Ninety-One: The Three Corpses Halted at the Imperial Lodge

He flared his nostrils and let out a silent sigh, his heart stirred beyond measure.

He tipped back his head and drank deeply. At once, a searing heat spread from his throat to the pit of his belly, then burst open in his mind.

“Good!”

He laughed aloud, as though a bird had spread its wings for the first time with the coming of spring, unrestrained and exultant.

“Head Liu...”

“We still have work to do today!”

Behind him, a young woman of about twenty could not help but chide him, her expression darkening.

“Do not be anxious, Xinling. I shall keep some of this wine for you.”

Tang Xinling had not expected her thoughts to be seen through; two blushes rose to her cheeks. In embarrassment and pique, she stamped her foot and turned away, though her eyes kept drifting toward the wine flask.

“I do not want your wine...”

“Take it!”

Before she could finish, she had already caught the flask Liu Fengshan tossed to her. With a start, she stuck out her tongue and licked the wine that had dripped onto the back of her hand.

“Mmm!”

“So fragrant!”

“But this wine... Xinling has never tasted it, nor does it come from Jade Mat Mountain. Head Liu, do you know what it is?”

She took a small sip, her eyes filled with intoxication, her lashes trembling faintly in the moonlight.

“This is Vermilion Herb Wine!”

“Whenever wine is mentioned, it can never be separated from alchemy.”

“The art of brewing was first devised in ancient times by an alchemist. And this Vermilion Herb Wine likewise originated with an alchemical grandmaster!”

At this point, Liu Fengshan looked meaningfully at Qin Chuan and continued.

“That grandmaster was the Coffin Cauldron Master of the Green Mountain Sect.”

“Qin Chuan of the Green Mountain Sect pays respects to all senior and junior brothers, and, ah... junior sisters!”

Qin Chuan was about to speak of senior sister when Tang Xinling suddenly frowned. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he promptly smoothed things over with flattering words.

“I was rude before. It was only because that demon rushed us so fiercely that I offended you again.”

With that, he let out a long breath, thinking that this hurdle had finally been cleared.

Unlike the others behind him, Liu Fengshan had roamed the Green Mountain Realm for many years and had seen all manner of heroes, prodigies, and strange tales. Yet he had never encountered anyone like Qin Chuan.

Balanced in build, neither too much nor too little.

His features could hardly be called fair, bearing instead a distinctive wheat-gold complexion. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were nothing remarkable on their own, yet together they seemed crafted of flawless jade.

To size him up from head to toe, one could only deem him extraordinary.

Had he attempted to argue his innocence, Liu Fengshan would very likely have struck first. Instead, Qin Chuan resolved the matter in this fashion and turned the situation aside.

“Not ordinary,” Liu Fengshan thought with admiration, and his regard for Qin Chuan rose at once.

“No matter. These youngsters lack tempering anyway; it is good for them to sharpen their vigilance. But you, lad, fired off all your spiritual energy before you even saw what was happening!”

Liu Fengshan had meant to scold him and leave it there, but thinking of Qin Chuan only made him grow annoyed at his lack of sense.

“When we get back, I’ll speak with your master, and he’ll surely see you punished!”

“Oh no, Head Liu...”

Qin Chuan knew this was someone else’s affair, so he could only stand obediently in place. Still, he dared not be careless and quietly refined the medicinal force within his body.

In just those few breaths, the formerly empty dantian already showed the faint outline of a vortex.

“Since you are of the Green Mountain Sect, you will travel behind us...”

...

Qin Chuan did not let his guard down, though neither did he find the arrangement strange.

If he were Liu Fengshan, he would have made the same decision.

A flask of wine was not enough to make them fully abandon their caution; keeping him close also served to watch him.

Jade Mat Mountain was a neutral power and would not take any obvious side, so he did not worry too much.

Staying with these people could also prevent Yu Ce from doubling back to launch a surprise attack. As for whether Liu Fengshan had considered that as well, Qin Chuan could not know.

The group moved at a measured pace, clearly taking care to accommodate the weakest among them, Jiang Qiang, the little boy at the third level of Qi Refining.

...

Besides Qin Chuan, who had joined midway, there were five in the group altogether.

Liu Fengshan was at the eighth level of postnatal cultivation. The others had not yet reached that stage: Tang Xinling, Jiang Qiang, Xun Ye, and Gu Yun.

As for their destination, Qin Chuan could not discover it.

He had tried to probe them with words, but the answers were always evasive.

“We’re here!”

Through the increasingly thick mist, Qin Chuan looked toward the direction Liu Fengshan pointed and could just make out a stand of trees.

“This is... Moonlit Pear Wood!”

Qin Chuan recognized the tree at a glance, his pupils contracting in an instant, even through the heavy fog.

Yet his expression remained unchanged, showing no sign of it.

What surprised Qin Chuan was that Liu Fengshan brought up the Moonlit Pear Wood of his own accord.

“Junior Brother, as a core disciple of the Green Mountain Sect, you may not think highly of Jade Mat Mountain, but surely you have heard of Moonlit Pear Wood.”

“Indeed...” Qin Chuan nodded solemnly. “Of course.”

At that, even Tang Xinling and the others behind him lifted their chins with pride.

“Head, hurry and begin gathering it!”

Jiang Qiang was timid by nature, less steady even than an ordinary woman. He stared at the rolling mist around them, while faint, sorrowful cries seemed to drift at his ears.

His face tightened, and he clenched his teeth.

“Remember this: if anything unclean comes near, activate this object. We will be occupied with the spell to gather the Moonlit Pear Wood and will have no time to look after you.”

With that, Liu Fengshan produced a palm-length branch and handed it to Qin Chuan.

Taking it, Qin Chuan studied it and recognized it as a branch of locust wood. But the weight was wrong. In surprise, he found the branch featherlight, almost without substance. He even had the strange feeling that if he blew on it hard enough, it might be carried up into the sky.

The deeper they went, the more violently the mist churned, and the stronger the baleful energy within it became. Shapes like ghostly ape-demons appeared here and there, and even Qin Chuan dared not relax for a moment.

Fortunately, with Liu Fengshan’s spell, they passed through without incident.

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan clutched the locust branch tightly, spiritual energy stirring within him, ready to be unleashed at the slightest unusual movement.

The group advanced slowly, and thankfully no other sinister thing appeared.

When they drew near, Qin Chuan finally saw the Moonlit Pear Wood clearly.

Unlike ordinary pear wood, its flower buds were entirely silver-white, reflecting the moonlight and dazzling the eye.

“This is the place. Remember well.”

“Later, when the five of us activate the Moonlit Pear Wood, those evil things are very likely to seize the chance to erode your spirit. No matter what happens, do not let go of the branch in your hand, and do not let the Moonlit Pear Wood out of your sight for even half a breath.”

“Oh?” Qin Chuan had never heard of such a thing and could not help feeling curious.

“Until dawn.”

He nodded silently, accepting the instruction.

Yet he still did not quite understand what Liu Fengshan meant.

Soon, they were seated cross-legged beneath the tree. The five of them formed a circle and began to cast their spell together, lips moving as streams of brilliance danced into delicate threads, activating the Moonlit Pear Wood.

Even the buds on the branches trembled faintly, eager to bloom.

Qin Chuan also sat cross-legged nearby, his gaze fixed on the Moonlit Pear Wood without a moment’s lapse. But the more the buds opened, the more glaring they became.

The instant they fully bloomed, silver light flared brilliantly, causing Qin Chuan to shut his eyes reflexively for a split second.

“Mmph!”

His body jolted violently, and his expression filled with sheer horror.

“They... where did they go?”

!!!

Where were they?

Beneath the Moonlit Pear Wood, there was nothing at all. Not a single figure in sight.

Those evil things are very likely to seize the chance to erode the spirit...

Liu Fengshan’s voice suddenly rang in his mind, and in an instant he understood.

He gripped the locust branch tightly, keeping his eyes fixed on the Moonlit Pear Wood without the slightest deviation.

The radiance on the flowers grew ever brighter, the harsh light stabbing painfully at his eyes, as though two saw blades were grinding back and forth inside his skull.

The mist around him ceased its roiling and became unnaturally still. Even the faint tree shadows had vanished entirely, swallowed by darkness as black as ink, which devoured every trace of the light cast by the pear blossoms.

Not a single ripple remained.

I am so tired.

The thought rose abruptly in his heart. He could sit in meditation for an entire day and night without fatigue, yet now, after only three to five breaths, such a notion had emerged.

Once it appeared, it spread uncontrollably through his mind again and again.

Gradually, Qin Chuan’s nerves no longer held taut. They began to soften little by little, and his face grew wearier.

The hardships of these past years flashed before his eyes in scene after scene.

“Mother... your son is tired.”

“Father, I can’t go on.”

“Big sister...”

At that thought, Qin Chuan suddenly gave a start.

“There is still a truth waiting for me to uncover!”

He bit hard on the tip of his tongue, forcing his mind to clear.

Even so, a deep, intractable weariness still hung over his heart, impossible to dispel.

The contrast was extremely abrupt. Qin Chuan had never experienced anything like it. It was as though a young soul had been cast into an aging body burdened with chronic affliction.

The tranquil mist around him seemed even more tranquil now, while the light released by the Moonlit Pear Blossom grew stronger still.

My spirit must have been eroded!

Thinking of this, he hurriedly activated the Mystic Breath Dust Art. A line of profound, mysterious chant echoed through the bamboo shadows like the heavy, timeworn toll of a bell.

“Hm?”

As expected, the weariness that had taken root in his heart vanished at once. Yet the surrounding mist remained thick and terrifyingly black.

What was going on?

Qin Chuan was suddenly shaken.

A few words surfaced in his mind: the Three Corpses Worm.

Within the human body there are upper, middle, and lower dantians.

In each dantian dwells a “corpse.” The one in the lower dantian is called the Dwelling Corpse.

In the present age, cultivators no longer need to sever the three corpses.

And the first volume of the Heaven-Spanning Immortal Finger he practiced was a direct pointing toward the great way itself, aimed at the ultimate summit of the Dao, utterly unlike mere cultivation.

At this thought, Qin Chuan gained some understanding.

But how was this Dwelling Corpse to be severed?

The cultivation manual did not mention such a thing at all.

The lower corpse was said to be lecherous and lustful—was he supposed to castrate himself?

He glanced askance at the place below his waist, and the image of blood spraying three feet high made him shiver despite himself.

After a moment’s thought, however, he discarded the idea.

Since there was no good solution, Qin Chuan could only stare fixedly at the Moonlit Pear Blossom. Waves of piercing pain tugged at his nerves, as though his eyes were being gouged out.

The pain was so vivid that it repeatedly caused spasms throughout his body.

Yet Qin Chuan still did not look away, allowing cold sweat to run into his eyes.

“Phew!”

At that moment, five Moonlit Pear Blossoms drifted down, revealing Liu Fengshan and the others once more.

Seeing Qin Chuan sitting there cross-legged in a drained, motionless state, his expression changed in shock.

“Junior Brother, the spell is finished. You can get up now. This is the Moonlit Pear Wood you wanted...” He opened his palm, revealing a foot-long length of Moonlit Pear Wood within.