The Fake Heiress Turns out to Be a True Tycoon!

Chapter 1254: Extra: Thousand-Year-Old Corpse Soil, Seeking and Returning the Corpse

The Corpse Chasing Family engages in both corpse chasing and corpse nourishing.

Wherever there is a place for nurturing corpses, there is corpse soil.

Thousand-year-old corpse soil is especially rare, as its shadow energy density most closely matches that of the Underworld.

Although Ivan had previously said that he could find whatever was needed, Ashton Todd still wanted to see for himself to confirm if it could be used.

The car quickly drove to a mountain hollow.

Turning around the winding mountain road, they saw not a modern village, but rather ancient bamboo buildings rising from the ground.

These bamboo buildings were nestled amidst black mountains and green waters, with the tallest being seven stories high.

Lamps flickered outside the buildings, emitting a faint green glow in the darkness.

Even Ashton Todd, upon seeing the village before him, couldn’t help but be a little shocked.

Stella Gibson, however, was used to it, and as soon as she got out of the car, she headed straight towards a four-story bamboo building next to the main building in the village.

"Uncle! Grandpa! Auntie! I’m back!"

Her seventh cousin’s face was a bit helpless as he led Ashton Todd inside, only to see Stella Gibson already being embraced by an elderly woman in her nineties, gently rubbing her face.

"Little Stella, you’ve lost weight."

This was the Auntie that Stella Gibson referred to. Besides her, several other elderly people were sitting in the living room, all appearing calm and dignified, and they seemed to be the true elders of the Gibson Family.

The younger generation expanded the business, while the older generation guarded the old traditions.

Seeing Ashton Todd, a stranger, enter, everyone turned to look at him in unison.

The pressure was even heavier than when he was being watched in town earlier.

Even though Ashton Todd was usually sociable, he couldn’t help but behave respectfully, following his seventh cousin’s lead to greet each of the elders one by one.

His arrival was sudden, but because Stella Gibson had already informed the family in their group chat, the uncles and elders were not surprised by his presence.

The uncle had a kind expression and asked him,

"You’re Ashton Todd, right? I heard you’re a partner of our Stella from the Mystical Sect?"

Having a partner in the Mystical Sect isn’t unusual, but partners are closer than just fellow members.

Ashton Todd had worked alongside Stella Gibson on almost every mission since his time at the Taoism Academy, making them rightful partners.

He immediately nodded,

"Yes, Stella and I have been old partners."

He spoke candidly, but in the living room, many of the elders, upon hearing his words, had slightly tense expressions, especially Stella’s grandfather.

Stella’s grandfather stared at Ashton Todd as if his gaze was penetrating, his cloudy eyes filled with solemnity,

"I heard you came looking for array materials, what exactly are you looking for?"

Ashton Todd hadn’t planned on asking for anything right away, but since the question was posed, he answered directly,

"I heard from Stella that the Gibson Family has a thousand-year-old corpse nourishing land. I came this time mainly to dig some thousand-year-old corpse soil for a small experiment."

Ashton Todd had previously asked Stella Gibson to bring some corpse soil from the academy, and even though it wasn’t a thousand years old, it was still corpse soil, so he didn’t think much of it.

However, hearing him mention thousand-year-old corpse soil, the elders in the room all looked at him.

Even the expression of the seventh cousin who had led him changed when looking at Ashton Todd.

As for the elder who had asked him earlier, his eyes narrowed further, filled with seriousness and depth,

"You want thousand-year-old corpse soil?"

Ashton Todd instinctively felt something was off but couldn’t pinpoint it.

After all, when he came, Stella Gibson hadn’t mentioned that they couldn’t dig the thousand-year-old corpse soil.

He wasn’t oblivious either; pondering for two seconds, Ashton Todd cautiously asked, "Is there a cost for it?"

Judging by the solemn expressions of these elders, this thousand-year-old corpse soil was certainly not cheap.

Ashton Todd had already planned to have Ivan or the Security Bureau reimburse him later.

After all, sealing the Misfortune Cave and liberating the Five-Colored Divine Soul was everyone’s responsibility.

When he mentioned money, Stella’s grandfather frowned visibly, about to reprimand him, but the uncle raised a hand to stop him.

Looking back at Ashton Todd, the uncle was still kind,

"There’s no cost, but the thousand-year-old corpse soil is a secret treasure accumulated and nurtured by our family for generations, certainly not something we can just give you."

Hearing this, Ashton Todd was about to ask what it would take to acquire it, but the uncle had already waved his hand dismissively, saying,

"It’s late; you all have been on the road all day and must be tired. Rest first; we’ll discuss the corpse soil tomorrow."

Ashton Todd felt puzzled and could only look at Stella Gibson.

Stella’s childlike face showed some hesitation, wanting to say something, but the uncle and a few grandfathers glanced at her with warning eyes.

Stella Gibson had no choice but to obediently comply with Ashton Todd.

Leaving the bamboo building, they walked towards Stella’s own bamboo house to settle Ashton down first.

Ashton Todd, once sold out before, couldn’t help but ask Stella as she led the way,

"Stella Gibson, why did your elders act so strangely when I mentioned thousand-year-old corpse soil? Are you hiding something from me?"

As he spoke, he seemed to think of something and looked wary,

"You’re not tricking me into being some kind of captive husband here, are you?"

Such things have happened before.

It’s heard that some witchcraft families at the Voodoo Border have similar practices; the Corpse Chasing Clan isn’t much different from witchcraft.

Hearing this, Stella Gibson rolled her eyes dramatically at him,

"A captive husband? You think you’re worthy?"

She muttered under her breath,

"You’re not even half as good-looking or built as my Jing Jing, and you’re stingy. If we kept you here, you probably wouldn’t even bring a dowry."

Ashton Todd wasn’t pleased to hear this,

"Who are you looking down on?!"

He might not have money, but you can’t just say it!

What if the deity of poverty hears?

Stella Gibson was used to bickering with him and only gave a cursory hum or two in response.

After arranging his accommodations, the pair quickly washed up and went to sleep.

Though Ashton Todd talked about suspecting Stella Gibson would sell him out, he fell asleep faster than anyone as soon as he hit the bed.

He slept well into the morning.

The two had breakfast prepared by Mrs. Gibson, while Stella quietly muttered to him,

"In a moment, I’ll take you on a tour around the village, and then we’ll sneak over to the Corpse Nourishing Land. Don’t worry; I know the place well."

As they quietly plotted, they suddenly heard a heavy cough from behind.

Turning around, they saw Mr. Gibson standing at the door, eyes steadily fixed on Ashton Todd.

The plan was Stella Gibson’s idea, but Mr. Gibson’s gaze at Ashton Todd felt like he was disapproving of him for leading a child astray.

Ashton Todd: ...

What a misunderstanding!

He wanted to explain, but Mr. Gibson wouldn’t listen; instead, he drew a brow and said,

"After breakfast, go back to town with your seventh cousin and take on a task."

Mr. Gibson said, looking at Ashton Todd,

"Thousand-year-old corpse soil is never given casually to outsiders. If you want it, you’ll have to do work for the clan."

Ashton Todd, hearing "do work," instinctively recalled yesterday’s street of funerals.

Thinking this work... it couldn’t be that they wanted him to cremate bodies or host funerals?

That he could actually do.

He’s done similar part-time jobs and even brought his suona~

Opening his mouth, just about to agree and appear good-natured, he then heard Mr. Gibson say,

"Early in the morning, people came to ask for our clan’s help—to find and return a corpse."