Responsibility

Among the mountains, two figures concealed themselves in the shadows, gazing out across the wasteland. "Must we cross the wasteland to leave this place?" Having learned about the situation in the Hall of Seven Kills from Qin Sang, Bai wore a grave expression. "If that person keeps watching over the wasteland, wouldn't we be unable to escape even with wings?" "Only if he's gone mad!" Qin Sang gave a cold snort. "Aside from the Nascent Soul experts of both races, those who entered the Hall of Seven Kills this time include Core Formation cultivators from various major factions. Every single one is an elite among peers, holding a pivotal status. Does he truly dare court universal outrage and offend every faction by searching everyone one by one? The Boundless Ocean is not a place where he can blot out the sky with one hand, nor would the Grand Shaman and Lingzhuzi, Sect Master of the Tiandao Sect, ever permit it." By now, the wasteland had returned to calm, with no figure in sight. After leaving the Purple Mist Deathland, the two had found no trace of that Nascent Soul cultivator and did not know where he had gone. Bai suspected the man might still be lying in wait. Common sense dictated that no matter how deranged that person was, he wouldn't dare pull such a stunt; it violated all propriety. Encountering an ambush by a Nascent Soul cultivator meant certain death for a Core Formation cultivator. If everyone acted like that, obtaining a treasure would merely be slaving away for someone else's benefit—who would dare enter the Hall of Seven Kills to hunt for treasures then? There was no precedent for such a thing. The various factions must have had a tacit understanding long ago, perhaps even established rules. Furthermore, with Lingzhuzi and the Grand Shaman—two Great Cultivators—present in the Hall of Seven Kills, it was not this man's place to act with impunity. Yet Qin Sang suddenly recalled what had happened during his last visit to the Hall of Seven Kills. The Demon Lord and the Grand Shaman had clashed over a treasure, fighting all the way from inside Heaven Tower out into the Boundless Ocean. The Nascent Soul cultivators of both races had been swept into the fray, nearly igniting an all-out war between the two races. Qin Sang had been caught in the aftershocks, nearly losing his life inside Heaven Tower. If something similar occurred again, the Grand Shaman and Lingzhuzi would surely prioritize the greater situation, leaving them no time to attend to such minor matters. It might truly give this man an opportunity to succeed. If the man was convinced a priceless treasure lay in the Ghostland, it was not entirely impossible for him to do something reckless. At that thought, Qin Sang felt a prickle of unease in his heart. "Think carefully again, Fellow Daoist. Do you truly not recall his appearance?" Qin Sang pressed Bai. Back in the Ghostland, he had already asked Bai in hopes of confirming their enemy's identity so he could steer clear of him in the future. Unfortunately, Bai had not seen the man's face either. Bai shook his head. "When he appeared last time, I had just seized your baleful corpse. After you left, I was focusing entirely on refining the physical body. By the time I sensed the fluctuations of the demonic fire, sealed the refined corpse, and came out to check, that person was already gone. This time, he deliberately ambushed you without even revealing his true body; it was only because I was prepared that I noticed the flaw he exposed while laying the formation. As for whether he came at any other time, I know even less. More than one or two cultivators have tried to break through the restriction to enter. Several Nascent Soul cultivators once arrived together and laid a top-tier grand formation, yet they still failed to shake the demonic restriction..." Qin Sang sighed inwardly and shook his head slowly. "Never mind. What will be will be. It isn't time to leave just yet anyway; there is still an important matter I must attend to. Before long, chaos might erupt across the Hall of Seven Kills, and we might find a chance to slip away then. Now that I have unraveled the divine soul mark for you, Fellow Daoist, what are your future plans?" Just moments ago, Qin Sang had fulfilled his promise and removed the divine soul mark from the refined corpse's origin soul. The Soul-Nurturing Wood was naturally in his hands as well. The oath between them was fulfilled, and from now on, neither owed the other anything. Bai frowned. "Fellow Daoist, did you think unraveling the divine soul mark was the end of it? Within the refined corpse's origin soul, there is another strange power thoroughly blended with it, indistinguishable from the soul itself. That was also left by you, wasn't it?" "That's right." Qin Sang nodded. "That power is called the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, a crucial component of this secret corpse-refining technique. However, I only know how to craft the Heavenly Corpse Talisman; I have no idea how to undo it." Bai stared at Qin Sang, his gaze making it clear he did not believe a word. Qin Sang met his gaze calmly, without a shred of falsehood in his words. "This corpse-refining art is called the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art*. It is of no further use to me, and there is no need to keep it secret. If you don't believe me, Fellow Daoist, see for yourself." He retrieved the Heavenly Corpse Token from the Qianjun Ring and tossed it to Bai. After examining the contents of the Heavenly Corpse Token, Bai's expression suddenly turned exceedingly grim. Qin Sang asked curiously, "Why fret over a mere talisman seal, Fellow Daoist? Without my divine soul mark, the Heavenly Corpse Talisman itself isn't difficult to break. With your strength, wiping out the refined corpse's origin soul should be effortless, shouldn't it?" Bai let out a bitter chuckle. "Wiping out the refined corpse's origin soul isn't hard, but if I do, I will likely have no choice but to walk the corpse dao all the way into darkness, never to return to normal again." Pausing, Bai explained, "After merging with this corpse's physical body, I discovered it had not truly died; a sliver of vitality still lingered within. Once the corpse's origin soul is wiped out, that vitality will perish along with it, turning it into a true corpse. If I want to restore the body to normal, I must address the root cause and first refine the corpse's origin soul before I can gradually recover... Unless I obtain some divine elixir or exotic treasure, there is no turning back. According to what you said, the cultivation world today is fragmented and battered, with the strongest experts merely in the late Nascent Soul stage. Where could one possibly find a treasure capable of defying the heavens to alter one's fate?" Hearing this, Qin Sang felt a stir in his heart. Although he had once turned himself into a living corpse, he had been sheltered by the jade Buddha and was never truly a refined corpse, so his experience was not as deep as Bai's. To think that after so much time, vitality still remained in the Flying Yaksha's body! Was this the true reason why the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art* called them living corpses? If Bai found a way to undo the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, perhaps it could be used on Yagu. Thinking of this, Qin Sang hurriedly pressed, "What vitality are you referring to, Fellow Daoist? Once the Heavenly Corpse Talisman is unraveled, is it truly possible to return to being a normal person?" Bai gave Qin Sang a meaningful look. "The vitality I speak of is different from the external life-force granted by pills—it refers to innate vitality. Your guess is correct: as long as the Heavenly Corpse Talisman can be undone, that woman in your corpse puppet bag stands a chance of returning to normal. I never expected Fellow Daoist to be such a devoted romantic—using an evil art to save someone, keeping her by your side through thick and thin without ever abandoning her. It truly makes me see you in a new light..." "You saw her?" Qin Sang sighed softly. "It is not romance, but responsibility. If you were in my shoes, Fellow Daoist, could you watch your savior die before your eyes? Had I not witnessed it with my own eyes, that would be one thing—avenging her would have cleared my conscience. But since there was a way to save her, no matter how slim the hope, I could not sit by and do nothing. Otherwise, my conscience would give me no peace." With that, Qin Sang opened the corpse puppet bag and summoned Yagu. Yagu looked like a sleeping beauty. Unlike the Flying Yaksha, her appearance bore no resemblance to a refined corpse; her skin was even rosier and more supple than when she was alive. "Fellow Daoist, you have been a ghost cultivator for many years. Are you truly helpless against the Heavenly Corpse Talisman?" Qin Sang gazed at Yagu for a long moment before looking up to ask. Bai shook his head, his expression solemn. "I suspect that the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art* might not be a corpse dao secret art at all—or at least, not entirely of the corpse dao."