Burial Furnace

Zhang Yuan's lips twitched, and he said, "Let Liu Mei come over. I've obtained some spirit stones; I can cultivate once more."

"Old man, you're amazing!" Qi Jiaojiao's voice was filled with surprise and delight. "You got the spirit stones so quickly? I'll send her over right away!"

Zhang Yuan put away the jade pendant, a smile appearing on his face.

Then the smile froze.

Because he saw a huge ship flying in from the sky.

It was pure white, with a hull that was tens of feet long, a towering mast, and sails that fluttered in the wind.

The ship's hull was covered with densely packed runes.

The bow of the ship is carved with a crane with outstretched wings, looking as if it is about to take flight; it is very lifelike.

Two huge flags were hung on either side of the ship, with three large characters written on them—

The Ascending Heaven Sect.

On the deck, a man in blue stood proudly.

He was tall and imposing, with a cold and stern face, eyes like lightning, and an aura of overwhelming power and prestige.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his robes fluttering in the wind, like a deity descending from the heavens.

Zhang Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He will never forget that person.

Sixty years ago, it was this man in blue who took away his wife and robbed him of his wealth; not long ago, it was also this man who pierced his throat with a sword.

The cold blade, the piercing pain, the gradually fading consciousness—every detail was deeply etched into his mind.

Standing beside the man in blue was Lu Muyao.

She changed into a clean white dress, and a veil covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of clear eyes.

Zhang Yuan's heart began to pound.

Almost instinctively, he pulled a bronze mask from a drawer under the counter—something he'd bought on a whim while strolling around town earlier that day.

He quickly put the mask on his face, covering his features.

The large ship slowly landed on an open area outside Aoki Town.

The cultivators of the Ascending Heaven Sect filed off the ship. The female cultivators wore veils, the male cultivators wore masks, and they all wore uniforms.

Some of them were still injured, their robes stained with blood, but they were in relatively good spirits.

The man in blue walked at the front, his gaze sweeping around the town before settling on Lu Muyao.

His voice was extremely low, only those around him could hear: "The bodies were all cremated? All turned to ashes, right?"

Lu Muyao's eyelids twitched, but she quickly regained her composure. She answered calmly, "Cremated. The crematorium's array was terrifying; even a Nascent Soul corpse instantly turned to ash. It was a bit cheaper than using a cremation talisman."

The man in blue nodded, his gaze shifting towards the crematorium.

His divine sense spread out like an invisible net in an instant, enveloping the entire crematorium.

Although the formation could block the divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator, it was as fragile as paper in front of the man in green and was easily penetrated.

His divine sense swept across the front hall, the cremation hall, and the courtyard, finally landing on Zhang Yuan behind the counter.

Zhang Yuan felt a powerful divine sense sweep over his body, as if an invisible hand had touched him from head to toe.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on his back, but he forced himself to remain calm, lowered his head, and pretended to be reading a book.

The man in blue lingered on him for a moment before withdrawing his consciousness.

He felt that the old man was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

However, he didn't pay any attention—he might have seen the little old man at the third level of Qi Refining before by chance.

After all, he had been to Xizhou many times and had met countless people.

"Dad, there are still some corpses. Shall we give them to Mu Yao to cremate?" A young cultivator stepped forward and said softly.

His name was Ma Yutang, he was twenty-eight years old, handsome, tall and straight, wearing a blue Taoist robe and with a long sword hanging at his waist.

His gaze kept drifting towards Lu Muyao, a hint of eagerness in his eyes.

He had been pursuing Lu Muyao.

Although Lu Muyao is only twenty-five years old, she is already in the late stage of Foundation Establishment and will be able to break through to the Golden Core stage or even the Nascent Soul stage in the future.

Moreover, Lu Muyao's looks and figure are top-notch—especially today, she looks exceptionally beautiful and sexy, as if she has matured a lot overnight, with an indescribable charm in every gesture.

He also knew that Lu Muyao was in charge of cremating the bodies and could get some kickbacks from it.

So he wanted to help her get this opportunity.

The man in blue shook his head: "We can't go now. It's daytime."

He is meticulous.

Although everyone knows they killed many powerful cultivators, it's still too arrogant for them to swagger into the crematorium during the day.

"We'll talk about it tonight," he said casually.

After saying that, he led his group toward the inn in Aoki Town.

They need to rest here, replenish their talismans and equipment, and prepare for the next great battle.

Zhang Yuan sat behind the counter, watching the group of people walk away, and slowly exhaled a long breath.

His back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Fortunately, I reacted quickly and put on a mask.

Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!

Zhang Yuan pondered for a moment, then walked outside. Looking at the blackboard where the words "Cremation of Nascent Soul Stage Corpse" had just been added, he picked up a pen and added another line at the bottom of the blackboard:

Working hours: Closed during the day, open at night.

In this way, he can concentrate on his cultivation during the day without worrying about being disturbed by business customers.

Although there has never been any business during the day, I'm just afraid of what might happen.

This also reduced the chances of being seen by the man in blue.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the sky.

A slender figure arrived on a sword and slowly landed on the open ground in front of the door.

It's Liu Mei.

Her face was covered with a thin layer of powder, her eyebrows and eyes were drawn with exquisite detail, and her lips were painted with light rouge, like peach blossoms just blooming on branches in early spring.

She looked radiant and captivating, alluring and charming, yet with a touch of girlish coquettishness.

"Old man!" she said, pushing open the door. Her voice was alluring and seductive. "I'm here."

Looking at her, Zhang Yuan couldn't help but admire her inwardly.

These female disciples of the Jade Maiden Sect are all incredibly beautiful and know how to dress up.

He nodded and led her to the cultivation chamber on the second floor.

Liu Mei, however, was not honest.

She twisted her body and coiled around him like a water snake, nestling into Zhang Yuan's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, and looking up at him.

Her eyes were captivating, and her voice was as soft as melting honey: "Old man, you're getting more and more handsome."

When she hugged him like that, Zhang Yuan's nose was filled with her fragrance, and his eyes were drawn to her alluring and beautiful face and those expressive eyes. His heart couldn't help but flutter.

But then he remembered his business and lowered his voice, saying, "The formation your master set up can't block the divine sense of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Won't we be spied on when we cultivate?"