Chapter 116: Purchasing Seven Brains

“At the Mass Grave Mound in the western part of the city.”

The masked individual promptly replied, demonstrating their quick wit—a necessity for being assigned by Zhou Tianyang to serve the esteemed alchemist Chen Luo.

“Lead the way.”

Chen Luo turned and climbed onto the carriage.

The lead masked person immediately took the reins as the coachman, leaving two behind to guard the premises while the rest accompanied Chen Luo towards the cemetery on the outskirts of the west side.

The Mass Grave Mound in the western part of Woodmount City was where the poor were buried. The area was strewn with dead branches, dotted with numerous grave mounds.

Crows perched atop tree branches cawed loudly.

“Daoist Priest Shi is within the deepest grave pit there.”

Upon reaching the location, the carriage could not proceed further. No matter how much they urged the horses, they refused to enter the cemetery grounds. With no choice, the masked individual halted the carriage and informed Chen Luo inside.

“You may return now,” Chen Luo said as he stepped out of the carriage, instructing them before entering the Mass Grave Mound alone.

As Chen Luo entered the Mass Grave Mound, visibility sharply decreased. The once clear sky transformed within its boundaries, becoming shrouded by dark clouds. The limited view extended only about fifty meters ahead, beyond which everything was obscured by mist.

Treading on decayed soil, Chen Luo proceeded cautiously.

Woo-woo.

The chilling wind howled mournfully, and amidst the fog, it seemed as though a ghostly woman clad in white was weeping beside a grave marker.

Malevolent Qi.

An overwhelming presence of malevolent qi filled the air, dominating the surroundings.

The temperature here was significantly colder than elsewhere, clearly indicating superior conditions for corpse preservation. No wonder Old Ghost Ganshi chose this place as his abode.

Chen Luo continued until he reached the deepest part of the mound, where he finally stopped.

Before him lay an excavated grave pit, its depths pitch-black and seemingly bottomless.

“Old Friend Ganshi, let’s have a chat,” Chen Luo called out, using spiritual energy to amplify his voice into the pit.

Creak, creak, creak.

From the darkness nearby, someone pushed open a gap in a bronze coffin.

The chilling mummy old ghost slowly sat up, his stiff body creaking as he moved his neck. Finally, his gaze fixed upon Chen Luo standing outside the grave pit.

“Ah, it’s Fellow Daoist Chen.” The Old Ghost Ganshi flashed a faint smile, but given his appearance and the surrounding ambiance, the smile seemed unnerving no matter how one looked at it.

“Has Fellow Daoist changed your mind and now wish to join our Corpse-Raising Sect?”

Daoist Dry Corpse rose from the stone coffin, stepping out of the tomb path one deliberate foot after another.

As he emerged, the temperature around them dropped significantly.

This old ghost’s cultivation had advanced further, likely reaching the twelfth layer of Qi Refinement. Unlike other sects’ techniques, the practices of the Corpse-Raising Sect were closely tied to refining corpses; a powerful refined corpse could greatly enhance their abilities.

“Let’s set aside joining the Corpse-Raising Sect for now. Instead, I’d like to inquire if there are any strong cultivators’ tombs nearby Woodmount City? Specifically, graves of Foundation Establishment or Core Formation cultivators.”

“Graves of Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators?” The smile on Daoist Dry Corpse’s face grew wider, recognizing a kindred interest.

“Fellow Daoist also wishes to refine corpses?”

“Just curious,” Chen Luo replied smoothly.

“Such tombs aren’t easy to find,” Daoist Dry Corpse remarked cryptically.

“Not being easy implies there’s still a chance.”

Chen Luo’s spirits immediately lifted; his greatest fear was that they couldn’t be located at all.

Back at the Divine Lake Immortal Sect, he had attempted numerous times, but the control over cemeteries was extremely strict. As a disciple of Wu Dao Peak, he only had access to its cemetery, and he lacked the authority to visit those of other main peaks.

Outside the sect, it was even more challenging—encountering cultivators was rare, let alone the tombs of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

“It is indeed possible,” Daoist Dry Corpse nodded.

“Forget about Core Formation level; even after death, such cultivators are considered treasures. Their flesh, blood, and bones serve as superior materials for equipment forging. The sects would never bury them. However, I do know of a few Foundation Establishment cultivator tombs nearby Woodmount City.”

His words trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid, testing Chen Luo’s understanding.

“I hope my fellow Daoist can enlighten me further.” Chen Luo reached into his sleeve, producing a porcelain bottle containing ten Qi Gathering Pills. He gently tossed it towards Daoist Dry Corpse.

With a swirl of black qi, the porcelain bottle appeared in Daoist Dry Corpse’s hand. He opened it, took a sniff, and nodded with satisfaction.

Chen Luo had grown weary of consuming Qi Gathering Pills, but that didn’t diminish their value. In the outside markets, medicinal pills were always in demand despite their high prices.

“Excellent, excellent. I can truly sense your sincerity, fellow daoist,” Daoist Dry Corpse acknowledged approvingly.

After accepting the pills, he casually tossed Chen Luo a jade slip containing records of Foundation Establishment cultivator grave pits—seven in total.

“Near Woodmount City’s spirit mine?” Chen Luo was surprised upon reading the information within the jade slip.

The burial locations seemed rather sensitive.

“Three from the Divine Lake Immortal Sect and four solo cultivators. Heh heh.” Old Ghost Ganshi chuckled without further explanation.

Instantly, Chen Luo understood.

These individuals were buried by the Corpse-Raising Sect.

“As a friend, let me offer you some advice: for your first attempt at refining a corpse, there’s no need to seek high-level cultivator bodies. For beginners, mortal corpses may actually be more suitable than those of cultivators,” Daoist Dry Corpse said amicably, having received his reward.

“Thank you.”

Chen Luo expressed his gratitude before turning to leave.

“Creating high-quality refined corpses isn’t as easy as one might think.” Watching Chen Luo depart, Daoist Dry Corpse’s eyes flickered.

He had already examined those seven Foundation Establishment cultivators’ bodies thoroughly. While their realms were indeed at Foundation Establishment, they were not suitable for refinement. Refining corpses required more than just the realm; factors such as bloodlines and innate constitution were crucial to bear malevolent qi effectively. None of the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators met these criteria. From the perspective of the Corpse-Raising Sect, these bodies were akin to chicken ribs—neither worth consuming nor easily discardable.

Since Chen Luo needed them, Daoist Dry Corpse conveniently sold them to him.

After all, keeping idle corpses from the sect was pointless if they could be sold.

Daoist Dry Corpse reclined back into his stone coffin.

Under his control, the outer lid closed once again.

The cemetery returned to its tranquil state.

Behind Woodmount City lay a wood elemental spirit mine, yielding a substantial amount of wood attribute spirit stones annually.

The Divine Lake Immortal Sect primarily collected taxes here in the form of these spirit stones.

However, three months ago, after the alliance of the four great families, the mined spirit stones ceased being handed over to the sect. Instead, the four families began ‘temporarily safeguarding’ them. When Chen Luo arrived, he found numerous mortal warriors guarding the area, with hidden cultivators dispatched by the four families operating covertly nearby.

Among these guards, Chen Luo spotted Hu Qiudao. Additionally, there was a hidden cultivator at the peak of the Qi Refining realm nearby, highlighting the strict security measures imposed by the four great families.

“And there’s a formation too.”

As Chen Luo observed from the edge, he identified several concealed formation nodes. If not for his foundational knowledge learned from Longevity Daoist during their time in the Yue Tomb, he might have unwittingly triggered them.

“This should be the spot.”

Chen Luo’s objective wasn’t the mine itself. After circling around, he found the burial site of seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, as described by Old Ghost Ganshi, near the entrance of a cave behind the mine.

It was a desolate and uninhabited pit filled with rubble.

Without the information from Old Ghost Ganshi, Chen Luo would never have suspected that Foundation Establishment cultivators were buried here.

The conflicts between sects were far more intense than they appeared on the surface, akin to espionage battles even amidst peace.

These seven deceased individuals were casualties of such sectarian warfare. With no clear winner among them, it ultimately benefited the Corpse-Raising Sect.

Chen Luo retrieved a shovel and skillfully began digging. Soon, he unearthed five partially mutilated corpses from beneath the stone pit.

There was still one missing.

Whether Old Ghost Ganshi had misremembered or if this individual somehow revived and escaped later, Chen Luo couldn’t say. However, for him, five bodies were sufficient.

Laying out the five bodies sequentially, Chen Luo observed their wounds and determined that all were killed by sword qi. Each wound displayed remarkably clean cuts. Particularly striking was the half-corpse found only from the waist down; it had been severed diagonally from the shoulder blade to just below the thigh, slicing through the entire body.

‘I hope there’s at least one pill-concocting expert among them, or I’ll need to find another way.’

Chen Luo put on his deer-hide gloves and placed his hands on the skulls of the remaining five corpses.

‘Contact with deceased brain waves, Degradation Rate 99%, read access?’

‘Read access confirmed.’

Five successive presences flooded into his body.

An unprecedented pressure emerged within his sea of consciousness, instantly overwhelming the capacity he had gained upon breaking through to the tenth layer of Qi Refining.

“Abandon ten.”

Quickly responding, Chen Luo skillfully relinquished ten homogenized brains, including Mixing Dragon’s.

After this wave, he abandoned ten more until the count returned to one hundred, gradually restoring his mental capacity to normal.

Relieved, Chen Luo refocused his attention on the newly absorbed external brains.