“This is…” Yu Shi couldn’t help but utter these words, though internally he resisted, not wanting to fall into Xu Qi An’s trap.

But after seeing this ancient corpse, his eyes moved beyond his control, his emotions became impossible to calm, and his desire surged like a stormy sea, overwhelming his reason.

Too perfect—this corpse was too perfect.

More perfect than any corpse he had ever seen, more alluring than any puppet in the Corpse Division.

Even though it appeared badly damaged.

Xu Qi An didn’t answer his question, instead smiling:

“If Leader Yu Shi is interested, why not take a closer look?”

“Hmph, I’m not interested,” Yu Shi said stubbornly, yet his wings unconsciously flapped, landing him beside the coffin.

He silently gazed at the ancient corpse for a long while, his two claws stepping around the coffin in a circle. His pace was slow, completely focused, like an antique collector appraising an ancient artifact of great age and priceless value.

Suddenly, Yu Shi made a surprised sound and forcefully pecked at the corpse’s face.

His beak moved like lightning, clearly using full strength, but it failed to damage the ancient corpse, nor did it produce the sharp sound of metal striking metal.

Yu Shi abruptly raised his head to look at Xu Qi An. He hesitated several times before speaking, but finally couldn’t resist asking in a deep voice:

“This doesn’t seem like a warrior’s corpse, but the toughness and strength of its physical body even surpasses my Third-Rank walking corpse.”

Xu Qi An smiled:

“A true expert’s eye.

“Correct, this isn’t a warrior’s corpse. This corpse is from thousands of years ago—the shed form of a powerful Dao sect expert who failed his tribulation at the peak of second rank. After shedding his old body, this remained.”

Peak Second-Rank was a conservative estimate.

Yu Shi’s tone carried a hint of heaviness: “Peak Second-Rank, are you certain it’s peak Second-Rank?”

As he asked, his wings unconsciously flapped several times, as if emphasizing his words.

“A Third-Rank Yang Spirit wouldn’t have such an imperishable physical body,” Xu Qi An smiled.

Yu Shi couldn’t refute this. The Dao sect’s Yang Spirits indeed didn’t possess such physical bodies, and he had just tested it himself—this wasn’t a warrior’s physical body.

“Why is it damaged like this?”

Yu Shi struggled to keep his tone calm, trying not to let Xu Qi An hear his distress and desire for this corpse.

If you knew it once developed consciousness, you’d be even more obsessed… Xu Qi An pondered briefly, deciding to tell Yu Shi the truth. This would increase the stakes, making it harder for him to refuse.

“It’s a long story. This corpse once developed consciousness and self-awareness, no different from normal living beings. I sealed it in the great tomb where I found it. Much later, when I happened to return to the tomb, I discovered its body had been broken and its soul scattered.”

Everyone saw the giant bird’s body stiffen, remaining motionless for a long time.

“You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying!”

Yu Shi’s emotions were more agitated than ever before as he shouted.

As a professional corpse-controlling group, the Corpse Poison Division’s highest academic goal was how to make corpses “return to life.”

This was different from powerful spirits possessing corpses—such acts were called soul possession or attachment. What the Corpse Poison Masters wanted was to make corpses come alive.

Truly dead people obviously couldn’t be resurrected, but there was another kind of return to life—making corpses develop consciousness.

But this great goal had never been achieved by anyone in the Corpse Poison Division in thousands of years.

Long Tu and the others exchanged looks with strange expressions, especially Luan Yu and Chun Yan—disgust flashed in the two beauties’ eyes.

Because they thought of something:

The Corpse Poison Division’s ancestors had once speculated that if the remnant souls remaining in walking corpses were properly nurtured, they could transform into true spirit essences, and the corpses would develop consciousness.

Thus achieving resurrection.

How could remnant souls without self-awareness possibly transform into true spirit essences? It was as absurd as humans creating bodies without going through ten months of pregnancy.

In the eyes of the six divisions’ people, this was just an excuse the Corpse Poison Division made for their perverse relationship with corpses, forcibly anthropomorphizing walking corpses.

Faced with Yu Shi’s questioning gaze, Xu Qi An recalled briefly and said:

“It once told me that when that Dao cultivator shed his old body, part of his remnant soul remained within. This remnant soul was repaired through the cultivator’s special methods, becoming a complete spirit essence.”

The gathered leaders were stunned, looking at Yu Shi with astonished expressions, finding him already frozen like a wooden chicken.

“So it’s true, so it’s true, our ancestors’ speculations weren’t wrong. There is a way to make corpses ‘return to life,’ there is precedent—it wasn’t just an ethereal fantasy…”

Yu Shi grew increasingly excited as he spoke. By the end, his wings kept flapping, like a person gesturing wildly.

Xu Qi An waited a moment until the Corpse Poison Division leader had initially calmed down, before saying:

“So, would this ancient corpse be worth you’re not allying with Yun Province?”

Long Tu and the others stared fixedly at the giant bird.

…Yu Shi remembered his earlier emphatic declarations and momentarily froze.

In the end, the desire for the ancient corpse overcame shame and dignity. He coughed once and said in a hoarse voice:

“Long Tu is right—Wei Yuan is dead so that vengeance is settled. I shouldn’t let tribespeople sacrifice needlessly because of a personal obsession. As for this ancient corpse, your words are one-sided, and I won’t easily believe them.

“But since you’ve already convinced the other six divisions, well, I’ll reluctantly agree…”

Xu Qi An smiled: “That’s good.”

Speaking thus, he replaced the coffin lid and collected the coffin back into the Ground Book fragment.

“Hey, you…” Yu Shi shouted, forcefully suppressing his anger before saying in a deep voice:

“I said I wouldn’t ally with Yun Province—didn’t you hear?”

“I heard,” Xu Qi An’s smile remained unchanged:

“I said I would give you this ancient corpse, and I definitely will—but not now. After the Central Plains war ends, I will fulfill my promise.”

How could Yu Shi possibly agree? Before seeing this ancient corpse it would have been fine, but having seen it, he couldn’t allow himself to lose it.

Who would willingly lose their life’s love?

“Why should I trust you’ll fulfill your promise?” His hoarse voice laughed coldly.

Xu Qi An returned the cold laugh:

“Then why should I trust you? What if you go back on your word and secretly ally with Yun Province—what then?”

Yu Shi’s forceful personality didn’t yield. He countered sharply:

“Either leave the ancient corpse, or we call everything off.”

“Farewell!”

Xu Qi An turned to leave, while internally counting down: 3, 2, 1…

As a fellow Corpse Poison Master, Xu Qi An was certain Yu Shi couldn’t refuse him, just as he couldn’t refuse Little Aunt.

“Wait!”

Yu Shi called out sharply, so anxious he spread his wings. When Xu Qi An stopped and looked back, he immediately folded his wings and turned his bird head to one side:

“Return this Third-Rank walking corpse to me.

“Also, you must… write a promissory note, witnessed by our fellow tribespeople.”

Xu Qi An immediately took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Under the witness of Granny Heaven Poison and the others, he wrote a note for Yu Shi and pressed his handprint on it.

“Keep it safe. Everyone in the Central Plains knows this Silver Gong’s word is worth a thousand gold.”

Xu Qi An blew the ink dry, folded the paper, and held it between his fingers as he passed it over.

The giant bird snorted coldly: “I’ll come to the Force Poison Division later to retrieve the walking corpse.”

Having spoken, it carefully stretched out its head, picked up the paper in its beak, and flew up into the sky.

The giant bird flew slowly, steadily, and smoothly, as if afraid flying too fast would let the wind tear the promissory note in its beak.

Hey, aren’t you going to avenge your father’s death? Xu Qi An watched the giant bird’s silhouette as it flew high, silently calling out in his heart.

The negotiation was over—this was truly knowing both yourself and your enemy, winning every battle… He withdrew his gaze, swept it over Luan Yu and Chun Yan, and said with a smile:

“Now to heal the wounds of both sisters.”

He summoned the Pagoda Treasure, letting the Physician Avatar’s phantom float above its peak.

Luan Yu and Chun Yan, having witnessed the Pagoda Treasure repair the walking corpse’s damaged body earlier, were both amazed and curious about this legendary Buddhist treasure.

The jade bottle sprinkled light like scattered gold, descending like spring rain to envelop them.

The pain from their broken bones slowly disappeared, replaced by a refreshing coolness that penetrated their core.

Luan Yu spread her arms and twirled gracefully, her gauzy long dress blooming like a flower. She had returned to being that seductive temptress, saying with a smile:

“With this blessing, this servant won’t fear Silver Gong’s ferocity in bed.”

She had completely acknowledged the difference in strength between them in her heart. With such a miraculous treasure, her side could never defeat him, and he had indeed shown mercy earlier.

Chun Yan gave a dignified nod in thanks.

Are you ready for your insides to be torn apart… Xu Qi An looked expressionlessly at the temptress, then nodded back to Chun Yan.

At this point, Xu Qi An finally had time to deal with other matters:

“Granny, where is that Ge Wen Xuan who came from Yun Province?”

Shadow said flatly:

“While we were fighting you, he couldn’t have stayed. He’s probably long fled by now.”

Xu Qi An fell silent, then took out the Ground Book fragment again, pouring out a damaged bronze mirror.

“What does the great me need to do?”

The Universal Mirror’s tone was somewhat impatient, but its attitude was acceptable—seeing the Peace Blade being summoned earlier to work had balanced its mood considerably.

“Scan within a hundred li radius, centered on me.”

Xu Qi An commanded.

The Universal Mirror didn’t waste words. The bronze mirror became translucent like clear glass, then scenes began flashing past rapidly like a lantern show. Xu Qi An’s powerful eyesight burned each scene into his mind.

The mirror hadn’t placed a mark on Ge Wen Xuan, so it couldn’t locate him directly—they could only track him in this “basic” way.

A talking treasure… The Poison Tribe leaders were shocked. Just how many wonderful things did this man possess?

Seeing this, Chun Yan walked to one side and gave a clear whistle.

After about ten seconds, dense flocks of birds came flying from all directions, circling overhead in black masses, making chaotic bird calls.

Their calls were jumbled and confused, most saying “haven’t seen him.”

A small number said: “He left, he left…”

Chun Yan listened for a moment, then said:

“He was in the forest to the south not long ago, just left, heading southwest.”

Xu Qi An could also understand the birds’ “language” and commanded:

“Scan southwest, unlimited range.”

The Universal Mirror’s scenes continued flashing, one after another rapidly passing by until reaching the treasure’s maximum range.

“Couldn’t find him.”

He put away the Universal Mirror, shaking his head in disappointment.

“He’s just an insignificant minor character, why bother?” Luan Yu twisted her waist as she pressed close, saying coyly:

“How do Central Plains women call their lovers? Ah yes—Lord Xu, right?”

Even from far away, Xu Qi An could see Mu Nan Zhi’s suddenly sharp gaze.

He seriously pushed Luan Yu away, deliberately showing an angry expression under Mu Nan Zhi’s watchful eyes.

“What, are you going back on our agreement?” Luan Yu said pitifully.

“No, I want to tell you that in our Central Plains, men and women can only be intimate after the lights are out at night. During the day, Miss Luan Yu, please observe proper etiquette.”

Xu Qi An said this with an angry expression—anyway, Mu Nan Zhi couldn’t hear, she would just think he was scolding this seductive Southern Borderlands harlot.

Sure enough, Mu Nan Zhi in the distance showed a satisfied expression.

“Oh my, how interesting!”

Luan Yu said with a giggle, giving Xu Qi An a flirtatious look.

Xu Ning Yan is getting entangled with women again… Li Na thought resentfully while taking out the Ground Book fragment from her bosom, turning her back to everyone.

Since Chu Yuan Zhen finished speaking earlier, someone had been sending messages through the Ground Book fragment every twenty breaths.

Li Na’s thoughts had been on the battle, with no leisure to pay attention. Now she could finally report their safety to the members of the World Society.

[Five: It’s over!]

After sending these three characters, her finger was about to continue writing when the Ground Book fragment’s messages exploded:

[Two: Why are you only replying now, I’ve sent so many messages, couldn’t you see them? Did something happen to Xu Ning Yan that you dare not reply?]

[One: How is he? What happened?]

[Seven: This Xu Qi An, a scourge for a thousand years, should be… um, should be fine, right? He escaped?]

[Six: Benefactor Li Na, how is Lord Xu, is he badly injured?]

[Four: Quickly, tell us what happened.]

These messages came with intervals of no more than five seconds between them. Judging by the length of the text, they were written simultaneously.

Perfect timing, Li Na had finished writing her second message:

[Five: Xu Ning Yan won.]

The Ground Book chat group instantly fell silent, so silent that Li Na suspected she had been blocked by Daoist Jin Lian.

Even the most impetuous Li Miao Zhen didn’t reply, let alone the others.

After a full twenty seconds, Li Ling Su was the first to respond:

[Seven: It’s over, Xu Ning Yan is dead, Number Five doesn’t dare tell us the truth, so she lies.]

But those who understood Li Na’s personality knew this was the truth—Xu Ning Yan had won.

[Two: How did he do it, he couldn’t have advanced to Second so quickly.]

Li Miao Zhen wrote these words with almost trembling hands, unable to distinguish whether her current feelings were excitement and elation or shock and terror.

This was different from the time in Sword Province. In the Dog Rong Mountain battle, Xu Qi An turned the tide by summoning the founding emperor’s heroic spirit.

But afterward, Xu Qi An told his companions who had been through life and death with him many times that this move could not be used again, and the Nation-Steadying Sword was given to Sun Xuan Ji to take back to the capital.

[Four: Perhaps when he fought Asura in the Ten Thousand Mountains, he had already touched the threshold of Second Rank?]

Chu Yuan Zhen offered a barely acceptable explanation, but Li Ling Su firmly rejected it:

[Seven: No, he still has Demon-Sealing Nails that haven’t been removed.]

After a moment of silence, then Chu Yuan Zhen sent:

[Can you tell us the details?]

[Five: Yes.]

She wrote slowly, spending a long time on characters she wasn’t sure about, with many spelling mistakes. But the World Society members read with extraordinary attention and care.

Until Li Na said: [I’m finished.]

Chu Yuan Zhen sent a message sighing:

[Four: It seems like just yesterday when his cultivation was sealed by the Demon-Sealing Nails. In just two short months, he’s cultivated the Seven Fatal Poisons to such a realm. Combined with his Third-Rank warrior strength, defeating several Poison Tribe leaders wasn’t too difficult.]

The World Society members could only sigh—they suspected that before long, they wouldn’t even have the interest to sigh, only numbness would remain.

[One: Did the Poison Tribe agree to cancel their alliance with Yun Province?]

After brief shock and sighing, Huai Qing was the first to remember the important matter.

The World Society members’ spirits lifted as they recalled the original purpose of Xu Qi An’s fight.

[Five: Yes.]

Li Na responded with characteristic brevity.

[Two: Excellent! If the Poison Tribe doesn’t join the war, Great Feng and the Yun Province rebels still have a chance to fight. Great Feng’s soldiers should thank Xu Ning Yan—he’s saved the Great Feng court again.]

Though he wasn’t on the battlefield, he had done too many crucial things for this war about to sweep across the Central Plains.

[One: His achievements won’t be buried. Great Feng’s soldiers and common people will know everything he’s done.]

Huai Qing sent.

[Six: Lord Xu has never disappointed this poor monk. This poor monk must also work hard at cultivation to repay Lord Xu’s past life-saving grace, not to disappoint him.]

Master Heng Yuan, your words sound strange, like a soldier making various promises before heading to battle… Li Miao Zhen thought.

The bald Heng Yuan’s words sound so strange… Li Na was about to send a message when she suddenly heard her father’s voice from behind:

“Li Na, let’s go back.”

She was so startled she immediately put away the Ground Book fragment, pretending nothing had happened as she responded to Long Tu who was standing right behind her:

“Oh, alright.”

“What were you doing just now?” Long Tu asked.

“I, I wasn’t doing anything!” Li Na said, forcing herself to maintain composure.

Long Tu nodded with satisfaction. Li Na had been clever and shrewd since she was little, unlike her foolish brother who couldn’t keep secrets.

On the other side, Xu Qi An, who was walking toward Mu Nan Zhi, suddenly stopped in his tracks, whirling around to look at Granny Heaven Poison and the others, saying in a deep voice:

“Something’s not right!”