Volume 1, Chapter 214 – Nether Soul Mountain Range

The Xuanming Sect was located in a place called the Nether Soul Mountain Range, in the northern part of the Southern Region.

The mountain range stretched for tens of millions of li and was shrouded in poisonous miasma all year round.

The miasma was not only toxic, but could also block the probing of divine sense.

The terrain was treacherous, filled with bottomless cliffs, naturally formed maze formations, and deadly zones.

For that very reason, hardly any cultivators would willingly set foot here.

Over time, the place became a sacred ground for the heretical cultivators, demonic cultivators, and those who practiced unorthodox techniques throughout the Southern Region.

Among these factions, the Xuanming Sect, renowned for its corpse-refining techniques, was undoubtedly the most powerful.

The Xuanming Sect’s corpse-refining techniques had long since surpassed the simple art of “driving corpses.”

The corpses controlled by disciples below the Nascent Soul stage were mostly refined iron corpses and copper corpses. They were impervious to blades and spears and possessed immense strength.

Once they reached the Spirit Transformation stage, they could attempt to refine “silver corpses.”

Silver corpses not only retained part of their former cultivation and battle instincts, but could also cast certain spells.

As for elders in the Body Integration stage and above, if they possessed sufficient materials, they could begin refining “gold corpses.”

These gold corpses were not only immensely powerful, but also possessed intelligence. They could carry out complex orders and even cultivate on their own, absorbing Yin baleful energy to strengthen themselves.

There were even legends that the successive sect masters of the Xuanming Sect possessed the secret technique for refining “Heavenly Corpses.”

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Heavenly Corpses were primarily refined from the remains of high-realm cultivators, supplemented by countless precious natural treasures, and required centuries of tempering before they could be completed.

Once successfully refined, their strength would be no different from what it had been in life. Their physical bodies could even withstand heaven-rank artifacts head-on, making them true ultimate weapons.

According to the records in ancient texts, the sect’s lineage had already existed for more than forty thousand years!

That figure was even somewhat older than the Qingyun Sacred Land, one of the Southern Region’s three great sacred lands.

With such formidable strength, the sect should have become famous throughout the Southern Region long ago, and perhaps even stood shoulder to shoulder with the three great sacred lands.

Yet the members of the Xuanming Sect acted with extraordinary restraint.

They rarely took the initiative to involve themselves in disputes among the various sects of the Southern Region, and they never revealed their true strength to the outside world.

Most of the time, they simply remained in the Nether Soul Mountain Range, quietly gathering Yin baleful materials, refining corpse puppets, and cultivating their techniques.

When disciples occasionally ventured outside, it was usually to search for suitable refining materials or take part in necessary secret realm trials.

This restraint did not stem from fear.

Forty thousand years of accumulated foundations had given the Xuanming Sect terrifyingly deep reserves.

Experts abounded within the sect. There were no fewer than three Tribulation Transcendence ancestors, while the elders in the Mahayana and Body Integration realms numbered more than a dozen.

The current sect master, “Minggu,” had entered the late-stage Mahayana realm more than a thousand years ago. However, he had spent most of his time in seclusion and rarely appeared in public.

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The two Deputy Sect Masters beneath him were both powerful Mahayana cultivators as well.

In terms of high-end combat strength and accumulated foundations, the Xuanming Sect was in no way inferior to any sacred land in the Southern Region!

The reason they maintained such a low profile seemed to stem from the sect’s ancient precepts, as well as from the techniques they practiced and the path they followed.

Corpse-refining techniques ultimately went against the harmony of the heavens.

The ancestors of the Xuanming Sect had established a rule: do not contend for empty fame, do not display your strength, accumulate power in secret, and await the proper time.

As for what this “proper time” referred to, no one knew.

Deep within the Nether Soul Mountain Range, at the Xuanming Sect.

Unlike the gloom and poisonous miasma that never dispersed outside, the very heart of the mountain range was occupied by a vast and magnificent complex of buildings.

The Yin energy here was so dense that it had almost condensed into tangible streams of black mist, flowing slowly between the buildings.

Countless “corpse puppets” stood silently in every corner and along every corridor, their bodies rigid and their eyes vacant, like the most loyal of guards.

Their auras varied in strength. The weakest were only at the Foundation Establishment level, while the strongest even radiated the cold, sinister pressure of the Spirit Transformation stage.

This was the mountain gate of the Xuanming Sect.

At that moment, deep within a side hall, in a quiet chamber built entirely from some kind of black bone with the smooth, warm luster of jade, an emaciated old man dressed in a dark-black robe slowly opened his eyes.

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There was not the slightest trace of a living person’s aura around him. Instead, he exuded coldness and deathly silence.

He was Mingquan, one of the Xuanming Sect’s two Deputy Sect Masters.

The instant he opened his eyes, a soul lamp in the corner of the quiet chamber suddenly went out.

“Hmm? Bloodfiend is actually dead?”

The expression on Mingquan’s face quickly turned grave.

The extinguishing of Bloodfiend’s soul lamp meant that the operation had failed!

His most beloved only son had been killed by that Liu Ruyan in the Tianqiong Secret Realm.

He had harbored a grudge over the matter all this time. It was only recently, after hearing that the Yaochi Empress seemed to have left the Southern Region, that he felt the time was right.

He had originally intended to wait until Bloodfiend dealt with the Liu family before silencing Bloodfiend himself.

That way, even if the matter came to light in the future, it would not implicate him.

His plan should have been foolproof.

Yet he had never imagined that Bloodfiend, a middle-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator, would fail against a small Nascent Soul-stage family and even lose his life in the process!

“How could that Liu family possibly possess such strength? Could someone from Yaochi Immortal Palace have intervened?”

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Mingquan’s thoughts raced as he grew increasingly uneasy.

If someone from Yaochi Immortal Palace had truly intervened, then things would become troublesome.

With only a little investigation, the other party could easily trace Bloodfiend’s cultivation technique back to its origins, ultimately pointing to the Xuanming Sect.

Although the Xuanming Sect possessed deep foundations, compared with Yaochi Immortal Palace, which had an Immortal Ascension Empress…

His unauthorized actions had not only violated the sect’s rules, but had also dragged the Xuanming Sect into a crisis from which there might be no escape!

“No… I must inform Mingyue immediately!”

A look of resolve flashed through Mingquan’s eyes, though panic was far more evident.

Mingyue was the Xuanming Sect’s other Deputy Sect Master and the only expert within the sect whose status and strength were equal to his own.

More importantly, Mingyue was meticulous, level-headed, and calm in her dealings. Perhaps she would have a solution.

With that thought, he dared not delay any longer. He headed toward another, more elegant palace deep within the sect.