Chapter 1286: More Likable

One method was to send a direct message. Heavenly Secret Pillars had already been set up in various locations across the Peerless Continent, serving as hubs that allowed cultivators to transmit messages to one another. This was also why Squad Nine had been able to quickly reassemble after fighting independently.

However, Lu Ye didn't intend to send a message. After so long apart, a surprise would be better. It wasn't that there were no clues; Yi Yi had contacted her previously and knew her general whereabouts. Lu Ye decided to search for her himself first, and if he truly couldn't find her, then it wouldn't be too late to send a message.

Following the direction Yi Yi had indicated, Lu Ye took to the air, soaring low.

Along the way, he occasionally encountered Kyushu cultivators. While many Divine Sea Realm cultivators were active on the Peerless Continent, it was rare to see anyone above the Divine Sea Seventh Layer. This was because cultivators of that tier had typically accumulated enough battle merits during the previous insect plague and the war against the Blood Refining Realm. Their primary goal now was to continuously advance their cultivation and strive to achieve the next breakthrough as soon as possible. Generally speaking, cultivators above this tier were now staying in Kyushu proper to cultivate. Only those with insufficient cultivation or insufficient battle merits would come to the Peerless Continent to seek advantages.

Thus, when other Kyushu cultivators sensed Lu Ye's Divine Sea Ninth Layer aura from afar, they not only felt no kinship but swiftly moved away. They instinctively assumed he was there to poach their kills.

Lu Ye, however, paid them no mind.

Low-altitude flight posed one problem: it easily disturbed dormant Corpse Tribesmen. However, Lu Ye usually just passed by, with no intention of engaging them. As his Fourth Senior Brother, Li Baxian, had said, these Corpse Tribesmen were all battle merits for Kyushu cultivators. If he killed one more, other cultivators would have one less to kill. Battle merits were no longer useful to him, so there was no need to compete with others for them.

He flew for hundreds of thousands of miles in this manner. Initially, he still frequently spotted other cultivators, but the deeper he went, the rarer it became to encounter living beings. Lu Ye realized he had likely flown beyond the current range of Kyushu cultivators' activities. Yet, there was still no sign of the woman.

The direction was correct; Yi Yi had specifically indicated this area. Since he still hadn't found her, either he had missed her, or she was in an even deeper location. Lu Ye leaned towards the latter possibility, not because he thought Hua Ci was exceptionally strong, but because her cultivation method was distinct from that of ordinary cultivators. Her craving for battle merits wasn't significant, as spirit stones and elixirs weren't her primary cultivation methods, let alone techniques involving drawing upon heavenly secrets. She preferred to cultivate in places where highly toxic substances gathered, and corpse poison was also a poison. Therefore, the overall environment of the Peerless Continent was quite suitable for Hua Ci.

Given this, she would undoubtedly choose a sparsely populated area. This was also why she hadn't joined Squad Nine when they previously assembled, as killing Corpse Tribesmen yielded no practical benefits for her. To find a sparsely populated area, she would have to venture deeper than others! Though she appeared delicate, she was bolder than anyone and remarkably resilient to the solitude of isolated cultivation. The Myriad Poison Forest in the Spirit Stream Battlefield and the Five Poisons Pond in the Cloud River Battlefield were both forbidden zones that ordinary cultivators dared not easily enter, yet they were her favored cultivation spots.

Continuing his journey, he flew another hundreds of thousands of miles. Still finding nothing, Lu Ye began to think he might not be able to locate her on his own. With a slight sigh, he prepared to send a message to inquire. Just as he was about to do so, his gaze fell upon a particular direction. That spot seemed different from everywhere else on the Peerless Continent. Although other areas of the Peerless Continent were barren and desolate, teeming with Corpse Tribesmen, nowhere else showed signs of such intensely concentrated corpse clouds.

Lu Ye's heart stirred, and he flew towards that location.

The closer he got, the more he perceived the density of the corpse clouds. It appeared to be a vast valley, filled with surging emerald-green corpse clouds that, even amidst howling gales, refused to disperse. Many Corpse Tribesmen must be gathered here! Otherwise, such a massive concentration of corpse clouds wouldn't be possible. This was such a perilous place that even Squad Nine would likely shake their heads in despair, unable to penetrate it, let alone earn battle merits.

Lu Ye had initially been merely curious, but as his divine sense pierced through the corpse clouds and surveyed the valley's contents, his eyes lit up and a smile bloomed on his face. This was truly a case of 'seeking high and low for something only to find it effortlessly.' No wonder such dense corpse clouds had gathered here; it wasn't a natural formation but bore traces of human intervention.

To have traversed nearly a million miles and finally stumbled upon this particular place, with no prior contact, Lu Ye wondered if this could be considered a profound connection.

He descended directly into the valley, plunging into the corpse clouds. The next moment, Lu Ye felt an unusual stir from his Talent Tree. Focusing his attention, he saw large swathes of gray mist burning upon it. "Mm, very toxic!" He immediately activated his spiritual power, isolating himself, and the Talent Tree finally ceased reacting.

Landing in the valley, Lu Ye looked down at his feet. He saw that the ground beneath him was covered in vibrant, intensely red mushrooms, clearly the kind of highly toxic fungi. His vision was obstructed by the corpse clouds, preventing him from seeing far, but Lu Ye sensed that the entire valley was likely carpeted with these poisonous mushrooms.

This was undoubtedly the woman's unique method. What made Lu Ye slightly curious, however, was that he couldn't detect her aura.

Considering his current Divine Sea Ninth Layer cultivation, his divine sense was incredibly powerful, and his perception exceptionally keen. He wasn't in a hurry to search; now that he was here, he was sure to find her eventually. Driven by curiosity, he bent down, pinched a mushroom at his feet, and gave it a gentle tug.

It didn't budge! This was illogical. Mushrooms growing on the ground typically didn't have extensive root systems and could usually be plucked with ease. Yet, Lu Ye felt as though this mushroom was firmly attached to something, intimately merged with it.

He applied a little more force and finally dislodged it. But as the mushroom came loose, a putrid stench wafted into his nostrils. Immediately after, a head covered in decaying flesh, like a radish, was pulled from the ground. Half of the head's face was missing, exposing mud-caked flesh and blood. One eyeball was intact, while the other dangled precariously beneath its eyelid.

Lu Ye froze for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the head, and they regarded each other for a brief spell. Suddenly, the creature's eyeball twitched stiffly, its murky, lifeless gaze fixed intently on Lu Ye! Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then, applying a little force, he pressed the head back underground before it could roar, then stomped a few times to firm the soil around the mushroom.

"Roar!" A roar broke the valley's tranquility. Immediately, the corpse clouds churned, and every mushroom stirred. With a rattling sound, one Corpse Tribesman after another sprang from beneath the earth. They were almost entirely decaying corpses: some missing limbs, some disemboweled with intestines spilling out, others with half their heads gone.

Each was unique and grotesque. If a timid person were to witness this sight, they would surely lose two of their three souls. Yet, without exception, each Corpse Tribesman bore a vibrant mushroom atop its head—precisely the kind Lu Ye had observed earlier. Only then did he realize that for every mushroom he had seen, a Corpse Tribesman had been hidden beneath the ground!

It wasn't that he hadn't been careful enough; it was just that these Corpse Tribesmen emitted no aura at all while dormant. Had Lu Ye not inadvertently pulled out a Corpse Tribesman while plucking a mushroom, he wouldn't have discovered these hidden tricks beneath the surface. He had simply thought someone was using the corpse clouds here to cultivate their own mushrooms. Now, it seemed these mushrooms were likely a means of controlling the Corpse Tribesmen; otherwise, there would be no reason for each one to have a mushroom planted on its head.

The Corpse Tribesmen brandished their claws and teeth, acting menacingly, slowly approaching Lu Ye. They genuinely exuded a sense of oppression. Lu Ye stood there nonchalantly, exaggerating his expression as he loudly exclaimed, "Help! Someone's trying to murder her husband!"

A soft snort came from nearby, tinged with a hint of disdain. "What nonsense are you spouting? Who's your husband?" Lu Ye looked towards the sound, seeing a woman in a long green dress standing there, smiling faintly and enchantingly. Amidst the brandishing claws and teeth of countless Corpse Tribesmen, she was a strikingly unique sight.

Their eyes met. Hua Ci said, "Good thing no one else is around, or you'd ruin my reputation!"

"What do you need a reputation for?" Lu Ye asked, surprised.

"I have to get married someday, you know," Hua Ci said, blinking provocatively.

Lu Ye let out a knowing 'Oh,' and nodded. "The day you actually get married, let me know. I'll be sure to prepare a grand gift for you!" Hua Ci smiled sweetly. "Alright, I'll definitely tell you first!"

Although it had been a long time since they last met, there was no sense of awkwardness between them. After a few familiar playful jabs, Lu Ye finally chuckled. "The way you're making yourself all 'corpse-like,' I doubt any man could handle it!"

"That's none of your business!" Hua Ci pouted.

Lu Ye laughed heartily, stepped forward, and opened his arms for a hug. Hua Ci, however, gently raised a finger and tapped his forehead, halting his advance with a wary expression. "Trying to take advantage the moment you arrive? Do you think I'm still as naive as before?"

Lu Ye, unable to gain an advantage, made a pained expression. "You've changed!"

Hua Ci smiled playfully. "When you see me next, I'll have changed even more."

The thought of that scenario made Lu Ye rub his head, so he changed the subject. "Have you been here all this time?"

"Yes. How did you find me?"

"Yi Yi pointed me in a general direction, so I just casually searched and ended up finding this place. What exactly are you doing here?"

"Raising corpses," Hua Ci replied with a faint smile. "Look at these little things; aren't they adorable?" Lu Ye turned to look at the numerous Corpse Tribesmen, truly unable to find anything adorable about them. However, he generally understood that Hua Ci was raising corpses here to cultivate using their corpse poison—a unique cultivation method exclusive to her, one that others couldn't emulate.