Chapter 49

“Thank...thank you, mighty senior! This junior will forever remember this favor in his heart!” Sung Li hurriedly promised with a solemn and respectful tone.

In his heart, he was completely overjoyed. To think after greatly suffering for two years, he would unexpectedly encounter such a fortuitous opportunity amidst a seemingly deadly situation. The heaven has truly not abandoned him yet!

Then, as Huang Xue had instructed, Sung Li quickly branded the three puppet beings with his divine sense; making it so only he could command them!

“Ah, and take this as well.” Huang Xue’s voice drifted over while a black compass decorated with complex trigrams flew out from the clouds and landed in Sung Li’s hands.

“Great Senior, this is…?” Sung Li asked slowly as he stared at the compass in his hand. Other than feeling that this item was not ordinary, Sung Li could not detect anything abnormal about it.

“I have left a strand of my divine sense in this compass. Later on, I will find a way to make it so you’ll be able to keep track of that child’s location at all times for me. This way, that concealment ability from the so-called Saint Mirror will be rendered useless.”

Sung Li’s eyes lit up upon hearing Huang Xue’s words. He quickly lowered himself and bowed towards the dark clouds. “Thank you, honorable senior!”

“Alright now. As I have other matters to attend to, I will not remain here any longer. In the meantime, you will follow the orders of my direct disciple. His name is Sheng Huang Xue. His cultivation should be at the late stage of the Jie Hai realm.” The ancient voice sounded, causing Sung Li’s heart to tremble once more.

“This junior understands! I will definitely not neglect this task you have given me, great senior!” Sung Li bowed reverently.

As Sung Li said that, the world around him seemed to instantly clear up. The dark clouds above had scattered, reverting back to their original white design. The intensity in the air greatly lessened, and the pressure that had been weighing down on Sung Li’s soul disappeared as well.

In a split moment, the mysterious elder had already left…

However, Sung Li did not lift his head up for a good while. Only after several minutes have passed, did he gingerly raise his body.

Despite the hot sun beaming down upon his body, Sung Li could not feel the heat. There was still a lingering coldness draped around his entire being; the feeling one has when they’re half a step across death’s door…

In another few breaths, Sung Li managed to calm down his emotions as he turned to the three puppets floating besides him. A cold and vicious look appeared in his eyes.

*Pak!* *Pak!* *Pak!*

In one swift motion, Sung Li viciously slapped the three puppet’s face, leaving behind deep red imprints of his palm. Light blood leaked out from the puppets’ left cheek.

But he did not stop there. Sung Li continued to slap the puppets until the their face swelled up and blood stains began appearing on his own palms.

“Where’s your arrogance now, huh? Damn bastards, don’t worry! It is not over yet. After I refine those pills made out of your souls, I will one day annihilate your entire Gui clan! Even those three clans will be erased as well! No one will be spared! Haha! Hahaha! Hahahahahahaha!”

Sung Li laughed derisively, a hint of insanity appeared in his eyes.

After a while, Sung Li’s laughter died down as his eyes regained its clarity. With a sweep of his sleeves, Sung Li threw the three elderly puppets into his blue cosmic bag.

Then, he turned to look towards the Grand Valley Tomb; giving it a searching look.

“I must quickly by the boy again. Earlier when I was tailing him, he looked to be severely injured. In a place filled with opportunities like this, for youths to kill each other over treasures is not uncommon. I must not let him come to harm!” Sung Li thought as he rushed towards the mountain range.

While it’s considered degrading for a mighty Dao Ascent to act as a personal guardian or even to serve under those who are weaker than themselves, Sung Li did not dare to look down on Luo Ke, or the mysterious elder’s disciple.

With the just the mysterious elder being the backer of Luo ke, it was enough for Sung Li to willingly acknowledge the child, much less with the additional promise of revenge for his clan. Moreover, to have such a powerful hidden guardian, Sung Li reckoned that the people under his care would not definitely be simple either.

Even though Sung Li had observed Luo Ke to be nothing but ordinary for the past year, this moment of encounter with the elder had completely changed his view.

“It is not that the child is ordinary, but rather that I lack the ability to truly discern him before...aiI!” Sung Li thought with a sigh as he moved quickly through the air.

With his aura long having been hidden as a habit from his harsh journey, Sung Li effortlessly escaped detection from several elders meditating several miles from the tomb location.

***

At the innermost area of the Grand Valley Tomb, there laid a massive boulder in front an entrance, fully blocking any access. Although the giant block of stone looked ordinary, a faint pressure exuded from it, indicating otherwise.

And if one looked at the wall above the boulder, there two red colored words imprinted on the stones. The words were heavily worn out, with the color already fading due to the passage of time. One could barely make out the words: “Fu Yubing”.

The area where the boulder laid was extremely quiet, with no signs of life.

Suddenly, the air within the cavern began to warp before a black robed youth, looking to be no older than twenty years old, appeared.

The youth turned towards the large boulder. After a while, he let out a sigh.

“This kind of seal is truly...too weak. In the end, this Profound He toddler wasn’t as spectacular as I expected. His array abilities may be a bit higher than the ones in this country, but they’re still heavily lacking.”

Huang Xue murmured to himself as he walked over to the boulder.

After taking settling the matters with the unexpected newcomers, Huang Xue’s clone did not leave, but instead came to the true resting location of the person who laid the Grand Valley Tomb.

He had heard many exaggerated descriptions of this profound seal, which made Huang Xue a tiny bit interested. Thus, he paid a visit to see if he could find anything interesting. But alas, he was greatly disappointed in the end…

“Well, I might as well take a look what is behind the seal.” Huang Xue thought as he lightly flicked his sleeves.

Instantly, the boulder came to life with a brilliant blue light. Various inscription patterns appeared on the surface of the large boulder, displaying a complex formation. However, the moment Huang Xue’s energy swept over them, the array easily broken down.

The sealing formation had been broken.

“This person should have been a 4th rank Array Spiritualist, but it’s still not enough.” Huang Xue murmured as he watched the boulder began to tremble.

Slowly, the large boulder shook as it rolled to the left side, giving way to the entrance behind it.

Right as Huang Xue was about to step forward to enter the sealed tomb, a blue ball of light suddenly rushed out of from the opened entrance!

It quickly shot towards Huang Xue as an incomparably delighted laughter roared from its being:

“Hahaha! I’m free! Free! I’ve been waiting for this day for several tens of years, and now someone has finally come! Hahahaha, come, give this lord your body!”

After waiting within the Grand Valley Tomb for a long time, it was the first time someone had been able to open the sealing formation placed on the boulder. And upon closer inspection, a vague face could be made out from the ball of blue light...it, was actually the soul of the owner of the tomb, Fu Yubing!

Years ago when he was about to die, Fu Yubing came to the small Long Dynasty to avoid detection from his enemies. There, he constructed this Grand Valley Tomb, filling it up with the treasures he had obtained. In order to escape the clutches of death, Fu Yubing then activated a secret soul skill he learned in the past, thereby turning his body to dust while maintaining his consciousness in the form of a soul.

Afterwards, he had hid himself behind a sealed formation. Using the treasures within his tomb as enticements, Fu Yubing had wanted to lure greedy cultivators towards his cave. And with the formation he set up as the final obstacle, Fu Yubing wanted a powerful cultivator to come and break his formation. Upon doing so, it would set Fu Yubing’s soul loose...and while the other party was still unprepared, he would take over over body!

That was Fu Yubing’s plan of “rebirth”. He was, after all, a peak Profound He expert, so Fu Yubing had complete confidence in the power of his soul. He would definitely be able to overtake the other party’s soul, as long as the other party was no stronger than a normal early-staged Heavenly Wang!

But alas, he had never expected the people of the Long Dynasty to be so weak; with no one being able to break his formation. He could not even see what was going on outside nor reach those beyond the boulder. He had completely isolated the outside world from his true tomb...and himself from the world as well.

This had caused Fu Yubing to lament as if this current situation continued for another five years, his soul would definitely dispersed then.

But who would have known that someone had actually managed to break his formation?! This had caused Fu Yubing to become incomparably excited.

As Fu Yubing’s soul rushed madly towards Huang Xue, the latter’s face only slightly frowned.

“Disgusting.”

A cold voice echoed out before Fu Yubing suddenly felt a horrifying pressure bore down upon him!

“Eh?” Fu Yubing barely had the time to process what was happening. In the next second, his soul was engulfed by a mass of black flames. He didn’t even have time to cry out before his soul was completely refined.

In another second, the black flames subsided. A golden pill stood floating in the air; a person’s face could barely be made out on the surface of the pill. This was another Soul Pill.

“How vile, to set up a tomb like this. Hmph! Since your true tomb has nothing to offer, then I will simply refine your soul into a pill as compensation!” Huang Xue snorted as he stared the Soul Pill in the air.

He could easily see that behind the boulder, there was an empty room. The other party had truly only set up such a tomb only to lure and seek out a living body.

Situations such as this are uncommon, even in this cruel world; mainly because not many people knew soul techniques of this caliber.

Moreover, it was considered evil for a dead cultivator to vie for a living person’s body. If any “righteous” powers knew of this, they would immediately send people to destroy that cultivator. And even if that tabooed cultivator survives, they would have to face the world’s wrath, being pursued by others until they permanently return to the Yellow Springs.

(Note: Yellow Springs = the underworld as referred to in Chinese culture; where spirits reside or go through in order to reincarnate.)

And the moral?

If you’re dead, then you better stay dead!