Chapter 112: Testing

Unfazed, Chen Luo gracefully sidestepped, his bamboo staff transforming into a blur. With a ‘thud,’ it effortlessly pierced through the blade’s arc and struck Mixing Dragon’s neck, instantly snapping his spine.

Mixing Dragon had previously managed to escape from Immortal Masters of the Luxury Nation. However, those were mere novices at the first or second layers of Qi Refinement. At such stages, without utilizing spells or divine abilities, their capabilities did not significantly differ from martial artists. In direct combat, they might even fall short of a martial grandmaster. But beyond the fourth layer of Qi Refinement, things changed drastically. Cultivators entering the Middle Qi Refinement stage could already channel spiritual energy throughout their bodies, making every movement of a martial artist crystal clear to them.

Chen Luo was now at the tenth layer of Qi Refinement!

Dealing with Mixing Dragon and his companions was as effortless for him as stepping on ants. He didn’t bother using any spells or divine abilities; a simple bamboo stick sufficed to dispatch them.

“Big Bro!” Fear flickered in Barjadel’s eyes. He hadn’t anticipated Big Bro being so easily defeated, before he could even deploy his hidden weapons.

The ferocity born out of desperation swiftly gave way to terror.

I’m going to die!

“Don’t kill me, I…”

Before Barjadel could finish, he felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, sending him flying straight into a wall where he lay lifeless.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Luo had dispatched all three notorious jianghu bandits.

He had no interest in listening to their nonsense; they had already come knocking at his door—why waste any more time? It was simpler just to crush them outright.

The fate of the Qi family directly concerned his upcoming tasks, and nothing would deter him from fulfilling them.

“Immortal… Immortal Master.”

A trembling voice spoke from behind.

It was Qi Boyun, who had been asleep inside the room. Having endured through the Qi family’s ups and downs, changed his name, and built this enterprise, he was clearly no ordinary man. He had also trained in the Qi family’s Cape Blade technique, awakening as soon as Mixing Dragon and his companions entered the courtyard.

Initially prepared for a desperate struggle, he never anticipated that the situation would be resolved so effortlessly.

Indeed, the young man who delivered the painting that day must be an immortal!

“I’ve taken care of those few thieves casually,” Chen Luo smiled, tossing the bamboo stick aside. “Old gentleman, you should go back to sleep. Don’t wake the child inside. I’ll handle the rest.” Chen Luo could sense another presence within the room besides the old man, Qi Boyun. The breathing was steady, indicating that the individual was still asleep.

Earlier, when he took action, Chen Luo had created a ‘spiritual barrier’ to isolate the noise inside the house, ensuring no one within would be disturbed.

“Thank you for your assistance, Immortal Master.”

Relieved, Qi Boyun sighed and swiftly returned indoors upon hearing Chen Luo’s words.

“Waste is shameful,” Chen Luo muttered as he approached and placed his hand on Great Chief Mixing Dragon’s head.

While striking earlier, Chen Luo intentionally held back against Mixing Dragon, aiming the blow at the spine. His purpose was to check if there were any useful obsessions within this bandit leader’s mind. Even mundane warriors have their value, especially since Chen Luo had just broken through to the tenth layer of Qi Refining, with his capacity not yet reaching its limit. If needed, he could always discard this brain later.

Detected deceased person's brainwaves; Degradation Rate: 7%. Retrieve now?

As Chen Luo anticipated, due to the well-preserved brain, the degradation rate was only 7%.

“Retrieve.”

A surge of brainwaves flowed into his palm, revealing familiar thoughts:

‘I want meat!’

‘My second brother is too cunning; can’t trust him fully.’

‘The Qi family has secrets? The organization’s benefactor turns out to be the Scattered Cultivators Union.’

‘I’ll surely repay that Su bastard for this!’

After filtering out irrelevant obsessions, Chen Luo found an intriguing piece of information:

“The Scattered Cultivators Union? Seems to be connected with that newly ascended ‘Outer Sect Eldest Apprentice Brother,’ Su Tianyao, who broke through within the arcane realm.”

With his thoughts collected, Chen Luo stood up and cast a Dust Removal Technique across the courtyard.

As spiritual energy dispersed, the lingering bloodstains were instantly cleared away by the technique. Apart from the breach caused by Old Third Jie Jielong, everything else returned to normal, even purging the scent of blood.

With a swirl of his spiritual power, the three corpses flew to Chen Luo’s feet. An invisible rope of spiritual energy bound them securely. His mastery over spiritual energy had become extraordinary, thanks to the mummified brain’s innate abilities. With a gentle leap, he soared like a bird through the night, carrying the three bodies out of the city.

Outside the deserted outskirts.

Chen Luo released the spiritual energy, causing the three corpses to thud onto the ground with a dull ‘thump’. He reached into his bag of holding, retrieving a shovel and deer-hide gloves effortlessly.

“How am I becoming increasingly proficient at this grave-digger’s task?” The peculiar thought flashed briefly through his mind.

Putting on the gloves, Chen Luo began digging graves.

Digging, filling, burying—a one-stop service.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Having filled and compacted the soil with his feet, Chen Luo ensured the burial was secure. Then, he retrieved a bottle containing a pale-yellow liquid and poured some onto the earth. As the liquid seeped in, the pit instantly matched the surrounding ground’s color.

This potion, known as Burial Elixir, was formulated by Third Uncle. During a moment of boredom, Chen Luo had crafted some himself, keeping alive the skills passed down from his uncle.

“Dust returns to dust, ashes to ash, may your journey be peaceful.”

Chen Luo recited this customary phrase before turning and flying towards the city using Qi manipulation.

The disappearance of the Mixing Dragon trio left no impact on Woodmount City.

Life for its residents continued as usual, but behind the scenes, factions related to immortal cultivation grew noticeably tense.

Gradually, unfamiliar faces began appearing within the city.

Chen Luo largely remained indifferent, knowing that matters like these were better handled by local powers such as the Hu Family and the County Magistrate’s clan.

Back at his courtyard, Chen Luo resumed his routine life.

He practiced cultivation during the day, focusing on Qi Refinement, and spent evenings concocting pills and drawing talismans.

The fluctuations caused by his rapid progress gradually stabilized, allowing him to steadily advance towards the eleventh layer of Qi Refinement.

Half a month later.

Nightfall.

A group of black-robed figures emerged near the outskirts of Woodmount City.

From among them, a peculiar individual with a face gaunt like a corpse stepped forward. Upon seeing him, everyone unconsciously displayed reverence, instinctively making way for him.

The dried corpse took a few steps and stopped above a patch of scorched earth.

He crouched down, digging up a handful of black soil with his claw-like hands and tasted it.

“I knew something was off; turns out he’s dead.”

The dried corpse grinned, revealing blackish-green, toxic teeth accompanied by a foul odor.

Fear flickered in the eyes of the nearest black-robed man, instinctively wanting to step back. However, before he could move, a jet-black hand pierced through from behind him.

With a sickening sound, blood splattered as the black-robed man’s chest was penetrated without understanding what had happened. The still-beating crimson heart remained on that hand. In his dying moments, he turned his head in bewilderment, only to see a fully black-haired zombie staring back at him with a bloodthirsty gaze—something eerily familiar.

It dawned on him.

This undead was the traitor he had killed half a year ago, also a member of their organization.

But how could the dead return to life?

“They were all chosen carefully for their potential to become iron corpses; letting them perish would be such a waste.” The dried corpse retrieved the heart from the zombie, bringing it to his mouth to consume.

Witnessing this gruesome scene caused several individuals to tremble involuntarily.

“Don’t lose sight of our main objective,” grumbled a gaunt-faced middle-aged cultivator among the black-robed group, clearly expressing his dissatisfaction.

Deep down, he genuinely disliked Old Ghost Ganshi; if not for their plan, he wouldn’t have associated with such a person.

“Indeed.”

After consuming the heart, Old Ghost Ganshi smeared his hands with blood and gently tapped the ground.

With a sudden burst:

Crash!

Three white skeletal arms emerged from beneath the soil.

Nothing else followed.

This left Old Ghost Ganshi somewhat embarrassed, while the middle-aged cultivator showed clear dissatisfaction. After all that effort, they only found three arms—what use were these to him?

“A grave digger’s technique,” muttered Old Ghost Ganshi.

“What is a grave digger?” the middle-aged cultivator frowned, puzzled.

He had never heard of this profession, nor did it exist within the territories of the three kingdoms.

“It’s an ancient occupation. It’s no surprise you haven’t encountered it; I discovered it mentioned in the sect’s ancient texts.” Old Ghost Ganshi picked up one of the bone arms and started chewing on it audibly, resembling a demonic specter from hell.

“The technique isn’t bad, just slightly lacking. With me here, no corpse can escape my perception,” Old Ghost Ganshi remarked after a moment, discarding the remaining arm bones.

“I detect the scent of the Divine Lake Immortal Sect.”

“Are you certain it’s someone from the Divine Lake Immortal Sect?” The middle-aged cultivator’s expression turned serious upon hearing this assessment.

“No mistake, they’re currently within Woodmount City.” Old Ghost Ganshi stood up.

His task was solely to uncover clues.

A few days ago, their organization lost three members—an event that could typically be overlooked. However, Old Ghost sensed something amiss. As his collaborator, the middle-aged cultivator had no choice but to accompany him, and surprisingly, their investigation indeed revealed valuable leads.

“Can we determine where this person might be?”

The middle-aged cultivator’s expression turned grim.

The deaths of the Mixing Dragon brothers were minor concerns, but they were crucial to one of their organization’s plans. It was uncertain whether these three blabbed anything before dying. For safety’s sake, he felt it necessary to eliminate this potential threat.

“That would be impossible. The individual used techniques akin to a professional grave digger, even more challenging than reducing someone to ashes. Moreover, they recited the Rebirth Incantation, cleansing all resentment from the corpses. If not for our Corpse-Raising Sect’s unique methods, even Divine Lake Immortal Sect wouldn’t have detected their involvement.”

With that, Old Ghost Ganshi departed with his black-haired zombie.

“We’ll search every corner then; the plan must remain secret!”

The middle-aged cultivator glanced at the half-buried bone hand on the ground before turning back towards Woodmount City.

Their search progressed smoother than anticipated. On the second day after returning to Woodmount City, the middle-aged cultivator and Old Ghost Ganshi received word from their subordinates about a suspicious target.

“The house next to the Qi residence was purchased by a stranger?” The middle-aged cultivator frowned, silently reading the report from his subordinate.

Notably, it also mentioned the Hu Family.

As a local cultivator of Woodmount City, he well understood their influence.

Three generations had been Outer Sect disciples of the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, and the current patriarch himself was a cultivator at the pinnacle of Qi Refinement. Such strength placed them among the top forces within Woodmount City.

“Have you found out when he arrived?” The middle-aged cultivator set down the document and asked.

“The earliest record is from half a month ago,” the subordinate promptly responded.

After weighing the situation briefly, the middle-aged cultivator decided, “Go test him; determine if he’s here for our matter.”

“Yes, sir.” With the order received, the subordinate swiftly withdrew to arrange someone for reconnaissance.

Seated in the courtyard, Chen Luo remained steadfastly focused on his Qi Refinement cultivation. To him, killing and burying bodies were trivial matters compared to his own progress.

As the government granules circulated, the surrounding spiritual energy gradually settled. The active external brains once again fell into slumber.

Throughout the night, Chen Luo continued his cultivation.

With over a hundred external brains working in shifts, Chen Luo’s advancement speed was unimaginably rapid. Normally, cultivation would exhaust one both physically and mentally, but for Chen Luo, this issue did not exist. Whenever one brain grew weary, he simply switched to another.

Finishing his practice session, Chen Luo opened his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.

His cultivation had further refined by a slight margin.

At this pace, reaching Foundation Establishment seemed well within reach, far ahead of waiting until age fifty to attempt the breakthrough.

Changing into a fresh set of teal robes, Chen Luo stepped out through the door.

The Qi Family Old Shop.

This establishment belonged to Qi Boyun in Woodmount City, and it was thanks to its profits that he managed to reclaim their ancestral home, lost generations ago.

Over the past few days, Chen Luo had been observing Qi Boyun and his granddaughter during daylight hours.

As per Daoist Wuwei’s instructions, Qi Boyun’s granddaughter was Chen Luo’s final target. If she possessed spiritual roots, he would impart cultivation techniques to her, guiding her onto the path of cultivation.

Casually finding a seat, Chen Luo ordered two dishes and some wine. After taking just a few bites, he noticed Qi Boyun emerge from the back room, carrying a jug of wine. Qi Boyun sat across from Chen Luo and respectfully poured him a cup.

“Many thanks for saving our lives, sir.”

After pouring the wine, Qi Boyun solemnly expressed his gratitude to Chen Luo.

On the night when the Mixing Dragon trio infiltrated, he had prepared himself to fight to the death.

“It was just a bunch of petty thieves, no need to thank me,” Chen Luo replied with a smile, then shifted his gaze towards the young girl diligently keeping accounts nearby.

“Yunyun is my granddaughter. Her parents passed away early, and I raised her all by myself.” Noticing Chen Luo’s attention on his granddaughter, Qi Boyun promptly explained.

He knew that Chen Luo was a cultivator, and such opportunities were rare and fortuitous.

“She was only three years old when…”

Before Qi Boyun could finish, two burly men carrying large swords entered the establishment.

Their eyes quickly scanned the hall and locked onto Qi Yunyun, who was tallying accounts.

Exchanging glances, they approached her with lecherous expressions.

Both Qi Boyun and Chen Luo, who were casually conversing, noticed these individuals. Qi Boyun swiftly stood up and moved to shield them.

“Gentlemen, please order your drinks from your seats. If you intend to cause trouble…”

Bang!

Before he could finish, one of the burly men abruptly struck, delivering a vicious kick to Qi Boyun’s stomach. The force sent him flying and crashing hard into the counter behind.

“You’re that damn Qi Boyun, aren’t you?!”