Chapter 1488: Chapter 1400: The Two Factions of the Holy Temple
The man in the white robe was so terrified he kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, his crotch already wet—he had clearly pissed himself from fear.
"I’ll talk, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything."
The white-robed man was utterly spineless, especially after watching his companion’s bones being spat out; whatever shred of courage he’d had left completely collapsed.
Shivering, he stammered out everything he knew from start to finish.
After listening, Lady Python gave a cold laugh. "Heh, that Corpse King sure is a crafty one, actually wants to use us to refine his own Corpse Elixir?"
As she spoke, Lady Python suddenly opened her mouth and swallowed the white-robed man as well.
"Let’s go report to the King. I want to see what that Corpse King’s envoy has to say." Lady Python said, then turned and left with the demon beasts under her command.
Ye Guichen and the others had heard every word loud and clear.
After confirming that Lady Python had left, Ye Guichen also jumped down from the tree.
However, he quietly released Gui Tuo, letting Gui Tuo lurk behind Lady Python, following her to see whether the ’King’ she mentioned was their Demon King.
"Brother Chu, what do you think?" After meeting up with Chu Yuanchen, Ye Guichen asked in a low voice.
From that white-robed man’s words just now, Ye Guichen had obtained a very important piece of information.
And this information concerned the Holy Temple.
Based on Ye Guichen’s previous understanding, the Holy Temple sat atop Netherworld Mountain, and those who lived there might not even be human at all, but Ghost Cultivators.
Of course, because of Netherworld Mountain’s special nature, these Ghost Cultivators didn’t need to rely on living souls the way those from the Yin Ghost Sect did.
It seemed they only needed to stay in Netherworld Mountain to cultivate.
But now, Ye Guichen finally understood that within Netherworld Mountain’s Holy Temple, there was more than one faction.
If those black-robed people they’d encountered before were Ghost Cultivators, then there was another faction—Corpse Cultivators.
Exactly!
Those people cultivated specifically using corpses. It was said the Corpse King was also transformed from a corpse, a type of zombie, but far stronger than ordinary zombies.
If his guess was right, that so-called Corpse King had probably already surpassed the Golden Core Realm and was no weaker than the Ghost King he had imprisoned.
However, for some unknown reason, both those Ghost Cultivators and Corpse Cultivators were trapped atop the Holy Temple. If they wanted to leave the Holy Temple, it seemed the only way was to open the Hidden Gate and release the Demon Clan.
Precisely because of this, those Ghost Cultivators racked their brains to awaken the half-demons they had arranged back in the day, letting them absorb and refine the flesh and blood of living humans in preparation for opening the Hidden Gate.
And to open the Hidden Gate, all that was required was enough living flesh and blood; as for bones, they apparently weren’t of any use.
This exact point, however, gave the Corpse Cultivators an opening.
Although the Corpse Cultivators also had their cultivation sealed and, like the Ghost Cultivators, were trapped in the Netherworld Mountain Temple, they were still different from the Ghost Cultivators in one key way.
They had chosen to be trapped there of their own free will.
Their greatest purpose in remaining in the Netherworld Mountain Temple was to monitor and balance those Ghost Cultivators.
Over the years, Ghost Cultivators and Corpse Cultivators had managed to coexist in relative peace.
But as the half-demons took over the Northern North Desolation, both Ghost Cultivators and Corpse Cultivators began to grow restless.
In theory, they were all pieces left behind by the Demon Clan; their existence was meant solely to open the Hidden Gate and release the Demon Clan within.
Yet both the Ghost Cultivators and Corpse Cultivators had their own ambitions.
They naturally had no desire to remain subservient.
After activating the bloodline of the half-demons, the Ghost Cultivators disappeared, but continued to observe from the shadows.
The Corpse Cultivators, of course, didn’t sit idle during this time either.
They sent some Disciples into the Northern North Desolation to secretly collect the corpses of humans slaughtered by the Demon Clan, planning to bring them back at the right moment so the Corpse King could refine a Corpse Elixir.
This Corpse Elixir, just like a Ghost Pill, would greatly boost the Corpse King’s strength once refined.
By then, not to mention breaking the seal and restoring his cultivation, he might even have enough power to contend with the Demon Clan.
However, the Corpse Cultivators didn’t dare voice their true thoughts. If, after the Demon Clan was released, their scheme was discovered, they would likely be executed on the spot.
That loss would far outweigh any gain.
Thus, these Corpse Cultivators acted in the Holy Temple’s name to assist the half-demons of the Northern North Desolation, while never revealing their true intentions.
If Lady Python hadn’t accidentally discovered the trail of those white-robed men this time, they probably never would have known any of this.
Take that Yuan Liang mentioned by those two white-robed men earlier—the contents of his storage ring were precisely those corpses.
Yet Yuan Liang had plans of his own; he wanted to flee with the bones, but was discovered and killed by his companions.
During his flight, the storage ring ended up lost.
That was how Ye Guichen and the others came to pick up the storage ring.
Hearing Ye Guichen ask for his opinion, Chu Yuanchen pondered for a moment before speaking. "I didn’t expect Netherworld Mountain to be connected to these half-demons in this way. Since that’s the case, it actually works in our favor."
Ye Guichen nodded. "Naturally. The more chaos among them, the better it is for us human cultivators. So, what’s your view, Brother Chu?"
"Heh heh, we’ve got a storage ring in our hands. Even though it’s filled with the bones of our fellow human cultivators, since they’re already dead, there’s no use keeping them. We might as well seize the chance to find those Corpse Cultivators and make a deal."
Although people say the dead should be laid to rest in peace.
For Chu Yuanchen and the others, however, practical benefits mattered far more.
The path of cultivation is like rowing against the current; what we cultivate is the Dao of ruthlessness.
If one keeps clinging to too many concerns, even growing overly compassionate, then one simply isn’t suited for cultivation.
So even if those bones are the remains of their own kind, once they’re dead, burying them is useless anyway.
Since that’s the case, we might as well make use of the waste.
Ye Guichen naturally thought of this too: "You mean we can make use of those Corpse Cultivators to deal with these demi‑demons?"
"Exactly!" Chu Yuanchen’s eyes were filled with approval.
No wonder Ye Guichen could command an army of a hundred thousand and still have such profound cultivation.
An ordinary person could never pull that off.
At least in terms of vision, Ye Guichen was definitely among the very best.
Ye Guichen nodded. "Alright, in that case, we should first find a way to locate the Corpse Cultivators and confirm they have the strength to deal with demi‑demons. If they’re just as worthless as those two white‑robed trash, then they’re of no use to us at all."
"Alright!" Chu Yuanchen didn’t hesitate either. "So which of us is going to find a way to locate the Corpse Cultivators?"
Ye Guichen raised the storage ring in his hand. "I’ll go. You lot find a way to hide nearby, try to find some isolated demi‑demons and scout out the whereabouts of those five great demons. I’ll be back soon."
Then he instructed Feng Wuxiu, "Feng Wuxiu, be careful. Take the Four-eyed Dragon Scale Wolf with you so you can look out for each other."
"Understood."
After Ye Guichen finished speaking, he cupped his hands toward Chu Yuanchen and quickly turned to leave.
The bones in the storage ring would definitely be attractive to Corpse Cultivators.
Besides, from what that white‑robed man said, Corpse Cultivators and demi‑demons were hardly of one mind.
By then, if they could get the help of Corpse Cultivators to deal with these demi‑demons, the effect would be twice the result for half the effort.
At the same time.
Lady Python had also returned to the very heart of the Northern North Desolation.
There was a huge plaza here.
Strange rocks jutted all around the plaza, and in the center was a place resembling a sacrificial altar.
Behind the altar lay a stretch of abandoned ancient buildings.
Those buildings looked quite old; a large part of them had even already collapsed.
This was precisely where these demi‑demons lived.
On top of the altar stood a huge stone chair.
On the stone chair sat a burly man with a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear.
The man stood a full two meters tall, clad in armor, looking every bit the picture of awe‑inspiring might.
Below him, some humanoid demi‑demons and demonic beasts paced to and fro, keeping a wary eye on the surroundings.
This burly man was naturally the one known as the King of the Northern North Desolation, the Flood Dragon.
His real name was Li Jiao. Before awakening his demi‑demon bloodline, he had been a Great General of a barbarian tribe in the Northern North Desolation.
Although that tribe couldn’t compare to the Daqian Dynasty in size, every member was physically robust, and because they bordered the Barbarian Tribe, they were constantly at war year‑round.
Anyone who could become a Great General was a figure among figures.
After his demi‑demon bloodline was awakened, Li Jiao directly killed the tribe’s chieftain along with every human in the tribe, then led those with demi‑demon blood into the Northern North Desolation and entrenched themselves there.
Though it had been less than a year, as the demi‑demon bloodlines were gradually awakened, this no‑man’s‑land of the Northern North Desolation had slowly come under the demi‑demons’ control.
And because Li Jiao’s cultivation was strong enough, he directly proclaimed himself Demon King and began opposing the human cultivators.
In front of him stood several white‑robed figures.
Although they all wore white robes, different emblems were embroidered on their chests.
They resembled an epiphyllum blossom, each in a different color.
One of them had a red epiphyllum embroidered on his chest.
This person was named Luo Dan and was a Corpse Cultivator from the Holy Temple.
Although Luo Dan was a female cultivator, she was extremely burly, and her face was pitted and scarred, utterly devoid of any beauty.
It was only natural.
As a Corpse Cultivator, she had to deal with corpses; the yin aura clinging to her was the most commonplace thing.
And because she had to refine corpses year‑round to increase her cultivation, Luo Dan’s appearance had undergone a complete transformation.
As her cultivation grew more profound, the corpse‑qi around her grew heavier and heavier, seriously affecting her original looks.
In fact, when she first started cultivating, Luo Dan had been a beauty as lovely as a flower and as pure as jade.
But now, that was nothing more than a memory.
Besides her, Lady Python stood at Li Jiao’s lower left.
A sultry smile hung on her face; from time to time she cast flirtatious glances at Li Jiao, as if wishing she could meld her body into his.
Li Jiao’s brows were knotted and bristling, and he directly ignored Lady Python’s coquettish overtures, saying sternly, "Lady Python, is what you said just now really true?"
Seeing that Li Jiao wouldn’t respond to her flirting at all, Lady Python was a little disappointed, but she still cooed, "But of course. How would I dare deceive the King?"
Then she looked toward Luo Dan and gave a cold snort. "Holy Envoy, I wonder what you have to say?"
Luo Dan hadn’t expected her little moves in the dark to be exposed, but she still had to pretend nothing was wrong. "What Lady Python said is very true, but as for this charge of harboring thoughts of betraying the Demon Clan, that’s one hat I absolutely do not dare to wear."
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