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Chapter 216: Only Half Left?

Groups of villagers gathered around a thatched cottage, blocked by officials from the government office, discussing animatedly.

"I can't believe it. Li Si was such an honest and straightforward person. Who would have thought he'd be a diabolical cultivator? My goodness..." remarked one villager.

"Back in the day, he said his wife ran off with someone else. I even felt sorry for him for a while, but it turns out he killed her and buried her in their backyard..." another villager added.

"And that's not all. Look at all the skeletons they dug up. Who knows how many people he's killed over the years... All those people who went missing in the mountains around the village, they probably fell victim to him..." a third villager chimed in.

"How did such a decent person fall into the path of the dark side?" wondered another.

"Truly terrifying," murmured someone else.

"..."

Chu Liang stood among the crowd and listened to the discussions, forming a rough impression of Li Si.

Li Si was an honest vendor, barely noticeable on ordinary days. He would push his cart into the city to sell goods in the evening and return home at dawn. Since his wife's death, no one cared about his whereabouts.

He was almost living in plain sight yet unnoticed by anyone.

His entire life trajectory could be clearly outlined. Perhaps he stumbled upon some diabolical cultivation technique by chance and practiced it accordingly, but he couldn't possibly be a hidden disciple of a diabolical sect for many years.

Why would the actual Soul Destroyer Sect, which had remained hidden for many years, invest so much effort in abducting him?

Chu Liang stepped forward, while Lin Bei stood nearby, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "We've unearthed more than thirty sets of bones in total, but it might not be all the victims of his crimes. To ascend to the third realm, a diabolical cultivator would have to take so many lives. This sect is damned!"

"But do you know that this cultivation method did not originate from a diabolical sect?" Shang Ziliang interjected.

"Oh?" Chu Liang really had no idea.

"During the chaotic era when the demon god wreaked havoc and demons invaded, countless people in the land of the nine provinces were being defeated. The human cultivators couldn't fight back against the power of the demon race. It was not until the founding father of the Soul Destroyer Sect stepped forward and created this cultivation method," Shang Ziliang explained. "This cultivation method doesn't require a huge amount of resources. You just need enough humans to sacrifice. It enabled them to quickly train powerful cultivators who could join the battle."

"Is that so?" Chu Liang was shocked.

"I read it in the secret Confucian teachings hid away by my father, so it must be true," said Shang Ziliang. "After the great calamity passed, those who continued to practice this technique were immediately killed. And the founding father of the Soul Destroyer Sect, who had been hailed as a hero by humans initially, was then labeled as a devil and executed. Since then, the Soul Destroyer Sect became a diabolical sect."

"Haih," sighed Chu Liang.

The search here was reaching completion.

Aside from some ancient-looking books in Li Si's house, there were no other items that seemed to belong to a cultivator. He could be considered really broke even among cultivators of unconventional paths.

Chu Liang took a stroll to a hillside. He then took out the little silkworm and placed it on the leaf of a huge tree, curious to see if it would eat leaves.

The little silkworm gradually woke up, shaking its head and wiggling.

Suddenly, it turned its big head, plopped onto the ground, and started crawling in a certain direction.

Scritch, scritch, scritch.

Its pace wasn't sluggish, but it was undeniably cuter when it moved forward without its legs visible.

But it was the first time it wasn't burrowing into the ground but instead moving steadily in one direction. Chu Liang glanced at it and decided not to stop the little silkworm, but rather to follow its path.

The little silkworm was picking up speed, its wriggling movement conveying a sense of anticipation.

It was clearly in a rush!

Where exactly do you want to go?

...

The path ahead gradually became rugged, winding downwards, passing through a crevice in the mountain valley and revealing a huge underground cavern below. It appeared to be a landslide caused by heavy rain, eventually exposing an underground hollow.

Surprisingly, there was a huge, swiftly flowing river into the cavern!

The water of this river felt extremely cold, emanating a bone-chilling qi, seemingly carrying a hint of eeriness.

Except for the section exposed on the surface, the entire river flowed in the underground cavern. The little silkworm wasted no time in burrowing down, turning along the riverbank and crawling along.

Chu Liang had just been worried if it would dive deep into the water, but now he heaved a sigh of relief; it seemed the tiny silkworm had no intention of swimming.

They then turned into an underground cavern. Thankfully, the ceiling of the cavern was high enough and Chu Liang, despite having no foothold, could still manage to move forward while hovering in the air.

The little silkworm crawled along the wall for what felt like an eternity. The gloomy river ahead had shifted its course, leaving behind a vast, empty riverbank. They were already so deep underground that he had no idea of their depth.

This is...

Chu Liang formed a Bright Light Seal with his right hand, illuminating the path ahead. In the faint glow, he could discern only a dark stone residence, its features obscured by layers of mud and sand. The door frame and plaque were barely visible, completely blocked off by the accumulated debris.

It seemed this place was once an underwater residence, hidden beneath the murky depths of the river, now unveiled by the shifting currents. Water had seeped inside, leaving behind traces of its intrusion. Decayed and broken cups, books, and other items lay scattered outside the residence.

There was a strong smell of death.

Could it be that this is the residence of some lost cultivators, and the little silkworm has sensed valuable items in this place?

Can this tiny creature really search for treasures?

Chu Liang's confusion didn't last long, as the silkworm decisively burrowed into the sealed gate crafted from mud and sand.

Swoosh—

Chu Liang certainly couldn't use his head to burrow through; instead, he wielded the Dustless Sword, cutting open a path with its radiant sword qi.

Upon stepping through the entrance, a sharp whistling sound echoed. Beneath his feet, the mud concealed a swamp, from which dozens of bone spears suddenly emerged!

Thanks to Chu Liang's quick reflexes, he swiftly propped up a green leaf umbrella, holding it downward to block the onslaught of bone spears with a clang.

It was evident that this enchanted formation had been hastily arranged, and over the years, its power had likely diminished significantly; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so straightforward.

After traversing the swamp and enduring several broken formations along a corridor, Chu Liang finally arrived at a spacious cave dwelling partially buried in mud. Everything, including a set of skeletal remains partially concealed by the earth, lay hidden.

Suddenly, Chu Liang felt the Crimson Executioner vibrating in the expansive space of the White Pagoda.

Chu Liang furrowed his brows.

It was the first time the Crimson Executioner felt agitated over a corpse.

What heinous crime had this individual committed during their lifetime to provoke the Crimson Executioner's urge to whip this corpse?

The individual to whom these skeletal remains once belonged must have had a high cultivation level. Yet, the residual spiritual essence within the remaining bones was far from intact.

In fact, his corpse was highly fragmented, with only about half of the body remaining... or even less.

It appeared that the injuries sustained in life were of an unimaginable magnitude.

With just this minuscule amount of spiritual energy left, it was likely impossible to use such a corpse to cultivate any valuable treasures of nature.

When this thought crossed his mind, Chu Liang was terrified by the fact that he was even thinking about such things.

His immediate reaction upon seeing the corpse of an Eminent One was to consider its potential for cultivation of plants...

Behind the corpse stood some shelves displaying various books and scrolls, but most of them had already decayed beyond recognition, with only a few remaining intact. There didn't appear to be any visible treasures among them.

The only item of interest was a bronze cauldron placed on the table, emitting a faint divine light. It appeared to be a powerful enchanted tool.

Chu Liang's gaze wasn't as quick as the silkworm's short legs; he had just noticed the bronze cauldron when the tiny silkworm's head popped out from the surface of the cauldron. It had already chewed a path out.

Good lord... Chu Liang felt so much pain.

We don't even know the level of this enchanted tool and you are already eating it?

Nevertheless, this item had indeed been discovered by the silkworm itself. Chu Liang didn't fight with it for the cauldron.

Compared to the joy of finding an enchanted tool, he was even more pleasantly surprised that the silkworm was really capable of finding treasures.

If he trained this silkworm, wouldn't he potentially amass a fortune in the future?

So while the silkworm was busy eating, Chu Liang searched around and set his sights on a certain finger of the corpse.

This finger was markedly different from the others, appearing rather shiny.

You have a golden finger too? Chu Liang thought to himself.

Chu Liang approached with a smile and confirmed that it was indeed a bone with mystical abilities.

Considering the individual's evil past, Chu Liang wasn't courteous in his actions. With a snap, he broke the finger off.

He took the phalange in his hand and examined it for a while.

Then, he tried to infuse it with foundational qi.

Rumble—

The wall behind the corpse suddenly moved!

This peculiar phalange is a key? Chu Liang thought to himself.

Chu Liang entered the space revealed by the moving wall and found only a small area. Inside, there lay a golden skull, likely a refined enchanted tool.

Within the skull's mouth, there rested a scroll made of sheepskin scroll.

"Hmm?" Chu Liang murmured, a hint of suspicion creeping into his voice. This skull looks familiar...

But since Chu Liang was uncertain of what the skull represented, he did not want to act rashly.

As he hesitated, Chu Liang heard a clanging sound from outside, accompanied by shouts.

Something happened? He thought to himself.

Hastily, Chu Liang grabbed the silkworm, which was munching away happily, and darted into the narrow space. As he rotated the distal section of the phalange, the wall sealed shut.

In just a short moment, the silkworm had grown a couple of sizes larger again. Whether it was due to the spiritual energy contained within the cauldron or its own astonishing growth rate, Chu Liang wasn't certain.

...

Not long after, a somewhat familiar voice sounded from outside, "So this is the burial ground of the Elder Reaper! Finally found it!"

It was the diabolical cultivator from last night!

The current leader of the Soul Destroyer Sect!

From the sounds of the disorderly footsteps, there should be a few underlings trailing behind him.

Chu Liang's heart skipped a beat. He held his breath, fearing that his qi might give him away.

Even with the Crimson Executioner boosting his power, he wasn't certain he could defeat such an opponent. It was best to wait and observe for a while.

After a pause, the leader of the Soul Destroyer Sect laughed again and said, "It looks just like the drawing in the manual! This is the Immortal's Cauldron of Inferno! For the past several thousands of years, this has remained the most treasured possession of my Soul Destroyer Sect. The Elder Reaper of our sect lost it here! Today, I've found it again! I can only refine the Great Pill of Mortal Sacrifice! Hehehe..."

A clang then sounded, indicating that he had most likely grabbed that bronze cauldron and held it up.

But then, his laughter abruptly ceased.

Immediately, a voice tinged with confusion followed. "Huh? Why is it only half?"