Chapter 1960: The Missing Corpses

“Speak! What’s your background?” Zu An bellowed.

Entities this powerful usually had sentience. However, the ghost didn’t answer. Instead, it let out a piercing screech that made the others frown in discomfort.

You have successfully trolled the Purple Flame Ghost for +404 +404 +404…

Zu An was stunned by the notifications from the Rage System. So, this monster is known as the Purple Flame Ghost. The Rage System is truly amazing at times. I’ve never heard of it before though. I don’t think there are any records of it. I should have the Embroidery House look into it when I return.

Just then, the Purple Flame Ghost released a burst of purple light toward Zu An’s forehead. The others were startled. The light was so fast that they couldn’t even see what it was. Even a powerful cultivator could succumb to an assault from so close up.

Zu An raised his hand. His movement looked incredibly slow to others, reminiscent of an ordinary mortal. It shouldn’t have been fast enough to stop the purple light in time...

And yet, it did.

Zu An took a closer look at the item he had caught. It was a crystalline object shaped like a rhombus. It was as thin as a cicada’s wing, but it was extremely hard. It harnessed a force greater than an arrow despite being shot from such a short distance. The crystal emanated a dense purple aura, and Zu An immediately realized that it was the core of the Purple Flame Ghost.

The Purple Flame Ghost flickered intensely at that sight. Its empty eye sockets reflected fear, as its purple flame visibly weakened.

“So, this is the reason behind your revival.” Zu An harrumphed. He unleashed a force comparable to the weight of a mountain, and the Purple Flame Ghost disintegrated with a screech. Only the faintly glowing purple flame crystal remained.

Zu An frowned. It looks like it isn’t a living being. It isn’t a real ghost either; I've seen my fair share of ghosts in secret dungeons. It’s an entity beyond my comprehension. I can’t even tell if it’s a living thing or not.

“All hail the libationer!”

“That monster was terrifying! It’s fortunate the libationer arrived on time, or else we’d have died.”

…

The academy’s students chatted among themselves.

Zu An stowed away the purple flame crystal. He intended to ask the people in the academy whether they knew about the item.

He then chatted with the students and learned that the two men were Lu Bei and Chang Tian, whereas the two women were Yao Fang and Mei Rou. They were talented students who had hopes of entering the rear mountain. This trial was one of their exams. They hadn’t expected to meet with trouble; the other students who came along with them had died to the purple flame monster.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“We’re lucky to have bumped into Miss Xiaoxi. We would have never lasted this long without her pills,” Yao Fang said gratefully. “Her pills are much better than those given by the academy.”

How was she to know Xiaoxi’s father was the rear mountain’s second disciple?

Ji Xiaoxi’s face reddened. She said, “I would have died if not for your protection. For some reason, the monster wasn’t afraid of my poison at all.”

Her heart thumped in fear when she thought about that. Her cultivation was so-so, but she could still often head deep into the mountains to gather herbs thanks to her poison. Be it humans, fiends, or beasts, no one had been impervious to her poison before.

“That monster is a special one,” Zu An said; he had an ominous feeling about this. He turned to the students and asked, “Where are your comrades’ bodies? We’ll bring them home.”

As the libationer, he could be said to be like the students’ parent. He had to take care of them.

“Thank you, libationer!” the students exclaimed, overjoyed. The two male students quickly made a simple stretcher to carry Sun Hai, and the group traveled through the forest. Even though they were shaken up by the purple flame monster, they felt absolutely safe now that the libationer was here.

The recent incident involving the Meng clan had become the hottest topic in the academy. Everyone had been speculating as to how powerful the libationer was. Some guessed he had surpassed the previous emperor, though that conjecture was met with frowns. Even so, most agreed he was at least an earth immortal. What was there to fear when they had an earth immortal with them?

Along the way, Zu An remembered something and said, “I passed by a campsite on my way here. Did the students meet with trouble there?” He proceeded to describe the rough location of the campsite.

“Yes, that’s the place!” the students exclaimed.

Zu An’s heart sank. He said, “I didn’t see any bodies when I passed by there earlier.”

The students were taken aback. They replied, “That can’t be. The monster killed our comrades there. If not for the urgent warnings they sent us before their death, we would neve haver been able to make our escape here.” Their eyes reddened as they recalled the situation then.

Zu An’s expression darkened as he said, “Let’s take another look.”

The group soon arrived at the campsite. Mei Rou pointed at the fallen tent and exclaimed, “Wang Zhao was lying there earlier! Where did she go?”

“He Lu was lying here too!” Chang Tian added as he pointed at a spot with a confused expression.

Yao Fang’s face reddened. She wondered, “Could the monster have eaten them?”

The students shuddered at that brutal thought.

Zu An shook his head and said, “That’s unlikely. There would be hints of their bodies or bits of their clothes lying around if the monster ate them, but I don’t see anything like that in the vicinity.”

“Where could they be then?” Ji Xiaoxi asked, blinking as she leaned closer to Zu An. The situation was creeping her out, and only Zu An’s warmth could reassure her.

“I’ll take you out of this place first. The imperial court will dispatch some soldiers to investigate the situation,” Zu An said. His priority was to first ensure their safety before thoroughly looking into the matter. He could tell that the situation here was severe.

The students were excited to hear they could leave. They didn’t want to stay in this damned place for even a second longer.

Only Lu Bei hesitated a little, asking, “Should we search a bit more in the vicinity? Sister Wang and Brother He came here with us, and their warning saved us. I'd feel bad leaving their bodies lying around in the wilderness.”

Yao Fang and the others felt embarrassed upon hearing those words.

“Don’t bother. I've already searched the vicinity with my divine sense. If I can’t find them, I doubt you’d be able to do it. The most important thing right now is to send you back safely and inform the others about the situation here. You should leave the rest to the others,” Zu An said.

I should discuss this matter with Yan Xiangu and the others. I should also check if there are any elders in the imperial court who know about the background of this purple flame monster.

Lu Bei couldn’t say anything when Zu An had already said as much.

While the group was making their way down the mountain, the fog in the forest began thickening. This time around, it carried a purple tinge.

“Big brother Zu, it’s getting dark,” Ji Xiaoxi said fearfully.

Zu An nodded. He asked, “Speaking of which, did you meet your father?”

“My father is here?” Ji Xiaoxi asked, taken aback.

“Of course. Your father was bound to be worried, seeing as you hadn't returned for so many days. Your little aunt told me he came to Copper Gong Mountain to look for you,” Zu An replied.

“I haven’t seen him. This isn’t good. It’s dangerous on this mountain. My father…” Ji Xiaoxi trailed off, her eyes glistening with tears. “It’s all my fault. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t stubbornly insisted on coming here to pick herbs.”

“Don’t worry. Your father is stronger than you think. He can protect himself,” Zu An said. However, Ji Xiaoxi’s words piqued his curiosity and he said, “You aren’t the type to insist strongly on anything. What herb did you come here for?”

While there were good herbs growing on Copper Gong Mountain, it was close to the capital, and people often visited it. It was unlikely for there to be anything too precious here. Zu An couldn’t imagine there were any herbs here that could catch Ji Xiaoxi’s eye.

Ji Xiaoxi whispered with a reddened face, “I’m here to harvest Chief Yang Grass.”

“Chief Yang Grass?” Zu An repeated, startled. “That’s a herb to reinforce a man’s foundation. Why are you interested in it?”

“Oh? Big brother Zu, you have heard about it?” Ji Xiaoxi asked, excited to see how knowledgeable Zu An was about herbs.

This wasn't a good place for Zu An to tell her about the Baopu Sutra, though he immediately connected the dots and exclaimed, “That old rascal Ji Dengtu is too much! Did he make you refine medicine for him because he went overboard?”

Ji Xiaoxi quickly waved her hand to deny it, saying, “It has nothing to do with father! It’s for you, big brother Zu…”

Zu An was speechless. What does this have to do with me?

Ji Xiaoxi lowered her head and murmured, “My father said that you were lustful and had many women with the temptress physiology by your side. He told me those people tend to deplete a man’s essence, so your body had to be drained by now. My father is an excellent physician, so he must have his reason for saying so. Thus…”

The other students looked at Zu An with strange expressions as they attempted to hold back their laughter. Who could have thought there was such a side to the libationer?

Zu An exclaimed indignantly “Your father is sullying my reputation! My body is doing fine. I don’t need such things at all!” That old rascal was defaming me in front of Xiaoxi for fear that I would ‘dupe’ her! That bastard! To think I wrote so much interesting content for him!

Ji Xiaoxi thoughtfully reassured him and said, “I know it might be embarrassing, big brother Zu. Most patients with similar symptoms are reluctant to admit to it too. However, you don’t have to worry. You’re still young. If I help you condition your body, it shouldn’t take long for you to make a full recovery.”

Zu An was speechless. It was obvious Ji Xiaoxi had gotten immersed into her role as a physician. Ji Dengtu, you bastard! How am I to explain this to Xiaoxi?

Just then, he turned his gaze toward the northwest.

“What’s wrong, libationer?” the others asked. After what they had been through, the group was vigilant of their surroundings. Upon noticing his movement, they tightened their grips on their weapons.

“I sense a disturbance in the ki over there. Someone is fighting there,” Zu An said.

“Could it be my father?” Ji Xiaoxi asked as she tightened her hand around Zu An’s arm.

Zu An thought it was possible. Ji Dengtu might have sullied my reputation, but I can’t turn a blind eye to him on account of Xiaoxi. It’s just that the battle is a bit far away, so we won’t make it in time if we head over as a group.

Thus, he took out a formation disc and planted a few formation flags in the eight directions. Soon, a translucent barrier shrouded the group. He passed the formation compass to Ji Xiaoxi and said, “Wait here. You should be safe as long as you don’t step out of the formation. I’ll take a look first.”

The Eight Gates Golden Sealing Formation was pretty resilient. It would buy enough time for him to rush back even if a stronger monster than before attacked it. Even so, Zu An passed a yellow talisman to Ji Xiaoxi and whispered into her ears. He instructed the other students to cooperate with Ji Xiaoxi before rushing toward the northwest.