Chapter 82: The Demonic Martial Artist Reveals Himself; Nanyang in Peril! (I)

Lu Changsheng snapped his eyes open. Blood qi rumbled through his body, and the blood within his veins surged like a rolling tide. His physique strengthened with each passing moment.

This marked the sixth round of marrow transformation and blood replacement. With this, his strength should be equivalent to sixty cauldrons. He immediately invoked his Status Panel to check his condition.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 683 (Hidden Dragon in the Abyss)

[Skills]

Celestial Treasure-Refinement Secret Technique: First Layer

Threefold Waves: Second Wave

Blood Crystal Secret Technique: Perfection

Ninefold Carp-Dragon Ascension: Second Level

Divine Dragon Transformation: Second Transformation

Nine-Character Thunder Chant: Perfection (Incomplete)

It seemed that he had pushed the Ninefold Carp-Dragon Ascension to the second level, and the Blood Crystal Secret Technique to Perfection. That was impressive enough, but the most crucial advancement was his strength reaching the threshold of sixty cauldrons.

Lu Changsheng's current strength was the equivalent of undergoing six rounds of marrow transformation and blood replacement.

By activating the Second Transformation of the Divine Dragon, his strength would be doubled, reaching one hundred and twenty cauldrons. If he then stacked the Second Wave on top of that, his strength would rise by fifty percent, reaching a staggering one hundred and eighty cauldrons, thus surpassing the Hundred Cauldrons Stage.

Divine Dragon Transformation definitely has an upper limit to how much it can strengthen the body, and the same must be true with the Threefold Waves. I just don't know where that limit lies.

A sharp glint flickered in Lu Changsheng's eyes. He knew there had to be an upper limit to any enhanced secret technique or martial art. And yet, it seemed he had yet to reach that limit, even though he could now break past the Hundred Cauldrons Stage. Beyond that lay only the Thousand Cauldron stage.

I wonder how far the Prefectural Yamen has progressed in its investigation of that demonic martial artist.

Lu Changsheng suddenly recalled the matter of the demonic martial artist. An entire month had passed, and yet he had not heard of any significant updates, as though that so-called demonic martial artist had vanished from the world.

Of course, he was aware this was no simple issue. Judging from previous patterns, a new batch of corpses would emerge roughly every month, and this discovery had actually been made exactly a month prior.

The matter remained under official investigation, and in terms of inquiry and pursuit, the authorities unquestionably possessed greater strength than he did. Lu Changsheng only needed to wait in silence.

At that moment, the Nanyang Prefectural Yamen, joined by martial artists from various local powers, had already reached a public coffin hall[1]in the southern quarter of the city.

"Master Constable, this is it, the public coffin hall of the Lin Clan. They have maintained it for a hundred years, gathering the corpses of those who have no one to claim them. Things have been chaotic lately. Many unclaimed corpses have turned up, and they have all been sent here," a night watchman explained.

"Is there anyone guarding the coffin hall?" Constable Liu asked.

"There used to be, but a few months ago, Old Zheng, who watched over the place, died of illness. Then an Old Wang came, saying he was willing to guard the coffin hall. He even asked for no wages, just two meals a day."

The night watchman clearly understood these affairs well.

"Tell me about Old Wang," Constable Liu demanded.

"Well... What is there to say? Old Wang keeps to himself. I tried talking to him a few times, but he barely said anything. All I know is that he seems to be from another place, a refugee who fled to Nanyang Prefecture. Being old and frail, he cannot do any heavy work, so as to not starve, he volunteered to watch over the coffin hall."

Constable Liu nodded thoughtfully. "An outsider..."

In truth, Constable Liu had already traced numerous leads to the coffin hall of the Lin Clan. Every clue and every trail pointed here, which was why he had summoned so many Organ Refinement martial artists from across Nanyang Prefecture to accompany him. This coffin hall was clearly suspicious, and this Old Wang, an outsider serving as its caretaker, was doubly so.

Constable Liu turned back to the night watchman. "Go and call Old Wang out."

The watchman swallowed nervously. Though he was a mere guard, even he could tell from this show of force that something was wrong with the coffin hall, and that Old Wang might be at the heart of it. Not daring to question the order, he reticently went into the hall, his knees trembling.

He timidly glanced around before calling out, "Old Wang..."

His call was met with eerie silence, which was heightened by the heavy stench of death.

Creak...

The silence was shattered by a creak. The night watchman stiffened, cold sweat trickling down his back. As he turned around, he spotted a figure slowly rising from inside one of the coffins. The ghastly sight made him tremble uncontrollably

"Yes? Were you looking for me?" asked the corpse.

The watchman stood frozen for a moment, unable to utter a word. But after taking a better look, he exhaled in relief.

"

Ah

... Old Wang, why are you sleeping in a coffin?!"

"Why? Because it's warmer, of course."

"Uh..." The watchman was baffled.

However, Old Wang was right. There were no blankets in the coffin hall, and nights got quite cold here. Naturally, one would have an easier time sleeping in one of the coffins.

"Anyway, please come with me. The master constable wants to see you."

With that, the watchman led Old Wang out of the coffin hall. As they stepped out, every gaze fell on the old man.

"Old Wang, how long have you been guarding the coffin hall?" asked Constable Liu, his expression grave.

Old Wang glanced at him. "I think it is about six or seven months. I do not remember very clearly," he said calmly.

"Six or seven months?" Constable Liu compared the dates in his mind, and suddenly, he felt a jolt in his chest. That time frame matched the emergence of the corpses exactly.

"Do you stay in the coffin hall every day? Have you gone out at all?"

"No. I receive no wages and own nothing. Where could I go? There's nothing for me to do but to stay here and keep these poor people company."

1. In Chinese, (义庄/ yìzhuāng) is not a graveyard nor a permanent burial ground. It is a temporary place used to store bodies or coffins for people who died far from home, had no family to claim them, or needed to wait before a proper burial.

Here

's an image of what such a place looks like. ☜