A Sudden Turn of Events

As strands of earth fiend qi battered the demon core, its color gradually changed. Nearly half of the demon core was now dyed black. At this moment, the demon core appeared exceptionally bizarre, neither quite demonic nor purely fiendish. Everything seemed tranquil on the surface. If this steady progress could continue, then once the demon core turned entirely black, Earth Fiend Core Piercing would be complete. The refinement of this Flying Yaksha could then be proclaimed a success. Regrettably, worldly affairs seldom went as one wished. Though Qin Sang had never slacked off, pouring all his energy into observing every minuscule change within the demon core, he was still caught completely off guard by the sudden turn of events. Without the slightest warning, the demon power within the demon core abruptly erupted. Before Qin Sang could even withdraw the fiend qi, it reached the peak of fury at startling speed and violently clashed with the earth fiend qi! Caught unawares, Qin Sang had no choice but to frantically push his spiritual power, commanding Yu Hua in an attempt to salvage the situation. To his dismay, all his efforts were entirely futile at this moment, incapable of halting it. Soon, Qin Sang felt faint tears appearing within the demon core; it was on the verge of self-detonating. In an instant, the situation deteriorated beyond control. Qin Sang's heart plummeted into the abyss, his entire body turning cold. Reason told Qin Sang that his sole option was to abandon it and flee immediately! He could not stop the demon core from self-detonating, and the living corpse was beyond saving. Leaving before the core detonated would give him a chance to escape the blast radius, preventing severe injuries that would only compound his troubles. Qin Sang did not know that even among the disciples of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, only a tiny minority of standout talents dared to refine a Flying Yaksha during the Foundation Establishment stage, and those who undertook the refinement alone without seeking aid from elders or peers were even rarer. Yet how could Qin Sang accept this! For the sake of a Flying Yaksha, he had poured in untold effort: a Heavenly Corpse Talisman, a False Core stage living corpse, a demon core—every single item was extraordinarily precious. More importantly, failure here would introduce tremendous uncertainty into his subsequent plans. Without a Flying Yaksha, the only things he could rely on were two magic treasures that could unleash their might only fleetingly, and a single Xutian Thunder with a limited blast range. Qin Sang knew how terrifying Core Formation stage cultivators were. Even if Daoist Jiupao had yet to recover from his heavy wounds, these measures might not suffice. He would never resign himself to failing like this! A magic treasure! Confronted by the increasingly violent demon core, Qin Sang remained motionless. Suddenly, a glint flashed between his brows, and the ebony sword shot forth without hesitation, flying directly into Yu Hua's sea of qi. Qin Sang had anticipated such a predicament before. After mulling it over repeatedly, the only recourse available to him was borrowing the power of the ebony sword. The ebony sword was on par with a magic treasure; in rank, it was by no means inferior to the demon core. Yet how much help it could provide was something Qin Sang had no certainty about whatsoever. But how would he know without trying? Inside Yu Hua's sea of qi. The ebony sword quietly arrived above the demon core. Around the demon core, the storm was already spreading outward. The ebony sword pierced cleanly into the heart of the storm, locking onto the demon core. *Boom!* Sword qi abruptly erupted, laying bare the full might of a magic treasure. The fierce sword qi pierced through the storm and descended straight over the demon core! At that moment, the tempest around the demon core momentarily paused. It worked! Qin Sang's eyes flashed with fierce brilliance. Overjoyed, he seized this hard-won opportunity to swiftly separate the two clashing forces, and the storm gradually subsided at last. Qin Sang did not recall the ebony sword either. He let it hover quietly inside Yu Hua's sea of qi as he continued the Earth Fiend Core Piercing. Whether the ebony sword truly played a decisive role or not, the subsequent steps went extraordinarily smoothly. After only a few minor hiccups, the fiend core was refined with relative ease. As expected, the fiend qi within Yu Hua was insufficient, running dry halfway through the process. Fortunately, Qin Sang had chosen to conduct the refinement in Dichen Cave, where it was replenished in time, preventing any irreversible damage. The exquisite demon core had turned pitch-black, an unsightly thing painful to behold. The fiend core rotated slowly within Yu Hua, unleashing churning fiend qi that the restrictions within his body could no longer suppress. The dense fiend qi surged directly into his meridians, rampaging throughout his form, and even his origin soul could not escape it. Even as it tempered his fleshly body, it made Yu Hua's corpse-like traits ever more pronounced. Originally, Yu Hua had not changed much as a living corpse. Particularly since Qin Sang had infused the Spirit Concealment Art into him to mask the corpse qi, anyone who did not look closely would mistake him for a living person. If others saw him now, they would surely grow suspicious, for his skin—including his face—had turned bluish-black, just like Wu Shang in the ice cavern of Wuya Valley. Yet this was of little consequence. Exhausted nearly to the point of collapse, Qin Sang plopped onto the ground, gazing at Yu Hua with boundless delight. A Flying Yaksha! A Flying Yaksha! It was finally refined! With a Flying Yaksha to assist him, sweeping through Foundation Establishment without a rival was by no means an extravagant fantasy. After recovering slightly, Qin Sang could not wait to summon the Flying Yaksha. He inspected the fiend core within its body; it had truly integrated with Yu Hua and begun transforming into a corpse fiend core. Just as he had anticipated, his soul imprint remained rock solid. Even after transforming into a Flying Yaksha, Yu Hua showed no intention of resisting, remaining thoroughly obedient. Moments later, Qin Sang retracted his spiritual sense and looked the Flying Yaksha up and down. Its changes corresponded point by point with Wu Shang's records. During the process of refining the Flying Yaksha, Qin Sang gained a deeper understanding of the secret art left behind by Wu Shang: Congealing Fiend and Refining Astral Qi. Perhaps Wu Shang's secret art truly held some feasibility. If half of the earth fiend qi were replaced with Qiantian astral qi... As wondrous substances born of heaven and earth's spiritual fortune, it might genuinely neutralize and balance the earth fiend qi, thereby preventing the earth fiend qi from assaulting areas beyond the fiend core. Then one would not undergo an immediate, irreversible corpse transformation like Yu Hua. In that case, the sole hidden danger of the Congealing Fiend and Refining Astral Qi secret art would be the Heavenly Corpse Talisman. And the jade Buddha could shatter the Heavenly Corpse Talisman... Theoretically, even if Wu Shang's secret art failed, there would be no danger to himself. Yet all of this was mere conjecture, fraught with uncertainty. Unless driven to a dead end, Qin Sang would not stake everything on one throw. He still had the Kanli Golden Pill, as well as the snow spirit lotus and iris flower—the pair of spirit medicines that offered the greatest assistance in Core Formation. For now, there was no need to force himself onto such a path. Putting away these stray thoughts, Qin Sang examined it a while longer before putting it back into the corpse puppet pouch. The evolution of the corpse core would take some time, and only then would it be a true Flying Yaksha. Next, Qin Sang casually laid down a Spirit Gathering Array and sat in meditation to regulate his breath. Once his strength had fully recovered, Qin Sang immediately departed Dichen Cave. Without even returning to his sect once, he rode the Nether Silk Cloud and headed straight toward the northeast. Cultivation and corpse refining had already consumed far too much time. He did not know whether Ji Wu had delivered the Guifu Pill yet. Qin Sang had to race against the clock. The longer things were dragged out, the more unforeseen variables would arise. Still, before seeking trouble with Daoist Jiupao, Qin Sang had one more matter to attend to: going to Wuya Valley to subdue the spirit of that vicious flood dragon and upgrade the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman. That way, should any accident occur, he would have a retreat route.