Chapter 2: The Corpse Collector

Dew clung to the grass and trees, and a layer of green mist veiled the morning.

As the sun rose in the east, the spirit refiners of Tian Sang Ling Gong were already awake. They were absorbing spiritual energy in various places—be it in the forests, pavilions, or even within the courtyards of others...

The branches rustled, and magpies sang merrily, creating a scene of serene beauty.

On a winding, secluded path, two figures, one tall and one short, crept along.

The taller one was a burly man named Liu Zhen, with sandbags tied to his hands. He was crouched low, constantly looking around nervously, his expression as guilty as a thief's.

Beside him was a slightly shorter young man, Zhou Zuo, who had a long sword hanging at his waist and an excited look on his face.

“Liu Shixiong, how did we end up with a job like collecting corpses? Isn't this usually handled by the elders of the outer courtyard?”

“Of course, it's all about connections. Did you think this kind of opportunity would just fall into your lap for free?” Liu Zhen scanned their surroundings and, seeing no one paying attention, let out a sigh of relief. “I heard that Lao Wen paid quite a few Ling Jing for this.”

“Is that so...” Zhou Zuo squinted and rubbed his hands together, lowering his voice. “So, whose corpse are we here to collect?”

“Xu Xiaoshou!” Liu Zhen replied as they walked. “I heard he went into a death seclusion to break through to San Jing for the ‘Feng Yun Zheng Ba.’ By my calculations, today was the day. Since he hasn't come out yet, it means he's probably dead and his spirit has dissipated.”

“San Jing?” Zhou Zuo looked at him in surprise; that cultivation level was about the same as his own. “What's the point of that? We might as well just let him fend for himself!”

“You don't understand!” Liu Zhen smacked him on the head. “Xu Xiaoshou has been in Tian Sang Ling Gong for almost three years now. He might not have much else, but just that courtyard of his is worth over a thousand Ling Jing.”

“Hiss, that rich?”

“Absolutely! And I heard he has a Jiu Pin Ling Jian on him too!”

Zhou Zuo's eyes widened at the news. “A Jiu Pin Ling Jian?”

His exclamation was loud enough for half the area to hear.

“Keep it down!” Liu Zhen saw some disapproving glances from the surroundings and gave the guy another smack on the head. Was he trying to make sure everyone heard?

The two chatted casually as they meandered through the paths, finally arriving at a quiet courtyard enveloped in a grand array.

Liu Zhen, who was leading, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“It's still quite a distance... Ouch!”

Zhou Zuo, who was walking behind, bumped right into Liu Zhen's back and rubbed his forehead in pain. “Liu Shixiong, why did you stop so suddenly...”

Being shorter, his view was blocked, but as he stepped out to the side, he quickly understood why Liu Zhen had stopped.

In front of the courtyard, over a dozen people were sitting cross-legged in meditation.

They were silent, each focused on their own cultivation, and at first glance, they appeared surprisingly harmonious.

“Why are there so many people?”

Zhou Zuo was baffled and looked up at Liu Zhen in confusion. “Weren't you saying Lao Wen spent a lot of Ling Jing to get this opportunity?”

Liu Zhen was so angry he could barely speak, and upon hearing that, he slapped Zhou Zuo on the head again.

“Can't you see? These guys are all as sharp as tacks!”

“Damn it, they're not cultivating elsewhere—they came here on purpose. The information must have been leaked!”

Zhou Zuo rubbed his head with a grimace, thinking to himself that Liu Zhen shouldn't take it out on him.

The group sitting in front of the courtyard noticed the newcomers and couldn't help but smirk, tossing out some teasing remarks:

“Oh, look who's here. A bit late this time, eh? The sun's already up in the east.”

“Is that Liu Zhen? And who's the kid next to him? A newbie tagging along to see the show?”

“Hey, Liu Zhen, you're not taking this seriously enough. I got here before dawn, and there were already people waiting.”

“Pfft, I came last night.”

“I showed up the day before yesterday.”

“I was here three days ago!”

The group in front of the courtyard erupted into chatter, with some claims sounding like pure bragging—one guy even said he'd been squatting there for a month, earning admiring looks from everyone.

Liu Zhen felt his head spinning and snapped, “What are you all doing here?”

“Ah, Liu Zhen, you know the drill—it's all unspoken understanding!”

“Don't ask. If you have to ask, it's about the Jiu Pin Ling Jian.”

Zhou Zuo nearly burst out laughing. So the intelligence was common knowledge? Heh, and here someone had just told him to keep quiet.

He glanced at Liu Zhen, swallowing his words. The guy's face was as dark as thunder, like he was about to explode any second.

Liu Zhen felt like his lungs were about to burst. This was intel that Lao Wen had paid a fortune for—how had it become so cheap?

It couldn't have been leaked by his own people, so these guys must have all bribed the elders.

Just as that person said, it was all unspoken understanding...

Damn it, which elder was so unscrupulous, selling the same information to everyone?

The words stuck in his throat, leaving him feeling utterly constipated. The two of them stood there at the path's edge, the air thick with awkward silence, like crows cawing in the background.

But the people in front of the courtyard seemed used to this, casually patting the ground.

“Come on, Liu Zhen, over here. Take a seat.”

“Make yourself at home, like it's your own yard.”

“Pfft!” Zhou Zuo couldn't hold back his laugh.

Liu Zhen flipped him onto the ground with a swipe of his hand, then trudged over with a grim face. Halfway there, he froze, staring toward the courtyard.

The invisible barrier around the courtyard began to ripple, then cracked open, revealing the entrance.

The group meditating in front noticed the change and turned their heads. Someone checked the time and frowned.

“It's only Chen Shi. Wasn't the array supposed to lift at noon?”

“Who deactivated the array? No one here knows arrays, right? Liu Zhen, was it you?”

Liu Zhen nearly lunged over to bury the guy in the dirt. How could he have deactivated it from this far away?

And who are you, anyway? Do I know you that well? Stop yelling my name like we're best buddies!

Liu Zhen had no words for this bunch of overly familiar strangers, but this wasn't the time to dwell on it. He kept his eyes fixed on the courtyard entrance.

Creeeak!

The door swung open, and a tall, lanky figure emerged, holding a black sword upside down. He leaned in the doorway, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“What's all this racket so early? Can't a guy get some sleep?”

Xu Xiaoshou was fed up. He'd planned to practice last night but thought better of it—after all, sleeping involved breathing, and breathing was cultivation...

So he just lay down!

But then, after swatting one mosquito, another showed up; after that one, three more appeared!

Those mosquitoes kept him up all night, and he only just dozed off. Now, he was woken up by all this noise!

Though the courtyard had a soundproof array, it wasn't top-notch.

Their voices grew louder and louder, buzzing in like mosquitoes. He couldn't take it anymore.

So he grabbed his sword and stormed out!

Having spent three years in the outer courtyard, Xu Xiaoshou knew exactly what these guys were after—they were waiting for him to die in seclusion so they could collect his corpse and snag some loot.

Sorry, but one me falls, and another rises.

He leaned in the doorway, surveying the crowd with a smirk. “What are you all doing camped out at my door this early? I'm not selling breakfast!”

Everyone stared at the sword-wielding figure, stunned.

Xu Xiaoshou?

He'd broken through and come out of seclusion?

Talent was an unbridgeable gap, and Xu Xiaoshou had spent three years proving he was destined for San Jing. How could a mere death seclusion change that?

What kind of luck was this!

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

“You're not dead?”

“What's going on? Did you... break through to Si Jing?”

Xu Xiaoshou was about to speak when he noticed an update in his mind:

“Suspected, Passive Value +12.”

He perked up. Last night, he'd been wondering if he had to keep releasing his scent to attract mosquitoes for Passive Value. Now it seemed...

Not just attacks—suspicion worked too?

Did that mean any words or actions directed at him in a passive way would increase his Passive Value?

Adding the six points from the mosquito bites last night, he now had eighteen.

But last night, each bite only gave +1. Why +12 this time?

Xu Xiaoshou pondered and counted the people around—seventeen in total.

Maybe, roughly, about twelve of them doubted his breakthrough to Si Jing?

“Is that him? Xu Xiaoshou?” Zhou Zuo finally sidled up to Liu Zhen and whispered.

“Suspected, Passive Value +1.”

Xu Xiaoshou grinned. His hearing was sharp, and among all these corpse collectors, there was actually one who didn't recognize the main attraction?

He stepped out of the courtyard with his black sword, and the group instinctively backed away.

To steel his resolve for the death seclusion, Xu Xiaoshou had spent all his Ling Jing on this Jiu Pin Ling Jian, burning his bridges. The sword was named “Zang Ku,” symbolizing hidden suffering—if he couldn't break through, he'd die with it.

Now that he'd successfully reached Si Jing, paired with this Jiu Pin Ling Jian and the three years he'd spent cultivating the Bai Yun Jian Fa in his mind... though he'd only mastered one move, he could hold his own against this lot.

The strongest among them was probably Liu Zhen at Wu Jing, since higher-level big shots wouldn't stoop to collecting corpses themselves.

So, seeing Xu Xiaoshou emerge, they all felt an urge to retreat.

Thus, one man with a sword, and the crowd in alarm.

“You're trying to collect my corpse, Xu Xiaoshou's? Why didn't your big bosses come yourselves!”

In terms of seniority in the outer courtyard, Xu Xiaoshou was practically an elder after three years, even worthy of being called a senior brother figure.

Otherwise, how could he afford a courtyard and a Ling Jian like this?

Those stronger than him had already entered the inner courtyard as Xiantian realm experts, while the so-called bosses still lingering in the outer courtyard were once trailing behind him.

So, his words left no one daring to retort. Even Liu Zhen, who was one realm above him, stayed silent as the black sword on his shoulder gleamed with spiritual light.

“Get out of here—go back where you came from!” Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand like he was shooing ducks.

The group never expected him to seize the initiative like this, completely overwhelming their momentum. They turned to leave, grumbling but not daring to say more.

“Liu Shixiong, are we just leaving like this?” Zhou Zuo asked cautiously.

Liu Zhen glanced at Xu Xiaoshou. Reluctant as he was, was he supposed to charge in, kill him, and drag the body away?

Never mind the no-fighting rule in Tian Sang Ling Gong—just whether he could win was a question.

“Let's go.” He sighed and followed the crowd.

“Wait!”

Xu Xiaoshou called out from behind, as if remembering something.

The group turned back, confused, only to see him plant his sword in the ground and snap, “Come when you want, leave when you want? Do you think I, Xu Xiaoshou, have no temper?”

Everyone was furious. They'd wasted hours waiting and gotten nothing—choosing to leave quietly was already generous. What more did he want?

“What do you plan to do?” Liu Zhen frowned. If they all ganged up, Xu Xiaoshou couldn't handle it. Had his death seclusion fried his brain? Did he want to take on seventeen at once?

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. “Nothing serious, no need to get worked up. I just have a few questions.”

The crowd said nothing, so Xu Xiaoshou asked amiably, “If I say I've broken through to Si Jing, do you believe it?”

Everyone was taken aback. He stopped them just for this silly question? But eager to leave, they nodded like pecking chickens.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“We believe it, we believe it!”

“Xu Shixiong's amazing, Si Jing and all—so can we go now?”

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. Why this reaction?

Come on, doubt me—doubt me all you want!

He shouted inwardly. This was his brilliant idea for farming Passive Value—why wasn't anyone playing along?

Seeing how desperately they wanted to bolt, he had a flash of inspiration, sheathed his sword, and said casually, “Well, not to hide it from you all, I've actually broken through to Wu Jing...”

“How's that possible?”

“Heh, Xu Shixiong must be joking...”

The group chimed in, rolling their eyes. They weren't fools—his Si Jing aura was as obvious as a beacon. Wu Jing? Please.

“Suspected, Passive Value +15.”

Xu Xiaoshou was thrilled. So that's how it worked?

He checked—only fifteen, meaning two still believed him. Were they idiots?

“Heh, actually, I've reached Liu Jing...”

The crowd: ???

“Suspected, Passive Value +17.”

What a goldmine for Passive Value—these weren't corpse collectors; they were value machines!

Xu Xiaoshou shrugged. “Alright, no more games. I'll lay it out—I'm actually at Qi Jing...”

The crowd felt veins bulging on their foreheads. Was Xu Xiaoshou just messing with them? Was this fun?

“Suspected, Passive Value +13.”

Hey, why the drop?

Xu Xiaoshou was too focused on his mind to notice their expressions and quickly added, “Okay, okay, no joking—I meant, I'm at Ba Jing...”

“Xu Xiaoshou, don't push it too far!”

“A man can be killed but not humiliated!”

“Get him, brothers!”

Xu Xiaoshou jumped in fright, snapping back to see seventeen faces black with rage. He bolted back into the courtyard, slamming the door shut and reactivating the array in an instant.

Oh boy, it was just a few questions—was that necessary?

They were like lit firecrackers!