121: The Realm of Demons and Monsters, Corpse Refining Techniques

In the mid-January of the 25th year of the lunar calendar.

Qingyuan Realm.

"Still hasn't come out of seclusion?"

Outside the mountain gate of the Qingyuan Sect, high in the sky, Yu Xuzi looked forward with a slight frown.

Counting it up, Venerable Weiyun, the new Sect Master of the Qingyuan Sect, has been in seclusion for eight years now.

Up until now, there hasn't been the slightest movement.

"Could he have died already?"

After hesitating for a moment and suppressing the urge to force his way in, Yu Xuzi decided to wait a bit longer.

Although he now had means like third-grade Talismans, this Qingyuan Sect still couldn't be underestimated.

Not only were there as many as twenty Dao Foundation Cultivators, but there was even more than one third-grade Magic Treasure; he couldn't be reckless.

"Forget it, I'll wait for you a few more years."

Before his voice had even faded, his figure disappeared from the spot once more.

Another Lesser Thousand World had lit up within the Myriad Heavens Star Disk, and he prepared to go take a look... Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

July.

In an unknown Lesser Thousand World.

The yellow-black sky looked like a dirty rag that could never be wiped clean.

There was no distinction between day and night.

Only a hazy, turbid skylight slowly filtered through from outside the dim world barrier behind the clouds, casting a sickly glimmer over this devastated world.

The earth had long since lost its original appearance; countless crisscrossing, bottomless canyons and ravines gurgled year-round with thick Devilish Qi of strange colors.

Sometimes dark purple, sometimes ink green.

The peaks that once towered into the clouds were now mostly twisted into grotesque shapes, and the remaining dead giant trees were contorted like arms of despair.

The boundless ocean was also deathly silent, the seawater shimmering with a dull, blood-colored light.

There were no ordinary creatures here.

Bizarre Demons were the Dominators of this world!

"How unlucky!"

Yu Xuzi shook his head and sighed helplessly; glancing at the approaching dark cloud of Demons in the distance, his figure vanished.

This newly born Lesser Thousand World was a world of Demons through and through; he had come here nearly ten times, spending over three months and traveling hundreds of thousands of miles.

Yet, he hadn't seen a single human soul.

Instead, he had encountered countless Demons.

Not just first and second-rank minor Demons, he had even run into quite a few third-rank Devil Kings.

He had even observed a fourth-rank Demon Lord from afar.

That sun-blotting dark cloud of Demons covered thousands of miles of the sky; the heavy pressure it emitted with every breath made Yu Xuzi feel uneasy even from a thousand miles away.

Unfortunately, there were just no people.

All Resources, including Spiritual Veins, Spirit Medicines, and Spiritual Ores, were contaminated by the Demons; they couldn't be used at all without being purified by Advanced special methods.

So, this world was almost useless to the current Yu Xuzi... Cangmang Realm.

Taihe Sect, Qingmu Peak.

Inside Yu Xuzi's Immortal Cave, Shen Feiyang visited once again.

Since the fall of True Person Qinglian, the Shen Family's status in the Taihe Sect had plummeted; while they hadn't faded into obscurity, it was a world of difference compared to before.

Shen Feiyang, this pampered Young Master, had also seen through the coldness of the world and had been somewhat depressed in recent months.

The brothers who used to gather behind him now had completely different attitudes; their attentiveness had turned into indifference, and their form of address had changed from "Young Master Shen" or "Senior Brother Shen" to a casual "Junior Brother Shen."

"Junior Brother Qiu, I've finally seen through those people; your place is still the most peaceful and comfortable, and only... only you treat me as a friend!"

Shen Feiyang would take a sip of the spirit wine he brought from time to time, not using his magic power to ward off the drunkenness, just drunkenly pouring out his grievances here.

Yu Xuzi just watched him.

He was nothing more than a spoiled Young Master; despite being decades old, his Heart-Nature was actually still so childish.

Without the protection of True Person Qinglian and the Shen Family, wasn't Shen Feiyang just an ordinary Early Dao Foundation Stage Disciple?

Perhaps he couldn't even match Yu Xuzi's status in the Taihe Sect.

On the surface, he was at least a second-rank Low Grade Alchemist and a first-rank supreme-grade Artifact Refiner, whereas Shen Feiyang didn't have a single outstanding skill.

If a first-rank Medium Grade Artifact Refiner even counted.

"Senior Brother Shen, weren't you just talking about the war on the front lines? What was the outcome?"

Yu Xuzi asked.

Since True Person Qinglian had only recently passed away, the Shen Family still had some connections, so the news Shen Feiyang knew was still faster and more timely than Yu Xuzi's.

"Oh right, the front-line battlefield."

Shen Feiyang said dizzily, "What else? It's another standoff."

"Although our Taihe Sect has the Tianshu Sect helping, the Yingu Cult also quickly entered the fray, siding with the Xuan Yin Palace."

"More importantly, the Xuan Yin Palace dispatched a Corpse Emperor to the field; we've fallen into a passive position again."

Yu Xuzi's pupils constricted slightly as he repeated: "A fourth-rank Corpse Emperor? Then the agreement is void?"

Shen Feiyang shook his head and said in a low voice, "The Tianshu Sect used the zhen yue spirit god, so the Xuan Yin Palace can naturally argue that deploying a Corpse Emperor doesn't count as a True Monarch taking action."

"The Xuan Yin Palace's most expert method is the Art of Corpse Refining!"

"Some Xuan Yin Palace Disciples are accompanied by a Refined Corpse with a Realm slightly lower than their own, used for combat and as a Protector."

"The Xuan Yin Palace naturally has fourth-rank Corpse Emperors as well."

"It's just that the true number is unknown."

"But just seeing that the Xuan Yin Palace has six great True Monarchs presiding over it, the outside world knows that the Corpse Emperors they control are definitely more than just one or two."

"However, there probably aren't too many."

"A fourth-rank Corpse Emperor is a being that has already developed sentience, with intelligence no different from a normal person's, and it is even more violent, crazed, ferocious, and bloodthirsty!"

"It is much more difficult than commanding a Spirit Beast."

"Therefore, to completely control it, one needs to frequently feed it with flesh and blood and use various means to suppress its ferocity; even for a True Monarch of the same rank, it is not easy."

"With the slightest lapse in attention, the Corpse Emperor will break out of control and become an evil existence that slaughters heaven and earth!"

"In the history of the Xuan Yin Palace, there have been more than one instance of Corpse Emperor rebellions and riots, causing immense losses."

"Therefore, the upper echelons of the entire Cangmang Cultivation World know that the Xuan Yin Palace is relatively restrained in its cultivation of fourth-rank Corpse Emperors."

"Unless you push them too far... then there's no telling what the Xuan Yin Palace might cook up."

Yu Xuzi said with emotion: "When a fourth-rank Corpse Emperor from the Xuan Yin Palace takes the field, there must be a True Monarch by its side monitoring and controlling its every move. How can that not count as a True Monarch taking action?"

"If this war continues like this, it's only a matter of time before the True Monarchs take action."

Shen Feiyang nodded dizzily: "Yeah, yeah, who says otherwise?"

"Senior Brother Shen, the Xuan Yin Palace's Corpse Refining Method is so overbearing; I wonder where it can be found?"

Shen Feiyang seemed to suddenly sober up; he looked up at Yu Xuzi and said in a solemn tone, "The Xuan Yin Palace guards this method very strictly. Cultivating a Refined Corpse consumes a lot of Resources—even more exaggerated than raising a Spirit Beast—and it's very sinister. One lapse, and it's easy for the Refined Corpse to rebel."

"So even within the Xuan Yin Palace, many Disciples choose not to refine corpses. Our Sect has the Sect Master's supreme method, so even fewer people covet this thing."

Yu Xuzi nodded and didn't speak further.

He planned to find a way to get the Corpse Refining Method.

Because he suddenly had a brilliant idea that could make use of that Demon Lesser Thousand World.

"Junior Brother Qiu, this corpse refining business is harmful to nature and justice; don't go astray!"

"Does Senior Brother Shen think I look like that kind of person?"

Yu Xuzi asked back.

Shen Feiyang shook his head in denial; it indeed didn't seem so.

This Junior Brother Qiu spent all day in his Immortal Cave refining pills and artifacts or in secluded cultivation; one hardly ever saw him go out.

He must be an honest man dedicated to cultivation.

"My Shen Family has a Corpse Refining Method, but it's incomplete. I'll bring it over to you in a few days."

Yu Xuzi's eyes lit up: "You even have that?"

Shen Feiyang waved his hand: "Hah, our Taihe Sect has been at odds with the Xuan Yin Palace for centuries. During that time, there have been no fewer than ten conflicts, large and small. We've naturally killed quite a few of the Xuan Yin Palace's Immortal Master Elders and seized incomplete Corpse Refining Methods."

"However, considering this method harms the harmony of heaven, it wasn't shown to the public within the Sect. Only some Elders have it in their collections, and my Shen Family just happens to have it."