Chapter 62: Corpse Cultivation

“Forget it. It’s done now; blaming you won’t help.”

Zhu Fenglan waved her hand, then her gaze fell on the unconscious Guan Shanxue, and she mused:

“This girl is of special status—she’s the daughter of the Six Gates’ Supreme Hunter, Guan Tianqian. I still don’t know why she’s been targeting you.”

“But since you didn’t encounter any Six Gates personnel at the time, this doesn’t seem to have been orchestrated by the Six Gates themselves.”

Hearing this, Cang Yunning’s eyes flickered with lust and murderous intent, saying:

“This is simple. Why not let Mother hand her over to me for cultivation, then kill her and destroy the body? No one will ever know about tonight.”

Yet Zhu Fenglan shook her head sharply and rebuked:

“Before acting, use your brain a little. You still don’t know why she’s targeting you—or whether she holds evidence of your crimes. What good is killing her?”

“What if she left clues that lead Guan Tianqian straight to our door? Do you want us all to die with you?”

Cang Yunning’s face changed instantly. He glanced at Guan Shanxue lying on the ground, then lowered his head and frowned:

“Does Mother have a foolproof plan?”

Zhu Fenglan pondered briefly, then instructed a nearby maid:

“Go bring me the ‘Thousand Foolish, Hundred Grievances Powder.’”

“Yes, Lady.”

The maid bowed slightly and quickly left, returning from another room in the courtyard with a porcelain bottle.

Zhu Fenglan glanced at the bottle, nodded, and signaled the maid to make Guan Shanxue ingest it.

“This Thousand Foolish, Hundred Grievances Powder was acquired by me many years ago from a rogue alchemist skilled in poison. Anyone who takes it becomes obsessively infatuated with the first opposite-sex person they see, unable to break free for a period.”

Zhu Fenglan explained to Cang Yunning, her narrow eyes half-lidded:

“When you question her later, she will answer every question truthfully. Once I learn what she knows, I’ll decide how to deal with her.”

Hearing this, Cang Yunning’s fair, rosy lips curled into a lewd smile:

“Mother, could you spare me some of this powder? It would aid me in future matters.”

Zhu Fenglan glanced at him and said:

“Handle your own affairs. This is the last of it—once it’s used, there won’t be any more.”

Cang Yunning’s face fell with regret, but he said nothing further.

Seeing the maid already administering the powder—and knowing the effects would take time—he walked toward the woman wrapped in a cotton quilt and said:

“I’ll attend to something first. I’ll return later to question her.”

With that, he hoisted the quilt-wrapped woman onto his shoulder and turned toward the door.

Zhu Fenglan watched his back without a word, then nodded and said:

“Yuning’s martial cultivation grows ever deeper. Though the Nine Yin Dark Death Art is sinister, it truly is a remarkable technique—no less potent than your sister’s ‘Blood Transformation and Return Great Method.’”

Rong the nursemaid, beside her, nodded gently:

“Indeed. But only the young master’s exceptional talent achieves such results. Others could never reach this level.”

As she spoke, Rong the nursemaid seemed to recall something and added:

“The Lady’s monthly need for ‘blood offerings’ draws near. I may need to make several trips outside the city soon—the authorities are cracking down hard, and most human traffickers dare not enter.”

Hearing this, Zhu Fenglan’s gaze drifted to the flowers in the courtyard, her expression thoughtful:

“Handle it as you see fit—but your sister’s needs must be fully met. Her cultivation cannot afford any mishaps.”

“Best to keep more maids within the mansion, just in case.”

Rong the nursemaid bowed in assent, turning to gaze at the lush, vibrant flowers in the courtyard, where the air now hung thick with their rich fragrance.

…

“So she’s come home.”

Beneath the hazy moonlight, Li Muxian appeared silently outside the Cangyuan Marquis Mansion. He glanced at the qi thread in his hand, then stroked his chin.

Given Cang Yin Yue’s relationship with the Cangyuan Marquis Mansion, this girl hardly seemed the type to return voluntarily.

“Hmm… understood.”

“She probably came back to steal the Bone-Eating Yin Wind Finger technique, to have me remove the branded characters from her face.”

Li Muxian’s face suddenly lit with realization. He glanced into the mansion and raised an eyebrow:

“I wonder if she’ll succeed?”

“Might as well go inside and take a look. Might even pick up another favor.”

The next instant, he vanished into the Cangyuan Marquis Mansion.

…

After entering a downward-extending secret passage, Cang Yin Yue walked a short distance and arrived at a stone chamber built of bricks and rocks.

She lit a firestick and scanned the surroundings—the chamber was sizable.

Some areas bore old excavation marks, suggesting the original cave had been expanded, clearly many years ago.

At that moment, Cang Yin Yue noticed wall lamps on the stone walls and lit them one by one with her firestick.

Soon, the entire chamber glowed with a dim yellow light.

Cang Yin Yue wasted no time and began searching for the secret manual of the Bone-Eating Yin Wind Finger.

Yet aside from dusty wooden shelves and a dozen rusted, empty iron chests, she found not a trace of the manual.

“Drip.”

Suddenly, the sound of dripping water shattered the chamber’s deathly silence.

Cang Yin Yue looked up, following the sound—and immediately frowned in alarm.

The entire ceiling was studded with dense iron chains, beneath which hung a massive copper cauldron, green with rust.

The cauldron blocked half the ceiling, obscuring what lay above; she could only guess the dripping came from above.

She frowned, puzzled by such an odd arrangement in this hidden chamber.

After a moment’s thought, she stomped hard and dashed forward, leaping lightly from iron chest to brick wall until she landed on the edge of the chain-suspended cauldron.

As her firestick burned, she slowly surveyed what lay above.

But in the next instant, Cang Yin Yue froze completely, her eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

“This… how is this possible?”

Her face turned deathly pale.

Above the copper cauldron lay dark, damp soil, exhaling a rotting stench, thickly interwoven with darkened human bones—like a mass grave beneath the earth.

A hand bone protruded from the soil, its tip dangling down; yellow corpse oil pooled in the earth, occasionally dripping from the bone into the cauldron below.

The dripping sound she had heard was, in fact, corpse oil falling.

For a moment, she could not fathom why such a thing existed in her father’s secret study.

“Dear daughter, you’ve found my secret after all.”

At that moment, a deep, mature man’s voice drifted up from below.

(End of Chapter)