Chapter 114: The Daoist of the New Corpse Path

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In mid-March, sunlight poured across the earth, and Swallow-Return Island, situated in the upper reaches of the Clearflow River, welcomed a liveliness it had not seen in a long while.

When the flood broke out, the entire Clearflow Commandery was affected, and Swallow-Return Island was naturally no exception. However, protected by a grand formation, it had no need to fear any real danger. Even so, with the flood sweeping across the land in every direction, the market town located at the heart of the river had inevitably fallen quiet.

Only today, with the market reopening and an auction being held, did the river island once more grow bustling.

“So that is Swallow-Return Island?”

Riding the wind, Jiang Chen landed atop a great tree and gazed into the distance. Though he was still far away, he could faintly sense the powerful spiritual fluctuations emanating from the island—the traces of a formation in operation.

“It is said that, in the past, the Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb traveled to Clearflow Commandery and happened to encounter the ancestor of the Lu family on this small island. The two took to each other at once and agreed to compete in painting. The Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb painted a picture called *Birds Returning to Their Nest*, which drew a flock of swallows back to roost. Greatly astonished, the ancestor of the Lu family laid down his brush and admitted defeat, then presented this river island to the Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb as a place to stay.”

“Later, the Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb personally transformed the island, and it eventually became the Swallow-Return Island of today.”

As his thoughts stirred, information of all kinds regarding Swallow-Return Island surfaced in Jiang Chen’s mind.

Swallow-Return Island was home to the largest market town in Clearflow Commandery. Although the Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb was its nominal leader, the three great clans and the Commandery Governor’s Office had all intervened in its affairs. In a sense, the Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb was more like a representative jointly put forward after all sides had reached a compromise.

The various powers of Clearflow Commandery were deeply intertwined. Whether it was the Commandery Governor’s Office, which represented the imperial court, or the Lu family, the local power that ruled the area, neither could easily establish such a market and win everyone’s trust. As a wandering cultivator, the Wandering Master of Talisman Tomb was far more acceptable to all parties. Only with the united support of every faction could Swallow-Return Island’s market have reached its present scale. Otherwise, the threat of rogue cultivators alone would have been enough to destroy it.

“I hope I can make a worthwhile harvest this time. Before that, though, I need to change identities.”

“The Lu family has been caught up in considerable turmoil lately. As the sect master of the Grand Peace Sect, I need to keep a lower profile as well.”

With that thought, Jiang Chen took two pieces of hide from his storage pouch: one was the hide of an Iron Corpse Demon, and the other was human skin.

Buzz—

The Skin-Donning Technique circulated. Once the Iron Corpse Demon hide covered him, Jiang Chen’s appearance and aura changed in an instant.

“A cultivator’s control over a demon hide can be judged from his appearance. Under normal circumstances, once a cultivator draws upon the power of a demon hide, demonic traits will manifest in his features to some degree. But when he has gained complete control over the hide, such abnormalities can be suppressed.”

Lowering his eyes, Jiang Chen allowed a wisp of corpse-fire to appear naturally. As he looked at his pale, claw-tipped hands, a thought passed through his mind.

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In the next instant, the claws and fangs receded, and he returned to his original appearance, while the corpse-fire continued to flicker in his palm.

“The Iron Corpse Demon hide is not particularly powerful. It is hardly strange that I can completely subdue it with my current strength.”

Shaking his head, Jiang Chen reined in his power and turned his gaze toward the human skin. Like the Iron Corpse Demon hide, it too had been left behind by the Corpse Daoist.

“The Corpse Daoist was an extremely solitary man, wholly devoted to refining corpses and rarely associating with outsiders. More importantly, he had taken bullying the weak and fearing the strong to an extreme. He never provoked anyone formidable, yet when dealing with the weak, he always went to the very end, leaving himself no hidden dangers.”

Recalling the Corpse Daoist’s many deeds, Jiang Chen draped the human skin over himself.

In an instant, a new Corpse Daoist was born. His face was aged, and his cold aura carried a trace of brutality. Unless one had been intimately familiar with the Corpse Daoist, few people would have been able to say that this was not the man himself.

Demon hides repelled one another. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for a cultivator to wear two demon hides at once. But the human skin was merely a mask and possessed no power of its own, so there was naturally no conflict.

“With my current appearance, no one should come looking for trouble.”

To make the performance complete, Jiang Chen, now transformed into the Corpse Daoist, swept out his sleeve and took out the bamboo palanquin the Corpse Daoist had once used.

A short while later, two zombies carried the bamboo palanquin over mountains and across rivers, drawing near to Swallow-Return Island. Jiang Chen reclined against the palanquin, clad in a black robe. His pockmarked face was utterly indifferent, and his whole body radiated an aura that warned all living things to keep their distance.

Seeing his manner, ordinary cultivators quietly moved a little farther away. Even those who disliked evil-path cultivators merely cursed him inwardly a few times before displaying no further reaction. In Clearflow Commandery—or, for that matter, throughout the entire Southern Jing Kingdom—there was no power that made slaying demons and exorcising evil its duty or regarded hatred of wickedness as its creed.

Under such circumstances, Jiang Chen arrived at Swallow-Return Island without encountering the slightest disturbance.

“The spiritual energy is not especially abundant, but it is certainly lively.”

Putting away the bamboo palanquin, Jiang Chen leisurely entered Swallow-Return Island’s market.

The market was not especially large and was mainly divided into two sections. One was the free-trade district. After paying a stall fee, any cultivator could set up a stall there and sell goods. The other was the district of established shops.

Most of the businesses here were operated by clan powers. Their resources were generally supplied more steadily, and their goods were more reliable. The only drawback was that their prices were usually higher.

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“The free-trade district has all sorts of strange things, from stones dredged up from the bottom of the river to first-tier spiritual objects. But finding a genuine bargain is harder than climbing to heaven.”

After wandering around the free-trade district for a while and satisfying his curiosity, Jiang Chen abandoned the idea of finding a bargain.

His perception was unquestionably stronger than that of ordinary cultivators, and he had even cultivated the Yin-Spirit Eye. Yet even so, after making a complete circuit, he had found no opportunity whatsoever. Most of the so-called bargains here were merely illusions deliberately fabricated by people with ulterior motives, designed to trap those hoping to profit from someone else’s mistake.

For that reason, after purchasing several minor spiritual objects he could use, Jiang Chen left the free-trade district and entered the shop district.

“The Hundred Treasures Pavilion is said to have been established by wandering cultivators, but in truth the Commandery Governor’s Office stands behind it. Its connections are extensive, and spiritual objects produced in several neighboring commanderies can all be found here.”

Arriving beneath a three-story pavilion, Jiang Chen walked inside.

By the time he left, the spiritual objects he had no use for had vanished from his storage pouch, replaced by a hu of spirit sand worth approximately six hundred spirit stones.

Watching Jiang Chen’s departing figure, the proprietor of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion fell into deep thought, as though considering something.

“Shopkeeper, that man was actually able to produce so many spiritual objects. It seems he truly made quite a haul this time. He may have even more on him.”

The shop assistant looked at the pensive proprietor, envy written across his face. The rampage of the Clearflow River had indeed created quite a few lucky survivors.

Hearing this, the proprietor returned to his senses and let out a cold laugh.

“Lucky? His spiritual objects were varied and jumbled, clearly not something one person could have collected. Either he has a power supporting him, or he has killed enough people. Which kind do you think he is?”

Leaving those words behind, the proprietor turned and walked into the inner room.

Understanding his meaning, the shop assistant immediately shuddered.