Translator: Cinder Translations
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Generally speaking, after the age of sixty, a cultivator's qi and blood gradually weaken. Foundation Building requires a cultivator to elevate their essence, energy, and spirit to the peak state of human strength, then break through the body's limits, thereby undergoing transformation and fundamentally completing the evolution of life to gain greater power and longevity.
In other words, after sixty years of age, the possibility of Foundation Building becomes extremely low and continues to decline with increasing age.
Although Wu Xiu was only sixteen years old at this time, in order to Foundation Build and attain longer life, he had to exert all his efforts now at this young age to accumulate more cultivation resources for himself.
Wu Xiu, though proud, had clear goals and plans for his cultivation.
Of course, much of this was taught to him by his deceased father and was one of the greatest inheritances left to him by his father.
After receiving the token of the Corpse Dissector, Wu Xiu respectfully stepped aside.
This scene fell into the eyes of the five behind him, especially in the eyes of Song Wen, who had lived a second life, causing a great shock.
It seemed that the cultivation world was not just about fighting; like the mundane world, it was still full of human affairs. Even the demonic path, known for its brutality and slaughter, was still like this.
Next, the four newcomers each chose their new tasks.
Perhaps having previously discussed it, the four of them all unexpectedly chose to become Spirit Planters at the Spirit Medicine Hall.
For cultivators of the Corpse Demon Sect, a large quantity of pills was required for cultivation. These pills required various spirit herbs and toxic plants, most of which were cultivated by the Spirit Medicine Hall of the Corpse Demon Sect.
The job of a Spirit Planter was to cultivate these spirit herbs and toxic plants at the Spirit Medicine Hall. It was a relatively safe job within the Corpse Demon Sect, aside from occasional encounters with poisonous insects within the medicine gardens, they rarely faced any other dangers.
Naturally, the treatment of Spirit Planters was relatively inferior. For these four individuals, whose temperaments were still immature and who knew almost nothing about cultivating immortality and the demonic path, becoming a Spirit Planter was undoubtedly a good choice.
Finally, it was Song Wen's turn to choose.
"I choose to become a Corpse Dissector at the Blood Refining Hall."
In the process of cultivation within the Corpse Demon Sect, a large quantity of human blood was needed to refine various pills and magical artifacts, most of which were provided by the Blood Refining Hall.
Human blood was stored in various parts of the human body. In order to maximize the extraction of human blood, the Corpse Demon Sect had the position of Corpse Dissector. In essence, this was similar to a butcher selling meat in the mundane world; Corpse Dissectors needed to separate bones, flesh, and organs from corpses to provide the Blood Refining Hall with refined blood.
Upon hearing this, the elder looked at Song Wen strangely, with some astonishment in his questioning tone.
"Are you sure you want to become a Corpse Dissector?"
Corpse Dissectors were highly regarded because the Corpse Dissection Cave was located deep underground in the Corpse Demon Mountain. Due to frequent dissections, the cave was filled with strong blood qi, mixed with a trace of corpse qi and resentment.
The mingling of these turbid energies within the cave made the environment highly unsuitable for prolonged human habitation. Even Corpse Demon Sect cultivators specializing in corpse techniques who spent too much time in the cave were highly prone to contamination of their spiritual energy and even demonic possession.
The Corpse Dissection Cave was generally a place of exile for disciples who had made mistakes or were at the late Qi Refining Stage and sought extreme environmental stimulation to advance.
It had been quite some time since new disciples volunteered to go to the Corpse Dissection Cave, which was why the elder was somewhat surprised.
Wu Xiu and the four new recruits also looked at Song Wen with surprise; they had all learned about the sect's rules and had some understanding of the terrifying nature of the Corpse Dissection Cave.
Song Wen, however, remained calm and said lightly, "Yes, I want to become a Corpse Dissector at the Corpse Dissection Cave."
As soon as he heard that there was a shortage of people at the Corpse Dissection Cave, he immediately chose this place.
Corpse Dissectors needed to personally dissect numerous corpses, which conveniently allowed his "golden finger" to devour blood essence. With countless corpses in the Corpse Dissection Cave lacking some blood, it shouldn't attract much attention.
Having witnessed the mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator, Song Wen, and filled with a strong desire for power, in this world where the strong prey on the weak, only with sufficient personal strength can one truly control their own destiny.
After Song Wen's resolute answer, the elder did not say much.
If someone wanted to seek death in the Corpse Dissection Cave, he would not dissuade them.
Perhaps next month, in the pills they consumed, there would be contributions of blood essence from this individual. The Corpse Demon Sect scoured the world for cultivators' blood essence and corpses, naturally not letting go of the corpses of fellow disciples who died in vain.
The elder threw a token engraved with the characters 'Corpse Dissector' to Song Wen.
The six of them took the tokens and left the Outer Affairs Hall.
Zhang Xiaofan opened his mouth towards Song Wen, but in the end, he didn't say anything, just deeply sighed.
In his eyes, Song Wen, this wandering cultivator, like those of them who had been forcibly brought here without having practiced before, were all compelled to become disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect.
He had wanted to advise Song Wen to choose a safe task like theirs, survive quietly within the Corpse Demon Sect, and perhaps one day find an opportunity to escape from the sect and return to a free life.
But Song Wen chose to become a Corpse Dissector, a position of extreme danger, which Zhang Xiaofan found difficult to understand.
Originally mocking Song Wen several times, Wu Xiu couldn't help but sympathize with him inwardly. Both were striving for the slim chance of longevity.
After the group separated, Song Wen, holding the Corpse Dissector token, headed towards the foot of the mountain.
The entrance to the Corpse Dissection Cave was at the foot of the mountain.
Northwest of the Corpse Demon Peak.
A ten-meter-high giant cave entrance appeared before Song Wen's eyes.
Inside the cave was pitch black, without a trace of light, like a ferocious beast lying on the ground, its blood-red mouth wide open, as if ready to swallow everything nearby.
Occasionally, gusts of cold wind blew out from the cave, chilling to the bone.
Above the cave ceiling were three large characters: Corpse Dissection Cave.
Song Wen calmed his mind, holding the Corpse Dissector token, and stepped into the entrance.
As he crossed the entrance, he keenly sensed passing through a formation. This was the defensive formation of the Corpse Dissection Cave. Without the Corpse Dissector token, anyone who rashly entered would not only be unable to enter the cave but would also be attacked by the formation, likely attracting Corpse Demon Sect cultivators.
The path inside the cave sloped downward, and it wasn't as pitch black as it appeared from the outside. Faint glows occasionally dotted the cave walls, resembling ghostly lights flickering in a graveyard at night.
As Song Wen descended deeper and deeper, after covering a distance of about a kilometer, the scene before him finally became clear.
A massive underground cave, about a kilometer in diameter, appeared before his eyes, emitting an extremely foul and nauseating stench that assaulted him.
Around the cave's perimeter burned dismal white flames, making this already dense with gloom and corpse qi even more eerie and terrifying.
(End of the Chapter)