Qingyang Demonic Sect

Qin Sang prepared everything he needed, then first went to Dichen Cave to retrieve the living corpse. Nourished by the fiend qi over this period, the living corpse's sea of qi had fully recovered. Qin Sang found a secluded spot and summoned the living corpse to test its strength. Although the living corpse's original body had been Liang Yan, its repertoire of techniques was limited, and its earth fiend qi could not be replenished during battle, making it less formidable than a true middle Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, it was certainly far stronger than a baleful corpse. If an early Foundation Establishment cultivator encountered this living corpse, they would have to tread with extreme caution; a single misstep could see them injured by the corpse, infected with corpse poison, and suffering the same fate as Senior Sister Qingting. Qin Sang was very satisfied. After picking up the magic tool from Shopkeeper Wu's shop, he rode the Nether Silk Cloud, flying due east toward Tianduan Mountain. In less than a month, Qin Sang entered Tianduan Mountain and arrived near the Heavenly Corpse Sect branch altar. Three spirit eyes converged here in an extraordinary landscape, which had likely already been claimed by some senior brother from Shaohua Mountain as a cave dwelling. Qin Sang had no desire to revisit the past. He merely recalled past events and old acquaintances like Senior Sister Qingting and Yu Daiyue. Pausing his flight light for a moment, he cast a glance in the direction of the Heavenly Corpse Cave before turning northeast. Under the deterrence of the Chunyang Sect, the demonic sect forces had either migrated north, retreated into the depths of Tianduan Mountain, or kept an extraordinarily low profile, so Qin Sang rarely encountered demonic cultivators at first. Once he entered the demonic sect heartland, however, Qin Sang's appearance changed drastically. By now, he wore a hooded cloak and black robes. His aura was normal, not eerie and cold like demonic cultivators, but strapped to his back was a black coffin. This black coffin was the simplest corpse-nourishing magic tool recorded in the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art. Corpse puppet pouches were exceedingly difficult to refine, so the vast majority of Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples could only use this sort of black coffin. Apart from storing and nourishing refined corpses, the black coffin had no other abilities and was not complicated to craft. After obtaining Shopkeeper Wu's jade slip, Qin Sang had succeeded in crafting one after only a few attempts. Inside the black coffin lay the baleful corpse, with faint corpse qi seeping through the wood. Using this as a disguise, no one could claim he did not look like a demonic cultivator. Moreover, Qin Sang kept a low profile and focused entirely on traveling, so he encountered no blind fools looking for trouble along the way. He finally arrived at their agreed meeting place right on time. Wuya Valley. It was said that all the ferocious, baleful blood qi between heaven and earth settled here. The ferocious, baleful blood qi in the valley gave birth to countless blood fiends and ghostly apparitions, and many yin beasts and monstrous beasts hid within, warped by the environment to become naturally brutal and bloodthirsty. Yet the most terrifying thing was not these monsters and ghosts, but the ancient restrictions ubiquitous throughout the valley, some of which were even more horrifying than spatial rifts. Worse still, in certain places, spatial rifts and ancient restrictions were tangled together, forcing even Nascent Soul cultivators to take a detour. It was indisputably one of the most perilous places in Tianduan Mountain. The valley was divided into three layers. Most cultivators could only operate in the first layer. Entering the second layer required at least Foundation Establishment cultivation. Even then, within the vast expanse of Wuya Valley, Foundation Establishment cultivators dared only follow the few charted paths, remaining constantly on high alert, for a single misstep meant death and the end of their cultivation path. Countless cultivators slept here eternally. As for the third layer—the inner valley of Wuya Valley—the word "dangerous" could no longer do it justice; every step was a fatal trap, a hopeless dead end! This was what Qin Sang had learned in a demonic cultivation market called Qingyang Market. Qingyang Market was still some distance from Wuya Valley, but it enjoyed great renown. The demonic sect behind it, the Qingyang Demonic Sect, was famed throughout the Lesser Cold Domain. For Qingyang City, one of the seven great passes of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, was named after a founding patriarch of the Qingyang Demonic Sect! The Qingyang Demonic Sect's most renowned divine ability, the Qingyang Demonic Fire, was not only immensely powerful, striking terror into the hearts of their enemies, but its origin was also extraordinarily peculiar. It was said to be a demonic fire born from a secret method of the sect that refined Qingyang Divine Astral Qi, one of the Heavenly Astral Qis from high above in the Nine Heavens. High above in the Nine Heavens, divine astral winds raged fiercely, eroding bone and soul alike. The higher one went, the more terrifying the astral wind's might became. Far from ordinary disciples of the Qingyang Demonic Sect, not even Nascent Soul cultivators possessed the ability to pierce through the astral wind belt to collect Heavenly Astral Qi from the Nine Heavens. The founding patriarch of the Qingyang Demonic Sect, having obtained the secret method, searched throughout the cultivation world and finally discovered Qingyang Astral Essence—formed from astral qi fallen from the heavens—on a mountain that was now the mountain gate of the Qingyang Demonic Sect. Overjoyed, he used it as the foundation to establish the sect. Though the Qingyang Demonic Sect today was not as prosperous as in its heyday, it remained a dominant power among the demonic sects of Tianduan Mountain. In particular, its grand mountain-protecting formation was something even Nascent Soul cultivators would avoid crossing. Having gathered information about Wuya Valley at the Qingyang Demonic Sect's market, Qin Sang understood why Yunyouzi had agreed to meet here. Due to the presence of the ferocious, baleful blood qi inside Wuya Valley, the entrance was shrouded year-round in thick blood miasma. Not only was the blood miasma violently toxic, it was also bitterly cold. Cultivators dared not rely on their spiritual power to forcibly endure the blood miasma in such a place, leaving them to seek other means. The Qingyang Demonic Sect's Qingyang Demonic Fire happened to have a restraining effect on the blood miasma. The sect refined wisps of the demonic fire into magic tools and sold them to cultivators venturing into Wuya Valley as the premier protective ward. Though it was a demonic market, it was not fundamentally different from the cultivation markets Qin Sang had seen before. The cultivators within obeyed the rules laid down by the Qingyang Demonic Sect and did not casually break into fights. He had already taken off the black coffin as he waited for Yunyouzi. Taking advantage of this spare time, Qin Sang had also strolled through Qingyang Market, paying special attention to demonic sects renowned for corpse refining to see if he could turn up any clues, but he found none with ties to the Heavenly Corpse Sect. Qin Sang returned to his rented courtyard and cultivated for a while. Emerging from meditation, he frowned inwardly. The appointed time was almost upon them, yet Yunyouzi had still not appeared. Had something delayed him? Right at that moment, Qin Sang suddenly felt the restriction at the door being touched. A look of vigilance crossed Qin Sang's face. Sweeping out with his spiritual sense, he discovered that the person outside was indeed Yunyouzi. Overjoyed, he quickly rose and welcomed Yunyouzi inside. "I followed the secret marks you left to find this place, Brother Qin. I've kept you waiting—forgive me!" Yunyouzi was covered in dust from travel, suggesting he had likely not rested once along the way. Stepping into the courtyard, he apologized to Qin Sang, explaining, "Upon returning to my sect, I set to preparations at once. Alas, one of the essential items was exceedingly difficult to craft. This old Daoist failed twice in succession and nearly exhausted my spiritual materials before finally succeeding. I almost fell short at the final hurdle! Pure luck, pure luck!" "As long as Senior has prepared everything..." In truth, Qin Sang had not waited very long, and his days in Qingyang Market had not been wasted. The two went inside the room and sat down. As soon as Yunyouzi took his seat, he asked, "How long has Brother Qin been here? You must already know the use of the Qingyang Demonic Fire, yes?" Qin Sang nodded and produced two jade pendants from his mustard seed bag. "I bought two of the finest quality. I wonder if they will be enough?"