https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-489-Intimidation-Strange-Occurrences/13150808/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-491-Powerful-Evil-Corpses-Corpse-Refinement-Formation/13150810/
Chapter 490: Qiu Jia Village, The Terrifying Zhan Shi
Chapter 490: Qiu Jia Village, The Terrifying Zhan Shi
"Are you saying that in the past few months, in some rural areas of Lin Zhou, there have been frequent mysterious disappearances of common folk?"
In the courtyard of the inn, Lu Qing listened to Mu Tian and the others' account with a hint of surprise.
"Yes, brother. This matter initially went unnoticed by most people.
However, a few days ago, as we entered Lin Zhou, we accidentally rescued a farmer who had fallen off a cliff and was unconscious.
He told us that in his village, people had been disappearing frequently, and the villagers were living in fear.
His wife and child had gone missing, and in his search for them, he traveled far and wide, only to accidentally fall off the cliff.
Fortunately, he was caught by an ancient tree, preventing him from falling to his death.
After taking the farmer to a medical hall, we decided to investigate his village.
To our surprise, we discovered that in the rural areas of Lin Zhou, numerous villages have experienced similar disappearances in the past six months.
This is why we've been lingering here, trying to uncover the truth behind these incidents.
Today, we plan to visit a place called Qiu Jia Village, located near the city."
"Such a bizarre occurrence... Have you found any clues?" Lu Qing inquired.
"Not yet, we're still gathering information," Mu Tian shook his head. "For now, we can only tentatively conclude that this is a man-made incident, not a natural disaster.
Moreover, the perpetrator's methods are mysterious and secretive, indicating they are not from the righteous path.
The most likely scenario is that a Xianiu is cultivating some Yegong."
"A Xianiu..."
Lu Qing nodded, agreeing with Mu Tian's deduction.
With the gradual recovery of spiritual energy, many relics from the previous cultivator era have been gradually exposed.
Among them are some left behind by ancient cultivators who practiced the demonic path.
Consequently, in recent years, demonic cultivators have emerged in the world.
These demonic cultivators, in their pursuit of cultivating demonic arts, have committed numerous heinous acts.
However, since ancient times, the righteous and demonic paths have never coexisted. After causing a stir for a couple of years, they faced a joint extermination by various sects.
They enjoyed their fame for a brief two years before almost disappearing without a trace.
Unexpectedly, traces of demonic cultivators have appeared in the remote Lin Zhou.
"Is there something special about Qiu Jia Village, where you're headed?" Lu Qing continued his inquiry.
"We've heard that just the other day, two villagers went missing from Qiu Jia Village," Mu Tian replied. "This is probably the latest village where the Xianiu has appeared, so we plan to investigate."
"Brother, do you want to come with us?" Xiao Yan asked.
Hearing this, Mu Tian and the others immediately turned their gazes towards Lu Qing.
They were all curious about Xiao Yan's brother, who had suddenly appeared and seemed shrouded in mystery.
If he accompanied them, perhaps they could uncover some clues.
Lu Qing contemplated for a moment.
Originally, he had come to take Xiao Yan and the others away.
He had just traded with the Ancient Long Gui for three portions of Essence Blood, each containing the bloodline of the ancient beast Xuan Ni, which would be of immense benefit to Xiao Li and the Wu Xing creatures.
But upon hearing this news, he felt it was inappropriate to leave immediately.
After some thought, Lu Qing said, "Alright, I'll accompany you to take a look."
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up instantly.
But Lu Qing continued, "However, Xiao Yan, this is your trial. Unless it's absolutely necessary, I won't intervene. You must handle any issues on your own, so I can see if you've been slacking off in your cultivation during these days."
"Yes!"
Xiao Yan readily agreed.
Her heart was filled with determination.
She wanted to show her brother that during his seclusion in the Holy Mountain, she had also been diligently cultivating!
Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Mu Tian and the others' faces.
According to the records in their sect's books, demonic cultivators often employed mysterious methods. With the presence of Xiao Yan's mysterious and powerful brother, they felt more confident in their endeavor.
Next, the group canceled their rooms at the inn and headed towards Qiu Jia Village.
Qiu Jia Village was not exactly close to the city, but among the group, the weakest cultivator was at the Lesser stage of the Xiantian Realm.
Before the recovery of spiritual energy, their strength was comparable to that of a top-tier sect.
Even after the recovery of spiritual energy, the Xiantian Realm was still considered powerful in the cultivation world.
Their journey was, of course, swift.
With the use of their movement techniques, they increased their speed, and half an hour later, the group arrived at a village.
"Chen Shixiong, this is Qiu Jia Village ahead." Mu Tian took out a map, studied it for a moment, and confirmed.
"Then let's go in."
Lu Qing looked ahead, and a barely noticeable strange color flashed in his eyes.
Could it be that they had really stumbled upon something?
As the group entered the village, they were stunned by the scene before them.
The village was quiet, and wisps of black qi floated in the air.
Most importantly, there were many corpses lying haphazardly on the village path.
The newest, smallest, and youngest among them spoke up, her voice trembling as she pointed at the corpses.
All the corpses were in a mummified state, their faces contorted in agony, clearly having endured immense pain before death.
"This, this..."
Mu Tian and the others were terrified by the gruesome sight, and they retreated in shock, unable to speak for a moment.
Seeing this, Lu Qing couldn't help but shake his head slightly.
After the recovery of spiritual energy, cultivation had become much easier.
Even the Xiantian Realm was not as difficult to break through as it used to be.
However, with the ease of cultivation, many cultivators lacked sufficient tempering.
Just like Mu Tian and his group, although their strength was not weak, before the recovery of spiritual energy, they were comparable to the top-tier battle prowess of some major sects.
But in terms of mental fortitude, they were far inferior.
Just the sight of some mummified corpses with gruesome deaths was enough to scare them like this.
Their mental strength was far inferior to that of the Houtian Realm martial arts masters he had encountered in the past.
After a moment of silent admiration, Lu Qing turned his gaze back to the mummified corpses before him.
Earlier, outside the village, he had already sensed that the village was deathly quiet, as if it was already deserted.
But he hadn't expected that everyone in Qiu Jia Village had been killed.
Moreover, they had been drained of their essence, spirit, and energy, enduring great pain before death.
Looking at one of the mummified corpses wearing a woman's clothing, holding a small, emaciated corpse in her arms, Lu Qing's gaze gradually turned cold.
"Brother, this is..."
Among the group, Xiao Yan remained calm.
After all, when she was very young, she had accompanied Lu Qing and the others to Central State, and during that journey, she had witnessed countless corpses in battles.
Furthermore, in the past years at Nine Li Village, she had often assisted the old doctor in treating patients' wounds.
The scene before her was shocking, but it didn't frighten her.
"I've said it before, I won't take action. You need to learn to handle these situations yourself," Lu Qing said calmly.
Xiao Yan listened and immediately stopped asking questions.
She began to carefully observe the corpses on the ground.
She had already sensed earlier that these mummified corpses seemed somewhat abnormal.
Seeing the calmness of the siblings, Mu Tian and the others gradually regained their composure.
They felt a flush of embarrassment.
It was just some mummified corpses, and they had lost their composure to such an extent, even more so than the youngest among them, Xiao Yan.
Just as they were about to ask Xiao Yan what she had discovered, a cold and sinister voice suddenly echoed.
(End of Chapter)
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