Longevity: Starting as a menial servant in the Green Wood Sect

The cart, laden with severed limbs and stench of blood, slowly drove away from the territory of Broken Soul Valley amidst the heavy panting of two low-ranking scaled beasts.

The towering flames and chaotic noise behind us were gradually swallowed up by the thick night fog, leaving only the monotonous sound of wheels rolling over the desolate Gobi Desert.

Gu An leaned against the oil-stained carriage shaft, flicking the whip idly in his hand. His face, smeared with corpse oil and appearing deathly gray, was expressionless, except for his deep-set eyes, which, under the shadow of his hat brim, constantly and vigilantly scanned the surrounding darkness.

The journey became increasingly desolate.

The sparse vegetation that was once visible has completely disappeared, replaced by exposed dark brown rocks and the increasingly strong, even pungent, smell of sulfur mixed with rotting corpses in the air.

This is a true land of death.

After traveling for about half a day, as the first rays of pale dawn struggled through the miasma and shone on this lifeless land, a black fortress, like a prehistoric behemoth, perched on the horizon, came into Gu An's view.

That was the entrance fortress to Mine No. 3.

Huge black rocks formed a wall tens of feet high, its surface engraved with dark red array patterns, faintly radiating a chilling spiritual pressure. At the only entrance to the checkpoint, dozens of outer disciples of the Corpse Puppet Sect, clad in black robes, stood ready for battle.

In addition, what made Gu An's eyes twitch even more was that there were seven or eight vicious dogs, each the size of a calf, lying in front of the checkpoint.

These vicious dogs had festering fur that exposed dark red muscles underneath, and their mouths were dripping with corrosive saliva. Their eyes were bloodshot.

"The Corpse Howling Hound..."

Gu An tightened his grip on the whip.

These are demonic beasts specially bred by the Corpse Puppet Sect to guard the mines. Although they only have the combat power of the mid-stage Qi Refining realm, their sense of smell is extremely sensitive, especially the smell of human blood and qi, which they can detect from two miles away.

"call……"

Gu An took a deep breath, activating the Corpse Control Technique within his body to its maximum, locking away the last trace of life. At the same time, he discreetly took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured out a little powder, and sprinkled it on his trouser legs and the carriage shaft.

That was a specially made "bone-rot powder" with an extremely pungent smell, specifically used to mask subtle odors.

The cart slowly approached the checkpoint.

"stop!"

A leading disciple of the Corpse Puppet Sect, wielding a bone spear, blocked their path. He was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating excessive indulgence or being deeply corrupted by corpse energy.

"Which part? What's on the cart?" The disciple's gaze swept coldly over the cart.

Gu An immediately adopted a humble and wooden expression, trembling as he jumped out of the car, holding up the black iron token Zhou Tong had given him, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed on sandpaper:

"Replying to Immortal Master, I am from the logistics and recycling team. I am here on the orders of Elder Zhou and Vice Sect Master Li to process a batch of special waste."

Upon hearing the title "Vice Sect Master Li," the leading disciple's expression changed slightly. He took the token and examined it carefully. After confirming that the divine sense imprint on it was correct, the wariness in his eyes lessened somewhat, but the arrogance and greed characteristic of disciples from major sects resurfaced.

"Disposing of waste? Hmph, I bet they're just trying to stuff rotten flesh into this place, aren't they?"

He snorted coldly and didn't let them pass immediately. Instead, he waved to the few corpse howling hounds beside him and said, "Go and sniff around to see if they're smuggling anything."

"roar--"

Upon receiving the command, several corpse howling dogs excitedly pounced on the cart. Their wet noses frantically sniffed at the rotting corpses in the carriage, emitting chilling hissing sounds.

Gu An's heart jumped into his throat.

Although there were hidden compartments, formations, and corpse oil and rotting flesh to cover it up, this was still the instinctive intuition of a demon beast.

Sudden.

One of the largest corpse howling hounds stopped at the location of the hidden compartment covered by the pile of rotting flesh.

It didn't bark immediately, but instead let out a low whimper. Its crimson eyes were fixed on the area below the hidden compartment, as if it had sensed a faint yet incredibly alluring... chilling medicinal fragrance.

That was the lingering scent of the Yin Soul Grass that Shen Wan had just ingested!

"Woof! Woof woof!"

The vicious dog suddenly started barking wildly, its front paws frantically scratching at the car deck, even trying to jump up and tear off the camouflage.

The surrounding Corpse Puppet Sect disciples immediately became alert, and their weapons were all pointed at Gu An.

"What's going on? What's hidden in the car!" the leading disciple shouted sharply, pressing the bone spear in his hand against Gu An's throat.

At the critical moment.

Gu An did not show the slightest panic. Instead, an extremely violent and irritable aura suddenly surged up on his ashen face.

"Go to hell!"

Just as the vicious dog was about to bite through the camouflage panel, Gu An suddenly raised his foot, and his iron-toed boots, covered in mud and corpse oil, kicked the howling dog hard in the nose.

"Bang!"

This attack was incredibly powerful. Although Gu An didn't use his spiritual power, the physical strength of his "copper skin" body, which had reached its peak, was terrifying.

"Awooo—"

The Corpse Howling Hound, which possessed the strength of the mid-stage Qi Refining realm, was actually kicked so hard by this seemingly ordinary kick that it let out a miserable cry, flew three zhang into the air, and crashed heavily to the ground, its nose collapsing and rolling around on the ground.

The entire room fell silent.

The Corpse Puppet Sect disciples were stunned. How dare a lowly servant responsible for transporting corpses beat their dog?

"You're courting death!" the leading disciple roared, black energy swirling around his bone spear as he prepared to thrust it down.

"That beast has ruined the Vice Sect Master's plans!"

Gu An roared even louder than him, tearing open his collar to reveal skin as bluish-purple as a corpse, holding the token high in his hand, spitting as he spoke:

"This vehicle contains the 'poison source' that was blown up in the special protected area! It was personally ordered by Vice Sect Leader Li to be buried deep! If this beast breaks the seal and lets the poison gas leak out, everyone at this checkpoint will turn into pus!"

He stared intently at the leading disciple with his cloudy eyes, like a mad dog driven to desperation:

"If the Immortal Master wants to die, let it bite! As long as a trace of this poison leaks out, my worthless life is nothing, but if it delays the Vice Sect Master's important matter... hehe!"

These words, a mixture of truth and falsehood, were extremely intimidating.

Upon hearing the words "source of poison," and recalling the news of the explosion in the special protected area from the front lines, the leading disciple abruptly stopped his forward-thrusting bone spear in mid-air.

He's a man who values ​​his life; it's not worth risking it for a broken-down car.

But being contradicted like this by a servant made him feel ashamed, and his expression shifted between anger and displeasure.

Just then.

Gu An's previously irritable expression suddenly vanished, and the humility and snobbishness unique to lowly people instantly returned to his face.

He hunched over, leaned close to the leading disciple, and, using his sleeve as cover, discreetly slipped something to him.

"Immortal Master, please calm down, Immortal Master, please calm down... I'm so anxious! This poison is too wicked. I've been risking my life all this way here."

Gu An lowered his voice, his tone obsequious, "This is just a small token, enough to buy the brothers a pot of tea to dispel bad luck. As for that dog... cough, I just stepped on it too hard. Please accept this small amount for the medicine, Immortal Master."

The leading disciple subconsciously squeezed the object in his hand.

It feels warm to the touch, with distinct edges, and an extremely rich and pure spiritual energy flows from my fingertips.

He looked down and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Mid-grade spirit stones!

And it's a single piece!

You should know that an outer disciple like him, who guards the gate, only receives ten low-grade spirit stones a month. This one mid-grade spirit stone is equivalent to his entire year's income!

This isn't just the cost of medicine; it's like a windfall!

The leading disciple's hand trembled slightly, then he quickly put the spirit stone into his sleeve. The gloom on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of approval that described him as "sensible."

"Cough cough..."

He coughed twice in a mocking manner, retracted the bone spear, turned and kicked the still-howling dog. "Useless beast! Can't even smell a dead man, get out of here!"

Then, he looked at Gu An, his eyes softening considerably: "Since it's a task assigned by the Vice Sect Master, it absolutely cannot be delayed. This dog is ignorant, don't take it to heart."

"How could I dare? Immortal Master is truly wise and understanding." Gu An nodded repeatedly.

"Alright, go in." The leading disciple waved his hand, and the surrounding guards immediately let them through. "But remember, you can only take the outer C-shaped path, which leads directly to the landfill. Don't wander off. The rules here are stricter than outside."

"Yes, I understand."

Gu An felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly climbed onto the cart, cracked his whip, and rushed into the huge black iron gate as if fleeing.

Only after the cart had completely entered the dark and deep mine tunnel, leaving those greedy and murderous intentions behind, did Gu An slowly exhale a breath of stale air.

He touched the storage bag in his arms, which was missing a mid-grade spirit stone. A hint of heartache flashed in his eyes, but more so a coldness.

"Money can move mountains, and it can even buy life. Fatty Ma's inheritance was well spent."

……

After passing through the entrance checkpoint, the scene before me suddenly opened up, but it was also even more shocking.

This is an enormous underground sinkhole, with countless mine shafts carved into the surrounding rock walls like a honeycomb. Numerous walkways wind and twist, extending all the way to the bottomless depths of the earth.

And on those plank roads and at the entrances of mines, countless ragged, emaciated figures were crawling like ants.

Those were ordinary miners.

Tens of thousands of ordinary people.

Most of them were naked, their bodies covered with whip marks and festering wounds, dragging heavy iron chains on their feet, carrying baskets full of ore on their backs, moving with difficulty under the overseer's whip.

The air was thick with dust, the stench of sweat, and an atmosphere of despair.

"Snapped!"

On a boardwalk not far away, a foreman lashed an elderly man who was moving a little slower with a whip.

"Hurry up! Haven't you eaten? If you don't meet today's quota, I'll throw you into the corpse-raising pool!"

The old man screamed in agony as his foot slipped, and he and his basket fell off the plank road, plummeting into the abyss.

Nobody cares.

The surrounding miners glanced at him indifferently before continuing to work with their heads down. The overseer spat and cursed, "Bad luck," before moving on to whip the next person.

In this place, human life is the cheapest commodity.

It's not even as good as a dog, or as good as a piece of ore.

Gu An drove his car, coldly watching the tragedies unfold. His heart wasn't made of stone, but after struggling in the cruel underbelly of the cultivation world for so long, he had long since learned to bury that useless pity deep within him.

Can't help.

He is now also struggling to survive in this quagmire, and if he is not careful, his fate will be even more miserable than that of the old man.

He controlled the scaled beast, avoiding the main road and driving along a rugged path leading to the very edge of the sinkhole.

That's the road leading to the "garbage dump".

The so-called garbage dump is actually a huge, naturally formed karst cave fissure, which the Corpse Puppet Sect uses to dump the corpses of those who had been refined, the dead miners, and all kinds of household waste.

The place reeked of a foul stench, and the malevolent energy was so thick it was almost tangible. Apart from the laborers responsible for dumping the waste, even the disciples of the Corpse Puppet Sect were unwilling to go near it.

This is exactly what Gu An wanted.

The dirtiest and most forgotten corners are often the safest havens.

Half an hour later.

The cart finally stopped at the edge of the landfill.

This is a vast black, rocky wasteland, with a bottomless abyss ahead. Countless rotting corpses are piled up like mountains, and the poisonous gas they emit forms a layer of green mist.

Gu An jumped out of the car and looked around.

Only after confirming that there were no other living beings within several miles except for a few low-level zombies feeding on rotting flesh did he quickly take action.

Instead of unloading the contents of the car, he first found the entrance to an abandoned mine shaft buried under rocks at the foot of a sheltered rock face in the rocky wasteland.

"This is it."

Gu An cleared away the rubble, revealing a small opening just wide enough for one person to pass through. The cave was dry and cold inside; although small, it was more than enough to hide two people.

He deftly pulled out several array flags from his pocket—these were low-quality concealment array plates he had bought from the black market. Although they couldn't block the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they were still barely enough to isolate smells and sounds.

After setting up a simple security formation, Gu An returned to the cart and uncovered the disguise of the hidden compartment.

"Come out, we've arrived."

Gu An said in a low voice.

Inside the hidden compartment, Shen Wan, dressed in a red robe, slowly opened her eyes.

Her face remained as pale as paper, but a glimmer of light appeared in her eyes. The fifty-year-old Yin Soul Grass she had ingested earlier was extremely effective; although it couldn't completely eradicate the poison damage in her body, it at least stabilized her soul, which was on the verge of collapse.

Without saying a word, Gu An reached out and lifted her out of the foul-smelling dark compartment.

Shen Wan did not resist, but frowned slightly as she left the pile of rotting flesh.

The two crawled into the abandoned mine shaft.

Gu An placed Shen Wan on a flat rock covered with animal hides, and then took out a fluorite lamp from his storage bag, its dim light illuminating the small area.

"This is the very edge of Mine Pit No. 3, and also the place where the Yin energy is most chaotic."

Gu An plopped down on the ground, picked up the water bottle and took a swig, his voice hoarse, "Even that old monster Li Tianxing wouldn't be so idle as to use his divine sense to sweep through this pile of shit."

Shen Wan leaned against the rock wall, looked around, and a hint of admiration flashed in her clear, cold eyes.

"The truly wise hide in the city, the lesser wise hide in the wilderness. To be able to find such a secluded spot in this desolate place, you are more adaptable to this place than I imagined."

She paused, her gaze passing through the crack in the cave entrance to the distant, massive black tower standing in the center of the sinkhole, tethered by countless iron chains.

The tower was entirely black, like a poisonous thorn piercing the sky. Blood-red lightning crackled around its top year-round, and a suffocating pressure radiated continuously from there throughout the entire mine.

"That's the 'Soul-Suppressing Tower'."

Shen Wan pointed to the tower, his voice low, "It's also the core hub of the entire No. 3 mine. All the armored corpses and all the restrictions are controlled through that tower. And the underground ventilation shaft you're looking for... is right below that tower, separated from this landfill by three lines of defense."

"Three lines of defense?" Gu An frowned.

"The first barrier is the sea of ​​walking corpses, which consists of tens of thousands of low-level walking corpses that wander around the tower day and night, forming a wall of flesh."

"The second one is the Corpse Refining Array, where hundreds of bronze-armored corpses that are about to be completed are buried. Once the presence of a living person enters, they will instantly burst out of the ground."

"As for the third one..."

A hint of apprehension flashed in Shen Wan's eyes. "They are Corpse Generals. Each of Li Tianxing's personal disciples has the cultivation of the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, and each controls at least one Tier 2 Ironclad Corpse. They take turns guarding the tower day and night."

Gu An felt a chill run down his spine.

This isn't a defensive line; it's an impregnable fortress. Let alone a mere Qi Refining Level 4 cultivator, even a Foundation Establishment Stage 1 cultivator would be torn to shreds if they tried to force their way in.

"Forced entry is definitely not an option."

Shen Wan withdrew her gaze and looked at Gu An, "If you want to get in, that token and the disguise of being covered in corpse oil aren't enough. In the eyes of true experts, your current disguise is like that of a clown in a theatrical costume."

"What should we do then?" Gu An asked humbly.

"Integration".

Shen Wan uttered two words, "If you don't want to be discovered by the wolves, you have to become a wolf. If you want to move freely among this pile of rotten flesh and corpses, you have to become one of us."

"Although you have mastered the basics of Corpse Control, you are only superficially similar. Your eyes, your movements, and even your subconscious breathing rhythm still bear the marks of a living person."

"From now on, you must think of yourself as a rat. The rats here eat rotten flesh, drink corpse water, cannot stand in the light, yet they can live the longest in the dirtiest corners."

As Shen Wan spoke, she took out a jade slip from her bosom. It was the complete version of the internal codes of the Corpse Puppet Sect and the details of controlling walking corpses that she had promised Gu An.

"This records the walking routes of disciples of different levels in the mine, the passwords for shift changes, and even the restlessness patterns of the walking corpses at different times of day."

"Over the next three days, I will teach you how to utilize these patterns."