158: Yin gives rise to Yang; one must seek life in the face of death.

Those two crimson lanterns swayed in the darkness, accompanied by the ear-piercing friction of iron chains dragging across rock, as a nauseating, fishy wind blew toward his face.

Gu Changsheng held his breath, his entire body like a piece of lifeless, rotten meat, bobbing along with the black water.

"Growl..."

The monster let out a low growl, its massive head emerging from the water, less than three feet from the rocky crevice where Gu Changsheng was hiding.

By the faint, eerie light, Gu Changsheng saw the thing's true form clearly.

It was a giant Refined Corpse about ten feet tall, its skin a metallic bluish-black, covered in dense Corpse-Suppressing Runes.

Its eyes were pierced by two thick chains, the other ends of which were deeply embedded in the depths of the rock wall.

It sniffed, seemingly losing interest in the piece of "rotten meat" before it, and turned its head to bite into a mangled corpse floating in the water.

*Crunch.*

The sound of shattering bones echoed through the empty underground river channel.

Gu Changsheng's heart jolted, but he dared not make the slightest movement until the monster dragged its prey underwater and the sound of the chains gradually faded; only then did he dare let his lungs resume working.

"It's chained up."

Gu Changsheng felt slightly more at ease.

Beneath the headquarters of the Corpse Yin Sect, there were indeed many unspeakable, ghostly things suppressed.

Using both hands and feet, he climbed the slippery rock wall like a gecko, finding a natural hollow just large enough to fit one person and crawled inside.

This spot was in the middle layer of the Myriad Corpse Pit, avoiding both the terrifying creatures at the bottom and the Disciples who might be dumping corpses from the upper layers.

*Pfft.*

As soon as Gu Changsheng relaxed, he spat out a mouthful of clotted blood.

Although the taiyi green wood heart was preserved, his Physical Body was on the verge of collapse.

His Meridians were shattered, and his internal organs displaced; if not for the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture keeping him alive by a thread, he would have reported to the Underworld long ago.

"I must heal quickly."

Gu Changsheng sat cross-legged, attempting to draw upon the Spiritual Qi stored within the taiyin submerging spirit jade.

However, the Corpse Baleful Qi here was simply too thick.

As soon as he activated his Cultivation Technique, the surrounding grayish-black Corpse Qi swarmed in through his pores like sharks scenting blood.

Poison entered his body.

A burning pain shot through his Meridians, and his already battered wounds began to rot and turn black at a visible rate.

"Damn it..."

Gu Changsheng gritted his teeth, about to forcibly cut off his connection with the outside world.

Suddenly, a strange change occurred.

The withered wood immortal foundation in his Dantian, which had been listless, actually let out a joyful hum the moment it touched this lethal Corpse Qi.

It was like a beggar who hadn't eaten for three days seeing a royal feast.

The withered wood trembled violently; the 'Flourish' mantra, normally used to convert Wood Attribute vitality, stopped automatically, replaced by the 'Wither' mantra, which was rarely used.

*Whoosh—*

Gu Changsheng felt a terrifying suction force generate within his body.

The poisonous Corpse Qi that had entered his body, instead of continuing to destroy his Physical Body, was swallowed up by the immortal foundation Withered Meets Spring like a whale inhaling water, devoured instantly.

Black Qi circulated within the trunk, and after an obscure round of conversion, it actually turned into drops of extremely pure black spiritual liquid.

Life arising from the extreme of death.

This black spiritual liquid flowed through his Meridians; wherever it passed, rotten flesh fell away, new flesh grew, and broken bones healed rapidly amidst a numbing itch.

"This is..."

Gu Changsheng's pupils constricted slightly, followed by a surge of wild joy.

In the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture, 'Wither' is death, and 'Flourish' is life.

Previously in the outside world, where Spiritual Qi was full of vitality, he could only focus on the 'Flourish' mantra, and his progress with the 'Wither' mantra had always been slow.

But this Myriad Corpse Pit, where the resentment and Death Qi of millions of corpses gathered, was a dead end for Righteous Path Cultivators, but for him, who practiced the Dao of Withered Wood, it was a once-in-a-thousand-years Grotto-Heaven!

"A fine Corpse Yin Sect, a fine Myriad Corpse Pit."

Gu Changsheng's mouth curled into a grin, revealing a row of white teeth that looked particularly eerie in this grim environment.

He no longer suppressed it; instead, he completely opened up his body and mind.

*Boom!*

The Corpse Qi within a hundred-foot radius seemed summoned, forming a massive black vortex that poured into that inconspicuous rock crevice... Three days later.

Gu Changsheng opened his eyes.

Deep within his originally clear pupils, there was now a hint of profound darkness.

His injuries were seventy percent healed.

This recovery speed was simply appalling.

"Just absorbing Qi is still too slow."

Gu Changsheng rubbed his empty stomach, his gaze falling upon the mountain of corpses below.

This was the "garbage dump" the Corpse Yin Sect had accumulated over ten thousand years; besides Mortal corpses, there were even more Loose Cultivators they had murdered, and even Disciples of rival Sects.

Gu Changsheng's figure flickered like a large black bird, landing silently atop the mountain of corpses.

He did not use his Divine Sense to sweep the area broadly to avoid alerting the guards above; instead, he chose the most primitive and safest method—looting the bodies.

"Fellow Daoist, let me borrow your Spirit Stones; may you be reborn into a better life next time."

Gu Changsheng skillfully flipped over a corpse wearing Taiqing Sect robes and searched it.

Ten Spirit Stones and a broken Medium Grade magical sword.

"Even a mosquito's leg is meat."

Gu Changsheng casually tossed the items into his storage ring and moved on to the next target.

He moved through the mountain of corpses like a diligent farmer harvesting his own crops in a field of death.

In just two hours, he had looted no fewer than a hundred corpses.

Although most Storage Pouches had lost their spiritual nature over time or had already been scavenged by Corpse Yin Sect Disciples, the sheer quantity made up for it.

He collected a full thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones alone.

There was also a small mountain of various strange Materials, Jade Slips, and remnant Medicinal Pills.

Suddenly.

[Intelligence Refreshed.]

[Discovery: Corpse King Pill.]

[Location: Thirty feet to the front-left, inside the mouth of that ancient corpse wearing a purple-gold python robe.]

[Description: This corpse was a prince of the Ning Country's imperial family in life, possessing 'Ziwei Dragon Qi.' After death, he was thrown here by the Corpse Yin Sect to be raised as a corpse for five hundred years, resulting in the formation of a Corpse King Pill. This pill gathers five hundred years of pure Death Qi and is a great tonic.]

Gu Changsheng paused, his gaze instantly locking onto the purple-robed corpse pinned beneath several rotting bodies.

Despite five hundred years having passed, the corpse's face was still ruddy and lifelike, and even its skin had a jade-like luster.

"Raising a corpse with Ziwei Dragon Qi..."

Gu Changsheng stepped forward quickly and, without hesitation, reached out to squeeze the ancient corpse's jaw.

*Click.*

The mouth opened.

A bead the size of a longan, purple-black all over with faint dragon-shaped black Qi swirling on its surface, lay quietly in the corpse's mouth.

As soon as it touched the air, the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.

"Good stuff."

Gu Changsheng picked up the Corpse King Pill with his fingertips.

If this thing were taken outside, it would be enough to make those Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivators who practice Demonic Techniques fight to the death for it, even slaughtering entire families.

But in Gu Changsheng's eyes, it was just a high-concentration energy capsule.

*Gulp.*

He tilted his head back and swallowed the pill containing terrifying corpse poison and Death Qi directly into his stomach.

If anyone else dared to do this, they would turn into a puddle of pus in an instant.

But the withered wood immortal foundation in Gu Changsheng's body jolted violently, letting out an unprecedented roar of hunger.

*Boom!*

The purple-black energy exploded in his stomach.

Gu Changsheng let out a muffled groan as a layer of black dragon-scale patterns instantly appeared on his skin, and his eyes turned blood-red.

"Refine!"

He sat cross-legged atop the mountain of corpses, forming hand Seals to forcibly suppress this rampaging power.

Withered wood meets spring, reversing life and death... spring goes and autumn comes, immune to cold and heat.

In the blink of an eye, three months passed by.

The rumors in the outside world about the "Treasure Hunter of the Black Wind Sea Region" had long been forgotten along with new hot topics.

No one knew that the person presumed to have been reduced to ashes was currently living more comfortably than anyone else.

Deep within the Myriad Corpse Pit.

Gu Changsheng was still sitting cross-legged atop that mountain of corpses.

Only now, his appearance had changed drastically.

The left half of his body was surrounded by green light, full of vitality, with skin as translucent as jade; the right half, however, was shrouded in black Qi, gloomy and deathly, with skin as dry as tree bark.

One withered, one flourishing; one life, one death.

Two completely opposite powers had reached a strange and perfect balance within his body.

He sat there like an evil Buddha in control of life and death.

"Phew..."

Gu Changsheng slowly exhaled a breath of turbid Qi.

The gas turned into two small snakes, one black and one green, as soon as it left his mouth, entwining and spiraling in the air before finally dissipating into nothingness.

“Foundation Establishment Great Perfection peak.”

Gu Changsheng clenched his fist.

The air boomed in his palm.

At this moment, even without using any Magical Artifact, he could tear apart a second-rank Yao Beast with just his physical strength.

But it wasn't enough.

His goal was the Purple Mansion.

*Dong—*

Just then, a melodious and heavy toll of a bell penetrated thousands of feet of rock, faintly reaching this sunless underground.

Then came a second toll, a third... a full nine tolls.

Gu Changsheng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Nine bells ringing in succession was the protocol for a major Sect celebration.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the System panel popped up at the right time.

[Intelligence Refreshed.]

[Event: The Corpse Yin Sect's 'Wanshi Competition' begins today.]

[Description: To celebrate True Man You Quan's insights gained during seclusion, the Corpse Yin Sect has recalled all Disciples from abroad to hold a decennial magic competition. The entire Sect's attention is focused on the competition stage, and the security of the Myriad Corpse Pit has been reduced to a minimum.]

"Heaven helps me."

The corner of Gu Changsheng's mouth curled into an arc.

He had been waiting for this exact opportunity.

Breaking through to the Purple Mansion in this place where Corpse Qi reached the heavens, although resources were sufficient, the commotion would be too great and easily attract the scrutiny of a Purple Mansion True Person.

But if the whole Sect was in revelry, then this little "commotion" underground would be perfectly masked by the noise above.

Gu Changsheng flipped his palm.

The "taiyi green wood heart" that had been sealed in the taiyin submerging spirit jade for three whole months finally saw the light of day again.

*Buzz!*

A dense Wood Attribute vitality instantly exploded, clearing away the Corpse Qi within a ten-foot radius.

In this world full of death, this touch of emerald green seemed so out of place, yet so dazzling.

"Yin extreme produces Yang, seeking life in a land of death."

Gu Changsheng looked at the wood heart in his hand, a flash of determination in his eyes.

This was the Myriad Corpse Pit, the extreme of Death Qi.

The wood heart in his hand was the essence of Wood Attribute, the extreme of Life Qi.

Using the body as a furnace, Death Qi as charcoal, and Life Qi as the catalyst.

This was the highest Realm recorded in the Purple Mansion chapter of the Withered Wood Meets Spring Scripture—the Nine Transformations of Wither and Flourish, finding life through death.

"Today, I shall attain the Purple Mansion here."

Gu Changsheng opened his mouth.

He didn't slowly refine it as he had before.

He directly shoved that half-step fourth-rank taiyi green wood heart into his mouth.

The wood heart entered his throat; it didn't choke him but instead turned into a stream of scalding green lava, rushing down his esophagus straight into his Dantian.

*Boom!*

Within the Dantian, the immortal foundation that had long been waiting let out a violent tremor.