Immortality: Grinding Experience Starting as a Paper Craftsman

Chapter 47 Human Hearts Are Like Ghosts, Resurrected Through Corpses

At the edge of the Netherworld Pool, chaos has reached its peak.

The enormous, sky-covering hand was attacked by the combined forces of good and evil, angrily slamming against the water's surface, each strike creating a blood-red wave hundreds of feet high.

At the edge of the battlefield, an inconspicuous blood-red shadow glided along the ground like a gecko, moving freely through the chaotic flow of spiritual energy.

It was the Blood Swordsman after he had succeeded.

With the icy, bone-chilling Netherworld Bone clutched in his arms, he showed no intention of lingering in battle. Using the surrounding shattered rocks as cover, he disappeared into the withered forest on the west side in a few leaps.

At the same time, Gu Yan's main body, along with a three-person team, had already run breathlessly to the edge of the deadwood forest.

"Whew...Whew...I'm rich! I'm really rich this time!"

Li Chengjun carried the heavy black iron box on his back, his face covered in sweat and mud, but filled with ecstatic joy.

This box contains not only spirit stones, but also a large amount of spiritual materials plundered by the Blood River Sect, enough for them to cultivate comfortably for ten years.

Liu Ruyan's face was also flushed as she tightly protected Li Chengjun's side.

Even the usually composed Tie Niu had a glint of greed in his eyes, and he gripped his giant axe even tighter.

Don't get too excited yet.

Gu Yan walked at the back, seemingly exhausted, but in reality, he was sensing the location of his clone.

He frowned slightly and looked behind him: "The commotion over there was too great, attracting the bloodthirsty demonic apes in this area. A group of beasts is closing in on us."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sickening monkey cry echoed from the depths of the deadwood forest.

Dozens of dark figures leaped among the treetops, their scarlet eyes fixed on the small team that had returned laden with spoils.

"Damn it! It's a horde of second-tier demonic beasts!"

Li Chengjun's expression changed drastically.

Normally, the four of them working together might be able to break through, but now he was carrying a heavy box, and his spiritual energy had been mostly depleted during the previous stealth. If he were to get entangled, he would surely die.

"Brother Gou, do you still have those paper mice for scouting? Quickly find a path!" Liu Ruyan shouted anxiously.

Gu Yan shook his head, a bitter look on his face: "We used up all the talismans to cover everyone's retreat. Now there's only one way: rush into the swamp on the left. Maybe we can avoid the main force of the ape horde."

"swamp?"

Li Chengjun glanced at the bubbling mud pit on his left, his eyes flickering.

Although it was a place to avoid the demonic apes, the muddy terrain made it difficult to walk, and carrying such a heavy box made it impossible to move quickly.

Unless... someone stays behind as bait to lure away the group of demonic apes.

Li Chengjun's pace suddenly slowed down.

He and Liu Ruyan exchanged a glance, and their years of tacit understanding as Daoist partners allowed them to instantly read the ruthlessness in each other's eyes.

"Brother Tie Niu," Li Chengjun suddenly spoke, his voice somewhat cold.

Tie Niu paused for a moment, then turned to look at the two of them.

Li Chengjun pointed subtly at Gu Yan, who was walking at the back, made a throat-slitting gesture, and then mouthed two words: "Split equally."

Tie Niu's pupils suddenly contracted.

He is simple-minded, but not stupid.

Along the way, although Gu Yan had many tricks up his sleeve, his cultivation level was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and he was a support-type cultivator, making him the weakest in actual combat.

If one less person gets a share, the contents of this box...

Tie Niu hesitated for a moment, glanced at Gu Yan's "unguarded" back, and finally silently took a step to the side, subtly blocking Gu Yan's retreat.

Human nature, when faced with enormous interests and survival crises, is as fragile as a piece of soaked toilet paper.

Gu Yan stopped in his tracks.

He didn't turn around, but only sighed softly: "Fellow Daoists, what is the meaning of this? Are you already discarding us after we've served our purpose, when the journey isn't even over?"

"Brother Gou, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Now that Li Chengjun has torn off the pretense, he will no longer pretend.

He put down the box, his magic sword gleaming coldly, and approached step by step: "This box is too heavy; we can't escape with it. Those demonic apes need blood to eat. Although your cultivation is low, your physical body and spiritual power are abundant, which can buy us some time."

"and……"

Liu Ruyan's eyes were alluring, but her tone was as venomous as a snake's, "Your technique of looting the corpse was so skillful just now, you must have hidden quite a few good things on you, right? Like that paper sword, I think it's quite nice."

Gu Yan looked at Tie Niu: "Brother Tie Niu, do you think so too?"

Tie Niu didn't dare look Gu Yan in the eye, and just lowered his head and mumbled, "Brother Gou, I... I have no choice. I still have an old mother to support back home, and I can't lose this fortune."

"Understood."

Gu Yan nodded, his face showing not fear, but a relieved smile.

"Actually, I also think that the fewer people there are, the more you get."

"Still being stubborn even when death is imminent!"

Li Chengjun snorted coldly, and his magic sword shot out, aiming straight for Gu Yan's heart.

This sword strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless; it was clearly premeditated.

"puff."

The longsword pierced Gu Yan's chest without any resistance.

"It's done!" Li Chengjun was overjoyed.

But the next moment, his smile froze.

No blood flowed from beneath the sword's edge. The body of "Gu Yan" suddenly shriveled up, turning into a yellow paper figure with a strange smiling face drawn on it.

The paper figure, pasted onto the sword, emitted a piercing, mocking laugh:

"Hehe, fellow Daoist, your sword is too slow."

"A substitute talisman?! Where is he?!" Li Chengjun shouted in terror.

Just then, a chilling aura erupted from the shadows behind him.

There was no fluff, no flashy lighting effects.

Only a single, pure, crimson sword light, like a thunderclap in the dark night, instantly pierced the gloom of the withered forest.

Blood Swordsman, return to your place!

"Well……"

Li Chengjun felt a chill on his neck, and then the world began to spin before his eyes.

Only after his head hit the ground did he see that his headless corpse was still in the posture of swinging a sword.

"Chengjun!!"

Liu Ruyan let out a piercing scream, and just as she was about to swing her long whip, a pale, jade-like hand had already gripped her throat.

The Blood Swordsman stared at her expressionlessly, tightening his grip on her fingers.

"Click."

Liu Ruyan collapsed to the ground, her eyes filled with regret and fear.

Tie Niu was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder were shattered, and he let out a roar that was hard to understand.

He dropped the giant axe and turned to jump into the swamp.

But the moment he turned around, countless white paper money fell from the sky, like chains, tightly binding his legs.

Gu Yan's true form slowly emerged from behind a large tree, toying with the black paper sword in his hand.

"Brother Tie Niu, I gave you a chance to choose your path earlier."

Gu Yan looked at Tie Niu, who was struggling desperately on the ground, his eyes as calm as a stagnant pool: "Unfortunately, you chose a dead end."

"Master Gou! Grandpa Gou! Spare me! I was blinded by greed! I'll serve you like a slave..."

"Pfft."

The black paper sword transformed into a streak of light, piercing through Tie Niu's brow and interrupting his pleas for mercy.

Gu Yan put away the paper sword and gently flicked away the blood droplets on it.

"Sorry, I don't need any cattle or horses."

The dead forest returned to silence, with only the increasingly distant cries of monkeys serving as a reminder of the approaching danger.

Gu Yan skillfully collected the three people's storage bags and then carried the heavy black iron box on his back.

Then, he controlled the Blood Swordsman to kick the three corpses toward the approaching group of demonic apes.

"With this blood food, it should be enough for those beasts to eat for a while."

After finishing all this, Gu Yan straightened his robes and took one last look in the direction of the Netherworld Pool.

There, the ghostly hand had been temporarily suppressed, but the chilling aura had not dissipated.

"The real muddy waters have only just begun to stir, but I've already tasted the first bite of the fat."

With a flash, Gu Yan, laden with spoils, disappeared into the vast fog, concealing his achievements and fame.

Only the three corpses left behind, about to be devoured by the demonic ape, speak of the most naked law of the cultivation world.