"And not just people from our Mysterious Sun Sect," Yue Ling continued. "There were disciples from all over. The Azure Cloud Sword Sect, the Ancient Temple of Pure Heart, Grand Profound Dao Sect, Falling Flower Valley... even the so-called demonic sects: Heaven-Devouring Demon Sect, Soul Refining Valley, Crimson Blood Sect, Ten Thousand Corpses Hall...
"Yeah. People from everywhere. All of the Celestial Dragon Kingdom’s Ten Great Righteous Sects and the Seven Great Demonic Sects. Sometimes even rogue cultivators with no sect at all. No one’s safe."
She gave a bitter smile.
Langtian stood frozen, speechless.
Never—never in his wildest imagination—had he thought something this evil was happening.
Yan Hao Yang wasn’t just corrupt.
He was a blight on the entire cultivation world.
Then, a chilling thought struck him.
"Wait..." Langtian turned to Yue Ling, his voice trembling slightly as realization set in. "Is... is this how you got all your supplies?"
Given the fact that so many cultivators from different backgrounds had been thrown down here, everything suddenly started to make sense.
So when Senior Sister Shangguan said she found her gear in this valley, she hadn’t meant some hidden treasure trove or secret merchant.
She had meant taking them from the dead—from those unfortunate souls who, just like them, had been cast into this forsaken place.
"Oh?" Yue Ling chuckled, unbothered. "That’s right. How else do you think I got clothes, weapons, or even spices while stuck in this cursed place?"
As she spoke, she crouched beside the headless corpse and began rummaging through the blood-soaked robes. Her hand slipped into an inner pocket and pulled out a Qiankun pouch.
"Oho, nice!" she grinned, weighing it in her hand. "This one feels pretty full. Let’s hope there’s something good inside."
The pouch gave a soft rattle as she shook it gently, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
Langtian stared, stunned.
Because this felt... wrong.
Looting a corpse ... it just didn’t sit right with him.
"This is quite... unethical, to be honest... Is this really okay?"
Yue Ling chuckled, glancing over her shoulder with a playful roll of her eyes.
"Come on, Junior Brother. A dead man can’t carry treasures with him into the Yellow Springs. And if we leave everything here to rot, it’s just wasted. Isn’t it better that someone puts it to use?"
"I... I guess you’re right..." Langtian murmured, sighing as he lowered his gaze.
He pressed his palms together, bowed slightly toward the corpse, and spoke quietly.
"Sorry, Senior Brother... whoever you were. Please forgive us. We’re only doing this because... we need to survive."
Then he leaned in. "So... what did you get this time?"
"Whoa, look at you!" Yue Ling teased with a grin. "What happened to that guilty look from earlier? What happened to ’this is unethical’?"
"Well, as you said—can’t waste precious resources, right? This is for survival!" Langtian replied.
"Haha, that’s more like it," Yue Ling said, clearly enjoying his reaction.
The two of them then moved a little farther off to a dry, flat rock nearby, somewhere cleaner and easier to sort through things.
Yue Ling knelt down and flipped the Qiankun pouch upside down. Then, focusing her spiritual energy, she channeled a steady stream into the pouch’s seal.
The pouch trembled softly in her hands.
A moment later, items began spilling out onto the dry rock in front of them, clinking and rattling as they landed in a tidy pile.
First came the man’s spare robes. They were worn but clean, neatly folded.
Then, a few sleek pill flasks rolled out, each sealed tightly with wax, labeled in tidy brush strokes. The faint scent of medicine drifted into the air, bitter and sharp.
"Oh, nice! There’s food too!" Yue Ling’s eyes lit up like a child discovering candy.
"Ohohoho!" she squealed, lifting a small, snow-white steamed bun from the pile. "Wow! Mantou! And it’s still soft too!"
Without a moment’s hesitation, she tore into it.
Her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel’s, and she hugged them with both hands, eyes fluttering shut in delight.
Langtian blinked in disbelief.
’She’s... really enjoying that?!’
It was just a plain steamed bun. No filling. No seasoning. Nothing special.
But to Yue Ling, it seemed like heaven on earth.
"Oh—oh! And look!" she exclaimed, voice sparkling with excitement, because she had found something even more exciting.
Grinning proudly, she lifted a golden syrup lollipop shaped like a butterfly, its glossy surface catching the light as it spun on a bamboo skewer.
In her other hand, a skewer of hawthorn berries coated in sticky malt syrup.
"These are exactly what I needed!" she beamed.
Langtian chuckled, both amused and a little nostalgic.
It had been a long time since he last saw his senior sister this cheerful.
Back in the outside world, these plain buns and simple sweets weren’t worth more than a passing glance. One could stroll through any mortal marketplace, spend a few copper coins, and walk away with a basketful.
But here, trapped in this cursed valley where resources were scarce and there’s no connection to the outside world, such humble foods had become rare delicacies. Treasures, really... the kind one might be lucky to find once in a blue moon.
"Junior Brother, want one?" Yue Ling asked, waving a syrup lollipop in front of his face.
Langtian blinked and smiled, raising a hand to decline. "No, I’m good. You go ahead."
"Come on! If you don’t eat any, I’ll finish them all myself!" she teased, giving the lollipop a playful wiggle.
"Feel free to have them all, Senior Sister," Langtian chuckled. "I actually just had some buns a few days ago."
"Tch... fine," Yue Ling pouted, popping another hawthorn berry into her mouth. She chewed slowly, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk as she clearly savored the taste.
After that, she carefully wrapped the remaining sweets and tucked them into her Qiankun pouch. This senior sister was probably saving them for a rainy day.
Then, once the treats were stored away, the search resumed.
They found another pouch, even bigger and heavier than the first one.