The corpse handlers seemed to have vanished overnight. Many owners of the yizhuang found it strange, though they had heard rumors: the occult world had carried out a brutal, inhuman massacre against the corpse handlers.
Corpse handlers have almost completely disappeared. Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten years passed. Luo Yu had grown accustomed to life as a member of the Immortality Society, but he never forgot his past—because he felt his life was utterly meaningless.
Born into such a family, in his brief twenty-something years of life, the only comfort Luo Yu ever found was in his wife's smile. He never imagined any of this would happen. He hated the Immortality Society for deceiving him, but he also loathed those in the occult world—their cold indifference and their inability to distinguish right from wrong made Luo Yu despise them all.
One day, following instructions, Luo Yu arrived at a small seaside town. As soon as he arrived, the red-masked contact accused Luo Yu of going too far and causing serious trouble. Every time Luo Yu went out, if he encountered someone from the occult world, he would never leave a survivor. His methods were extremely cruel—he would only stop after killing and tearing the victim into pieces.
Several red-masked colleagues assigned to the same mission were deeply dissatisfied with Luo Yu's actions. They told him to stop indiscriminately killing innocents—if he continued, it would draw the attention of the occult world, and they would be forced to operate only in the shadows.
Luo Yu listened, but inside, he never wavered. Their purpose at the seaside was to establish an experimental base, and they'd already found several people with heavy death aura from various places. The town was small, and its overseer was insatiably greedy. One of the red-masked contacts had bribed him, and the overseer even sent laborers to help the Immortality Society build a base in a cold, underwater cave.
The construction was already halfway done. Luo Yu came to report how many people would be arriving, and then, familiar with the area, he would lead his black-masked and white-masked subordinates to escort the group. Only those who survived the Immortality Society's trial in the cave would become official members.
Luo Yu did not object to the Immortality Society's actions, since they all pursued the vast, eternal goal of immortality. Many took pride in this. But Luo Yu did not see it that way—he sensed that anything with a physical form was doomed to destruction one day.
During his years in the Immortality Society, Luo Yu completed mission after mission, all to become a blue-masked member and receive guidance from thirteen gold-masked elders. What he truly wanted was revenge—to vent every ounce of hatred in his heart upon the world. One of the gold-masked elders seemed to know his intentions, but did not stop him, instead actively promoting Luo Yu.
You can do anything, as long as you have power. Luo Yu vividly remembered what the gold-masked elder told him when he first became a black-masked member. Not just the occult world—even the corpse realm, which had doomed the corpse handlers to a tragic fate from the very beginning, he wanted to eradicate it completely.
After the handover, more than a thousand suitable candidates would arrive in this coastal town. Most were hardened criminals brought from prisons, their bodies steeped in death aura—precisely the subjects the Immortality Society needed most.
Luo Yu planned to visit the holding facilities where these criminals were kept and meet with his Black Mask Agents to inform them of the exact assembly date.
One day, as Luo Yu passed through a small village, he encountered a man claiming to be a Taoist. Instantly, Luo Yu felt a murderous urge. Since time was not pressing, Luo Yu lingered. The man was in his thirties, named Zachary Justice, and called himself Master Zhiqing.
But after observing for a long while, Luo Yu realized Zachary Justice was no Taoist—he didn't even understand the basics of supernatural techniques, only showing off book-learned knowledge. Yet he seemed to enjoy it. He was the village's teacher. Luo Yu quickly lost interest, seeing him as a man living in delusion, not worth killing—pitiful, really.
For reasons he couldn't explain, Luo Yu stayed. Zachary Justice lived cheerfully each day, oblivious to the villagers' teasing. Everyone knew he was just self-proclaimed; aside from reciting a few texts, he knew nothing of the supernatural world.
After a few days, Luo Yu learned the man was preparing to leave. Villagers said he was wasting money again, seeking teachers at temples and shrines—even though no one would accept him. Those who had taken Zachary Justice in before were mostly frauds themselves, only versed in book knowledge.
Zachary Justice could recite nearly all Daoist Order classics, so he easily saw through the frauds. Still, he persisted. Many villagers advised him to focus on the civil service exams, maybe earn a modest official post, but Zachary just laughed.
Luo Yu felt helpless toward this man. At over thirty, he hadn't mastered any supernatural techniques—a discipline that must be learned from childhood, before one's temperament is colored by adulthood. This is why those who start late rarely reach mastery.
Unconsciously, Luo Yu began following Zachary Justice as he left, drawn by the constant smile on his face. One day, Zachary suddenly pretended to trip and fell silent. Luo Yu rushed over, only to find Zachary standing up with a big grin, revealing he knew Luo Yu was tailing him.
Luo Yu was surprised. Zachary Justice looked at Luo Yu, who wore a Red Mask, but asked nothing—just suggested they travel together. Luo Yu agreed.
Following Zachary Justice, Luo Yu arrived at a Daoist temple. The incense burned strong—a sign that the temple's masters were competent. Zachary sincerely sought apprenticeship, but was refused at the door. The Daoist master bluntly told him he was too old, and his fate was not suited for the Daoist Order; accepting him would only ruin his life.
Luo Yu could tell the master wasn't lying; there were deeper reasons, left unsaid. He continued informing the Immortality Society of the assembly date, then caught up with Zachary Justice. Watching this awkward man in his thirties so determined to seek the Dao, Luo Yu felt helpless. He offered to take Zachary to a major sect, on the condition he keep Luo Yu's affairs secret.
Afterward, Luo Yu used his disguise technique, traveling with Zachary Justice as an ordinary man. Climbing the mountain, Luo Yu suppressed his entire aura. The moment he stepped into the Daoist Order, anger welled up inside him—but somehow, it quickly faded. Perhaps it was because of Zachary; around this man, Luo Yu felt his heavy thoughts lighten, able to breathe easier.
But at that moment, the Daoist Order was tightly shut, refusing all visitors. Something major had happened. After Zachary finally knocked open the mountain gate and explained his purpose, the disciple barely glanced at him before sending him away. Luo Yu couldn't stand it, grabbing the junior disciple—only then did the disciple admit that the Daoist Order was in crisis and couldn't attend to small matters. Luo Yu's anger flared, and he nearly struck, but Zachary pulled him back.
Zachary Justice told Luo Yu there was no helping it if the Daoist Order was busy. They could wait a few days. Together, they stayed in the small town below the mountain, watching as Daoists descended in numbers. Zachary would run to each one, asking about apprenticeship, but was mostly ignored.
Through inquiry, they learned that a new candidate had joined the Nine Dao Gate Elders, as Zhang Jizheng had resigned his post. The vacancy sparked fierce competition, with trials and recommendations from sect leaders lasting half a month before a successor was chosen.
At the mention of Zhang Jizheng, Luo Yu's hair stood on end. Rage surged within him; he wanted nothing more than to go up the mountain and kill Zhang Jizheng, but he knew he was no match.
Suppressing his anger, Luo Yu accompanied Zachary Justice up the mountain for another attempt. Zachary tried again to become an apprentice, but was refused once more.
Luo Yu thought Zachary Justice lacked talent and should return to teaching or take the exams. He was unsuited for supernatural arts. Zachary just laughed, shaking his head, insisting he had to learn something from someone.
After spending all his money, Zachary Justice planned to go back and teach for a while, save up, and continue searching for a master. Seeing Zachary's downtrodden state, Luo Yu handed him a bag of gold. Zachary was startled; Luo Yu said it was a loan, and if Zachary ever succeeded in his quest, he could repay the favor.
Zachary Justice refused, sensing the money was ill-gotten and that Luo Yu was not a good man—his resentment aura was heavy.
Zachary kept declining, but Luo Yu shook his head, admitting he wasn't a good person. If Zachary ever gained power and Luo Yu was dying for his misdeeds, he asked Zachary to save him just once.
In the end, Zachary Justice accepted. Luo Yu treated it as a joke; after all, this man had no value. During his time with the Immortality Society, Luo Yu realized that those without value might be the ones who live in peace. Zachary Justice, perhaps, could live out his life in peace.