Chapter 652: Jin Liuying

Mute Girl closed her eyes, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"Don’t sleep!"

Suddenly, a deep voice echoed in her mind.

So vivid, as though spoken right by her ear.

Then came a wave of warmth across her face, gently held in a palm.

Everything felt too real.

It didn’t seem like a dream...

Mute Girl abruptly jolted awake, her eyes widening as she stared at Qin Sang.

Suddenly, tears began to pour down her cheeks like rain.

"Don’t cry."

Qin Sang frowned slightly. Just as Mute Girl had spoken, the fat silkworm inside his insect basket began to thrash about for some unknown reason. It was gnawing wildly at the lid, trying to escape.

He didn’t have the energy and time to deal with it now.

Qin Sang gently wiped the tears from Mute Girl’s face and asked softly, "Tell me what happened. Who hurt you? I’ll avenge you."

Hearing this, Mute Girl suddenly became aware of her current situation. Panic flashed across her face. She used all her strength to push Qin Sang away. "Big Brother Qin, go! Your enemy is looking for you. They’ve already tracked you here..."

Her face was filled with urgency. Her tone was anxious and desperate.

Qin Sang channeled true essence into her body to help stabilize her breath and said soothingly, "Don’t panic. Even if enemies are nearby, I’m not afraid. If I can’t beat them, I can still escape. You said they’re looking for me. What kind of enemy? Why did they attack you? Where was Five-Insect Sect when this happened?"

Under his comforting guidance, Mute Girl gradually calmed down and said, "It was Black Witch Palace. While I was cultivating in Five-Insect Sect, I overheard a fellow cultivator who had come from Hundred Flower Palace say that cultivators from Black Witch Palace had visited their sect, bearing a Golden Core cultivator's decree. They ordered the Hundred Flower Palace to search for an ancient corpse with a severed left arm and corpse qi covering its entire body..."

As she spoke, Qin Sang grew increasingly alarmed.

Before he left, he had consolidated the three factions and ordered them to work together to search for hidden realms. It wasn’t surprising that cultivators from Hundred Flower Palace would show up at Five-Insect Sect.

A severed left arm, filled with corpse qi that was exactly the state he had been in when he first arrived through the transmission.

His cultivation had been sealed, his spiritual consciousness empty, and he had been unable to suppress the corpse qi within him. It had erupted instantly. Anyone who saw him back then would have mistaken him for a long-dead corpse.

But to claim he was an ancient corpse? That was absurd.

What truly caught Qin Sang off guard was that the one searching for him turned out to be from Black Witch Palace, mistaken by Mute Girl as his enemies.

Black Witch Palace was a major sect located beyond Xijiang. They had a Spiritual Infant grandmaster presiding over them, and their name was known across the Witch God Continent. Their strength was formidable, and they ruled their region as overlords.

Qin Sang’s geomantic map clearly marked their location. They were several thousand li east of Xijiang and one of the first major forces a person would encounter after leaving the region.

No wonder Mute Girl had panicked and worried so much for him.

She knew he had only recently formed his core. Though strong, his strength had limits. If captured by Black Witch Palace, he would surely die. That they came bearing a Golden Core decree meant there was likely a Core Formation cultivator from the palace nearby.

While parts of Xijiang were indeed under their influence, the Bear Mountain region was far-flung and desolate. Even the strongest local force, Centipede Village, would not catch Black Witch Palace’s attention.

Since awakening in Qingyi River, Qin Sang had never interacted with anyone from Black Witch Palace.

Why were they searching for ne, and even calling him an ancient corpse?

Suddenly, a disturbing thought struck him.

Could there be a greater mystery behind his arrival in the Witch God Continent?

What had really happened during the time I was unconscious?

"You said that after you left, the cultivator surnamed Tong brought someone to capture you? Did you ever mention to anyone that I had lost an arm?" Qin Sang asked.

Among the people he had met since awakening, only Mute Girl and the old witch doctor had known about his severed arm.

Mute Girl had been very cautious.

When she heard someone was searching for a one-armed ancient corpse, she had guessed they were after Qin Sang. So she quietly left Five-Insect Sect, used the power of divine patterns to dive into Qingyi River, and drifted downstream. She had crushed the Qingfu Coin, but received no response.

She feared that Qin Sang might wander into danger, unaware of the threat.

So she had planned to leave him messages at Thousand-Household Village and other places they had once visited together.

But before she could reach the village, she had been pursued and caught by the Tong-surnamed cultivator and others.

Mute Girl replied, "No. Big Brother Qin, after you left, I didn’t speak to anyone."

Her voice was weaker than before, and her face had suddenly turned pale again.

"Then how did they identify me? Could someone have seen me before?" Qin Sang muttered, his brow tightly furrowing.

The Tong-surnamed cultivator from Five-Insect Sect was only at the early stage of the Foundation Building Realm, but the man he brought with him was a middle-stage Foundation Building expert, second only to Cui Xuanzi. Someone of that level wouldn’t have remained unknown within the sect, yet Mute Girl had never seen him before. He was most likely a disciple of Black Witch Palace.

The two had caught up with Mute Girl and, seeing that she was only at the third stage of the Qi Refining Realm, underestimated her.

The Black Witch Palace disciple, in particular, had seized the Cold Gold Sword and been so taken with it that he let his guard down. In that moment of carelessness, Mute Girl found an opening to strike, launching two consecutive attacks with the Essence-Devouring Spike.

Despite this, they were still Foundation Building cultivators. Even with her divine pattern protecting her body, the gap was immense. Mute Girl was nearly killed by their counterattack.

In the end, she only saw the Tong-surnamed cultivator get blown apart by the Essence-Devouring Spike. She wasn’t sure what became of the Black Witch Palace disciple, but since he hadn’t pursued her afterward, his fate likely hadn’t been much better.

The two Essence-Devouring Spikes Qin Sang had crafted contained the fangs of a peak Demonic Spirit Realm Jiao. Even late-stage Foundation Building cultivators would find them difficult to resist.

"Big Brother Qin...

cough, cough...

"

Mute Girl opened her mouth but was overtaken by a violent coughing fit.

Her complexion turned even darker than before. She had already sensed what was happening and clutched Qin Sang’s hand tightly. Forcing her eyes open, she gazed at him with deep longing, trying to etch his face into her heart forever.

Her primordial spirit was rapidly dissipating. Even the immense vitality of the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances could no longer stop it.

A look of sorrow crossed Qin Sang’s face. He had used his finest pills, but her injuries were too severe. It was too late.

Looking into her eyes, he hesitated briefly before speaking in a low voice. "Mute Girl, I have a secret technique. It can temporarily seal your primordial spirit and prevent it from vanishing. But... I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to undo it in the future. You might become a living corpse—neither human nor ghost—and you may forever lose the chance to reincarnate. Are you... willing?"

Mute Girl showed no hesitation at his words. Instead, she asked something completely unexpected. "Big Brother Qin, if that happens... will you keep me by your side?"

Qin Sang was stunned, then let out a soft sigh. "Of course. Until I can bring you back, I’ll carry you with me always."

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I’m willing." She murmured the words without a hint of fear.

Qin Sang took out a Heavenly Corpse Talisman from the Thousand-Jin Ring.

The Heavenly Corpse Talisman could be used to kill but also to "save."

He had once used it to save Tan Jie, though he had never imagined he would use it again in a similar situation.

The river roared on. The distant mountains stood like dark green ink paintings.

The light in Mute Girl’s eyes was quickly fading.

Qin Sang let out a quiet sigh and was just about to activate the Heavenly Corpse Talisman...

When suddenly, Mute Girl jolted awake. With the last of her strength, she cried out, "Big Brother Qin, Granny once told me that my mother gave me a name. It’s Jin Liuying... I’m not Mute Girl. My name is Jin Liuying!"

"Jin Liuying... What a beautiful name."

Qin Sang smiled and said gently, "My name is Qin Sang."