Chapter 70: Assaulting the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer
Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Assaulting the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer
"However, this coffin is not unique; there are ten in total. Each one can normally only nurture a single Tier Three Peak Corpse Puppet. Once all ten Corpse Puppets have been fully cultivated, they fight to the death. The victor devours the Primordial Essence of the others and transforms into a Tier Four Corpse King. Until that Corpse King falls, the remaining Corpse Puppets will be unable to advance to Tier Four."
"The Corpse Puppets cultivated by a Celestial Corpse Coffin are quite special. They are known as Celestial Corpse Level Corpse Puppets and are even more powerful and ferocious. However, one Celestial Corpse Coffin can only cultivate a single Corpse Puppet, as if in a bound state. Only when the original Corpse Puppet is destroyed can a new one be cultivated."
"Furthermore, controlling these Corpse Puppets requires a powerful Divine Thought, as well as a Secret Technique or a treasure to resist the puppet’s extraordinary Celestial Corpse Evil. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before you are corrupted by the Celestial Corpse Evil Qi or even killed by your own Corpse Puppet."
"Finally, the amount of Spirit Stones required to cultivate a High Tier Corpse Puppet is absolutely beyond the imagination of an ordinary Cultivator."
—
When he first learned all this, Zhang Chi’s shock far outweighed his joy. He even suspected he had misunderstood something.
He didn’t believe that Xiao Yunhong, a mere Qi Cultivation Cultivator at the time, could have pulled off something of this magnitude.
However, after carefully reviewing the information and discreetly inquiring about the situation in the Northern Abyss, he no longer found it strange as he learned more.
First, the Black Coffin that Xiao Yunhong had stolen was likely just one of the ten.
Second, the major Demon Sects were actually always fighting amongst themselves, both openly and secretly. Xiao Yunhong stealing this treasure was not an individual act; he clearly had the powerful backing and support of major forces like the Profound Yin Sect.
In other words, Xiao Yunhong was just a minor player in all of this.
But the specific inside details were not something an outsider could possibly know.
’This thing is powerful, but it’s also a hot potato. Besides, it’s probably not much use to an ordinary Cultivator even if they got their hands on it.’
’Thankfully, I have the Jade Pendant, which can most likely ignore the Celestial Corpse Evil. I’ve also cultivated the White Bone Divine Forging Technique, so my Divine Thought is strong enough.’
’Therefore, I just need to cultivate an ordinary Corpse Manipulation Technique to be able to use this Black Coffin.’
’Even if I can’t cultivate a Tier Four Corpse King, creating a Tier Two Corpse Puppet comparable to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator should be no problem at all. Plus, that would require far fewer Spirit Stones.’
’The only question is whether the cultivation slot in my Black Coffin has already been taken. But that’s easy enough to solve—I just need to find a chance to test it.’
’As for Xiao Yunhong sending people to the Golden Sun Sect to investigate, he was most likely trying to get this Black Coffin back. His telling me to wait until Foundation Establishment to use it was probably just to placate me and prevent the Black Coffin from being exposed prematurely.’
’Under normal circumstances, it would take me many years to reach Foundation Establishment, and I might not ever succeed. In that case, he would have definitely been able to find me and take back the Black Coffin long before I did.’
’But no matter what he’s thinking, since he gave it to me, he shouldn’t expect to get it back so easily. If it comes down to it, I’ll just sell it. Otherwise, wouldn’t I just be his personal storage keeper?’
In his cave residence, Zhang Chi thought to himself as he observed the Celestial Corpse Coffin in his storage hairband.
He had a strong suspicion that he had been set up by Xiao Yunhong.
Fortunately, he had always been cautious.
Of course, it was also possible that he was overthinking things.
Xiao Yunhong’s advice to wait until Foundation Establishment might have been purely because he felt only then would Zhang Chi’s Divine Thought be strong enough to withstand the risks.
But Zhang Chi had no intention of waiting. He planned to rely on his powerful Divine Thought and the Jade Pendant to give it a try after he reached Qi Cultivation Peak.
Of course, if the Black Coffin already contained a powerful Corpse Puppet, that would be a different matter entirely.
—
"Elder, what should we do? It’s been over a year, and we still can’t find any trace of that Celestial Corpse Coffin’s aura. Could we have been mistaken about that Xiao Yunhong?"
At this moment, within the Cyan Cloud Sect’s sphere of influence, a group of Black-robed Cultivators were talking inside a desolate mountain.
They were from the Northern Abyss Celestial Corpse Sect. Their leader was a tall, burly, and powerfully imposing old man. He was an Elder of the Celestial Corpse Sect, possessing the formidable Cultivation of Golden Core Peak.
"Impossible. When those mysterious people broke into the Sect’s forbidden grounds, Xiao Yunhong and the other juniors were at our Sect attending the Supreme Elder’s one-thousandth birthday banquet. Afterwards, he was the only one who came to Yuan South and disappeared for the longest time. We’ve investigated everyone else, so he is undoubtedly the prime suspect," the Great Elder said coldly.
"Besides, even if it wasn’t him, the Profound Yin Sect was definitely involved. They knew our Celestial Corpse Sect’s Tier Four Celestial Corpse was gravely injured and could only hold on for another one or two hundred years at most. For them to do this... they are deliberately trying to destroy our Celestial Corpse Sect!" the Great Elder said coldly.
"The Profound Yin Sect is truly despicable!"
The other Black-robed Cultivators all nodded.
"Should we continue then?" the subordinate who had reported earlier asked helplessly.
"Let’s go back. It’s just one Celestial Corpse Coffin. Do they really think that just because we lost this one, we can’t create a new Tier Four Celestial Corpse? They have no idea that Tier Three Celestial Corpses can sense each other."
"In short, if any other power or expert gets that Celestial Corpse Coffin and tries to cultivate a Celestial Corpse, our Nine-headed Celestial Corpse will sense it the moment it reaches Tier Three. In that case, they would just be doing all the hard work for us."
"And I am certain that no expert or power who obtains a Celestial Corpse Coffin could possibly resist the immense temptation to find a way to use it," the Great Elder said with a contemptuous smile.
"You are wise, Elder!"
The Cultivators were overjoyed. They could finally go back, and it wouldn’t delay their own Cultivation.
"However, keep an eye on Xiao Yunhong. He’s one of our real leads. The reason our Celestial Corpse Sect didn’t kill him is partly because of his background, but also so we could follow the clues he provides. No matter how cautious he is, he’ll slip up sooner or later!" the Great Elder said finally.
"Yes, Elder!"
The Black-robed Cultivators immediately nodded in unison.
—
’It’s time. I can finally use the Eye of the Spirit Spring. It would have originally taken me over a month to break through, but with the help of this Spiritual Object, the time can definitely be shortened significantly. Once my Cultivation has improved, it will be much safer for me to go out and retrieve my Spirit Beast, and I can make a trip to the Marketplace while I’m at it!’
A few more days passed. In his cave residence beneath the Earth Fire Hall, Zhang Chi had finally mastered the method for storing and releasing Spiritual Objects, as well as the Array Control Technique.
Then, he immediately chose a spot and set up the eight Array Flags of the Thousand Illusions Locking Element Array, which transformed into stone pillars.
With the additional concealment from the Earth Fire Hall’s own Grand Array, even a Golden Core Cultivator who came to the hall wouldn’t notice anything amiss unless they came down to inspect it carefully.
Late at night, Zhang Chi finally took out the Scroll that sealed the Eye of the Spirit Spring.
SWISH!
He tossed the Scroll into the air. It immediately unfurled, its light swirling as it rapidly absorbed the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and grew in size.
As he cast a series of Spirit Techniques, the Eye of the Spirit Spring within the Scroll was successfully extracted and placed atop the Spiritual Vein.
The spring water churned, releasing a massive amount of Spiritual Qi. In just a moment, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi became much denser than before.
But with the Tier Two Low Grade Array sealing the area, none of this dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi would leak out noticeably.
However, Zhang Chi did not use the Demon Snake Spine.
The item produced far too much Demonic Qi. Even if he only partially broke the seal to reduce the leakage, the risk was still too great.
Besides, he hadn’t retrieved his Spirit Beast yet, so there was no need to break the spine’s seal right now.
Afterward, Zhang Chi tried cultivating with the Nine Flames Spirit Devouring Technique and found that its efficiency had indeed increased dramatically.
Overjoyed, Zhang Chi continued his Cultivation in Seclusion.
Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye. That night, he successfully pushed his Spiritual Power to its current limit.
Without hesitation, Zhang Chi sat cross-legged on the ground, marshaled his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and began his assault on the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer.