Refining Oneself Into A Corpse

Black Stone Town.

Central Government Office.

Small snowflakes began to fall from the sky. A gentle breeze stirred, and the snowflakes danced in the wind, creating a beautiful scene.

"Then I shall take my leave. I'll leave Black Stone Town in your capable hands." Bai Xu finished speaking and prepared to depart.

Just then, she suddenly remembered something and abruptly stopped.

"What is it? Is there something else, Chief Bai?" County Deputy Li asked.

Bai Xu took out the memory stone she had found and said, "This was discovered in the battlefield after Du Jiangliu's death. It should record what happened before his demise."

"Oh? I didn't expect Chief Bai to have such a find." County Deputy Li looked curiously at the memory stone in Bai Xu's hand upon hearing this.

At that moment, Lu Chuan walked out. He looked at Bai Xu and said, "I heard what you were saying just now. Du Jiangliu was my brother. This memory stone must have been hidden by him at the cost of his life. The information inside shouldn't be anything scandalous. Why don't we watch it here while Chief Bai is present?"

As Lu Chuan spoke, he approached the two.

"Is everything settled?" County Deputy Li asked.

It really is him.

County Deputy Li and Bai Xu spoke simultaneously.

"What? Do you recognize him?" County Deputy Li asked Bai Xu.

"I killed a white-haired zombie with rather long hair at the North City Government Office. At the time, I had my suspicions. I didn't expect it to really be Du Jiangliu. Now that I see it, I can confirm my suspicions," Bai Xu explained.

But what he was more curious about at the moment was County Deputy Li's reaction when he saw the ghastly-looking strange man.

"Then County Deputy Li, you…" Bai Xu hesitated.

"We've encountered that person before," County Deputy Li said.

Then he glanced at Lu Chuan before continuing, "We crossed paths with this person when we were pursuing Corpse Herder Lao Gui. He's a strange Corpse Dao Spiritualist, and he might be related to Chief Feng's disappearance."

"This person is related to Brother Feng's disappearance?" Bai Xu instantly perked up.

"This is merely my guess. As for the result, we don't know. But this person must be listed as a key surveillance target."

"He has a strange appearance. When you return, have your people pay more attention to those who dress strangely and conceal their entire appearance," County Deputy Li said.

"Alright, I will return immediately and conduct a thorough investigation. Hopefully, this person hasn't left White Willow Town yet." Upon hearing this, Bai Xu immediately bid farewell and left with his men.

"Ah… Little Brother Lu, please accept my condolences." County Deputy Li patted Lu Chuan on the shoulder and sighed.

Feng Liuchen had only been missing for a short time, and now Du Jiangliu had died unexpectedly. This was a great blow to Lu Chuan. County Deputy Li knew that their relationship was close, but he didn't want to say too much.

"Ah…" Lu Chuan let out a sigh and entered the Central Government Office amidst the wind and snow.

At this moment, the sky was turning white, and the turmoil in Black Stone Town was finally suppressed.

But the impact of this turmoil had only just begun.

However, this had nothing to do with Chen Xing anymore. He had entered White Willow Town.

Currently, White Willow Town's defenses were extremely weak because Bai Xu had transferred a large number of people to reinforce Black Stone Town. Chen Xing used some tricks and slipped in.

He wore a black robe that enveloped his entire body, and he walked unhurriedly on the streets of White Willow Town.

There were few pedestrians on the streets, and they were all hurrying along. If one were to look from above, their directions were all the same as Chen Xing's, and their destination was the White Willow Town pier.

The White Willow Town ferry was vast, with countless fishing boats of all sizes.

Most of the townspeople of White Willow Town made a living by fishing, and a small number of people made a living by building ships with their extremely skillful craftsmanship.

There was also a type of person called ferrymen.

They earned profits by transporting people between South River Prefecture and North River Prefecture.

These people's boats were generally small, with a limited number of passengers, usually between four and six. The fares were also outrageously high, and safety was not guaranteed, but they were extremely popular.

This was because they didn't ask about identity or require credentials when boarding, which was very popular with those who were wanted by the Great Wu Dynasty or wanted to hide their identities.

In addition to these, the Great Wu Dynasty also had ships specially for traveling between South River Prefecture and North River Prefecture at the White Willow Town ferry.

There were three ships in total. They were large, very sturdy, and much safer than the ferrymen's fishing boats.

However, they required credentials to board, and they needed to inquire about identity. Only after confirming that they would not pose a threat to the ship or the people on board would they be allowed to board.

Chen Xing walked on the road, looking at both sides of the road.

Snow fell rustlingly, and the wind blew, causing the willow branches to sway.

This was White Willow Town's unique cold-loving plant—the White Flower Willow.

The White Flower Willows on both sides of the road were exceptionally thick, indicating that they had been planted for quite some time. White Willow Town was named after them.

White Flower Willows recuperated in the hot season and sprouted and grew in the cold season. They were full of vitality and had a graceful shape.

When the willow leaves of the White Flower Willow took shape, they were silvery-white, and the bark was dark brown. In the last month of the cold season, the willow leaves of the White Flower Willow would fall off. At this time, patches of white flowers would grow where the willow leaves had fallen off.

These patches of white flowers were a Rank One spirit treasure—the White Willow Flower.

White Willow Flowers were edible, and long-term consumption by mortals had the effect of strengthening the body and making them unafraid of the cold.

Whenever the White Willow Flowers matured, the townspeople of White Willow Town would compete to collect them. Some would eat them themselves, while others would sell them to exchange for money.

"It is said that long-term consumption of White Willow Flowers will give one a floral fragrance. This floral fragrance has no effect, but it is deeply loved by the young ladies and young masters of the great clans."

Chen Xing couldn't help but chuckle when he thought of this.

He continued forward and finally arrived at the White Willow Town ferry.

Looking at the eye-catching passenger ships of the Great Wu Dynasty, Chen Xing did not step forward. He could not leave on the Great Wu Dynasty's passenger ships.

The passenger ships were painted black overall, and the ship's hull had traces of the years, telling of its extraordinary nature.

At the top of the ship, there was a blazing flame flag of the Great Wu Dynasty, which looked like a burning flame from a distance.

The Great Wu Dynasty revered fire, and most of the spiritualists living in the Great Wu Dynasty would choose to specialize in the Dao of Fire.

This was a Rank Three defensive formation, and it was not a one-time consumption formation, but one that could be used for a long time. The energy that drove the formation was the spiritual energy in the spirit stones.

Although the Great Wu Dynasty's passenger ships were large, the hulls were sturdy, and there were special waterways, they had put a lot of effort into safety.

But this was water, not land.

Although the safety aspects were already perfect enough, the Tide River was not safe. There were demon beasts inside. Demon beasts were alive and moved with the river, which was also a potential danger.

The levels of demon beasts were equivalent to the cultivation levels of human cultivators, all divided into Rank One to Rank Five.

They were divided into ordinary demon beasts and special demon beasts.

Ordinary demon beasts were easy to understand, they were wild beasts that had gained spiritual intelligence and were able to cultivate.

Special demon beasts were often more difficult to deal with. They were also ordinary demon beasts, but special demon beasts had spirit treasures parasitizing them. The spirit treasures and demon beasts were often interdependent. Demon beasts could not only use their own abilities, but also use the abilities of the spirit treasures.

These spirit treasures were often formed by chance after birth. They were not considered innate spirit treasures, but they had a trace of wildness than spirit treasures refined by humans, making them more difficult to refine.

When demon beasts reached Rank Three and their soul power was strong enough, they would be promoted to King of Beasts, and the King of Beasts could lead hundreds of wild beasts or demon beasts.

When demon beasts were promoted to Rank Four, they would be promoted to Thousand Beast King, and the Thousand Beast King could lead thousands of wild beasts, or demon beasts, and even some powerful Thousand Beast Kings would have Beast Kings come to join them.

When the level of demon beasts was promoted to Rank Five, they would become Ten Thousand Beast King, and could lead tens of thousands of wild beasts, or demon beasts, and even Thousand Beast Kings and Beast Kings would come to join them.

The demon beasts led by a Ten Thousand Beast King could completely contend with the core county city of a country.

Beast Kings, Thousand Beast Kings, and Ten Thousand Beast Kings generally had spirit treasures parasitizing them.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and Chen Xing looked around here. In the end, he chose to stop in front of a seemingly ordinary awning boat.

"Old man, when are you leaving?" Chen Xing asked an old man with a thin figure.

"I'll leave when everyone is here." The old man looked at Chen Xing and saw that he was wrapped up tightly, so he knew that his identity must not be simple, but he was not afraid. After all, this was White Willow Town, and these people would not dare to be presumptuous if they did not want their identities to be exposed.

Chen Xing frowned slightly when he heard this. He didn't want to continue waiting here.

Then, he reached into his arms, took out a gold nugget, tossed it in his hand, and said, "Old man, I'll charter your boat. Is it okay to leave right away?"

The old man's eyes lit up when he saw the gold nugget.

Unexpectedly, before he could speak, the person next to him said, "Hey! Guest, if the old man doesn't leave, I'll leave. Give me the gold nugget and I'll leave right away."

"Get out of here, this is my guest, don't talk nonsense here." The old man was instantly anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly got up and came to Chen Xing.

"Guest, please come inside, we'll leave right away." The old man looked at the gold nugget in Chen Xing's hand, his face full of smiles, and bowed to lead Chen Xing onto the boat.

Chen Xing threw the gold nugget to the old man. The old man carefully caught it, weighed it in his hand, and then carefully put it away close to his body.

"Guest, my boat skills are very famous here. You made the right choice when you chose me." The old man supported the boat with a happy face, and the boat slowly left the ferry and sailed into the Tide River.