Three cultivators stood in the black plains before Vertebra 108, an exhausted Xixing tied up before them. Their leader, Han Ziguo, narrowed his eyes at the approaching duo. A cold snort emerged from him as he caught sight of Fa Chuyou. The soft woman looked delicate, a lily in the sun, skin so soft it seemed it would emit dew if he squeezed it. Even a short walk brought spots of color to her pale cheeks.

Beside her strode a strange figure, taller than the small Fa Chuyou. Skin grayish, he sported strange black adornments at his forehead and hands and a solemn expression, trailing slightly behind Fa Chuyou. Han Ziguo’s eyes narrowed, and understanding spread across his face. He leaned to his companions. “That’s the death cultivator we bumped into earlier. Fa Chuyou must favor him, that’s why Master Jing asked for this meeting. I knew that ugly corpse had his eyes on our pill cultivator.”

One of his companions furrowed his brows. “Fa Chuyou favors him? But… I thought he was… er, a cutsleeve.”

“Eh?” Han Ziguo frowned at the other cultivator.

The cultivator nodded. “He ran out of Hong Xue’s vertebra the other day, robes all askew. I thought Jing Aimei would finally snap and run out on him the way she ran out on that curse cultivator. Somehow, Hong Xue convinced her to forgive him, but she still has it out for that ghoul.”

Han Ziguo blinked. “Hong Xue and Fa Chuyou? I… had no idea ghouls had such… potent life force.”

The hostage twisted and looked at him, brows furrowed. Xixing’s lips moved silently, confusion playing across her face. Him… two lovers? She stared back at Hui, more lost than ever. What happened to him?

His henchman shrugged. “It’s just what I’ve heard.”

Reassessing the ghoul, Han Ziguo shook his head. “How are so many people enchanted by a dead body? Fa Chuyou I understand, but Hong Xue?”

“There is that rumor…”

Han Ziguo raised his hand before the henchman could continue. He stepped forward. “I hear you have an interest in our hostage.”

Fa Chuyou drew to a halt, hands folded behind her. “Indeed.”

Beside her, the ghoul drew silently to a halt. It scanned over the group of cultivators with cold eyes.

Internally, Hui swallowed. He eyed Han Ziguo, hiding a talisman in his sleeve. He casually pet Zhubi in the other sleeve, the soft texture of the snake’s scales calming. I still don’t understand his fluctuations. He keeps going from third to fourth stage… Fa Chuyou can probably take him, but I don’t want to fight him if I can avoid it. These negotiations… cannot go wrong! I won’t let them!

“I’ll cut to the chase. What do you want this pill cultivator for?” Han Ziguo demanded.

“To study her techniques. We intend to gain a deeper comprehension of corpse cultivation through studying pill cultivation techniques,” Fa Chuyou announced.

Xixing’s brows furrowed. She looked at Hui, a what? expression on her face.

Hui shook his head subtly. Just hang in there, Elder Sister Xixing! We’ll free you.

Han Ziguo snorted. “Don’t you have enough corpses to… study? Do you really need any more bodies?”

“We aren’t going to kill her, merely… convince her to impart a few techniques,” Fa Chuyou said coldly.

“No. We need her to create pills. When Xi Guping returns, we’ll have him turn her into a puppet.”

“Xi Guping isn’t back yet. Let us borrow her until he returns.”

“So you can destroy her brain with a secret art?” Han Ziguo scoffed.

“Not at all, Elder Brother,” Hui said humbly, stepping forward. He nodded at Xixing. “I possess a secret art that will allow me to extract her secrets without harming her mind. Allow me to demonstrate.”

“What, so you can destroy her mind right here?” Han Ziguo asked.

“Please watch closely. If you detect any damage to her mind, stop me immediately,” Hui replied.

Han Ziguo glanced among his henchmen. They nodded. He frowned at Hui, then crossed his arms and stepped back. “Ruin her, and I ruin you.”

“Naturally, naturally,” Hui said, bowing. He winked at Xixing, then closed his eyes, hovering his hands over her. Death qi flowed out toward her, but didn’t connect with her, hovering over her instead.

Xixing looked at him. After a second, her eyes widened and rolled back. “The ingredients for a simple blood replenishment pill are two blades of green-silver grass, a mystic rose petal, five buds from a blue life blossom, and a half-portion of blade grass powder.”

Han Ziguo glanced at his second henchman. The man nodded. “That’s the correct formulation.”

Hui lowered his hand. Xixing hung there for a second longer, then peeked at Hui. At last, she sagged, pressing a hand to her head. “No! How dare you! The sect’s secret formulation, how could I…!”

Shuffling his feet slightly, Hui glanced away, embarrassed. Elder Sister Xixing… er, didn’t you just say it was a simple pill formula? And that henchman already knew it. There’s no need for so much drama.

Han Ziguo looked Xixing over. He pointed a palm at her head. Her back arched, and she grit her teeth, then flopped down again, weak. “She doesn’t seem to be injured. Then… until Xi Guping returns, you can have her. But when he returns, you’ll be there. Using your art, we’ll extract as many formulas as we can before Xi Guping turns her into a puppet, in case it ruins her mind. It’s a small chance, but his puppet arts aren’t the most subtle, nor the easiest on mind and body.”

Hui nodded. “Of course.” No way! I’ll figure out a way to get Xixing far away from you long before you can do any of that! And, of course… Xi Guping isn’t coming back. But you don’t need to know that.

“Only until Xi Guping comes back? What if he comes back tomorrow?” Fa Chuyou demanded with a frown.

“Your misfortune,” Han Ziguo replied darkly. His cultivation power spiked, climbing high into the fourth realm.

“Elder Sister, it’s fine. Even this is already enough,” Hui placated her, casting a fearful glance at Han Ziguo. Fa Chuyou, there’s no need to antagonize Han Ziguo! We already have Xixing, we don’t need to negotiate for more.

Fa Chuyou leaned in toward Hui. “The blood mist has retreated from the valley for the first time in the history of Blood Mist Valley. Xi Guping must be behind such a phenomenon—everyone knew he was entering the inheritance zone this cycle. To create such incredible phenomena, he must be close to conquering the zone. This is a bad deal. It won’t be long before he’s out!”

Ah… no. As far as I can tell, the mist receding is probably my fault, for trapping the red soul. And… and… Xi Guping is dead!

Hui shook his head sagely, hiding his true emotions. “Anything is better than nothing. With my technique, we’ll extract all we need from her in no time at all.”

She glanced at him, uncertain. “This is mostly for your benefit, Xie Hao. Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Completely.”

Nodding, Fa Chuyou turned back to the trio of cultivators. “We accept your terms.”

Han Ziguo gave her a suspicious look. “And you’ll take Yi Ping with you. To ensure nothing… strange happens.”

One of the henchmen stepped forward and saluted.

Fa Chuyou shot a glance at Hui.

Hui bowed. “Welcome, Elder Brother.”

Yi Ping gestured, and Xixing stood. She hobbled over to his side. He glanced at Xixing, then nodded at Hui and Fa Chuyou. “Shall we?”