A cold wind swept through, and dark clouds swept across a rocky hill. A crack suddenly opened and closed, something crashed into the rocks, and then a cursing voice rang out.
"They're nowhere to be seen when they're supposed to be, but they all flock together when they shouldn't be!"
A disheveled young man, dressed in coarse linen, stood up from the rocky hill. Through his tattered clothes, one could see a strong, muscular body, but it was also covered in scratches and blood, making him look quite pitiful.
However, as the young man walked, his wounds healed at an incredible speed. When he walked out of the rocky hill, apart from the bloodstains on his clothes that proved he had been injured, there were no other traces.
"Is this the beastly kingdom where demonic cultivation absorbs new blood?"
The young man frowned and looked around. There was no sign of human presence, not even a ghost. The area he had arrived in was a desolate wasteland, with nothing but rocks and weeds.
"Where can we sneak in?"
Feng Bingwen severed a portion of his primordial spirit and refined it into an avatar formed from the demonic embryo. He strode forward, relying entirely on luck since he knew nothing about his surroundings.
Feng Bingwen felt that his luck was average, not bad at all. When necessary, he would pray to the Heavenly Book and even compete with those so-called chosen ones.
After a brief period of training, Feng Bingwen, who had enhanced his avatar's physique to the point where he could tear apart tigers and leopards, quickly found a somewhat desolate path.
"What great luck!"
Feng Bingwen couldn't help but laugh. He stood in the middle of the road, looked around, randomly chose a direction, and continued walking. Before long, he saw signs of human activity.
"..."
The neatly divided plots of land by crisscrossing ridges, and the figures of people working on the land, left Feng Bingwen speechless for a moment.
At first glance, they seem no different from the humans of the Nine Provinces, but upon closer inspection, they are terrifying and make one's hair stand on end.
Because among those working figures, more than two-thirds of them lacked any vitality, instead exuding a faint aura of death. Their stiff bodies and slow movements clearly indicated their identities.
The Walking Dead!
These are low-level evil creatures that don't even qualify as zombies. A strong, well-trained man could take on three of them without even getting hurt.
These lowly creatures, however, permeate this field, driven by the emaciated living people, replacing livestock and dragging farm tools to work.
"..."
Feng Bingwen took a deep breath and remained silent. The people working in the fields, upon seeing his figure, especially his robust physique and blood-stained robes, all showed fear in their eyes, lowered their heads, and dared not even utter a word.
Feng Bingwen showed no intention of communicating with them. He followed the main road, along the ridges of the fields, toward a city whose outline was already visible in the distance.
He encountered more and more living people along the way, but in contrast, there were enormous hordes of zombies, several times the number of living people.
These zombies were basically driven by the living to perform simple, tedious, repetitive tasks. It seemed quite good, but upon closer observation, Feng Bingwen became increasingly silent.
If his eyes were not mistaken, these zombies and the living people who drove them seemed to have a blood connection, and this guess was soon confirmed.
“Father, you no longer have the strength to work, and your illness is getting worse. At the latest, you will have to lie in a coffin next month. That way, there will be one less mouth to feed in the family, and in two years there will be one more person to work.”
In the middle of a field, a thin, middle-aged man, panting heavily and slightly hunched, silently watched a young man who bore a striking resemblance to him speaking.
"good!"
The middle-aged man, whose face was covered with wrinkles and bore the marks of years of hard work, ultimately only gave a simple reply.
The father and son spoke with an air of self-righteousness, as if everything was perfectly normal. When others overheard their conversation, they showed no surprise; instead, some smiled and offered their congratulations.
"Congratulations, Ergen! Your family has gained another breadwinner, and now there's one less mouth to feed. Work hard for a few more years, and you'll be able to buy a wife!"
"It's a money-losing item. Why would I buy that thing? My family doesn't have enough food!"
The mortals who were driving away the zombies were cursing and swearing, but when Feng Bingwen passed in front of them, all the surrounding discussions and discussions stopped abruptly, as if Feng Bingwen was not one of them, but some kind of terrifying flood or ferocious beast.
"Is this the land of humans and beasts?!"
Even though it was just a preliminary encounter, the scene before him greatly shocked Feng Bingwen. The Ghost Mulberry Demon Kingdom he had previously seen under the reception of the demon race, no matter how the thoughts of the mortals there had been guided and distorted, their living conditions were far superior to those here.
Of course, it wasn't just the material differences. What truly shocked Feng Bingwen was the way of life. The people here were completely different from the people of the Nine Provinces.
As for morality, Feng Bingwen strongly doubted that the humans here probably didn't even know the relevant concepts.
With a strange feeling, Feng Bingwen quickly arrived at the great city that stood on the earth. It was a bustling city, but as he approached, Feng Bingwen felt a deathly aura that was no less than, and perhaps even stronger than, the aura of the living.
Zombies!
There were no soldiers at the city gate, only two black-armored zombies that looked like sculpted statues. The intense death aura and the cold, lifeless gazes beneath their armor spoke volumes about the ferocity of these two zombies!
However, the zombies, who should have been desperately craving the blood and energy of the living, turned a blind eye to the living people moving among them, as if they couldn't sense anything.
As Feng Bingwen approached the city gate, the two zombies, which seemed to be of a high level, twisted their stiff necks and stared at him. The once bustling city gate suddenly became quiet, and many living people entering and leaving also turned their gazes toward Feng Bingwen.
"Sir, where do you come from?"
A man, dressed in brighter colors and more appropriately sized clothing, approached Feng Bingwen with a fawning smile.
"Is this your first time visiting the City of Corpses?"
"Hmm, not bad!"
Feng Bingwen nodded and responded in a nonchalant tone, but he couldn't help but mutter to himself that the name of this dilapidated city was truly hellish, though it was surprisingly fitting.
"Sir, since this is your first time here, you must have received prior notice, right?"
The man, with a slightly sleazy demeanor, smiled mysteriously, giving a knowing look that everyone understood.
"What news?"
Feng Bingwen raised an eyebrow. Along the way, no one dared to approach him. Anyone who saw him was like a ferocious beast, avoiding him as far as possible. This was the first person who dared to speak to him.
"Young Master Shen has gained the favor of the Holy Sect's Immortal Master and has been accepted as a disciple. He will soon set off for the Holy Sect to cultivate immortal arts!"
At this point, the man's face immediately showed envy, as if he wished he could take the place of the man.
"This young master of the Shen family, after entering the sect, will not start as an ordinary servant disciple. He will be an inner disciple from the very beginning and will be able to bring some servants with him."
"I suspect you've also cultivated the incomplete chapters of the Holy Sect's teachings. If you can seize this opportunity to enter the Shen family and gain the favor of the Shen family's young master, you might have the chance to join the Holy Sect together. Although you'll be a servant, if you can gain the favor of any immortal master, you might just soar to the heavens!"
"Oh, this is the young master of the Shen family. He has a bright future ahead of him. Such an opportunity to climb the social ladder is not something ordinary people can easily obtain. Do you perhaps have some connections?"
Rice ball reading
A smile appeared on Feng Bingwen's face. Wasn't this a coincidence? He had been pondering how to infiltrate those demonic sects, and now a clear path was laid out before him. If he couldn't infiltrate, he might as well not bother cultivating.
However, these demonic cultivators really know how to pat themselves on the back. They don't even look at what kind of nonsense they practice, yet they have the nerve to call themselves the Holy Sect.
"Of course, I am the right-hand man and confidant of that young master Shen. I am also fortunate to accompany him to the Holy Sect this time!"
"Oh, I didn't realize that. My apologies!"
Feng Bingwen spoke casually, without showing any apology on his face. This made the expectant man feel a little resentful. The rogue cultivators he had encountered before were not like this. As soon as they heard that he had a way to enter the Holy Sect, they were practically kneeling down to lick his shoes.
"My lord, aren't you tempted?"
"Of course I'm tempted, but the Shen family has a high status here. Even if they can bring servants, they probably can't bring many. For such a good thing to fall into the hands of an outsider like me with no blood relation, I'm afraid I'll have to bear some incredible burden, right?"
Feng Bingwen casually remarked that this kind of thing was obviously suspicious. Only someone with a brain stuck in a hole would rush in like that. This guy practically had the words "ill-intentioned" written all over his face.
“If we’re talking about simple servants, my young master certainly doesn’t lack them. But skilled ones like you, sir, are truly rare. If we could recruit someone like you and bring you into the Holy Sect, it would be a great help to my young master!”
The man with a sleazy demeanor gave a reason that sounded plausible, or at least seemed logical.
"So what do outsiders like me have to give up?"
"To ensure my young master's safety, we still need to establish a Ghost Blood Pact!"
"Oh!"
Feng Bingwen scoffed.
"Why bother with such a troublesome thing? Forget it, I'm used to being free!"
"This is a chance to go to the Holy Sect, aren't you interested, sir?"
The man immediately became anxious. Although the person in front of him was very well concealed, judging from his eyesight, the person's blood energy was definitely not bad. He was an excellent resource and might even be able to cultivate into a blood corpse.
"No, I just happened to be passing by!"
Feng Bingwen said he had absolutely no interest in it.
"Can I enter this city? If not, I'll leave. If I can, I'll stay for two days and then leave!"
"Go ahead!"
The man reluctantly stepped aside, a dark glint in his eyes. Since they were willing to stay, they still had some room to maneuver as long as they were in the city.
"At least you know what's good for you!"
Feng Bingwen glanced at it with some surprise, then swaggered into the city.
He knew what his current robust physique and energetic appearance meant in this place. Even though he was dressed in tattered clothes, no one dared to underestimate him, but rather regarded him as a more esteemed figure.
"What a kind and honest folk!"
Upon entering the city, Feng Bingwen surveyed the ubiquitous walking corpses and ghosts, sensing the increasingly malevolent gazes emanating from behind them, and couldn't help but sigh.
He was targeted the moment he showed his face; in this respect, Kyushu really can't compare to this place.
After wandering around for an hour, having roughly figured out the location of the so-called Shen family and witnessed a variety of shocking things, Feng Bingwen turned and walked into a small alley.
As he walked through the dark alley, his figure gradually shrank, his once full and strong body became withered and thin, and his once black and shiny hair gradually turned yellow.
When Feng Bingwen emerged from the alley, he had transformed into a completely different person, no different from the mortals who commanded the walking corpses and ghosts, appearing weak and lacking in vitality.
"It's gone!"
"Damn it, where did they go?!"
"try to find!"
As Feng Bingwen merged into the crowd, several seemingly ordinary figures rushed out of the alley he had just walked out of. After discussing anxiously, they scattered, but it was clear that they could not complete the task assigned to them.
Meanwhile, Feng Bingwen once again wandered to the vicinity of the Shen family, which he had already thoroughly investigated. After easily scaling the wall and entering the courtyard, Feng Bingwen changed his appearance again.
Aside from the inability to quickly change clothes, even the aura changed accordingly, causing the vengeful spirits of zombies buried deep underground and lurking in the shadows to have no reaction.
Thus, even without cultivation, relying on the unique abilities inherent in the Myriad Transformations Demon Embryo, Feng Bingwen navigated this ridiculously large mansion, constantly changing his appearance and simulating his aura, until he found the courtyard where the young master of the Shen family was located!
"Young Master!"
He casually grabbed a set of clothes, transforming himself into a servant to this young master. Feng Bingwen called out towards the courtyard, and soon a frustrated, panting voice followed.
"You bastard, didn't I tell you not to disturb me for an hour? Do you want me to turn you into a blood corpse?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com