chapter 25
Outside Jinzou Town, as moonlight descended from the sky, the cultivators inside the spirit boat looked grim while staring at the communication talisman. Almost all connections with the cultivators inside Jinzou Town had been severed.
"No word from Liu either?" Elder Qi asked.
Among the cultivators who had entered the town, Liu was the strongest. With his abilities, he should have been able to send some kind of message.
"Elder Liu has sent nothing… and we can't contact the Young Master either."
"The Young Master of the Qi family is unreachable as well."
Elder Qi stood at the edge of the spirit boat, where the protective formation anchored to the Su family's spirit boat extended outward, temporarily safeguarding two Qi family spirit boats nearby. However, Elder Qi could only shield these three boats. If he left, the cultivators here would lose their barrier and fall under the eerie illumination of the pale moon high above.
Outside Jinzou Town, the moon in the sky remained eerily still. The night stretched endlessly, cloudless and stark. Yet, over Jinzou Town, the moonlight was as bright as day, enveloping the entire town. Along the town walls, faint black dots glowed in response to the moonlight, forming an ominous web that seemed to encapsulate something sinister.
Meanwhile, vegetation outside the town began to grow uncontrollably. The town walls were now cloaked in a deep green layer of vines, interwoven with the eerie formation, as if preparing to consume the entire town.
Elder Qi frowned deeply. When had the entire Jinzou Town become ensnared by such an intricate formation?
To break the formation, one must find its core. Without entering the formation, locating the core was nearly impossible. Moreover, given the formation's immense scale, it was inconceivable that it could have been set up in just a few days—it must have taken years. But this was Jinzou Town, surrounded by other sects. How could such a massive formation have been built over years without anyone noticing?
What complicated matters further was the presence of the Su family's Young Master and the Qi family's Young Master within the town. If anything happened to either, it would be impossible to explain to the powerful families behind them.
"Send word to the nearby sects…" Elder Qi paused and reconsidered. "No, to be safe, send word to Tianyuan City instead."
Before he could finish, his gaze shifted to an anomaly on the town wall. "Wait."
Suddenly, two figures appeared on the wall ahead.
One tall, one short—they silently observed the walls of Jinzou Town, their hands manipulating spinning spirit disks that seemed to be analyzing something.
"Are you certain this is the place?" the taller one asked.
The shorter one scratched his head and thought carefully. "I'm pretty sure it is. This is the spot."
Elder Qi's expression froze when he saw the two figures.
"Elder Qi, who are they?" one of the cultivators asked.
The pair on the wall turned their gaze to the floating spirit boat, seemingly noticing it at the same time.
The two wore identical outfits—the tall one dressed in white, the shorter one in black. Their waists were adorned with various magical tools. Such a distinctive appearance made their identities immediately clear.
In the Eastern Huan cultivation world, aside from the renowned sects like the One Mountain and Four Gates, there were other influential organizations. The strange attire of these two individuals made them instantly recognizable—they were members of the Rogue Cultivators' Alliance.
"The Black and White Envoys of the Rogue Cultivators' Alliance," Elder Qi murmured.
The Black and White Envoys rarely acted together, yet here they were, standing at the edge of this sinister formation.
Inside Jinzou Town
On a long street, a sword cultivator stood atop a rooftop, surrounded by severed spirit plants felled by his sword energy. Yet no matter how many he cut down, more spirit plants surged toward him, relentless like an endless tide of vitality. Even the bark-like humanoid figures he had already slain began to rise again, tirelessly creeping toward him.
The sword in his hand remained sealed. Balancing lightly on the rooftop's edge, he gazed toward the distant White Moon Tower.
This was bad. The entire town was a formation.
Though White Moon Tower seemed close, it was distorted by the strange streets, layered in an illusory haze.
Gu Qi gripped his sword tightly, watching as more bark-like humanoid figures approached. The sealed sword felt as though it was wrapped in layers of shackles, straining to break free of its scabbard.
Gu Qi, however, stayed motionless, pressing the sword down firmly. He noticed its agitation was far stronger than it had been on Nanwu Mountain. So, the disturbances in the southern region weren't centered on Nanwu Mountain after all—they were here, in Jinzou Town.
Not yet. It wasn't time to draw his sword.
He could only hope those cultivators held out long enough to spare him the chore of retrieving corpses.
Inside White Moon Tower
The number of bark-like humanoid figures grew steadily, while the cultivators capable of fighting dwindled.
The Su family's Young Master and the Qi family's Young Master, both at the peak of the Golden Core stage, were still holding on. The Su and Qi families each had a Nascent Soul cultivator remaining as well. Beyond them, the rest were either early Golden Core or Foundation Establishment cultivators, and those still able to fight were now few and far between.
Su Yi, the Su family's Young Master, was left with only two or three fellow Su family cultivators still standing. If they dragged this out for another two incense sticks' worth of time, their magical tools would fail, and all of them would meet their end here.
After a brief hesitation, Su Yi turned to Qi Yan and asked bluntly, "How do we cooperate?"
The moment Su Yi asked, Qi Yan's eyes flickered toward the unconscious cultivators they had managed to protect. Su Yi followed his gaze and immediately understood without the need for further explanation.
Su Yi frowned. "Why don't you handle it yourselves?"
Qi Yan replied, "We're clearing the way while you take care of the wounded. We're giving you the easier job, aren't we?"
The longstanding animosity between the Su and Qi families flared up instantly. Upon hearing that the Qi family intended to push all the responsibility onto them, the Su family cultivators bristled with indignation. Sarcasm and sharp remarks flew immediately.
"Humans argue even over trivial things like this?" The ink beast tilted its head, puzzled.
Zhang Fugui quietly explained, "It's probably because they can cooperate, but neither side wants to lose face."
Su Yi glanced at the silent youth in the crowd. Su Yu said nothing. As Qi Yan and Su Yi's debate over roles intensified, Su Yu simply adjusted his slightly long sleeves, his face calm and indifferent, as if waiting for them to finish. Finally, he interjected at an opportune moment, "It's been half an incense stick."
The meaning was clear: they had been arguing for half an incense stick's time, and if this continued, no one would make it out alive.
Qi Yan sneered, "Who gets to decide? Do you have more people, or do we?"
Behind Qi Yan stood four or five Qi family cultivators, with Qi Liu, a fire-element cultivator, stepping forward. His spiritual energy flared dramatically, almost flamboyantly, like a blazing red flower. In contrast, the Su family had only three remaining cultivators, making them seem outnumbered and outmatched.
The Su family cultivators took a step back and looked toward their Young Master. "Young Master, they outnumber us."
Su Yi gritted his teeth. "Carry them."
One Su family cultivator hesitated and looked at Su Yu. "Why doesn't he carry someone?"
"Wow, you really have no conscience!" Qi Liu snapped without hesitation. "He's practically a twig, sickly to boot, and you want him to carry people? How shameless can you be? Besides, those who are capable should do more work. You Su family folks are so strong—carrying a few more shouldn't be a problem!"
As he spoke, Qi Liu even shoved one of his own unconscious comrades toward the Su family cultivators.
The Su family cultivators had never been so humiliated. Not only did they have to carry their own unconscious members, but they also had to shoulder the Qi family's as well. Each of them ended up carrying at least three or four unconscious people. They couldn't even use spiritual energy to assist and had to rely solely on physical strength. Their backs bent under the weight, leaving them unable to stand straight.
What was worse, they couldn't understand why, despite being fewer in number, the Su family ended up carrying more people than the Qi family!
"What are you whining about?" Qi Liu said smugly. "Our Young Master has never endured such hardships."
The Su family cultivators glanced at Qi Yan, who stood there with no one on his back. "..."
With everyone ready, the small ink beast prepared to charge forward. Its pampered body proved unexpectedly useful, as it didn't rely on spiritual energy but rather sheer physical toughness to shove aside several bark-like humanoid figures. This created a small opening for the group to push through.
The bark-like figures didn't stop their assault, clinging to the ink beast's fur like climbing plants. The ink beast snarled in frustration, shaking them off with force, but not without sustaining injuries. Agitated, it charged ahead faster, forcing the wounded-laden cultivators to quicken their pace, veins bulging on their foreheads as they reluctantly followed.
The swarm of bark-like figures closed in, drawn by the concentration of the two families' cultivators. Su Yu, emerging from under a table, observed the chaotic scene. Unlike Zhang Fugui and the other cultivators, whose auras were distinct, the bark-like figures appeared as a single, indistinguishable mass. Their blurred edges merged into a collective whole, making it impossible to discern individual entities.
A living corpse perched on the table stared blankly at the massive tangle of bark-like figures encroaching on its prey. It turned its head slightly, glanced at Su Yu, and followed him without hesitation. Along the way, it swatted away any bark-like figures that breached the ink beast's defenses.
The ink beast noticed the corpse draining Su Yu's yin energy to sustain itself. To protect its master, the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils reluctantly supplied Su Yu with enough yin energy to keep his body stable, further depleting its already scarce resources. The spiritual fruits it had just consumed were gone in an instant.
These wastrels!
"Did you summon that thing?" Su Yi asked Qi Yan. Given the Qi family's good relationship with Xuanyu Manor and their expertise in beast mastery, the strange behavior of the living corpse raised suspicions. It followed their group closely, its every action shrouded in mystery.
Qi Yan cast Su Yi a sidelong glance and replied casually, "Our relationship isn't close enough for me to share everything with you."
For a group of cultivators already humiliated by a spirit-fruit banquet, the arrival of this living corpse had, at least temporarily, eased their dire situation. Qi Yan, the most observant among them, had noticed from the start that the corpse moved only near the Qi family cultivators. Su Yi's questions weren't surprising.
Even Qi Yan himself couldn't shake the feeling that this creature leaned toward their side.
But it wasn't quite that simple…
As a Qi family member skilled in beast mastery, Qi Yan could tell this corpse was no ordinary entity. Its seemingly simple movements—swinging its arms to attack bark-like figures—belied the precision and combat instincts of a battle-hardened veteran. Judging by its strength, it had combat power comparable to a Golden Core cultivator at their peak.
For someone to control such a creature, they would need to be at least at the Nascent Soul stage.
Looking around at the Qi family cultivators, the only Nascent Soul cultivator still capable of fighting was Qi Liu. However, Qi Yan knew Qi Liu's skills well. He was one of the least proficient in beast mastery within the Qi family… making it even less likely that anyone else could be responsible.
Qi Yan turned to Qi Liu with a peculiar look. "Are you feeling alright?"
Qi Liu was one of their few remaining capable fighters. If the little ginseng fell, they would have no one else to rely on.
Qi Liu, clearly distressed, managed to reply, "I'm fine, probably because I didn't eat as much."
Qi Yan didn't believe him. He vividly remembered Qi Liu clearing his entire table of spirit fruits earlier. For someone who ate so much to appear in better condition than himself was truly absurd.
Not just Qi Liu—Qi Yan's gaze swept across the Qi family cultivators before finally landing on Su Yu.
What he saw gave him pause. Su Yu's face was noticeably paler, drenched in cold sweat, clearly unwell.
Su Yu indeed felt far from alright. A gnawing hunger grew in his stomach, worse than anything he'd experienced in Nanwu Mountain. Back then, at least, the ambient yin energy had mitigated the hunger. Here, however, there was nothing to alleviate it.
Fortunately, the yin energy needed to drive the living corpse was minimal. Since the corpse moved autonomously, Su Yu didn't need to actively control it, allowing him to conserve his strength for a bit longer.
Reflecting on this, Su Yu glanced at the corpse ahead. Back in Nanwu Mountain, it had wanted to devour him. Yet now, with just a few words, it obediently followed his commands.
Not far away, the living corpse led the way, clearing a path. Su Yu followed closely, tracing the glowing patterns of otherworldly light stretching outward from within Baiyue Pavilion. Suddenly, he noticed the patterns vanish in the chaotic landscape before him.
Su Yu stopped abruptly. The change in his surroundings was immediately apparent. A sticky sensation underfoot filled him with unease.
"Wait, don't move," Qi Yan called out.
A moss-like green plant carpeted the ground outside Baiyue Pavilion. Twisting vines bore the same spirit fruits from their earlier banquet, now climbing across low walls and pavilions, nearly blocking every path. To make matters worse, the bark-like humanoid figures were still emerging.
"What are these things?" someone shouted.
"Spirit plants? No, something's wrong!"
The bark-like figures lined the long streets outside Baiyue Pavilion. When the cultivators emerged, the figures twisted their rigid bodies, eerie eyes locking onto them.
Qi Liu took a half-step back. "There are more of them... This never ends."
The spirit-plant-covered streets, the bark-like figures swarming endlessly, and the pale light of the moon hanging above—it all painted a nightmarish scene. Before Qi Yan could react, another ferocious wave of attacks descended upon them. The bark-like figures surged forward, forcing the little ginseng to retreat several steps. The group, barely having escaped Baiyue Pavilion, was pushed back inside.
"Retreat!" Qi Yan commanded.
Su Yu also stepped back. The living corpse stayed close, shadowing his movements. As he retreated, an unfamiliar, sweet fragrance wafted past him. The scent carried an eerie undertone, and from his peripheral vision, Su Yu noticed a strange glow beneath his feet. Patterns of light quickly spread and connected.
A formation…?
At that moment, a rough hand grabbed Su Yu. Startled, Su Yu instinctively raised his hand for a strike. Just before his palm connected with the stranger's face, a familiar, raspy voice whispered in his ear, reminiscent of a street vendor from earlier:
"Don't move. Follow me."
The other cultivators turned to see the glowing patterns linking across the ground and walls around them. Those familiar with formations immediately recognized that this place had been set up with intricate arrays.
As they pondered when the arrays had been laid, they noticed something else: new spirit plants had sprouted within the glowing patterns.
Everyone froze. Spirit plants growing within a formation?
The dark green plants twisted as they sprouted, rapidly growing to block the aggressive spirit plants. The spread of moss across the ground halted abruptly.
Even the bark-like figures hesitated, their charge disrupted. They seemed wary of the new plants, their movements faltering in disarray.
Su Yi, the Su family's young master, whipped his head around and caught sight of a cloaked figure at the edge of the scene.
The figure was short, holding Su Yu with one hand while forming seals with the other. From their sleeve, seeds spilled onto the ground, rapidly growing into towering plants that shielded the group from the bark-like figures.
Su Yi commanded, "Fall back!"
"Little ginseng!" Qi Yan called out.
The sudden development gave the group a reprieve. Without hesitation, Qi Yan followed the others as they retreated. In no time, they found themselves winding through unfamiliar alleys and streets. The air shifted subtly, and the scent of spirit plants changed.
The cloaked figure at the front led Su Yu through the twists and turns until they reached a new area. During the chaos, the living corpse vanished into the vegetation. Seizing the moment, Su Yu pulled it back into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils' restricted area under the ink beast's cover.
When the living corpse disappeared into the barrier, the cloaked figure turned to glance at Su Yu. Beneath the hood, a faint frown appeared but quickly vanished as the figure saw nothing amiss.
The long street ended at a small courtyard.
The courtyard was quiet, filled with spirit plants distinctly different from the wild growth outside. The bark-like figures halted at the boundary, snarling and shrieking, but dared not step closer as though something within the courtyard repelled them.
Once everyone was inside, the cloaked figure shut the gate and panted, "We're safe for now."
Seeing the bark-like figures held at bay, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief. Turning their attention to the courtyard, they noticed the intricate arrays spread throughout. The formations bore a striking resemblance to those used by the cloaked figure to fend off the living corpse earlier.
The group looked outside and suddenly realized that the living corpse that had been following them was no longer there. It seemed to have disappeared.
"Young Master, the monster that helped us earlier is gone," Qi Liu said.
Qi Yan, still cautious, looked around. "That's not the issue right now."
"I've seen you before," Su Yi said, looking at the cloaked figure. "During the day, you were selling goods by the Spirit Boat."
He turned to Qi Yan. "You even bought something from his stall."
Qi Yan waved his fan dismissively, his face filled with disdain. "I've visited so many stalls, how would I remember every merchant?"
The cloaked figure glanced around at the few remaining cultivators. "I warned you earlier, and I even gave you some spirit fruits, urging you to leave the city before dark."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yan began to remember, though he couldn't really be blamed. He was usually too busy buying various medicinal materials to pay attention to the merchants. The transactions were always handled by his subordinates. Meanwhile, the wealthy merchant they had dealt with earlier had already turned into a bark-like figure inside Baiyue Pavilion.
"You've all eaten the strange fruits here," the cloaked figure said as he grabbed Qi Yan's hand. Seeing the black spots creeping along his veins, he added, "The evil seed has already been planted inside you."
His gaze swept over the others, pausing on Qi Liu. "Fire-type cultivator, no wonder. Fire cultivators can temporarily suppress the growth of the seed."
Exhausted from their escape, the group finally noticed something strange in their own bodies. They had dark markings, some faint, others deep, as if something was silently growing inside them.
When the cloaked figure's gaze landed on Su Yu, he frowned slightly, but didn't speak. Instead, he said, "Once the evil seed is planted, you won't be able to leave this city."
The situation in Jinzhou Town was eerie. Outside, the bark-like figures roamed, surrounded by strange plants. Above them, the ominous moon hung in the sky, but beyond that, no further details were visible.
Su Yu didn't speak, but his eyes remained fixed on the direction where the cloaked figure had spoken. The 'energy' emanating from the cloaked figure resembled that of the bark-like figures inside Baiyue Pavilion. However, it seemed unaffected by the surrounding environment, maintaining a subtle balance between being neither fully human nor fully like the bark figures. It was something in between.
"You're not human?" Su Yu suddenly asked.
The cultivators around him glanced cautiously at the cloaked figure.
The cloaked figure pulled back his sleeve, revealing his grotesque, bark-like arm. "I'm not exactly human."
The bark-like skin on his arm was familiar; they had seen it many times on the bark-like figures, but it was the first time they had seen someone with such skin still conscious enough to speak with them.
"During the day, those people appear no different from ordinary humans. They are controlled by Jinzhou Town, living as normal people within the town. Those who arrive won't see anything unusual, and those who leave won't suspect anything. But those who have unknowingly been planted with the evil seed become puppets of Jinzhou Town."
The cloaked figure lowered his sleeve as though he had grown accustomed to this situation. His voice was rough and unpleasant as he continued, "Every seven days, during the full moon, all the bark-like figures emerge to hunt. They turn living people into their kind. The cycle never stops."
The cloaked figure continued indifferently, "For others who have been seeded with the evil, as long as they leave Jinzhou Town, the seed will disappear within three days." His voice grew colder. "But if you don't leave before the full moon, you'll be cursed. Once the evil seed takes root, you can never leave this place."
The few remaining cultivators who were still somewhat conscious fell silent upon hearing this.
Su Yu couldn't see what was in the courtyard, but he could sense the faint 'energy' lingering around them. While Qi Yan was talking to the cloaked figure, Su Yu observed his surroundings. He noticed, from a distance, the bark-like figures outside that hadn't been able to get inside. Taking advantage of the others' distraction, he curiously picked a special spirit fruit from the courtyard and casually tossed it into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
The fruit rolled toward the stone tablet in the Abyss, making Su Yu nervous, worried that the ink beast might suddenly become agitated. But just as he feared, the ink beast jumped up in alarm and snapped, "Stop throwing things into the Abyss! We have dignity too!"
Zhang Fugui didn't dare speak. Wasn't this exactly the evil seed the cloaked figure mentioned?!
Su Yu ignored the ink beast and picked another different fruit, tossing it into the Abyss. "Eat it?"
The ink beast, feeling it had been wronged but not wanting to be humiliated, eventually gave in. As it sniffed the aroma of the fruit, its hungry stomach couldn't resist. "Fine, I'll eat it! I'm not afraid of curses!"
It quickly gulped down three of the fruits, licking its lips afterward.
Zhang Fugui: "…"
What happened to its dignity?! It just ate them!
While the ink beast devoured the fruit, Su Yu observed closely, feeling the faint presence of yin energy within.
The ink beast's consumption and the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils' return of 'energy' was subtle but noticeable. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.
Without any yin energy, perhaps this could serve as a small supplement.
Su Yu asked, "How does it feel?"
The ink beast chewed and replied, "It's about the same as the stuff I ate during the day, a little sweeter than the banquet food."
Zhang Fugui gasped, "There's a difference in sweetness and bitterness with the poison?!"
Zhang Fugui had seen how other cultivators who ate the fruits turned into bark-like figures, and now seeing the ink beast enjoying the fruits, his fear of Su Yu grew. Was he really testing the poison on the beast?!
At this moment, Su Yu glanced outside again, his attention fixed on the dense spirit fruits.
Qi Liu shivered. What was he thinking? The little ginseng couldn't see. And who would be interested in those creepy things outside?
The cultivators were all in poor condition. After all the twists and turns, the only active cultivators left were Qi Yan, Qi Liu, and Su Yu. The others had been affected by the blockage inside their bodies during their earlier journey, and their physical condition had clearly worsened.
"Are you okay?" Qi Liu remembered that Su Yu had eaten a lot.
Su Yu casually replied, "I'm fine."
He tossed another spirit fruit hidden in his sleeve into the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
Qi Yan looked around. "The evil seed you mentioned—are these plants here…?"
"Those outside are strange plants, but the ones in this courtyard are ones I've planted," the cloaked figure rasped. "They can suppress the evil seed in their bodies, preventing it from worsening too quickly."
He paused and continued, "At least for a day, they won't turn into what you've seen. But over time, they will all die here."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yan stopped fanning himself.
One day. If they didn't find a way to lift the curse, all the cultivators would die.
Su Yu furrowed his brows and lowered his head, looking at his arm.
"This can't be… there are only three of us left who can fight," Qi Liu said in disbelief, glancing outside. "And out there, there are so many of those creepy things. We can't use spiritual power, and we can't even escape."
It was essentially a death sentence.
The surroundings fell into a deep silence.
Su Yu was very hungry and had no interest in listening to Qi Yan and the others' discussions. The only thing he heard from Qi Liu's words was the mention of many strange things outside... There were numerous strange plants and fruits beyond his sight.
A single fruit from the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils could barely provide him with any energy, but if it was the strange fruits from all of Jinzhou Town...
The ink beast, having just finished one of the fruits, shuddered for some unknown reason. It was about to probe Su Yu's thoughts when it suddenly heard its master's voice in its sea of consciousness—
Su Yu: "You can still eat, right?"
There was no room for negotiation in his tone.
Ink beast: "?"
Eat? What eat?