Chapter 517: Unexpected

**The Mortal Realm**

When Yu Batian returned to his sect, he always took this path.

The valley was filled with a pungent smell of blood.

As time passed, the scent was dispersed by the wind. In the messy valley, a lifeless body lay sprawled in the tall grass.

Qin Sang lay in the coffin, alert to his surroundings.

Unexpectedly, after waiting for almost half an hour, there was still no sign of Yu Batian.

Qin Sang frowned inwardly, wondering if Yu Batian hadn't finished yet and wasn't planning to return today.

If that were the case, Qin Sang would have to activate his backup plan and choose someone else, but that would require starting preparations anew and cause too much delay.

Qin Sang worried that dragging it on too long would lead to more variables and that he wouldn't be able to suppress the corpse transformation.

Qin Sang decided to wait another hour. If Yu Batian still didn't appear after that time, he'd assume he wasn't coming today. Yu Batian would only have himself to blame for missing out on this opportunity.

Trapped and unable to move inside the coffin, Qin Sang calmed himself, reviewed his plan from beginning to end, and then began to let his mind wander.

Thinking about what he was doing now, Qin Sang decided that if he ever encountered such an opportunity again, he would definitely be more careful.

The wind rustled through the treetops.

Just then, Qin Sang, still in the coffin, suddenly shifted, instinctively adjusting his position within the corpse coffin.

Someone!

The person was still far away. Qin Sang could only vaguely sense someone using an escape technique, flying in his direction. Whether it was Yu Batian or not remained unknown for now.

After waiting a moment, Qin Sang noticed the person's escape speed was slow, not typical of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He couldn't help but frown inwardly, wondering if it wasn't Yu Batian after all.

Before long, the person finally flew over the valley.

She immediately noticed the anomaly in the valley.

Then, Qin Sang heard a startled gasp—it was a woman's voice!

It truly wasn't Yu Batian. Qin Sang's heart sank. He hadn't expected an unexpected twist here, especially after the previous stages had gone so smoothly.

With a whoosh, the startled woman flickered and escaped into the forest, hiding herself.

Qin Sang lay quietly in the coffin, making no rash moves.

Although his plan had been unexpectedly discovered, Qin Sang didn't immediately change it because he sensed the aura of Qingyang Demonic Flame from this person.

The woman was also a disciple of the Qingyang Demonic Sect!

However, the woman's aura was unfamiliar; Qin Sang had never encountered it during his many years in Qingyang Market.

Their cultivation levels were too disparate. Although the woman tried her best to conceal her aura, it couldn't escape Qin Sang's perception.

Interestingly, after being startled by the anomaly in the valley, the woman didn't flee. Instead, she hid motionlessly in the forest, believing herself to be concealed.

She had clearly noticed the state of the corpse in the valley.

Qin Sang sensed that the woman's cultivation was at the twelfth level of Qi Refining, just a step away from Foundation Establishment.

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Sang suddenly cast aside distracting thoughts, sealed his spiritual sense, guarded his inner self, and disregarded external matters.

At that moment, the coffin was completely silent, as if it contained a true zombie.

This plan had already been discovered by someone. Changing it would take too long, and since the newcomer was also a disciple of the Qingyang Demonic Sect, he might as well proceed with the current situation.

It all depended on whether the woman had the courage!

The forests on either side of the valley were very quiet, and combined with the chaotic scene at the bottom, it appeared somewhat eerie.

After a while, a figure suddenly emerged from a thicket—it was a seemingly very young girl.

The girl was dressed like a martial arts heroine, yet her expression wasn't sharp; instead, she seemed somewhat delicate. Her eyes, especially, appeared recently cried, slightly red and swollen, and their clear gaze made her even more endearing.

She carefully parted the leaves and peered down, her gaze following the bloodstains in the valley until it fixed on the sprawled corpse.

The mustard seed pouch at the corpse's waist deeply captivated her attention.

She bit her lip, her face showing signs of struggle and worry. After a moment, she suddenly looked up towards where she came from, and then the worry in her eyes was replaced by deep-seated hatred.

The girl gritted her teeth, then waved her hand, summoning a small sparrow from the forest.

The sparrow landed in the girl's palm, struggled a few times, then settled down. The girl extended her finger, tapped the sparrow repeatedly, and then released it.

The sparrow spread its wings and flew high, soaring to the tops of the mountains on both sides, circling the area several times, and then quickly flew back.

At this point, the tension on the girl's face eased slightly. After a brief hesitation, she suddenly pointed at the sparrow, then gestured towards the corpse. The sparrow immediately plunged with astonishing speed, crashing into the corpse's head.

"Boom!"

The restriction on the sparrow erupted, easily shattering the corpse's head.

"Whoosh!"

The next moment, the girl burst out of the thicket, darted to the corpse with maximum speed, grabbed the mustard seed pouch, and then waved her hand, conjuring a flame to incinerate the body and erase all traces.

Just as she was about to leap away, the girl suddenly noticed the corpse coffin, completely unharmed in the flames.

"A demonic cultivator of the Corpse Path?"

The girl paused, her figure momentarily still.

For a demonic cultivator of the Corpse Path, their most valuable possession was their zombie. Now that the master was dead, this zombie was unowned.

But why did the zombie in the corpse coffin seem unharmed, despite its master being dead?

The girl frowned, as if remembering something. She quickly immersed her spiritual sense into the mustard seed pouch, easily finding a prominent jade slip. The more she read its contents, the more surprised she became. After a quick glance at the final section, she suddenly understood.

She actually grabbed the corpse coffin, slung it onto her back, completely destroyed all traces in the valley, and swiftly escaped.

The girl fled towards her sect with all her might, frequently looking back along the way. Only upon reaching the vicinity of her sect, having found no pursuers, did she finally relax.

She clutched the mustard seed pouch tightly, her eyes sparkling with uncontrollable excitement.

From her quick glance just now, she had already noticed countless valuable treasures within the mustard seed pouch; their quality and quantity were beyond her imagination.

She had actually acquired all the belongings of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

And then there was the zombie, which she considered the most precious of all, worth more than everything else in the mustard seed pouch combined.

Thinking of the zombie, the girl's heart stirred. She suddenly changed direction, heading towards Qingyang Market, and finally landed in a secluded spot outside the market.

"Whew!"

The girl exhaled softly, finding her heart still pounding rapidly. She squatted down, hugging her knees, and then patted her hot, flushed cheeks with both hands, gradually calming herself.

Then she eagerly took out the jade slip and examined it carefully.

The secret technique in the jade slip was beyond her imagination. The girl couldn't help but wonder if such miraculous zombie refining techniques truly existed in the world.

She put away the jade slip and looked at the corpse coffin beside her. After a moment of hesitation, she took out two protective magical artifacts for defense, then opened the corpse coffin from a distance.

The girl saw a zombie with a blue face and fangs lying quietly in the corpse coffin.

Qin Sang 'saw' the girl's true appearance and learned her real identity.