Suddenly, a strange figure shot forward.

It was a man with no hair, eyebrows, or beard, dressed in all black, barefoot, and ageless.

His skin was a ghastly white, with complex black curved lines seemingly inscribed with a brush stretching from his bald head to his neck.

The most peculiar feature was his eyes, which remained closed, as if he could navigate without sight.

The bald, blindfolded man strode in front of Su Yu and swung a slap at him.

'Whoosh!'

A sharp sound of air being ripped apart echoed.

Su Yu wanted to dodge aside, but couldn't avoid it, getting smacked in the face and sent flying backward like a ragdoll, crashing heavily to the ground.

"Ouch..." He clutched his face, groaning on the ground.

"This is outrageous!"

Another youth dashed out from the crowd, swift like a leopard, and swung a fist as large as a sandbag furiously at the bald man.

From his movements, it was evident he was a trained martial artist, possessing some level of cultivation.

'Pop!'

Although the bald man had closed eyes, he accurately blocked the attack, then grabbed the opponent's arm and flung him aside.

'Bang!'

The youth flew out, collided with a tree, and fell to the ground, holding his waist, whimpering and unable to rise.

"Overestimating your strength." The youth with a stalk sneered, snapping his fingers again.

The bald man bent down, delivering a punch to the ground.

'Boom!'

The punch created a pit five or six inches deep, showcasing his immense strength, far exceeding ordinary people, leaving everyone astonished.

"This is your Lifebound Spirit Corpse!" exclaimed the youth wearing black, as if remembering something.

"You've got a keen eye." The youth with a stalk was slightly surprised, continuing, "I've nurtured this spirit corpse for three years, investing countless resources in it.

Now, it's incredibly powerful, able to lift cauldrons effortlessly, unafraid even facing ordinary monsters."

Hearing the words of the youth with a stalk, many newcomers fell silent.

They had just received the Energy-Introducing Technique and couldn't yet guide energy into their bodies.

Only after successfully introducing energy could they obtain the Corpse-Driving Sect's Secret Technique Xuan Yin Technique and then claim their own corpse cultivations.

This group led by the youth with a stalk was years ahead in progress and possessed helping spirit corpses, marking them as true cultivators. How could they resist?

"I will pay silver." A short, richly dressed youth shouted.

He took out a pouch tied at his waist, impatiently extracting a silver ingot from it and handing it to someone beside the youth with a stalk: "Here's thirty taels; I will stay for one month."

"Smart move." The youth with a stalk smiled satisfactorily, "You are the first client among this batch, so I give you an extra ten days."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

With the first leader stepping forward, the resistance from the newcomers instantly crumbled.

Those with silver paid up, while those without silver hung their heads and headed down the mountain.

However, one stepped forward without paying silver, determined to continue — it was Lou Yi.

"Kid, get down!" A minion beside the youth with a stalk yelled angrily at Lou Yi, who disregarded the order.

Behind him, a bald man with ghastly white skin emerged, slightly stiff in comparison to the spirit corpse of the youth with a stalk, yet fast.

He dashed in front of Lou Yi, pounding a fist down!

"Hmm?"

Lou Yi frowned and casually raised his right hand.

'Bang!'

The pale-faced bald spirit's fist was deflected, causing its entire body to step back two paces.

"What?!"

The group led by the youth with a stalk showed expressions of surprise.

"Whoa, a martial arts master," the youth with a stalk sneered. "Let's see what he's made of; he should know that martial arts, no matter how strong, are insignificant before the path of immortality."

Then, bald spirit corpses emerged from behind each of them, surrounding Lou Yi.

Lou Yi squinted his eyes; he didn't want trouble, but that didn't mean he feared it.

The force of the spirit corpse he just encountered was about ten thousand to nearly twenty thousand pounds. If there were no other tricks, even ten more would be meat on his plate.

He and the spirit corpses seemed ready to clash again.

"Stop!" A crisp, cold female voice came from the hillside, "I'll pay his silver."

The speaker wore a green dress, with a graceful figure and beautiful visage, but her face was icy, giving off an unapproachable aura. It was You Qingyi, the daughter of General You.

Beside You Qingyi, another group of people emerged from the cave entrance, looking down curiously.

They were newcomers like Lou Yi and Su Yu, who arrived on the same day.

The difference was that those of them had Spirit Root talent of at least Middle Grade and were considered promising by the sect, so they were led away early.

Unexpectedly, during the allocation of residence, they received preferential treatment, allotted to the hillside location.

"Well, kid, you've got some luck, having the general's daughter back you up." The youth with a stalk said in surprise, "Since that's the case, go on up."

Lou Yi glanced at him, ignoring him, and walked up by himself.

After speaking up for Lou Yi, You Qingyi turned into the cave without a trace of communication with him.

Lou Yi understood why You Qingyi helped him.

It was likely because during the earlier attack by the Red Sun Sect elder, he grabbed the elder's arm, saving her life.

But the others were unaware.

You Qingyi, being the daughter of the Great General of Zhao Kingdom, held a noble status yet volunteered to pay for a young man, leaving many astonished.

Zhao Kingdom was the base of the Corpse-Driving Sect, with close ties between the sect and the court. A great general of immense worldly influence was likely to have considerable connections within the sect.

Su Yu, who had interacted considerably with Lou Yi before, showed a look of envy in his eyes.

"How did he? How could he get involved with a noblewoman?"

"We're from the same place; why can't I ask the noblewoman to pay for my silver as well?"

"That detestable fellow, bullying me for arriving a few years earlier, today's grudge will certainly be repaid later..."

Lou Yi was unaware of the inner thoughts of others.

He arrived at a cave on the hillside, went inside, and found its living conditions were indeed much better than that at the foot of the mountain.

Not only was it spacious, nearly ten cubic meters, but it was also much cleaner, almost free of dust.

The stone bed had neatly folded gray cotton bedding that was somewhat old but clean.

Lou Yi sat cross-legged on the bed, beginning to study the Qi Cultivation Method received today: "Energy-Introducing Technique."

"Energy-Introducing Technique" was a thin blue booklet; opening the first page, neat black characters read:

"To cultivate Qi is to absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi into one's body, refining it to purity, for personal use. However, sensing Spiritual Qi is truly the beginning of all techniques..."

The second page began with the cultivation incantation:

"Mind as an empty valley, body like a silent pool, ears hearing the wind's cessation, skin touching the spiritual pulse, like spring buds sprouting, guiding Qi to the navel, gathering at the Qi sea, dispersing into the meridians..."

The most challenging step was sensing Spiritual Qi.

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.