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

The stableman quickly got up.

This is the direction from which this fairy Ni came.

The other body retrievers around them felt flattered.

Gu Zhao stood behind the stable.

Ni Shengyan wore a plain white dress, her face like a plum blossom blooming in the snow, her spirit like an autumn orchid covered in frost.

Her eyes, clear and cold like autumn moonlight reflected on a river, were like a pair of autumn eyes.

Even Yuan Shao, who was born into a family of cultivators, admitted that Ni Shengyan was very beautiful.

Ordinary people only value physical appearance and bone structure when they see a beautiful woman, thinking that exquisite features are all that make her beautiful.

This is just a vase; the flowers have no fragrance.

Little did they know that a woman's beauty lies in her laughter, her anger, her every smile and frown; it is not about her physical appearance, but about the spirit in her eyes.

Ni Shengyan smiled slightly, her bright eyes and white teeth radiating charm.

The group of corpse retrievers were completely mesmerized.

The person before me seemed like a fairy descended to earth.

"Gu Zhao, we meet again."

The fairy's voice rang out, and the corpse retrievers were all taken aback.

The stables quickly moved aside.

Gu Zhao stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Gu Zhao greets Fairy Ni."

Ni Shengyan caught a glimpse of helplessness in his eyes, something she had never encountered before. None of her junior or senior brothers in the outer sect had ever shown her such emotion.

A smile returned to her lips. "You don't seem happy to see me?"

Gu Zhao bowed slightly but did not answer.

He was indeed unwilling, as he was currently in the midst of the deadly whirlpool of Zhenhe, and now the Xunshan Hall had arrived.

The person in front of us, Ni Shengyan, is by no means a simple character.

He didn't want to cause any more trouble.

The three people behind Ni Shengyan also noticed Gu Zhao.

After a moment's thought, Li Wanwan, the woman in the palace dress, said, "Oh, it's that one, the corpse retriever who was caught by the water monkey and was lucky enough to be rescued by Sister Shengyan."

Gong Yuzhou and his two companions walked slowly over.

Seeing the group of corpse retrievers staring at Ni Shengyan with such infatuation, Yang Yueqi grew even more impatient.

He scoffed inwardly, thinking they were nothing more than unsophisticated servants.

Ni Shengyan suppressed her smile, turned around, and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother Gong."

"Junior Sister Ni, it's been a long time."

After exchanging a few brief pleasantries, the group stepped onto the second-floor stairs of the large ship.

Halfway there, Gong Yuzhou suddenly turned around.

"Gu Zhao, you come up here too."

The young man in brocade robes, Chen Mu, frowned slightly. "Senior Brother Gong, we were discussing important matters. It might not be appropriate for him, a mere corpse retriever, to go up with us."

Gong Yuzhou smiled faintly: "Gu Zhao is not an outsider."

Chen Mu looked at Ni Shengyan.

Ni Shengyan was also a little curious. Why did this Senior Brother Gong look at a corpse retriever so differently?

"It's alright. We'll need these corpse retrievers' help anyway for something later."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu said no more, and the group entered the second-floor cabin one after another.

Gu Zhao had no choice but to follow.

The faces of the corpse retrievers were filled with undisguised envy.

Jiang Xiubao stood there, watching Gu Zhao's back as he went upstairs. As a supervisor, he was left standing there, mixed in with a group of corpse retrievers. His hands in his sleeves clenched unconsciously.

Inside the cabin on the second floor, everyone took their seats.

Gong Yuzhou and Ni Shengyan were seated at the head of the table.

Gu Zhao stood quietly to one side.

Gong Yuzhou spoke first: "May I ask what brings Junior Sister Ni here?"

Yang Yueqi and Yuan Shao also looked curious, wondering to themselves what the Xunshan Hall was planning to do by specifically seeking out the Zhenhe Division.

Ni Shengyan asked calmly, "Senior Brother Gong, is your Zhenhe Division here in search of something?"

She paused, then added, "And I happen to know where this thing is."

Gong Yuzhou laughed and said, "Junior Sister Ni, are you trying to trick me? We were ordered to come to this lake dam."

"Nobody knows what the director wants."

"Junior Sister Ni, you are a captain in the Mountain Patrol Hall, not a guard in the River Suppression Division."

How can you know?

Ni Shengyan was not in a hurry. "Senior Brother Gong, do you know why my Patrol Hall is here today?"

Gong Yuzhou asked, "Why?"

Chen Mu spoke up at the opportune moment: "My Patrol Hall is responsible for supervising the entire sect, enforcing the precepts, and investigating illegal activities."

Yang Yueqi instantly understood the implied meaning, and her voice involuntarily rose a few decibels:

"Are you saying that our Zhenhe Division has violated the sect's rules? Your Patrol Hall is quite something, trying to frame us without even a shred of evidence."

Ni Shengyan smiled faintly: "Junior Sister Yang, why are you in such a hurry?"

She turned to look at Gong Yuzhou and slowly said, "If I remember correctly, three years ago, a deputy director of the Zhenhe Division was eager to break through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and eventually passed away in his secluded cultivation cave."

"This deputy director has shown great favor to Senior Brother Gong, even promoting him to the position of Guard Commissioner, which is not unusual, is it?"

Gong Yuzhou's brows furrowed suddenly: "Junior Sister Ni, what exactly are you planning?"

"What exactly... is the Mountain Patrol Hall trying to investigate now...?"

Before he finished speaking, a white snake quietly crawled out from his left sleeve, its crimson vertical pupils staring directly at Ni Shengyan, its tongue flicking uncertainly.

Behind Gong Yuzhou, three streams of precious energy—deep green, crimson, and snow white—suddenly intertwined and surged, causing his aura to soar.

His skill level skyrocketed from the Qi Refining realm, directly breaking through to the fifth level of Qi Refining.

The three members of the Mountain Patrol Hall closest to him were all shocked.

Chen Mu looked surprised and exclaimed, "Fifth level of Qi Refining!"

The woman in the palace dress, Li Wanwan, changed her expression and immediately activated her cultivation, with two streams of precious energy slowly flowing behind her.

The blond-haired hero unleashed his magical power, revealing himself to be at the third level of Qi Refining.

Chen Mu, Li Wanwan, and Haojie were all at the third level of Qi Refining and possessed two precious Qi, but their rank was lower than Gong Yuzhou's. Even when the three of them joined forces, they were still suppressed by him.

Ni Shengyan was clearly the closest, yet she seemed unaffected.

"Senior Brother Gong, why don't you let me finish?"

She too exuded crimson and dark yellow aura, steadily resisting Gong Yuzhou's aura, and her own cultivation level also reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Ni Shengyan, like a stubborn rock in a river, diverted the surging breath to both sides, allowing Chen Mu and the other two behind him to finally catch their breath.

Yuan Shao and Yang Yueqi of the Zhenhe Division did not expect that the patrol captain of the other party had also reached the fifth level of Qi Refining.

Although Gu Zhao was the furthest away, his cultivation level was the lowest. The others displayed their Qi Refining cultivation, their auras domineering.

It was as if several powerful, seated dragons were exhaling and exhaling their auras, which was nothing compared to the cultivation level of Cen Pan that he had sensed last time.

In a short time.

Gu Zhao felt like a small boat on a vast ocean, and the breaths of the others crashed against him like giant waves. He felt a tightness in his chest and sweat was already beading on his forehead.

A surge of stomach acid seemed to be about to erupt, and my whole body trembled uncontrollably.

He gritted his teeth and barely managed to stand.

Just as he was about to give up, the Qian Yuan True Qi within Gu Zhao's body was about to begin circulating, and even the Yu Shu Jiang Lei True Qi, which had been lingering in his dantian, was stirring.

Right now!

Both auras bypassed him, even blocking the imposing presence of others.

Gu Zhao felt a sudden emptiness all over his body, and the sensation from before was gone.

Upon seeing the aura emanating from Ni Shengyan, Gong Yuzhou immediately withdrew all his magical power, and the white snake in his hand slowly crawled back into his sleeve.

He smiled slightly, as if he hadn't been the one who had been so aggressive just moments before.

"Junior Sister Ni, please speak?"

Chen Mu, Li Wanwan, and the other two finally breathed a sigh of relief. They withdrew their magic power, but their eyes now held a hint of apprehension as they looked at Gong Yuzhou.

Ni Shengyan looked at Gu Zhao with her beautiful eyes, her expression filled with approval.

Although the boy in the morgue had a furrowed brow, clenched fists, and even hunched over, he did not lose his composure.

With his cultivation level at the fetal movement stage, he was actually able to hold on.

This child possesses a resolute and unwavering character.