A Legendary Figure

Jiang Ying, whom they had mentioned earlier, was a disciple of the Taiyi Dan Sect. It was said that a Golden Core Master of the sect had brought her in, and once she succeeded in Foundation Establishment, she could formally enter under that master's tutelage. Her innate talent was also exceptional; before turning forty, she had already reached the peak of the thirteenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage. She had come to the Tianjing Secret Realm for tempering as well, seeking an opportunity to break through. Qin Sang wanted to inquire about Yunyouzi through her, as he was immensely curious about the man. Such a figure would certainly not be unknown. The fact that he hadn't heard of him before was likely because Qin Sang had always focused solely on cultivation and rarely made small talk with others. Upon returning to his cave dwelling, Qin Sang had just finished refining a zombie when he noticed the cave dwelling's warding restriction was touched. Sweeping out with his spiritual sense, he found Jiang Ying standing outside the door. He dispelled the lingering cold yin chill inside the cave dwelling and opened the restriction. "Senior, were you looking for me?" With the three major sects—including Shaohua Mountain—jointly guarding Xuanlu Pass, there was at least harmony on the surface. Jiang Ying calling Qin Sang "Senior" or "Martial Uncle" was entirely appropriate. "Miss Jiang must have heard it from those two fellows, Zhao Ji and the other..." Qin Sang shook his head wryly and invited Jiang Ying inside. "There is indeed a small matter. I had originally intended to wait until you finished your seclusion; I hope I didn't disrupt your cultivation." "This junior's seclusion was only to temper a magic tool..." ... "Senior is asking about Martial Uncle Yunyouzi?" Hearing Qin Sang inquire about Yunyouzi, Jiang Ying's spirits visibly soared. "He is a legendary figure in our sect! I had no idea Senior knew of him as well." "Oh?" Qin Sang briefly explained how they met. "I happened to cross paths with Senior Yunyouzi at Changyang Cultivation Market. I heard that Senior Yunyouzi only successfully reached Foundation Establishment past the age of one hundred?" Jiang Ying nodded repeatedly like a chick pecking at grain. The moment Yunyouzi was mentioned, stars practically sparkled in her eyes, showing she revered him to the utmost. "It is said that Martial Uncle Yunyouzi was seventy-eight years old when Grandmaster Piaoya of the Core Formation stage brought him into the sect. At the time, everyone thought Grandmaster Piaoya was merely indulging a passing whim, taking Martial Uncle Yunyouzi in as a medicine boy. Who would have expected Grandmaster Piaoya would actually let Martial Uncle Yunyouzi cultivate alongside the other disciples? "Given Martial Uncle Yunyouzi's age, it should have been completely impossible for him to achieve much. Some cultivators not even as old as him had already given up on the immortal path and returned home to live out their remaining years. "Even when people ridiculed him, he was unmoved. Instead, he would say with a chuckle that he wasn't overly ambitious and would be content just forming a Nascent Soul. "At first, everyone treated Martial Uncle Yunyouzi as a joke, but he persevered and cultivated as hard as any young disciple. He was truly an ascetic cultivator—living in seclusion, free from worldly distractions, never giving up. "Not only did his cultivation continue to rise, but Martial Uncle Yunyouzi also possessed immense talent in the dao of alchemy, his mastery growing ever deeper, until everyone began to look up to him in admiration. "Grandmaster Piaoya also held Martial Uncle Yunyouzi in high esteem. It is said he even personally fired up a cauldron to refine pills to help slow the aging of Martial Uncle Yunyouzi's origin soul. "Yet the ways of the world are unpredictable. Just as Martial Uncle Yunyouzi was on the verge of breaking through to the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage, Grandmaster Piaoya suddenly passed away and ascended. "Aside from Grandmaster Piaoya, no other Core Formation grandmaster was willing to look after Martial Uncle Yunyouzi. "According to our sect's rules, someone of Martial Uncle Yunyouzi's age was ineligible to receive a Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward. To obtain one, aside from concocting it himself, his only option was to take part in the sect trials. "Martial Uncle Yunyouzi lacked the spirit herbs needed to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill, leaving the trials as his only path. "However, the sect trials take place in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield and are extraordinarily perilous. For Martial Uncle Yunyouzi, this was especially true: he had spent all his time in bitter cultivation at the mountain gate, studying alchemy in his spare hours. He knew next to nothing about combat, and his aged body was a severe disadvantage compared to younger cultivators. "Martial Uncle Yunyouzi resolutely chose to join the trial, and against all odds, he passed and obtained a Foundation Establishment Pill. Afterwards, he even remained alone in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield in search of opportunities, staying for ten full years. "Ten years later, Martial Uncle Yunyouzi returned to the sect, entered secluded cultivation to break through, and ultimately succeeded in reaching Foundation Establishment at the age of one hundred and eighteen! In an instant, he became a legend in the sect, revered by all!" Seeing the adoration on Jiang Ying's face, Qin Sang realized she was clearly one of his worshippers. Who would have thought he would encounter a fangirl even in this world? Qin Sang nodded inwardly. Everything Jiang Ying said matched what he had heard from Yunyouzi. The Taiyi Dan Sect truly lived up to its reputation as an immortal sect renowned under heaven for alchemy; they had enough Foundation Establishment Pills that disciples could earn them through trials. Back at Shaohua Mountain, if one failed to reach the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage before forty, one could forget about ever seeing a Foundation Establishment Pill. Curious, he asked, "Senior Yunyouzi mentioned that reaching Foundation Establishment left behind hidden ailments that affect his subsequent cultivation. Do you know what those ailments might be?" Jiang Ying shook her head. "This junior has indeed heard of that. After all, at Martial Uncle Yunyouzi's advanced age, succeeding through normal means was simply impossible. Using some secret art or taking spirit pills that forcibly induce Foundation Establishment would inevitably leave lingering flaws. Perhaps that is why, after his breakthrough, Martial Uncle Yunyouzi hurried straight back to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, as if constantly searching for something, appearing and disappearing like a dragon in the clouds. As for what the hidden affliction is, we don't know either; Martial Uncle Yunyouzi wouldn't advertise it... Senior, when you met Martial Uncle Yunyouzi, how was his condition?" Facing Jiang Ying's expectant gaze, Qin Sang could only recount the circumstances of their meeting. "Senior Yunyouzi's cultivation is higher than mine, and his vital essence and blood are robust. You need not worry about him..." Qin Sang asked Jiang Ying a few more questions. After seeing her off, he pondered for a moment, then took out the other two corpses and refined them both into corpse puppets. By now, he was thoroughly familiar with the technique. Counting these, his corpse puppet pouch held seven zombies and three baleful corpses, accumulated over many years. He could barely manage this number of corpse puppets. If all three baleful corpses were deployed at once, they could easily hold off a Foundation Establishment cultivator for a period of time, giving him enough leeway to prepare the Ten Directions Yanluo Array or a talisman treasure. However, what Qin Sang looked forward to most was still refining a living corpse. The living corpse's capabilities had left a deep impression on Qin Sang back in the cavern; it was undeniably a formidable helper. Moreover, the Heavenly Corpse Sect even had a method to elevate a living corpse into a Flying Yaksha! Within the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Foundation Establishment cultivators who sought to control a Flying Yaksha feared losing control and suffering the puppet's backlash. Even if they gathered all the necessary materials to advance the puppet, they wouldn't dare act rashly, waiting until they broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage before daring to take the step. Qin Sang's soul imprint carried the aura of the jade Buddha, so he had no need to worry about that issue. As long as Qin Sang could find the missing latter half of the manual, he could possess a puppet rivaling an early Golden Core cultivator while still in Foundation Establishment! However, it was still too early to speak of that. He had yet to find an opportunity to capture a Foundation Establishment cultivator alive, and refining a Heavenly Corpse Talisman was no simple feat either. Its primary ingredient was a spiritual herb known as soul-attracting grass. After numerous inquiries, Qin Sang had learned that this soul-attracting grass was extraordinarily precious, beyond comparison to ordinary Five Elements yin materials, and quite rare in today's cultivation world. Finding it would require a great stroke of luck.