Ten Years of Planning, Gone in a Single Day

"Ten years ago, I began searching everywhere for those who possessed Five Elements spiritual roots with decent aptitude, just so I could teach them the Corpse King Blood Refining Art."

"To ensure the absolute purity of the cultivators' essence blood, I omitted the method of devouring others' essence blood from the version of the art I spread. And to prevent the technique from leaking, I also removed the sections regarding the refinement of corpse miasma."

"The array beneath our feet is known as the Nine-Bend Spirit Devouring Formation. It is recorded within the Corpse King Blood Refining Art and is used to extract spiritual power and refine qi and blood. It took me three full years of comprehension just to carve and arrange it."

"I taught thirty-two people in total. Some died along the way, while others possessed such wretched fated chances and poor comprehension that their cultivation progress was agonizingly slow, so I disposed of them. In the end, only the nine of you remained."

"Among the nine of you, one is my wedded wife, one is my disciple, three are cultivators from clans subordinate to the Corpse Demon Sect, two are rogue cultivators, and two are outer sect disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect."

"All nine of you possess a cultivation at the sixth layer of Qi Refining."

"No, one of you only had a fifth-layer Qi Refining cultivation. Originally, my plan was supposed to be delayed even further."

At this point, Shi Shou paused. He walked over to his wife's side and spoke softly.

"I did not expect that you, Wan Rou, would suddenly break through to the seventh layer of Qi Refining half a month ago. This perfectly made up for the deficiency in the other person's cultivation, allowing my plan to be brought forward."

"I must properly thank you, my cultivation companion."

After listening to Shi Shou's explanation, Wan Rou did not display anger or hatred. Instead, her face was filled with heartache and worry.

"Husband, stay your hand. You have already strayed onto a ruinous path. You are no longer cultivating a technique; you are being controlled by it, reduced to a puppet who knows nothing but cultivation."

"For the sake of your cultivation, you do not hesitate to sacrifice your wife and disciple. Even if your cultivation reaches greater heights, what meaning does it hold? You have completely severed your own humanity. No matter how long you live, you will be nothing more than a walking corpse."

"Have you forgotten the carefree happiness we shared when we were still rogue cultivators? Stop this. Let us leave the Corpse Demon Sect together and find a place in the mortal realm to live out our days as an ordinary husband and wife."

Shi Shou let out a bitter laugh.

"There is no turning back. From the day I picked up the Corpse King Blood Refining Art, everything became irreversible."

"For longevity, for greater power, I will pay any price."

As he uttered those final words, a sudden madness gripped Shi Shou, as though he were using this frenzy to mask the last remnants of conscience and guilt hidden deep within his heart.

He continued to address Wan Rou.

"Originally, I did not want to involve you. But twenty years ago, after I successfully established my foundation, you feared you would grow old before me and leave me alone and desolate in this world. You chose to disperse your own cultivation and switched to the Corpse King Blood Refining Art, hoping you could rely on it to achieve Foundation Establishment just as I did."

"But you had no idea what a terrible price I paid to cultivate the Corpse King Blood Refining Art, nor how many people I had to kill."

"Yet, you just happened to possess Five Elements spiritual roots, making you perfectly suited to cultivate it."

"Do not blame me. Perhaps all of this is heaven's will. To become an expert-especially an expert of the demonic path-one is destined to be cold-blooded and ruthless."

"Enough, Wan Rou. Now that you understand the cause and effect of this matter, you can die without regrets."

With that, Shi Shou walked to the center of the formation and sat cross-legged.

Seeing that doom was upon them, several of the bound cultivators began to curse violently.

Only Wan Rou wept, her voice trembling with desperate pleas.

"Husband, stop! I am already carrying your flesh and blood! The child has only just begun to form. Your Divine Sense might not be able to perceive it yet, but I can clearly feel a tiny life growing inside me!"

An array disk floated before Shi Shou. He was currently forming hand seals, preparing to strike them into the device.

Hearing his wife's words, he suddenly froze.

His wife was pregnant!

This was something he had completely failed to anticipate.

The two had been cultivation companions for over thirty years without ever conceiving. He had long assumed he would never leave behind descendants in this lifetime. He never expected that at this critical juncture, his wedded wife would suddenly reveal she was carrying his child.

Shi Shou raised his eyes to look at his bound wife. The look in his eyes fluctuated wildly-at times ferocious, at times tender, at times sorrowful, and at times heavy with guilt.

After his expression changed repeatedly, Shi Shou's gaze ultimately turned frigid, stripped of any trace of emotion.

He looked at the woman who had been his wife for thirty years as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

Shi Shou circulated his spiritual power and directly sealed his own hearing. He feared that his wife's bitter entreaties would shake his Dao Heart.

If it was for the sake of longevity, even one's own flesh and blood could be abandoned-indeed, they had to be abandoned.

Only by severing all emotional attachments could one pursue the supreme Great Dao.

From this day forth, only the pursuit of immortality would remain in Shi Shou's heart.

Shi Shou struck several hand seals into the array disk, causing it to emit a brilliant azure light.

The formation lines etched into the ground lit up one by one, shining with an azure radiance.

Thirty-six middle-grade Spirit Stones flew out from Shi Shou's storage ring, settling precisely into the grooves along the edges of the formation.

Instantly!

The azure light within the formation flared layout, illuminating the entire cave in a vibrant, glowing azure.

The nine individuals bound to the stone pillars gradually felt a massive pressure envelop their bodies, as though it meant to crush their bones to powder and squeeze every last drop of blood from their veins.

Shi Shou remained entirely focused, his gaze locked onto the array disk before him as he cast one hand seal after another. Beads of sweat began to form on his brow.

Evidently, controlling the Nine-Bend Spirit Devouring Formation was no easy task for Shi Shou, and it demanded a great deal of his mental energy.

Aside from Song Wen, the others bound to the stone pillars writhed in agony under the immense pressure. Blood began to seep from their skin, dyeing the eight of them crimson.

Among the eight, only Wan Rou, who possessed the highest cultivation, fared slightly better.

As for Song Wen, the pressure exerted by the formation was not nearly enough to harm his physical body.

'It's time to strike!'

Song Wen's eyes flashed with a sharp light. His muscles bulged as he wrenched his arms outward with tremendous force.

"Crack!"

The sound of snapping iron echoed through the cave.

The chains binding Song Wen shattered into several segments, clattering to the floor.

At the same time, a cold gleam flashed across the dark cave, arriving before Shi Shou in the blink of an eye.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, Song Wen had refined the Cold Moon Blade once more. Now, the weapon could truly unleash the power of a Spirit Weapon.

Song Wen was confident that if he encountered that Pseudo-Tier 2 copper corpse from the Withered Blood Secret Realm again, he could slay it using nothing but the Cold Moon Blade.

Shi Shou was caught completely off guard by this sudden turn of events. In his haste, he had no way to parry the incredibly swift Cold Moon Blade.

Driven by desperation, he could only lift the array disk in front of him to block the incoming strike.

"Clang!"

The Cold Moon Blade struck the array disk.

The disk instantly shattered into pieces, reduced to a pile of debris.

Though the Cold Moon Blade was deflected, its power was greatly depleted, leaving it unable to threaten Shi Shou further.

With the array disk destroyed, the operating formation ground to a sudden halt, and the azure light vanished without a trace.

Shi Shou suffered the immediate backlash of the formation's destruction, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

A ferocious light burned in his eyes like a roaring flame as he ground his teeth.

"Ji Yin, it is you! You have actually succeeded in achieving Foundation Establishment!"

Even as he spoke, Shi Shou summoned a Tier 2 Puppet Corpse.

"Pfft!"

The returning Cold Moon Blade was blocked by the tough palm of the Puppet Corpse, leaving only a deep gash on its hand.

Shi Shou swept his gaze across the cave, the fury in his heart blazing hotter. With the formation shattered, seven of the eight remaining sacrifices had already perished. Only his wedded wife, Wan Rou, still hung onto a single breath of life.

This meant that his painstaking planning, spanning a full ten years, had been utterly destroyed in a single moment.

Looking for more free chapters? Visit www.skynovelvault.com to read over 5,000 free chapters and continue exploring more stories from SkyNovelVault.

88.181.249.5

ns88.181.249.5da2