Chapter 81: Cauldron

As this voice emerged, it immediately transformed into gusts of wind and thunder, and the fireballs on the surrounding stone pillars dimmed once more. A huge echo reverberated through the溶洞, giving one the illusion of heavenly might.

Wang Lin took a deep breath, cupped his fists, and respectfully said, “Greetings, Senior Ye.”

The figure gradually solidified into a middle-aged man of about forty years. He had handsome features, eyebrows like a painted mountain, eyes like swirling stars, and a face as pale as jade. He looked at Wang Lin with no expression and spoke:

“Muzhong, you may withdraw.”

Muzhong, who was kneeling on the ground, quickly acknowledged, stood up cleanly, and swiftly flew towards a cave entrance nearby, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Ye Zizai waved his right hand, and a thin curtain of light immediately spread out. He sighed lightly, with a hint of melancholy, and slowly said, “Wang Lin, you are not a Disciple of my Corpse Yin Sect, so there’s no need to be constrained. My Junior Brother Wu Yu must have encountered trouble. Wang Lin, there is no third person here, so please tell me what happened.”

Wang Lin straightened his back. He had already thought about what might happen before coming. It was impossible to hide anything about Junior Brother Wu Yu from a Nascent Soul Stage expert like Ye Zizai, so he might as well tell the truth.

After a brief moment of thought, Wang Lin recounted his experiences in the Jungle Ruins.

Ye Zizai listened quietly, without saying a word. After Wang Lin finished speaking, he sighed softly, closed his eyes, and pondered for a moment. He thought to himself, “What Wang Lin said should be true. Junior Brother Wu Yu said before he left that his Corpse Puppet was about to advance. Moreover, what he just said matches Junior Brother Wu Yu’s personality. Corpse Puppet rebellion, alas. Junior Brother, how could a Corpse Puppet rebellion be as easy as you say? Even I cannot defeat a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Corpse Puppet.

You asking this Wang Lin to deliver a message probably has a deeper meaning…” Thinking of this, Ye Zizai swept his Divine Sense and suddenly let out a soft “hmm.” In his view, the Cultivation Technique Wang Lin Cultivated was extremely similar to that of the Corpse Yin Sect, both being of the Yin-cold attribute. After a brief thought, he understood his Junior Brother’s intention.

Wu Yu was simultaneously seeking help and recruiting a Disciple for the Corpse Yin Sect. Ye Zizai’s Divine Sense passed over Wang Lin, focusing on the strange person Ah Dai. After a long time, he fully understood Wu Yu’s idea: Ah Dai’s physique was naturally suitable for Cultivating the Corpse Yin Sect’s Cultivation Technique.

Ye Zizai retracted his gaze and slowly spoke, “Wang Lin, is this the Ah Dai who accompanied my Junior Brother for several years?”

Wang Lin nodded.

Ye Zizai took a deep breath and said decisively, “Wang Lin, I observe that the spiritual power in your body is biased towards the cold attribute, which can be said to be of the same origin as my Corpse Yin Sect. Cultivating here will surely yield twice the results with half the effort. Are you willing to become a Disciple of my Corpse Yin Sect?”

Wang Lin had already speculated about possible events on the way here, and Ye Zizai’s intention to recruit him was within his expectations. So, without another word, he respectfully said, “This Disciple is willing.”

Ye Zizai nodded and said, “Alright, since you met Junior Brother Wu Yu by chance, then truly be his Disciple. From now on, you are a second-generation Disciple of my Corpse Yin Sect.”

After speaking, he pointed at the strange person Ah Dai and said, “I will take this Ah Dai.” Seeing Wang Lin hesitate slightly, he smiled and said, “This Ah Dai has deep feelings for Junior Brother Wu Yu; I will not harm him. I want to personally take him as my Disciple.”

With that, he flicked his right hand, throwing out a dark blue Jade Slip, then casually grabbed Ah Dai with a large hand and swayed his body. Amidst Ah Dai’s startled cries, he disappeared into the溶洞.

Wang Lin caught the Jade Slip, and after sweeping it with his Divine Sense, his expression immediately became strange.

The Jade Slip contained only some simple Spells, with no Cultivation Technique of the Corpse Yin Sect at all. Wang Lin pondered for a moment and felt relieved; it was because they didn’t trust him, but Wang Lin didn’t care.

While he was still checking, Muzhong poked his head out of a cave entrance. Upon seeing Ye Zizai leave, he immediately flew to Wang Lin’s side. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed the color of the Jade Slip in Wang Lin’s hand, was startled, and respectfully retreated a few steps, saying, “Disciple Muzhong, greetings, Grandmaster.”

Wang Lin was stunned, looked at the Jade Slip in his hand, and smiled, “Brother Mu, there’s no need for this. Does the color of this Jade Slip have some special meaning?”

Muzhong looked enviously at the Jade Slip in Wang Lin’s hand, and with a bitter smile, took out a light blue Jade Slip from his Storage Pouch, saying, “Grandmaster, you didn’t have a Jade Slip just now, so it was fine for us to address each other as equals. But now that you have a Jade Slip, the Corpse Yin Sect has strict Sect rules, how dare I still call you Brother Wang… Look at the color of the Jade Slip in my hand. The Jade Slip is the only proof of identity in our Corpse Yin Sect. The Ancestor’s Jade Slip is cyan, the Grandmaster’s is dark blue, and the Elder’s is light blue. All other Disciples have white ones.”

Wang Lin put away the Jade Slip, and just as he was about to speak, the fireballs on the surrounding stone pillars suddenly flickered a few times. Several thin wisps of smoke intertwined, forming a wisp of green smoke.

Muzhong’s expression shifted slightly. He performed Hand Seals with his right hand and uttered, “Gather!”

The green smoke immediately swirled, swiftly came to Muzhong’s side, drilled into his forehead, and transformed into tiny specks of dust, dissipating completely.

Muzhong closed his eyes slightly, and after a short while, opened them, smiling at Wang Lin, “Grandmaster, Ancestor Ye just sent a message, arranging a cultivation room for you. Shall I take you there now?”

Wang Lin was quite surprised by some of the Secret Techniques of this Corpse Yin Sect, such as the communication just now, which was surprisingly done through smoke. Wang Lin stroked his chin and nodded with a light smile.

Muzhong moved his body and flew towards one of the surrounding cave entrances. Wang Lin floated up gracefully and followed him.

The two moved swiftly inside the cave. Along the way, Muzhong briefly introduced the Corpse Yin Sect, and combined with some of the words from the Formation youth earlier, Wang Lin gained a certain understanding of the Corpse Yin Sect.

The Corpse Yin Sect, one of the four Demonic Path Sects, has over a thousand Disciples, all living underground, each with their own dedicated cultivation rooms. Except for a few Disciples who need to go out for procurement, most are focused on Cultivating.

Actually, calling it a Demonic Path Sect might be a bit unfitting. Compared to the Heavenly Dao Sect’s overwhelming Demonic Flames, the Joyful Union Sect’s sinister evil, and the Unfettered Valley’s rampant Killing Intent, while the Corpse Yin Sect has Corpse Puppets accompanying them, it is more populated by cultivation fanatics.

Every Disciple of the Corpse Yin Sect Cultivates frantically. The reason for this phenomenon is a series of cruel rules: those who fail to reach the tenth layer of Qi Condensation within 10 years, those who fail to reach Foundation Establishment Stage within thirty years, and those who fail to reach Core Formation within a hundred years, will all be refined into Corpse Puppets.

This bloody system is like a whip, lashing all Corpse Yin Sect Disciples, forcing them to Cultivate frantically.

Every year, several people are refined into Corpse Puppets, and during each refining, all Disciples observe the ritual as a warning.

Similarly, every year, some Disciples are sent out to find Mortals with excellent root bones, to be captured into the Sect by any means necessary, to replenish the lost number of Disciples.

It’s not that no Disciples want to resist, but before entering the Sect, a trace of every Disciple’s soul is extracted and Sealed onto a Jade Slip. Jade Slips are divided into four types: the Ancestor’s cyan Jade Slip can control all Disciples under them, similarly, the Grandmaster’s dark blue Jade Slip also has this effect, followed by the Elder’s light cyan Jade Slip.

Under layered control, no one dares to resist. Muzhong even subtly pointed out that the Corpse Yin Sect is a massive School, and the State of Zhao is merely a branch. He had once seen an envoy from a fifth-grade national Corpse Yin Sect come here for inspection, and even the envoy’s servants possessed Nascent Soul Stage cultivation.

The more Wang Lin listened, the more alarmed he became. He couldn’t help but wonder why Ye Zizai hadn’t extracted a trace of his soul to Seal onto the Jade Slip when he gave it to him earlier.

A similar question came from within Ye Zizai’s body after he returned to the deepest溶洞 underground.

“Why didn’t you extract his soul and Seal it on the Jade Slip?” The hoarse voice sounded like two iron blocks rubbing together.

Ye Zizai patted Ah Dai’s head, Sealing Ah Dai’s five senses, then turned and sat cross-legged on a black stone bed in the溶洞. He performed Hand Seals with his right hand and pointed at his own forehead. Immediately, his whole body trembled, and a phantom figure slowly emerged from within him.

This figure was quite blurry, its appearance unclear. After detaching from Ye Zizai’s body, it floated in mid-air, especially lingering near Ah Dai for a moment, then suddenly extended its left hand, about to grab Ah Dai’s head.

Ye Zizai frowned, performed Hand Seals with his right hand, and spat out a mouthful of blue Infant Fire. As soon as the Infant Fire appeared, it immediately transformed into a long rainbow, blocking the figure’s claw.

“Rakshasa, this Ah Dai is the successor implicitly designated by my Junior Brother. You must not harm him!” Ye Zizai said coldly.

The figure cackled, floated to the side with hands clasped over its shoulders, and shrieked, “Ye Zizai, you and your Junior Brother are merely our Cauldrons. Your Junior Brother left quickly back then, before Lord Zi developed Divine Sense. It’s laughable that he would even ask you for help; this is simply throwing himself into the net. Ye Zizai, now that you know his location, why don’t you quickly go and help Lord Zi devour Wu Yu?”

Ye Zizai’s face was grim. He stared at the other party and sneered, “Until you completely devour me, don’t expect me to obey your commands. As for that Lord Zi, I will neither help Wu Yu nor him. Whether he can devour my Junior Brother depends on his own ability.”

The figure chuckled, not caring, and said, “Since you are unwilling, I won’t force you. However, the next batch of Divine Sense bodies from the fifth-grade Sect country is ready. This time there are ten people. You must choose your Cauldrons carefully. Remember your identity; you are merely an outer Disciple of my Corpse Yin Sect. Also, what do you plan to do with this boy named Ah Dai?”

Ye Zizai was silent for a moment, sighing inwardly. He joined the Corpse Yin Sect four hundred years ago. With his exceptional talent, he reached the Nascent Soul Stage in four hundred years. But it was at this time that the Corpse Puppet actually developed Divine Sense and began to devour him. This process was quite long, and it was precisely because of this that he learned a series of hidden secrets about the Corpse Yin Sect.