1: Chapter 1 The Corpse Collector

The night was as dark as ink, and the cold wind cut like a knife.

In the Great Yu Cultivation World, outside the Qingyun Market, lay a mass grave.

Gu Shen hunched his shoulders, wrapped in a patched gray cotton robe, his hands tucked into his sleeves, yet he still could not block the cold, damp air that seeped into his very bones.

A corpse lay horizontally before him.

This was a Loose Cultivator at Qi Refining Level 3. A Magical Artifact had blasted a large hole in his chest; the edges were charred black, and the blood had long since drained away, freezing into dark red ice shards.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth. Go in peace, Fellow Daoist."

Gu Shen continued to recite the customary lines, though his eyes remained indifferent and calm, without the slightest ripple of emotion. He crouched down, extended a pair of gloved hands, and began to search the corpse.

His movements were practiced and swift, as if he were tidying up the attire of an old friend.

The cuffs, the lapels, the inner lining of the belt, and even the soles of the boots.

A moment later, Gu Shen stopped. In his palm lay a few items: three dim Spirit Crystals (fragmented Spirit Stones), half of a ruined Cleaning Talisman, and a dull-edged iron dagger.

"Truly poor."

Gu Shen cursed under his breath, the white mist of his breath dissipating before his eyes.

This poor wretch had clearly been killed by bandits before being dumped here. Valuable items like a Storage Pouch had long been stripped away, leaving only these scraps for Gu Shen, the "Qingyun Market Corpse Collector."

As the lowest-ranking Corpse Collector in Qingyun Market, Gu Shen's job was to dispose of these nameless corpses. His payment consisted of whatever scraps remained on the bodies, along with one Low-Grade Spirit Stone issued monthly by the market administration.

He stood up and was about to push the corpse into the deep pit nearby to bury it when his gaze suddenly fixed.

After the corpse had been turned over, a strange, grayish-white hue faintly emerged from the charred wound on its chest.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes and warily scanned the pitch-black mass grave.

There was no one around, only the cries of unknown Yao Beasts in the distance.

He quickly pulled a pair of long tweezers from his boot, carefully reached into the corpse's chest cavity, avoided the shattered bones, and gave a gentle pinch.

A grayish bead was extracted.

The bead was about the size of a thumb, neither gold nor jade, its surface covered in dark patterns resembling blood vessels. It felt heavy in his hand and exuded a chill even colder than the surrounding winter wind.

"What is this?"

Gu Shen's heart skipped a beat.

He had been hanging around the market for three years. Although his cultivation was only at Qi Refining Level 2, he had developed a keen eye. However, this bead had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations; it didn't look like a Magical Artifact, but rather like some trinket from the Mortal world, or perhaps... a kidney stone?

If it were anyone else, they might have just thrown it away.

But Gu Shen had a good habit—never leave empty-handed.

"Pluck a feather from every passing goose; even a mosquito's leg is meat."

He calmly tucked the bead into his inner pocket, then deftly kicked the corpse into the deep pit, filled it with earth, and stomped it down.

After cleaning up the scene, Gu Shen clapped his hands, hunched his back, and, under the cover of night, hurried toward the market.

...

Qingyun Market was divided into an Inner City and an Outer City.

The Inner City was enveloped by a Second-Order Spirit Gathering Formation, making it spring-like all year round with abundant Spiritual Qi. It was inhabited by the descendants of Foundation Establishment Families or powerful Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators.

The Outer City was synonymous with filth and chaos, where tens of thousands of low-level Loose Cultivators were crammed into shantytowns like an anthill.

Gu Shen's home was in Bitter Water Alley, on the westernmost edge of the shantytown.

As soon as he entered the alley, a wave of warm air mixed with the smells of sweat, swill, and cheap rouge rushed toward him.

"Cough, cough..."

Gu Shen immediately lowered his posture, covering his mouth as he let out a harrowing cough. His already sallow complexion looked even paler, making him appear terminally ill.

In the Cultivation World, weakness is an original sin, but sometimes, feigning weakness can save one's life.

A Qi Refining Level 2 Corpse Collector who was sickly and had nothing of value wouldn't attract the interest of bandits.

"Yo, Gu the Sickly Ghost, you're back?"

A mocking voice called out from the shadows of the alley corner.

Gu Shen's footsteps faltered, his back subconsciously tensing. He gripped an iron nail hidden in his sleeve, but his face wore a humble, ingratiating smile as he turned around.

A burly man wearing black leather armor emerged from the shadows. He had a face full of flabby flesh and a ghost-head saber hanging at his waist.

Ma Liu, Qi Refining Stage 4, a minor leader of the Black Tiger Gang and the bully who collected rent in this area.

"Master Liu, still up this late?" Gu Shen bowed, his voice hoarse.

Ma Liu walked up to Gu Shen, looked down at him, and patted Gu Shen's dust-covered shoulder, frowning in disgust. "Cut the crap. It's three days until the end of the month. Is this month's rent and protection money ready?"

Gu Shen made a bitter face and cupped his hands in a salute. "Master Liu, you know how it is. The times aren't peaceful lately. Although there are many dead, the bandits strip them clean... This month, I really..."

"That's your problem."

Ma Liu sneered, interrupting his plea. "The higher-ups have spoken. The Sect is requisitioning spiritual materials, and Spirit Stones are in short supply. Starting next month, the rent in this shantytown will increase by thirty percent."

"Thirty percent?!"

Gu Shen's pupils constricted sharply, and he exclaimed, "Master Liu, that's killing me! Three Spirit Stones is already my limit; if it goes up any higher..."

"If you can't pay, get out!"

Ma Liu's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he stepped closer. The Evil Qi radiating from him made Gu Shen's breath hitch. "Don't blame me for not being neighborly. If I don't see four Spirit Stones in three days, go sleep in the mass grave outside! That place doesn't charge!"

After speaking, Ma Liu snorted coldly, turned, and swaggered away.

Gu Shen stood where he was, the cold wind blowing into his collar.

Four Spirit Stones.

He couldn't scrape that together even if his life depended on it.

His total net worth right now was only two Spirit Stones.

Being kicked out of the market, losing the protection of the Formation, and spending the night in the wild was a death sentence for a low-level Loose Cultivator like him.

Either he would be eaten by a Yao Beast or captured by an Evil Cultivator for Soul Refining.

"This is bullying!"

Gu Shen lowered his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, though it vanished in an instant.

He didn't make any threats or show any anger; he simply turned around silently and, with heavy steps, walked toward the dilapidated wooden shack deep in the alley.

Back at his doorstep.

Gu Shen didn't rush to push the door open.

He first checked a tiny strand of hair caught in the gap under the door—it was still there.

He then looked down at the thin layer of incense ash sprinkled at the doorway—no footprints.

Confirming no one had broken in, he took out the Restriction token, deactivated the crude defensive Formation, slipped inside, and bolted the door tightly behind him.

The room was very simple. A bed, a meditation cushion, and a cold stove.

Gu Shen walked to the meditation cushion, sat down heavily, and tightly gripped the three fragmented Spirit Crystals he had scavenged from the corpse.

After hesitating for a moment, he still couldn't bring himself to use them.

"Five Elements mixed Spiritual Root... it's simply a bottomless pit."

Gu Shen gave a self-deprecating smile, rubbing the rough surface of the Spirit Crystal with his fingertips. For an ordinary Cultivator with three Spiritual Roots, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone was enough to support three days of cultivation. But his body was cluttered with the Five Elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. When Spiritual Qi entered his body, the Five Elements would clash and consume each other; if he could retain even one-tenth of the Spiritual Qi, he would be lucky.

Especially his murky Fire Spiritual Root; it often fizzled out when he tried to refine the lowest-grade 'Bigu Pill,' which meant that after three years in the market, he was still an Alchemy apprentice who couldn't even afford to pay for a broken Pill Furnace.

"If my Aptitude were better, even just a four-root one, I should have long ago achieved a Breakthrough to Qi Refining Level 3. Why would I have to earn this kind of dead man's money for four Spirit Stones of rent?"

He sighed and carefully tucked the Spirit Crystals back into his inner pocket, like a miser hiding his last winter rations.

Aptitude is heaven-ordained; he had no choice. In this cannibalistic Cultivation World, his Aptitude meant he was just a breath above a Mortal, belonging to the cheapest category of expendable materials.

Gu Shen sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion, let out a long breath, and dropped his disguise. His originally hunched back straightened slightly, and his murky eyes became cold and sharp.

"Four Spirit Stones..."

He walked to the table, poured a cup of cold water, and downed it. The cold liquid stimulated his stomach, helping him calm down.

He was fed up with these days of being exploited and squeezed.

Having been in the market for three years, he had walked on thin ice, calculating every single day, not daring to make the slightest mistake, yet he was still being pushed to a dead end.

"I must take a gamble."

Gu Shen reached into his robe and pulled out his only gain from tonight—that grayish bead.

By the dim light of the lamp, he carefully examined the object he had dissected from the corpse's chest.

"These patterns..."

Gu Shen frowned slightly.

He couldn't see clearly in the wild, but now under the lamp, he realized the dark patterns on the bead's surface were not naturally formed; they looked more like some ancient, obscure runes.

He tentatively mobilized the pitiful amount of Spiritual Qi in his body, channeling it from his fingertips slowly into the bead.

Hum!

Without any warning.

The bead vibrated violently, and a terrifying suction force suddenly erupted.

Gu Shen was terrified and tried to shake it off, only to find that the bead seemed to have grown into his flesh. The Spiritual Qi in his body, like water from a breached dam, was instantly drained, followed by his life force and spirit...

"Damn it! It's a Demonic Artifact!"

Gu Shen's vision went black; that was the only thought that flashed through his mind.

Just as he was about to faint, the bead suddenly became scalding hot, transformed into a gray light, and zipped into the center of his forehead.

Boom!

A roar echoed in his mind.

Gu Shen felt as if he had been thrown into a massive furnace.

In his daze, a line of ancient, desolate characters slowly emerged deep within his Sea of Consciousness:

[Heaven and Earth as the furnace, Creation as the craftsman.]

[Passage between the two worlds, opening.]

The next moment, Gu Shen's figure vanished into thin air from the narrow wooden shack, leaving behind only a solitary lamp flickering in the cold night.