Chapter 91: Chapter 91: The Stolen Corpse Soldiers

The Earth Cave Prison was located to the east of the Mozhou Road Daoist Scripture Hall’s branch headquarters, underneath a large estate where the Hall’s Cultivators normally meditated and rested.

The prison’s entrance was in the estate’s rear courtyard. According to the Daoist Scripture Hall’s standard arrangements, at least four Qi Cultivators were normally stationed here, with one of them being at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Right now, Wang Ping was surveying the surroundings of the rear courtyard, accompanied by Ah Jiu.

Noticing Wang Ping’s scrutinizing gaze, Ah Jiu pointed to the pavilion to the north and explained, "In the northern pavilion, a Qi Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage is on duty around the clock. Two Qi Cultivators at the Bone Marrow Cleansing Stage are stationed in the gazebos on either side, and another at the Bone Marrow Cleansing Stage will periodically enter the Earth Cave Prison to patrol." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

As he was explaining, a Qi Cultivator stationed in the gazebo to Wang Ping’s left walked over. Before he could speak, Ah Jiu said, "This is Daoist Changqing, here under orders to investigate the theft of the Corpse Soldiers. This is Daoist Wen Yang’s written order."

As he spoke, Ah Jiu took out a cyan-green bamboo slip and handed it to the approaching Qi Cultivator. The man took it, examined it carefully for a moment, then checked Wang Ping’s identification token before clasping his hands and saying, "Since it is an order from Daoist Wen Yang, we will naturally comply. Please, follow me..."

When he finished speaking, he formed a spell seal with his hands to activate the Array at the cave entrance. With the sound of mechanical gears turning, a giant stone in the center of the rear courtyard, engraved with the Daoist Scripture Hall’s emblem, moved to the sides, revealing a hidden passage leading underground.

"Please, follow me..."

The guarding Qi Cultivator repeated his invitation to Wang Ping and Ah Jiu, then entered the hidden passage first.

Just then, Yu Lian reminded him, "There’s not a trace of Taiyin Aura in the Earth Cave. How strange. Don’t you think that’s odd?"

Wang Ping also found it strange. While secretly raising his guard, he and Ah Jiu followed the guarding Qi Cultivator into the hidden passage. A chill immediately washed over them. It was normal earthly qi, but Ah Jiu, beside him, shivered and quickly took a crimson sphere from his robes, clutching it in his palm.

The Earth Cave’s interior appeared pitch-black from the outside, but once inside, Wang Ping found a light that moved with him, constantly maintaining his range of vision at about thirty feet.

"This is quite the setup! Look at the walls on both sides!" Yu Lian reminded Wang Ping.

Hearing this, Wang Ping turned to look at the walls. They were covered in dense Array Runes. Wang Ping recognized most of them as the most common type of Sealing Array, with a few others used for Gathering Spirit.

’The status panel didn’t appear, which means this array is enormous, and I’m only seeing a fraction of it.’

’The Daoist Scripture Hall went to such great lengths to imprison the Corpse Soldiers instead of just burning them to ashes. They certainly weren’t for display. Some of them would be sold to Taiyin Cultivators who practice Pure Cultivation, while others would be sold to Cultivators who need to refine puppets.’

’That’s right, this was also a business. A very expensive one, at that. And you needed at least a fifth-seat status to even be eligible to purchase them.’

’Among the puppet-making techniques Tongyu Taoist had taught me, there was a specific method for creating Corpse Soldier Puppets. Tongyu Taoist hadn’t used this method because he wasn’t comfortable studying the human body; it would cause problems with his mental state. Many in the Taiyin Sect had similar psychological issues.’

Soon, the three of them arrived deep underground. Before them was a large hall supported by four great pillars. The hall was well-lit and planted with many Yin Yang Vines, which isolated the Spiritual Qi inside from the outside. The surrounding walls and pillars were also carved with dense rune arrays, so dense that Wang Ping couldn’t take them all in.

"This way, please!"

The leading Qi Refiner pointed to a passageway on the left side of the hall.

After passing through the passageway, Wang Ping felt his vision grow dimmer. Yu Lian then warned him, "The Taiyin Qi is very heavy here. Remember to protect your Qi Sea at all times."

Wang Ping glanced at Ah Jiu. The latter crushed the crimson sphere in his hand, and his body was instantly covered in a layer of crimson light. The Qi Refiner leading the way also formed a hand seal, casting a simple Defense Technique to block the corrosion of the Taiyin Qi.

"Have you been here before?" Wang Ping asked, looking at Ah Jiu.

"No, this is my first time!" Ah Jiu’s expression was a little grim. He had only just started Qi Cultivation, and the Qi Sea within his body hadn’t even fully formed yet.

Hearing this, Wang Ping nodded thoughtfully but didn’t ask any more questions.

After walking a bit further, Wang Ping heard tapping sounds coming from the wall up ahead. The leading Qi Refiner explained, "A Thousand-Household Commander from the Court’s Imperial Guard is also investigating this matter. He arrived a step ahead of you."

’The Court’s Imperial Guard wasn’t like the guards I had encountered in the military camp. This organization was one of the Twelve Departments directly under the Emperor, and its duties were roughly similar to the Jinyi Guard that I was familiar with.’

The tapping sound from inside stopped as Wang Ping’s group approached. As the hazy aura in his vision slowly dissipated, Wang Ping saw a middle-aged man dressed in the light-red martial attire of an official. The Fourth-Grade Military General’s headdress on his head was particularly conspicuous. Beyond that, Wang Ping also sensed something familiar about him.

’It’s the oppressive feeling of an Artifact Cultivator!’

"This man has at least ’entered the mirror’!"

Yu Lian slipped out of his sleeve and wrapped herself around Wang Ping’s wrist, looking ready to fight at any moment. "Should I probe his aura?"

"No need!"

Wang Ping refused decisively.

Just then, the leading Qi Refiner clasped his fists and said, "Leng Qianhu..."

The Imperial Guard’s Thousand-Household Commander, however, ignored the Qi Refiner. Instead, he looked at Wang Ping with an easygoing smile and offered a salute. "I am Leng Feng, a Thousand-Household Commander of the Mozhou Road Imperial Guard. I am here under the Court’s orders to investigate the case of the stolen Corpse Soldiers. You must be the Fellow Daoist sent by the Daoist Scripture Hall to assist with this case, yes?"

His words truly left Wang Ping at a loss for how to respond.

Fortunately, Ah Jiu spoke up first. "Leng Qianhu, according to the rules, the Daoist Scripture Hall handles its own affairs. The Imperial Guard, of all organizations, should be the one to abide by the rules most strictly. What’s this? Is Leng Qianhu planning to break the rules now?"

"Haha, so it’s Xiaojiu! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? You’ve grown so much!"

Leng Feng glanced at Ah Jiu, not continuing the previous topic. He once again politely clasped his fists toward Wang Ping and asked, "And I haven’t had the pleasure of getting your name...?"

"Changqing, from Qianmu Temple."

"Fellow Daoist Changqing..."

Leng Feng quickly searched his mind for information on Mozhou Road Cultivators but found no record of such a person. He immediately understood what was going on and let out a dry chuckle. "It seems Daoist Wen Yang has finally wised up this time. If he only looked for Cultivators from Mozhou Road, I’m afraid this case would never be solved."

"You jest, Fellow Daoist." Wang Ping returned the salute and then looked at the empty prison cells nearby. "You arrived first, Fellow Daoist. Have you discovered any issues?"

"This whole thing... it’s damn strange, now that you mention it. It’s like these Corpse Soldiers just vanished into thin air..." Leng Feng walked to a section of the wall and pointed at the Array flickering with green light. "Look. The Sealing Array was destroyed so cleanly. If this wasn’t an inside job, I’ll eat my hat!"

As he spoke, he looked at the two Qi Cultivators guarding the Earth Cave Prison and asked, "Now that your man is here, why don’t you two fess up? What kind of benefits did you get to pull off an inside job like this?"

After asking this question, he seemed to feel a great sense of relief, as if the question had been weighing on his mind for a long time.

The question seemed to be aimed at the two Qi Cultivators guarding the dungeon, but it was actually directed at Wang Ping. But Wang Ping was also completely in the dark. He could only pretend he hadn’t heard and step forward to examine the Sealing Array on the wall that Leng Feng was pointing to.