Chapter 11: Corpse Mutation

He took out a spirit stone, along with a spirit egg and a Flying Talisman, and handed them to the girl in the green skirt.

Before Wang Changsheng went to Ping'an County for his appointment, Liu Qing'er had given him a Flying Talisman, advising him to use it to escape danger. However, to accelerate his cultivation, Wang Changsheng had to exchange it.

A Flying Talisman was quite valuable, worth over thirty spirit stones, and significantly faster than the Cloud-Stepping Art.

The girl in the green skirt smiled sweetly, handed the Water Gathering Pearl to Wang Changsheng, and said, "It's a deal. This Water Gathering Pearl is yours. Just infuse it with a bit of spiritual power, and it will gradually gather water spiritual energy."

"Oh, Fairy, are you from the Lin family of Red Leaf Ridge?" Wang Changsheng asked in surprise as he took the Water Gathering Pearl, noticing a red leaf pattern embroidered on the girl's sleeve.

The Wang family's stronghold was on Green Lotus Mountain, and its members would introduce themselves as being from the Green Lotus Wang family.

The Lin family of Red Leaf Ridge was also a cultivation family, located in Guangling County, Ningzhou.

The Lin family's strength was several times greater than the Wang family's. They had as many as five Foundation Establishment cultivators, making them the strongest cultivation family in Ningzhou. It was said that the Lin family had the support of the Purple Cloud Sect, with multiple clan members joining the sect.

"From your tone, I gather you're also from a cultivation family, aren't you?" the girl in the green skirt asked with a slight smile.

After a slight hesitation, Wang Changsheng clasped his hands and formally replied, "I am Wang Changsheng of the Green Lotus Wang family."

Meeting a member of the Red Leaf Ridge Lin family was quite a gain. What puzzled Wang Changsheng was why a Lin family member would be selling goods at a street stall in Qingzhu Market. Could it be a fake?

He pondered for a moment and quickly dismissed the idea. Impersonating anyone else might be fine, but impersonating a Lin family member was practically a death wish.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Wang. My name is Lin Yuyao. Do you have any more spirit eggs, Fellow Daoist Wang? I can trade other items for them, or spirit stones," Lin Yuyao said sincerely.

"No, I only had that one spirit egg."

Lin Yuyao's face showed disappointment, but she quickly recovered and enthusiastically said, "Fellow Daoist Wang, please take a look at my other items. Is there anything else you'd like to exchange?"

Wang Changsheng gave a wry smile and replied, "I'm afraid my purse is empty; I have nothing else to offer. I won't disturb your business, Fairy Lin."

With that, he stood up.

He hadn't gone far when an elderly man in a green robe approached him.

The old man had white hair and beard, a ruddy complexion, and a green gourd tied at his waist. He reeked of alcohol, noticeable from a distance.

"Yuyao, haven't you finished trading yet?" the old man in green robes asked with concern.

Lin Yuyao's brows furrowed slightly. "Father, why have you had so much to drink? Where's Mother?"

"I was happy today and had a few drinks with your uncle. You're here to celebrate your grandmother's birthday, not to do business. It's inappropriate to make your uncle's family wait for you. Quickly pack up your stall and come back with me for dinner. Your mother is helping in the kitchen and sent me to fetch you."

Lin Yuyao nodded in agreement, packed up her stall, and left with the old man in green robes.

Qingzhu Market had a few inns, but accommodation required spirit stones. To save them, Wang Changsheng did not stay in an inn.

He walked around the streets and then returned to the square.

Over a dozen rogue cultivators, trying to save spirit stones, gathered in twos and threes in the corners of the square, some reading ancient texts, others chatting idly.

Wang Changsheng found a corner, took out an ancient text, and began reading it with great interest.

He continued reading for the entire night.

The next morning, Wang Changsheng put away the text, stood up, stretched, and walked out of the market.

After leaving the bamboo forest, Wang Changsheng's lips moved slightly, and a white cloud suddenly appeared beneath his feet, lifting him high into the air. He then flew towards the distance.

By noon, Wang Changsheng had returned to Lotus Island.

Without resting, he took out the Water Gathering Pearl and began refining it.

He tossed the Water Gathering Pearl into the air before him, and with rapid flicks of his fingers, sent several incantations onto its surface.

The Water Gathering Pearl consisted of six clam pearls, and the surface of each pearl was covered with numerous Water Gathering Spiritual Runes.

As time passed, a thin layer of sweat appeared on Wang Changsheng's forehead, and his fingers continued to form incantations without pause.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Changsheng withdrew his incantations, and the Water Gathering Pearl's light dimmed before it fell into his hand.

"Finally refined!" Wang Changsheng exhaled softly.

With a flick of his wrist, the Water Gathering Pearl flew from his hand and hovered in mid-air.

He gently pointed at the Water Gathering Pearl, which immediately emitted a brilliant blue light. Soon after, specks of blue light began to appear in the surroundings.

Wang Changsheng nodded in satisfaction, then began cultivating using the second level of the Cloud Rain Art incantation.

In Qinghsi Town, Li Renjie and Li Renyi were notorious ruffians, spending their days idle and jobless.

Li Renjie and Li Renyi were brothers. Their family had once been quite wealthy, but after their father died of illness, the two brothers lost their family fortune in business. They sold off their ancestral property to barely make ends meet, but lacking any skills and being lazy and gluttonous, they quickly ran out of money.

The two brothers put their heads together and came up with a plan involving the deceased.

Of course, they wouldn't stoop to digging up their own ancestors' graves. Instead, they set their sights on the prominent Wang family of Qinghsi Town.

The Wang family had numerous members, and more than half of the town's rice shops, cloth stores, and restaurants were run by them. In Qinghsi Town, there was a saying, "Wang's Half-Day," referring to their extensive influence.

The Wang family were newcomers, but their main branch in the county town comprised influential figures. With support from their main branch, the Wang family quickly established themselves in Qinghsi Town. Any profitable business would invariably involve members of the Wang family.

Qinghsi Town produced marble, and the two largest quarries were both controlled by the Wang family.

A month ago, the eldest patriarch of the Wang family celebrated his seventieth birthday. The banquet stretched from one end of the town to the other and lasted for three full days, a testament to the Wang family's wealth.

Li Renjie and Li Renyi had also crashed the banquet. Seeing the Wang family members adorned in gold and silver, while they themselves struggled to afford even three meals a day, they had long felt bitter.

A few days prior, the patriarch's old illness had recurred, leading to his death. He was buried in the Wang family's ancestral graveyard.

That night, at midnight, the town was quiet.

The brothers, Li Renjie and Li Renyi, arrived at the foot of a certain peak. Not far away stood a simple wooden hut.

The Wang family's ancestral graveyard was on Qinghsi Peak. To prevent grave robbery, the Wang family had assigned two clan members to guard it. The tomb guardians had built a simple wooden hut at the foot of the mountain.

Periodically, the tomb guardians would patrol the mountain.

Li Renjie and Li Renyi had been observing for several days and had figured out the tomb guardians' routine.

Once the tomb guardians descended the mountain, they secretly slipped up the mountain under the cover of night.

They were well-prepared, even bringing their tools.

"Big Brother, there are so many graves here, which one should we dig?" Li Renyi asked, looking at the hundreds of graves, unsure where to start.

"First, let's dig up the grave of the Wang family's Old Patriarch. He had high status and was quite wealthy, so there must be many valuable burial objects. Let's find his grave."

The Old Patriarch had only recently been buried, and his tombstone was brand new and very conspicuous.

It wasn't long before they found the Old Patriarch's grave.

The two easily dug open the Old Patriarch's grave using their tools.

As Li Renjie expected, there were many valuable burial items in the coffin, and they didn't miss a single one.

To make it easier to loot the burial items, they moved the Old Patriarch's body out of the coffin and casually left it on the ground, face up, with the moonlight shining directly on it.

After Li Renjie and Li Renyi had plundered all the burial items, they dug up a few more graves, but gained little from them.

"Boom!"

A deafening clap of thunder echoed, as if the heavens were warning them not to commit such immoral deeds.

"It's going to rain soon. We've had a good haul tonight. Let's go! If we need money another day, we can always come back and dig up a couple more graves."

Li Renjie and Li Renyi abandoned their tools and left with the loot.

An hour later, amidst several loud thunderclaps, a torrential downpour began.

The tomb guardians usually patrolled the mountain periodically, but with the heavy rain, they assumed no one would risk coming to rob graves in such a storm, so they didn't go up to inspect.

The Old Patriarch's body lay in the rainwater, face up.

As time slowly passed, the Old Patriarch's finger twitched. Half an hour later, he suddenly opened his eyes, straightened his arms, and began to hop down the mountain.

Before long, the Old Patriarch hopped out of sight and vanished into the night.