Yefutidaolu

Chapter 258: Can Reconciliation Be Reached?

Gao Jian continues his spiritual practice as always.

The true energy, glowing brightly, entered from the Niwan point and spread down to the Crimson Palace of the heart. Then it circulated through the essence gate, slowly permeating the previously unopened gates.

He opened his eyes...

Another day has passed; it's time to take care of things at Tomb Three.

Shu Jian had already gone ahead, while Dan Sha was still asleep.

Alright, let's go.

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At this very moment, in Tomb Three.

The third grave is a place where people are sold, so this place is full of people.

Strange groans could often be heard from the alleyways, from both men and women.

However, generally speaking, they will be treated the same as everyone else, and will not receive any special treatment because of their gender.

Indeed, men and women have different values, mainly because their innate conditions are different. Men have more yang energy, while women have more yin energy, and their applications after being made into materials are also different.

Apart from that, there are no other differences.

For the Divine Dynasty, the main value of those sold to this place was not their labor or procreation, but their physical bodies.

But... even a mosquito's leg is still meat; before being dismantled and made into materials, people will always have other uses.

Big bosses don't care about the value produced by those people, but small fry can't afford to be indifferent.

So in this place, men also have to work, while women do what God has given them.

Pheasants and fireflies are rampant here. There are no guaranteed beds, and the prices are extremely low, almost to the point of being 'self-service'. After all, these women will die eventually, so they might as well create some value before they die.

In order to squeeze out the last bit of value from their lives, the lowly will push ordinary women to work hard.

They weren't selling to the people of the capital, but to the ordinary people who lived with them; in other words, they were selling to themselves.

The King of Hell needs to make money, and so do the little devils.

If they don't do this, they will be whipped, and a single lash will leave them lying in bed for three days, if not dead.

Some might say that this would demotivate them, since they'd all die eventually anyway and wouldn't be afraid.

Indeed, under such torture, these women will soon become thick-skinned, meaning that no matter how much they are beaten or tortured, they will not move an inch, and it would be better for them to die.

At this point, they will be sent to their true purpose, which is... dismantling them into materials.

But don't worry about no one doing these things.

Because new people will be arriving soon.

Most of them were abducted, deceived, or came 'voluntarily'.

Young women really have it tough; youth is like a child carrying a gold ingot through a bustling market for them.

No... It should be said that for the mortals of the Divine Dynasty, their lives were already very difficult. As natural primates, their flesh, soul, and bones were all spiritual materials.

As mortals, they are born as children carrying gold ingots into bustling markets, which is why... they encounter these situations.

This applies not only to women but also to men.

Every penny of darkness is stained with the blood of other living beings.

However, this is how the divine dynasty operates.

It is reasonable and natural for the strong to enslave the weak. The Divine Dynasty is a society composed of the strong, and the weak only exist because of the needs of the strong.

Right here... right now, in a small alley in Tomb Three, an ordinary woman is running.

The woman's name was Shi Chi, a very rustic name, but her parents couldn't come up with anything more sophisticated.

But as she ran, her speed slowed down.

Even though it's still so dangerous around us... it wouldn't hurt to take a rest, right?

Because it hurts and I'm exhausted.

My legs are so tired. After running for so long, I can't breathe at all. My lungs feel like they're on fire, and I'm seeing stars.

Prolonged malnutrition and various forms of torment rendered her completely immobile.

That person clearly said...

He said he would bring her to Yangjing to live a good life, so she would never have to farm again.

I said I would always love her.

He also said...

Uh...

Thinking about all this, she tripped and fell in the alley.

Working day and night, I was exhausted, both physically and mentally. I felt like I couldn't go on living. Now that I've finally escaped... I'm so tired, it's only right that I take a break, isn't it?
She comforted herself like this.

Thinking this, Shi Chi stopped running frantically and sat down on the street corner, leaning against the deep darkness of the alley, and couldn't help but take a breath.

Now that she had stopped, she quickly seized the opportunity to touch her feet, which were covered in cuts and nicks.

Coming to the capital from my hometown

After that... it was really exhausting.

Six months later, she finally couldn't hold on any longer; her spirit had been pushed to the brink of collapse.

She finally chose to run away. She felt that she could finally rest for a while, although she didn't know what to do after resting. The future seemed hopeless, and she didn't know if she could escape.

But she still managed to escape. Seizing that fleeting opportunity, she ran away without thinking. She just impulsively ran out without considering anything else.

Terrified, I ran desperately, ran until I was out of breath, as if my lungs were on fire, and my breath smelled of blood.

But just now, she suddenly felt...so tired.

Why run? There was no hope to begin with, was there?
There's no way she can escape.

She didn't recognize any of the roads in the capital city, and besides, she had heard something from a previous customer...

In the capital city, one needs to be able to fly to travel freely.

Otherwise, no matter how much they run, they'll only be escaping within the confines of that one neighborhood, unable to reach anywhere else.

It can fly...

Can she fly? Of course not.

Then, Shichi numbly collapsed to the ground.

Finally... finally I can rest.

It's been so long, I'm so tired, I can finally rest.

The rest period lasted less than a minute, and the monsters behind had already caught up.

They are monsters made from corpses.

The corpse puppets began to wriggle, but not slowly; on the contrary, they moved extremely fast on the ground.

The severed limbs were clearly dead, and all sorts of insects buzzed around the corpses, emitting a poisonous stench. Wherever they passed, the air was filled with the stench of blood and decay, and the ground sizzled as they stepped on them.

Fortunately, the floor tiles in the capital city are made of spiritual materials and will not be damaged by these things.

It's that big shot... He can use magic, and he can turn these materials into 'corpse puppets' and then sell them.

Shi Shi knew that this would probably be his fate after he died.

They would sew people up, marinate them with all sorts of herbs, then write all sorts of incomprehensible talismans using magic, and add some rituals.

As for what will happen after turning into a corpse puppet... I don't know.

Anyway, it's definitely not good news.

But she no longer cared.

During this time, she encountered far too many things.

When these hardships and fears accumulate, people become numb.

She had seen far too many cruel things in the capital, and she had become accustomed to them.

During the Shovel Head Ceremony, living people were slaughtered like livestock. Women and children with weaker physical strength suffered even more, and even demons and evil spirits could not escape.

Evil spirits? Monsters?
Compared to those people, even the evil spirits and monsters looked handsome.

But now she doesn't feel scared at all.

Humans are truly a race that is very good at adapting to change. As long as life is full of cruelty and horror, people may be frightened the first or second time, but they will get used to it when these things happen again.

It sounds cruel, but less than a month has passed, and Shichi has already gotten used to it all. Things that were unimaginable before have become commonplace.

Humans have such an incredible ability to adapt.

Shi Chi sat there, waiting for the corpse puppets behind him to rush towards him.

The staggering corpse puppets, withered and pale bones, taut flesh, within their chest cavities, where the Crimson Palace is located, all the 'hundred gods in human form' are gathered together, their tormented souls sealed within, their cries appearing and disappearing, sending chills down one's spine.

These foul-smelling, horrifying, and repulsive corpses kept lunging at us.

Shi Dou was somewhat taken aback.

So many corpse puppets, at least several hundred, is this number just for capturing her alone?
That's really... quite a big deal.

However, in the next instant, these corpse puppets, capable of flying and escaping, darted past the stone without hesitation, completely ignoring the escaped cargo.

It's just a worthless commodity, but the gods consume it in the thousands every day. Over a year, hundreds of thousands or even millions of such commodities would be lost.

These corpse puppets came for another purpose.

Shi Chi, the little girl who escaped, stared blankly as those incredibly strong, agile, and invulnerable corpse puppets passed by her.

She knew the capabilities of these corpse puppets; although she herself had been tricked into coming here, she had heard about them from others.

Several people were captured by these corpse puppets, put into cages, and then sent to the capital.

They are impervious to water and fire, with skin of copper and bones of iron. They can fly and burrow underground. It is said that the most powerful martial artist in their village could shatter a boulder with a single slap. However, when the entire village was captured and sold, that martial artist was killed instantly by these corpse puppets.

In his efforts to protect the village, he used all his martial arts skills, but he couldn't even break through the skin of these corpse puppets.

The number of corpse puppets is increasing.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands!

Soon, a massive army of corpse puppets was formed, their resentment soaring to the heavens. The army of the dead surged forth, only to find a Taoist priest hidden among them.

The Taoist priest held a bone banner, ten feet tall, inscribed with the words "Gathering the people".

This is his magic weapon, called the "People's Banner." The method of making it is quite complicated. It requires selecting people with different surnames and birth dates, choosing one hundred people from among ten thousand whose bodies, surnames, five elements, and destinies are all suitable. Then, he manipulates the fate of these people, causing them to suffer repeated setbacks and constant suppression, until they lose everything, lose all hope in life, and in despair choose to commit suicide at a specific time.

Then, before the other person dies, appear here and tell them that everything they have suffered is because of you.

In this way, the other party dies with resentment, unable to avenge this endless hatred, and instantly transforms into a vengeful ghost, poison flowing from its body, endless lamentation. It is then collected into the banner, transforming the endless resentment into its own use. Only when a hundred people are gathered can this magic weapon be created.

With the help of this magical artifact and his own skills, he has held a high position in Tomb Three for a long time. Many powerful forces know of him and call him "Master Bone".

Sixth-realm Taoists, having opened their divine gates, control over approximately 90% of the trade in bone and flesh materials in the capital, primarily consisting of mortals and lower-level demons and spirits.

As for the higher-level trade in bone and flesh materials, it usually involves the bones and flesh of powerful cultivators, materials from high-level demons, or even things like dragon bones and blood, Qilin skin, and phoenix feathers. It's not something a sixth-level cultivator like him can get his hands on.

These account for roughly 10% of the remaining quantity.

The trade of these high-level materials at the upper level is considered rare and precious, and cannot be done in large quantities. However, the trade of materials at the lower level can be done in large quantities. Lower-level demons and mortals basically all get their supplies from him.

However, this 'Bone Master' is sweating today.

A martial artist at the fifth realm publicly declared that the place to take his life was right here.

Normally, he wouldn't even bother listening to a fifth-realm cultivator; he could just wave his hand and order his men to wipe them out. His power wasn't limited to just some gangsters in the capital; he was also the head of a mid-level immortal sect, possessing two corpse puppets at the sixth-realm level, and a seventh-realm elder in seclusion within the sect. His power was astonishing!

These are the reasons for his confidence.

But the Wu Jing who said this today did something big yesterday at the gate of the Imperial Academy...

Now, the entire capital city of Yangjing knows the other party's name.

Insightful.

This is a formidable figure who, in front of everyone, killed his classmate at the Imperial Academy, openly challenged the entire academy, defeated twenty people in a row, and finally escaped unscathed.

If nothing unexpected happens, this kind of sharp-tongued young person will definitely do something to demonstrate their power and prestige after becoming famous.

But Master Gu never expected that this knife would be used on his own head.

He came fully armed this time, hoping... to be able to chat with the other party for a bit, and maybe things wouldn't have gotten so tense.

He floated in mid-air, clutching the banner of the common people in his hand, and bowed to the surrounding void, saying, "I am Gu Baisong, Brother Gao Jian. I have received the message you conveyed through Elder Huang."

"As the saying goes, those who know the ways of the world are often ill-fated. When it comes to right and wrong, it's better to speak well of others than to speak ill of them. When it comes to favors or grudges, it's better to show kindness than to harbor resentment. They say enemies are destined to die together, and things should be resolved by making friends. We have no enmity with each other, so why have things come to this? Whatever grudges we have, let's speak them out. Why can't we reconcile?"

(End of this chapter)