Quinn Shepherd returned to the inn and continued studying the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra. Unknowingly, midnight had arrived—he’d already learned more than ten new techniques, but without matching internal cultivation methods, he could only unleash part of their power.
"I have to find a grand unifying cultivation method, or else I’ll never be able to fully unleash the power of the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra."
He was engrossed in reading when he suddenly felt a warm pressure at his waist—something was nudging him. Looking down, he saw Lina the Spirit Fox had fallen asleep at his side, her head gently butting against him in her dreams.
Quinn smiled, carefully carried the little demon fox to the bed, let her rest her head on the pillow, and made sure she was comfortable before returning to the desk to continue pondering the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra.
After a long while, sleepiness crept in as well. He put out the lamp, lay down on the bed, and soon drifted off without realizing.
At dawn the next day, Feng Xiuyun arrived to escort Quinn to the dock. She said, "Young master, I can only see you off this far. Downstream along the river, you’ll enter Everpeace. Take care on your journey, and reach the capital soon—the Patriarch is already waiting there for you."
Quinn nodded and waved goodbye.
Up ahead on the tall dock, soldiers were cranking the winches, rattling as they hoisted the massive iron floodgate. One by one, merchant ships began to move, carried by the current out of Mizu Pass and down the Yong River.
Quinn and Lina stood at the bow, looking around. The scenery along the Yong River was gradually changing from what they knew in the Great Ruins—here, prosperous villages nestled in the hills by the river, unlike the crude thatched huts of the Great Ruins.
More and more ships appeared on the river, most hauling ore-laden cargo and riding low in the water. On the banks, mines dotted the landscape, with countless laborers working away.
The merchant fleet's ships were towed by giant river beasts, speeding swiftly downstream. By evening, they arrived at Embankton County.
Embankton County was built along the river, even larger than Dragoncrest City. Quinn opened his Divine Firmament Heaven Eye and scanned the surroundings, but found no towering god-statues. He felt a vague unease, then suddenly realized, laughing at himself, "I still think I'm in the Great Ruins..."
Having grown up in the Great Ruins, finding shelter under a god-statue before nightfall had become Quinn's instinct. This habit would be hard to break anytime soon.
Just outside Embankton, the caravan suddenly halted. Fishing boats crisscrossed ahead, with fishermen using hooks to dredge corpses from the water.
"What bad luck," one merchant muttered, shaking his head.
Quinn, along with Lina the Spirit Fox, entered the city with the caravan. Inside, they saw coffins lining both sides of the street—four or five hundred in total.
Quinn jumped in surprise. Some coffins hadn't been sealed yet; soldiers were still placing corpses inside. Others were already closed, and city residents kept their distance, not daring to come near.
"What happened here? How did so many people die all at once?"
Puzzled, Quinn watched as a merchant stepped forward to ask. A soldier replied, "They're flood victims—corpses washed downriver, no one knows who they are. Probably drowned upstream in the floods and trapped by our dam. The magistrate said if the bodies pile up, there'll be plague, so he ordered thin coffins and had them placed inside. Tomorrow, they'll be buried."
"So that's what happened."
Merchants quickly drove their carts away, each seeking an inn to settle down for the night. Quinn did the same, finding a place to rest. After dinner, he took out the Everpeace map for a look.
Embankton County lay in the heart of Everpeace. Heading north, he'd reach the capital in a little over ten days. If he traveled east, three thousand li would bring him to the sea.
Night had already fallen, the darkness deepening. Quinn put down the map and looked out the window. The night here was different from the Great Ruins. In Everpeace, dusk gradually faded into night, with moonlight and stars still visible. But in the Great Ruins, darkness surged from the west all at once, covering the sky and swallowing everything—no light remained.
He cautiously stretched his hand out the window; the darkness outside posed no danger at all.
"What happened to the Great Ruins for such a bizarre darkness to invade?"
Shaking off his doubts, the youth pulled out the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra and resumed his study.
He drew out a thread from his white gloves, infusing it with yuanqi. Instantly, the thread swelled and thickened, revealing countless tadpole-like characters.
Quinn read carefully. This time, he was delving into the Creation Chapter of the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra. The chapter contained many arts: Heaven-Forging Demon Art, Creation Heavenly God Art, Creation Innate Art, Creation Human King Art, Creation Ghost-God Art, Creation Spirit Art, Creation Earth-Origin Art, and more.
Quinn had learned a bit of Heaven-Forging Demon Art, but Granny Sue only taught him the soul-sealing technique, not the full method.
"There are seven main Creation arts: Innate, Earth-Origin, Heavenly God, Heavenly Demon, Human King, Ghost-God, and Spirit. All are connected to creation. Is there a deeper link among them?"
Quinn studied each art in turn. The Heaven-Forging Demon Art's famous skin-flaying clothing technique was just an external trick; its true power lay in strengthening the soul. Creation Heavenly God Art was known for imitating other methods, but as Quinn read closely, he realized its essence was 'no fixed form, no fixed momentum,' with imitation only a surface effect.
Creation Innate Art reversed the body to infantile origin, granting eternal youth. The young Heavenly Demon Patriarch likely practiced this art. The cult's more common Free Innate Art was probably a branch of Creation Innate Art.
Earth-Origin Art refines the yang spirit; Human King Art refines royal Dao; Ghost-God Art opens the way to the netherworld; Spirit Art transforms physical form.
Each of the seven Creation arts was exquisite but obscure. Quinn became engrossed, pondering their mysteries. Before he knew it, it was deep night—outside, all was silent except for the sound of the night watchman's clapper.
Just then, a gust of yin wind blew in from the window, making the candle flicker. Quinn quickly shielded the flame. Suddenly, a faint creak echoed from the street, unnervingly clear in the dead of night.
Startled, Quinn snuffed out the candle, slipped to the window, and closed it, leaving only a narrow slit.
With fingers spread, Quinn summoned the scripture-threads. They flew to his palm, weaving a glove as thin as cicada wings.
Peering through the window, Quinn saw moonlight spilling over Embankton's street, coffins lining both sides. A night watchman walked along, banging his gong from the far end.
Suddenly, the watchman seemed to spot something and stopped in his tracks.
Creak... creak...
That strange sound echoed again—a coffin was pushed open halfway, and a stiff figure sat straight up inside.
Clang.
The watchman's gong clattered to the ground in fright. Suddenly, the corpse flashed out of the coffin like a ghost, landing in front of the watchman. Its movements were stiff, arms thrust forward, and with a brutal swipe, it severed the watchman's head from his shoulders.
Quinn's heart jolted. More creaking sounds echoed as coffins opened one after another, and drowned corpses sat up. Just then, the door of a house on the street opened, and dozens of Daoist priests filed out.
The leading priest wore an eight-trigram yellow robe, a Daoist crown, and cloud-walking shoes, with a horsetail whisk over his arm. The priests behind him wore black robes, each carrying a sword casket in silence.
From the yellow-robed priest's sleeve, talisman papers flew out, floating in the air and joining into a long bridge.
This bridge of talisman papers stretched from one side of the street all the way to the county yamen—the magistrate's office.
One by one, the drowned corpses leapt from their coffins, running stiffly through the air, feet landing on the talisman bridge as they charged toward the yamen!
Quinn watched as the corpses rushed into the yamen. The yellow-robed priest sent more talisman papers flying, forming bridges toward Embankton's four city gates.
The black-robed priests immediately rose into the air, treading the talisman bridges toward the four city gates.
"This is bad!"
Quinn's heart skipped a beat. He whirled around, packed his clothes into a bundle, shook Lina awake, and whispered urgently, "Don't say anything—we're sneaking out! Lina, you handle the wind!"
Lina the Spirit Fox was still groggy, blinking sleepily, not yet understanding what was happening.
Suddenly, a thunderous explosion erupted from the direction of the yamen. A panicked voice shouted, "Flying Corpses! Flying Corpses! The Cult of the Corpse Immortal is attacking—protect the magistrate!"
"Your lord is already dead—his head is here!"
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