Surviving in the Demonic Sect, one begins cultivation by retrieving corpses.

Gu Zhao looked up and surveyed the river area.

The chill was even stronger than before, biting cold.

The officers of the Zhenhe Division stood around the perimeter, their expressions solemn, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

The slender, composed man stepped forward and said in a deep voice to the corpse retrievers, "Go into the water. If you see a black coffin, you will touch the golden circlet on your head."

A black coffin?

Gu Zhao's heart suddenly tightened.

The reason why the Zhenhe Division has sealed off the area so tightly around this black coffin in the river must be because of it.

Cen Pan's expression turned cold again. "Get all of you in the water!"

The men in the stable muttered a few words, but in the end, they still jumped into the river.

Gu Zhao also dived into the water, and the emerald green water instantly enveloped his body.

The Corpse Water Blue Wave Technique operates on its own, and the pure Yang Qi also flows accordingly, condensing into a thin layer of gas film on the body surface.

He was cautious and did not wander around rashly, but instead gathered his pure Yang Qi in his eye sockets.

The emerald green water suddenly became clearer, and the line of sight could be seen within five zhang (approximately 10 meters).

The surroundings were empty and there was nothing unusual.

Gu Zhao swam slowly forward.

The waters of the Yin River are exceptionally domineering; they can not only corrode the flesh and bones, but also diminish the spirituality of magical artifacts when they enter the water.

Cultivators at the Qi Refining Realm and above would never dare to venture into the water lightly, as it would only damage their Dao foundation and impair their cultivation.

Ordinary mortals cannot even touch the river water; only those who have embarked on cultivation and mastered the "Corpse Water Azure Wave Scripture" are allowed to go into the water to carry out their work.

This is precisely why the profession of corpse retriever has become an irreplaceable part of the Yinshui River.

Gu Zhao's gaze swept across the river. The eight body retrievers had already dispersed and were searching the water.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

One after another, the body retrievers surfaced to breathe, but all came up empty-handed, having found nothing; they hadn't even seen a shadow of the legendary black coffin.

Cen Pan's face darkened, and he immediately ordered, "Head to the Deepwater Abyss!"

The eight people then moved downstream.

Another hour passed, and there was still no trace of the black coffin.

Cen Pan was already feeling anxious and uneasy.

He knew better than anyone the consequences if he failed to complete the task assigned by Commander Gong. The methods of the Zhenhe Division were far beyond what he could bear.

He paced anxiously on the boat.

Seeing this, the woman with a mole near her eye spoke softly, "Senior Brother Gong, that black coffin... it didn't just disappear on its own, did it?"

"We have already explored the bottom of this Yin River with our magical artifacts, and found no other hidden traces."

The thin man added, "It seems even the corpse retrievers are helpless. We've already searched this entire area."

On Gong Yuzhou's left hand, the white snake slowly coiled around his fingertips, its tongue flicking in and out, emitting a soft hissing sound.

He raised his eyes and said slowly, "No rush."

The two had no choice but to give up.

Another hour passed.

Gu Zhao thought to himself, this river area has been searched almost thoroughly by corpse retrievers, but there is still no trace of the black coffin.

Could it really not be here?

Gu Zhao swam slowly, the emerald green corpse water spreading out gently in front of him.

He channeled his inner energy to the soles of his feet, gave a light push, and slid forward several feet.

As he was pondering, the ancient cauldron in his mind suddenly trembled slightly, and characters appeared.

[A spiritual entity has been detected near the cauldron master... a Taiyin Thunder Corpse, which can be offered as a sacrifice.]

Gu Zhao looked around blankly.

The surroundings remained empty; there wasn't a trace of a corpse.

Where is this Taiyin Thunder Corpse?

He once again focused his pure Yang Qi into his eye sockets and examined them intently, but still found nothing.

Gu Zhao swam a foot to the left and noticed that the characters on the cauldron were slowly disappearing.

He returned to his original spot and swam backward, and the writing gradually faded away as well.

"this……"

Gu Zhao seemed to understand something and swam to the right, making the characters on the cauldron even more dazzling.

He tentatively reached out his hand slowly, his eyes suddenly narrowing as his fingertips touched something cold and hard, and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"This is..."

Gu Zhao stared at this spot, but there was still no trace, only rippling blue waves, as if it were empty.

There was nothing there.

Could it be that this black coffin is hidden inside, undetectable to outsiders, or is it a Taiyin Thunder Corpse?

When my fingertips touched that cold, hard object again, the words on the great cauldron in my mind lit up once more.

[Should we offer sacrifice to the Yin Thunder Corpse? Sacrifice duration: ten breaths.]

Gu Zhao agreed without the slightest hesitation.

An invisible, immense force surged from the ancient cauldron, like the suction of an abyss. A jet-black bolt of lightning was forcibly drawn away and then swallowed up by the cauldron's mouth, silently absorbed into it.

[The cauldron master offered a sacrifice to the Taiyin Thunder Corpse.]

[Reward: A wisp of Jade Pivot Thunder-Descending True Qi, available to claim in five hours.]

Gu Zhao was secretly delighted, but his face remained calm and composed.

They hadn't encountered any spirits in the Yinshui River all day, but finally, one arrived.

Looking up again, a square black coffin suddenly appeared before me, slowly moving forward.

So this black coffin has always been here. Could the corpse inside be the Taiyin Thunder Corpse?

After being sacrificed to the great cauldron, it revealed its true form.

Why is this?

He then recalled his two years of Daoist study at the Mingyi Sect.

"Taiyin means hidden. Taiyin is above, containing light and guarding darkness. It is bright without contention and white without showing off."

The Book of Changes, Cantongqi, also states: "From the darkest hour to the first day of the new month, the trigram Zhen arrives to receive the symbol. At this time, heaven and earth unite their essence, and all things are born."

In other words, the moon inherently possesses the nature of "obscurity".

It seems that the black coffin was able to remain hidden because of the Yin power of the Yin thunder corpse inside.

Now that Lei Shi has been sacrificed into the cauldron, losing its divine power, the black coffin naturally has no more secrets and its true form is revealed.

Once the black coffin appeared, it was only a matter of time before it was discovered.

Gu Zhao glanced to the side and saw that some corpse retrievers were already swimming towards them.

If he were to leave from his current position rashly, it would surely arouse suspicion.

After a moment's thought, Gu Zhao made his decision.

He lightly touched the golden headband on his head with his fingertips, and in an instant a beam of light shone from the headband, shining directly onto the black coffin.

On the large ship, Cen Pan was already anxious, gripping his magical artifact tightly and constantly injecting his magic power to probe the underwater situation.

Another hour passed, and the magical artifact remained completely still.

He looked at the three people from the Zhenhe Division and saw that the woman with a mole at the corner of her eye and the thin man both had expressions of impatience on their faces.

He was even more anxious, and he had already made up his mind: if he himself did not end up well when he returned, none of the eight corpse retrievers would get away with it either.

The thin man frowned. "Senior Brother Gong, how much longer must we wait?"

"If we keep blocking the river like this, it will eventually attract the attention of the Mountain Patrol Hall. Those people in the Sili who are already at odds with us must have already received the news."

The woman with a mole at the corner of her eye also said, "That's right. The Xunshan Hall has recently received instructions from above and has even extended its reach into the Yinshui River."

Her tone was worried as she added, "Besides, we closed the river without authorization this time. If it delays downstream operations, the authorities will investigate..."

Gong Yuzhou looked up at the sky and said, "It's alright. I will bear all the consequences."

Seeing his expression, the woman quickly explained, "Senior brother, that's not what we meant."

It was at this moment.

A cry of surprise rang out: "It's reacting! It's reacting!"

"It's a black coffin."