Chapter 421: Mangu Who Loves to Learn

The capital of Desolate Province was named Hanshui City, the most vital and bustling metropolis in the region, with the Corpse Driving Sect nestled in the Yin Corpse Mountain Range just beyond its gates, where the yin energy gathered thickest, perfectly suited for nurturing the dead.

Every corpse driver revered the Yin Corpse Mountain Range, the seat of the Corpse Driving Sect, as a holy land.

Stepping into the domain of the Corpse Driving Sect, though the sun blazed high above, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou felt not a shred of warmth, but were met instead by a creeping, ghostly chill.

Zhao Po wore an expression of comfort, seemingly savoring the environment.

The Immortal Fairy found nothing strange in this: "Not just corpse drivers; anyone cultivating yin-attribute techniques will find this place quite pleasant. Moreover, it never thunders when it rains here, making it exceedingly safe."

These so-called yin-attribute techniques referred to methods linked to ghosts, souls, and corpses, the very arts practiced by the Nine Nether Cult.

Cultivators of yin-attribute techniques feared thunder above all else, for lightning represented the pinnacle of yang and rigidity, the ultimate bane of their craft.

Among the twenty-four solar terms, there was one named 'The Awakening of Insects,' which vividly described the terrifying, suppressing effect of thunder upon yin entities.

"Senior Brother Zhao Po, you have returned!"

Two gate-keeping disciples swiftly bowed upon witnessing Zhao Po's return.

Each stood guard alongside a living corpse of his own.

As the second most prominent figure among the new generation, Zhao Po was a veritable idol to these disciples.

Unlike Huang Ming, the foremost disciple, Zhao Po was ever eager to help others, and having aided so many, he enjoyed immense popularity throughout the Corpse Driving Sect.

"Senior Brother Zhao, these two are..."

"They are fellow Daoists from the Dao Seeking Sect, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, here to visit our Corpse Driving Sect."

The two gatekeepers gasped in shock: "The Dao Seeking Sect again?!"

"Again?"

"Senior Brother Zhao, you wouldn't know, but during your time away, a fellow Daoist from the Dao Seeking Sect arrived at our sect—a barbarian, in fact—who came here to learn the art of corpse driving."

"Is his name Man Gu?" Lu Yang could not help but ask.

"Yes, that is the very name."

"Why on earth would Man Gu learn corpse driving? Isn't he a Confucian cultivator?" Meng Jingzhou was utterly baffled.

"Who knows."

The two gatekeepers sent word into the sect, and upon hearing the news, a sect deacon personally emerged to receive the pair.

"We trouble the Deacon to convey our request; the two of us have come to visit your Sect Master."

The deacon assumed a look of difficulty: "The Sect Master has reached a critical stage in his cultivation. Ever since accepting Huang Ming as his disciple, he has remained in secluded meditation, unable to receive guests."

"Ah, I see. No matter, it will suffice for us to visit your sect elders instead."

In any case, they had come to find a solution for Meng Jingzhou, so speaking to anyone would do.

"Then I shall take you there myself; my master is the Grand Elder," Zhao Po said with a smile.

After the grand sect tournament concluded, Huang Ming had been taken in by the Sect Master, while he had been accepted by the Grand Elder, giving him a practical standing slightly higher than that of a deacon.

"Then I must trouble Nephew Zhao Po."

"Uncle Mo, think nothing of it."

The three men, the corpse, and the horse successfully entered the Corpse Driving Sect, first stabling the old horse before seeking out the Grand Elder.

"What a wonderful fragrance." Zhao Po's nose twitched as he caught an aroma he had never encountered before.

"It really does smell incredible, and remarkably familiar." Meng Jingzhou's nose twitched as he recognized the distinct scent of barbecue.

"It must be Man Gu," Lu Yang said, chuckling.

Only the three of them, the higher-ups of the Immortal Cult, and the members of the Nine Nether Cult could ever produce such a scent.

In other words, apart from the demonic cults, only the three of them possessed this skill.

"Come, let us go see him." Meng Jingzhou cast his own curse entirely to the back of his mind.

Following the scent, the three tracked down Man Gu—or rather, they had no need for their noses, for they only had to look where the largest crowd had gathered.

The disciples of the Corpse Driving Sect stood crowded in a tight circle, doing who knew what, with the fragrance wafting directly from the center.

"Make way, make way." The trio squeezed to the very front of the crowd and caught sight of Man Gu.

Man Gu sat cross-legged on the ground, chanting softly under his breath.

Two sheep corpses danced atop a bonfire, coating each other in seasonings, the savory aroma of the mutton blending perfectly with the spices, bursting into a mouth-watering fragrance under the provocation of the flames.

The two sheep corpses were roasted to an alluring, golden hue that instantly aroused the appetite.

"Divide!" Man Gu shouted fiercely, and the two sheep corpses automatically disassembled into small, bite-sized pieces, landing into every waiting hand.

The disciples of the Corpse Driving Sect had long been waiting for this moment, devouring the meat with boundless praise.

"I have never eaten such delicious roasted whole sheep. Look at this skin, so crisp and fragrant, and this meat, bursting with juices with every single bite."

"That is not all! The roasted whole sheep I used to eat were always unevenly heated, burnt in some places and half-raw in others. Look at Fellow Daoist Man Gu's roasting—it is pure perfection, seasoned right to the bone!"

"The Dao Seeking Sect truly has brilliant minds. Why did we never think of using corpse driving for barbecuing? The results are spectacular."

"That is why they can enter the Dao Seeking Sect while we cannot; the depth of their thinking is simply on another level."

"Not just their thinking, Fellow Daoist Man Gu's talent is also immense. Think about it, it takes us three to five years to learn corpse driving, yet Fellow Daoist Man Gu mastered the basics in a mere fortnight."

"Even his drive to learn surpasses ours."

Man Gu remained exceedingly modest: "Fellow Daoists flatter me too much. This meager skill of mine is nothing compared to my two senior brothers, especially Senior Brother Lu Yang. If he were to learn corpse driving and combine it with the Samadhi True Fire, the flavor of this roasted whole sheep could be raised to an entirely new tier!"

The crowd could scarcely imagine just how delicious that would be.

Lu Yang: "..."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

No wonder you came to learn corpse driving, kid; it turns out you haven't forgotten what was said back in the dense forest.

When Lu Yang, Meng Jingzhou, Tao Tianye, and Man Gu had been training in the dense forest, they had slaughtered many spirit beasts. Back then, Man Gu had noticed that roasting an entire beast often led to uneven cooking, and had proposed using corpse driving to barbecue.

This method had even received the highest praise from the great patron of the ancient barbarian—the Immortal Fairy.

"Man Gu's learning is progressing rather smoothly; he can not only make the sheep corpses stand over the fire to roast, but also cause them to disassemble automatically."

The two had learned from Zhao Po that the disassembling of a living corpse was a combat technique, exceptionally difficult to master.

"Man Gu, long time no see!"

The two greeted him, their lips curling upward involuntarily.

Hearing the familiar voices, Man Gu snapped his head up, his eyes lighting up completely as he saw the figures of Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

"Brother Lu, Brother Meng, why are you here?"

"Old Meng committed too many misdeeds and has met with retribution," Lu Yang said with a wicked grin.

"Misdeeds?" Man Gu was bewildered. In his impression, Brother Lu and Brother Meng were his role models, thoroughly good men; how could they commit misdeeds?

"Old Meng was cursed, and now he has absolutely no luck with women."

A realization dawned upon Man Gu; surely Brother Meng, in order to cultivate, had pushed the potential of his Single Spiritual Root to its absolute limit, deliberately drawing a curse upon himself to prove his unyielding resolve for the Dao.

During the time he had spent learning corpse driving, Brother Lu and Brother Meng must have been racing against time, cultivating with utmost seriousness and diligence.

Looking back at himself, he felt a surge of complacency just for learning a smidgen of the corpse-driving arts—a craft that did absolutely nothing to elevate his spiritual cultivation anyway—and when measured against Brother Meng, he realized he was merely squandering his fleeting days.

A profound sense of shame washed over him.