War Approaches

Over the coming days, Song Wen planned to intensify his cultivation.

He could not leave the Sect, so his only choice was to strive to raise his cultivation base. No matter what crisis loomed, only with formidable strength would he have a chance to survive it.

Just as he prepared to cultivate, a thought suddenly struck him.

Taking out Chen Yi's communication jade slip, he sent a message.

[Junior Sister Chen, I fear a major event will soon occur. Be careful in all matters.]

A short while later, Song Wen received Chen Yi's reply.

[Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Ji Yin. You should also act with caution.]

Early the next morning, Song Wen arrived at the Corpse Dismemberment Cave just as usual.

He sought out Feng Deng to collect his allotment, but only received eighty-two corpses. The sudden sharp decrease left him feeling somewhat unaccustomed.

"Why are there so few corpses today?" Song Wen asked in surprise.

Feng Deng replied, "The Sect has forbidden disciples from leaving. Where would fresh corpses come from? The ones in your hands are mere leftovers from before. In the coming days, I fear there will be fewer and fewer."

Song Wen nodded. Saying no more, he turned and headed toward the dissection platform.

It seems I must use this final window of time to steal a bit more essence blood. If there are truly no corpses left to dissect, the Corpse Dismemberment Cave will close, and stealing essence blood will become difficult. If my cultivation speed slows because of this, the loss will be immense.

Song Wen thought secretly to himself.

He opened his physical body, devouring as much of the scattered blood qi in the air as possible.

He did not dare to devour too much essence blood directly from the corpses he dissected, afraid others might notice the anomaly. However, absorbing the ambient blood qi drifting in the air was far more difficult to detect.

As long as he was not too blatant and did not cause the blood qi in the Corpse Dismemberment Cave to visibly funnel toward him, he would remain undiscovered.

Even though Song Wen deliberately slowed his pace, he finished dissecting the eighty-odd corpses in just two hours. It left him feeling wholly unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

Leaving the Corpse Dismemberment Cave, Song Wen returned to his cave dwelling and immediately resumed his cultivation.

Bang!

A blood-red coffin abruptly appeared, smashing heavily against the floor of the cave dwelling.

This blood coffin had been taken from Shi Shou. Inside lay Shi Shou's Tier 2 Puppet Corpse, possessing strength equivalent to the early Foundation Establishment realm.

This Puppet Corpse had already been completely refined by Song Wen using the secret techniques within the True Explanation of Corpse Puppets. Its appearance and aura had entirely changed. Song Wen brought it out now to nurture it with yin-attribute spiritual materials, allowing its strength to steadily grow.

An hour later.

Another pitch-black coffin appeared within the cave dwelling.

Inside this black coffin was Wu Sui's Pseudo-Tier 2 Puppet Corpse. The crippling injuries it had sustained during the previous battle with Shi Shou had already been mended.

After being refined by Song Wen's secret techniques, it had now become a genuine Tier 2 Puppet Corpse.

Tossing some yin-attribute spiritual materials into the black coffin as well, Song Wen continuously formed hand seals.

Soon, the black coffin was enshrouded in a dark mist. Corpse qi surged and baleful aura coiled around it. The baleful corpse qi flowed in and out of the Puppet Corpse's nose and mouth, continuously pouring into its body to temper its physical flesh.

After settling the two Puppet Corpses, Song Wen released his eight Black-armored Gu.

After this period of nurturing, two more Black-armored Gu had advanced to the ninth layer of Qi Refining. However, Song Wen still had not found a method to help the Black-armored Gu break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Feeding them some Silver Brilliant Stones and Purple Moon Flowers, Song Wen paid them no further mind, allowing the Black-armored Gu to roam freely around the cave dwelling.

Song Wen then produced a seven-colored pill and swallowed it.

This seven-colored pill was named 'Gelsemium.' It possessed a beautiful name and an equally beautiful appearance, yet it was a thing of extreme, lethal toxicity. If an ordinary mortal merely caught a whiff of it, their intestines would rot and their stomach would rupture.

As the pill entered his mouth, a faint sweetness first spread across his teeth, immediately followed by a foul, fishy stench.

The pill slid down his throat and settled into his abdomen.

The poison began to spread within his stomach. The foul stench grew increasingly dense, strong enough to make one retch.

Waves of excruciating pain followed. Song Wen could clearly sense the lethal poison eroding his internal organs, which slowly began to rot and decay.

The toxin invaded his heart meridians, flowing through his blood to reach every corner of his body.

Song Wen's entire body turned a mottled purplish-black.

A putrid stench, laced with the scent of rotting flesh, filled the entire cave dwelling.

At this moment, Song Wen looked like a corpse that had been dead for many days and was already blackening with rot.

Beads of sweat the size of beans dripped down Song Wen's cheeks.

Enduring the inhuman agony, Song Wen circulated the Myriad Poisons Chaos Body with all his might.

Seven days later.

The number of corpses in the Corpse Dismemberment Cave had dwindled even further. Song Wen spent a mere hour finishing his work.

Leaving the Corpse Dismemberment Cave, he headed toward the market town.

Having not visited for several days, Song Wen was surprised to find the market town utterly desolate. Hardly any cultivators could be seen on the streets. Some shops had barred their doors, and even the underground black market had shut down.

Strangest of all, not a single one of the rogue cultivators who usually hawked spiritual materials in the market could be seen.

It seems these rogue cultivators all realized something terrible was coming and fled to seek refuge.

Song Wen guessed inwardly.

What Song Wen did not know, however, was that his guess could not have been further from the truth.

After purchasing a few spiritual materials, Song Wen returned to his cave dwelling.

Back in his home, the memory of the desolate market made him feel increasingly uneasy.

Just what major event is about to happen in the Corpse Demon Sect?

Song Wen suddenly realized that while burying his head in bitter cultivation allowed him to avoid much trouble, it also left him completely isolated from outside information. At a critical time like this, it was difficult to find any channels to inquire about news.

After thinking it over, Song Wen took out Chen Feihe's communication jade slip.

Right now, Chen Feihe was the only well-informed person Song Wen could think of.

[Elder Chen, do you know what major event is occurring in the Corpse Demon Sect recently?]

A full hour passed before Chen Feihe finally replied.

[Fellow Daoist Zhang, why haven't you left the Corpse Demon Sect yet?! You fool, why would a rogue cultivator like you linger in the Corpse Demon Sect! Have you been secretly captured by the Corpse Demon Sect too?! Forgive me, but there is nothing I can do to save you.]

The transmission distance of a communication jade slip was limited. The fact that Chen Feihe could receive the message meant the distance between them was not too great.

Therefore, just by receiving the message, Chen Feihe could conclude that Song Wen had yet to leave the Corpse Demon Sect's territory.

Seeing the jade slip's message, Song Wen was startled.

The rogue cultivators had all been secretly detained by the Corpse Demon Sect!

Song Wen felt a surge of relief. Fortunately, he hadn't chosen to blend in with the rogue cultivators to leave the Sect.

But why was the Corpse Demon Sect capturing these rogue cultivators?

Was it truly as he had guessed-that war was approaching?

Was the Corpse Demon Sect planning to use rogue cultivators as cannon fodder? Or perhaps, when the battle grew dire, to refine them into an army of Puppet Corpses?

But where was this war coming from?

The Orthodox Sects? Or other demonic path factions?

Was the Corpse Demon Sect going to attack another power, or was another power coming to attack the Corpse Demon Sect?

Countless thoughts flashed through Song Wen's mind. With too little information, he could not make a judgment.

Thus, he sent another message to Chen Feihe.

[Elder Chen, do not worry, I am safe for the time being. Where is the Corpse Demon Sect's crisis coming from?]

Under Song Wen's repeated questioning, Chen Feihe finally relented.

[It is several Orthodox Sects from the northeastern region of the Tianyuan Continent. They are joining forces to attack the Corpse Demon Sect.]

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