Corpse Refining Art

Yin qi permeated the marsh. Who knew how many living beings had been swallowed by the mire to cultivate such a vast expanse of extreme yin? Along the swamp's outer perimeter, the yin qi was faint, and spiritual energy was actually richer than elsewhere. Yet unless one was a ghost dao cultivator who drew upon yin qi to cultivate, ordinary practitioners would never carve out a cave dwelling here. Deep within the marsh, the dense yin qi congealed without dispersing, devouring all vitality. Practically no living creature could be seen, bearing a resemblance to the Yin Baleful Abyss of the Kuiyin Sect. In such a place, however, stood a stone pagoda, half-submerged in the mire and half-floating above it. At this moment, three figures hovered before the pagoda. A large crater had been blasted into the swamp below. The surrounding black muck was sliding back toward the center, churning up mud from the depths in shades of black and yellow, exuding a rancid stench. The nauseating scene was repulsive to behold. Standing before the stone pagoda was a square-jawed cultivator. His face was livid, and his left hand, tucked inside his sleeve, trembled uncontrollably—concealed only because he was forcibly suppressing it with his true essence so that nothing could be detected from without. "Impressive methods, sir!" Clenching his fists, his face dark with rage, the square-jawed cultivator ground his teeth and said, "Fine! I admit defeat. The corpse refining art is yours!" With that, he flicked his sleeve, sending a streak of light flying across, encasing a jade slip. The two people opposite him stood one behind the other, both wearing ghost-face masks. Though not magic treasures, the masks were top-tier magic tools; as a dignified Core Formation master, the black-robed cultivator had been entirely unable to penetrate them with his spiritual sense to discern their true appearances. "Many thanks, Fellow Daoist." The man in front caught the jade slip. Sweeping it with his spiritual sense, he inspected its contents and, with a trace of satisfaction in his voice, flicked another jade slip back. "Pardon my offense today; I hope Fellow Daoist Luo will not take it to heart. I will abide by my previous promise and will not leak your corpse refining art in the slightest. In exchange, here is a secret corpse dao art I gathered in the past; it should be of some help to you. Farewell!" Before the words had even faded, the two summoned their escape lights and sped away into the distance without looking back. A moment later, several cultivators flew out from the stone pagoda and landed behind the square-jawed man, indignant and sharing a bitter resentment. "Master, are we just going to let them leave like this?" His face dark and sullen, the square-jawed cultivator replied, "If we don't let them go, do we have what it takes to keep them? Didn't you see that when that man traded blows with me, he fought me to a standstill using nothing but swordsmanship? The aura of the person behind him seemed even a cut above his own—most likely a late Core Formation expert." "Late Core Formation!" The disciples were shaken to the core. Another spoke up, "Yet Master had not fully activated the great formation. Even a late Core Formation expert couldn't easily break Master's Nether Corpse Great Formation, could they? Besides, your primary nether corpse is comparable in strength to a Core Formation cultivator. So long as we held out for a short while, Senior Mao could have arrived with reinforcements..." Hearing this, the square-jawed cultivator's expression darkened even further. He sneered, "Look where that man was standing—right at the formation's weakest point. That was no coincidence! The Nether Corpse Formation is my own creation; no outsider could have known how to unravel it. That means he is exceptionally well-versed in the Dao of formations and saw through its flaw with ease..." Hearing this, the disciples were even more appalled, only now realizing just how perilous the situation had been. "Enough! He was not after the true inheritance of our Nether Corpse Sect's core arts. Without practicing our true inheritance, many of the secret arts cannot be used anyway. What remains differs little from the corpse refining arts of other corpse dao sects, so giving it to him does no harm. Furthermore, the corpse refining art he gave me seems to have considerable pedigree. Once I comprehend it, it might even allow me to perfect the Nether Corpse Formation..." Gradually reining in his anger, the square-jawed cultivator flickered and vanished back into the stone pagoda. *** Meanwhile, the two had already flown clear of the marsh. They were none other than Qin Sang and his external incarnation. Over the past decade or so, Bai Zhongqiu and his wife had obeyed Qin Sang's orders, making open inquiries and secret investigations into notable corpse dao cultivators throughout the Liefeng Archipelago. Qin Sang picked out those he could afford to cross and paid each of them a visit, exchanging corpse refining arts and insights into the corpse dao. The jade slip Qin Sang tossed to the man did not record the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art, but rather another corpse dao legacy he had obtained back in the Xiaohan Realm—incomplete, of course. The Xiaohan Realm was not lacking in such fragmented arts. Most had been excavated from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield as legacies of ancient cultivators, and they held considerable value, capable of sparking new insights for fellow practitioners of the corpse dao. Thus, with Qin Sang offering such secret arts in exchange, compounded by the undeniable strength he and his incarnation displayed, the process of 'exchange' went quite smoothly. Qin Sang did this first to find a way to unravel the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, and second to see if he could draw inspiration from other corpse refining arts to deduce the subsequent parts of the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art on his own. In truth, while working for merchant associations in the Demon Sea, Qin Sang had constantly gathered such arts. Back then he bought them with spirit stones; in the Liefeng Archipelago, fists spoke much louder. Cultivators capable of establishing a foothold in the Liefeng Archipelago all had some skill, and among the corpse refining arts Qin Sang obtained, several genuinely possessed unique merits. Regrettably, not one followed a path similar to the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art. Among these arts, there were indeed secret techniques capable of refining a Flying Yaksha, but all required a grueling, lengthy process of nurturing and refining corpses, accompanied by all kinds of stringent conditions. The difficulty was not inferior to an ordinary cultivator forming a core. The external incarnation alone devoured enough resources and energy; it was out of the question to divide his focus by raising corpses as well. Over these past ten-plus years, Qin Sang had spared no expense to elevate his incarnation, finally breaking through to the late Core Formation stage not long ago. Going from core formation to the late stage had taken less than thirty years; any other cultivator hearing of this would weep tears of envy. Yet to Qin Sang, it was still too slow. According to the intelligence he had gathered, the opening of the Hall of Seven Kills would likely occur in seven or eight years. That was not enough time for the incarnation to cultivate to the peak of the Core Formation stage; he had to resort to rapid advancement methods. The good news was that his cultivation of Heavenly Demon Form Refining had proceeded smoothly all along, successfully breaking through to the mid-phase of the third layer ten years ago, matching his cultivation base. Although the pace of improvement plunged steeply afterward, Qin Sang was fearless against astral fiend power, and his speed in cultivating this technique remained far faster than anyone else's. He was even considering whether he should consume the Tyrant Blood Fruit before the Hall of Seven Kills opened to attempt an assault on the late phase of the third layer. "Nether corpse..." Qin Sang landed in a safe spot, instructed his incarnation to stand guard, and concentrated on reviewing the newly acquired corpse refining art. "The Nether Corpse Sect's corpse refining art is indeed different from the others, but it requires one to first cultivate a unique Nether Yin Qi to refine corpses. No wonder that man parted with it so readily!" Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual sense with a soft sigh. Apart from the Nether Yin Qi, the technique differed little from other corpse refining arts and was of no help in unraveling the Heavenly Corpse Talisman. "There are still a few targets left, but there is no time now. The auction on Fengyin Island is about to begin, and I must secure a jade pendant to enter the Hall of Seven Kills. It seems I will have to use several of the precious spiritual items obtained from that man of Black Snake Mountain..." After a moment's contemplation, Qin Sang set off, flying westward.