Archeologist in a Cultivation World

On the Sky Continent, within the Sky Mountain Range, lay the headquarters of the Void Sect atop Cloud Peak.

At the mountainside, nestled among the disciples' quarters, night had fallen.

A handsome young man with a sword approached one of the rooms. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"Senior Brother Booth, it's me, Alan."

"Come in."

Alan pushed the door open and stepped inside. The dim room was lit by a single flickering candle.

It was small, with simple furnishings: a table, a few chairs, a bed, a bath barrel, and a bamboo screen.

On the bed sat a young man, legs crossed. His sharp eyebrows and bright eyes gave him a striking look, and his features were chiseled like a sculpture-undeniably handsome.

This was Booth, the sixth disciple of the Void Sect's leader. He wasn't just good-looking; his cultivation level was high too-a true prodigy.

Booth glanced at Alan and asked calmly, "Is it done?"

Alan replied in a low voice, "Yeah. I buried that boy in the mass grave behind Moon Peak."

"No problems, right?"

"None. That boy was dead as a rock. After burying him, I even stomped on the dirt a few times."

Booth gave a slight nod. "Good. But remember, our Void Sect has a reputation to uphold. Felix was Elder Dragon's disciple, and we can't afford to leave any traces. If karma catches up with us, we're both doomed."

Alan hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother. I'll take this secret to the grave. No one will ever know Felix is dead, and no one will find his body. Even if Elder Dragon returns, he won't discover a thing."

A satisfied smile spread across Booth's handsome face. He pulled a small pouch from his robe and tossed it to Alan.

Alan caught it-a bag of black spirit stones. His eyes lit up as he bowed deeply. "Thank you for the reward, Senior Brother Booth."

Booth waved him off. "You earned it. Now go rest. In a few days, we'll head to the herb garden and clean up any loose ends."

Alan nodded, clasped his hands in respect, and left.

After Alan was gone, Booth's expression darkened. He muttered to himself, "Felix, I hope you reincarnate soon. We were just following orders. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too curious."

******

It was deep into the night at the overgrown graveyard.

The moonlight peeked through patches of clouds, casting dappled shadows over the ground, dotted with headstones and scattered bones. Ghostly flames flickered among the weeds, and the occasional caw of a crow or yowl of a stray cat added an eerie chill to the place.

Suddenly-thwack!

Out of nowhere, a dirt-covered hand shot up from the ground.

Moments later, a boy, completely caked in mud, dragged himself out of the earth, gasping for air as if it were the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted-even with the stench of decay all around him.

He lay flat on his back, panting for a long time before finally catching his breath.

When he sat up and saw the graves surrounding him, he blinked in disbelief.

"What the hell is this place? Who the hell buried me in the ground? Oh, no! Corpse!"

His eyes landed on a nearby corpse. Thinking it was just a dummy, he gave it a casual shove.

Then he froze.

The stench of rotting flesh hit him hard, and fat maggots wriggled in the decayed remains. Sticky, slimy flesh clung to his hand. There was no mistaking it-this was a real, rotting corpse.

His pupils shrank, and he let out a shriek, frantically kicking his legs to back away from the disgusting sight.

"That's really a corpse..."

The boy had never seen anything this horrifying before. He scrambled away, crawling and rolling until he was a good distance away-only then did he stop.

"Call the cops! Yeah, yeah, call the cops... Where's my phone?"

He patted his pockets, but his hands came up empty, and his face went slack.