The space inside the iron thumb ring was even larger than that of a mustard seed bag.
Even after Qin Sang packed everything inside, it only took up a small fraction of the space.
A sudden whim struck him. Opening his corpse puppet pouch, he summoned the only remaining baleful corpse, finding to his surprise that he could actually store it inside the iron thumb ring.
Then what about a living corpse?
With no living corpse available to test this on, Qin Sang thought of the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees and grabbed the spirit beast bag beside him.
*Bzzzz...*
A blood-red blur darted out of the spirit beast bag. Looking closely, one could see it was a fist-sized Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee.
These Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees were still larvae that had only undergone their first hatching, showing no signs of metamorphosis.
Not only that, their growth rate was exceptionally slow. The Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees currently in Qin Sang's possession were roughly the same in size and strength as the ones he had seen back in Wuya Valley.
Yet reaching this point seemed to be their limit. Qin Sang had tried using the methods for nurturing Ghosthead Bees to boost their strength, but it had yielded no results whatsoever.
He had once risked returning to the place where the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees bred to search for the cause of their mutation, only to find their nest already destroyed and overrun by countless ghost beasts, with the original Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees long gone.
Qin Sang still had no clue how to breed or raise them, so he could only feed them blood food to keep them alive.
Although the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bees were irascible, recognized no kin, and adamantly refused to acknowledge a master, Qin Sang's long period of feeding them had yielded some effect.
At the very least, upon sensing Qin Sang's aura, they wouldn't go mad and attack him outright.
Yet it went no further than that; commanding them against an enemy was still impossible. Were it not for the fact that Ghosthead Bees were rare and exotic insects, Qin Sang would have discarded them long ago.
The Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee hovered before Qin Sang. This was only one of them.
Back then, Qin Sang had taken an entire beehive, eventually hatching over two hundred of them. Although their individual combat prowess was not high, if he released all the Ghosthead Bees from the spirit beast bag at once, an early Foundation Establishment cultivator caught off guard would suffer heavy injuries.
Qin Sang channeled his true essence, restrained the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee, and sent it into the iron thumb ring.
After waiting a moment, he summoned it back out, only to find that the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee was stone-dead.
"It seems I still can't discard the corpse puppet pouch and spirit beast bag."
Qin Sang shook his head, waved his hand to clear away the dead bee and the clutter in the cave, and absentmindedly twirled the iron thumb ring on his right thumb, sinking into deep thought.
After a while, Qin Sang collected his thoughts and sat cross-legged in meditation once more.
This time, he guarded his mind inward, "gazing" at the corpse core. Then, his consciousness returned to his origin soul space, and he decisively unbound the Heavenly Corpse Talisman in his origin soul!
*Snap!*
Buddhist light flared brilliantly, and the Heavenly Corpse Talisman shattered with a crisp sound.
At that moment, Qin Sang's heart leaped into his throat, watching the changes in his sea of qi with utmost tension.
The instant the Heavenly Corpse Talisman shattered, the corpse-refining restrictions across his body also became like rootless duckweed, breaking apart one after another. Even the Five Elements yin materials stabilizing his sea of qi showed signs of instability.
Qin Sang was quite surprised that they were the first to show any change.
Building the foundation with the Five Elements had been carried out before his soul was sealed by the Heavenly Corpse Talisman; he hadn't expected the talisman's destruction to trigger a chain reaction, nor for the changes to happen so astonishingly fast.
With the Five Elements yin materials destabilized, leaving them in the sea of qi served no purpose and might even cause disaster. Qin Sang did not dare delay, quickly expelling them before returning his attention to the changes in the corpse core.
In the span of a single breath, the corpse-refining restrictions across his body had mostly dissipated. Qin Sang clenched his fists, fixing his gaze unwaveringly on the corpse core.
The worst-case scenario had not come to pass.
Qin Sang could feel that although the Heavenly Corpse Talisman was shattered and the corpse-refining restrictions had dispersed, the affinity between him and the corpse core had not vanished. His hypothesis had come true!
However, it was far too early to celebrate.
The final restriction on his body shattered!
*Boom!*
True essence suddenly surged violently within his sea of qi.
The corpse core flared brightly and began trembling violently, causing the true essence in the sea of qi to churn furiously like boiling water.
Waves of sharp pain radiated from his dantian.
Qin Sang's expression changed drastically.
At this moment, although he and the corpse core had not become strangers, when he tried to channel true essence to stabilize it, he found a sluggish, unwieldy resistance unlike anything before.
It was like a child trying to wield a heavy broadsword—completely beyond his strength to lift.
Qin Sang's expression shifted uncertainly; he could hardly tell whether this outcome was good or bad.
Unable to utilize true essence, he had no way to stabilize the corpse core.
Still, since the core hadn't shattered outright or turned on him in backlash, there was at least a chance of salvage.
With a solemn look, Qin Sang pondered for a moment and hesitated no longer, extending all of his spiritual sense into the sea of qi. Racing against time to connect with the corpse core, he discovered that his spiritual sense was simply too weak. Without the aid of true essence, it was nowhere near enough to soothe the corpse core.
Still refusing to give up, Qin Sang immediately used his spiritual sense to drive the ebony sword into his dantian, revealing the aura of a magic treasure, but the effect was minimal.
When Qin Sang attempted to employ the power of restrictions—taking restrictions from the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art* used to refine corpse cores and aid the unity of person and core, modifying some based on his own understanding of restrictions, and casting them one after another at the corpse core—it finally produced some effect.
However, he still could not subdue the corpse core. If this continued, it would undoubtedly end with the corpse core slipping completely beyond his control.
Yet during this process, the connection between Qin Sang and the corpse core grew increasingly clear, and an understanding dawned on him.
The cause of this phenomenon likely wasn't that the corpse core was trying to break free of his control.
Rather, his own strength was simply too weak. Moreover, the only power he could currently employ was spiritual sense; without the aid of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman and the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art*, it was virtually impossible to command the corpse core, which in turn caused the core's instability and the stagnation of his true essence.
Their connection remained unbroken, and Qin Sang was certain that the corpse core harbored no rejection toward him.
As long as he could stabilize the corpse core, he could bring it under control once more!
Of course, this did not mean Qin Sang had to possess power greater than the corpse core to suppress it. He only needed to deflect a thousand catties with four ounces, utilizing the core's affinity toward him and the restrictions of the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art* to subdue it and prevent it from running amok.
Otherwise, if the corpse core were weaker than Qin Sang's own strength, what purpose would it serve?
*Right, spiritual power!*
Qin Sang suddenly recalled that once the Heavenly Corpse Talisman was undone, he would be reborn, and the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* would return; he could use spiritual power to stabilize the corpse core.
Yet his own cultivation was only at the False Core stage, still insufficient to control the corpse core.
After all, this corpse core was capable of contending with a genuine Core Formation cultivator!
Qin Sang's mind raced, pondering whether there were any other solutions. In the end, he could only think of one: proactively dissipating a portion of the corpse core's power.
According to his estimates, if he dissipated the corpse core's power down to the level of a Flying Yaksha, he should be able to subdue it and use it as an external core in the future.
This was a great pity, as he would no longer be able to offend Core Formation cultivators with impunity.
Chapter 539