Chapter 1

Unnamed Graveyard!

This is the largest crematorium in the southern part of the entire empire. It has tens of thousands of graves, all of which are for unnamed individuals.

A house is surrounded by tens of thousands of graves.

Loneliness, desolation!

A person sits in the house, quietly eating.

He is completely shrouded in a cloak, his face unseen, with only a pair of hollow eyes, like weak flames.

His entire body, except for his hands, which are covered by thin gloves, is hidden.

His name is Ying Que, and no one knows where he comes from. He is the mortician of this vast cemetery.

The door of the house opens, and several burly men carry three coffins inside.

"There's work, all died today." Then these men hurriedly left, avoiding Ying Que as if he were a venomous snake.

Ying Que looks at the bowl of rice, with only two mouthfuls left. After hesitating for a while, he still puts down the bowl and chopsticks.

Eating can wait, but the important task must be done first.

He steps forward and opens the coffin. Inside lies a corpse, in a very pitiful state.

It is a male corpse, handsome and robust, even in death, his face is terrifying.

This person died of a stroke while engaging in sexual activity.

Ying Que changes into a pair of thin gloves and carefully tidies up the male corpse's appearance, dressing him in decent clothes.

For a whole hour, Ying Que dresses the male corpse and applies makeup.

Dead people usually don't look good, but after Ying Que's makeup, the dead person's face appears vivid as if alive.

After completing this, Ying Que takes out a pen.

The pen's shaft is made of bone, and the tip is made of unknown hair, completely transparent when not dipped in ink. It has tens of thousands of hairs, which seem to be alive, wriggling and shimmering with dreamy light.

He dips the pen in ink and draws very seriously, with extreme focus.

For a whole hour, Ying Que completes the portrait of the male corpse.

It is hard to imagine how vivid a portrait can be, as if the person is about to come alive from the painting.

Portrait completed!

Instantly, a beam of light floats out from the corpse and enters Ying Que's body.

"Extract new ability, XX Indestructible!"

This male corpse was a top performer in an entertainment venue, indeed having a special skill.

After completing the portrait, Ying Que skins the corpse.

The bone pen is sharper than any small knife, moving smoothly without any damage.

This process is called "painting the skin."

Next is the dissection and bone removal. Ying Que moves quickly, like a skilled butcher, and in a short time, he removes a complete skeleton.

This process is called "painting the bones."

Finally, he extracts the tendons, carefully removing them and placing them on white paper.

It looks like a masterpiece, even with a postmodern aesthetic.

This process is called "painting the tendons."

After completing the entire process,

The bristles of the bone pen suddenly extend, like ghostly tentacles, penetrating the skin, bones, and tendons of the corpse, devouring wildly!

Instantly, the entire bone pen glows with a brilliant light.

After devouring, the corpse turns to ashes.

Once the topmost relic of the bone pen glows, it signifies the completion of the three skills.

Ten thousand corpses are needed to nourish the bone pen for its rebirth.

Ying Que writes 9995 on the wall.

...

Ying Que continues to embalm the corpses, two more, one male and one female.

The male corpse is about fifty years old, very handsome, and very decadent, having drowned in a river, holding a black pendant shaped like a dolphin.

The female corpse is as withered as a dead tree.

After completing the embalming and portrait of the middle-aged male corpse,

He extracts the dead person's memory.

Instantly, a blue light floats out from the male corpse's brain and enters Ying Que's brain.

What an incredibly bizarre memory, a passionate love story, like a Titanic in another world, but a tragic and dark version.

Human joys and sorrows are different, Ying Que doesn't care.

Next, he embalms the elderly female corpse.

The portrait is incredibly vivid, as if the person is about to come alive from the painting.

He extracts the dead person's skill.

Instantly...

The forehead of the elderly female corpse suddenly splits, as if a third eye appears.

Extremely bizarre!

The eye on her forehead, blue light condensed so intensely it almost turned white.

The light condensed to the extreme and then suddenly entered Ying Que's forehead.

"Skill extraction successful, Open Heavenly Eye!"

Ying Que is shocked.

It's the Open Heavenly Eye, a skill that is one in a billion.

Every successfully cultivated Three-Eyed Heavenly Master is a national treasure.

For fifteen years, he has extracted countless skills. Some are very powerful, some are very useless, but this skill is still incredibly shocking.

Who was this elderly female corpse in life? Why did she die here as a Three-Eyed Heavenly Master?

Ying Que can't help but use this ability.

Instantly, his forehead feels hot, and within his field of vision, he can see through layers of matter, seeing underground minerals and bones, seeing withered trees behind the wall, and treasures buried in the backyard. All matter in his field of vision appears in different lights, like a giant X-ray machine.

This is a Geomancy Heavenly Master!

...

Evening falls.

Ying Que writes 9997 on the wall, and today's work is done.

Then, he sits quietly at the door, as if waiting for something.

Ying Que has been here for fifteen years.

Every day, he deals with corpses. Since his master left, he has almost not spoken to anyone, and everyone avoids him like a demon.

Except for one person, his only good friend.

The sun sets, and footsteps and affectionate calls come from outside.

"Little Brother, Little Brother, your Third Brother is here, are you hungry?"

Then a young nobleman walks in, extremely handsome, standing tall and straight. He is absolutely a one-in-a-million beauty, even more beautiful than women.

After entering, he sits directly opposite Ying Que, passing him a roasted chicken and pouring wine for both of them.

This nobleman, dressed in white, sits on the dirty, blood-stained ground, drinking and eating with Ying Que.

The two of them don't know each other's names.

Ying Que is the fifth among his siblings, and this nobleman is the third in his family.

Thus, one is called Third Brother, and the other is called Little Brother.

A pot of wine is finished.

The handsome nobleman is in tears, crying, "Little Brother, do you know? My beloved woman got married, and the groom is not me."

Ying Que doesn't speak, just silently toasts.

The handsome nobleman continues, "I have loved her for over ten years, and I have quarreled with my family for her. For her, I abandoned my new bride at the wedding and eloped, wandering the world."

"Eight years, I have been away from home for eight years. It's because she told me she wanted to find something." The nobleman says, sobbing.

Ying Que asks, "What thing?"

His voice is like a demon's, his throat as if burned, extremely unpleasant to hear.

The handsome nobleman says, "A treasure, something you don't understand."

Next, the two of them keep drinking. The nobleman gets drunk and keeps calling his beloved woman's name.

"Cai Wei, Cai Wei..."

"I abandoned my family's wealth and my beautiful new bride for you. Why didn't you wait for me? Why did you marry someone else?"

He calls and cries.

Ying Que arranges for him to stay in a room in the back hall, covers him with a blanket, pours warm water, and takes care of him meticulously before leaving.

Third Brother suddenly grabs Ying Que's hand, emotionally saying, "Little Brother, for these years, you have eaten with me every day, listened to my complaints, we are not brothers, but better than brothers."

For five years, Third Brother has come every day to bring food to Ying Que and stayed with him in the cemetery every night.

The two of them talk about almost everything, as close as brothers.

Ying Que says, "Everyone sees me as a demon, but only Third Brother is willing to be close to me."

Third Brother says, "My beloved woman is married, and after completing the mission she gave me, I will stay with you here. I don't want my wealthy family anymore, I will live with you here."

Ying Que pats Third Brother's hand, hoarsely saying, "Third Brother, sleep, it will be less painful when you sleep."

Third Brother silently cries, his heartbreak hard to heal.

Ying Que leaves.

Third Brother falls asleep, muttering, "Cai Wei, Cai Wei..."

...

Ying Que stumbles, hunched over, and opens a hidden door on the ground, entering the basement to sleep.

Although he is alive, he lives underground like a dead person.

His room in the basement is small, with only a box, a bed, and a mirror.

He lights a candle, and the basement brightens.

Ying Que goes to the mirror, still hunched over, and takes off his cloak.

Instantly...

An incredibly ugly and terrifying body appears in the mirror.

His entire body has no skin, only red, bloody flesh, and blue veins entwined.

Like a demon.

This terrifying thing can only live in the crematorium with corpses, otherwise, whether in a village or a city, it would probably be beaten to death as a monster.

His appearance is not natural, but fifteen years ago, he was skinned and killed, buried in the Unnamed Graveyard.

But for some reason, although he was dead, one night he suddenly came back to life and crawled out of the grave.

At that time, the Unnamed Graveyard was guarded by the previous mortician, a blind old man.

Perhaps he was heartbroken, or perhaps he had seen too much, the old man was very calm and pulled Ying Que out.

Since then, Ying Que became his disciple, called him to embalm corpses, taught him to carve tombstones, and make coffins.

The two of them lived together for ten years, but they spoke no more than three sentences in total.

Five years ago, his master disappeared and never returned.

Thus, he became the new owner of the Unnamed Graveyard, managing tens of thousands of graves, and embalming corpses every day.

And this bone pen was passed down to him by his master.

Not long after, the handsome nobleman, Third Brother, came and became Ying Que's companion.

In these fifteen years, Ying Que has embalmed 9997 corpses.

He has extracted the soul memories of 4999 people and the skills of 4998 people.

What skills? Countless.

The superhuman memory ability of a mentally challenged person, Ah Bing, from the special organization of the Great Xia Empire.

The godlike gambling skills of a gambler.

And the famous singer, thief, prostitute, thug, acrobat, and so on.

These 4448 skills, most of which Ying Que himself has forgotten and almost never used.

What he values most are the skills of painting bones, painting tendons, and painting skin.

These three skills are the ones that can change one's fate.

So-called martial talent is determined by one's bones!

Why do most people progress slowly in martial arts? Because their bones are not good enough.

Once the skill of painting bones is completed, one can paint any bones they want.

The divine dragon in the sky, the divine tortoise on the ground, the lightning crack, all are top-tier bones, one in a million.

Not only can one paint bones for oneself, but also for others, giving them a new life.

What is a spiritual vein?

Alchemists, Yin-Yang masters, array masters, painters, calligraphers, musicians, and all mental talents are determined by spiritual veins.

A top-tier martial artist is one in a million, but a top-tier spiritual vein is one in a billion.

Spiritual veins are the most brilliant light of civilization.

Once the skill of painting veins is completed, one can paint the top-tier spiritual veins in the universe for oneself.

Not only can one paint veins for oneself, but also for others.

The peak spiritual veins in the universe, the Nine Yin Mystic Vein, the Nine Yang Mystic Vein, the Chaos Divine Vein.

As for the skill of painting skin?

For Ying Que, it is the most important.

Once this skill is completed, he can paint skin for himself, becoming a normal person, leaving the Unnamed Graveyard, and entering human society to complete his great mission.

The bone pen needs to be nourished by ten thousand corpses to be reborn.

In fifteen years, Ying Que has completed 9997 corpses, and with three more corpses, the task will be complete.

For fifteen years, living in this hell, neither human nor ghost.

Freedom is just three corpses away.

...