CG Chapter 178: Sealed Heavens, Welcoming Nether
After a few more days, Aretius's arduous travels from the stagnant waters of Black Cloud Town to the netheric embrace of the Great Li Clan had finally reached their end.
Aretius thought internally that this journey of his could be said to be utterly ordinary, if not for a single beggar appearing and adding an unexpected twist to his grand plans.
Still, Aretius didn't mind. He knew that plans must constantly adapt to changes. Otherwise, they would inevitably be crushed by the persistent challenges and difficulties of life.
Not to mention, he thought, holding a slight smile under his mask, his long journey wouldn't be as interesting without such unexpected factors.
His smile, however, faded away as quickly as it came, as his gaze focused on what was in front of him.
He was in front of the gates of the Great Li Clan territory, the infamous Wuyun Valley. While this place couldn't be said to be a forbidden zone, as it belonged to a righteous sect, the people of the Jianghu knew better than to believe in such lies.
Which aspiring heroes who stepped into the Jianghu willingly didn't have the great foresight to see through such matters? The only people who were blinded by such falsehoods would be the foolish and ignorant youngsters. But even they would either grow up or join those who had died on the road before they could.
Although only a rare few would dare set foot into the Wuyun Valley, there were still rumors that flew around, and from what Aretius could see, these rumors seemed to be true.
The territory of the Li Clan was enshrouded in heavy, dark clouds, as if the grace of the Heavenly Dao averted its gaze from this accursed place, unwilling to witness the horrors that bloomed within.
Only with the brightest light could darkness be born, and this Wuyun Valley seemed to be such a spot between two extremes, where the yang mountains obscured the yin valley.
As Aretius stepped into the valley, holding the honorary plaque to ensure that his intentions were clear, he noticed shadows hiding even under the sharp sights of the Li Clan's watch.
...
It must be said that the Li Clan's schedule was quite peculiar, as most of the clan members and servants would sleep during the day and only rise during the night.
This was primarily due to the nature of corpse refining. Corpse refiners would require an immense amount of Yin energy to refine their corpses, or, for some, for their own personal cultivation.
What better time for that than under the source of peaceful Yin, the moon? This was especially true when Yin would turn into Yang. When the Yin hour hit, all other twelve earthly branches had to fall back, for that was the hour when death ki rose to its utmost from the Li Clan's graves.
If one looked at the outer sector of the Li Clan, precisely where the servants' quarters lay, one would notice that most of the servants were busy with their daily chores, except for a single servant who was too busy dealing with his own matters.
Ignoring the daily chores, An Ku focused on his own matters. Some might wonder why the Li Clan didn't kick out or refine such an insolent man into a corpse already. The reason was quite simple. He bribed some relatively powerful individuals with Yin artifacts he had refined, like the rusted nails used on the coffins.
Don't let their outer appearance deceive you. How could normal nails seal the extreme yin energy of the corpses? Only by refining them with the energy of the nether can one achieve this. Naturally, the nether here could never represent the true nether.
To them, having one extra working hand or one less wouldn't cause much trouble. That was, of course, built on the condition that he could satisfy their hunger. Otherwise, it would be viewed as an insult to the Li Clan's honor.
An Ku could be called a hidden genius in corpse refining. Without any clan support, and with only some rumors and watching the young masters refine corpses from afar, he grasped his own Corpse Dao.
Yet, the heavens, seeing such talent, seemed to have deprived him of what he needed to rise. He lacked the name Li. Thus, no matter how much talent he showed, he knew he could never become an inner member of the Li Clan.
The second curse was his thin build, akin to that of a weathered, hungry corpse. Due to prolonged contact with death ki, the people living in Wuyun Valley would be invaded by the yin energy, causing them to start to lose layers of flesh, which they would need to replenish by other means. For the Li Clan members' main descendants, this matter was simple; the Crimson Marrow Yang Pill issued by the clan was naturally their source of yang energy.
This was even more true for the servants, who only got a single lesser Crimson Marrow Yang Pill as their remuneration. Not to mention the situations where one pill would get snatched by other servants before it could be used, leaving them weaker with each day that passed.
At the moment, An Ku was truly lost to the world, ignoring everything that happened around him. His sunken, shallow eyes were focused on what he held with absolute madness, as if the very heavens could collapse and nothing would matter but this.
"Keke! I am so close. Once I am done with you, my beloved, we will see if anyone can say that I, An Ku, am unworthy of their teaching."
Looking around him, four old, rotting coffins lay. Each had its lid partially open, except for the fourth one in front of An Ku, which was completely exposed to the elements.
On top of each of the four coffins rested a single worn-out yellow talisman, trembling as it struggled to seal the resentment and death ki, with murky black smoke leaking out every so often.
There was a night and day difference between him and the Li Clan young masters, who could ensure none of the death ki would leak, allowing them to complete their corpses in a short period.
An Ku's face approached the weathered, decaying corpse's oozing, foul-smelling head. He gave it a prolonged kiss, as if it were a long-lost lover.
His next words, however, would have caused anyone watching to revolt, turning their gaze away from such filth. They would question whether the person in front of them was a human or a ghost.
"Mother! I swear, I won't let you die. They... They can't take you away from me anymore."
Anyone would have thought he was talking to the corpse in a warm, loving tone if it wasn't for the sickening smile tearing at the corners of his mouth. It spread across his face, making him look as if he were staring at a prey rather than his own mother's corpse.
This situation truly reflected the cruelty of the Jianghu. The people at the top weren't those with honor in their hearts, but those who would be willing to throw everything, including their dignity, to reach their goals. Even for those who started the road with a heart full of righteousness, their change is but a matter of time.
The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease. The child desires to serve, but the parents are already gone.