Wu Chang Jie

1

Mount Shu is a mountain with multiple ranges which pierced through the clouds. It is famous for its vast form, high peaks, deep valleys, and magnificent forests. It is also known as the first immortal mountain due to Wuliang Sect, the leader of the Immortal Alliance who lived in seclusion in this mountain.

For hundreds of years, there were those who ascended Mount Shu to seek help, education, and medicine day after day regardless of the season.

However, what caught Xie Bi An's interest was a mysterious flower in Mount Shu's Diancang Peak, which was rumored to bloom in autumn when other flowers had withered and would die when transplanted. The spring water in Mandarin Duck Pond was naturally sweet, and it was used to make tea, which leaves a rich aftertaste. Lanxi Town, which was at the foot of the mountain, produced all kinds of delicious food and wine, and he always had a big feast when he visited.

It was a pity that on this trip to Mount Shu, he didn't get a chance to enjoy the mountains, water, tea, and wine, because the City God of Mount Shu came to the Underworld with a report and requested him to help harvest souls.

The City God's name was Sun Xia Zhen. He was once an elder of Wuliang Sect. When he was alive, he performed exorcism everywhere and helped commoners. He enjoyed his good reputation, but his cultivation was limited which prevented him from ascending. The Underworld allowed him to choose: to reincarnate into a wealthy and powerful family, and enjoy a lifetime worth of glory, or to become a local City God, where one day when he accumulated enough merits, he could get ranked among the ghosts and immortals and transcend reincarnation.

Usually, the deceased was taken back to the Underworld by the local City God or by the ghost servants. Only those that were difficult to deal with would be handled by the Underworld Generals.

The person Sun Xia Zhen reported this time was one of Wuliang Sect's high-ranking cultivators. The cause of the death was a terrifying one----he died from a dug-out golden core.

As an Underworld General, Xie Bi An traveled between the human and ghost realms with his master since he was young. He had seen many horrible deaths. What really terrified people from the deaths of cultivators who had their golden cores stolen was the fear of the comeback of the demonic practice which involved "using the inner core to train the outer core".

Since ancient times, this type of heartless cultivation method has been taboo in the cultivation world of the human realm. The outer core trained by using the inner core was called the "human core". The more powerful the golden core that was used to create the human core, the more the user's cultivation would improve by. Obtaining a core could improve a person's cultivation by a few years up to a decade, and it is not impossible to change one's substructure. The temptation was too great, making these demonic cultivators massacre others endlessly.

Because the golden core must be dug out when the person was still alive, the victim's cultivation would be destroyed for his entire life, and most of them would die from severe injuries or from being silenced. In order not to fulfill the demonic cultivator's wish, those with an upright temperament would rather commit suicide. These types of deceased would have a very strong resentment, thus their souls were not easy to harvest and could easily bring harm to the world.

Xie Bi An, who still didn't know the details, already became worried after hearing the two words "stolen core". When he visited the City God Temple, Sun Xia Zhen was also very worried.

"Hey, Little White Master." Sun Xia Zhen's eyes went straight over Xie Bi An, looking behind him, "where is Heaven Master Zhong?"

Xie Bi An cupped his hands together in greeting: "Elder Sun, master has gone on a trip, and his return date is uncertain."