Chapter 2: The Corpse Collector

Dew clung to the plants, and a misty fog shrouded the morning.

As the sun rose in the east, the Spirit Refiners of Tiansang Spirit Palace had already awakened, meditating and absorbing spiritual energy in various locations – be it the woods, a pavilion, or even someone else's small courtyard.

Branches rustled softly, and spirit magpies chirped; it was serene and beautiful.

Along a secluded winding path, however, two furtive figures crept along: one tall, the other short.

The tall figure was a burly man, with sandbags tied to his hands. He was currently hunched over, glancing left and right, a look of guilt on his face.

Beside him was a slightly shorter young man, only reaching the burly man's neck. A long sword was fastened at his waist, and his expression showed excitement.

“Senior Brother Liu, how did such a good task as collecting a body fall to us?” the shorter young man, Zhou Zuo, asked. “Don’t the Outer Court elders usually handle this?”

“It came through connections, of course,” the burly man, Liu Zhen, said. He glanced around, saw no one was paying attention to them, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Otherwise, did you think this opportunity would just fall into your lap? I heard Boss Wen paid a good sum of Spirit Crystals for it.”

“Oh, I see...” Zhou Zuo narrowed his eyes, rubbed his hands together, and lowered his voice. “So, whose body are we going to collect?”

“Xu Xiaoshou!” Liu Zhen said as they walked. “I heard he entered a death seclusion to break through to the Third Realm for this ‘Wind-Cloud Contest’. Counting the days, today’s the day. If he hasn't come out by now, it means he’s probably dead and gone.”

“The Third Realm?” Zhou Zuo looked surprised. “Isn’t that cultivation level about the same as mine? What’s there to gain from someone in the Third Realm? We should just let him die off naturally!”

“What do you know?!” Liu Zhen gave him a hard knock on the head. “This Xu Xiaoshou has been in the Spirit Palace for almost three years. He might not have anything else, but just this courtyard alone is worth thousands of Spirit Crystals.”

“Gasp, that rich?”

“Of course! I also heard this guy has a Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword!”

Zhou Zuo’s eyes nearly popped out at this. “A Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword?”

That gasp was loud enough for half the people nearby to hear.

“Keep it down!” Liu Zhen saw disapproving glances from around them and gave the young man another hard knock on the head. “This kid, yelling so loud, is he afraid others won’t hear?”

The two chatted idly, on and off, and after many twists and turns, they finally saw a secluded courtyard, enveloped by a large array.

Liu Zhen, leading the way, suddenly stopped.

“Still quite far... Ow!”

Zhou Zuo, who was walking behind, bumped right into Liu Zhen’s back. He rubbed his forehead, wincing in pain, and complained, “Senior Brother Liu, why did you suddenly stop...?”

Being shorter, his view was blocked. He stepped out from the side and immediately understood why Liu Zhen had stopped.

In front of the courtyard, there were surprisingly more than ten people sitting cross-legged.

These people were silent, each meditating. At first glance, it seemed incredibly harmonious.

“Why are there so many people?”

Zhou Zuo was stunned, looking up at Liu Zhen with confusion. “Didn’t you say Boss Wen spent a lot of Spirit Crystals to secure this opportunity?”

Liu Zhen was too angry to speak. Hearing this, he slapped Zhou Zuo on the head.

“Can't you see, these guys are all cunning foxes!”

“Damn it, they don’t cultivate anywhere else, but they specifically come here. The news must have leaked!”

Zhou Zuo rubbed his head with a pained expression, thinking, *But you can’t take your anger out on me.*

The dozen or so people sitting in front of the courtyard clearly noticed the newcomers. They couldn't help but grin and casually tease:

“Oh, more people. You’re a bit late this time; the sun’s already risen in the east.”

“That’s Liu Zhen, isn’t it? Who’s that young man next to you? New here, are you? Came to see the world?”

“Liu Zhen, you’re really not diligent enough. I came before dawn, and yet there are still people here...”

“Hmph, I came last night.”

“I came the day before yesterday!”

“I came three days ago!”

The front of the courtyard immediately became a cacophony of chatter. No one knew if they were bragging, but in the end, someone even claimed to have been waiting for a month, instantly earning everyone’s admiration.

Liu Zhen felt a dizzy spell and angrily demanded, “What are you all doing here?!”

“Ah, Liu Zhen, it’s an open secret!”

“Don’t ask, just know it’s about the Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword.”

Zhou Zuo almost burst out laughing. *So this information is common knowledge? Heh, who was it just now who told me not to speak?*

He glanced at Liu Zhen. The words reached his lips but he swallowed them back, for Liu Zhen’s face was as dark as if he’d swallowed a firecracker, looking ready to explode any second.

Liu Zhen felt like his lungs were about to burst from anger. This was information Boss Wen had paid a fortune in Spirit Crystals for; how could it be so cheap?

His own people couldn't have leaked the information. So, did all these guys go and bribe the elders?

As that person just said, it’s an open secret...

“Damn it, which elder was so unethical as to sell one piece of information to so many people!”

The words were stuck in his throat, as uncomfortable as constipation. The two stood rooted at the intersection, and an awkward silence, like the cawing of a crow, hung in the air.

The people in front of the courtyard, however, seemed to have experienced this many times before and expertly patted the ground.

“Liu Zhen, come over, sit here.”

“Don’t be shy, just treat it like your own courtyard.”

“Pfft!” Zhou Zuo couldn't hold back a laugh.

Liu Zhen smacked him to the ground and walked over with a sullen face. Halfway there, he looked towards the courtyard and was stunned.

The invisible barrier covering the courtyard began to ripple. The next moment, it split open, revealing the courtyard entrance.

The people sitting cross-legged in front of the courtyard also noticed the change. They all turned their heads, and someone looked at the sky, realizing something was off.

“It’s only mid-morning; wasn’t the array supposed to be lifted at midday?”

“Who disabled the array? No one here understands arrays. Liu Zhen, was that you?”

Liu Zhen almost charged forward to smack that person into the ground. *How could I disable the array from this far away?*

“Besides, who are you? Am I familiar with you?”

“Can you stop calling my name so eagerly!”

Liu Zhen was speechless at this group of overly familiar people. But this was not the time to dwell on such matters; he refocused his attention on the courtyard entrance.

Creak!

The door was pushed open, and a tall, slender figure, holding a black sword upside down, leaned against the doorway, eyes heavy with sleep.

“What’s all this racket so early in the morning? Can’t a person get some sleep?!”

Xu Xiaoshou was utterly bewildered. Last night, he had originally been struggling to practice cultivation, but then he thought: he breathes even when he sleeps, and breathing is cultivation...

So he simply lay down!

He never expected that after swatting one mosquito, there was another; and after swatting that one, there were three more!

He couldn’t sleep because of the mosquitoes and only managed to fall asleep after tossing and turning all night, only to be woken up early in the morning again!

Although the courtyard had a sound-insulating array, it wasn’t high-grade.

This group’s voices grew louder and louder, coming through as a “buzzing” sound, just like mosquitoes, utterly unbearable.

So, he took his sword and stepped out!

Having been in the Outer Court for three years, Xu Xiaoshou knew exactly what these guys were thinking. They just wanted to wait for him to die in his death seclusion, then collect his body and profit from it!

Sorry, if one version of me falls, another rises.

He leaned against the doorway, looked around, and said playfully, “Everyone, why are you all gathered at my doorstep so early? I don’t sell breakfast!”

Everyone looking at the person leaning on the door with a sword was shocked.

Xu Xiaoshou?

He broke through his seclusion?

You know, talent is an insurmountable hurdle. Xu Xiaoshou had spent three years telling everyone that he was destined for only the Third Realm. So how could he have broken through just by entering a mere death seclusion?

What kind of monstrous luck did he have?!

“Xu Xiaoshou?”

“You’re not dead?”

“What’s going on? Did you... break through to the Fourth Realm?”

Just as Xu Xiaoshou was about to speak, he suddenly saw his internal information panel update:

“Suspicion received, Passive points, +12.”

Xu Xiaoshou was delighted. Last night, he was still agonizing over whether he’d have to deliberately release his ‘meat scent’ to attract mosquitoes to gain Passive points in the future, but now it seemed...

Not just attacks, but suspicion too?

Could it be that all passive forms of speech and action would increase his Passive points?

Adding the six instances of mosquito attacks last night, he now had eighteen Passive points.

However, he was bitten so many times last night, and each time was only “+1.” Why was there a “+12” this time?

Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled. He looked at everyone present and counted carefully: seventeen people.

Could it be that out of these, twelve people were suspicious of his breakthrough to the Fourth Realm?

“Is that Xu Xiaoshou?” Zhou Zuo finally crept up to Liu Zhen and whispered.

“Suspicion received, Passive points, +1.”

Xu Xiaoshou was amused. His ears were very keen. Among so many body collectors, there was one who didn’t even recognize the ‘body’ himself?

He walked out of the courtyard gate, holding his black sword. These people immediately scurried backward.

To strengthen his resolve for death seclusion, Xu Xiaoshou had spent all his Spirit Crystals, burning his bridges to buy this Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword.

The sword was named “Cang Ku” (Hidden Suffering), symbolizing deep-seated pain; if he couldn’t break through, he would die with this sword.

Now that he had successfully broken through to the Fourth Realm, paired with this Ninth-Grade Spirit Sword, and adding the White Cloud Sword Art he had cultivated for three years in his mind (though he had only mastered one stance), he might just have the power to contend with this group.

The highest-cultivated person who came here was Liu Zhen, a Spirit Refiner in the Fifth Realm; higher-realm bosses wouldn’t lower themselves to come collect bodies personally.

As a result, when this group saw Xu Xiaoshou emerge from seclusion, they instinctively thought of retreating.

So, one man held a sword, and everyone was startled.

“You’ve come to collect *my* body? Why didn’t your respective bosses come personally?!”

Regardless of cultivation or seniority, Xu Xiaoshou, having spent three years in the Outer Court, was already considered a veteran, even enough to be called a Senior Disciple.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acquired so many assets—a small courtyard and a Spirit Sword.

Those stronger than him had already entered the Xiantian realm and gone to the Inner Court. As for some so-called bosses still lingering in the Outer Court, some of them used to follow him around back in the day.

So when he let out that shout, no one dared to refute him. Even Liu Zhen, who was a realm higher than him, remained silent upon seeing the spiritual light flowing around the black sword on his shoulder.

“Go back where you came from!” Xu Xiaoshou waved his hand, as if herding ducks.

The group hadn’t expected Xu Xiaoshou to immediately seize the initiative. Their momentum was completely crushed, and they reluctantly turned to leave, not daring to mutter another word.

“Senior Brother Liu, are we just leaving like this?” Zhou Zuo asked cautiously.

Liu Zhen glanced at Xu Xiaoshou. Although unwilling, could he really charge up, kill him, and then carry away his body?

Not to mention private duels were forbidden within the Spirit Palace, whether he could even win was a question itself.

“Let’s go,” he sighed, and followed the others away.

“Wait!”

Xu Xiaoshou, from behind, suddenly called out, as if he had just remembered something.

Everyone turned back, bewildered. They saw Xu Xiaoshou thrust his sword into the ground and declare, “You come when you please and leave when you please? Do you really think I, Xu, have no temper?”

Everyone was also enraged. They had wasted several hours waiting and gained nothing. Turning around and leaving now was already a good outcome; what more did he want?

“What do you want?” Liu Zhen frowned. If their group truly ganged up on him, how could Xu Xiaoshou possibly endure it? Had he gone mad from his death seclusion, trying to take on seventeen people alone?

Xu Xiaoshou simply chuckled. “It’s nothing, no need to get agitated. I just have a few questions.”

The crowd remained silent. Xu Xiaoshou said genially, “I said I broke through to the Fourth Realm; do you believe me?”

Everyone was stunned to hear this. *He stopped us just for this trivial question?* But to leave this place, they all nodded like pecking chicks.

“Mm-hmm.”

“We believe you, we believe you!”

“Senior Brother Xu is truly amazing, at the Fourth Realm! So, can we leave now?”

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned. *Why this reaction?*

“No! Suspect me, please suspect me as much as you can!”

He cried out in his heart, *The idea I finally came up with to earn Passive points, why is no one playing along?*

Seeing the crowd’s impatient eagerness to leave, he had a sudden idea, sheathed his sword, and stood up. He said lightly, “To be honest, everyone, I, Xu, have actually broken through to the Fifth Realm...”

“How is that possible?”

“Haha, Senior Brother Xu is joking...”

Everyone spoke up. “We’re not blind. Your Fourth Realm cultivation aura is shining like a lightbulb, and you claim to be in the Fifth Realm?”

“You lie with your eyes wide open without blinking. You’ve got some nerve.”

“Suspicion received, Passive points, +15.”

Xu Xiaoshou was delighted. *So this is how it works?*

He saw it was only fifteen. *Meaning two people still believed him? Are they perhaps idiots?*

“Heh heh, actually, I’ve already broken through to the Sixth Realm...”

Everyone: ???

“Suspicion received, Passive points, +17.”

“Wow, these guys are a bunch of tools for farming Passive points! What ‘body collectors’?”

Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands. “Alright, I’m not faking it anymore; I’m laying my cards on the table. I’m actually in the Seventh Realm...”

Everyone felt veins bulging on their foreheads. *Was this Xu Xiaoshou just messing with them? Was this entertaining?*

“Suspicion received, Passive points, +13.”

“Hey, why did it decrease?!”

Xu Xiaoshou was only focused on his internal display, not noticing the expressions on people’s faces, and immediately added, “Alright, alright, no more jokes. I’m already in the Eighth...”

“Xu Xiaoshou, don’t push your luck!”

“A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated!”

“Brothers, let’s go!”

Xu Xiaoshou was startled. Only then did he snap back to reality and see seventeen fuming, dark faces before him. He instantly shuddered and flashed back into the courtyard. The door slammed shut with a “bang,” and the array immediately activated with it.

“Good heavens, it was just a few questions; was it really necessary?”

“Like they’d eaten firecrackers!”