Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 919: Corpse Refinement Technique

The swamp was shrouded in heavy yin qi. Countless lives must have been swallowed by it to nurture such an expanse of extreme yin land.

On the outskirts, the yin qi was thinner, while the spiritual qi was richer than elsewhere. Still, unless one was a ghost path cultivator who relied on yin qi to cultivate, no one would build a cave dwelling here.

Deep within, the yin qi condensed into dense layers, devouring all vitality. Almost no living creatures could be found, much like the Yin Malevolent Abyss of Kuiyin Sect.

Amid such a place stood a stone tower, half sunken into the mire, half protruding above. Three figures floated before the tower.

A large pit had opened in the swamp below, with the black muck collapsing inward. The churned-up sludge, both black and yellow, reeked with a nauseating stench. The sight alone could make one retch.

The one standing before the tower was a square-faced cultivator. His complexion was ashen. His left hand, hidden inside his sleeve, trembled uncontrollably, restrained only by true essence so it could not be seen from outside.

"Impressive skill!"

The square-faced cultivator clenched his fist, his expression fierce as he ground his teeth. "Fine! I admit defeat. I will give you the corpse refinement technique!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and a streak of light flew toward his opponent, carrying a jade slip within.

On the other side stood two figures, one slightly ahead of the other. Both wore ghost-faced masks. Though not astras, they were still top-tier artifacts. Yet the square-faced Core Formation expert could not pierce the masks with spiritual consciousness to see their true faces.

"Thank you very much, Daoist."

The one in front caught the jade slip, swept it with spiritual consciousness, and after confirming the contents, spoke with a hint of joy in his tone. He lifted his hand and sent back another jade slip. "We offended you today. Please do not take offense, Daoist Luo. As promised, I will not leak your corpse refinement technique in the slightest. In exchange, here is a corpse path secret technique I collected in the past. It should be of help to you. Farewell!"

Before his voice finished echoing, the two raised their evasion light and fled without a backward glance.

Moments later, several cultivators flew out from the stone tower, landing behind the square-faced cultivator. Their faces were twisted with unwillingness as they cried out indignantly, "Master, are we simply letting them go?"

The square-faced cultivator’s face was dark. "If I don’t let them go, do you expect me to keep them here? Did you not see? When he fought me, using only sword techniques, he matched me evenly. And the one behind him seemed even stronger, likely a late-stage Core Formation expert."

"Late stage of the Core Formation Realm!" The disciples gasped in shock.

Another added, "But Master, you had not yet fully activated the grand array. Even a late-stage Core Formation expert could not have broken your Nether Corpse Array so easily. And your principal Nether Corpse’s strength is equal to a Core Formation cultivator’s. If we held out a little longer, Senior Mao would have arrived with reinforcements..."

At these words, their master’s expression turned uglier. He snorted coldly. "Did you not notice? That man stood precisely at the weakest point of the array. That is no coincidence! The Nether Corpse Array is my original creation. No one else could know its flaws. That means he is extremely skilled in arrays and instantly saw through the array’s weak point..."

The disciples were chilled to the core, realizing just how dangerous their situation had been.

"Enough! He does not covet the handed-down teachings of our Nether Corpse Sect. Without them, most of our secret techniques cannot be used. The rest of the methods are little different from other corpse path sects’ techniques. Giving them to him is no great matter. Moreover, the art he gave me seems to have a notable origin. Once I comprehend it, I may even be able to improve the Nether Corpse Array..."

The square-faced cultivator gradually suppressed his anger and flickered back into the stone tower.

***

Meanwhile, the two figures had already flown beyond the swamp. They were Qin Sang and his external incarnation.

For over ten years, Bai Zhongqiu and his wife had obeyed Qin Sang’s orders, openly and secretly investigating corpse path cultivators across Windy Archipelago.

Qin Sang had chosen those he dared approach and visited them one by one to exchange corpse refinement techniques and insights of the corpse path.

The jade slip he had given away earlier did not contain the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art, but another inheritance of the corpse path he had obtained in the Small Cold Domain, though also incomplete.

The Small Cold Domain was not lacking in such fragmented arts, most excavated from the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. They were valuable enough to provide mutual inspiration among corpse path cultivators.

Thus, Qin Sang offered such secret techniques in trade. Coupled with the strength of himself and his external incarnation, the exchanges went smoothly.

He did so partly to find a way to unravel the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, and partly in hopes of gaining inspiration to deduce the later parts of the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art.

In truth, even during his time working for the merchant alliances in the Demonic Sea, he had collected such arts, though then he had paid with spirit stones. In Windy Archipelago, fists often spoke louder.

The cultivators who had established themselves there were all capable to some degree. Among the arts Qin Sang acquired, a few indeed had unique features.

Unfortunately, none followed a path similar to the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art.

Some did include methods to refine flying yakshas, yet all required an exceedingly long process of nurturing and refining corpses, bound by harsh conditions, no less arduous than reaching the Core Formation Realm.

His external incarnation already consumed vast resources and attention. He could not spare the effort to raise corpses as well.

Over the past decade, he had invested everything into the incarnation, which had finally broken through to the late stage of the Core Formation Realm not long ago. From the early stage to the late stage in under thirty years... Other cultivators would weep with envy if they heard this. But for Qin Sang, it still felt too slow.

According to what he had learned, Seven-Kill Hall would likely open in seven or eight years. There was too little time for the incarnation to reach the peak of the Core Formation Realm. He had to resort to faster methods.

The good news was that his progress with the Heavenly Demon Body Refinement had gone smoothly. Ten years ago, he had already broken through to the middle-third stage, keeping pace with his cultivation realm.

Though his progress afterward had slowed sharply, Qin Sang did not fear stellar malevolence. Even so, his speed was still faster than most.

He was even considering whether, before Seven-Kill Hall opened, he should consume the Tyrant Blood Fruit to attempt a breakthrough into the late-third stage.

"Nether Corpses..." he muttered.

Qin Sang landed in a safe place, leaving his external incarnation to guard while he studied the newly obtained corpse refinement technique.

"The Nether Corpse Sect’s method is indeed different. It requires cultivating a unique Nether Yin Qi before refining corpses. No wonder he yielded it so easily!" Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual consciousness with a soft sigh.

Aside from the Nether Yin Qi requirement, it differed little from other corpse refinement techniques, offering no help in deciphering the Heavenly Corpse Talisman.

"There are still a few people I have yet to approach, but there is no time. The auction at Wind-Hidden Island is about to begin, and I must secure a jade pendant for Seven-Kill Hall. It seems I will have to use the rare treasures I seized from that man of Black Snake Mountain..." After pondering briefly, Qin Sang set off westward.