Chapter 127: The Burial Ground

On the bottom deck of the iron ship, disciples of the Yin-Yang Grotto-Heaven were busy offloading wooden crates, working together to haul them onto the deck and transport them toward the burial grounds.

Thirty-two wooden crates, each sealed with steel nails, contained cold, lifeless corpses. Inside the crates were peculiar, ice-cold stones of immense weight, forcing the disciples to strain in groups of two or three just to lift a single box.

Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan emerged from their cramped cabin, their expressions somber as they stepped onto the deck. Scanning the horizon, Shi Yan realized the iron ship had anchored at an island roughly the size of a small town. The island was deathly silent, overgrown with strange, grotesque vegetation.

Deep beneath the island’s surface, an intense aura of death swirled. A closer look revealed hundreds of burial sites, each featuring a cavernous entrance leading to a central chamber. These graves varied in size, ranging from the scale of a basketball court to as small as a single room. Connecting these graves were deep, winding trenches filled with strange materials that flickered with phosphorescence, exuding a deathly chill and shrouded in faint, greyish-white mist.

Viewed from above, the island resembled a massive spiderweb. The trenches acted as silk threads, with the burial sites serving as the intersections, spreading across every corner of the terrain. The surrounding ground was blanketed in countless plants with grey-brown leaves, devoid of vitality and radiating a sinister, demonic aura that made one feel deeply uneasy.

In the very center of the island stood the largest burial site, crowned by tombstone-like stone towers. Pale-faced disciples of the Corpse God Sect, their expressions grim and predatory, stood upon these towers, moving with mechanical indifference or descending into the graves below.

At the entrance to every grave, Corpse God Sect disciples were visible, guarding their posts. Some carried heavy, frozen stones or venomous insects saturated with death energy, tossing strange materials into the trenches to fuel the unique energy of the burial grounds. The entire island was cloaked in a chilling, eerie atmosphere, defined by the pervasive graves, grotesque plants, and the lifeless presence of the sect members.

The disciples of the Yin-Yang Grotto-Heaven hauled the crates off the ship and onto the landing site. A dozen Corpse God Sect members stood by, faces blank. One held a ledger, recording the details of each corpse: their cultivation level at the time of death, the density of death energy within their bodies, and their physical state. The disciples of the Yin-Yang Grotto-Heaven were remarkably cooperative, suppressing their usual arrogance and acting with uncharacteristic restraint as they explained the origins of the remains. Even the female disciples were cautious, their eyes filled with apprehension, their interactions with the sect members stiff and unnatural.

Li Zhuang and Sui Yueru, the two guardians of the Yin-Yang Grotto-Heaven, had also disembarked. They stood near the crates, whispering with a high-ranking warrior from the Corpse God Sect.

On the deck, Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan watched with growing unease.

"Guardian Sui is quite fond of you. If you are willing, she is still prepared to take you as her disciple," Xiaofeng whispered beside Shi Yan, trying to persuade him once more. "Just nod, and I will tell her. What do you think?"

Sensing the danger, Shi Yan frowned and cast a glance at Sui Yueru before shaking his head. "Sorry, I have no intention of joining the Yin-Yang Grotto-Heaven."

Xiaofeng’s expression turned icy, her pretty face darkening. "You will regret this," she said coldly.

"You two, are you still not coming down? Heh, do you want us to invite you?" Li Wei had already disembarked and stood on the shore, sneering. "We are staying in this burial ground for a day; no outsiders are allowed on the ship. If you don’t come down, don’t blame us for being impolite."

Shi Yan frowned and looked at Xia Xinyan. "Let’s go down," he murmured. Under the eaves of another’s roof, one must bow one's head.

Xia Xinyan remained calm. Despite the clear disgust in her eyes, she followed Shi Yan off the iron ship and onto the island shore.

Li Zhuang and Sui Yueru kept glancing at them while speaking with the Corpse God Sect warrior. The long-faced sect member, his eyes seemingly devoid of focus, occasionally looked toward Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan, nodding slightly as if a deal had been struck. The three of them continued to confer, nodding with satisfaction.

Moments later, Li Zhuang announced loudly, "We will rest here for three days. We leave by ship after that."

"Guardian Li, can we... can we stay on the ship?" a female disciple asked, shivering as she spoke, clearly repulsed by the burial grounds.

"No," Li Zhuang snapped, eyeing her coldly. "You have a long road ahead. If you lack even this much courage, don't expect to make breakthroughs in your martial path. Bringing you here is meant to temper you. Tonight, disciples of the Corpse God Sect will lead you on a tour of the burial ground's corpse slaves to broaden your horizons. Cherish this opportunity; in the Endless Sea, few factions have the qualifications to visit these burial grounds."

"Ah!" Many of the disciples turned pale, their lips trembling in fear.

The Corpse God Sect members, their expressions vacant and eyes filled with disdain, finished counting the crates. They took small bells from their waists and began to shake them gently.

"Ah!" The Yin-Yang Grotto-Heaven disciples screamed again.

As the bells chimed, white-robed corpses began to emerge from the nearest burial site. Their eyes were devoid of color, their movements stiff and sluggish. Under the cold moonlight, they exuded a chilling, sinister aura, shuffling toward the group.

"These are mere human corpses, refined only recently. Their joints are still stiff, so they can only do manual labor and have little combat power. What are you afraid of?" A Corpse God Sect disciple sneered, glancing at the terrified disciples. "Corpse slaves are our best companions. They won't betray us, nor will they stab us in the back. They are more trustworthy and useful than the living."

The corpse slaves shuffled over, two of them lifting a wooden crate and moving slowly toward the nearest grave. Under the moonlight, the slaves swayed, shrouded in death energy, their pale faces devoid of human emotion—sinister, terrifying, cold, and eerie.

Shi Yan watched with a heavy heart as the corpses moved the crates and the sect members manipulated them with practiced ease.

"You two," Li Zhuang pointed at Shi Yan and Xia Xinyan. "You go to the burial grounds as well."

Li Zhuang showed no concern for them, immediately turning back to whisper with the sect member. He did not fear they would escape, nor did he believe they would dare to try.

The three of them seemed to be haggling over the price of the thirty-two corpses.

Shi Yan reached out and grabbed Xia Xinyan, whispering, "We have to leave now. The further we get from the sea, the less safe we are!"

"We can't," Xia Xinyan whispered, shaking her head. "There are water corpses."

"How do you know?" Shi Yan’s face changed, his eyes darting around.

"There are at least three graves here dedicated to refining water corpses. They are excellent swimmers and can dive deep into the sea. If we leave now, they will catch us," she replied softly.

"What do we do?"

"Go into the burial ground first. We'll find an opportunity to kill the water corpses on the island, then escape."

"Fine."

Li Wei kept a distance, but his eyes never left them. "You two, time to go. Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to witness the Corpse God Sect's unique refining techniques. Besides dead corpses, they have methods for refining 'living corpses.' Do you know what that is? Heh, it's the process of turning a living person into a corpse while they are still alive. It’s said to be quite interesting—perhaps you’ll get to see for yourselves!"

Li Wei’s words were venomous. Shi Yan’s expression shifted as he finally understood Li Zhuang’s intentions—and why they kept looking at him. Li Zhuang had likely sold him and Xia Xinyan to the Corpse God Sect as materials for "living corpse" refinement.

Xia Xinyan’s eyes turned icy, and she gritted her teeth in fury.

"We must not be separated," Shi Yan gripped her hand tightly, his resolve hardening. "There will be a chance. As long as they don't kill us immediately, we will find an opening!"

Hearing his words, Xia Xinyan suddenly felt a sense of calm. She nodded slightly, and for the first time, she gripped his hand back. "Remember, stay alive. You must survive."

Shi Yan was taken aback, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Don't worry, we will definitely make it out alive!"

"If we survive this, I can forgive you... for your past insolence. I promise not to hold it against you," she added after a moment of hesitation.

"We will survive this!"