Chapter 35: Another Cultivator

## The Mortal World

Qin Sang struggled to his feet. He saw Yama emerge, clutching Grandmaster Yuanjue's soul. He glanced at Yama, who now appeared far more substantial than before, and felt a slight relief upon seeing no signs of it turning on its master. He eagerly began to interrogate Grandmaster Yuanjue's soul. He was very curious about Xuansiji Temple, a holy land of martial arts, and also wanted to know if Grandmaster Yuanjue had encountered other immortal masters during his travels over the years.

When Grandmaster Yuanjue's soul dissipated, an expression of surprise appeared on Qin Sang's face. The souls of those Yama had previously killed had all lasted for similar durations, but Grandmaster Yuanjue's soul had only lasted half as long as the others. This was the first time Qin Sang had encountered such a situation.

Qin Sang was puzzled; he hadn't expected this to happen and still had many unanswered questions. Nevertheless, the information he had extracted from Grandmaster Yuanjue made him feel that his dangerous encounter had not been in vain.

It turned out that Grandmaster Yuanjue could instantly recognize Qin Sang as an immortal cultivator because Xuansiji Temple had killed one decades ago!

At that time, two Xuansiji Temple patriarchs, both Xiantian masters, had besieged the immortal cultivator.

That immortal cultivator's methods were similar to Qin Sang's: he held a bell, and with a gentle shake, one of Xuansiji Temple's patriarchs inexplicably died, with no visible injury on his body, just like Monk Mang.

The other patriarch was horrified. He fought desperately, even resorting to a forbidden technique that depleted his vital energy.

The immortal cultivator, his face filled with panic, hadn't expected a mortal to possess such astonishing speed. He hurriedly pulled out a talisman from his robes, releasing a water barrier, but he was too slow, and a sword gleam pierced his heart.

Seeing Monk Mang's strange death, Grandmaster Yuanjue immediately recalled that old incident. He had initially hesitated, but Qin Sang's bluffs then prompted him to act immediately.

Qin Sang could only blame himself for his shallow experience in the martial arts world; he had given himself away.

After that battle, Xuansiji Temple's only two Xiantian masters suffered one death and one injury, a severe blow to their strength. Only when Grandmaster Yuanjue later broke through to the Xiantian realm did the situation stabilize.

Xuansiji Temple's gains were completely disproportionate to their losses.

The immortal cultivator did not possess the immortal cultivation techniques they had hoped for. He only had a purple bell, two talismans, and a blank jade slip. There was nothing else.

They tried to infuse their True Qi into the bell and jade slip, but there was no reaction whatsoever. They also destroyed one of the two talismans.

After Grandmaster Yuanjue achieved the Xiantian realm, he traveled outside. His most important goal was to find a way to unlock the secrets of the purple bell and the jade slip.

Amidst the great changes in the Great Sui Dynasty, Grandmaster Yuanjue received a message to return to his sect and happened to pass through Hening County.

Qin Sang pondered for a moment. He bent down and picked up Grandmaster Yuanjue's corpse, feeling a wave of weakness throughout his body. The brief escape and struggle had almost completely drained his physical strength.

He quickly circulated the Underworld Scripture for a full cycle, recovering some strength. Qin Sang then turned back to pick up Monk Mang's corpse. Kicking open the inner mansion's gate, he saw the scene outside and gasped.

He had personally killed people, more than once. He had also been on battlefields where armies clashed, witnessed the horrific scenes of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood. But seeing nearly a hundred bodies on the ground, all without any fatal wounds, lying prone or supine and motionless like statues, still caused him some physical discomfort.

Qin Sang picked up the Yama Banner and examined it. Several holes on the banner had disappeared, and Yama remained docilely by his side.

Monk Mang enforced strict military discipline, and Hening County's curfew was very strict. Even with such a huge commotion, the surrounding residents kept their doors tightly shut, not daring to come out and watch.

Qin Sang looked around. He used his sword to stab the vital points of each corpse, then piled the bodies next to the woodshed. He threw out a fire starter, and soon, the Chu mansion was engulfed in flames.

So many bodies certainly wouldn't burn completely. However, Qin Sang merely intended to cover up the Yama Banner's traces; burning them into charred remains would suffice.

Qin Sang recited a scripture. Thinking of his hands already stained with blood, he felt such an act was truly hypocritical. He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, realizing he was becoming increasingly cold-blooded.

Clerk Ma, wearing his outer robe, anxiously gazed out the window. He had been drafting official documents when he noticed the fire outside.

Why hadn't Magistrate Li sent anyone to extinguish the fire?

"Thud!" Clerk Ma was about to return inside to change into his official attire when he shrieked, startled by two severed heads suddenly thrown onto his desk. His hand trembled, and he abruptly dropped his brush. He toppled backward, falling onto the floor with his chair, his head hitting the ground and eliciting another yelp of pain.

"Brave warrior, spare my life!" Though Clerk Ma was fifty years old, his movements were swift. He scrambled to lie prostrate on the ground, not daring to lift his head, and kowtowed to the pair of feet before him. "Brave warrior, please state your demands. This humble old man will surely obey. I beg you, spare my life!"

They were the heads of Magistrate Li Ji and Chu Dazhuang. Clerk Ma was almost scared out of his wits.

Monk Mang, said to be a top martial arts expert, had died inexplicably. Clerk Ma did not believe he had the ability to resist.

With another "thump," the magistrate's official seal was thrown in front of him.

"Go out and reassure the common folk. Tonight, at the designated hour, take the magistrate's seal and open the city gates. If you miss the time, your entire family's lives will be at stake!"

Clerk Ma swore with his head bowed, "Brave warrior, rest assured, this humble old man will definitely handle everything properly. Otherwise, you won't need to act; this humble old man will end his own life!"

Qin Sang chuckled. "Aren't you going to ask why I want you to open the city gates?"

Clerk Ma's eyes darted. He spoke with an air of righteous indignation: "Brave warrior, you may not know, but this humble old man has long yearned for the King's Army! The current false emperor is debauched and wicked, incurring the wrath of Heaven, which has sent down natural disasters, leaving bones exposed in the fields across the thirteen commanderies of the Great Sui. This is truly an outrage to both gods and men! Yet, Li Ji and other lackeys of the false emperor remain deluded, powerful and oppressive. This humble old man only regrets his old age, failing strength, and lowly status, which forces him to feign compliance with these villains, while day and night he yearns for a benevolent ruler to save the common people under heaven. Tears of emotion flowed within him. Today, my wish has finally been granted, and I shall certainly do my utmost to serve the brave warrior and the Prince..."

After Clerk Ma finished his long, impassioned speech, he noticed that the pair of feet before him had disappeared at some point. Cautiously, he raised his head, but no one was there.

Hening County fell. The rebels set their sights on the provincial capital. Jiangzhou's powerful families panicked and made one blunder after another. They forced the garrisons of Duling County to return and reinforce the provincial capital, but on the way, they were ambushed, and their forces collapsed like a mountain.

The day after the city fell, Qin Sang left Hening County. He later heard that Wang Liu was furious, but Qin Sang, of course, didn't care.

That year, the people of Jiangzhou spent their New Year amidst the chaos of war.

In less than three months, Jiangzhou's provincial capital fell. After a brief rest in Jiangzhou, the army split into two forces, one heading for Beipingzhou and the other for Huzhou.

By this time, Qin Sang had been in Hunwu County, Jiangzhou, for a month.

He still hadn't managed to break through to the third layer of the Underworld Scripture. A single night's cultivation now yielded little progress, as he was stuck at a bottleneck. This situation had persisted for a full month.