After leaving Feixian Peak, Wen Jiu headed straight for the Forsaken Corpse Burial Grounds. He found an excuse, claiming he had discovered a corpse heavily infused with yin energy, and managed to borrow a cart. After digging up the corpse, he went straight to the center of the burial grounds, where he found a pile of corpses brimming with yin energy and buried it beneath them. Then, he made his way toward the distant Green Mountain Burial Grounds.

  Of course, he didn't take back the talisman. He let it continue masking the corpse's aura. The burial workers didn't think much of it—if anything, they were grateful when they saw the heavily yin-infused corpse on Wen Jiu's cart. After all, Wen Jiu was no longer one of them, yet he was still willing to help dispose of such dangerous corpses, which was a huge favor. If they had been the ones to move it, the yin energy would have likely seeped into their bodies, leaving them bedridden for ten days to half a month.

  After burying the corpse, Wen Jiu stayed in the burial grounds as usual, searching for wandering spirits until dusk.

  What he hadn't expected was that just as he was preparing to leave, Liu Xiao arrived with twenty or thirty Night Patrol Division disciples.

  And they weren't here for him.

  They were here for the Forsaken Corpse Burial Grounds!

  Along with them were disciples from the Demon-Slaying Division and the Devil-Suppressing Division, bringing the total to nearly a hundred people.

  The moment they arrived, they immediately granted the burial workers an extended leave and sealed off the entire area.

  "From this day forth, no one is allowed to enter or leave the Forsaken Corpse Burial Grounds at will!"

  Upon hearing this, Wen Jiu's expression darkened.

  Good thing he had moved the corpse earlier.

  Otherwise, it would've definitely been dug up. Unlike spies, who feared making big moves, the Night Patrol Division, the Demon-Slaying Division, and the Devil-Suppressing Division had no such scruples—they wouldn't hesitate to turn over every inch of soil in this place.

  Still, even though the corpse was safe, how was he supposed to gather corpse energy and yin energy in the future?

  "Forget it. At least I managed to save the corpse. I'll just have to figure out another way to cultivate." Wen Jiu consoled himself, but his expression remained grim.

  Liu Xiao noticed and asked, "What's wrong with you, kid?"

  Wen Jiu hesitated before cautiously probing, "Brother Liu, I'm a corpse cultivator. Now that the burial grounds are sealed off, how am I supposed to cultivate? And what about my Black Ghoul?"

  "The order to seal the area came from the Peak Master. Even Night Patrol Division disciples aren't allowed inside anymore… But as for your Black Ghoul, you can leave it buried inside. I'll go with you to mark its location, and I'll make sure to report it to Deacon Mu. As long as nothing suspicious is found beneath it, I'll keep an eye on it for you."

  "Thank you, Brother Liu."

  Hearing that the order came from the Peak Master, Wen Jiu immediately expressed his gratitude and didn't press further.

  As for his cultivation—while he couldn't personally enter the burial grounds to search for yin spirits, at least his Black Ghoul could remain inside to continue absorbing corpse energy. This wouldn't delay its advancement to the Superior Realm.

  If necessary, he could even use remote spirit communication to control the Black Ghoul and have it hunt for yin spirits on its own.

  But realistically, that probably wouldn't work. The burial grounds were now a heavily restricted area—there was no way they'd allow a ghoul to roam freely.

  …

  For the next few days, Wen Jiu spent his days at home drawing Soul-Seizing Talismans.

  During his night patrols, he secretly observed the burial grounds and noticed that only high-ranking officials were permitted entry.

  Deacons.

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  Even an elder from Feixian Peak's fifth Qi Refinement layer had shown up.

  As for his Black Ghoul, it remained safely buried under Liu Xiao's watch, though it had initially been dug up for inspection.

  Judging by the situation, the burial grounds wouldn't be reopening anytime soon.

  With no other choice, Wen Jiu focused on diligently refining his Yin Talisman Arts. Since he couldn't cultivate by absorbing corpse energy and death energy, he decided to use this time to advance his talisman proficiency—it was something he'd need to master eventually anyway.

  For three days straight, Wen Jiu practiced drawing talismans for five hours each day, pushing himself to the limit. He also borrowed six lower-grade spirit stones from Wang Nian.

  Thanks to smooth progress and the daily accumulation of experience, he reached the threshold of entry-level mastery in Yin Talisman Arts within those three days.

  And he successfully advanced to the Minor Achievement stage.

  [Soul-Seizing Talisman (Minor Achievement 0/200)]

  At this level, Wen Jiu could now draw non-ranked Soul-Seizing Talismans with a 100% success rate.

  Ten in a row. Wen Jiu succeeded in all of them. However, soul-stealing talismans that weren't at the entry level couldn't help him gain experience beyond minor proficiency—it was clear that he had to draw entry-level ones to progress.

  "Great, time to borrow spirit stones from Wang Nian again." Wen Jiu sighed. His debt in spirit stones was piling up.

  Counting the silver he already owed, he was now short by nearly eleven lower-grade spirit stones.

  If he relied on his salary from the Night Patrol Division to pay it back, he'd have to go half a year without eating or drinking.

  "I'll borrow some more, then sell the non-entry-level talismans at the market. That should help me recover at least a little."

  With that, Wen Jiu stepped out and headed straight for Wang Nian's house.

  As soon as the door opened, Wang Nian asked, "You've been holed up at home lately. What have you been up to?"

  "Drawing talismans," Wen Jiu answered.

  Glancing inside the courtyard, he noticed that Wang Nian's stone table was covered in talisman paper—most of them failures.

  Seeing this, Wang Nian quickly ran over to gather up the discarded talismans, afraid that Wen Jiu would get a good look. He forced an awkward laugh. "I'm trying to break through to a first-tier talisman master, so I've been failing quite a lot."

  If Wen Jiu found out that he was still drawing non-entry-level talismans and only succeeding once every thirty attempts…

  He'd die of embarrassment.

  Wen Jiu chuckled helplessly.

  A non-entry-level talisman brush.

  Non-entry-level demon blood talisman ink.

  And this was his setup for drawing entry-level talismans?

  Still, Wen Jiu decided not to call him out on it and instead played along. "That's our Brother Wang for you!"

  Wang Nian gave an awkward laugh, then quickly changed the topic. "So, what brings you here today?"

  "Borrowing spirit stones."

  "Again… I'm not saying I won't lend them to you, don't get me wrong. I'm just curious—why are you always short on spirit stones? What are you buying this time?"

  As he spoke, Wang Nian gestured for his wife, who was tidying up the stone table, to fetch the storage pouch.

  Wen Jiu answered bluntly, "I want to try drawing first-tier lower-grade soul-stealing talismans."

  "Wen, my brother, I don't mind lending you spirit stones—you don't even have to pay me back if it comes to that—but I need to warn you: don't rush things. The cost of a first-tier lower-grade Yin talisman isn't cheap. Just ten attempts will set you back an entire lower-grade spirit stone. Wait until you can successfully draw non-entry-level soul-stealing talismans more than half the time before you attempt it. Otherwise, it's too much of a waste."

  Wang Nian took the storage pouch from his wife and started pulling out spirit stones. Then, as if on instinct, he asked, "What's your success rate right now?"

  "Ten out of ten."

  Wen Jiu's words fell, and Wang Nian froze.

  The hand reaching for the spirit stones stopped mid-motion.

  Then, he swallowed dryly, suddenly at a loss for words.

  "Ten out of ten…" he murmured. After a long pause, he pulled out twenty to thirty lower-grade spirit stones and started calculating the cost of talisman brushes and other materials.

  In the end, he realized he was still short and reluctantly took out another five stones, making it a total of thirty lower-grade spirit stones.

  "You little freak… Ten out of ten… If you were drawing Yang talismans instead, the old masters in the Talisman Hall would be trampling down your door." Wang Nian sighed, then thought of his own talent for talisman crafting.

  He suddenly felt like crying.

  "Thanks, Brother Wang."

  Wen Jiu accepted the spirit stones and bowed in gratitude. Truth be told, owing this much in one go made him uneasy. Fortunately, if he could successfully draw first-tier soul-stealing talismans, he could sell them to earn back the spirit stones and repay his debt.

  "Don't mention it. We're brothers… Forget it, I'll take you to buy a talisman brush. We'll go to the usual old talisman master. I can haggle there—worst case, I'll just get called shameless a few times."

  Wang Nian grinned and led Wen Jiu toward the marketplace.

  After buying all the necessary materials, Wang Nian even asked the old talisman master for tips on drawing first-tier talismans.

  The master only said one thing—

  "Focus on intent, method, and stability, but don't be obsessed with form!"

  In other words, talisman patterns had a form, but they weren't fixed. Minor deviations didn't matter. In fact, many deviations were acceptable.

  It was like the difference between cursive script and regular script.

  For a skilled calligrapher, whether in cursive or regular script, a character remained the same character.

  The form might change, but its meaning wouldn't.

  Back home, Wen Jiu didn't rush to draw the soul-stealing talisman.

  For non-entry-level ones, the requirements weren't strict. But for entry-level soul-stealing talismans, they had to be drawn after midnight.

  If he tried during the day, none would succeed.

  "If I can successfully draw a first-tier soul-stealing talisman, I'll have a new foundation. Whether I sell it or keep it, it'll be a huge gain… And I can also try showing it to Manager Mu. Wang Nian wouldn't lie—there's a good chance I'll get a surprise reward!"