Translator: Cinder Translations
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In the end, Song Wen selected a male human-serpent at the ninth level of Qi Refining.
The human-serpent was about the size of a rice bowl, with the appearance of a young boy.
It had been restricted, unable to use its spiritual power, and Song Wen lifted it with his spiritual energy, heading toward Corpse Cave No. 10.
Upon entering the cave, Song Wen used the token to seal the cave.
Each corpse cave was equipped with a concealment formation. First, to prevent interruptions during corpse refinement, and second, to prevent others from spying.
Before entering the cave, Song Wen had tested it with his spiritual sense.
The concealment formation of the cave could block the spiritual senses of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
At that moment, there were only Foundation Establishment cultivators in the human-serpent pit.
In other words, everything Song Wen did within the corpse cave would go unnoticed by outsiders.
To be extra cautious, Song Wen hid a Sacred Gu in a crack at the entrance to the human-serpent pit. If a cultivator of the Golden Core stage entered, the Gu would alert him immediately.
Song Wen took out the storage bag given to him by Zhou Siyi and carefully examined the jade slip inside.
The jade slip recorded an advanced corpse refinement method, along with some notes on refining mystic corpses.
The corpse refinement method was of little use to Song Wen, but the notes contained valuable insights worth studying.
After half an hour of carefully reading the notes, Song Wen put the jade slip away.
With a wave of his hand, he summoned the corpse-nurturing coffin in front of him.
The coffin was over a meter long, pure black, and engraved with the words "Ding 130."
The human-serpent he had chosen was over ten feet long, too large for an ordinary coffin.
Song Wen used his spiritual energy to lift the human-serpent into the air and placed it inside the coffin.
The human-serpent twisted its body frantically, its forked tongue flicking in and out, and its vertical pupils glared at Song Wen with hatred.
Song Wen remained indifferent to the serpent's hostility.
He opened the Yin Fiend dew, flicked his finger, and a drop of concentrated corpse energy floated in the air, drifting toward the human-serpent's mouth.
Panic flashed in the serpent's eyes, and it quickly withdrew its tongue and clamped its mouth shut.
With a thought, Song Wen used his spiritual power to force the serpent's mouth open.
The drop of Yin Fiend dew fell into the human-serpent's mouth.
Song Wen then began to use the secret corpse refinement technique, forcibly integrating the Yin Fiend dew into the human-serpent's body.
An hour later, a piece of Yin yellow earth was stuffed into the serpent's mouth.
...
One day later.
Song Wen had completed the first stage of refining the human-serpent. About half of the corpse refining materials in his storage bag had been consumed.
At this moment, the human-serpent, having absorbed too much Yin Fiend dew, was lying weakly in the coffin, its body brimming with corpse energy, but listless and barely moving.
The serpent's body trembled continuously, clearly in extreme pain.
Song Wen placed the coffin aside and stopped paying attention to the human-serpent.
The serpent was too weak at the moment to continue the refinement process, or else it might turn into a beast corpse puppet.
The corpse cave was filled with an overwhelming amount of corpse energy, and Song Wen couldn't resist taking a deep breath.
The feeling of openly absorbing corpse energy was truly nostalgic.
After meditating and cultivating in the cave for two days, Song Wen finally emerged.
As a novice attempting corpse refinement for the first time, completing the initial stage in just three days was no small feat.
Had Song Wen emerged from the cave two days earlier, it would have surely aroused suspicion.
"Junior Brother Wu, have you completed the first refinement of the human-serpent? How did it go?"
As soon as Song Wen exited the cave, he ran into Zhou Siyi, who asked with curiosity.
After interacting with Zhou Siyi for several years, Song Wen had gradually figured out her habits.
She was intensely curious about the unknown and always eager to learn.
Take alchemy, for example. When practicing a new pill formula, she would be completely focused.
But once she succeeded, regardless of the low success rate, her interest would immediately fade.
Her deep concern about the success of Song Wen's refining of the human-serpent could only indicate one thing:
Zhou Siyi was having trouble refining her own human-serpent.
Song Wen pointed to the corpse-nurturing coffin still placed in the corpse cave and said,
"Thankfully, I didn't fail; it went fairly smoothly."
Zhou Siyi's eyes lit up.
"Really? You succeeded on your first attempt at corpse refinement?"
"Senior Sister, you'll know once you take a look."
Zhou Siyi rushed into the corpse cave and approached the coffin.
Inside the coffin, black corpse energy swirled, and the human-serpent lay weak and lifeless.
After observing for a while, Zhou Siyi raised her head and looked at Song Wen with a look of amazement.
"Junior Brother Wu, your talent in cultivation is average, and in alchemy, it's just so-so. But I didn't expect that in the art of corpse refinement, you have extraordinary talent."
"You shouldn't have joined the Beast-Taming Sect. You should have joined the Corpse Demon Sect."
"Who's talking about joining the Corpse Demon Sect?"
Rong Jingyun's voice suddenly rang out.
Zhou Siyi turned around, a delighted expression on her face, and spoke to Rong Jingyun.
"Come quickly, Elder Rong! Wu Sheng has just completed his first refinement of the human-serpent corpse, and it went incredibly smoothly."
Hearing this, Rong Jingyun's expression brightened, and she quickly stepped into the Corpse Cave.
When she saw the state of the human-serpent inside the coffin, she too looked at Song Wen with amazement.
"Elder Wu, have you practiced the art of corpse refinement before?"
Song Wen's face filled with alarm.
"Elder Rong, although I was once a rogue cultivator, I've always known the strict divide between the righteous and the evil paths. I've never dared to practice any corpse-refinement techniques. When I joined the sect, Vice Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall personally inspected me. There's no trace of demonic aura on me."
Rong Jingyun smiled gently.
"Elder Wu, don't be alarmed. I'm not here to question or suspect you. I'm merely astonished by your talent in corpse refinement."
"Would Elder Wu be willing to demonstrate the process of corpse refinement for me?"
"Elder Rong, it would be my honor," Song Wen replied.
Song Wen remained calm in the face of Rong Jingyun's request.
When he had put all his effort into refining the half-corpse human-serpent, he had anticipated this kind of situation.
The reason Song Wen was so determined to refine corpses was, of course, for access to corpse-refining materials.
As long as he showcased exceptional talent in corpse refinement, he would surely earn Rong Jingyun's recognition, allowing him to continuously acquire corpse-refining materials from her.
Rong Jingyun said, "I will select another human-serpent for you. After you've rested and recovered, you can begin refining. How does that sound, Elder Wu?"
Song Wen replied, "I will follow Elder Rong's arrangements."
Rong Jingyun asked, "For this next refinement, do you prefer a first-tier human-serpent or a second-tier one?"
Song Wen's expression became excited.
"If there's a second-tier human-serpent available, that would be best. First-tier human-serpents are still too weak and can't handle much corpse energy."
Rong Jingyun nodded and left.
Song Wen remained in the corpse cave, pretending to meditate and recover.
Two hours later.
A second-tier female human-serpent, its spiritual power sealed, appeared before Song Wen.
At this moment, aside from Song Wen, there were five others in the fifteenth corpse cave.
They were Rong Jingyun, Zhou Siyi, and Liu Jiang, along with two male mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators.
These two men, Zhang Bing and Li Shi, were elders of the Beast Peak. Their primary task was to assist Rong Jingyun in managing the human-serpent cave and refining human-serpent corpses.
Under the watchful eyes of the five, Song Wen began refining the second-tier human-serpent.
To avoid arousing suspicion, he did not use the corpse-refinement techniques of the Corpse Demon Sect but instead used the method recorded in the jade slip that Zhou Siyi had given him.
(End of the Chapter)
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