3: Chi Shen turns around, and Li Jiang covets him!

As expected of a demonic sect, even the entry-level Cultivation Technique for Utility Disciples is to refine themselves into Corpse Puppets.

I must quickly switch to Cultivating the Crimson God Art!

Shi Chuan made up his mind.

Immediately, Shi Chuan's gaze fell upon the Profound Yin Banner. In Eternal Vine's memory, this Magical Artifact was a third-tier ancient treasure.

It was a Magic Treasure activated by Golden Core Cultivators, but unfortunately, this ancient treasure had been shattered once.

Eternal Vine could only hastily repair it before falling into dormancy. Now, after more than a thousand years, this Profound Yin Banner could only exert the power of a first-tier Magical Artifact.

Originally, Eternal Vine's wisp of remnant soul, with the help of the Profound Yin Banner, had a great chance of Possession and Rebirth.

When Shi Chuan, a Disciple of the demonic sect, dug him out, the moment the Profound Yin Banner recognized him as its master, the remnant soul of Eternal Vine, hidden within, also awakened.

At first, Eternal Vine's remnant soul, upon seeing Shi Chuan, looked down on Shi Chuan's four Spiritual Roots.

Unfortunately, Eternal Vine had no other choice and planned to slowly absorb the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within this Profound Yin Banner.

After a little over a month, he would then attempt Possession.

Later, Shi Chuan obtained purple intelligence, suddenly activated the reverse Cultivation Technique on the Profound Yin Banner, refined it in reverse, and completely annihilated it.

Subsequently, after Shi Chuan in the stone chamber calmed his mind, he entered a period of arduous Cultivation.

He would not leave until he successfully switched Cultivation Techniques and reached the first layer of Qi Refining with the first turn of the Crimson God Art!

...

[zi shi (11 pm - 1 am) has arrived]

[Received a piece of white intelligence]

[White Intelligence: The Corpse Nourishing Pill in the hands of Li Jiang, the newly moved Corpse Servants next door, is specially made. It contains a Corpse Controlling Gu. After consumption, the Gu worm will break out of the pill, and he will be controlled by it!]

...

[zi shi (11 pm - 1 am) has arrived]

[Received a piece of white intelligence]

[White Intelligence: Qiu Qi, an Outer Sect Disciple of Corpse Refining Peak, harmed Ge Dawei, who was also an Outer Sect Disciple, and hid his Storage Pouch under a tree-shaped rock at the three-way intersection of the underground river in Corpse Refining Cave.]

[Note: Qiu Qi applied a self-made poison to the Storage Pouch.]

...

[zi shi (11 pm - 1 am) has arrived]

[Received a piece of white intelligence]

[White Intelligence: Wang SanShui, a Utility Disciple of Corpse Refining Cave, fortunately cultivated a first-tier Yao Corpse, which is a Rotten Flesh Crow Yao.]

...

[zi shi (11 pm - 1 am) has arrived]

...

After the twenty-eighth white intelligence prompt.

Inside the cave stone chamber.

Shi Chuan, sitting cross-legged on the straw bed, slowly opened his eyes. A hint of crimson flashed in his pupils, and at the same time, a red pattern appeared on his glabella.

That crimson pattern on his glabella indicated that the first turn of the Crimson God Art had been completed.

The Crimson God Art's magical power in his body was vastly different from the Corpse Raising Art's magical power before, with the total amount of magical power having nearly a fivefold difference.

His Physical Body had also been tempered, and wisps of mottled impure Qi were discharged from his acupoints into the air of the stone chamber, causing the entire air to be filled with a foul odor.

Fortunately, the stone chamber had vents that could slowly dissipate the foul odor emanating from his body.

His originally frail body had now become like that of an ordinary person, with a tall and well-proportioned figure and an extraordinary Aura, as if he had been reborn.

This should be the effect of an immortal Cultivation Technique after stepping into Qi Refining!

Compared to the Corpse Raising Art that Shi Chuan had Cultivated before, that thing was completely a piece of...

Not only that, after completing the first turn of the Crimson God Art, he could unleash the Crimson God Fire. This fire was astonishingly powerful, comparable to a fire-elemental spell of the Mid-Stage Qi Refining.

However, activating the Crimson God Art also consumed a lot of Spiritual Qi.

And after reaching the Mid-Stage Qi Refining, he could, through the Crimson God Fire, use fire control techniques to try Alchemy and Artifact Refining, among other things.

In Eternal Vine's memory, Shi Chuan had also obtained the Legacy of a hundred immortal arts. This Golden Core demonic Cultivator, Eternal Vine, lived for over eight hundred years and specialized in talisman making, Artifact Refining, Alchemy, Soul Refining, puppet refining, and array formations.

However, his studies were extensive, and most of them stopped at the first tier.

Only Artifact Refining and puppet refining had broken through to the second-tier Foundation Establishment level.

In Artifact Refining, he had even refined top-grade Magical Artifacts, and in puppet refining, he had refined second-tier high-grade Corpse Puppets.

However, second-tier Corpse Puppets were merely consumables in battles between Golden Core Cultivators.

Moreover, Eternal Vine only cultivated these as a side pursuit. Golden Core peers who truly specialized in puppet refining could even refine fourth-tier Corpse Puppets.

Although the memories Shi Chuan obtained had flaws, there were also some complete systems among them.

Especially in the Dao of puppet refining, Shi Chuan, being in the Corpse Refining Cave, could be said to shine brilliantly, with Corpse Puppet Materials everywhere.

This could allow his Dao of puppet refining to steadily improve.

Shi Chuan, on the straw bed, recalled the intelligence from this period. Every day there was white intelligence, but the most valuable among them was the Storage Pouch hidden by the Outer Sect Disciple in the underground dark river.

And the Yao Corpse that the Utility Disciple Wang SanShui was lucky enough to Cultivate.

Yao Corpses are very rare in this Corpse Refining Cave!

And once a Yao Corpse is cultivated, it might be able to utilize some of the Yao Beast's original abilities, placing it at the top of the food chain in this Corpse Refining Cave.

Ordinary first-tier Corpse Puppets definitely cannot compare to a Yao Corpse.

Whether it was that Storage Pouch or that Yao Corpse, Shi Chuan was determined to obtain them.

Especially that Yao Corpse; after he refined it using the puppet refining art from Eternal Vine's memory, its combat power would surely increase several times.

With this Yao Corpse as an aid, plus Ge Dawei's Storage Pouch, he would have some self-preservation ability in this Corpse Refining Cave.

Not long after.

Shi Chuan re-refined the Profound Yin Banner with the Crimson God Fire, making it even more effortless to activate.

Moreover, the Profound Yin Banner's passive ability, Spirit Transformation, had not failed.

Besides that.

The soul-capturing power within this Profound Yin Banner, in its current state, could at most refine the souls of Mid-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators; anything higher would not work.

“It's time to go out and retrieve my Storage Pouch!”

Shi Chuan stood up and glanced at himself in the bronze mirror by the bed. The mastery of this Crimson God Art was indeed a bit too exaggerated.

Although he wore an unremarkable gray robe, with that face, he still appeared to have an extraordinary Aura.

Immediately, Shi Chuan restrained the Crimson God Art's magical power within his body, then activated the corpse Qi within the Profound Yin Banner to conceal it a little. His face also became as pale as flour, and his Aura weakened considerably.

Now, it seemed that the rigid quota of offering two first-tier Corpse Puppets annually could be easily accomplished!

Boom!

The heavy stone door, which had been silent for over a month, opened.

In a daze, Shi Chuan, who had successfully undergone Qi Refining and shed his mortal coil, felt as if he was living again.

“Oh... Greetings, Senior Brother!”

“Senior Brother truly possesses astonishing perseverance, to be able to Cultivate in seclusion for so long. Junior Brother is filled with admiration!”

As Shi Chuan stepped out, he saw Li Jiang returning from outside the grotto passage. By Li Jiang's side, there was already a Corpse Puppet wearing black and gray bone armor and a helmet.

The Corpse Puppet also carried a long axe on its back, exuding a powerful Aura like a fierce tiger general, having already reached the cultivation tier.

Li Jiang's complexion now was extremely poor compared to a month ago. His body had thinned down a size, and his brocade robe was torn in many places.

At this moment, Li Jiang, with many bloodshot eyes, looked at Shi Chuan, whose Aura had changed considerably, and a hint of greed flashed in his eyes.

In Li Jiang's view, this Utility Disciple from the neighboring stone chamber could Cultivate in seclusion for over a month, resisting the corpse Qi, and still make progress in his Cultivation with that useless Corpse Raising Art.

He likely had a treasure on him!

If he could get his hands on this treasure, he would surely be able to step into the threshold of Qi Refining much earlier!

This treasure was destined for him!

...