Cultivating in a Bizarre World

The rat corpses were piled several meters high, forming a wall that extended deep into the cavern. Every corpse wore the same expression.

"You’re here so soon."

A hoarse voice echoed from behind the mountain of corpses, and a scrawny, tall man walked out.

To Ren Qing’s surprise, the man’s eyes had been replaced by two mouths. Eyeballs grew from between the teeth, creating an incredibly bizarre sight.

Huang Ziwang whispered a reminder, "This man is Jiang Feng. His Magic Technique is also related to the eyes, but it leans toward Curse Skills. He can make people drop dead."

Ren Qing nodded slightly as the man quickly approached them.

Huang Ziwang smiled and made the introduction. "Jiang Feng, this is the candidate I’m sponsoring, Ren Qing. He has his merits."

Jiang Feng’s gaze lingered on Ren Qing’s Double Pupils for a few moments before he spoke. "Another Half-Corpse Realm Cultivator died last night. Let’s go see the body."

Ren Qing’s heart tightened. Even with the Forbidden Guards’ intervention, the Mud Association had still suffered a lethal attack. This just went to show how difficult the perpetrator was to deal with.

Huang Ziwang said, "It must have been done by another Mud Association Cultivator, right? Otherwise, how do you explain the bodies of so many rat avatars?"

"When the first Half-Corpse Realm Cultivator died two days ago, there were no rat corpses. All of these appeared suddenly last night."

As they ventured deeper into the cavern, the air grew thick with the stench of decay.

Ren Qing glanced around, noticing several cave-like rooms nearby. They had probably once housed members of the Mud Association.

A large pile of bleached livestock bones was stacked in a corner. It was clear the Mud Association usually ate well.

Ren Qing deliberately searched for clues. He noticed the rats seemed to have died while in the process of scattering and fleeing.

According to Jiang Feng, a total of five Cultivators from the Mud Gang had died.

First, the bodies of three at the Martial Artist Realm were discovered at the northern stronghold, followed by the body of one at the Half-Corpse Realm in South City.

Yet only two days after the Forbidden Guards had sealed off the cavern, another Half-Corpse Realm body appeared, and its Mysterious Object had inexplicably gone missing.

The three continued onward, and the stench of blood from the corpses grew thicker.

Jiang Feng suddenly stopped. Before them stood a dozen or so crude houses, which must have once housed a good number of people.

A woman with disheveled hair walked out from one of the houses, followed by an old man from the Mud Association who was half-man and half-rat.

The woman must have been another candidate. Her hair writhed slightly as if it were alive, and she looked a little surprised upon seeing Ren Qing.

"Elder Jiang, I’ve checked all the entrances and exits. There are no traces."

Huang Ziwang then said, "Yan Jun, go check all the rat corpses. If you find anything, inform us immediately."

Yan Jun hastily agreed.

She walked over to the mountain of corpses. The hair on her head detached itself, transforming into pythons as thick as a thumb that burrowed into the pile.

Jiang Feng led Ren Qing inside the house.

The moment Ren Qing stepped inside, he saw a corpse kneeling on the ground, its posture one of utter terror. The victim must have experienced extreme fear before death.

The victim’s ribs were splayed outward from the chest and abdomen, and the internal organs had been completely scooped out. Blood still dripped from the wound from time to time.

"Ren Qing, examine it."

Jiang Feng clearly intended to test Ren Qing. After all, with an extra candidate on the mission, a portion of the payment would have to be shared.

Ren Qing bent down to examine the corpse for anything unusual.

He recalled his experience at the Forbidden Soldier Hall. The Mud Association Cultivator he had met there had spat a rat avatar out of his mouth.

He wondered if the two incidents were connected.

Huang Ziwang looked at the old man from the Mud Association and said, "Elder Qian, my memory is failing me. Could you tell me again about the Mud Association’s Rat Pest Technique?"

He was mainly doing it to give Ren Qing a hint. Having pushed to get the young man on this mission, he naturally didn’t want to look like a poor judge of character.

Elder Qian obediently explained, "After advancing to the Half-Corpse Realm, the Rat Pest Technique has two mutation paths: the Rat Mother and the Plague Bearer."

"The Rat Mother is primarily for Substitute Death. But normally, the avatar can only fully take over after the original body has lost all signs of life."

"The Plague Bearer, on the other hand, is about pestilence and poison. To avoid harming ordinary people, few Cultivators choose this mutation, and those who do are monitored by the Forbidden Soldier Hall."

Ren Qing’s eyes narrowed.

’In my experience,’ Ren Qing thought, ’Magic Techniques always have three mutation paths. There might be exceptions, but I’ve yet to encounter one.’

’I can’t tell if Elder Qian is deliberately hiding something, or if the Mud Association simply hasn’t discovered the third path.’

Jiang Feng said slowly, "With so many rat corpses, wasn’t this caused by a Rat Mother?"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Elder Qian said, "I know every Cultivator in the gang, but the face of this corpse is completely unfamiliar."

Ren Qing stared at Elder Qian and asked, "Was the Cultivator who died a few days ago a Plague Bearer?"

Elder Qian’s expression turned grim as he nodded. If the Plague Bearer’s Mysterious Object were to form a forbidden zone, the death toll would be catastrophic.

If the Forbidden Soldier-Hall decided to hold them accountable later, the Mud Association would face a disaster of epic proportions.

Huang Ziwang threatened, "Have your rats keep a close eye on the city. It will be too late to act once something happens."

"Yes, sir."

Ren Qing reached out and patted Elder Qian on the shoulder, using the Information Flow to acquire the details of the Magic Technique he had mastered.

[Qian the Third]

[Age: Forty-one]

[Lifespan: Thirty-three Years]

[Skill: Rat Pest Technique (Pseudo Blood-Feeding Rat Demon)]

’The Blood-Feeding Rat Demon is the advancement from the Rat Mother path,’ Ren Qing noted. ’But it’s obvious Elder Qian only reached the Ghost Envoy Realm by consuming a Mysterious Object.’

Huang Ziwang spoke up. "The body was disemboweled like this... The killer’s goal must have been the Mysterious Object from the Rat Pest Technique, right?"

"Elder Qian, are you certain there are no problems within the Mud Association?"

Elder Qian stammered meekly, "I... I don’t know. But even I couldn’t achieve something of this scale with my Magic Technique."

Huang Ziwang couldn’t help but ask, "Can’t a Rat Mother create avatars en masse?"

Elder Qian shook his head. "Once an avatar takes on human form, the original body dies, and the avatar lives on in its place."

"Unless..."

Elder Qian’s expression was hesitant, but Ren Qing finished his thought for him: "Unless the avatar’s fate has no effect on the original body."

In truth, Ren Qing hadn’t said everything. ’If the original body was never alive to begin with,’ he thought, ’then there’s no death to speak of.’

Elder Qian muttered in disbelief, "But how could that be possible?"

Ren Qing pointed at the corpse. "The killer took the Mysterious Object and chose to consume it directly. After advancing to a Rat Mother, they started casting the Magic Technique like a madman."

Jiang Feng frowned. "Then why was the person who died a few days ago a Plague Bearer?"

Ren Qing said hesitantly, "Perhaps he was specifically looking for a Rat Mother’s Mysterious Object."

Huang Ziwang said grimly, "I get the feeling he wasn’t satisfied. Otherwise, why would he create so many of these rat avatars..."

Elder Qian’s face fell. ’Doesn’t that mean his next step is to acquire the Mysterious Object of a Blood-Feeding Rat Demon?’

He hastily excused himself and left, planning to warn the Mud Association to raise its guard.

Jiang Feng paid him no mind. A Ghost Envoy Realm cultivator couldn’t be killed that easily, especially not a Rat Mother, who were famous for their ability to cling to life.

They continued to search for clues, even prying the panels from the walls.

Just then, Yan Jun’s shout came from outside. "One of the mouse-men still has signs of life! It’s alive!!!"