Tongue

Although the Demon Lord was wicked, brutal, ruthless, and lecherous, it was undeniable that he possessed extraordinary, peerless talent. In just a few short years from his rise to fame, he became the Taiyi Sect's number one enemy. Even their aloof Sect Master had appraised him as "the most talented in thirty years" among the Night Wanderer class. The last person to receive such high praise was the female Grand Marshal, and even Fu Qingyang had yet to receive any praise from the Taiyi Sect Master. Therefore, when they heard Yin Ji say that the Demon Lord feared and dreaded Mute Village so intensely in retrospect, the Five Elements Alliance Elders felt their hearts sink suddenly. Yuanshi Tianzun was their darling, a figure slated for focused nurturing. The sister of the Zhu Clan Head had coveted Yuanshi Tianzun, and even though no substantial harm had come of it, and even with the protection of the Fu Province Branch, the Five Elements Alliance blacklisted her without a second thought. If Yuanshi Tianzun had come to harm, Zhu Rong would have suffered terrible consequences—though she was hardly enjoying good fortune now anyway, having had her face skinned by that lunatic. Seeing the Five Elements Alliance Elders turn toward her and Elder Gou's anxious expression, Yin Ji recalled: "He didn't give much detail, only that he mistook the main focus at first and nearly died in the dungeon. His survival was purely down to luck." When she and the Demon Lord were romantically involved, both were already in the Saint stage. The business about Mute Village was merely casual after-dinner chatter, brought up in passing as they reminisced about the past. The Demon Lord hadn't elaborated, and she hadn't cared about dungeons from the Transcendent stage, so she hadn't pressed for details. *Mistook the main focus...* Fu Qingyang silently repeated the words. Unaware of Mute Village's mission or the Spirit Realm introduction, he couldn't form an evaluation. However, one thing was certain: this dungeon concealed a trick. One had to see through the trick to survive; otherwise, only death awaited. A trick not even the Demon Lord had seen through was proof of its peril. Could Yuanshi clear it smoothly? After this interlude, the expressions of the Five Elements Alliance Elders turned solemn, and their attention toward the matches waned. The most worried among them was Elder Gou, because Yuanshi Tianzun was a direct subordinate of his direct subordinate. Once he advanced to Saint in the future, he would be a Deacon under Elder Gou's direct command. In simpler terms: his core faction! The Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderers discussed in hushed tones: "Sounds like an extremely difficult A-rank dungeon." "A-rank dungeons are second only to S-rank. Which A-rank isn't perilous and difficult? Still, the fact that even the Demon Lord almost died in there makes it interesting. If Yuanshi Tianzun bites the dust inside, that'll be even more interesting—tomorrow's news will be huge." "Don't be so shortsighted. If Yuanshi Tianzun can't survive it, could we? What if we encounter this dungeon later? Even if we don't, what about our sect brothers and sisters in the future? I'd rather Yuanshi Tianzun make it out alive to enrich our Taiyi Sect database. Sigh, we'll probably have to pay a steep price then. Elder Sun really blundered. If he had recruited Yuanshi Tianzun back then, the top three in the arena tournament would definitely all be ours." "Speaking of which, where did Yuan Ting go?" "Supposedly Elder Sun threw him into the training camp again. Hell-tier training this time." "Poor guy..." The news spread rapidly through the spectator stands. Embellished by the Taiyi Sect's retellings, everyone soon knew Yuanshi Tianzun had entered another hell-mode dungeon. "What? Taiyi Sect said the dungeon Yuanshi Tianzun entered is harder than an S-rank?" "What? Even the Demon Lord almost died in there, so it's a guaranteed-death dungeon?" "What? The Demon Lord said it's a guaranteed-death dungeon?" "What? Both the Demon Lord and Taiyi Sect said it's a guaranteed-death dungeon?" *** Mute Village. Outside the courtyard gate, Zhang Yuanqing held the old man's wrist to keep him from fleeing as he manipulated the yin corpse to reply: "If you don't mind, I'm coming in." The moment the words fell, the old man began struggling violently. Terror filled his wrinkled face as he shook his head with all his might. *The old man seems terrified of Wang Xiao'er. He doesn't want me to go inside?* Noticing this reaction, Zhang Yuanqing's heart stirred. He quietly activated his Spirit Devouring skill, a dark, viscous substance welling up from beneath his eyes to fill the sockets. Instantly, plume upon plume of dark energy, thick as heavy smoke, "ignited" across the stone house before him. It was as though this were no ordinary house, but a tomb harboring a thousand-year-old corpse. *Wang Xiao'er's yin energy is this exaggerated?* Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank. At that moment, Wang Xiao'er's raspy voice drifted from the house: "Come on... Why haven't you come in yet? I'm so tired... I can't talk across such a distance..." The old man struggled all the more violently, letting out frantic "ah-ah" sounds, his panic-stricken face trying to warn the young man against entering. Zhang Yuanqing commanded the yin corpse to walk toward the stone house step by step, crossing the modest courtyard until it reached two blackened, half-rotted wooden doors. The doors were unlocked and left half-ajar. Through the gap lay a thick, impenetrable darkness. Corpse No. 1 did not have the vision to pierce the darkness, so Zhang Yuanqing could not see what lay inside through the yin corpse's eyes. *If I didn't have a yin corpse, the best counter would be whipping out the Explosive Pistol and blasting these doors to splinters from a safe distance...* Zhang Yuanqing had Corpse No. 1 raise a hand and gently push the wooden doors open. Faint light filtered into the stone house. Beyond the threshold was an outer hall with a square table, atop which sat a dark, indistinct lump. Zhang Yuanqing steered Corpse No. 1 across the threshold into the room. Now he could see more clearly: thin hemp ropes hung down from the ceiling beams, each tied to a severed tongue, suspended like cured meat. And then, the dark lump on the table turned around. It was a human head draped in disheveled hair caked with filth. As it rotated to face forward, wide, bloodshot eyes brimming with death glared out. Viscous black blood dribbled from its mouth, and in a phlegm-choked murmur, it rasped: "You're here... I'm so hungry..." The instant it spoke, the two rotting doors slammed shut with a crash. At the same time, Zhang Yuanqing lost control of the yin corpse. His will was forcibly expelled back into his own body. "Ah! Ahhh—!" Witnessing this, the old man turned ashen-faced and screamed hoarsely. In the windows of the nearby rammed-earth and stone cottages, pairs of cold, icy eyes appeared, watching this scene. *What a nuisance!* Zhang Yuanqing chopped his palm down to knock the old man unconscious, leaving Little Doubi behind to watch him and keep guard on the surroundings. Striding into the courtyard, he summoned the Thug Gloves from his inventory. Thud, thud, thud... Zhang Yuanqing charged up to the closed wooden doors and smashed his fists together. *Boom!* As if a high-explosive grenade had gone off, the shockwave blew the wooden doors away, tearing them into charred fragments. The tongues hanging inside the room swayed wildly in the blast wave. The expanding flare of fire dispersed the dark, illuminating the scene inside the hall. Corpse No. 1 lay prone on the ground, while the head—its hair coated with grease and foul blood—was gnawing on Corpse No. 1's head. *Crunch, crunch...* The sound of a cranium being crunched to bits made the scalp tingle. A good portion of Corpse No. 1's head was already gone, red and white matter oozing out. *Good teeth...* Zhang Yuanqing's lips twitched. He wrested back control over Corpse No. 1 while simultaneously pulling out the Explosive Pistol and Spectacles of Insight, aiming at the human head and squeezing the trigger. The Explosive Pistol and the Spectacles of Insight were matching gear. Without the latter, given Zhang Yuanqing's marksmanship, he would likely have planted the bullet straight into his own yin corpse's skull—or rather, its brain matter... *Bang! Bang!* The bullets struck the hideous, gruesome head dead-on. The built-in explosive kinetic blast sent the head bouncing away like a ball. "It hurts... It hurts!" The head let out shrill wails, crying, "My body! My body—!" Amid its cries, a loud clatter echoed from the inner room, sounding like wooden boards tumbling to the floor. Zhang Yuanqing swung his gun instantly, aiming at the inner doorway draped with black cloth. A figure emerged with stiff, monotonous steps. It wore coarse hemp clothing, arms hanging limp, nails pitch-black and razor-sharp, its neck completely bare—headless. The body walked up to the severed head, reached out with hands tipped in black nails, lifted the head, and pressed it back onto the neck. Flesh and sinew squirmed and intertwined over the neck wound with sickening speed as bones clicked and reconnected. Wang Xiao'er's eyeballs darted erratically in their sockets—flicking up, rolling down, vanishing entirely, turning as if through a full 360 degrees. *Gurgle, gurgle...* Wang Xiao'er's eyeballs rolled upward until only white remained, then sank back down with a wet roll, fixing an unblinking stare on Zhang Yuanqing. "So hungry... So hungry... I'm going to eat you..." Screaming shrilly like a beast stripped of reason, it lunged forward. *Wang Xiao'er became a yin corpse...* Zhang Yuanqing raised his gun and fired. The bullets burst into flashes of fire against Wang Xiao'er's chest, but failed to slow it down in the slightest. This yin corpse had tanked the Explosive Pistol's shots with its raw "flesh and blood." Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing stowed the pistol and summoned the Bloodthirsty Blade, simultaneously commanding Corpse No. 1 to meet the enemy head-on. *Crash!* Corpse No. 1 was violently knocked back, shattering the square table and tumbling into the wall. The wall shuddered with a thud as dust fell in showers. Wang Xiao'er stumbled, quickly regained his footing, and pounced toward Zhang Yuanqing again, mindlessly rasping, "So hungry... so hungry... your meat tastes better..." *Bronze skin and iron bones? Just what grade of yin corpse is this?* Zhang Yuanqing's pupils shrank slightly. He decisively cast Night Walk. Losing its target, Wang Xiao'er looked around in bewilderment. *Schick!* Zhang Yuanqing materialized behind it without a sound, slashing the Bloodthirsty Blade toward the back of Wang Xiao'er's neck. This weapon that had accompanied him for so long did not disappoint, biting deep into flesh and lodging tightly into the neck bone. Wang Xiao'er whipped around, swinging an arm backward with a howling whistle through the air. Zhang Yuanqing decisively released the Bloodthirsty Blade, ducked under the sweep, and snapped his fingers with a crisp snap. In the corner, Corpse No. 1 received its master's command and charged like an armored tank with heavy strides, a hazy gray barrier of light manifesting across its surface. The defense barrier it had been charging was finally activated. *Bang!* The two yin corpses collided like massive iron cannonballs. Their feet sank under the impact, sending chunks of compacted black earth flying. Zhang Yuanqing pulled the black mask emblazoned with a white skull from his inventory, gripped it in his hand, and suddenly went rigid. His spirit body left his flesh via Astral Travel. A spectral, half-real shadow drifted out and slammed into Wang Xiao'er's body. Wang Xiao'er froze instantly, then began violently trembling like someone suffering an epileptic seizure. This was Zhang Yuanqing's spirit body possessing the corpse, wrestling for control over Wang Xiao'er's physical form. Taking advantage of the deadlock, Corpse No. 1—having received its master's command—turned and walked to Zhang Yuanqing's physical body, took the Silencer Mask from his hand, and fastened it over Wang Xiao'er's face. All motion instantly ceased. Wang Xiao'er stopped thrashing and stood rooted to the spot. Zhang Yuanqing's spirit body drifted out and returned to his flesh. "Unable to devour the spirit body..." Zhang Yuanqing walked over to Wang Xiao'er, frowning. In an Astral Travel state, a Night Wanderer could still cast Spirit Devouring, which was usually the most effective method against a yin corpse. However, in combat between Night Wanderers, it was almost never used. Because once you entered Astral Travel, you were finished. Your physical body became a lamb to the slaughter, and your spirit body would be suppressed by a rival who was also a Night Wanderer. During the possession just now, he had tried to devour Wang Xiao'er's spirit body, but failed. This situation was identical to the shoulder-perching wraith in Lady Sandao Temple that could not be devoured. Back then, that Level 1 Night Wanderer's guide had noted that the shoulder-perching wraith was immune to devouring. It was a protection mechanism of the Spirit Realm. Certain important "NPCs" could not be erased, whereas in Yinyang Town, Widow Xu's children could be devoured freely because those minor wraiths were not indispensable spirits. "Logically speaking, dungeon characters respawn. If they can respawn, why can't they be devoured? A bit strange..." Zhang Yuanqing didn't dwell on the Spirit Realm's mechanics. He immediately used the Bloodthirsty Blade to dismember Wang Xiao'er's body and smash the head to pieces. The yin corpse went completely still. Next, he ordered Corpse No. 1 to fetch porcelain bowls from the inner room and filled two whole bowls with yin corpse bodily fluids (corpse oil and blood), which were excellent yin-attribute materials. He stowed the bowls filled with corpse fluids into his inventory. The inventory could hold small items from the Spirit Realm, though large objects could not be stored. "I remember the Spirit Realm introduction mentioned that Wang Xiao'er brought burial goods out of the tomb. His burial goods must still be here." Aside from a coffin, a bed, and a few wooden cupboards, the inner room had no other furniture. Zhang Yuanqing rummaged through the cupboards and boxes, but found nothing. *That doesn't make sense. Where did the burial goods go?* *No clues at all? That's illogical. In my experience, Wang Xiao'er is one of the dungeon's key figures, so clues must be left here. It makes no sense for Spirit Realm walkers to fight tooth and nail, barely surviving the danger, only to come away empty-handed.* Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds, his eyes lighting up. He hurried back to the outer hall and strode with purpose toward the tongues hanging from the beams. *Slash!* He swung the Bloodthirsty Blade to sever one of the hemp ropes and caught the falling tongue. A few seconds later, the item information surfaced: [Name: Tongue] [Type: Oral soft tissue] [Function: Speech] [Description: A tongue cut from a villager's mouth. If you obtain it, please return it to the villager.] [Remarks: Well, it's impossible to tell whose tongue is whose anyway. Whatever, as long as you're happy.] "The tongues are the clue! Return a tongue to a villager, and then extract intelligence from them?" Having read the remarks, Zhang Yuanqing understood the proper way to use the tongue. He promptly stepped out of the stone house, crossed the small courtyard, went over to the unconscious old man, and stuffed the tongue into his mouth. In the next second, the tongue miraculously reattached, completely whole and undamaged, as if it had never been severed. *Slap!* Zhang Yuanqing slapped the old man awake. The old man snapped his eyes open, jumped in fright, and cursed: "You little bastard! You damn brat—wait, I can speak?!" Overjoyed, the old man cursed a few more times with "little bastard," confirming that his ability to speak was truly restored. "Old man, I have questions for you," Zhang Yuanqing said. "You little bastard, ask, ask what—" Seeing the young man raise the gleaming blade, the old man quickly changed his tune: "Young man, you've got real guts! What martial prowess! Slaying Wang Xiao'er for all of us! Whatever you want to know, this old man will tell you every single bit!"