Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest-Chapter 562 - 58: Desolate Village Ancient Tomb
Chapter 562 -58: Desolate Village Ancient Tomb
For top cultivators, being able to quickly enter the Hua Mansion stage provides an indispensable advantage, as it allows them to overpower their enemies who haven’t advanced yet in a short period.
Of course, if viewed from a long-term perspective, the talents of top cultivators are generally not too shoddy. Even the “top tier wall” Chen Lingyun, when placed within the entirety of team monks, was above average. So, everyone would eventually reach the level cap and then equalize with each other — assuming they could live that long.
In foreign supernatural realms, where the strong prey upon the weak and competition is ruthless, those in the top flow are essentially rushing to level up, even at the cost of mortgaging their future, because having a future at all depends on staying alive.
To deal with international pressures, domestically there was also a need to quickly cultivate a group of Hua Mansion stage cultivators to strengthen the ranks, and these people could only be the top flow team monks — ordinary team monks, with not just slower cultivation speeds, but some hadn’t even reached the previous level cap, starting far behind top flow monks, how could they possibly compete internationally?
In the arms race, being behind was a sin with no rational explanation.
Thus, first thing in the morning, Li Weiguo called to say that Yang Linhui from the Dragon Soar Team was reportedly also making rapid progress. “When will your team’s Su Yunjin enter the Hua Mansion stage?” he asked.
Yan Yu was quite speechless and explained that Yun Jin was already working hard at cultivating, but some things depended on talent. They would continue to strive hard, seek improvements, and persist in their efforts, aiming for glory…
Li Weiguo said, “Don’t give me these official lines. I’m just urging you, not forcing you. If you really encounter a Transcendent from abroad at the Hua Mansion stage, just let Liu Longtao and Xie Ruoxi take the lead. The reason I’m calling is that the Annan Army has approached us, hoping Zhenghai Team could lend some assistance.”
The help needed was naturally related to the “mysteriously disappearing village” Li Minghu had mentioned before, which had caused a minor stir in the media. Fortunately, the Military Manor had discovered and suppressed it in time; otherwise, it would surely have induced public panic.
If it was due to a mysterious realm, that would still be manageable. The real fear was that some demon was causing trouble, potentially running rampant in nearby towns, which would make the situation quite severe.
Protecting the homeland, of course, there was nothing to decline, so Yan Yu readily agreed.
Time to call Valkyrie… oh, wrong, it’s time to guard the local lands and ensure the people’s safety!
Yan Yu informed the girls about the situation, and they all readily agreed, except Lin Ning who was still immersed in the embarrassment of the captain seeing her underwear that morning, morosely ignoring him.
The group then mounted their swords and set off southwestward, arriving at their destination in the evening and meeting up with the Qing’an Team.
Li Minghu seemed much thinner and sicklier, his delicate beauty becoming more pronounced. The men hadn’t changed much compared to before, and Yan Yu also met Xu Jin, a girl wearing glasses and braided pigtail, with a serious and earnest expression… feeling a strange sense of déjà vu, had I dealt with her in a past life?
“Speak up, what exactly is the situation?” urged Yan Yu. “Let’s solve your problems quickly so we can go back and continue our cultivation and challenge our limits.”
“I’ve already told you about the situation and there hasn’t been any new developments,” Li Zhaojiang complained. “The entire village vanished without a trace, reasons unknown, no clues found. Now relatives come to the site daily in tears, and the Military Manor is being driven to distraction, that’s why we have to come here every few days.”
“Comrade Li, this is where you’re wrong,” Yan Yu said. “You’re just missing a few days of rest, but they’ve lost their relatives, heard nothing from them—try to understand a little.”
“I’m not being uncompassionate,” Li Zhaojiang argued. “Isn’t that why I’m asking for your help?”
While his nephew might find this tiresome, Yan Yu could understand; it was generally felt that top cultivators should employ their strengths in battle and not waste time solving mysteries.
However, such a notion could easily lead to a disconnect between cultivators and common folk in the community, eventually turning into the mindset of “I only care about advancing my cultivation, worldly matters don’t concern me.”
In his past life, Li Zhaojiang’s flagrant rebellion was partially driven by the fog of rage from a familial sacrifice, but it was also deeply entwined with his arrogant belief in the cultivator’s superiority. For Li Minghu’s sake, Yan Yu decided it was still worth advising him.
“Think about it, if your sister suddenly went missing, what would you do?” Yan Yu deployed the empathy technique. “You’d probably be even more desperate than these families.”
“I’ll grab a butcher’s knife and come looking for you, you pervert, first thing,” Li Zhaojiang replied.
“I’m done, can’t even talk to you, maddeningly obtuse sister-complex,” Yan Yu waved his hand dismissively. “Haven’t had dinner yet, how about a bowl of char siu rice to ease the hunger? One that your sister personally cooks.”
“I don’t have my sister’s char siu rice, but I have my own Nine Turns intestine dish, you want?” Li Zhaojiang retorted with a scoff.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass on shit, you enjoy it yourself.”
Seeing the two go further off the rails, Xu Jin interjected:
“Enough already, what’s the use of arguing here? Let’s quickly resolve the matter.”
“Exactly,” Lin Ning chimed in. “Since the missing people’s families are pressing you, just start moving quickly!”
Observing the two, Yan Yu finally realized where Xu Jin’s familiarity came from — wasn’t she just a plain-looking version of Lin Ning!
“Ling Yun has already dispatched spirits to conduct a thorough search,” Li Minghu suggested. “Don’t worry; you’ve come from far. Have something to eat first.”
The girls from the Zhenghai Team expressed that they were not hungry. After all, eating was more about maintaining the usual rhythms of life rather than an actual need for food.
“Alright,” Li Minghu looked towards Yan Yu, “I’ll go make you some char siu rice.”
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“No way! Sister!” Li Zhaojiang was shocked, “You’re actually going to make it!”
“They came here specifically to help us,” Li Minghu chided her brother, “you should treat them well.”
“See, your sister gets it!” Yan Yu exclaimed joyfully, “Comrade Li, learn a thing or two!”
The char siu rice was quickly brought up by Li Minghu. Due to the inconvenience of starting a fire in the wilderness and the need for efficiency, the rice, vegetables, and char siu were all instant military rations, heat-and-eat from a bag, which was very convenient.
Yan Yu picked up his chopsticks, looked at Li Zhaojiang who was green with envy, and let out a hearty laugh, looking incredibly pleased.
Just after tasting a bite of the char siu, Lin Ning suddenly said:
“I’m a bit hungry too, the captain wouldn’t mind sharing some with me, would he?”
“Me too,” Su Yunjin said with a smile, “just right, there are five pieces of char siu in the bowl.”
“Then I’ll force myself to eat a bit,” Zhao Yuanzhen said reservedly.
The girls, armed with chopsticks and spoons, rushed in and quickly devoured the char siu rice to the last grain.
Yan Yu: ……….
“Hahaha!” Li Zhaojiang was amused, “How about that, Old Yan? Was the meal my sister made delicious? I’m sorry, I didn’t notice if you even got a bite…”
“Hehe,” Yan Yu transmitted a message to Li Zhaojiang, “I didn’t get enough this time, call your sister to make it for me again next time, there will be plenty of opportunities.”
Li Zhaojiang was just about to retort when he suddenly saw Chen Lingyun walk in.
“Found it?” Yan Yu asked.
“Found it,” Chen Lingyun replied, “it’s on the mountain right next door.”
Even though it was “next door,” it actually took at least 20 minutes to get there, and being in the wilderness, indeed, it was not easy to find.
The group followed Chen Lingyun’s footsteps to the mid-mountain area, where they saw about a dozen graves scattered around—likely the burial sites of village elders and ancestors.
“Is there any issue?” Yan Yu scanned all the grave mounds with his Divine Sense and confirmed his query.
“Divine Sense scan showed nothing out of the ordinary, right?” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, pointing to a grave in front, “But my Five Ghosts told me, there’s something off with this grave.”
Yan Yu narrowed his eyes. From the layout of all the graves, this one was situated on higher terrain than the others and was moreover distantly separated from the rest, creating a rather “solitary grave on a desolate mound” atmosphere.
The gravestone bore inscriptions, but due to the long-term erosion by wind and rain, they were no longer clear. At the foot of the grave, there was an incense burner with a single burned-out stick of incense in it.
“This probably means the family line has ended,” Li Zhaojiang analyzed. “If there were descendants alive, they would have replaced such a tombstone at Qingming Festival. The completely blurred inscriptions indicate that it has been unattended for a long time.”
“What about the incense in the incense burner?” Su Yunjin asked curiously.
“Perhaps someone felt pity for the tomb’s occupant during grave visiting and inserted one out of kindness,” Li Minghu also spoke up. “If it were for one’s own ancestors, they wouldn’t just light a single stick.”
In the traditional culture of Lu Country, incense serves as an ancestral offering, typically started with at least three sticks… This single lonely stick of incense was indeed unusual.
“So,” Yan Yu quickly speculated, “could it be that someone lit the incense, triggering a certain Mysterious Realm, which then led to the disappearance of the entire village?”
“Let’s find out.” Chen Lingyun snapped her fingers, and a ghost transformed into human form, found an unspent incense stick in another grave, pulled it out, and inserted it into the burner, “Bring a lighter.”
Jiang Hong pulled out a lighter, stepped forward, and lit the tip of the incense stick.
It was night, and there was no wind in the mountains, but the incense smoke rose straight up a few inches, then suddenly began to flicker strangely, as if someone invisible was blowing on it.
After a moment, infinite mist surged from the distant mountains under the moonlight, vaguely looming and madly rushing towards this mountain slope!
“Everyone, gather together!” Yan Yu quickly ordered, “Inform the nearby Military Mansion Cultivators to evacuate as soon as possible!”
