Cultivation: I have an omnipotent land

Chapter 32 The Master Family

"Oh no, my flying sword!"

At this moment, Xiao Ming deeply understood what it meant to suffer an undeserved disaster. He had been in a fight for no reason and had even lost his magical artifact.

After cursing under his breath, Xiao Ming looked at Jiang Tianshou lying on the ground. His lips were a little purple, indicating that he had been poisoned by the corpse energy.

"This is a real headache. I don't know how to treat this corpse poison. If only those three hadn't left." Xiao Ming squatted in front of Jiang Tianshou, unsure of what to do.

However, at that moment, the female corpse next to him suddenly moved, and Xiao Ming immediately became alert, his flying sword already floating in the air.

However, the female corpse ignored Xiao Ming and jumped in front of Jiang Tianshou. The two touched mouth to mouth, and a faint corpse aura was immediately drawn out from his body.

"This female corpse was saving him. Could she really be his wife?" Xiao Ming asked in surprise.

After the corpse's energy was completely absorbed, Jiang Tianshou woke up. He looked around in confusion, and after understanding the situation, he immediately hugged the female corpse with joy.

"Thank goodness, we're saved! Thank you, little immortal master!"

Just as Jiang Tianshou was about to perform the three bows and nine kowtows to Xiao Ming to express his gratitude for saving his life, Lu Xiucai's shouts suddenly came from outside the woods.

"Master, there were flames shooting into the sky from the forest just now, and a bolt of lightning struck out of the blue. Are you alright?"

"I hope Brother Jiang will keep my affairs a secret," Xiao Ming said with a smile.

"I understand, I understand." Jiang Tianshou nodded vigorously, then shouted outside again.

"I'm fine. I just encountered some evil spirits, but they've been driven away."

Hearing Jiang Tianshou's reply, these mortals dared to enter the grove, and their eyes became even more respectful as they looked at Jiang Tianshou.

"The sorcerer's magic is truly profound, with both heavenly lightning and earthly fire. We feel at ease with you here."

"No, that's not true. A master happened to pass by and helped us. Otherwise, that evil spirit would have been difficult to deal with. But don't worry, everything is fine now."

While these people were talking, Xiao Ming had already quietly slipped away and lay down next to the carriage to take a leisurely nap.

The next day at dawn, the uneasy caravan set off early, fearing that the evil spirits Jiang Tianshou had mentioned would reappear. The group hurried along and finally arrived at Shiyang Village around noon.

Seeing that the caravan had reached its destination, Xiao Ming had no choice but to take his leave. He wandered around the village for a while and sat down at a noodle stall.

This is a small village with a population of about a hundred people. The villagers, like ordinary people in other places, work at sunrise and rest at sunset.

What's unusual is that at the far end of the village, there's a large family that built a huge mansion.

The house is built against the mountain, with red walls and green tiles, and bluestone paving. The two large stone lions in front of the gate are majestic and lifelike, truly exuding an extraordinary aura.

Xiao Ming was puzzled. Even in a large, populous town, it would be difficult for high-ranking officials and nobles to build such a grand mansion. How could it be built in such a small village?

What puzzled Xiao Ming even more was that, despite the bright sunshine at midday, the house gave off a gloomy feeling.

"What would you like to eat, sir?" the waiter asked as he approached.

"Bring me a pot of tea and a bowl of noodles."

"Alright." The waiter returned to the stove and soon brought the food up.

Just as Xiao Ming was eating noodles, a young man walked towards him, followed by a figure wearing a black robe and a bamboo hat. The figure followed closely, yet no sound could be heard, which made onlookers feel uneasy.

Upon seeing Xiao Ming, Jiang Tianshou was overjoyed and quickly approached him.

"Little fairy...young brother, you're here too."

"Have you finished your business?" Xiao Ming asked.

"Yes, the bodies have all been delivered. The Shi family is quite easy to talk to. Although there is one less body, they did not shortchange me on my wages." Jiang Tianshou sat down and ordered a bowl of noodles, while the figure in black robes was moved to a shady spot where the sun did not shine.

"So many people from the Shi family died?" Xiao Ming remembered that Jiang Tianshou had retrieved more than ten corpses on this trip.

"I don't know. It shouldn't be someone from the Shi family. They must have bought the body."

Jiang Tianshou was also a little puzzled. He had done business selling corpses before, but usually it was only one or two corpses, mostly for ghost marriages. It was really strange to buy so many corpses at once.

"This Shi family is really strange. I was sweating profusely on the road in the middle of the day, but as soon as I entered the Shi family, I felt much cooler. I even felt a bit cold with my shirt off." Just as Jiang Tianshou was recounting his experience, three more people suddenly appeared behind him.

"Young man, could you tell us in detail what you saw?" The speaker was a bald middle-aged man, followed by a young man and a young woman.

The man was burly and had a wooden expression, while the woman was beautiful and delicate with exquisite features, but her skin was so white that the veins under her skin could be vaguely seen.

"It's you guys." Xiao Ming also put down his chopsticks.

"Fellow Daoist, thank you for your help in the forest earlier. However, the situation was urgent due to the pursuit of the demon corpse, so I left without saying goodbye. Please forgive me." The middle-aged man cupped his hands to Xiao Ming.

"Let me reintroduce myself. I am the Celestial Master of the Celestial Master Temple of Qingmao Mountain, with the Taoist name Xuan Lei Zi. These are my two disciples, Huo Tai and Shui Jing."

"My name is Xiao Ming, a mere rogue cultivator."

"A rogue cultivator?" Xuan Leizi just smiled when he heard this. A rogue cultivator could reach the sixth level of Qi Refining at such a young age? His spells and magic weapons were also extraordinary. If this is considered a rogue cultivator, then he might as well just kill himself after living such a long life.

Xuan Leizi had already regarded Xiao Ming as a scion of a noble family who had come out to gain experience, but he simply did not want to expose him.

"They're all... all immortal masters!" Sitting in the middle of the group, Jiang Tianshou was so excited that he stammered.

"Young brother, please tell me what other suspicious things you encountered after entering the Shi family," Xuan Leizi said solemnly.

"Yes, this family is very strange. Everyone inside looks sickly and doesn't respond to people when they walk."

"The house layout is also very strange. It faces north and the walls are so high that it's dark inside even in broad daylight. Instead of peach or willow trees, mulberry trees are planted in front of the house, and willow trees are planted behind it. In short, it feels gloomy and eerie when you walk in, and nothing feels right."

Being valued so highly by the immortal master, Jiang Tianshou immediately revealed everything he knew.

"Anything else?" Xuan Leizi continued to press.

"Also, when I brought the gosling in, its body seemed to tremble for a moment, but it stopped quickly. Maybe it was just my imagination."

Upon hearing this, Xuan Leizi and the other two glanced at the female corpse in the shadows. They saw the female disciple, whose body was entirely white, twitch her nose and immediately frowned.

"This is corpse refining."

"Corpse refining... evil spirit, deserves to die." Upon hearing this word, the dull man immediately became agitated, took the large hammer from his back, and was about to smash it against the female corpse.

"No!" Jiang Tianshou was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he rushed forward to protect the female corpse.

"Stop!" Xuan Leizi shouted coldly.

"But this is... an evil spirit, a harmful thing..." the taciturn man stammered.

"Huo Tai, are you disobeying your master?"

"I will listen to my master." The dull-witted man quickly put away the hammer.

"I am very sorry. My disciple has a congenital brain disorder and offended you, young brother. I apologize to you here." Xuan Leizi apologized to Jiang Tianshou and bowed, speaking sincerely.

Upon seeing that the other party, a celestial master, was apologizing to him, Jiang Tianshou naturally didn't say anything more and waved his hands repeatedly, saying it was nothing.

"Didn't you go after that demonic corpse? Why are you inquiring about the Shi family?" Xiao Ming asked.

"After we injured that demonic corpse earlier, we tried to track it down, but the corpse's aura disappeared after it arrived here, so we decided to explore this area," Xuan Leizi explained.

"In that case, the Shi family is indeed a bit strange," Xiao Ming said thoughtfully.