Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jiang Li had just broken through to the Golden Core realm, but immediately after, he entered the state of fusing the five cores.
Most of the Golden Core aura was locked in his Qi Sea. The bit that leaked out was also obscure and unstable.
Therefore, if he did not deliberately reveal it, ordinary cultivators would not be able to see through Jiang Li’s cultivation at all.
Mu Chunkong’s vision was not bad, and he saw a bit of Jiang Li’s aura.
However, he had an unstable aura and had also eaten a precious Earth-rank medicinal pill, the “Body Repairing Golden Wyrm Pill” some time ago. Thus, the dense medicinal qi in his body had yet to dissipate.
This situation looked very similar to those second-generation cultivators who relied on medicinal pills to raise their cultivation levels.
This was also the reason why he said Jiang Li was nothing much. Mu Chunkong, who had received elite education since he was young, felt that he was extremely outstanding and usually looked down on such people.
Elder Mu and the other cultivators of the Great Mountain Alliance also knew that Jiang Li had just broken through to the Foundation Establishment realm and did not think in that direction at all.
However, the speed at which Jiang Li rode his sword just now was already something that she had to look up to.
“Qiuhua has already awakened that… If it’s him… perhaps he can really save her and let her live freely…”
Elder Mu returned to her senses. The most important thing now was to find Qiuhua. If the Great Mountain Alliance could not find her, she could only reveal her daughter’s special physique to the family.
Although Qiuhua would definitely return to the cage in the future if she did that, being alive was the most important.
“Where is the mayor?”
“I’m here. Do you have any instructions?”
“Gather all the people in your town here! Everyone!”
The others had already taken Jiang Li’s ghost and started to read the minds of the local residents one by one, trying to find any clues from the group of mortals.
Elder Mu also grabbed a ghost in her hand and chased after the crazy woman.
The woman was still impossible to talk to. She kept repeating the words “it’s gone”.
“Mayor, what’s wrong with this woman?”
The mayor, who was busy directing the residents, hurriedly ran over.
“Immortal Masters, she’s Widow Li who lives in a dilapidated temple outside the city.”
Everyone clearly was not asking for the name. They gestured for the other party to continue speaking and pick up the important things to say.
“This Widow Li is also a person with a tough life. She lost her parents at the age of twelve or thirteen. Her family doesn’t have farmland, so she can only live in the dilapidated temple outside the town.”
“After that, he married Old Li, who was a farmer, and lived a few years of life of having sufficient food to eat. However, who would have thought that after giving birth for less than two years, Old Li would fall to his death on the night road?”
“She’s been raising that child. In the east, she helps people wash their clothes, and in the west, she helps people knit clothes. Life has been going on.”
“A few years ago, her child was chosen by someone from the Immortal Opportunity Envoy who came to the village. With the monetary compensation, she should be able to live a good life.”
“But after she went back to the dilapidated temple on the mountain to pray, a few days later, she came back with hysteria. From then on, she became crazy. This is what it means to not be able to enjoy life…”
The few of them looked at each other. If this woman had not encountered a ghost, then perhaps she had seen something that she should not have seen.
After asking a few times and failing to communicate, Elder Mu, who was eager to save her daughter, could only use Jiang Li’s ghost.
“Please tell me what you saw!”
Closing her eyes, her mind entered the mortal soul along with the ghost.
This woman’s soul was incomplete. It was probably because she had lost a part of her soul that she was in such a delirious state.
In the past few years, she might have been trapped in the scene she saw and could not escape.
She was very pitiful, but it was much more convenient to read her mind and search like this.
As soon as her mind connected, unforgettable images were transmitted to her.
Not long after, Elder Mu shakily removed the palm that was pressing on the other party’s head and opened her eyes.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
“The dilapidated temple on the mountain! The dilapidated temple on the mountain! Quick!”
A group of people grabbed the mayor and led the way, bringing streams of light to the dilapidated temple on the desolate mountain as quickly as possible.
As soon as they landed, the group of cultivators quickly discovered that something was wrong. They smelled a very obvious smell of blood.
Looking around, they discovered a new piece of soil.
The soil there had been dug up recently!
They seemed to have thought of something as a few Hidden Rock cultivators dug up the floating soil. Then, they were all stunned on the spot.
The mayor screamed and fainted on the spot.
If not for the fact that the Hidden Rock cultivator beside him had stuck a talisman on his body to protect his soul, when he woke up tomorrow, this mayor might have also fallen into madness.
What appeared in front of everyone were corpses!
The pit was filled with headless corpses!
The children who had been brought out of the town a few days ago were not taken away at all. They were all buried here.
What did that woman see back then? What was gone?
It was the children whose heads were gone!
“Qiuhua! Qiuhua!”
Elder Mu was about to go crazy. She directly jumped into the corpse pit and started to search with her bare hands. She did not look like a cultivator at all.
With the stamina of a Golden Core cultivator, the hundreds of corpses in the pit were all dug out.
The stench of decay and blood was so dense that it could almost be lit by a fire.
Only a few Hidden Rock cultivators who had seen more dark things could remain calm.
They lined up the corpses and analyzed the wounds and any possible clues.
Below these corpses, another layer of children’s corpses that had long turned into bones appeared. They also had no heads.
This was not the first time that those damned guys had done such a thing.
The only fortunate thing was that Shenshan Qiuhua and the other cultivators of the Great Mountain Alliance were not among them.
“Elder Mu, calm down first. The number of corpses here doesn’t match.”
“The mayor said that 912 people were taken away this year. However, there are only 911 corpses.”
“Those people should have taken away the child who really had a spiritual root. Ordinary children without spiritual roots were killed. Shenshan Qiuhua and the others should have been taken away as well.”
…
On the official road more than 50 kilometers away, a convoy pulled by spirit colts was traveling under the night sky.
In the carriage at the front, six cultivators dressed as merchants were gathered together and chatting.
“Sigh, the gains this time are not small. Two Profound-rank flying swords are worth a lot of money.”
“Hehe, Big Brother heard that your child has been tested with a water attribute spiritual root. This flying sword is perfect for use.”
They disguised themselves as mortal wine merchants on the main road. Even if they were seen by others, they would not notice anything amiss.
They sat in the carriage chatting and laughing as they distributed the spoils of war from the previous day.
“Small forces like this that meddle in other people’s business are quite rich.”
“There are still a few geniuses inside. After shipping them out, they can also sell for a lot of spirit stones. If we can encounter such people every day, we’ll be rich.”
A few of them were very happy. Only the one called big brother looked serious and reliable.
“Control yourself. The more low-profile you are in our line of work, the better. Don’t easily fight with others. If we are discovered, our heads will fall to the ground.”
The water attribute Profound-rank flying sword that this elder brother handed over was indeed a good item that was not easy to see.
Thinking of his child, he hung the flying sword on his waist.
“We have you, Big Brother. Big Brother, you’re a dignified Nascent Soul cultivator. Anyone who sees you should give some face.”
Others still did not think that the high yield was enough to keep them busy.
“Alright, after we complete this transaction, I should retire. I’ll leave the Eastern Region and find a new city to live in. We brothers might never see each other again.”
“When the sun rises, we’ll reach the next town. Everyone, get ready.”
This group of people did not bring many children as Jiang Li had imagined.
As soon as they came out of the town, they buried the excess mortal children on the ground.
Therefore, the speed at which they traveled was several times faster. They crossed several towns and arrived at another mortal gathering place that was relatively far away.
They were very cautious. They had always been using the method of changing places every time they struck. Every time they took away the children, they would give them money as compensation.
Deception, coupled with genuine gold and silver, would not cause public anger, so there was naturally no suspicion or investigation.
As a result, they did not attract much attention after so many years. Many towns even looked forward to their arrival.
The next day, their convoy drove into a new town. They displayed some spells and quickly made the mortals in the city happy.
The mortals in the town put down their work and brought their children to line up in front of the convoy.
What they held in their hands was not a true Immortal Opportunity Stone.
No matter who grabbed it, they could basically release light. However, only they knew if there was really a spiritual root.
Hundreds of children of suitable age were loaded onto the carriages.
With such an exaggerated birth rate of spiritual roots, they could easily convince the local residents with just one sentence, “This place is a place where spiritual qi gather. There are outstanding people and talents everywhere.”
There was also a large amount of silver that was enough to make these families rich.
“Big Brother, there are really many cultivation seedlings here. We can earn a little more this time.”
Their casual words seemed to have come true.
In this town, they had tested more than 20 children with spiritual roots.
They had been doing this all year round and knew very well the probability of a spiritual root appearing.
In such a large town, it was already extremely lucky for one or two cultivation seedlings to appear every year.
This time, it was more than ten times. Perhaps a cultivator family had really appeared in this town and left behind some bloodline inheritances.
However, they would only appear in ordinary towns without anyone’s protection. They had long stepped on certain spots, so no one would discover their traces.
After spending a day pretending to test their spiritual roots and rejecting the enthusiastic invitations of these mortals, they drove the carriage towards the distant mountain.
These mortals sent the Immortal Masters away happily.
However, they did not know what the cultivators they called Immortal Masters would do to their children.
They only needed those children with spiritual root aptitude to live. As for the rest, they only needed to take away a head to sell for a good price.
As for the larger number of cumbersome bodies, they could just find a place to bury them in the mountain ahead.
Under the moonlight, the convoy slowly left.
Over 50 kilometers away, Jiang Li who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground suddenly opened his eyes..