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

"If I had reached the Qi Refining realm, why would I make Yao Mei suffer as a dancer in the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion?"

Gu Zhao's mood was ruined by the stableman's "sycophantic" remark.

Just then!

Footsteps echoed from the second-floor staircase, and Gong Yuzhou, Ni Shengyan, and their group slowly walked up.

At this moment, the lake and dam waters are fraught with danger, with ferocious water monsters lurking in the water, and even Qi Refining Realm cultivators and Qi Refining Realm puppets entering.

In comparison, the common water monkey is the weakest among them.

However, Gong Yuzhou and Ni Shengyan have yet to make a move.

What are they waiting for?

Or is there some other method?

All the body retrievers only dared to watch from afar on the large ship, none of them daring to step into the water.

The stableman beside him seemed to realize something, his heart sinking and a hint of fear flashing across his face.

Yuan Shao had already stepped forward, and his voice suddenly rang out: "Each of you take your magical implements and prepare to go into the water!"

Go into the water?

The moment those two words were uttered, everyone present who had retrieved the corpses was utterly shocked.

Right now, the lake is churning with waves and turbulent undercurrents, and even large ships are being rocked and tossed about by the waves.

Entering the water rashly in such a dangerous situation is no different from suicide.

The stableman's expression changed. He had a bad feeling when he saw Gong Yuzhou and the others come down.

Jiang Xiubao looked panicked and instinctively wanted to get up and retort, but when his eyes fell on Gong Yuzhou, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and his face became even paler and more unsightly.

One of the body retrievers, mustering his courage, pleaded in fear, "Your Excellency, the waters are so dangerous... you absolutely mustn't go in!"

"Look around at all the people retrieving bodies; not a single one of them went into the water!"

Yuan Shao's gaze locked onto the man, his voice suddenly turning cold and hard: "Can't you hear my orders?"

"You know the rules of the morgue, and what happens if you disobey your superiors, don't you?"

The body retriever trembled and dared not utter another word.

Another person had just stood up and was about to speak, but before he could utter a word...

Yuan Shao suddenly unleashed a chilling aura of the Qi Refining Realm.

The overwhelming aura suddenly pressed down, and the man felt as if a thousand-pound boulder was pressing on his shoulders. His face instantly contorted in pain, and he could no longer hold on, falling heavily onto the deck.

The stableman felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but wisely kept it shut.

Everyone present who retrieved the body knew very well:

Given the power of Yuan Shao, a flag officer of the River Guard, if he insisted on disobeying orders and refusing to go into the water, he would be executed on the spot without anyone holding him accountable.

Not going into the water means instant death.

Going into the water still offers a sliver of hope for survival.

Gu Zhao remained calm and did not speak.

He had long anticipated that getting involved in this matter would inevitably lead him into the vortex.

The group of corpse retrievers, who had initially thought coming here would be a good opportunity to retrieve stolen goods, now felt utterly disheartened.

Chen Mu, Li Wanwan, and others from the Xunshan Hall watched coldly. In their eyes, the life and death of these lowly menial corpse retrievers were not worth a single coin!

Yang Yueqi of the Zhenhe Division had a hint of cold mockery in her eyes.

Amidst widespread anxiety and unease.

Gong Yuzhou slowly spoke, "For this mission in the water, all rewards will be doubled."

"I have prepared healing pills and protective artifacts for you all. Carrying them with you will at least increase your ability to protect yourself."

Only then did a glimmer of hope rekindle in the eyes of the group of corpse retrievers, who quickly bowed their heads and said, "Thank you for your compassion, Commander Gong!"

Yuan Shao then took out a bottle of lustrous pills. "These are water-repelling pills. Holding them in your mouth will allow you to freely control water and greatly increase your underwater movement speed."

The soldiers from the Zhenhe Division also stepped forward and distributed daggers of varying lengths.

Yuan Shao then solemnly explained the magical artifact's wondrous uses: "This dagger contains a trace of the power of metal, enough to pierce the water monkey's natural skin membrane, and more importantly..."

"Anyone below the Qi Refining level will not be able to heal their wounds and will bleed to death."

Gu Zhao gripped the short dagger in his palm. He could tell that it was not a magical weapon, but it was still exceptionally sharp and a rare self-defense tool.

Chen Mu ordered his men to bring over several large wooden barrels, which were filled with a black ointment made from medicinal herbs. The ointment had a strange and pungent smell, with a faint, rotten and fishy odor.

"If you smear this on your bodies, the water beasts will not notice you."

"You don't need to worry about anything else. Just dive underwater, and when you see a black coffin, swim back towards the big ship."

A black coffin!

Gu Zhao's heart skipped a beat as he instantly caught those two words.

Last time, he fished out a mysterious black coffin.

Could it be that Gong Yuzhou and Ni Shengyan's real target in this scheme is this black coffin?

But then I thought about it again and realized that wasn't right.

If they were truly only after the black coffin, with their abilities, they could easily bypass Sun Chan and the Water Hou; why go to such lengths?

Did they deliberately force the lowest-level corpse retriever to risk his life by going into the water?

Not long after.

Several soldiers from the Zhenhe Division stepped forward and applied ointment to the bodies of Ma Fang and the others in turn.

Ni Shengyan's cool voice slowly rang out, "You don't need to be too nervous, I will guard the bottom of the ship on my sword."

"I have personally imbued each of your daggers with a wisp of my own life essence."

"I will do my best to help whenever I encounter danger."

This promise has been fulfilled.

The tense expressions of the group of uneasy corpse retrievers eased slightly.

With things having come to this point, there was no other way out, so everyone gritted their teeth and prepared to go into the water.

The stableman looked at Gu Zhao, his expression becoming more serious, and said in a low voice, "Brother Zhao, I have something to entrust to you."

"All my savings from the past few years, a total of 43,020 taels of silver, are hidden in the roof of our courtyard. If I don't come back from this water..."

"Zhao-ge, please give all of this money to Yao-mei for me."

"The money isn't much, but it will make things easier for her."

"My parents passed away early, and I have no other relatives in the world. Now, my only concern is her."

The stable boy was in his early twenties, with white hair and a bitter expression, but he managed a weak smile.

"Brother Zhao, if you see her alive, please pass on a message for me."

"I am not destined to marry her in this life. It is my bad luck and lack of fortune. I have no one to blame but myself."

"I know you've been trying to persuade me, but... Yao-mei truly treats me like a living, breathing person."

Ma Fang's teeth clenched and trembled. "If I survive, Brother Zhao, next year I'll burn money for you... I'll never be a corpse retriever again in my next life."

Gu Zhao didn't know how to comfort him for a moment, so he just patted the stableman on the shoulder and affirmed.

You will not die.

"I won't die either!"

Ni Shengyan glanced around at the corpse retrievers.

Such a life-or-death matter caused the Yinshui River to surge with turbulent waves, from which came terrifying roars.

The group of corpse retrievers were all anxious and suffocated by the ominous aura emanating from the waters.

Her gaze shifted slightly, finally settling on Gu Zhao's face.

The boy's gaze was resolute, and his expression was calm.

A person with thunder in their heart but a calm face.

P.S.: The update is a little late.