Translator: Cinder Translations
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From the sect rules, Song Wen also learned about the treatment and responsibilities of disciples in the Corpse Demon Sect.
As an outer disciple like Song Wen, he could receive 5 low-grade spirit stones per month.
Of course, these resources were generally insufficient for a Qi Refining stage disciple, even for those in the early stages.
To obtain more resources and accelerate their cultivation progress, disciples had to contribute to the sect in exchange.
As Du Qiu put it, the Corpse Demon Sect doesn't accommodate idlers!
For rookies like Song Wen, after one month of dedicated cultivation, they would start performing sect missions.
However, beginners like them wouldn't be assigned dangerous tasks; they mostly handled logistics.
After reading the sect rules, Song Wen began cultivating the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique."
Cultivation, whether righteous or demonic, involved absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to gradually improve and strengthen oneself, eventually surpassing human limits.
However, while the righteous path absorbed pure spiritual energy and emphasized gradual progress, the demonic path was more extreme. In their pursuit of power, they didn't hesitate to absorb even the impure energies of heaven and earth into their bodies.
This made it easier for demonic cultivators to progress in the early stages, but increasingly difficult as they advanced, often leading to demonic possession, mental instability, and a loss of control.
The Corpse Qi cultivated by the main cultivation method of the Corpse Demon Sect was a form of impure energy from heaven and earth. Absorbing Corpse Qi not only accelerated early-stage cultivation but also allowed cultivators to gradually condense Corpse Qi throughout their bodies, greatly enhancing their combat abilities and defenses.
Song Wen's cultivation of the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" similarly required Corpse Qi to assist in practice.
The Qi Refining stage techniques of the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" were divided into three layers corresponding to early, middle, and late stages of Qi Refining.
After becoming familiar with the techniques of the first layer, Song Wen began his cultivation.
The first layer was relatively simple and didn't require rare materials; it only needed to absorb Corpse Qi into the body, refine it within, maintain the vitality of the flesh, and develop certain characteristics of a zombie.
The "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" indeed lived up to its reputation as a demonic technique, progressing swiftly. With the assistance of a cave mansion's Corpse Qi well, Song Wen spent just three hours refining the first strand of spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Compared to cultivating the "Longevity Technique" for several days, this was significantly less time-consuming.
Suddenly feeling hungry during his cultivation, although Du Qiu mentioned a cafeteria not far from the mountain base, Song Wen decided against going.
The sect specifically provided three self-sufficiency pills for newcomers, enough for a month, hoping they wouldn't waste time on daily necessities.
Song Wen took out one self-sufficiency pill and swallowed it, instantly replacing hunger with a sense of fullness, but without any increase in spiritual energy.
"So this is like a compressed biscuit in the cultivation world—fills you up but provides no nutritional value whatsoever. Still, just one tiny pill can keep you full for ten days; it truly is something of the cultivation world."
With one hand holding a spirit stone, Song Wen swallowed a Corpse Blood Pill with the other hand. He spared no expense in using spirit stones and pills, as only by quickly enhancing his strength could he better survive in this dangerous world.
Saving spirit stones and pills not only slowed down his progress but also risked attracting attention from others.
This one month of seclusion for cultivation allowed Song Wen to advance the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" to the late stage of the first layer of Qi Refining, achieved through the consumption of five low-grade spirit stones, three self-sufficiency pills, and three Corpse Blood Pills.
He only now realized the value of the Blood Qi Pill. Although it consumed a large amount of essence blood, it could indeed stimulate the body's potential and rapidly improve one's magical cultivation.
If it hadn't been for taking two Blood Qi Pills at the time, he would have needed at least a year or two of hard cultivation to break through to the second layer of Qi Refining in his "Longevity Technique."
It should be noted that the spiritual energy concentration in the Corpse Demon Sect was tens of times richer than that in the mundane Tian Sha Sect. Moreover, demonic cultivation techniques progressed rapidly in the early stages, aided by the Corpse Qi Well. This allowed Song Wen to advance to the late stage of the first layer within a month.
On the seventh day, the array outside the cave mansion had lit up with a warning signal, indicating someone was looking for Song Wen.
The visitor was Zhang Xiaofan, one of the four members of the Qi Refining Initial Entry group, who came from a poor background and was mature in mind, serving as their leader.
All four were first-time cultivators who didn't quite understand the Corpse Demon Sect's "Corpse Qi Technique" distributed to them. After several days of self-study and mutual discussion, they ended up clueless and none had made any progress.
He came to find Song Wen with the aim of inviting him to seek answers from Du Qiu.
Knowing that Song Wen had already succeeded, and recalling Du Qiu's previous attitude, which clearly indicated he didn't want to be disturbed, Song Wen straightforwardly refused Zhang Xiaofan.
During this month of cultivation, Song Wen discovered that the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" would deplete his essence blood. The Corpse Blood Pills not only provided him with Corpse Qi but also replenished his essence blood.
However, three Corpse Blood Pills a month were barely enough for his needs. The shortage of Corpse Blood Pills somewhat limited his cultivation progress.
At the end of the month, due to the depletion of essence blood and the influence of Corpse Qi, Song Wen's body had turned iron-gray, and his once plump flesh had become somewhat shriveled. He now exuded a bit of the aura of a necromancer.
Song Wen looked at his own physical appearance with some disdain.
"I wonder if it can be restored."
This half-human, half-ghost appearance was quite difficult for the newly entered demonic path Song Wen to accept. However, he didn't have to worry anymore. Since he had practiced the "Longevity Technique," there had always been a righteous aura on him. Walking inside the Corpse Demon Sect would easily attract attention.
Song Wen immediately stopped the operation of the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique." Soon, a slight amount of essence blood surged from the marrow throughout his body, as if these essence blood had been oppressed by the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" and had never been able to emerge. Once the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique" ceased operation, it spontaneously emerged to make up for the serious deficiency of his qi and blood.
Song Wen's flesh and blood gradually became full, and his iron-gray skin also gradually recovered its original flesh color. The faint Corpse Qi on his body disappeared, as if he had never practiced the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique."
Only the vigorous righteousness of the "Longevity Technique" emanated from him.
Song Wen's face suddenly became pleasantly surprised.
"How did this happen?"
"I didn't expect my physical body to still conceal such a secret. Wouldn't that mean I can disguise my cultivation level at will in the future?"
"Let's try releasing only part of the cultivation breath."
Song Wen controlled the operation of the "Corpse King Blood Refining Technique," and his body began to emit a faint Corpse Qi. His skin also began to turn grayish, and finally, the breath on his body stayed at the middle stage of the first layer.
"Success!"
"In this way, from now on, I can only reveal part of my cultivation level in front of others, leaving some cards for myself. Maybe it can save my life at some point."
Just then, the warning array in the cave mansion suddenly lit up, and a voice came from outside the door.
"Ji Yin, the month is over. Hurry out," it was Du Qiu's voice.
(End of the Chapter)