Translator: Cinder Translations
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The night passed without incident.
This night, Song Wen refined three Qi-replenishing pills, replenishing his spiritual power substantially.
As dawn broke, Song Wen emerged from the crevice in the cliff. After climbing to the mountaintop, he hurried towards the direction of the Corpse Demon Sect.
The dense forest was filled with trees and dense undergrowth, intertwined with countless vines. Without using any talismans, relying solely on his physical strength to traverse the path, Song Wen's speed was not particularly fast. He had been on the road for over two hours, covering more than three hundred li of mountainous terrain.
While running, Song Wen suddenly sensed a figure appearing overhead. He swept out with his spiritual power and was surprised to find that the person was someone he knew—it was Ghost Three.
Ghost Three was in a very bad state. When Song Wen noticed him, Ghost Three plummeted directly from high altitude, crashing down about ten meters in front of Song Wen.
Ghost Three broke several large trees and rolled over ten meters on the ground before being stopped by a tree trunk.
Blood gushed continuously from his mouth, mixed with many fragments of internal organs.
Ghost Three also noticed Song Wen, but he didn't recognize Song Wen's identity. Song Wen's strength was too weak; during yesterday's battle with the Yan family, Ghost Three had never paid attention to him.
"Fellow Daoist, save me! I will give you ample rewards."
Ghost Three seemed to muster his last bit of strength to say these words, then fainted, motionless on the ground.
The sudden turn of events startled Song Wen. He immediately swept the surroundings with his spiritual power but found no one else, which eased his mind slightly.
However, he did not let his guard down nor approach Ghost Three rashly.
He activated a swift talisman, then used the Blood Escape Technique. His entire body surged with blood energy, and his speed increased several times. Slashing through the dense forest, he disappeared without a trace.
As for the benefits promised by Ghost Three, it was out of the question.
Song Wen felt that if he really went to rescue Ghost Three, once Ghost Three recovered from his injuries, Song Wen would probably be the first one he would kill.
Ghost Three, as a robber cultivator, relied on plundering and pillaging other cultivators for cultivation resources.
Wanting to show kindness to Ghost Three and gain benefits was probably wishful thinking.
As for killing Ghost Three and plundering the resources on his body, for a moment, Song Wen also had such thoughts.
But he quickly dismissed them. Ghost Three, a cultivator who often walked the line between life and death, even though he looked on the verge of death now, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, who knew if he had any tricks up his sleeve? What if he was pretending to be unconscious? If Song Wen approached him, it was very likely that he would end up dead himself.
Seeing Song Wen decisively turn and leave, Ghost Three, lying on the ground, twitched his mouth slightly.
He had been chased and intercepted by experts from the Yan family. Finally escaping, he was heavily injured. Moreover, the Yan family's techniques were venomous, and he was deeply poisoned. The medicinal herbs for healing and detoxification were also exhausted.
He originally thought he was doomed this time. But when he exhausted the last trace of spiritual power in his body and was flying his boat through the mortal forest, he suddenly saw a cultivator rushing by.
He pinned his hopes of survival on this cultivator.
So, he put away his flying boat and tried to land.
But at this moment, the toxins he had been suppressing suddenly erupted. This caused him to lose control of his body and fall directly from mid-air.
Initially, he had wanted to play a trick on that early Qi-cultivating cultivator, but unexpectedly, the cultivator fled immediately.
"You really are cautious. Don't you want any opportunities? A heavily injured and dying cultivator falls before you, yet you're unmoved."
Ghost Three thought bitterly, then loosened the grip on his talisman.
His consciousness became increasingly blurred, and then he completely fainted away.
Two hours later.
After searching everywhere for the trace of Ghost Three, the Yan family's cultivators finally found this place.
Yan Gao's figure landed first, seeing Ghost Three who was already on the brink of death, a cruel smile crept onto Yan Gao's lips.
"You dared to oppose my Yan family, how could I let you die so easily."
"Someone, administer the detoxification medicine to him, then pierce the soul field and bring him back to the clan."
"I want to extract his soul and refine a soul lamp, so that his soul will endure the burning flames for eternity. This is the fate for those who dare to offend the Yan family."
Following behind Yan Gao were three other cultivators, who began to carry out the orders.
At this moment, Yan Gao was in a good mood. Another escaping robber cultivator had already been killed by another team from the Yan family.
Now that Ghost Three was also in his hands, it meant that all the robber cultivators who had attacked the Yan family this time had been completely wiped out.
However, it was heard that the disciple of the Corpse Demon Sect, Ji Yin, who was supposed to be here to take stock, was nowhere to be found, which was a major hidden danger.
But, a Qi-refining third-layer minor cultivator shouldn't stir up much trouble. Sooner or later, the Yan family's people would find him, and there was absolutely no chance he would return to the Corpse Demon Sect alive.
A Yan family woman who was currently binding Ghost Three glanced around the trees and grasses and said to Yan Gao.
"Third Uncle, there seem to be traces of other people's activities around here!"
Yan Gao, muscular and not very observant, looked puzzled and asked.
"Xiao Qiu, what do you mean?"
The woman called Xiao Qiu was named Yan Qiu, known in the Yan family for her meticulous thinking. She pointed in several directions.
Although Ghost Three had crashed from mid-air, causing a mess around the grass and trees, with a little careful observation, it was not difficult to find traces of someone else's activity here.
"Third Uncle, look at these places. There are traces of someone's activity here. The grass has been trampled."
Yan Gao followed Yan Qiu's finger and looked for a while without understanding. However, he knew his own situation well—his body refining talent was good, but his brain wasn't particularly sharp.
Since Yan Qiu said there were traces of someone's activity, it shouldn't be aimless.
"What's going on? Could it be Ghost Three's accomplice?" Yan Gao asked.
Yan Qiu shook her head and said, "I don't know about that, but if it really is Ghost Three's accomplice, there's no reason to leave Ghost Three unattended here. Even if they couldn't take Ghost Three away, they should have given Ghost Three a clean end."
Just then, a figure hurriedly descended from mid-air.
"I've seen Third Uncle," the newcomer clasped his fists and greeted Yan Gao.
"With such haste, what's the matter?" Yan Gao asked.
"Yan Feng and the other five were ordered to chase Ji Yin, but they haven't returned. Recently, a clan member found traces of a battle. After careful investigation, the clan believes that Yan Feng and the others have been killed, and Ji Yin might have escaped."
"Ji Yin escaped!" Yan Gao was somewhat incredulous.
"And he killed Yan Feng and the others. How did Ji Yin manage to do that?"
Yan Qiu also wore a look of disbelief. After a brief shock, she said,
"Third Uncle, could these traces be left by Ji Yin? This place is exactly on the way to the Corpse Demon Sect."
(End of the Chapter)
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