Chapter 63: ’Lamp’

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: ’Lamp’

The person who had shouted was none other than Sui Sui. After running around for hours with Yizhou, he had finally managed to make it back just in time for the funeral.

The abbot’s expression remained solemn as he turned toward Sui Sui.

"This young cultivator, what is it that you need? Don’t you know it is rude to interrupt a funeral ritual halfway through? If you have nothing important to say, please do not disturb us."

His words were polite enough, even carrying the air of righteous indignation.

Sui Sui almost rolled his eyes.

What a great pretender.

A few hours earlier, back in the coffin room, Yizhou had fallen unusually quiet. Sui Sui noticed the change but did not interrupt him, knowing that his senior brother was likely piecing together the clues they had gathered. Instead, he remained nearby, waiting patiently until Yizhou suddenly moved.

Yizhou walked toward the only source of light in the room—the oil lamp sitting in the corner. He stared at it for a moment before reaching out to examine the oil inside. Its color was darker and murkier than ordinary lamp oil, almost giving it a faintly turbid appearance.

Sui Sui followed his gaze. "Is there something wrong with the lamp?"

"I was wondering about it myself," Yizhou replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I was actually surprised when I first saw them using oil lamps. Night Pearls don’t cost much, don’t require spiritual energy to use, and can last a lifetime, so they are much more commonly used for lighting, especially in a place like this."

Yizhou carefully opened the lamp. The flame continued to burn steadily, but the moment the lamp was opened, that familiar foul scent immediately became stronger.

Sui Sui instinctively covered his nose. "That smell again..."

Yizhou’s expression darkened. He leaned closer and examined the oil once more before finally saying, "Now I’m certain. This isn’t ordinary lamp oil. It’s made from corpses."

Sui Sui’s eyes widened. "Corpse oil?"

Hearing this information, Sui Sui could not help but become surprised, as someone who has read the novel, he of course know what corpse oil is

In the Human Realm, the use of corpse oil was considered an unorthodox practice. It was refined from the remains of the dead who had carried heavy grievances before their deaths, giving it properties that made it particularly suited to darker techniques.

Most righteous cultivators reject this item on the surface and believe that the dead should be respected rather than having their remains desecrated and turned into cultivation materials.

However, corpse oil was a very hot commodity in the Demon Realm. It was rare and highly sought after, mainly because it could be used in various unorthodox techniques, such as suppressing or controlling vengeful corpses, refining Yin-attribute materials, setting up killing formations, and other similar practices.

Sui Sui remembered this because, later in the novel, there would be an arc where corpse oil became a key item in the hands of one of the major villains.

In other words, corpse oil was not some ordinary cultivation material. It was something primarily associated with unorthodox and sinister techniques, which made its presence here all the more troubling.

"Heh, I didn’t expect this to be the connection between the two places," Yizhou suddenly said.

Sui Sui turned toward him in confusion. "What connection?"

Yizhou did not answer immediately. Instead, he took out the talisman paper they had obtained from the Yaomei Pavilion and held it up between his fingers.

"It’s these talismans," he said. "They should have been made using corpse oil."

Sui Sui stared at the talisman surprisingly "Corpse oil?"

"Yes. When mixed with blood ink, it can be used to create talisman ink that greatly strengthens the inscriptions and absorbs more desire and greed from the people." Yizhou lightly traced the markings on the paper. "That’s why these talismans are so effective, yet their enchantment is difficult to detect. Without carefully examining the materials used to make them, it would be almost impossible to notice anything unusual."

Sui Sui’s eyes widened as the implications slowly sank in. "So the Yaomei Pavilion has been using corpse oil all this time?"

Yizhou nodded. "It should be, additionally, since they have been operating for years, if they have been producing these talismans on a regular basis, they must have used a considerable amount of corpse oil."

He glanced toward the oil lamp in the room. "But corpse oil is a rare commodity, even in the Demon Realm. It isn’t something they could simply obtain whenever they needed it. They must have a steady source of supply."

Sui Sui’s expression changed. "Then... the temple?"

"That’s what I’m thinking." The more Sui Sui considered it, the more the pieces seemed to fit together.

The temple had access to the bodies of the dead, while the Yaomei Pavilion needed corpse oil to produce their talismans. If the temple was refining the corpses into corpse oil and supplying it to the Yaomei Pavilion, then the strange things happening in both places could no longer be considered separate.

"So the Yaomei Pavilion and the temple are working together?" Sui Sui asked. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. "It would be a win-win arrangement. The Yaomei Pavilion gets a steady supply of corpse oil, while the temple gets paid in exchange."

He paused, his gaze lingering on the rows of coffins.

"Or perhaps..." Sui Sui’s voice lowered. "The people running this temple aren’t even human to begin with?"

"That possibility is worth considering." Yizhou’s expression remained calm, but his eyes had grown more serious.

"But why would they use corpse oil in this room?" Sui Sui asked, glancing at the lamp. "Wouldn’t that be a waste if it is really that rare?"

Yizhou shook his head. "Not necessarily. There should be a reason they are using it here."

He looked at the dark oil inside the lamp before continuing, "One of its properties is that it can suppress excessive Yin karmic energy. A place that has continuously refined something like corpse oil would naturally accumulate a heavy amount of such energy over time. If left unchecked, the entire place could become increasingly tainted and be easy to attract the heavens’ wrath by breaking the balance of Yin and Yang."

Sui Sui frowned. "So they’re using corpse oil to suppress the very karmic energy created by refining it?"

"Essentially." Yizhou’s expression remained calm. "It is fighting fire with fire. The corpse oil itself carries sinister properties, but those same properties allow it to suppress other forms of evil energy."

Sui Sui nodded slowly. That explanation did make sense, especially considering what he remembered from the novel.

Sui Sui nodded. "Then what should we do now?"

"I already have a vague idea of what might be happening here," Yizhou replied. "But speculation is meaningless without proof. Let’s find out where they took the bodies. That should give us our answer."

With that, the two left the coffin room, carefully returning everything to its original place. Once they were gone, the room fell silent once more, leaving only the dim glow of the oil lamp and the gloomy rows of coffins behind.

—

Back in the present.

"It is only rude to disrupt a real funeral," Sui Sui said, his voice ringing clearly across the temple grounds. "But for a farce like this? It is only right to stop it."

"Huh? What does he mean?"

Whispers immediately spread through the crowd. The mourners looked at one another in confusion, while the expressions of the monks gradually changed. Several of them exchanged uneasy glances, as though they had already sensed that something was about to go wrong.

Sui Sui stepped forward and looked directly at the monks.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to expose the true faces of these despicable people."

The crowd fell silent.

Among the mourners, the old woman who was You Bo’s mother immediately recognized Sui Sui. She hurriedly stepped forward, her expression anxious.

"Young cultivator, what is it that you need to expose? Is there something wrong?" she asked. "Please, if you know something, tell us."

"Alright." Sui Sui took a breath before speaking clearly. "These people are secretly smuggling human corpses. They have colluded with people from the Demon Realm, selling the bodies of the dead to them for profit."

His words immediately sent shockwaves through the crowd.

"What?!"

"They’re selling corpses to demons?"

The old woman staggered, her face turning pale as the blood drained from it. She nearly collapsed at the thought of what might have happened to her son’s body.

Sui Sui deliberately did not mention the corpse oil. That matter was far more disturbing, and they intended to leave it for the City Lord’s side to investigate and handle.

The monks’ expressions became even uglier, but the abbot quickly stepped forward and sternly refuted the accusation.

"This is slander! Where is your evidence?" he demanded. "We have served at this temple for years and have always treated the people with honesty. How could we possibly do such a thing?"

"Evidence?"

Before Sui Sui could answer, a clear female voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

"If you want evidence, then we will provide it."

The unexpected voice startled the onlookers, and countless gazes turned toward the source.

A tall, valiant-looking woman stepped forward, dressed in the distinctive red robes of the Vermillion Moon Pavilion. A sword rested in her hand, and her steady stride carried an unmistakable air of confidence.

It was Luo Qingya to the rescue.