Chapter 33: 33. The net-closers emerge one by one Swish, swish, swish~~ The flying snow on both sides cut like bone-scraping flying sabers, but Song Yan felt no chill. At that moment, it felt like his blood was burning. Fear, excitement, and doubt wove together like fuel, spurring him to run faster and faster. It was unclear how long he had been running, but he could already see the evil qi mixed in with the heavy snow ahead, with some eerie debris and even decayed flesh writhing as if alive. ’Arrived!’ Song Yan took a few more steps, quickly finding a rock to lean on. He buried two flying swords under the snow and leaned his back against the cold stone. He had been moving constantly before, but now that he stopped, a suffocating feeling emerged, his heart pounding fiercely. Taking several deep breaths, he retrieved a fasting pill from his cloak and swallowed it, then started the qi concealment technique, entered a turtle breath state, reaching a death-like condition. Before long, the accumulating snow transformed him into a snowman, looking like just a part of the rocky landscape from the outside. Only if someone dug through the snow, or if a strong cultivator above the Refining Profound Realm noticed, they might discover him. ... ... Time began to slow down. Song Yan had hidden five full bottles of fasting pills in his cloak, each containing thirty pills, which meant he could remain in one place for more than a year without starving. Suddenly, he felt a tinge of regret: if he hadn’t deliberately suppressed his talent this past year, but instead showcased more of his skill in skin making, then... would Cheng Danqing have offered him protection? Such an invasion by the Nanwu Sword Sect, Cheng Danqing, as the South Bamboo Peak Master, wouldn’t be as oblivious as him, a mere disciple, right? But this "small regret" quickly passed. Song Yan calmed his mind, expanded his perception as much as possible, and adjusted his mentality, ’If the situation turns dire, then I’ll just spend the winter in this position’. Time ticked by, second by second. That night turned unexpectedly long. The distant energy clashes were palpable, even from far away. Song Yan felt a bit of self-mockery: truly, it’s like a divine battle, and the insects scurry away. Just as he was thinking aimlessly, a sudden tension gripped him. Because there was movement from afar. Not just a tiny bit of movement. The evil qi suddenly roiled, and the woods shook violently! Yet amidst these grand sounds there were hidden footsteps, roughly twenty people. ’Who are they?’ Song Yan wondered, ’At this time, why would so many people come to the evil land?’ Just then, an unexpectedly familiar voice from afar reached his ears. "Red Mist True Man, weren’t you dead long ago? Where... where are you taking us?" It was Lv Hong’s voice! Then another voice followed. "Red Mist True Man? Were you the Righteous Dao cultivator who was slain by the combined efforts of three Puppet Palace Peak Masters forty years ago? How could you possibly still be alive? And... how have you changed like this?" "No one should know about the secret room we were in, how... how did you discover it?" These voices, Song Yan carefully recognized them, finding them quite familiar. Reflecting further, they were the voices of the Skin Masters on the Shadow Puppet Void Ship that day! Considering their words, Song Yan roughly deduced an order of events. As the "technical professions," the Skin Masters would naturally be protected. So before the battle began, they were quietly sent to a secluded safehouse. Yet, as the battle erupted, a Righteous Dao cultivator who had died forty years ago suddenly appeared, deftly extracting the secret room and capturing all the Skin Masters hidden within, leading them to the evil land. The unfolding of these events was quite bizarre. However, Song Yan suddenly thought of something: The so-called ghost cultivator, is when a ghost successfully occupies a cultivator’s body, reincarnating with a combination of Profound Root. ’Ghost cultivator, Red Mist True Man is a ghost cultivator! After he died in battle, his corpse fell in the evil land and was invaded by ghosts, becoming a ghost cultivator!’ Song Yan almost instantly made the connection. Then, a chill crept over him. If "Red Mist True Man can precisely locate the Skin Masters," does that mean... there’s a terrifying ghost cultivator hiding within Shadow Puppet Peak, and their status is quite high? Who could it be? ... "Cheng! Dan! Qing!!" Lv Hong shouted, "Who are you really? Why are you here?" The instant those three words were out, Song Yan’s mind exploded. All doubts in his mind were almost immediately resolved. ’Cheng Danqing is a ghost cultivator! No wonder he said I wouldn’t regret that day’s choice! The high-ranking figure who temporarily arranged for me to join the Linglong Valley journey is also a ghost cultivator! To achieve such a level... throughout Shadow Puppet Peak, there could only be... the Peak Master!!’ Elders are all Ghost Cultivators! It must be! Who benefits most from the clash between Nanwu Sword Sect and Puppet Palace? Of course, it’s the Ghost Cultivators. Because many cultivators who die in battle have their corpses taken to the Evil Land, and some become new Ghost Cultivators. The Skin Masters of Shadow Puppet Peak are very skilled. The Ghost Cultivators take them away, imprison them in the Evil Land, and force them to craft skins for them. The Peak Master, under the guise of protecting the Skin Masters before the war, sent Lv Hong and the others to a secret chamber, and then his accomplices swept in and took them away cleanly. Countless thoughts flashed through Song Yan’s mind, and he suddenly felt a sense of "survival after a disaster". If it hadn’t been for his poor performance over the past year, Cheng Danqing wouldn’t have abandoned him. Otherwise, he might have been "protected" early, sent to that secret chamber, feeling rather smug, and then... now standing with Lv Hong and the others? ... "Where’s Gu Rufeng?" Cheng Danqing’s voice suddenly rang out, with a hint of confusion. Another unfamiliar voice, presumably from the Scarlet Mist Elder, responded, "These are all the people from the secret chamber. I’ve brought them all." Cheng Danqing frowned and said, "That’s not right, Gu Rufeng should also be in the secret chamber." The Scarlet Mist Elder replied, "Maybe he went to the front line with the Stone Seat Elder? Stone Seat Elder is quite a character, engaging in the battle and unwilling to hide in the rear." Cheng Danqing said, "He’s nearing his end and wants to leave a name, I suppose. Unfortunately, the success rate of becoming a Ghost Cultivator isn’t high, and even if successful, some powers of the original body might be lost." That’s why they took the Skin Masters instead of killing them. "Ghost Cultivators!" A disciple among the Skin Masters finally realized. Cheng Danqing snorted coldly and said, "Be glad you are Skin Masters. In the future, you’ll be here in the mountains, just as outside, except you’re not allowed to leave. You won’t be killed." ... ... The voices gradually faded, far enough that Song Yan could no longer hear them. He let out a long breath and continued to wait. ... ... "Gu Rufeng is missing?" At the frontline of the Puppet Palace and Nanwu Sword Sect battle, a dark, eerie figure was holding a "Communication Jade," listening to a report from afar. This eerie figure was the Peak Master of Shadow Puppet Peak. The voice from the Communication Jade was Cheng Danqing’s. "A small Gu Rufeng shouldn’t matter." However, the Peak Master of Shadow Puppet Peak remained silent, stepping back as if pondering something. Then, suddenly, as if he realized something, he began to retreat further, flipping his hand to produce a mysterious artifact, starting to cast a spell. ... A little while later... The entire battlefield suddenly experienced unimaginable changes. Four terrifying auras appeared in the sky, pressing down massively, scattering all energies on the battlefield like a fog being cleared, and all sounds fell silent. Someone from the Southern Wu Sword Sect exclaimed in shock. "Why are those four old undying ones from the Puppet Palace back?!" "Weren’t they supposed to confront the Multi-tailed Fox Race?" Among the four auras, an elderly voice full of authority suddenly spoke. "Everyone, today we discovered a Ghost Cultivator within our Puppet Palace, holding a high position, we four would not leave, he wouldn’t reveal himself. With Ghost Cultivators here, further battle is pointless. How about a truce?!" As the elderly voice spoke, the other three auras strangely shot towards a certain location. And at that location, the Peak Master of Shadow Puppet Peak had already completed a certain spell, with his form disappearing. The three auras gave chase relentlessly, but the Peak Master of Shadow Puppet Peak seemed to have been on guard for a long time, and this time... he truly escaped far away. When the three auras reached the depths of the Evil Land, looking down at the red jade-like sea of blood at the center, they frowned but ultimately didn’t go in. ... ... "What’s going on? Why was he on guard?" "It seems Elder Gu secretly brought his grandson back." "And how did Elder Gu find out?" "You’ve practiced that skill too much and it’s messed up your brain... Elder Gu went to the border with us, of course he knew." "Ridiculous!! Ridiculous!!!" "For now, let’s leave it at this. Unexpectedly, that double-faced one from Shadow Puppet Peak turned out to be a Ghost Cultivator. He’s fled back to the Evil Land; it’s not wise to go deeper. Let’s plan long term."