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

The stableman clicked his tongue and said, "Brother Zhao, you have such fair skin... and you're so beautiful."

"Do you think that Fairy Ni has taken a liking to you, Brother Zhao...?"

Gu Zhao put on his coat.

"Let's go, Shuiyuanju is about to close."

He concealed the extraordinary power of the [Golden Skin Jade Network] on his body; otherwise, with his years of experience in the stables and morgues, he would have recognized it.

Having acquired a divine ability, one becomes qualified to attempt the Qi Refining stage.

Among the menial workers in the morgue, only a handful in the entire T-section had awakened the first level of divine abilities.

None of the corpse retrievers on the nearby corpse retrieval boats have awakened a divine ability.

It's a rare item.

The Black Zombie King is already famous enough; he doesn't need to add to his fame.

The two returned to the courtyard.

Gu Zhao continued his cultivation, spending the entire night without sleep.

Now, with the aid of the Fetal Breathing Pill and the True Qi of Qian Yuan, the cultivation speed is even faster.

Almost overnight, the progress was visible to the naked eye.

The next day, the first rays of dawn appeared.

Gu Zhao and Ma Fang then went to the Yinshui River.

First, I went to the Dingzi area to check in, and then I met with the steward Cen Pan.

He already knew that Gu Zhao and the other nine had been conscripted by Gong Yuzhou.

Standing next to Cen Pan was the supervisor Jiang Xiubao.

Jiang Xiubao reverted to his arrogant demeanor from a few days ago, looking at Gu Zhao with hostility, but then quietly averting his gaze as Gu Zhao approached.

Cen Pan looked at Gu Zhao and said, "This time it concerns Commander Gong, so put more effort into it."

"Go."

Gu Zhao then led the group of corpse retrievers toward the lake dam from the previous day.

Jiang Xiubao looked at Cen Pan pleadingly.

Cen Pan ignored him, so Jiang Xiubao had no choice but to follow.

The official boat of the Zhenhe Division came to pick up Gu Zhao and his nine companions.

The corpse retrievers who remained at the scene all looked on with envy.

Cen Pan watched the large ship slowly disappear from sight and murmured, "What's so special about Gu Zhao that both Gong Yuzhou and Ni Shengyan have taken a liking to him?"

"They're still after the opportunity behind him... Gu Zhao, don't let someone else devour you first."

Gu Zhao and his group passed through the town's guard post and arrived at the lake dam from the previous day.

A short while later, Gong Yuzhou and his two companions, along with Ni Shengyan and his group of five, arrived one after another.

The body retrieval operation began that day.

As soon as Gu Zhao entered the water, he felt that the gazes that had been fixed on him yesterday were no longer there.

It seems this serves as a warning to others; things should calm down for a few days.

He activated the now-complete "Corpse Water Blue Wave Scripture" and clearly felt that his energy consumption was lower underwater.

There were no other changes.

Gu Zhao sighed softly: In the end, it's just a low-grade cultivation technique.

It should be noted that advanced cultivation techniques all contain methods for refining Qi, as well as a Taoist art.

The "Corpse Water Blue Wave Sutra" focuses entirely on the effect of water drainage.

Now, he desperately needs a high-level cultivation technique.

Tomorrow is the day he and Pei Xiaoxiao agreed to go to Tianxiang Tower to meet their senior sister from the outer sect.

If all goes well.

You will then be able to obtain a ninth-grade martial arts technique.

Gu Zhao withdrew his thoughts and did not activate the first level of the divine ability, [Golden Skin Jade Meridian], not wanting to attract too much attention.

After all, each supernatural phenomenon will stimulate the circulation of internal energy within the body.

Even at the Qi Refining Realm, these four divine abilities can still be beneficial.

However, if all of them are activated, the time spent in the Fetal Movement Realm is too long. Ordinary disciples of the outer sect can basically only activate two divine abilities before advancing to the Qi Refining Realm.

Gu Zhao swam slowly underwater.

At that moment, the faint cries of those retrieving corpses could be heard from the surrounding area:

"There's something in the water!"

"What the hell is that...?"

Gu Zhao saw a group of corpse retrievers fleeing the water and scrambling to climb onto the large boat.

This feeling...

Just like when we encountered the water monkeys before.

Are they going to cause trouble again?

Gu Zhao remained calm, even when faced with water monkeys.

He now possesses the [Minghua Water Escape Talisman], and once activated, its speed is incredibly fast.

Even the water monkeys couldn't catch up.

He swam slowly and steadily upwards.

Finally, just as he was about to surface, the monstrous creature that terrified the corpse retrievers came into view ten feet away in the water.

That was a ferocious beast.

It resembles a giant dog, about half the size of a large ship, covered in bluish-gray scales, and has a pair of curved horns like iron spears on its forehead.

His eyes, like rusty yellow sulfur, were fierce.

The beast's chest emitted low, strange gurgling sounds, a mixture of crying and laughter, which vaguely resembled the wailing of an infant, sending chills down one's spine.

Its claws paddled through the water with incredible speed, and its thick, long tail swung violently. In the blink of an eye, it caught up with a corpse retriever, took a bite, and blood gushed out.

The ferocious beast raised its head, its neck wriggling, and swallowed the man whole.

Then, it submerged below the surface of the water.

They then went to find another corpse retriever.

Upon seeing this, Gu Zhao realized that this creature was even more ferocious than the water monkey, and wondered what kind of spirit it was from the Yinshui River.

He was getting ready to swim onto the boat.

Suddenly, his eyes swept across the area, and a dark blue-green shadow appeared within ten feet, lunging towards him.

An old ape-like face suddenly magnified in my eyes.

A pair of sharp claws, carrying a chilling aura, rushed towards me.

pity.

The next moment, the monster was clearly stunned, only to find nothing but emptiness; it had missed its target.

The figure that had been standing in the water had vanished into thin air, leaving only a distant trail of water on the surface.

Gu Zhao had already activated the [Minghua Water Escape Talisman], and mysterious runes slowly appeared on the skin of his left leg, radiating a faint glow.

In an instant, the surging water enveloped him, and he escaped dozens of feet away using the water escape technique.

He changed direction, climbed onto the boat, and wondered what was going on.

Here come more water monkeys!

Does this place refresh periodically?

The group of corpse retrievers were terrified.

The stableman had climbed onto the boat early and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Gu Zhao board.

"Zhao-ge, can't you be a little quicker? You're the last one to climb up again."

Gu Zhao looked around. Jiang Xiubao and the other corpse retrievers had already boarded the boat, and it seemed that he was the only one left.

He looked into the lake dam and saw four dark blue shadows swimming back and forth in the water, which had already harmed several body retrievers.

The stableman's expression changed drastically: "My goodness, four water monkeys, in the water!"

Gu Zhao's mind raced. He had only encountered one before, but he hadn't expected there to be three in the water.

"Aha—"

A strange laugh rang out, like the cry of a baby, yet it sent chills down one's spine.

That eerie cry came from the ferocious beast that had resembled a giant dog.

At this moment, it churned underwater with its massive body, raised its forehead with iron spear-like curved horns, and rammed into a large ship.

It was already enormous, and now it was covered in thick, bluish-gray scales.

The massive ship was violently tilted by the impact, and its course was reversed.

A nearby corpse retriever asked in a panic, "What kind of monster is that?"

The stableman said in a deep voice, "This is a Water Hou, a ferocious monster from the Yin River."

"It possesses immense strength in the water, and its scales make it impervious to swords and blades."

"The most difficult to deal with is!"

"The Water Hou is a strange beast, born with a natural innate Taoist technique."

Water Hound?

Innate Taoist skills?

Gu Zhao understood that Taoist arts could only be practiced at the Qi Refining Realm.

In other words, this water beast is equivalent to a Qi cultivation cultivator.