market town, the streets were awash in blood, with corpses piled like mountains. That place would scare anyone to death! These people are by no means cultivators of Buddhism; we must slip away as soon as possible.”
Li Weiyi said, “Their robes that resemble monk’s garments are all new and clearly freshly made. I know only their own kind would wear such robes. That’s why King Jiu Zhai mistook us.”
He then continued, “If my calculations are correct, the three people who were devoured by the Thousand-Headed Dragon Vine were very likely among the three scouts sent out.”
“Also, although they claim to be the Earth Wolf King Army, I see that their military discipline is in shambles. All of them exude a wild ferocity, and their abilities are all over the place—they don’t seem like a proper army at all.”
“Third, I observed along the way that, in this abandoned market town, every entrance has been barricaded. Sneaking out without being detected is probably not that easy. If we are discovered… then even our pretense of strength will vanish in an instant.”
Gao Huan exclaimed, “On the way here, all I could think of was food. I never imagined you’d notice so many details.”
“And there’s more,” Li Weiyi continued, “it appears they are all lying in wait here in the market town, planning something against that coffin-bearing team. Just now on the low hillside, I calculated that their speed means it will take them no less than two more hours to reach here.”
Gao Huan said, “I get it! In two hours, when they start fighting amongst themselves, that will be our chance to break away.”
“Exactly.”
After a pause, Li Weiyi added, “But there is one thing I still don’t understand. With so many men hidden in this market town, how can they stay concealed? There must be some experts among that coffin-bearing team.
And experts have exceptionally keen perception.” Stone Nine Chamber then arrived at the corpse mound at the center of the market town. He formed hand seals with both hands and exhaled a mouthful of gray mist infused with magical power, which spread over the area.
At the same time, an almost transparent pearl shot out from his body along with the gray mist, hovering above the town.
“Boom!”
Stone Nine Chamber’s palm slammed down onto the ground. Flames of magical power pierced into the earth; in an instant, the ground within a radius of several dozen zhang ignited, and waves of heat surged toward every street in the town.
The blood energy rising from the corpse mound vaporized, streaming up like crimson smoke toward the pearl in the sky. After absorbing all the blood energy, the pearl burst forth with one translucent scripture after another. Before long, the entire Burial Immortal Town was shrouded by these sacred texts.
“Issue the orders. When half of the Cang Li Tribe members have come up, we strike, intercepting the coffin-bearing team in two parts. Kill them all—leave none alive.”
Stone Nine Chamber’s voice, filled with a tyrannical chill, sent shivers down every spine. Not far from the market town center was the Firehead Camp, where Li Weiyi heard Stone Nine Chamber’s command.
His face turned ghastly; he suddenly realized that the so-called timid sturdy man wasn’t timid at all—it was clear he feared Stone Nine Chamber’s cultivation and murderous intent. And, by extension, they too were fearful as they followed in his wake.
“Kill them all—leave not one alive. How many people are they planning to kill?”
Gao Huan asked in despair. Hearing this, Gao Huan felt dismayed, “I suddenly understand that no matter where you are, survival is equally brutal. Either you work to death like a beast of burden, or you become livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
Only by rising above can one truly live.” … Two hours later. At the forefront of the coffin-bearing team of the Cang Li Tribe had reached the base of the Killing Dragon’s Mouth waterfall.
The roaring water and the moist air set the scene. A barefoot maiden, as beautiful as a mystical night mist, led the forefront of the team. With her five slender jade-like fingers, she held aloft an ancient copper lamp emitting a pale blue glow.
Around her wrist shone nine silver bracelets. Though she was barefoot, her skin, as smooth as jade, was unfazed by the scattered stones on the ground. Every step she took was light and soundless, yet she could stride over more than a zhang at a single step, with traces of blue light swirling about her feet.
She was Li Ling, the Mourning Lantern Guide of the Cang Li Tribe’s coffin-bearing team. As a descendant of the priestly lineage, she had the ability to use the grim light to find the path through the Departing Spirit Fog Domain, thus guiding her people safely to and from the Blood Sea Coffin Dock. …
(Characters already introduced for the readers: Qin Ke, Xing Wanxing, Fang Tong, Yan Qingqing) (The chapter ends)