Yin Fiend Hall Direct Disciple

This day.

Song Wen arrived at the Corpse Dismemberment Cave as usual.

He had just entered Yuan Cheng's cave. Before he could speak, Yuan Cheng spoke first.

"Ji Yin, there is a batch of special corpses that require your attention. Today, you will use dissection table number 8 to process them."

A Corpse Dismemberer's assigned table was usually fixed.

For example, the dissection table Song Wen used had always been number 73.

And all standard tables featured drainage channels that funneled the blood from the corpses into the massive blood pool in the central area of the Corpse Dismemberment Cave.

However, tables 1 through 9 were not like this. These nine tables each possessed an independent blood pool, allowing the corpses' blood to be collected separately.

Hearing Yuan Cheng's words, Song Wen's heart skipped a beat.

'Could it be another special corpse like that old woman?'

Although nothing unexpected had occurred while dissecting the old woman's corpse last time, Song Wen had figured things out upon careful reflection afterward.

The old woman had clearly been a formidable Gu master-one who used her own body as a vessel to rear Gu. Her corpse could have concealed all sorts of bizarre, lethal Gu insects. Every time Song Wen recalled dissecting her remains, a wave of lingering fear and immense relief washed over him.

Perhaps noticing Song Wen's hesitation, Yuan Cheng spoke directly before Song Wen could say a word.

"Junior Brother need not worry. It is merely a batch of mortal children's corpses; there won't be any danger. However, this batch is somewhat special. When Junior Brother dissects them, you must put forth your full effort and ensure it is done flawlessly."

Song Wen glanced at Yuan Cheng, the hidden worries in his heart mostly dissipating. He clasped his hands and replied, "Understood, Senior Brother."

This time, Yuan Cheng directly handed over four Storage Bags and a jade bottle.

Among the four Storage Bags, one contained the corpses, while the other three were meant to hold the flayed skin and flesh, extracted organs, and severed bones.

The jade bottle was provided to siphon the blood.

Song Wen stood before dissection table number 8 and sent his spiritual sense into the Storage Bag. Just as Yuan Cheng had said...

The Storage Bag held exactly one hundred mortal corpses. What Yuan Cheng hadn't specified was that these corpses all belonged to children under the age of five. There were even several belonging to newborn infants.

Looking at these small corpses, even Song Wen, who was already desensitized to corpse dismemberment, couldn't help but feel his stomach churn.

The sheer cruelty of demonic cultivators truly exceeded ordinary imagination.

Song Wen knew that these hundred children most likely possessed special birth destinies based on their Eight Characters. Their bodies innately carried certain unique powers, which demonic cultivators frequently harvested to practice dark arts, refine corpses, or forge ghost entities.

However, Song Wen also knew that none of this had anything to do with him. He only needed to dissect the corpses.

Only by remaining cold and utterly ruthless could one survive in the Corpse Demon Sect, in this brutal cultivation world.

Song Wen harbored no grand ambitions or lofty ideals. He only wanted to live.

Song Wen casually pulled out a corpse and placed it on the dissection table.

It was a female corpse, roughly four years old judging by her height. After steadying his mind, Song Wen brought his knife down and began the dissection.

Because they were all small children, Song Wen worked quickly. With only one hundred to process, it took him just over four hours to dismember every single corpse.

For the first time in the half-year since he entered the Corpse Dismemberment Cave, Song Wen was not the last one to finish his work.

Carrying the four Storage Bags and the single jade bottle, he made his way to Yuan Cheng's cave.

Before he even stepped inside, he spotted a gloomy-faced youth dressed in luxurious brocade sitting in the cave's only chair.

That chair originally belonged to Yuan Cheng. Yet, at this moment, Yuan Cheng was standing obediently beside the youth, looking every bit the loyal subordinate.

Seeing Song Wen enter, Yuan Cheng hurriedly spoke up.

"Ji Yin, have you finished dissecting all the corpses?"

Although Song Wen didn't know the brocade-clad youth's identity, he knew the other party must have an extraordinary background. He first offered a respectful bow to the youth, then bowed to Yuan Cheng.

"Reporting to Senior Brother Yuan, the dissection is complete."

As he spoke, Song Wen gave a casual wave of his hand. Using his Magic Power to support them, he sent the Storage Bags and the jade bottle floating through the air toward Yuan Cheng.

Yuan Cheng made no move to catch the items. Instead, the brocade-clad youth reached out and intercepted them first.

He first inspected the blood collected in the jade bottle, then checked each of the Storage Bags in turn. A brief look of satisfaction flickered across his gloomy face.

The brocade-clad youth nodded and addressed Song Wen.

"Your cultivation isn't high, but your corpse dissection work is quite decent."

Not knowing the youth's identity or how to properly address him, Song Wen could only bow at the waist and say,

"Thank you for the undue praise, Senior."

At this moment, Yuan Cheng took over the conversation to introduce him.

"Ji Yin, this is Senior Brother Wu Sui, a direct disciple of the Yin Fiend Hall. Senior Brother Wu Sui's Master is none other than Elder Wu Ren, the Hall Master of the Yin Fiend Hall."

A Yin Fiend Hall direct disciple!

Wu Sui!

The Yin Fiend Hall's Hall Master was named Wu Ren!

This guy must be a cultivation second generation, right?

While thinking this internally, Song Wen outwardly adjusted his expression to look slightly panicked, yet deeply fortunate-as if merely making Wu Sui's acquaintance was a monumental honor.

Song Wen bent his waist even lower, his voice trembling with a hint of excitement.

"Outer Sect disciple Ji Yin pays his respects to Senior Brother Wu Sui."

Wu Sui nodded in satisfaction at Song Wen's reaction.

"A little fellow with some tact. If you can advance to the late stage of Qi Refining within six years of your Novice entry, you may come find me at the Yin Fiend Hall."

With those words, Wu Sui's figure blurred into a series of afterimages and vanished from the cave.

Seeing Wu Sui leave, Yuan Cheng cast an envious gaze toward Song Wen.

"Junior Brother Ji Yin, to think you could earn Senior Brother Wu Sui's appreciation after just a single meeting. Truly, you have great fortune."

Song Wen, however, feigned a slow realization and asked in confusion,

"Dare I ask Senior Brother Yuan Cheng, besides his status as a direct disciple, does Senior Brother Wu Sui hold some other mysterious identity?"

In the broader cultivation world, the status of a direct disciple was incredibly noble, but within a demonic sect, it was an entirely different matter.

Masters blood-sacrificing their disciples, using them to practice dark arts or refine corpses; using disciples as cultivation cauldrons to harvest Yin to nourish Yang-or naturally, harvesting Yang to nourish Yin; there were even instances of Masters Body Seizing their disciples' physical forms...

Regardless, in a demonic path Sect, it was an everyday occurrence for a Master to ruthlessly exploit their disciple.

Therefore, being a direct disciple in the demonic path wasn't necessarily a blessing.

At the end of the day, the cultivation world respected raw cultivation strength above all else. No matter how exalted a direct disciple was, they were still merely Qi Refining cultivators-far from being true experts.

In the Corpse Demon Sect, once an ordinary disciple advanced to Foundation Establishment, their status would automatically be upgraded to Elder, whereas direct disciples would be crowned Demon Sons or Demon Daughters.

Yuan Cheng's expression carried a heavy dose of envy as he explained.

"Senior Brother Wu Sui is the biological grandson of the Yin Fiend Hall's Hall Master, Wu Ren. Moreover, his aptitude is exceptional. It's said he possesses a seventh-grade high-tier spiritual root. At merely sixteen years old, Senior Brother Wu Sui has already reached the seventh layer of Qi Refining. In just a few short years, he will likely achieve successful Foundation Establishment."

Yuan Cheng's expression grew somewhat complicated.

Foundation Establishment was his greatest aspiration. However, lacking any backing, and having been stuck at the ninth layer of Qi Refining for several years-just one step away from the peak-he had been forced to take guard duty in this hellish Corpse Dismemberment Cave. He was grinding for Sect contributions, hoping that one day, he could exchange them for a precious Foundation Establishment Pill.

Watching his age tick ever higher, with not many years left before he hit sixty, Yuan Cheng felt a crushing sense of urgency within.

In truth, traces of Foundation Establishment Pills could also be found outside the major Sects. Every few years, a small number of them would surface in the major cultivator markets.

However, these Foundation Establishment Pills were almost always exorbitantly priced. With mediocre aptitude, Yuan Cheng had spent everything he had just trying to reach the peak of Qi Refining as quickly as possible. He was barely making ends meet and absolutely could not afford to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill on the open market.

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