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

"Water monkey!"

Upon hearing these three words, Gu Zhao's heart sank.

This creature is a malevolent spirit unique to the Yinshui River.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the hideous figure immediately appeared in his mind. It was only about two feet tall, shaped like a child, but had a strange face with deep furrows like an old ape, with red eyes, fangs, and a fierce and menacing appearance.

The image suddenly magnified, and a chill, without warning, shot straight to the top of one's head.

These are the original owner's remaining memories, fears etched into their very bones.

Gu Zhao shivered involuntarily.

At that moment, the pure Yang Qi began to circulate spontaneously within the dantian.

A gentle and profound warmth slowly spread out, instantly dispelling the inexplicable fear.

Gu Zhao was slightly surprised, not expecting that this pure yang qi would also have the effect of calming the mind and suppressing evil spirits.

Exclamations rose and fell on the Yinshui River, and the group of corpse retrievers in the water boarded their boats upon hearing the noise.

Everyone knows that water monkeys are deadly creatures; touching them is fatal, and you should never mess with them.

The stableman's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly jumped onto the large ship.

On the body retrieval boat, a group of body retrievers gathered at the gunwale, staring at the surface of the Yinshui River.

Suddenly, a person surfaced in panic from the river, only to be suddenly ensnared by a dark blue shadow underwater, before he could even begin to struggle.

In an instant, the person fell silent and sank straight into the river, leaving no trace.

The same applies to four other people.

A dark blue shadow swam in the water, killing six people in succession.

The people on the boat remained silent, none daring to go into the water to rescue him.

Cen Pan, who already possessed the cultivation of Qi, stood on the second floor of the ship's deck, gazing at the lifeless water, and couldn't help but feel lingering fear, his expression solemn.

Upon seeing this, Gu Zhao felt a chill run down his spine.

He was once grabbed by a water monkey and felt a strong slap, which knocked him unconscious on the spot. Fortunately, he was swept to the surface by the rapids and rescued by a body retrieval boat.

But these corpse retrievers weren't so lucky.

The stableman's face was deathly pale, his voice trembling: "What... what's going on... things had only just calmed down, and now the water monkeys are causing trouble again!"

At that moment, Gu Zhao's eyes narrowed.

He looked into the depths of the Yinshui River and saw a sharp glint moving in the water, like a silver fish darting through the dark depths.

"That's...!?"

The stableman, being well-informed, immediately exclaimed in surprise, "It's sword control! That's a sword control technique that only outer disciples can learn!"

However, that white light was too fast to see clearly.

Gu Zhao looked down on it, and the pure Yang Qi, which was so extraordinary, was actually poured into his eye sockets.

A glint of jade-like light flashed in his eyes, and when he looked at the river again, the blurry silver figure suddenly slowed down.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an ancient flying sword, double-edged but without a hilt, chasing after the water monkey.

However, the flying sword entered the Yin River, and its spiritual energy was consumed by the river water, leaving it weak. Although it had been lying in wait for a long time, it only managed to pierce the water monkey's arm.

In an instant, a mournful howl, like the roar of a bull, erupted from the Yinshui River.

The water monkey, in pain, struggled to break free of the flying sword and plunged into the riverbed, disappearing in an instant.

A voice then came from the nearby corpse retrieval boat:

"It's a pity, just one point short, and Senior Sister Ni's flying sword could have killed this beast."

"We've been waiting here for so long, and it's all been for nothing."

"We even spent money to have the elders of the sect divine that it would definitely appear today, but who would have thought that we would still fail at the last minute and lose everything."

The speaker was a tall, young man with blond hair, a rugged appearance, and a bold and forthright air about him.

Three more people emerged from behind the blond man: one man and two women.

A handsome young man in flowing brocade robes held a folding fan in his hand, his eyes filled with arrogance.

Beside him was a woman in a palace dress, who was quite cute and mischievous.

The last woman was the most outstanding!

She wore a pristine white dress, untouched by any dust. Tall and slender, with delicate and refined features and a cool and aloof demeanor, she stood out from the crowd as soon as she appeared.

The woman in white gently raised her jade-like hand, and the flying sword in the middle of the river immediately hummed and trembled, transforming into a silver rainbow that gracefully landed in front of her and stood floating in the air.

The group of corpse retrievers were then shocked to realize that the sharp flying sword they had just seen was actually controlled by her.

Ni Shengyan looked at the flying sword with a pained expression.

She had personally nurtured this sword, but after only a short time in the Yinshui River, its spiritual essence had been somewhat depleted. It would take a lot of effort to restore it.

Seeing this, the young man in brocade robes who was fanning himself spoke up to comfort him: "Smoke, it's because we didn't think things through and underestimated the evil nature of this Yin River that the water monkey managed to escape."

"You don't need to worry. I know a senior brother who is skilled in repairing magical artifacts. This little bit of damage is nothing."

The girl in the palace dress quickly chimed in, laughing, "Yes, Sister Shengyan, your flying sword was truly amazing!"

"Since we all accepted the master's mission this time, we will naturally share the cost of the flying swords' wear and tear."

The blond-haired man scratched his head. "That's to be expected."

Ni Shengyan's face remained expressionless; she simply nodded faintly.

The three of them weren't surprised; Senior Sister Ni had always been like this, always so taciturn.

The young man in brocade robes changed the subject: "However, now that the water monkey is injured, it will be difficult to lure it out again. The only way is to send these corpse retrievers into the water and go deeper."

"Shengyan is too kind-hearted. He made the water monkey exert a little more effort, and then he could have hit him with one blow, killing only a few servants..."

The four men made no attempt to conceal their conversation, and the people on several nearby corpse-retrieval boats could hear it clearly.

The stableman noticed that all four men had a silver embroidered pattern on their cuffs and couldn't help but say enviously, "These people are all outer disciples, they should be... from the Mountain Patrol Hall."

Within the Mingyi Sect, outer disciples have a silver embroidered pattern on their cuffs, while inner disciples have a gold embroidered pattern.

The Mountain Patrol Hall is responsible for protecting the mountain gate. It was the Mountain Patrol Hall that quelled the trouble that occurred in the corpse retrieval room several times before.

The stables dreamed of having a silver pattern on their cuffs.

Gu Zhao frowned – he noticed that the group didn't seem to care about the life or death of the body retriever at all during their conversation.

Use the lives of corpse retrievers to lure out water monkeys, then ambush and kill them?

From the attitude of these outer disciples, one can deduce the Mingyi Sect's view of these menial disciples: they are nothing more than expendable material for the demonic sect.

We should get out of the morgue as soon as possible.

Cen Pan's face was also grim. It wasn't that he felt sorry for the corpse retrievers; what did the lives of these peasants matter?

However, the way the Patrol Hall operates is far too unruly.

The people from the Zhenhe Division came a few days ago, and at least they greeted us.

He only realized this now, when these four people appeared today and completely disregarded them, the stewards.

Before leaving, the four men nodded to Cen Pan and the other stewards from afar.

Although Cen Pan was angry, he put on a smile that the stable staff and others had never seen before.

Those who can enter the Outer Gate Patrol Hall are all the best among them. Their connections and family backgrounds are beyond the reach of the lower courtyard servants.

The four people left.

Cen Pan's face darkened again.

The sound of clappers rang out again, urging the body retrievers to go into the water.

Although the group of corpse retrievers were terrified, they dared not disobey orders.

Knowing that the water was dangerous, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in.

Gu Zhao then channeled his pure Yang Qi into his eyes and scanned the water surface. He was astonished to discover that beneath the corpse-retrieval boat that the four people had been on, there was a wisp of silver light—it was the hiltless flying sword.

This woman in white was extremely cautious.

Gu Zhao knew that the water monkey had been frightened and probably wouldn't dare to come out again.

He leaped into the Yinshui River.