249: Netherworld Corpse Refining

Over three hundred years ago, after saving Su Ling, Senior Wu Haiya did not have much communication with him.

However, during the subsequent journeys, he had been silently watching him.

That faint Evil Qi he carried, and the sincerity he showed when interacting with Lu Tao.

Although he hid much about his origins and past experiences, Senior Wu Haiya could still see that Su Ling was by no means an ordinary low-level Loose Cultivator.

Therefore, after arriving at Thousand Star City, he simply brought him openly to the Drunken Immortal Tower.

After a good meal, he left with Lu Tao.

During the chaotic war of the seven nations, an extremely powerful Core Formation Cultivator appeared and helped Lu Tao win first place in the National War.

When Senior Wu Haiya first heard of this, he found it somewhat unbelievable.

As his Junior Martial Uncle, how could Senior Wu Haiya not know what kind of close friends Lu Tao had around him?

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out who this "Han Yu" was.

It wasn't until later, when the Sect announced that Ancestral Master Clear Ripple had taken a new personal disciple named "Han Yu," whose real name was "Su Ling."

Only then did Senior Wu Haiya have a sudden realization.

He remembered the young man he had once saved.

Comparing it with Su Ling's murderous performance in the National War, Senior Wu Haiya became even more certain that his initial intuition had been correct.

Su Ling was indeed extraordinary!

Seeing that his friendship with Lu Tao remained unchanged, Senior Wu Haiya finally felt completely at ease.

"Junior Martial Uncle, the war here has been settled. Are we going to other planes next?"

Lu Tao drained his cup of wine in one gulp, smacked his lips, and asked.

"War broke out on five planes simultaneously, and ours was the first to conclude,"

Senior Wu Haiya nodded slightly and said solemnly, "The main plane of the Malori Star System, Planet Savage God, has been sealed by three Immortal Venerables. The three Savage Gods were heavily injured and fled into the plane, but many other planes have not yet been sealed. The resistance forces there are even greater than those in the Savage Beast Plane... True Lord Haoyue has passed down a war order: in three years at most, we must go to the Green Wild Wasteland Plane to assist in the battle."

"Three years!"

Lu Tao and Su Ling looked at each other.

Their grand soaking plan had just started; three years was indeed a bit short.

Seeing their helplessness, Senior Wu Haiya chuckled, "Don't worry, this reinforcement is mainly focused on Body Integration level combat power. I estimate you can rest and reorganize for at least ten years."

Plane wars last a long time and involve frequent battles.

Naturally, Cultivators of various ranks would be scheduled for rotations to rest.

Su Ling and the others had been fighting for over ten consecutive years, and with the end of the war here, they would naturally receive a period of rest and recuperation.

Based on Senior Wu Haiya's years of experience, he could make a rough judgment without needing orders from the higher-ups.

"That's great! We were just thinking of Cultivating for a while. My Immortal Golden Body Art is almost at Major Achievement!"

Lu Tao clapped his hands and laughed.

He wasn't naturally a person who enjoyed killing; most of the time, he was influenced by Su Ling, combined with the tempering of his sword heart.

Now that things had suddenly come to a halt and he had touched upon the Soul Transformation Bottleneck, he naturally hoped to rest for a while longer.

Su Ling also nodded in agreement, "That would be for the best."

In the previous battle, the orcs affected by Savage River's Bloodlust Technique were fearless, causing more than half of the Yin Souls in his ten thousand souls banner to be lost.

But during the battle, the ten thousand souls banner had spontaneously absorbed many remnant souls.

Their quality was uneven, so it was exactly the right time for him to organize them properly.

Additionally, having collected many high-quality corpses, Su Ling wanted to thoroughly study the Netherworld Corpse Refining Art.

If he had to go to another plane to participate in the war immediately, the timing would be quite tight for him... Though they finally had some free time, the three of them only spent one day together before Senior Wu Haiya was summoned by the Command Post to report to the immortal ship in the plane's Void Realm.

Among the hundred Cultivators from the Seven Sects under Su Ling and Lu Tao, over thirty were lost in this battle.

But the overall morale remained quite high, influenced by the victory.

The two of them then hosted a banquet for the Seven Sects Cultivators under their command on the spot and arranged the subsequent garrison tasks.

Lu Tao then hurried to the Command Post without pause to exchange for a large amount of fresh blood from high-grade Demonic Beasts at the logistics department, along with special Body Refining spiritual items produced in the Savage Plane.

Su Ling returned to the previous battlefield and used his magic power to open up a brand-new Immortal Cave.

He then set about selecting the powerful corpses he had collected during the final battle.

The Netherworld Corpse Refining Art uses corpses as precious materials and soul fire as a catalyst to refine powerful bodies that possess a portion of the original's strength.

When Cultivated to a profound level, one can even draw souls from the void, pulling the original owner's soul back from the endless Void Realm and re-inserting it into the body.

In this way, the corpse puppet can fully exert the original body's strength and the techniques it used while alive.

If one refines a corpse puppet with the Netherworld Indestructible Body, it can even be stronger than the original body was in life.

With the ten thousand souls banner, there was no shortage of soul fire.

But there weren't many intact corpses.

Su Ling only had about ten Rank 5 corpses in his possession, the best of which was surprisingly that Rank 5 Peak Mountain-Splitting Beast.

Unfortunately, its Divine Soul had already been completely devoured by Su Ling's Soul Capturing Nether Pupils.

To make the corpse puppet refined from its body exert maximum power, it had to be infused with the remnant soul of some beast possessing an earth-attribute talent.

While thinking over the refining plan, Su Ling began setting up the Nine Nether Spirit Gathering Formation.

As the last Formation Flag was placed, the surrounding Spiritual Qi began to stir restlessly.

Strands of battlefield remnant souls drifting in the void were drawn together by the Spirit Gathering Formation.

An hour later, the Immortal Cave was already filled with dense Power of Lost Souls.

A massive corpse appeared at the center of the Spirit Gathering Formation.

It was the Rank 5 Early Stage Howling Wind Tiger that he had shot and killed with a single arrow.

Even though it had been dead for some time, the giant beast's corpse still emitted a faint pressure and wind-attribute fluctuations; its blue-black fur bore scorch marks from its fierce battle against the Haoyang Soul Transformation Cultivators.

The first step of corpse refining: Expelling Yin and Tempering Bone.

Su Ling took out a small black jade bottle and poured out "Earth Yin Cold Marrow," which was as thick as mercury, applying it evenly to every joint and the spine of the tiger corpse.

This substance was collected from the depths of the extreme Yin earth veins; it could strengthen bones and open up Yin Qi channels.

He then formed hand seals and chanted obscure incantations, drawing the surrounding Power of Lost Souls and turning it into wisps of black threads that seeped into the body through the tiger's mouth, ears, and even pores.

Dark, web-like patterns began to emerge on the surface of the corpse; this was the Yin Qi reshaping its internal energy meridians.

The second step: Fusing Techniques and Casting Runes.

Su Ling held his fingers like a sword, using his Divine Sense mixed with the Power of Lost Souls as "ink" to carve "Netherworld Corpse-Controlling Runes" and "Yin-Gathering Spirit-Absorbing Formations" beneath the tiger corpse's tough skin.

Every stroke required a great deal of mental effort and magic power, and they had to be perfectly connected to the previously constructed Yin Qi meridians.

For six whole hours, Su Ling did not sleep or rest.

When the final rune was completed at the base of the tiger's tail, the entire corpse suddenly shuddered!

The tightly closed eyes of the tiger corpse snapped open; the pupils were no longer amber but pale gray!

Under Su Ling's control, the tiger corpse stood up stiffly and slowly, its bones making a tooth-aching "crackling" sound.

The blue-black fur was now shrouded in a faint layer of gray-black mist, its four claws wrapped in Yin winds that seemed tangible, and the "King" character on its forehead had transformed into a complex, faintly fluctuating Netherworld symbol.

The third step: Bestowing Spirit and Initial Control.

Su Ling raised his hand, and the ten thousand souls banner unfurled on its own without any wind.

A carefully selected wind-attribute beast soul was then pulled out by him.

It was exactly a Rank 5 Gale Wolf beast soul he had collected previously.

Su Ling used his Divine Soul power to carve a restrictive Soul Seal into the beast soul and, with a flick of his finger, the Gale Wolf beast soul flew straight into the tiger corpse's forehead.

"Awoo..."

A moment later, a low, hoarse tiger roar filled with death and chill squeezed out of the corpse tiger's throat; it was no longer the kingly aura that awed the mountains and forests in life, but rather felt like a lone wolf howling at the moon.

Two ghostly blue soul fires suddenly ignited in the tiger corpse's pale gray eyes, signaling that the Gale Wolf soul had taken possession.