Translator: Cinder Translations
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Song Wen found a ten-meter-high cliff covered by thick vines in a dense forest at the foot of the mountain.
He cleared the vines and created a small cave several meters in size on the cliff.
After releasing all the Black Armored to stand guard, Song Wen took out the "Nine Palaces Yin Array" and prepared to start refining.
The "Nine Palaces Yin Array" consisted of nine formation flags and a formation plate. It took Song Wen two days to refine the formation plate and flags.
After setting up the "Nine Palaces Yin Array," Song Wen released the corpse puppets.
The corpse puppets were filled with a sinister aura, and soon the entire cave was filled with a thick, ghostly miasma.
Leaving the corpse puppets inside the formation, Song Wen quickly exited the array.
He stood ten meters away from the formation for half an hour to ensure no ghostly miasma leaked out. Once satisfied, he entered the cave again and covered the entrance with vines.
He stored the corpse puppets in the coffin artifact and placed it back into the storage ring.
Next, he took out a blood-red empty coffin, which was a rare high-grade spiritual tool he had obtained from Wu Ren. This coffin was used by Wu Ren to cultivate silver corpses.
Using it to refine a pseudo-third-grade silver corpse was quite appropriate.
He placed Wu Ren's corpse into the corpse-rearing coffin.
Song Wen then added four bottles of ghostly miasma, eight bottles of essence blood, five thousand spirit stones, yin yellow soil, Yin Ming grass, and other yin attribute corpse-rearing materials, as well as the crucial Xuan Yin Stone into the blood coffin.
Immediately, Song Wen began to rapidly cast a series of spell seals towards the blood coffin.
The blood coffin gradually emitted black ghostly miasma, which increased in volume and soon filled the entire coffin.
Looking inside, all he could see was the black ghostly miasma swirling within the coffin, completely covering Wu Ren's corpse.
As the refining process continued, Wu Ren's corpse gradually began to undergo corpse transformation. Fangs grew from its mouth, its nails became sharp and black, and its flesh, subjected to the various spiritual materials, became increasingly tough. The large hole in its chest also slowly began to heal.
The corpse refining process lasted a full seventeen days, slightly longer than Song Wen had anticipated.
By now, Wu Ren's corpse had a faint silver-white hue in its bones.
The pseudo-third-grade corpse puppet had been initially refined successfully! Next, it needed to be placed in the corpse-rearing coffin to be nurtured.
Song Wen sealed the blood coffin and set it aside.
He took out the jade slip detailing the refining methods for the Yin Soul Banner and placed it on his forehead to begin studying it carefully.
For refining the Yin Soul Banner, the most important materials were sufficient yin souls and ghostly miasma, as well as a banner capable of carrying both.
The eight-sided ghost banner in Song Wen's possession just happened to meet all three of these requirements.
In other words, if Song Wen wanted, he could refine eight Yin Soul Banners.
However, refining eight Yin Soul Banners would result in a product of relatively low quality, at most a high-grade magical tool. Given Song Wen's current cultivation level, high-grade magical tools were already inadequate.
After careful consideration, Song Wen made a bold decision: he would refine these eight ghost banners into a single Yin Soul Banner. This should allow him to produce a Yin Soul Banner of spiritual tool level.
He started trying immediately.
Following the refining method detailed in the jade slip, Song Wen spent three days thoroughly refining the eight ghost banners.
After the refining process, the ghost banners operated as if they were extensions of Song Wen's limbs, rising into the air and spinning continuously.
With a thought, the eight ghost banners slammed together.
Song Wen channeled his immense spiritual power into the eight ghost banners.
Instantly, the banners seemed to be subjected to intense heat, with their brownish banner poles gradually turning red.
The yin souls within the ghost banners, as if subjected to severe punishment, struggled to escape but were restrained by the banners, manifesting one horrifying, howling ghostly face after another.
The two ghost generals were significantly stronger; half of their bodies had already emerged from the ghost banners, and they roared and howled fiercely, while the remaining half was still trapped inside the ghost banners, unable to escape.
Song Wen ignored this and remained focused on refining the Yin Soul Banner.
During his first attempt to refine the Yin Soul Banner, Song Wen was not very skilled, and it took him nearly a month to complete the process.
The eight ghost banners were combined into one, refining it into a low-grade spiritual tool level Yin Soul Banner.
This Yin Soul Banner was somewhat unique in that it had eight banner flags on its staff.
This was intentional on Song Wen's part. According to the refining method for the Yin Soul Banner, each banner flag could refine a powerful ghostly entity and command numerous yin souls.
With eight banner flags, this Yin Soul Banner could accommodate eight times the ghostly energy and refine eight powerful ghostly entities.
At this moment, the two ghost generals had become completely obedient, each staying in its respective banner flag.
Placing the banner flags aside, Song Wen took out several corpses of the Li family's cultivators that he had taken when he fled from the Li family.
He had consumed many souls during this trip and had suitable corpses on hand, so it was a perfect opportunity to refine several substitute puppets.
The requirements for substitute puppets were not high; a mid-stage Qi Refining corpse puppet would suffice.
After another half month, Song Wen successfully refined three substitute puppets.
By now, he had been in this cave for two months.
The cave walls had been tainted by ghostly energy, corpse energy, and yin energy for a long time, giving off a slight demonic aura.
Song Wen tidied up everything in the cave and used a massive burst of spiritual power to collapse it.
After collecting the Black Armored Gu, Song Wen turned and left.
...
"You've been gone for over two months. I thought you had vanished like Sun Ru next door!"
As soon as Song Wen arrived at the small courtyard in Huafang Square, and before he could even settle down, Ai Kun rushed into the courtyard.
Song Wen looked up at Ai Kun with concern and reproach, effortlessly fabricating a lie.
"I went back to my secular hometown."
"You should have at least informed me! If I hadn't kept an eye on it, Zhao Dapeng would have taken over this courtyard."
Song Wen feigned surprise, "How could that be? Before I left, I paid half a year's rent in advance. It's still within the rental period. How could he dare to take the courtyard?"
Ai Kun sneered, "Hmph! There's nothing Zhao Dapeng wouldn't do for the sake of spirit stones. He'd do anything crazy as long as it earns him spirit stones."
Song Wen didn't follow up on Ai Kun's comment but asked another question.
"How did you know I was coming?"
It was no wonder Song Wen was suspicious. As soon as he entered, Ai Kun arrived immediately, as if someone were monitoring him.
Despite having a generally positive impression of Ai Kun over the past few months, one should always be cautious in the cultivation world and never relax their guard.
"It was Xiao Luzi who told me. I had him watch for your arrival and inform me."
"Xiao Luzi?" Song Wen was puzzled; he hadn't heard that name before.
"Zhu Mei's son. His father's surname is Lu, and his nickname is Xiao Luzi."
Song Wen's doubts were instantly dispelled. He had indeed seen the child from the neighbor Zhu Mei's family when he arrived.
Watching Ai Kun closely, Song Wen teased, "It seems that during my absence, you've been getting quite close with Zhu Mei next door."
Ai Kun's face reddened with embarrassment as he explained, "It's nothing serious. I just saw Zhu Mei working hard, and Xiao Luzi is often alone at home, which is quite pitiful. I just offered some help."
(End of the Chapter)
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