News at Last

For the refined corpses sold during this period, Qin Sang had repeatedly demanded exchanges for such spirit medicines. Anyone paying attention would surely guess that their owner had likely suffered a backlash, which explained why he was so desperate to trade for medicine even if it cost him everything he owned. For a demonic corpse cultivator, suffering a backlash from refined corpses was a frequent occurrence—completely reasonable and expected. Because of this, no one would suspect Qin Sang's true motive. A single stalk of Firethorn Grass was certainly not worth a baleful corpse refined from a late Foundation Establishment body, but transactions in the cultivation world were inherently matters of each taking what they needed; equal value exchanges were rare. Wen Yanjie was clearly aiming to take advantage of his misfortune. Holding the Firethorn Grass out horizontally, a look of complete confidence on his face, he smiled as he watched Qin Sang. Qin Sang had already intended to sell. Even without the Firethorn Grass, Wen Yanjie was a target that suited his criteria perfectly. Putting away his feigned fury, he stood rooted to the spot with clenched fists, his head slightly lowered. It was obvious he was tempted, yet reluctant to part with his treasure and wavering in indecision. Seeing this, Wen Yanjie smiled faintly and offered soothing words of persuasion. "For Daoist Friend to raise so many refined corpses, you are certainly no ordinary figure. A baleful corpse is merely an external object. When weighed against your personal Great Dao, which is light and which is heavy? Surely you understand that very clearly. As the saying goes, wealth spent to the last coin will return once more. As long as you resolve the hidden danger of the backlash, what kind of baleful corpse could you not refine? This stalk of Firethorn Grass is not something easily obtained, especially under your current circumstances..." "Humph! Easy for you to say! Do you truly think baleful corpses are so simple to refine? Do you know how much blood and sweat this old man poured into it? If not for a moment's carelessness, I would never..." Qin Sang ground his teeth, looked up at Wen Yanjie, and waved his hand to summon the baleful corpse made from Luo Xiao's remains. Coldly, he said, "Count yourself lucky—you struck right where it hurts! Give me the Firethorn Grass, and this baleful corpse is yours!" Wen Yanjie looked the baleful corpse up and down. After sensing it carefully with his spiritual sense and finding it indeed far more formidable than the previous one, a gleam of excitement surfaced in his eyes. His attainment in corpse refinement fell far short of Manager Bao's; he could not easily perceive the flaw in the baleful corpse's dantian. Of course, unless pitted against old monsters with extraordinarily rich combat experience, this flaw had almost no impact. Even with cultivation as formidable as Wen Yanjie's, he had to admit that this baleful corpse would be an exceptional helper in battle. Just as Qin Sang reached out to take the Firethorn Grass, Wen Yanjie unexpectedly pulled his arm back and spoke in an amused tone: "Did Daoist Friend misunderstand something? What I said earlier was trading for your baleful corpses—I never said just this one. Your previous corpse was decent enough; I am willing to grudgingly take both..." "Wen, you're trying to take advantage of my plight!" Qin Sang exploded with fury. He had truly underestimated Wen Yanjie. The man was greedy to the bone. Trading a single stalk of Firethorn Grass for one baleful corpse was already a massive bargain, yet he still wasn't satisfied! If he conceded to such an outrageous demand, the man would only push further. If that caused the situation to spin out of control and disrupted his plan, it was the last thing Qin Sang wanted. "Even if I die from the poison today, you can forget about getting your way!" Qin Sang would rather call off the trade altogether. Without hesitation, he withdrew the baleful corpse and stormed toward the door in blazing fury. Judging by his posture, if Wen Yanjie dared to stop him again, it would be a fight to the death. Seeing that Qin Sang wasn't faking, Wen Yanjie's expression shifted slightly. His eyes flashed, and suddenly his face broke into a broad smile as his tone softened. "I was only joking. Why get so worked up, Daoist Friend? Let us proceed as you suggested: the Firethorn Grass for that baleful corpse." To show his sincerity, Wen Yanjie tossed the Firethorn Grass to Qin Sang first. "You didn't look like you were joking to me..." Qin Sang halted, his tone stiff. He caught the Firethorn Grass in his hand and turned it over, examining it for a long while before finally summoning the baleful corpse once more. He erased his soul imprint, instructed Wen Yanjie on how to control the corpse, and then departed without looking back. ... An incense stick's time later. At a property belonging to the Qingyang Demonic Sect on the edge of Qingyang Market, Wen Yanjie had arrived at some point after leaving Zhenbao Pavilion. At that moment, the baleful corpse stood before him. Wen Yanjie's eyes were half-closed as he familiarized himself with its power. A smile hung on his face, showing he was clearly very pleased with it. Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed outside. The door was pushed open, and three people entered. "Senior Brother Wen, that fellow has vanished." The three came to a halt before Wen Yanjie and reported in rushed voices. Wen Yanjie knitted his brows slightly. "Where did you lose him?" One of them said in shame, "The three of us lost his trail inside the market. The subordinates stationed at the exits didn't spot anyone suspicious passing through either." Wen Yanjie glared fiercely at him. "You lost him inside our own market? A bunch of useless trash!" The three looked embarrassed. The man on the left defended himself in a low voice, "The three of us fanned out in different spots and were extremely cautious; it was impossible for us to have been exposed. That man seemed even more familiar with Qingyang Market than we are. After winding left and right, he suddenly vanished into thin air. I suspect someone received him. Those big merchant guilds all harbor their own secret agendas, and without an order from Martial Uncle, we couldn't enter to search..." Having listened carefully to the account, Wen Yanjie snorted. "It seems this fellow is exceedingly cautious. He cased the layout long ago and mapped out an escape route. What a pity. I had already probed him and determined that he likely only possessed one baleful corpse of this caliber. Furthermore, he suffered a backlash from his refined corpses, with corpse poison seeping into his body, meaning he's at his weakest right now... Forget it. Pull back the net. Let him keep his miserable life." ... In an unnoticed corner of Qingyang Market, Qin Sang silently appeared, coldly watching his pursuers withdraw. Having seen through Wen Yanjie's true nature, he had stayed alert after leaving Zhenbao Pavilion, and sure enough, discovered people tailing him. These people's methods were quite adept. Had he not been so vigilant, it would have been hard to notice. Qin Sang was by no means a benevolent soul. At any other time, had Wen Yanjie dared to harbor designs on him, he would have taught the man an unforgettable lesson. For now, the greater objective took precedence, so Qin Sang decided to swallow his anger. ... Finding another opportunity, he sold the middle Foundation Establishment baleful corpse to a cultivator of the Qingyang Demonic Sect. With his initial goal accomplished, all that remained was to wait and watch how things developed. Thereafter, Qin Sang settled into working peacefully at the shop under his identity as an artifact refiner. He did not display overly remarkable artifact crafting skills, and on ordinary days, he mainly dealt with low-level cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage. It was precisely from such people that information was easiest to pry loose, all without drawing attention. What he kept an eye on, naturally, were the people who had bought his refined corpses. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen days passed. Over these days, Qin Sang drew close to disciples of the Qingyang Demonic Sect, whether deliberately or seemingly by chance, and finally obtained two pieces of news. First, whether it was Wen Yanjie or the other disciples who had bought the refined corpses, all of them carried on as normal during this period, entering and leaving the sect gates with their refined corpses without issue. The Qingyang Demonic Sect did not seem to mind their disciples controlling refined corpses, nor did their elders step in to prevent it. Second, just a few days ago, they had received successive warnings from their elders: unless necessary, try to avoid traveling too far from the sect!