Du Qiu Captured
Translator: Cinder Translations
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Tracking someone at night is very troublesome; a moment of inattention can expose oneself. With poor visibility at night, if you want to avoid losing the target, you must stay close, but getting too close can also reveal your presence.
Although Song Wen was only a Qi Refining Stage cultivator at the fifth level, much weaker than Du Qiu, every cultivator has some life-preserving methods.
The fact that Song Wen survived the dangerous Withered Blood Secret Realm meant he was no ordinary person.
Deadly poisons, sinister magical tools, concealed weapons, and so on...
If he accidentally fell victim to Song Wen's underhanded tricks, he could even lose his life.
Thinking about it, Du Qiu recalled the scene a few days ago when Shi Shou had been enraged upon learning that Song Wen had suddenly entered the Withered Blood Secret Realm. Du Qiu shuddered with fear.
At that time, he even suspected that if Song Wen did not survive the secret realm, Shi Shou might direct his anger at him, leaving him with no place to bury his remains.
Song Wen had just emerged from the perilous Withered Blood Secret Realm and immediately left the sect without a moment's rest. Clearly, he had something extremely important to do.
If Du Qiu could not uncover the reason for Song Wen's departure from the sect and report it to Shi Shou, he feared severe punishment.
Weighing the pros and cons, Du Qiu decided to follow him.
This made Song Wen, who was closely watching Du Qiu's movements, pleased. He had been worried that Du Qiu might not follow him.
To prevent Du Qiu from losing track, Song Wen chose to travel on well-trodden paths rather than remote areas.
The Corpse Demon Sect had many Qi Refining Stage disciples, most of whom traveled on foot. Over time, the main routes out of the sect had been gradually paved into roads suitable for carriages.
After traveling for over an hour and covering nearly a hundred miles, Song Wen released a Black Gu to confirm that there was no one within several miles.
Song Wen stopped and called out.
"Du Qiu, you've been following me for so long. Come out."
Du Qiu was startled. Since Song Wen was on a main road, he wasn't worried about losing him and had kept a few hundred meters behind Song Wen.
Logically, with such a distance, it should have been difficult for Song Wen, who was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, to detect him.
However, now that he had been exposed, there was no point in continuing to hide.
He quickly stepped forward and stopped several dozen meters away from Song Wen.
"Ji Yin, you've just come out of the secret realm and are in a hurry to go somewhere. Where are you headed?"
Song Wen smiled faintly. "There's no need for Du Qiu to worry about that. But why is Du Qiu following me in the middle of the night? What's your purpose?"
Du Qiu said, "Ji Yin, although your cultivation is low, you're quite bold. It's the middle of the night in the wilderness with no one around. Aren't you afraid that I might kill you? After all, you've just come out of the secret realm; you must have a lot of spirit herbs on you, right?"
Song Wen sneered, "Kill me? You probably don't have the courage. If you killed me, Elder Shi Shou wouldn't spare you, would he?"
Du Qiu's expression suddenly turned astonished, and he exclaimed.
"How did you know that Elder Shi Shou sent me to track you?"
Before Du Qiu could hear Song Wen's response, he saw Song Wen suddenly charge at him from not far away, moving at an incredibly fast speed. In the darkness, Du Qiu could barely see a blurry shadow.
Without time to think, Du Qiu instinctively reached for the corpse-rearing bag at his waist, intending to summon a corpse puppet to defend himself.
A cold light sliced through the night.
"Ah!" Du Qiu cried out in alarm.
The cold light severed his hand that was reaching for the storage bag, cutting through his wrist and causing a torrent of blood to gush out.
Before Du Qiu could react further, he felt a hand like an iron claw gripping his neck.
Song Wen's grip was very strong, and Du Qiu felt as if his throat might be crushed at any moment.
"Be obedient, or I'll crush your neck," Song Wen said coldly.
"Good... breathe... breathe," with his neck being held, Du Qiu's face turned red from the lack of air. He wanted to speak, but only managed to produce gasping sounds.
Song Wen waved his other hand and collected the severed hand that had fallen to the ground, putting it away.
He then used a burst of spiritual energy to shatter the bloodstains on the ground, covering the traces of blood.
Summoning a flying boat, Song Wen picked up Du Qiu and flew towards the depths of the darkness.
...
Song Wen injected a stream of spiritual energy into Du Qiu's body.
"Pfft!"
Du Qiu spurted out a mouthful of blood. The spiritual energy Song Wen had used not only disrupted his meridians and spiritual power, making it difficult for him to mobilize his energy in a short time, but also inflicted significant internal injuries.
Injured and unable to use his spiritual power temporarily, Du Qiu was thrown onto the flying boat by Song Wen.
"Du Qiu, tell me, why did Shi Shou want you to monitor me?"
At this point, Du Qiu finally realized that Song Wen, despite only being a Qi Refining Stage cultivator, had strength far beyond his own. He looked at Song Wen with fear and bitterness, and said, "Do you think Elder Shi Shou would tell me the reason for monitoring you? I'm just a lowly minion who follows his orders."
Song Wen's eyes grew cold. "In that case, there's no use keeping you alive."
With that, the cold light appeared again!
Du Qiu's left leg was severed at the root.
"Ah!"
Du Qiu cried out in pain.
"Ji Yin, I really don't know anything. Please give me a quick end."
"Do you really not know anything?"
Song Wen was somewhat suspicious and thought for a moment. Then, two ordinary Beetle Gus flew out from his mouth.
The Beetle Gus fluttered their wings and flew in front of Du Qiu's eyes.
"This insect is called a Beetle Gu. It feeds on human blood and internal organs. The two Gu before you have only the strength of a first-level Qi Refining cultivator, so they are weak and eat slowly. They will gradually gnaw at your heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and then your brain."
"Don't worry, I will try my best to keep you alive and conscious during this process, so you can slowly experience the torment of having your organs and brain eaten."
Du Qiu's eyes were filled with terror. The two small insects flying in front of him looked like demons crawling out of hell, giving him chills.
"I'll talk. I only ask that Ji Yin give me a quick end."
"The cultivation method you practice, the 'Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique,' was given to you by Shi Shou through me."
"Shi Shou had me monitor your movements and progress. As long as you don't switch to other methods and don't seek death intentionally, Shi Shou has allowed me not to interfere with your cultivation."
"A few months ago, when your cultivation broke through to the Qi Refining Fifth Level, Shi Shou ordered me to strengthen the surveillance on you. If you break through to the Qi Refining Sixth Level, I must report immediately."
"Your sudden entry into the Withered Blood Secret Realm made Shi Shou very angry."
"That's all I know."
After saying this, Du Qiu closed his eyes and waited for death.
But then he heard Song Wen ask, "Do you know if the 'Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique' has any special features? Is there anyone else cultivating this technique?"
Du Qiu replied, "I don't know. The 'Corpse King Blood Refinement Technique' is not a sect inheritance technique but something Shi Shou obtained from outside. I have seen Shi Shou practice it before, and it seems somewhat similar to your own corpse cultivation."
"I suppose Shi Shou is also cultivating this technique. As for whether anyone else in the sect is cultivating this technique, I don't know."
(End of the Chapter)
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