Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

With that, her expression turned serious. "Don't bring people here anymore. Too many, and the Sects will take notice. It doesn't matter if ordinary people are watching, but if you're targeted by a Cultivation Immortality Gang or a Cultivation Immortality Family and they discover something special about you, you'll have to be careful."

Seeing this, Cheng Zongyang's expression also grew solemn. He knew Lady Qin was concerned for him, so he nodded. "Thank you for your concern, Lady Qin. It won't happen again."

This incident made it clear that too many people would cause problems, so he began planning to move the Teleportation Array outside the city.

Lady Qin's reminder solidified his decision. He would find a hidden spot outside the city to serve as the teleportation point. Of course, this new location would only be a waystation. The final destination, for his personal use, would remain the secret chamber in his room.

From now on, anyone teleporting in would arrive at the station outside the city.

Soon, the Beast Vehicle arrived at the entrance of the brothel alley.

Cheng Zongyang didn't linger. After waving goodbye to Lady Qin, he left.

Watching Cheng Zongyang leave, Lady Qin couldn't help but smile.

"Lady Qin, you're back." Two girls, about ten years old, walked out from the brothel.

"Yes, I'm back." Lady Qin nodded slightly.

"What's this? What a beautiful basket!" one of the young girls exclaimed, her eyes fixed on the exquisite basket in Lady Qin's hand.

"This? It's a gift from the Cyan Dragon Commerce Association for its distinguished guests."

Lady Qin already knew where the basket came from; she just found Cheng Zongyang's mock-seriousness strangely amusing.

'Silly boy.' Lady Qin hummed a little tune as she went upstairs.

「Cheng Mansion, Study.」

"My lord, I've spent the past few days making inquiries and have now largely confirmed how the bodies of Cultivators in Zi'an County are handled. It's quite different from the process for ordinary people.

Due to their unique nature, there are two primary ways Cultivator corpses are processed. First, if a Cultivator has family or friends, their body is typically buried in a designated location in the mountains. From what I've gathered, this area is within the jurisdiction of Zi'an County. Such an arrangement prevents the occupation of special lands and also simplifies management.

This place is managed by the Corpse Collection Manor.

Second, in the case of Loose Cultivators without family or friends, or those with unknown origins, their bodies are also handled by the people of the Corpse Collection Manor.

I also looked into it further. To join the Corpse Collection Manor, one only needs to pay a fee of Spirit Stones and be a resident of Zi'an County.

The division of labor within the Corpse Collection Manor is clearly defined. There are positions for preparing, stitching, carrying, retrieving, and burying bodies, each with distinct responsibilities. My lord, what do you think? Should I join them and become a Corpse Burier? If I do, we can take the bodies of ownerless Loose Cultivators for ourselves."

Ma Yue reported respectfully, waiting for Cheng Zongyang's decision.

Cheng Zongyang listened and fell into deep thought.

'I really didn't expect this world to have such a structured organization just for dealing with Cultivator corpses.'

He could understand why Immortal Sects placed such importance on Cultivator corpses. After all, to those who practiced unorthodox or evil Daos, a Cultivator's corpse was a valuable prize.

To Cheng Zongyang, however, Cultivator corpses were crucial for restoring the Underground Spiritual Vein of the Wilderness World. Furthermore, a Cultivator's Soul could increase the concentration of Spiritual Qi. Both were resources he had to collect.

Silver was for expanding territory and restoring underground silver mines at an accelerated rate; Gold was for restoring all former mineral deposits and increasing their reserves; Cultivator corpses restored Spiritual Qi, and their Souls restored the Spirit Vein.

In essence, Cheng Zongyang now understood that this world had been plundered of its population, Spirit Veins, Gold, silver, and various other minerals—all valuable resources.

Thus, the Ring Spirit's goal was to restore it all by working in mutual cooperation with him.

Cheng Zongyang frowned slightly, his mind racing as he considered the possibilities.

'Ma Yue is just an ordinary person. It's questionable if he could even join the Corpse Collection Manor successfully. And even if he did, with his level of Martial Arts Cultivation, he wouldn't be able to handle any trouble that arose. Stealing corpses from right under the noses of Cultivators... it would be nearly impossible for him to remain undetected. The risk is too high. I need to find another way.'

Cheng Zongyang suddenly asked, "Does no one secretly sell corpses?"

Ma Yue was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. "I didn't ask about that. My lord, are you suggesting we bribe a Corpse Burier?"

Cheng Zongyang nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "If we can bribe them, we'll specifically ask for the corpses of ownerless Loose Cultivators. For them, as long as they can earn Spirit Stones, they probably won't care too much about how such corpses are handled, right?"

Cheng Zongyang weighed the pros and cons. 'Bribing a Corpse Burier is a viable option, but it's risky. If I get caught and branded a Demon Cultivator, the consequences would be unthinkable.'

But he had to get started on restoring the Wilderness World's Underground Spiritual Vein. He couldn't delay it any longer. This affected the large-scale planting of Spirit Medicine, his own Cultivation and that of his Soul Slaves, the future mining of Spirit Stone Ore, and more.

Cheng Zongyang looked at Ma Yue and said, "This matter requires careful consideration. First, go and investigate further to see if any Corpse Buriers are willing to be bribed. At the same time, be careful not to arouse suspicion. Your safety is the priority. It's better to be slow than to be reckless. Also, there are three thousand Spirit Stones in the large chest in that corner. Take what you need for expenses."

As he spoke, he pointed to a large chest in the corner of the study specifically for storing Spirit Stones.

"Yes, my lord!" Ma Yue glanced at the chest, then cupped his hands in acknowledgment and departed.

Cheng Zongyang paced back and forth in the room, contemplating his next move. He knew he had to handle this matter with extreme caution and meticulous planning.

'I refuse to believe that the people at the Corpse Collection Manor don't like Spirit Stones. If they say they don't, it just means the offer isn't high enough.'

If he could secure a partnership with the Corpse Collection Manor, his supply of corpses would be guaranteed.

Ma Yue was remarkably efficient.

Barely two days later, he was before Cheng Zongyang again to report on the situation.

"My lord, over the past two days, I've made inquiries and deliberately approached the manager of the Corpse Burial department at the Corpse Collection Manor. His name is Zhao Lide, his Cultivation is at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Level, and he has a weakness for women and is greedy for petty profit. This afternoon, while he was drinking at a brothel in the South District, I arranged for wine, women, and money, and subtly hinted at our intentions.

I also told him we'd pay ten Spirit Stones per corpse, regardless of the deceased's Cultivation level. He said he needed to think about it. Although he didn't give a definite answer, I could tell he was tempted."

Cheng Zongyang's eyes lit up, his face filled with joy. He was extremely satisfied with Ma Yue's efficiency and said with a smile:

"Excellent, you did a great job this time! Continue to engage with him and find out how many Spirit Stones it will take to seal the deal. However, once we agree to cooperate, he must sign this contract as a confidentiality agreement for both parties. If he refuses to sign, then tell him we'll find someone else who will.

Since he's a greedy man, he won't be able to resist Spirit Stones being handed to him on a silver platter. No one really cares about the bodies of ownerless Loose Cultivators anyway. It's just a matter of county regulations."

With that, he took out a corpse transaction confidentiality agreement he had meticulously prepared over the last two days, and began modifying it based on Ma Yue's new information.

A moment later, a brand-new transaction confidentiality agreement materialized.

Ma Yue saw this but didn't ask any questions.

"This is the confidentiality agreement. Take it to him."

Cheng Zongyang thought to himself, 'I really didn't expect things to go this smoothly. My biggest worry was that he would be completely inflexible, but it seems this Zhao Lide is someone I can work with. As long as it's a problem Spirit Stones can solve, it's not a problem at all.'

Ma Yue took the agreement and read it over. He then nodded solemnly and cupped his hands. "Rest assured, my lord. I will see this done."

Then, he set out again to meet with Zhao Lide.

The corpse transaction itself wouldn't be difficult. Bodies are inanimate objects and can easily be placed inside a Universal Storage Pouch. Zhao Lide could simply collect the corpses in a Storage Pouch and bring them to the location specified in the agreement to make the exchange. The transaction would be "cash on delivery," with no lingering debts. This method would both reassure him and provide strong motivation.

「That night. West District, Huaman Building.」

Ma Yue spent thirty Spirit Stones to reserve a private room. Huaman Building was a well-known brothel in the West District. The establishment was elegant and upscale, the service was impeccable, and the courtesans were all Female Cultivators. In terms of physique, beauty, and cost, it was in a completely different league from the brothels of the South District.

Ma Yue chose to meet Zhao Lide here to demonstrate his sincerity and resources.