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

"Good morning, Zhao-ge'er."

"I brought you some beef buns from Xiaguanglou yesterday. Eat them while they're hot."

Gu Zhao took it, looked up, took a bite, and mumbled, "Old Ma, did you see Yao-mei, whom you've been thinking about day and night?"

The stableman scratched his head. "I was busy yesterday and didn't see him."

"She was playing the zither for the outer disciples on the second floor... I slipped her a letter inside."

Gu Zhao swallowed a mouthful of the steaming, tender beef bun. "What's in the letter?"

The stableman chuckled, "We've put some money in for the ceremony."

"How many?"

"Six hundred coins."

Gu Zhao sighed helplessly, "In other words, you didn't even see the person, but you still spent six hundred coins."

"Six hundred coins of magic money, which must be soaked in the Yinshui River for five days."

"My eyes get blurry if I don't blink."

The stable keeper laughed and said, "She only associates with outer sect disciples every day. I'm just a corpse retriever; my status is too low."

"It's good that she can talk to me, and besides, Yao-mei is different."

"She said that once she has saved enough money to redeem herself from Xiaguang Tower, she will come home with me."

Gu Zhao's forehead was covered in black lines.

Isn't this the kind of trick female streamers use to scam wealthy men?

Even within the Demonic Sect, there are still sycophants!

Gu Zhao couldn't help but ask, "Did she tell you herself?"

Ma Fangdao said, "No, we all write letters."

"As Yao Mei said, distance makes the heart grow fonder. Every step I take on the thirty-mile journey between Qingmao Peak and Xiaguang Tower is a reminder of her thinking of me."

Gu Zhao was at a loss. The stableman was a seasoned veteran who frequented the morgue; he didn't seem like someone who would be fooled by a female cultivator.

The Yinshui River has turned me into a love-struck fool.

Gu Zhao suddenly remembered.

The restaurant where Pei Xiaoxiao and he agreed to meet was none other than Xia Guang Lou in the Lower Courtyard.

You might run into them.

"Brother Ma, what's her name?"

"Li Yao, Li is the Li with the character '木' (wood), and Yao is the Yao with the character '王' (king)."

Gu Zhao wrote it down.

The two went to the Yinshui River.

Cen Pan did not appear today; instead, a supervisor came instead.

One steward is responsible for managing three or four corpse retrieval boats, which is beyond his capacity. Therefore, the position of supervisor was created to oversee the ritual implements on the boats and the progress of corpse retrieval.

The job of a prison guard was much easier than that of a corpse retriever, as they did not have to personally enter the dark river, but the monthly pay was much higher.

They can also squeeze a lot out of the corpse retrievers.

It was a truly lucrative job among the menial tasks.

To be able to sit in the position of supervisor, in addition to having reached the seventh level of the Fetal Movement Realm, one also needs a certain status and background.

The guard in front of me looked to be in his early twenties. He was short and fat, with a round belly that barely held his belt together, but his face had a fierce look about him.

This person's name is Jiang Xiubao.

He was able to take this position entirely because one of his uncles in the clan was a flag officer in the Zhenhe Division.

The corpse retrieval boat that Gu Zhao was on was always personally guarded by Jiang Pan, while Jiang Xiubao worked on another boat.

Jiang Xiubao will only be allowed to come for a few days.

"Whoever fails to retrieve a body this morning will be the last to eat lunch."

Holding a long whip, Jiang Xiubao's voice was domineering and arrogant, "Did you hear me? Don't even think about slacking off, you lazybones."

As a steward, Cen Pan still cared about his status and dignity to some extent, and would not easily take action against the corpse retrievers.

However, Jiang Xiubao, as a supervisor, had no scruples and frequently beat and scolded his servants, which had become the norm.

The stableman muttered under his breath, "That fat pig, why is he coming over here again to act all high and mighty?"

"This fat pig won't get up early for nothing, he's even more ruthless than Cen the Black-faced."

"If it weren't for his sister, who was a lickslinger for the Zhenhe Division, he wouldn't have had the chance to become a supervisor."

Jiang Xiubao's success today is mostly due to his sister's influence.

His sister married that uncle as a concubine, which allowed him to climb the social ladder.

Gu Zhao didn't seem to care much about this, but he felt a little strange inside.

Why didn't Cen Pan come today? Where did he go?

He jumped into the water.

After working for the past two weeks, I've become quite familiar with the Yinshui River and can now swim gracefully in it.

As the emerald green water surged, the "Corpse Water Emerald Wave Scripture" began to operate on its own.

In the days they were in charge of the T-shaped retrieval area, the number of corpses remained scarce, less than half of what it used to be.

Gu Zhao gently parted the water flow and felt that the wisp of Qian Yuan True Qi in his body, just like the pure Yang True Qi before, was circulating endlessly in his meridians.

Instantly, a thin film of air condensed on his skin, blocking the chilling cold of the Yin River from reaching his body.

This time, however, it was a little different.

"It seems... this layer of protection is thicker now."

"Energy consumption is also lower."

Gu Zhao felt that he could stay in the Yinshui River for an hour without any problems.

Previously, I could only stay for half an hour at most.

Sure enough, this Qian Yuan True Qi is an advanced version of Pure Yang True Qi.

With a thought, Gu Zhao recalled that he had previously circulated his pure Yang energy in his eyes, which allowed him to see Ni Shengyan's flying sword clearly.

Even in the Yinshui River, one can see as far as five zhang (approximately 10 meters).

What would be the effect if it were replaced by Qian Yuan Zhen Qi?

He immediately had a thought, and the golden-yellow true qi in his dantian slowly gathered towards his eyes along the meridians.

Her eyes had a lustrous, jade-like quality.

"I can...I can see ten zhang!"

His eyesight improved again, and he could see ten feet away in the dark water.

Everything around us can be seen more clearly and distinctly.

Therefore.

He can stay underwater for longer periods and see further.

Is he truly the chosen one to retrieve corpses?

Gu Zhao smiled. Ordinary corpse retrievers can only see about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) in front of them in the Yinshui River.

Gu Zhao is now thriving.

Continuing to swim in the water, searching for corpses, relying on his far superior field of vision, he only found one black zombie after a long search.

The lowest rank is the wandering corpse, above which is the black zombie.

Above that are the Purple Corpse, the Black Corpse, and the Undying Bone.

He had been in the water for half a month and had not found a single purple corpse.

Most of them are wandering zombies.

Gu Zhao approached the black zombie, but the cauldron in his mind did not react.

It was expected.

Sacrificial offerings are not so easy to find.

He touched the golden headband above his head, and a rope was thrown down, pulling the black zombie up.

Gu Zhao followed suit and leaped out of the water; he had been underwater long enough.

Immediately, people on the ship started discussing:

"Another black zombie?"

"Guess who fished it out today?"

"Who else could it be? Most likely Gu Zhao."

"That's different. Although Zhao-ge'er is destined to be with the black zombies, we can't let him always come out on top."

Supervisor Jiang Xiubao flicked his finger, sending a burst of magical power into the testing artifact, and his name immediately appeared on the mirror.

"Gu Zhao!"

Jiang Xiubao narrowed his eyes.

The attendant immediately called out loudly, "Gu Zhao, retrieve one of the black zombies!"

The group of corpse retrievers immediately began to discuss the matter, some with envy and admiration, others with jealousy, and still others with surprise.

"See, I told you it would be him again!"

"I can collect my reward money again today."

The boy stepped forward, holding a stack of Buddhist coins in his hands.

According to the rules set by the corpse retrieval room in the Dingzi District these past few days, the first person to retrieve a black zombie each day will receive a reward of three hundred magic coins.

"Wait!"

A cold shout suddenly rang out.

Everyone looked up and saw that the one who spoke was the supervisor, Jiang Xiubao.

He adjusted his loose belt, his round belly protruding, and slowly walked over, taking the money from the boy's hand.

"Today, we'll do it my way."