I am about to die of old age, and I have awakened the character of longevity.

Chapter 240: White-haired woman, Jin family residence!
Seven hundred miles north of Yunzhou City, there is a town called Heishan Town.

The town wasn't prosperous, but it was extremely xenophobic. There were even rumors of cannibalism, which made outsiders even more afraid to come.

At the entrance of the town, there is a very tall marble gate with the three huge words "Heishan Town" carved on it.

Not far from Shimen, there was a small river with a pier where many boats were moored: fishing boats, sampans, and black-sailed boats. At dusk, boatwomen would row their sampans and sing songs.

Xie An and his two companions were sitting in a black-sailed boat. As they approached the pier, they heard the boatwoman's melodious singing. It was so pleasant.

The boatman was a fifty-year-old man. When he approached the pier, he jumped off the boat and tied the rope. When the boat docked, he welcomed Xie An and the other two to disembark. "Three gentlemen, we have arrived at Heishan Town."

Jin Yuping gave Baoyin and asked, "Excuse me, sir, is there an inn in town where we can stay?"

The old man accepted the precious silver and smiled happily. "Black Mountain Town is located in a remote area and is very exclusive to outsiders. Few outsiders come here normally, and there are no inns or even restaurants. If you three guests don't mind, you can stay at my home."

Jin Yuping looked at Xie An with an inquiring look. Seeing Xie An nod, she replied to the old man, "Then I'll have to trouble you, father-in-law."

The old man was overjoyed when he saw that these three were distinguished guests. He took the full fish basket from the boat and led Xie An and the other two into the stone gate.

As he entered the town, Xie An immediately felt a cold and eerie wind blowing towards him.

Even with his cultivation as a Martial Saint, he still felt uncomfortable.

The old man smiled and explained, "Don't worry, the three of you. Our town has always been like this. As long as you don't go out late at night, there will be no problems."

Xie An nodded and didn't ask any more questions, but his eyes were wary as he surveyed the town.

The whole town was quite empty, with only a few shops to be seen. However, red lanterns were hung above the doors of every household, some even had red sedan chairs parked in front of their doors, and others had discarded paper figurines.

"Don't look any longer, it's getting dark. Come with me." The old man urged the three to hurry up.

Xie An also felt that this town was very strange, so he quickened his pace. After turning two empty streets, he arrived at the old man's home. With the old man's introduction, Xie An roughly understood the old man's family situation.

The old man's name is Bai Jinshui, and he has been doing the job of recovering corpses all his life.

His wife died of illness in her early years, and he lived with a daughter named Baiyou.

Because Bai Jinshui had been away from home in his early years and had seen the outside world, he was considered one of the few people in the town who was not too xenophobic.

The old man introduced Xie An and the others while preparing dinner.

After a while, fragrant white rice, braised fish and fish head soup were served.

"My three guests, it's time for dinner."

Bai Jinshui warmly invited the three of them to sit down and eat, muttering, "This place is remote and the climate is bad. There are few fish in the water and few prey in the mountains. Life is hard. There's usually not much good food, so I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Xie An really liked this simple and plain taste, so he said, "Uncle, you are too kind. Let your daughter come and eat together."

Xie An had noticed before that Bai Jinshui's kitchen was covered in dust, indicating that it was rarely used. He guessed that they were reluctant to cook and mostly relied on dry food to fill their stomachs.

Bai Jinshui said, "That won't do. My little girl is ugly, and I'm afraid it'll scare you if I call her that. Come on and eat. I'll get her a bowl of rice."

After saying this, Bai Jinshui went to the kitchen, scrambling around for a while, then went to the backyard with a bowl of rice. Faint sounds of quarreling could be heard.

Not long after, Bai Jinshui returned to the living room and prepared a room for Xie An and the other two.

Two women and one man should have at least two rooms. Bai Jinshui didn't seem to be particular about this, simply saying that their family's financial situation was limited and they could only spare one room. Xie An naturally didn't object openly.

After dinner, Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping went to their rooms to rest, while Bai Jinshui cleared the dishes and went to the kitchen to wash. Xie An followed him into the kitchen and gave Bai Jinshui two large silver pieces. After some small talk, he asked, "Old man, do you know where Heishankou is?"

This is what Xie An never understood.

He was indeed able to contact the Thirteenth Master through the seal, but the Thirteenth Master only knew that Heishankou was not far from Heishan Town. He did not know the journey after leaving this place. Moreover, the Thirteenth Master died on the way here.

As a result, news of Xie An was cut off.

Jin Yuping was not familiar with this place. According to Jin Yuping, although she was a maid in the Jin family before, her position was not here.

As a result, Xie An and the other two decided to settle down in Heishi Town and inquire about the direction of Heishankou and the Jin family's residence.

hiss.

Hearing Xie An's words, Bai Jinshui took a breath and suddenly looked up at Xie An. After a moment, he sighed, "You are here for Heishankou too."

Seeing Bai Jinshui's expression, Xie An realized that this Black Mountain Pass might be something special. He immediately became more vigilant. "A friend of mine passed by here before. He went to Black Mountain Pass and got into trouble. I came here to look for him. If you know anything about this, please let me know. I won't treat you unfairly."

Bai Jinshui shook his head. "I've heard of Heishankou, but I don't know where it is. Only the mayor knows. If you're worried, I'll take you to ask the mayor tomorrow."

Xie An said, "Thank you for your help, old man."

"It is right to make things convenient for others and for yourself."

Xie An bowed slightly, then left the kitchen and returned to the room.

The room was already small, and because Bai Jinshui had added a small bed, it became even more crowded. The furnishings were sparse, and there was a stench of rotting wood. It was difficult to fall asleep.

The wind was howling coldly at night, and the oil lamp on the desk began to sway.

Chen Yu'er and Jin Yuping each lay on a small bed, while Xie An dozed off on the desk.

It was really hard to travel all the way.

Xie An didn't know why, but after arriving in the town, he felt extremely tired and even a little sleepy. Even so, Xie An didn't dare to fall asleep. Instead, he maintained a fetal breathing state, constantly paying attention to every move around him with his five senses.

Suddenly, Xie An felt a hand tap on his shoulder, waking him up instantly. Turning his head, he saw Chen Yu'er sneaking up to him. "Xie An, have you noticed something's wrong with this place?"

Xie An nodded, "I found it."

Chen Yu'er said, "I'm not being nosy, but I vaguely sensed a corpse-like aura in the backyard. Maybe there's something wrong with Old Man Bai's daughter. I'm going to go check it out. Do you want to come with me?"

Xie An thought about it and since he couldn't sleep anyway, he followed Chen Yu'er out of the door and sneaked to the backyard.

Xie An was now at the second level of Qi Refining, comparable to the second level of Martial Saint. Chen Yu'er had even reached the astonishing fourth level of Martial Saint, a level of cultivation that could be described as unparalleled. She wasn't afraid of this strange little town.

The two of them concealed their presence and went to the backyard, where they saw a shocking scene:
The old man saw his daughter, who was very ugly, lying in a coffin. The old man was lying next to the coffin, talking to the person inside. A woman's voice came from the coffin, and there was a "crunching" sound of swallowing, as if she was eating something.

"Dad, why did you bring outsiders in? We don't welcome outsiders in this town. The last time hundreds of people came, they were all killed by the mayor."

Bai Jinshui said, "Why refuse if there's money to be made? I'm only responsible for leading the way. Other matters have nothing to do with me. I'll inform the mayor tomorrow, and the rest is none of my business."

"Dad, two of the three people here are Martial Saints. Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"

Bai Jinshui said, "What am I afraid of? The last person who came here was from the Western Regions, a fifth-level Martial Saint. He was half dead, wasn't he? I just want you to be well, that's all. You should get some rest early."

"Eh."

A sigh came from the coffin, and then there was no movement.

Bai Jinshui took the dishes and left the backyard, going to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Chen Yu'er and Xie An, who were hiding in the dark, felt a chill. They exchanged glances and then sneaked into the room in the backyard and came to the side of the coffin.

The coffin was uncovered. In the dim candlelight, Xie An saw a six-year-old girl lying inside. Her skin was gray and covered with corpse spots. She was already sleeping peacefully. She seemed unaware of Xie An and his companions' arrival.

The strong stench of corpse coming out of the coffin was simply disgusting.

Xie An opened his eyes wide, feeling extremely incredible.

Was it this little girl who just spoke?
Corpse refining technique?
its not right.

The corpse refining technique was used to refine living people. In reality, the person was still alive. They just possessed the attributes of a corpse. And there was no corpse odor. The little girl before him was clearly a corpse that had been dead for many years.

How do you survive?
The two men did not disturb the little girl, but turned and left.

Shortly after Xie An and the other man left the room, the little girl slowly opened her eyes.

……

Early the next morning, Bai Jinshui prepared breakfast for Xie An and the other two. "Eat early, and then I'll take you to see the mayor."

After meal.

The three of them followed Bai Jinshui out of their residence and went to find the mayor.

Although Xie An knew that there was something wrong with this town and that it might be detrimental to him, he still planned to meet the mayor. After all, the little girl's conversation last night had revealed that Puyang Qing and others had suffered here.

It can be seen that this place is not far from Heishankou.

Xie An naturally didn't want to give up halfway.

What's more, Chen Yu'er's current combat power is no less than Puyang Qing. As long as we are prepared, we just need to deal with it carefully and there is no need to be afraid.

The town was still very empty during the day, with only a few people around.

After passing through the deserted streets, the three finally came to a very old house.

As soon as I entered the house, I saw the yard filled with all kinds of paper figurines and coffins. The strong smell of rotting wood hit my nose.

"You wait in the yard, I'll go inform the mayor." The old man gave some instructions and then went into the living room alone.

The light in the living room was very dim. A hunchbacked old man in a black robe was sitting at the top seat, making tea. When he saw Bai Jinshui come in, he didn't feel strange at all and just continued drinking his tea.

Bai Jinshui bowed deeply and said, "Mayor Bai, there are three people outside. They are looking for the group from last time. Look..."

The hunchbacked old man took a sip of tea and said, "I understand. Just follow the old rules. You take them to Heishankou. Others will take care of the rest."

"clear."

Bai Jinshui bowed and prepared to leave. He knew very well what the so-called old rules meant.

At this time, the hunchbacked old man turned his head and looked outside, clearly seeing three people standing in the yard. When the hunchbacked old man saw Xie An's face clearly, he was shocked and his face changed. He immediately called out to Bai Jinshui, "Come back."

Bai Jinshui stopped abruptly and turned around to ask, "Does Mayor Bai have any other instructions?"

Mayor Bai said, "There's a change of plan. Take them back to your house and wait. Tell them I'm busy right now and I'll come find them myself later."

Bai Jinshui was greatly surprised, but he did not dare to disobey and said, "Yes."

Soon, Bai Jinshui went out, taking Xie An and the other two away. Mayor Bai sat at the top seat, watching Xie An and the other two leave. His brows furrowed, "Why is Xie An here... This is such a headache."

If Xie An saw this hunchbacked old man here, he would probably be shocked. Because Xie An had seen this hunchbacked old man before, when he first entered Yunzhou City and encountered bandits who robbed him of 1,000 taels of silver. A white-haired woman gave him 1,000 taels of silver and then killed the bandits to get the silver back.

This old man is the hunchbacked old man next to the woman in white.

After being in a daze for a long time, Mayor Bai walked to a room in the backyard, took out a transparent crystal ball from under his pillow, and dripped a drop of blood into it. Soon, the appearance of the extraordinary woman in white appeared in the crystal ball.

brush.

When Mayor Bai saw the illusion of the white-haired woman, he immediately bowed and said respectfully, "Master. I'm sorry to bother you."

The white-haired woman looked calm, "But something unexpected happened with Puyang Qing?"

Mayor Bai said, "That's not the case. Although Puyang Qing and his group crossed the Black Mountain Pass and reached the Jin family's base, I killed most of them, and Puyang Qing was also seriously injured. He can't escape far. Sooner or later, he will die here. There is no way he can leave."

White-haired woman: "What's that?"

Mayor Bai said, "Two more Martial Saints came to town today. They said they were looking for Puyang Qing and his group."

The white-haired woman said: "Just execute him according to the old rules."

Mayor Bai said, "This man is Xie An."

The white-haired woman was silent.

Mayor Bai said, "In theory, the location of the Kongsang Ancient City must not be made known to anyone. As many as come, we will execute them. But Xie An is not the one chosen by the master. I dare not act rashly."

The white-haired woman said: "In that case, just let him go."

Mayor Bai said, "But...if he finds the ancient city of Kongsang...the secret will be lost."

The white-haired woman said: "It's okay, I will go there soon. You don't need to worry about other things."

Mayor Bai didn't dare to say more, and bowed respectfully: "Yes."

Soon, the crystal ball returned to normal, and the image of the white-haired woman vanished. Mayor Bai put away the crystal ball and sighed, "I really don't know why the master holds Xie An in such high regard. It's completely out of character for the master."

……

In Heishan Town, in a house near Bai Jinshui's house.

An old man sat beneath a tree, holding a memorial tablet. Inscribed on it was Jin Xiaotang's name. He seemed to be deeply attached to it, muttering it non-stop. He looked deeply attached.

After muttering for a while, the old man's eyes suddenly became exceptionally bright.

"It's finally here. After so many years, the opportunity is finally here."

……

In Bai Jinshui's house.

Xie An and Chen Yu'er sat in the room to discuss.

Chen Yuer said, "That mayor is probably no ordinary person. I've reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. Although I haven't opened my spiritual consciousness, my five senses are already extremely sharp. Yet, I can't sense the mayor's existence."

Xie An nodded. "I can't sense the mayor's presence either. He seems invisible. I'm afraid he's quite powerful. And, judging by the conversation between Bai Jinshui and his daughter last night, Puyang Qing must have met with disaster here. We need to be extremely careful and be ready to retreat at any time."

Chen Yuer said, "Yeah."

Jin Yuping said at this time: "Bai Jinshui said that the mayor will come to us in person. We will know then."

Xie An deeply agreed with this.

While waiting, Xie An reviewed the entire situation. He had considered backing out before. After all, the more he learned, the more he realized this place was far from simple. Danger lurked everywhere. If this were an ordinary matter, Xie An would have left.

But the ancient city of Kongsang and the Jin family’s residence are related to immortality and cultivation.

Now that everyone is here, Xie An has no intention of leaving.

If anything unexpected happens, just leave immediately.

After making up his mind, Xie An asked Jin Yuping, "Miss Yuping, you used to be a maid in the Jin family. Do you remember where the Jin family's residence is?"

Jin Yuping said, "It's not here. It's in a village two thousand miles outside of Yunzhou City. It's at least a thousand miles away from here, very far away."

Xie An saw Jin Yuping's firm words and knew that she was not lying. "But this doesn't seem right. The Jin family's base that Jin Xiaotang mentioned before was near the Bronze Gate outside Daliang Mountain. Later, Jin Xiaotang brought Puyang Qing here. And you said the Jin family's base was thousands of miles away. Could it be that there are multiple Jin family bases in the world?"

Chen Yu'er was also confused. "This is indeed unbelievable. It's likely that the Jin family has several branches. Jin Xiaotang's branch and Jin Yuping's branch are not together."

Xie An said: "This reason sounds reasonable, but why did Jin Xiaotang give two different places?"

Chen Yu'er was silent, her brows furrowed.

Obviously, she couldn't figure it out either.

Thinking hard.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door.

Maybe the mayor is here.

The three of them cleared their minds of doubt, opened the door, and walked out. Sure enough, they saw a hunched old man wearing a bamboo hat in the living room. Even with Xie An's god-like five senses, he couldn't make out his face clearly. His hunched appearance did look somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place it.

Bai Jinshui introduced, "This is Mayor Bai of Heishan Town. Mayor Bai, these three are from outside, looking for Heishankou."

Mayor Bai nodded, dismissed Bai Jinshui, and then exchanged some pleasantries with Xie An and the other two. He then stood up and said, "If you want to go to Heishankou, follow me."

Xie An and Chen Yu'er exchanged glances, then followed Mayor Bai out of the house, walked through the long town, and reached the end.

At the end of the road was a wasteland, and across the wasteland came the entrance to a large canyon. At the entrance stood a stone tablet with three large characters written on it: Black Mountain Pass.

Mayor Bai said, "This is Black Mountain Pass. It's dangerous inside, and some people live there. Be careful when you go in. If you encounter any danger, retreat immediately. As long as you get past this stone tablet, you'll be safe."

"Thank you, Mayor Bai."

The three of them bowed and expressed their gratitude.

"I wish you all the best. I have things to do. Goodbye." Mayor Bai bowed and then turned to leave.

The howling cold wind came out from the Grand Canyon and blew on the faces of the three people, causing pain like a knife.

The fields were vast and boundless, with crows flying in the sky. The scene was so desolate and lonely that it made one feel very uneasy.

Xie An stood beside the stone tablet for a long time, then looked towards the direction of the Grand Canyon. He found that the mountain walls on both sides of the canyon were thousands of feet high. There was a small river flowing in the canyon. The vegetation was lush, the big trees covered the sky, and there was fog, so he could not see the scenery inside.

Chen Yu'er took out a blood-red spear and walked ahead.

Xie An and Jin Yuping followed closely behind.

After walking a few hundred meters, we felt the thick fog and the visibility was very low.

As they walked, they all felt a little dazed. The further they went, the larger the space inside seemed to be, much larger than the canyon they had seen at the stone tablet's location.

Jin Yuping murmured, "Why do I feel like something's wrong here? This space is different from the outside."

Xie An had been vigilantly observing every move around him since early on.

It was Chen Yuer who took the lead and moved forward step by step.

Soon, the fog completely blocked the view behind. Even if you look back, you can only see the endless fog. Where is the way you came from?

This inevitably makes people want to retreat.

At this moment, Jin Yuping exclaimed, "Look, there's a body on the ground."

Xie An leaned over to take a look and was shocked.

Although Xie An didn't recognize the body's owner, he could tell from the clothing that it was a villager from Puyang Qing's village. A martial arts master-level expert. And yet he was dead...

As we went further, more and more corpses appeared.

They dress very similarly.

They are all villagers from Puyang Qing Village.

There were hundreds of corpses.

Xie An immediately ran to check and soon found the body of the Thirteenth Master.

Died here.

Moreover, his death was extremely tragic, as if he had suffered some kind of inhumane treatment during his lifetime, which had greatly tortured his spirit and led to mental disorder. No wonder Thirteenth Master could not remember the road he had walked before.

Even Xie An and the other two could not tell the directions at this moment.

Jin Yuping was under great pressure and had the idea of ​​quitting several times.

Chen Yu'er said, "This fog is not right. It can make people feel dazed. It can also fold space and confuse people's vision. It's impossible to find the way back now. Follow me closely and move forward."

Xie An deeply agreed with this.

Although Xie An was somewhat horrified, he also realized that this place was so mysterious that the Jin family's residence must be not far away. Perhaps Kongsang Ancient City could also be found by chance.

The three of them walked forward back to back.

Suddenly, Chen Yu'er stopped and pointed ahead, "Look, there's a makeshift shelter over there."

Xie An looked in the direction Chen Yu'er pointed, and indeed saw a shelter deep in the fog. "Let's go and take a look."

In order to prevent accidents, Xie An had already grasped the talisman's purple blade.

When the three of them approached the shelter, they saw a disheveled man lying on the ground, shouting crazily, "Jin's residence, I found the Jin's residence, hahahaha... I found the real Jin's residence."

(End of this chapter)