Chapter 47: The Three Clans’ Plot

“Old Daoist Qi, I paid a high price to hire your Yinshan Five Ghosts. You’d better not slack off.”

In the group of Lunhai Realm Martial Artists, Wei Guangming stared at the ragged old Daoist beside him with a somewhat unfriendly gaze.

Old Daoist Qi smiled, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth. “Although our Yinshan Five Ghosts don’t have the best reputation, one must still act with integrity when roaming the Jianghu.”

“Rest assured, with me taking action this time, I guarantee the amount of Spirit Pills you obtain will be the most among this group.”

“That said, Sect Leader Wei, you’ve really hit the jackpot this time. Previously, I only vaguely heard from those Wind Media that one of the Three Demon Clans was looking for a son-in-law.”

“I never expected the one looking for a husband would be this glamorous Family Head. Tsk tsk tsk, if it weren’t for the fact that I, an old Daoist, abstain from women, even I would be tempted.”

Wei Guangming glanced at him sideways. “Even if you were tempted, can that thing of yours still be used?”

“They are looking for a husband who can produce heirs, not a toothpick.”

“Besides, I’m doing this for the future of the Iron Clad Gate, not for lust.”

“Enough nonsense. You’ve already taken over a decade of my Iron Clad Gate’s accumulation. If we don’t succeed this time, you know the consequences.”

Most of the Jianghu People present only learned about Bai Xuewei’s marriage proposal today, but Wei Guangming had already gathered some information from the local Wind Media long ago.

However, he didn’t know then that it was the Family Head herself seeking a husband; he only knew that the dowry included the Bai Family’s Cultivation Technique.

The limitations of the Iron Clad Gate’s Iron Chain Across the River Skill were too great. Hard Qi cultivation at Wei Guangming’s level had basically reached its limit.

If there were another Cultivation Technique to complement it, Wei Guangming was confident he could take the Iron Clad Gate to another level.

Therefore, he used nearly half of the Iron Clad Gate’s savings to hire the five Loose Cultivator experts of the Yinshan Five Ghosts to help him fight for Spirit Pills, all for the sake of successfully marrying into the Bai Family and obtaining the technique.

Seeing Bai Xuewei’s appearance now was considered an unexpected pleasant surprise.

“By the way, tell your four brothers to remember those two. Find an opportunity to kill them inside Demon Sealing Valley.”

“No need to act too early. Wait until they’ve collected a good amount of Spirit Pills, then strike and kill them. That way, we can seize even more Spirit Pills.”

Wei Guangming looked toward Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo, unconsciously revealing a trace of killing intent.

Among the Yinshan Five Ghosts, the eldest, ‘Immortal Master Huanyin’ Daoist Qi, was in the Lunhai Realm and would go with him.

The other four were all in the Foundation Establishment Realm, which happened to put them in the same area as Chen Yuan and the others.

Wei Guangming having them deal with Chen Yuan’s duo was like killing two birds with one stone; he could get revenge and seize more Spirit Pills at the same time.

“Don’t worry, they’re just two country bumpkins from Yan Province. When the time comes, I’ll let them taste the methods of our Yinshan Five Ghosts.”

Old Daoist Qi chuckled, showing his two rows of large yellow teeth.

He then took out a skull and tapped it, emitting an invisible sound wave to send a message to his four brothers.

Wei Guangming nodded; he had given similar instructions to the Martial Artists of the Iron Clad Gate.

There was no rush to kill; they would wait until the targets had gathered enough Spirit Pills before acting.

Success or failure hinged on this single move. If he could marry into the Bai Family and obtain the technique, the strength of the Iron Clad Gate would surely skyrocket.

By then, in the Iron Clad Gate’s Ancestral Hall, Wei Guangming’s name might even be placed higher than the founding Ancestral Master!

Once everyone had entered the passage, Zhao Xuan Xin and the other two walked over, activated the Demon Sealing Valley’s Formation, and closed the entrance.

“Do you think this group can reach the deepest part?”

Xie Tianyun suddenly spoke up and asked.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. There are several times more people at this Demon Sealing Conference than usual. Moreover, since we’ve put Junior Sister up as the prize, they will fight even harder to slay the Corpse Monsters and push toward the deepest part.”

A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Xuan Xin’s mouth. “That Wei Guangming from the Iron Clad Gate even brought out the foundation his Sect accumulated over a decade. It shows how much attraction you have, Junior Sister. But a fool like Wei Guangming doesn’t stop to think—is he even worthy of your little toe?”

Bai Xuewei let out a soft laugh. “Senior Brother, you shouldn’t speak of him like that. I wasn’t mentioned in the news we released; he came for the Cultivation Technique.”

After saying that, Bai Xuewei looked at the two with a solemn expression. “Senior Brothers, there is no turning back once the arrow is shot. Since we’ve already committed the act of betraying our masters and ancestors, we must see it through to the end! This is our only chance, and our last chance.”

The two also nodded with solemn expressions, turned around, and stepped above the Demon Sealing Valley as well.

In an instant, the Formation above the Demon Sealing Valley activated, and a gray mist immediately enveloped the entire valley… Inside the Demon Sealing Valley, Chen Yuan and Luo Lie walked through the central passage for half a quarter-hour before some light finally appeared ahead.

Among the over a thousand Martial Artists present, those in the Blood Moving Realm were naturally the most numerous, totaling over seven hundred.

There were also quite a few Martial Artists in the Foundation Establishment Realm, about two hundred or so.

The remaining few dozen were all experts of the Lunhai Realm.

After opening the Lunhai, True Qi flows endlessly within the Dantian, providing endurance over a dozen times that of a Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Artist. A few dozen of them were enough to sweep through a large area.

Emerging from the passage, what met Chen Yuan’s eyes was a desolate land shrouded in gray mist.

The ground was withered and yellow, dry and hard-packed, with large patches of dark red bloodstains in some places.

Occasionally, there were fragments of broken weapons on the ground. Some looked relatively recent, while others were of ancient styles, significantly different from the weapon designs currently used in the Jianghu.

Many of the Martial Artists present were not participating in the Demon Sealing Conference for the first time.

Exiting the passage, they immediately vanished into the mist.

Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo also walked into the mist. Just as they stepped inside, Thirteen Lang Luo covered his nose and said, “What’s that smell?”

“This place was originally an ancient battlefield. Now, because of the demonic creatures, it has been completely unearthed.”

“The smell of thousands of years of rot and fermentation is, of course, not very pleasant.”

Chen Yuan looked around as he walked.

Visibility within the mist was only a few meters; most of the time, one had to rely on perception.

Just then, two roars suddenly rang out.

Sounds similar to the growls of wild beasts suddenly came from both the left and right of Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo.

In the next moment, two humanoid monsters suddenly lunged out at extreme speed, snapping at them.

These two humanoid monsters wore tattered armor and looked like mummified corpses. Their flesh hadn’t rotted but had instead turned into black, knotted jerky.

Their faces were distorted and mutated, almost unrecognizable as human. Their mouths split almost to their ears, filled with sharp fangs and jagged teeth.

Thirteen Lang Luo was startled by the things.

He was considered a veteran of a hundred battles and had seen even bloodier scenes on the battlefield.

But something like a Corpse Monster was clearly beyond his imagination.

However, Thirteen Lang Luo’s reaction was still very fast. The Mystic Flood Dragon Spear in his hand thrust straight forward, piercing right through the opponent’s chest.

Yet the Corpse Monster seemed unaffected. Even with a large hole pierced through its chest, it continued to snap at Thirteen Lang Luo frantically.

“Shatter its head and dig out the Spirit Pill in its Dantian.”

Chen Yuan slashed down, directly splitting the Corpse Monster’s head open.

Then, with a flick of his blade’s tip, he dug out a pitch-black pill from the Corpse Monster’s Dantian.

Thirteen Lang Luo pulled out his Mystic Flood Dragon Spear and smashed the long spear down with full force, crushing the head and nearly half the body into pieces.

But the Corpse Monster continued to writhe on the ground until Thirteen Lang Luo took out a dagger and dug out the pill from its Dantian. Only then did it completely stop moving.

“This thing is a Corpse Monster? It’s truly as ugly as they come.”

Thirteen Lang Luo curled his lip.

“That’s because you haven’t seen anything uglier yet.”

Chen Yuan said, “The Corpse-Driving Sect, a major Evil Path Sect in Tan Province, is most skilled at refining various corpses. They even stitch different corpses together, creating things that are extremely sinister.”

“The predecessor of the Corpse-Driving Sect was the Demonic Path giant, the Corpse Demon Cult. They were even more insane, even digging up the ancestral graves of many Sects and noble families to refine their ancestors’ remains into corpses, eventually inciting public wrath and being wiped out.”

“That really is asking for death.”

Thirteen Lang Luo clicked his tongue in amazement.

At the same time, Thirteen Lang Luo felt that Chen Yuan knew so much.

He knew how to kill these Corpse Monsters and even knew about things like the Corpse-Driving Sect and the Corpse Demon Cult.

Tan Province was in the south; he had never even heard of these factions.

However, Thirteen Lang Luo was simple-minded and never liked to think too much.

After spending time together, he subconsciously felt that Brother Chen was just that learned. Since he was smart, it was only natural for him to know these things.

“This is the Spirit Pill? The Devilish Qi is quite heavy.”

Thirteen Lang Luo examined the black pill in his hand, frowning slightly.

Martial Artists who were not of the Demonic Path had no way to refine something with such extreme attributes. In fact, even most Demonic Path Martial Artists couldn’t refine it directly.

Because this thing contained not only Devilish Qi but also some Corpse Qi.

“So it needs to be purified with Internal Energy. Once the Devilish Qi is removed, it can be refined.”

Thirteen Lang Luo curled his lip. “Then it’s not very interesting. Looking at its Spiritual Qi content, it’s only at the level of a Low Grade pill. Having to spend time and effort to purify the Devilish Qi—isn’t that exhausting?”

Low Grade pills could be refined by ordinary Alchemists. Although they required many medicinal ingredients, none were particularly rare.

The Nine Revolutions Vitality Pill from the Medicine King Valley that Chen Yuan had refined last time was a High Grade pill, something that couldn’t be mass-produced.

“You come from the Sun Exchange Alliance. After conquering a city, you have countless Medicinal Pills and resources, so of course you think this is nothing.”

“But for those small Sects, small families, and Loose Cultivators like me, these are all treasures.”

“A Sect at the level of the Iron Clad Gate can’t even afford to support an Alchemist; they can’t even refine Low Grade pills.”

Chen Yuan, however, did not disdain these Spirit Pills filled with Devilish Qi.

Purifying them with Internal Energy while cultivating, though troublesome, involved the constant consumption and recovery of Internal Energy, which was a form of cultivation in itself.

Moreover, many drops make an ocean. If a hundred Spirit Pills were refined together, the effect would be just as good.

“Then let’s kill more of these Corpse Monsters. I’ll give all the Spirit Pills to you, Brother Chen.”

Hearing that Chen Yuan was interested in these things, Thirteen Lang Luo suddenly became enthusiastic and began to venture deeper into the mist to slay the Corpse Monsters.

The advantage of these Corpse Monsters lay in their hard Physical Bodies and their lack of fear toward True Qi. One had to shatter their heads and dig out the Spirit Pills to kill them.

Normally, in a one-on-one fight, it wasn’t too difficult for a Blood Moving Realm Martial Artist to kill one.

But if a pack of Corpse Monsters rushed out, it would be quite troublesome.

If things went wrong, even a Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Artist could be overwhelmed and killed by sheer numbers.

Therefore, the biggest difference between the three locations in Demon Sealing Valley was the number of Corpse Monsters.

However, with Chen Yuan and Thirteen Lang Luo working together, they had no fear no matter how many Corpse Monsters there were.

Chen Yuan’s Azure Dragon Blood Drink and Thirteen Lang Luo’s Mystic Flood Dragon Spear were both top-tier among Mystic Weapons, easily tearing through the hard bones and flesh of the Corpse Monsters.