Chapter 35: Breakthrough Part 1

The ability to control corpses was extremely rare in the Cultivation World.

After all, those who sought immortality devoted their time to improving their own cultivation and would not waste it learning to manipulate dead bodies. Gui Nian’an’s technique of pretending to be alive with the dead was especially scarce.

As more gray mist wrapped around He Yongshi’s corpse, the wounds on his body had completely healed. Only his tattered clothes and the bloodstained shreds of fabric proved that the injuries had once existed.

Bo Xuenong crushed the short blade that had detached from He Yongshi’s body. She gazed at the increasingly lifelike He Yongshi and parted her lips slightly. “Your ability is very special.”

‘What He Yongshi’ suddenly raised his head. His blood-red eyes fixed on Bo Xuenong as he let out a low laugh. “Thank you.”

The extremely faint voice did not quite sound like He Yongshi’s, yet the timbre was unmistakably his.

This was also part of Gui Nian’an’s ability!

Bo Xuenong turned back in surprise to glance at Gui Nian’an. “You can make him speak?”

Simply manipulating a corpse to kill would not have surprised Bo Xuenong, as that could be seen as a form of object control. But Gui Nian’an could make the corpse look alive and even speak. As long as they obtained the corpse of a Heavenly Feast Sect elder… Bo Xuenong’s imagination halted when she saw the blood-red eyes of ‘He Yongshi’.

She pointed at ‘He Yongshi’s’ eyes. “Is there no way to change this?”

Gui Nian’an nodded. “I can’t do it yet.”

Not yet meant it might be possible someday.

The path of corpse refining was too obscure, with no precedents to reference. They could only see how far Gui Nian’an could explore it.

Bo Xuenong still felt that Gui Nian’an’s ability was so rare that it would surely prove invaluable someday.

For example…

Bo Xuenong withdrew her finger and asked Gui Nian’an seriously. “Can you make him kowtow to me?”

Gui Nian’an’s dead-still eyes trembled slightly. She did not quite understand Bo Xuenong’s thinking but still nodded. “Yes.”

Gui Nian’an glanced sideways at ‘He Yongshi’, and he stiffly knelt down. His knees thudded solidly against the ground, creating a loud bang that felt like it cracked bones.

‘What He Yongshi’ kowtowed firmly, his forehead repeatedly smashing into the floor. A large red mark quickly appeared on it.

Bo Xuenong watched, the arc of her smile growing wider.

She felt that Gui Nian’an understood her.

The events of He Yongshi threatening Shen Yanting at the Imperial Serenity Sect were still fresh in her mind. The pent-up resentment she had accumulated for days finally dissipated today.

Bo Xuenong squatted in front of He Yongshi and stared at his increasingly red forehead, where the skin and flesh had split open to reveal white bone. She grew even more satisfied with Gui Nian’an’s ability. “Can you make him apologize to my master?”

Gui Nian’an asked, “Did he offend Lady Bo’s master?”

Recalling the scene at the Imperial Serenity Sect that day, Bo Xuenong still felt angry, and her voice rose unconsciously. “He tried to steal my master from me!”

Gui Nian’an stood behind Bo Xuenong. The confusion on her face moments ago turned into a look of sudden realization. “I understand.”

Gui Nian’an got it perfectly. She lightly clapped her hands, and ‘He Yongshi’s’ kowtows grew even heavier. That faint voice rang out again. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have tried to steal your master! I deserve ten thousand deaths! I am guilty of heinous crimes! I deserve to die!”

…

Bo Xuenong exhaled a breath of stale air. The way she looked at Gui Nian’an changed slightly. “You… really get me.”

It was just a corpse, but it was immensely satisfying.

Gui Nian’an said flatly, “As long as Lady Bo is satisfied.”

This was the first time Bo Xuenong had spoken so much to someone she had just met. She wanted to chat more with Gui Nian’an when she suddenly sensed an extraordinary aura. Her expression darkened, and her gaze turned toward the door. “He’s here.”

Gui Nian’an had dealt more with He Yongda. For years, she had been trapped in this courtyard, serving as a tool for He Yongda’s cultivation practice. After He Yongda fully absorbed the previous spirit supplement, she could not reveal her full strength and had almost no chance to fight back. She was beaten almost daily and feared him somewhat.

Her eyes stared fixedly at the door, her hatred nearly spilling from them. “People often come to this courtyard of his. We can’t make too much noise when we act.”

“I can set up a spirit array to block sound. You hide first and act on my signal.”

Bo Xuenong pointed to the screen by the bed, but Gui Nian’an did not go. “He planted a death seal on me too. I can’t hide. Better to stay here. Don’t worry, Lady Bo. He doesn’t even see me as a person, so he won’t suspect me.”

The two quickly tidied up the traces in the room. Bo Xuenong put the red veil back on and sat on the bed. ‘He Yongshi’ stood by the bed, guarding Bo Xuenong, while Gui Nian’an held a teacup and stood by the door.

She kept her head bowed low, suppressing the hatred in her eyes.

They waited for He Yongda to appear.

—

When He Yongda pushed open the door and entered, Gui Nian’an stepped forward, raising the teacup. “Senior Brother He, this is…”

Before she finished speaking, He Yongda kicked her hard in the chest, sending her and the teacup crashing to the ground.

Gui Nian’an’s wrist landed precisely on the pile of teacup shards. He Yongda stepped forward and ground down on her wrist, forcing the fragments into her flesh. As fresh blood surged out, he curled his lips maliciously. “Trying to flatter me so I’ll spare your villagers? Dream on. You’re just a dog my master tossed to me. It’s already merciful that I haven’t killed you. Get out with your filthy blood, and don’t disturb me and my brother from enjoying the spirit supplement!”

From under the red veil, Bo Xuenong witnessed He Yongda’s brutality.

Only then did she understand why Gui Nian’an was covered in thick bloodstains and reeked of a foul odor.

He Yongda did not treat Gui Nian’an as a person at all.

She could only survive in this courtyard by acting like a filthy little dog.

Bo Xuenong had just thought Gui Nian’an understood her, but now she somewhat admired Gui Nian’an’s temperament. If it were her enduring He Yongda’s bullying in a place like this, let alone centuries, she would not last days. She would have gone berserk long ago and dragged He Yongda down with her.

Endurance and lying low had their merits.

No wonder every village chief of Mistlongevity Village had come from the Gui Residence. Their family style was indeed impressive.

Over seven hundred years, enduring different torments, yet none had gone mad.

If she could have even half of Gui Nian’an’s emotional stability, she might have suppressed the bloodthirsty nature in her bloodline and become the kind of person Shen Yanting preferred.

Gui Nian’an curled up in pain. Her right hand touched her left wrist, trying to pull it from under He Yongda’s foot. His malicious nature fully revealed itself as he lightly lifted his toe, then suddenly kicked toward her chest.

A short blade emerged from his shoe tip, about to pierce her chest.

Gui Nian’an leaped up quickly, dodging the stab to her chest but still getting her arm pierced. Her whole body was kicked flying out of the room.

He truly did not suspect her.

He was just tormenting her as usual.

After doing this, he walked toward ‘He Yongshi’ as if nothing had happened. “Brother, why haven’t you lifted the veil?”

He was genuinely good to He Yongshi.

His tone softened considerably when speaking to ‘He Yongshi’.

As he reached the bed and casually went to lift Bo Xuenong’s red veil, a flash of cold light streaked past. As a nascent soul cultivator after all, He Yongda grabbed ‘He Yongshi’ and retreated several steps, dodging the long sword that suddenly appeared between him and Bo Xuenong. “You…”

Before He Yongda finished speaking, he felt a pain in his lower back.

He looked in disbelief and saw that ‘He Yongshi’s’ right hand had pierced his lower back, the entire palm buried inside.

Only then did He Yongda see that ‘He Yongshi’s’ eyes were a solid blood-red, far removed from the living.

His forehead had flesh flayed open, exposing grim white bone.

‘What He Yongshi’ had no obvious wounds, but his clothes were tattered, full of marks from blades piercing through. The fabric was bloodstained, especially the chest area, which was the most damaged with traces of at least three short blades. If short blades had truly pierced those spots, He Yongshi would have had no chance of survival.

He Yongda froze. He immediately severed ‘He Yongshi’s’ arm and pulled away from him, angrily glaring toward the bed.

Bo Xuenong was no longer by the bed. The moment her Suspended Ink Sword failed to strike He Yongda, she had leaped out of the room.

She tossed the fallen Gui Nian’an back inside before re-entering.

After entering, Bo Xuenong pretentiously tossed a few spirit stones into the four corners of the room. In fact, she had already opened the system panel and spent twenty points to exchange for a temporary spirit array that blocked sound and aura. “Gui Nian’an, the array will only last an hour. Hurry and act!”

Her words brought a brief silence to the room. Not only did Gui Nian’an not act, but even He Yongda did not.