Imperial Treasure

Chapter 1399 - 810: Filth

"Yes, yes, that’s why you..."

Just at that moment!

A sharp and terrifying scream suddenly came from the lush mountain!

It wasn’t the scream of a single person, but rather something inhuman...

"There really is something unclean!"

"Too scary!"

As these people were in terror, they turned their heads and were suddenly shocked!

"Where is she?"

The young and beautiful girl was now nowhere to be seen.

The faces of these people turned even paler.

"A fe...female ghost?"

"She must be a female ghost!"

On the mountain.

A strange spiral airflow swirled around a clearing in Lin Zhong, encircling a man.

The man stood atop a rotating dark green light pattern with Green Fire burning, and the airflows that swirled were trying to approach the man within the Green Fire but failed. Of course, to the left lay a very fresh corpse, half of its heart resting on the ground, the other half... was naturally eaten. But where was the thing that ate it?

Ye Zixu’s body remained motionless.

Until... swish swish swish!

The airflows suddenly rushed directly beneath the ground.

The ground, just sprouting in the spring, quickly withered, and then from beneath the surface, Ye Zixu fiercely drew a long blade from the north, spinning it three times in his hands, with the sword pattern fully revealed, buzz!

Thrust!

The Green Fire swiftly surged, incinerating the man and the "thing" that was about to erupt under the ground with savage screams!

The Green Fire twisted with the scream, reducing by more than half!

Ye Zixu quickly performed hand seals with both hands, intending to suppress!

The clean slicing sound like the sound of wheat cutting in autumn was a sheet of sharp linked flying knives, suddenly launched from Lin Zhong, sealing several vital spots on Ye Zixu’s body.

Caught off guard?

Ye Zixu expressionlessly controlled the seal with one hand and drew a short sword from his waist with the other...

Clang clang clang!

The sword twisted up, projecting a chilling light!

The other hand had already sent the seal into the long blade.

With a buzz, the Green Fire array instantly expanded three or four times, spreading out and burning the things below the ground...

The ground erupted into holes, soil spurted as if some demon was frantically beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, the assailant in Lin Zhong had already sprung out from the tree branches, leaping and descending, pressing down a palm!

The palm technique was eerie and treacherous, retaining quite an unusual Inner Strength aura.

Ye Zixu grasped the sword with one hand, the other reaching upwards.

Bam!!!

An SS-level Inner Strength explosion!

The assailant landed, the Green Fire on the ground still burning, trapping those airflows until they condensed on the ground, turning into a terrifying entity neither human nor beast.

Clang, Ye Zixu sheathed the short sword and long blade, walked to the creature’s side, giving it a closer look, frowning slightly.

This is...

"Ghouls, nurtured in piles of remains during the gloomy and rainy season of Mount Yin, naturally weak, can only dwell in cold, damp, and dark places. If accumulating resentment over time, they can grow fierce, able to feast on human flesh, mastering mountain arts, thus classified as one of the Mountain Ghosts."

This voice...

Ye Zixu turned, seeing Sui Yi, unknowingly present.

Men, by nature, show fewer signs of aging than women, much less Ye Zixu with his high level of strength, unchanged from ten years ago—the only difference being a colder, deeper aura. Carrying the long blade and short sword, dressed in a black vest, black pants, and combat boots, just standing there watching her.

Beside him, the Green Fire burned, his gaze seemingly dark green as well...

Sui Yi observed him, he observed Sui Yi.

After a moment, he waved his hand, extinguishing the Green Fire instantly.

He stepped off the charred ground, seemingly intending to say something, but ultimately spoke in a muted voice, "Ancient texts mention that although ghouls relish human hearts, they are not particularly fond of blood; they consume all, not selective."

So, it’s not them.

Sui Yi’s eyes swept past a mummified corpse hanging on a tree trunk, its flesh mostly eaten, stones hanging from its leg...

"The killer and the eater are not the same group, but I can’t determine what caused the deaths."

Sui Yi pointed to the mountain wall’s cave.

"We’ll know by checking inside."

These two, reunited after a long time, engaged not even in a hint of small talk, as if Sui Yi had never left.

The cave was quite large, actually a natural Rift Valley, though they didn’t expect the interior to be twisty, the space winding...

Yet inside, a scent wafted along the breeze.

The smell of cooked meat.

Then Sui Yi and Ye Zixu saw a large pot, stewing heads and meat...

"The head of that corpse outside..." Sui Yi mused.

You don’t need to muse, really!

Ye Zixu glanced at the head, saying, "It’s not from outside, perhaps there are more bones inside."

Having said that, he swiftly maneuvered several afterimages under his feet, reaching a rock a dozen meters away, scanning with his eyes.

"Twenty-five hanging corpses, all with stones tied to their legs."

Before he even finished, Sui Yi was already beside the hanging corpses, taking a look and calmly saying, "The previous judgment was wrong."

"Not only do they eat people, but they also love adding spices."

Ye Zixu’s gaze landed on nearby bottles and jars, all common human cooking spices, as well as oil...

These hanging corpses were almost turning into wind-dried cured meat, with a flavor too strong.

Luckily, it was Sui Yi and Ye Zixu rather than ordinary people, or they would be scared to death.

"Let’s go."

Sui Yi swiped his finger back and forth, and the rope from which the corpse was hanging fell. With a clatter, a large section of rock was cut out from the mountain wall and turned into stone powder, covering the fallen corpse.

Following Sui Yi’s hand seals.

The stone powder quickly solidified, swiftly burying all the bones underground.

Not a trace remained.

As for the bones outside...

Ye Zixu pointed at the assailant.

"A restless member seemingly granted an immunity token after Martial Arts flourished."

"He belongs to our Taoist Arts category, but has taken a deviant path."

Ye Zixu picked up the head of the corpse, took out a stamp from his sleeve, and pressed it onto its head with his finger coated in ink.

The sect’s badge absorbs the spirit, and after the spirit is taken, dust returns to dust...

A mound of yellow earth appeared on the ground.

"Have you always been like this over the years?"

"Camping out in the open, mingling among the people, exterminating demons and upholding the Tao..." Sui Yi’s slowly spoken words made Ye Zixu feel somewhat uneasy. "I just took over this badge, and it happened to be convenient... I’m not suited for pure archaeological research."

Sui Yi smiled faintly.

"Ye Zixu, you’re a natural-born Demon Exterminator."

Ye Zixu was stunned for a moment and followed Sui Yi down the mountain.

Exterminating demons and upholding the Tao?

He might not have liked it in the past, but over time... he slowly realized that there was nothing wrong with it.

At least it aligns with someone’s moral principles...

"You seem to be worried about something."

Ye Zixu wanted to say something, but the sudden words didn’t surprise Sui Yi at all.

In the dim light, Sui Yi turned his head to look at Ye Zixu.

"Perhaps chaos will soon engulf the world."

Chaos engulfing the world, these words are quite severe.

Ye Zixu touched the short sword on his waist and said calmly, "No matter how chaotic it gets, if you need anything, just call me, and I’ll be there."

"You’re too weak; you probably can’t help me."

"...." As straightforward as ever.

Sui Yi still quite enjoyed being with someone as pure-hearted as Ye Zixu. At least people like Yi Chilian... she found a bit troublesome.

Unwilling to take on more entanglements.

But as they were going downhill, Ye Zixu suddenly turned to the other side of the mountain and picked up two hanging things from the treetops...

Hanging corpses?

No, they were two plump wild mountain chickens.

"I stumbled upon them earlier, let’s take them back."

Such wild game is not uncommon in the Capital City area. It’s only because the environment has improved in recent years that such treasures can be seen.

"Thank you."

The two descended the mountain together, causing a stir among the elderly from afar, who started discussing as soon as they saw them.

"Ah, isn’t that girl a Female Ghost?"

"Of course not, otherwise Brother Ye wouldn’t let her go."

"Not necessarily, that Female Ghost looks like a Fairy, so beautiful, Brother Ye couldn’t bring himself to do it..."

"Isn’t there Ning Caichen with Nie Xiaoqian and Xu Xian with Lady Bai..."

Hmm... their hearing wasn’t bad, really.

Sui Yi pretended not to hear them, but out of courtesy, the two went over anyway.

Ye Zixu mentioned that he had caught something unclean and noted that Sui Yi was his friend and a fellow practitioner, which left the old folks both cheering and feeling embarrassed...

But when they heard Ye Zixu was leaving, they felt quite reluctant.

However, they had no choice; their children and grandchildren were unwilling to stay in such small places, let alone eminent figures like Ye Zixu.

Ye Zixu didn’t have much to organize; just a backpack in the house with the deceased’s belongings. He picked up the backpack and went out the door, but Sui Yi, who was waiting in the courtyard, was surrounded...

It turned out that while they were gathering their things, these elderly folks had taken the liberty to dig up lots of fresh vegetables from the field and some rare mountain delicacies from home, stuffing them into two large bags, still covered in dirt.

Ye Zixu didn’t refuse. Moreover, there was no way he would let Sui Yi carry anything, so he carried everything himself...

As they were leaving.

Sui Yi was held by the hand of an old lady.

"Dear girl, you’re so lovely, a match made in heaven with Brother Ye. Brother Ye is such a good person, would be so good to you, you shouldn’t let him slip by..."

Ye Zixu was about to intervene but saw that Sui Yi was not the least bit angry. She just smiled gently, clasped the old lady’s hand back, and left after they finished talking.

Patient, gentle, magnanimous.

She is truly the best.

------

Sui Yi didn’t mind if the car trunk was dirty.

Not to mention these things were fresh and healthy, the good intentions of the older generation were already priceless. After the car started, Ye Zixu sat in the passenger seat, and neither of them brought up the previous matters.

"Where do you think that thing would run off to?"

Ye Zixu had previously been capable on his own, but possibly because Sui Yi was there or for some other reason, the enemies they faced were much more formidable than before, making it difficult to find a way to track them down.

"Didn’t Thousand Buddha Hands teach you the Tracking Technique?"

"They did, but this thing is too powerful, I couldn’t catch its scent."

"I meant the Tracking Technique for people."

"People?"

Ye Zixu furrowed his sword-like eyebrows.

"It’s a person?"

"Yes, a person cultivating in a vicious Cultivation Technique... The skin is of a person, but the heart isn’t anymore, otherwise they wouldn’t have shared a resting place with him."