Song Yi

Dichen Cave. The disciple guarding Dichen Cave was cultivating inside his cave dwelling. Qin Sang arrived concealed by stealth, located the crevice from before, and landed upon that stone platform. First, he took out the Shaoyin Magnetic Bottle and filled it with earth fiend qi. Then, with a wave of his hand, he laid down a grand formation to conceal his aura before summoning the two refined corpses. Only the final step remained: refining the fiend qi into their bodies. Once that was done, he would succeed. However, this was also the most difficult step, and Qin Sang was far from confident. If the refinement failed and a corpse's sea of qi was destroyed, it could only be turned into a standard zombie as a meager consolation, meaning a Heavenly Corpse Talisman and the corpse of a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be utterly wasted. It would have been better to just kill them outright and refine them into baleful corpses. This corpse refinement method was indeed formidable, but the cost was tremendous. Not only were the materials rare and difficult to find, but every single step was fraught with uncertainty. It was no wonder that even Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples could not manage to have a living corpse each. Qin Sang had rehearsed the process countless times in his mind. After inspecting the refined corpses, he set to work. Having two refined corpses provided a margin for error. The young man in martial attire had a cultivation level one tier lower than Liang Yan's, so Qin Sang began with him. Circulating his spiritual power, he drew forth a wisp of earth fiend qi, subdued it, and drove it into the baleful corpse's sea of qi. Instantly, it triggered fierce resistance from the spiritual power within the corpse. ... Three days later, Qin Sang emerged from Dichen Cave, his expression rather somber. His poor mood was understandable. Out of the two living corpses, he had succeeded with only one. Fortunately, the one that succeeded was Liang Yan, the stronger of the two. As for the young man in martial attire, his dantian had been completely ruined during the violent clash between spiritual power and earth fiend qi. Qin Sang had no choice but to turn him into a zombie to serve as cannon fodder. Liang Yan's sea of qi had also suffered significant damage and nearly failed, but Qin Sang had managed to salvage it just in time. Qin Sang glanced back at Dichen Cave. He had left the refined corpse inside, allowing it to bathe in the earth fiend qi and nurture itself for a time until it recovered on its own. Of his three most important tasks, two were now complete. The last was to return to the sect and search the archives for records regarding Ziwei Palace, though he did not know whether Pagoda Peak possessed any. The rest were minor matters. Once the appointed time arrived, he could head to Tianduan Mountain to rendezvous with Yunyouzi. Riding the Nether Silk Cloud, he headed straight for Xianglong Mountain in Guyuan Country. Huilong Temple was ostensibly his cave abode, where others would leave voice transmission talismans if they sought him out. After disabling Huilong Temple's restrictions, Qin Sang discovered quite a collection of talismans had accumulated inside. Voice transmission talismans of varying colors drifted within the grand formation like mayflies, twinkling like scattered stars. Qin Sang patiently gathered them one by one to examine them. Among them were routine notices from his sect, as well as messages from passing cultivators who, upon noticing a spiritual array at Huilong Temple, had left notes expressing a desire to make his acquaintance. There were also letters from acquaintances such as Shopkeeper Wu, Senior Brother Wen, and Zhuang Yan. To Qin Sang's surprise, one of them was actually from Granny Jing—the senior who ran the secret shop in Wenyue Cultivation Market. She invited him to lend a hand, promising a rather handsome reward. Moreover, this was not a task posted by another fellow daoist in the secret shop, but an invitation under Granny Jing's own name. Counting the time, it had arrived shortly after his departure for the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, so he naturally had been unable to respond. Holding the voice transmission talisman between his fingers, Qin Sang pondered in silence. From the very first time he met Granny Jing, she had given him an impenetrable sense of mystery. His impression had only deepened through several encounters, and he particularly respected how strictly she upheld the secret shop's rules. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators were among the secret shop's patrons, making it an excellent network. Forming a good relationship with Granny Jing was certainly no bad thing. He had not known about the message before, but now that he had returned, it would be best to go in person and explain things clearly. It would not take much time anyway. More than ninety percent of the talismans were useless. After lingering at Huilong Temple for an hour to sort everything out, Qin Sang flew toward Shaohua Mountain. ... Wenyue Cultivation Market. Decades had passed, yet the market had barely changed. Qin Sang walked down the street, making his way toward Shopkeeper Wu's shop. Shopkeeper Wu had left several flying talismans at Huilong Temple. In recent years, he had left one almost every year, with the most recent arriving just two months ago. Although the messages contained only words of greeting, Qin Sang deduced from their frequency that Shopkeeper Wu had likely run into some trouble. Since he was planning to ask Shopkeeper Wu to refine a few magic tools for him anyway, he came straight over. If Shopkeeper Wu's trouble was minor and within his power, he would not mind lending a hand where appropriate. The shop still stood in its original location. Qin Sang paused briefly, his gaze sweeping past the "Li Residence" opposite the shop, before stepping inside. "Welcome, Senior! May I ask if Senior is here to purchase a magic tool or have one refined?" Shopkeeper Wu was not in the shop. Instead, there was only a youth of eighteen or nineteen. Seeing Qin Sang enter, he immediately came forward with enthusiasm, serving tea and offering a seat. He was quite lively by nature. The youth was also a cultivator. Taking a clear look at his appearance, Qin Sang's eyes flickered slightly. He took a sip of tea and said, "Is Fellow Daoist Wu not in?" "Ah!" the youth gasped. "So Senior knows Master? To answer Senior, Master is refining magic tools in the backyard. I will fetch him right away." Master? Watching the youth's retreating figure, a subtle, intriguing smile appeared at the corner of Qin Sang's lips. Not long after the youth left, hurried footsteps sounded from the backyard. Then Shopkeeper Wu, now sporting a full head of silver hair, strode out briskly, with the youth trotting behind him. "Fellow Daoist Qin! It has been over thirty years. Have you been well?" Shopkeeper Wu took three steps in two, rushing up to Qin Sang with palpable excitement in his expression and voice. Qin Sang stood to greet him and cupped his hands in return. "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wu." Before Qin Sang left Shaohua Mountain, Shopkeeper Wu had looked like a middle-aged man in his prime, yet now his once-black hair was completely silver. Having failed to reach Foundation Establishment, the ravages of time were clearly visible upon him. "You still possess the bearing of days past, Fellow Daoist, while I have grown decrepit with age! How shameful! Truly shameful!" Shopkeeper Wu nearly covered his face, sighing incessantly. The two sat opposite each other, catching up on the past. The youth stood respectfully to the side with his hands clasped, quietly sizing up Qin Sang. Still having a youthful nature, he did not know how to conceal his emotions; curiosity and anticipation were easily discernible in his eyes. After finishing a pot of tea, Qin Sang set down his teacup, turned his gaze toward the youth pouring tea, and asked pleasantly, "What is your name?" The youth glanced at Shopkeeper Wu, who merely smiled without speaking. "Replying to Senior, this junior's name is Song Yi." "Song Yi..." Qin Sang nodded slightly and asked again, "What relation are Song Ying and Song Chengxian to you?" From his very first glance upon entering the shop, Qin Sang had felt the youth's features looked familiar. Fair and handsome, he bore a strong resemblance to the brother and sister, Song Hua and Song Ying. Song Chengxian was Song Ying's son. After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, Qin Sang had returned to the Song family to fulfill his earlier promise. Although he had not taken Song Chengxian as his disciple, he had left behind a Foundation Establishment Pill in repayment to the Song family. "To answer Senior, Song Ying is my maternal grandmother, and Song Chengxian is my maternal uncle," Song Yi replied.