Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Mass Grave

Stars hang low over the vast plain.

Pang the Taoist, accompanied by Fang Xiao, descended upon a meadow thick with long grass.

The evening breeze carried with it the distant, mournful howls of unnamed beasts, lending an air of desolation to this late autumn night.

Pointing with his horsetail whisk toward a range of undulating hills nearby, Pang the Taoist said, “That is the mass grave.”

Fang Xiao asked curiously, “Are there many monsters?”

Pang the Taoist chuckled, “Monsters are rare, but evil spirits and uncanny entities abound here. They can never be fully eradicated.”

“The only question is, I don’t know if you have any experience slaying such beings.”

Fang Xiao was unconcerned. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

That was precisely Pang the Taoist’s thought as well.

In truth, the depths of Little Jing Mountain are rife with demons and ghosts, not to mention Greater Jing Mountain. But entering the mountains at night is perilous. Even though his cultivation now surpassed his former peak, he dared not claim he could guarantee Fang Xiao’s safety. Underestimating the monsters could easily cost one’s life.

For safety’s sake, Pang the Taoist brought Fang Xiao here.

“Hmm?” Fang Xiao’s gaze suddenly sharpened. “What’s that?”

In the distance across the plain, they saw a procession heading toward the mass grave. At the front walked a figure clad in a black robe, a bamboo hat upon his head. Behind him followed a line of people in white garments.

The distance was great, and the night’s darkness obscured details, but the scene was undeniably strange.

The black-robed figure at the front held a bell, shaking it every few steps. The white-clad followers behind hopped forward in unison.

The eerie peal of the bell drifted across the silent plain.

Pang the Taoist glanced over and said calmly, “That’s a corpse handler. The ones following him are all dead.”

Corpse handler!

The dead?!

Fang Xiao was startled. “Taking them to the mass grave?”

“Exactly,” Pang the Taoist explained. “Since ancient times, there’s been an unwritten rule: any person who dies a violent death, unless properly consecrated and cremated, must be laid to rest in a designated place.”

“That place is the mass grave.”

The mass grave was always far from towns and villages, and transporting bodies there was no easy task—especially for ordinary folk. It was a daunting problem.

Thus, corpse handlers arose. Whenever someone in a household died violently—

Generally, the body would be kept in the spirit hall, a strip of white paper pasted on the doorframe, and the family would wait for the corpse handler to arrive.

Corpse handlers traveled from village to village, collecting enough bodies before delivering them to the mass grave—just as Fang Xiao now witnessed.

“In fact, many commoners who die of old age, illness, or exhaustion also have their bodies taken away by corpse handlers,” Pang the Taoist said, his voice devoid of emotion. “It saves the cost of burial.”

Fang Xiao was silent.

Though his village life had been harsh, even the poorest families ensured the dead were buried in the earth.

“Let’s go,” Pang the Taoist said, waving his whisk.

He led Fang Xiao along a path different from the corpse handler’s.

Before long, Fang Xiao saw ghostly fires flickering atop a nearby hill, interspersed with floating paper lanterns.

These lanterns seemed drawn by an invisible force, drifting erratically up, down, and across the slope, glowing faintly with a dark red light.

“Lantern Wraiths,” Pang the Taoist explained. “About the same level as the Grass Sprite, but somewhat more dangerous.”

The light from Lantern Wraiths was highly alluring, capable of luring people deep into the mass grave. If attacked, they would explode with their enemies, inflicting greater harm than the Grass Sprites.

Of course, Pang the Taoist was not worried about Fang Xiao handling Lantern Wraiths.

“Fang Xiao, be brave! Go forth!”

In truth, Fang Xiao needed no encouragement. He had already unfastened his weapon belt and charged up the hill.

He moved swiftly, closing in on a Lantern Wraith at the edge in the blink of an eye.

The Lantern Wraith spotted Fang Xiao as well, and sped toward him.

Its flight was fast—but not faster than Fang Xiao’s swinging weapon belt.

The old oxhide strap, infused with the Qianyang Dragon-Tiger energy, instantly extended a dozen feet.

The steel buckle sliced through the air, striking the Lantern Wraith with a force that thundered like a whip crack.

Boom!

A muffled explosion erupted, a blaze of bright flame bursting forth and scattering countless sparks.

With a single blow, Fang Xiao had blasted the Lantern Wraith apart.

[Experience +1]

Success!

The information flashing before his eyes filled Fang Xiao with delight. The Lantern Wraith gave the same experience as a Grass Sprite—

Only a single point.

But even a fly’s leg is meat, and the hills were thick with Lantern Wraiths, far outnumbering the Grass Sprites of Ten-Mile Slope.

Fang Xiao hesitated no longer.

He unleashed the Soul-Stealing Phantom Whip, slaughtering the swarming Lantern Wraiths with abandon.

When he’d fought Grass Sprites before, he hadn’t yet learned the art of the whip. He was simply skilled with the weapon belt, swinging it wildly to good effect, though he was often forced to use the trident when the Sprites drew too close.

Now things were different.

His Soul-Stealing Phantom Whip was at mastery level, and with the surge of Dragon-Tiger energy within, he wielded the weapon belt with formidable prowess.

The Lantern Wraiths coming from all sides were smashed and blasted apart at the slightest touch.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions rang out in quick succession, fiery bursts blooming around Fang Xiao.

[Experience +1], [Experience +1], [Experience +1]…

There were so many Lantern Wraiths that a few managed to slip through and approach Fang Xiao.

He calmly shortened the weapon belt, easily blasting apart each would-be assailant.

In his hands, the weapon belt could be long or short, soft or hard, sweeping or striking, and every Lantern Wraith that met it was utterly destroyed.

A few Lantern Wraiths shone with sinister red light, attempting to interfere with Fang Xiao, but their tricks were useless. They too yielded their experience points.

Fang Xiao, exhilarated, surged his Dragon-Tiger energy and extended the weapon belt to its utmost length.

Whoosh!

The long oxhide strap, like a dragon in flight, swept across the hillside, shattering every Lantern Wraith in its path, sending countless sparks into the night sky.

The scene was magnificent.

Pang the Taoist, watching from nearby, couldn’t help but light a Grand Gate cigarette.

He took a deep drag and murmured, “The boy’s got power, that’s for sure!”

His tone was tinged with envy.

But in the next instant, Pang the Taoist’s gaze turned sharp.

“Fang Xiao, look out!”

As he spoke, a sudden upheaval occurred near Fang Xiao.

The ground shook violently, earth rising in great mounds.

A black monster burst out from underground, leaping at Fang Xiao!