Corpse King Blood Refining Art

From the sect regulations, Song Wen learned about the privileges and duties of the Corpse Demon Sect disciples.

As an outer sect disciple, he was entitled to five low-grade Spirit Stones each month.

Naturally, this tiny amount of resources was nowhere near enough to sustain the daily cultivation of a Qi Condensation disciple, even one in the early stage.

To obtain more resources to advance his cultivation, he would have to exchange them for sect contributions.

It was exactly as Du Qiu had said-the Corpse Demon Sect did not raise useless idlers!

New outer sect disciples like Song Wen were given one month to dedicate solely to their cultivation. Once that month passed, they were required to take on sect tasks.

However, as cultivation novices, they wouldn't be assigned dangerous assignments. Most of their duties would be menial support work.

After reviewing the rules, Song Wen began cultivating the Corpse King Blood Refining Art.

Cultivation, whether walking the orthodox righteous path or the demonic path, was fundamentally the process of drawing the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth into the body. It was a gradual refinement and strengthening of the self, ultimately meant to break through mortal limitations.

The difference was that the orthodox path absorbed the pure Qi of heaven and earth, emphasizing steady progression and natural harmony.

The demonic path was far more extreme. In their pursuit of rapid, overwhelming power, demonic practitioners did not hesitate to draw the turbid Qi of heaven and earth into their flesh.

This made entering the demonic path incredibly easy, offering explosive progress in the early stages. However, the further they advanced, the more treacherous the path became. Demonic cultivators frequently suffered from Qi Deviation and shattered minds, twisting into insane, bloodthirsty monsters completely devoid of self-control.

The corpse fiend Qi cultivated by the Corpse Demon Sect was one such type of turbid Qi. Absorbing it not only accelerated a cultivator's early progress but also gradually wreathed their body in a layer of corpse fiend aura, drastically enhancing their combat prowess and physical defense.

The Corpse King Blood Refining Art that Song Wen practiced also required this corpse fiend Qi to progress.

The Qi Condensation section of the Corpse King Blood Refining Art was divided into three layers, perfectly corresponding to the early, middle, and late stages of the Qi Condensation realm.

After committing the first layer's incantations to memory, Song Wen began his cultivation.

The first layer was relatively simple and didn't require heavenly materials or earthly treasures. It merely required him to draw corpse fiend Qi into his body and refine his flesh, granting him certain traits of a zombie while maintaining a living physique.

The Corpse King Blood Refining Art truly lived up to its reputation as a demonic technique. Its progress was frighteningly fast. Aided by his cave dwelling's corpse Qi well, it only took Song Wen three hours to successfully refine his first strand of heaven and earth's spiritual Qi. It was a fraction of the several days it had taken him to achieve the same with the Everlasting Longevity Art.

In the midst of his cultivation, a sharp pang of hunger struck his belly. Although Du Qiu had mentioned a dining hall near the foot of the mountain, Song Wen had no intention of going.

The sect specifically issued three Inedia pills to newcomers-exactly enough to last a month. It was an explicit message not to waste their initial period on trivial mortal matters.

Song Wen took out an Inedia pill and swallowed it. The gnawing hunger was instantly replaced by a deep sense of fullness, but nothing else. It didn't provide a single trace of spiritual Qi.

"So this is the cultivation version of compressed biscuits. Fills the stomach but provides zero nutrition. Still, a tiny pill like this staves off hunger for ten days. Truly fitting for the cultivation world."

Gripping a Spirit Stone in his left hand, Song Wen swallowed a Corpse Blood Pill with his right. He didn't skimp on his resources. Only by rapidly increasing his strength could he survive in this treacherous world.

Hoarding Spirit Stones and pills would only cripple his progress while inviting the greedy eyes of others.

Song Wen remained in secluded cultivation for a full month without stepping past his door. He successfully pushed the Corpse King Blood Refining Art to the late stage of the first Qi Condensation layer, exhausting all five low-grade Spirit Stones, three Inedia pills, and three Corpse Blood Pills in the process.

Only now did he fully grasp the immense value of the Blood Qi Pill he had refined back as Ji Yin. Although refining it drained a vast amount of essence blood, it genuinely stimulated human potential and triggered rapid growth in Magic Power.

If he hadn't consumed those two Blood Qi Pills, his Everlasting Longevity Art would have required at least a year or two of bitter cultivation to break through to the second layer of Qi Condensation.

After all, the ambient spiritual Qi within the Corpse Demon Sect was dozens of times denser than back at the mortal Heavenly Fiend Gang. Paired with the inherently rapid early-stage progress of a demonic technique and the assistance of a corpse Qi well, advancing to the late stage of the first layer in a single month was a given.

On his seventh day of seclusion, the cave dwelling's defensive formation had flashed with a warning. Someone was looking for him.

The visitor was Zhang Xiaofan, one of the four novice disciples who had joined alongside him. Born into poverty and possessing a mature disposition, Zhang Xiaofan had naturally become the unspoken leader of their small group.

As complete cultivation novices, the four of them had been utterly baffled by the sect-issued Corpse Fiend Art. After several days of fruitless independent study and endless discussions, they remained completely clueless. Not a single one of them had managed to initiate their cultivation.

Zhang Xiaofan had come to fetch Song Wen, hoping the group could seek out Du Qiu together to ask for guidance.

Having already successfully begun his own cultivation, Song Wen recalled Du Qiu's cold, dismissive attitude. It was obvious the senior disciple did not want to be disturbed. Without a second thought, Song Wen rejected Zhang Xiaofan's proposal.

Throughout this month of cultivation, Song Wen discovered a harsh truth: the Corpse King Blood Refining Art cannibalized his own essence blood. Fortunately, Corpse Blood Pills provided both the necessary corpse Qi and a steady supply of replacement essence blood.

However, three Corpse Blood Pills a month were woefully insufficient. The lack of pills was already bottlenecking his progress.

By the time the one-month period ended, the severe drain on his essence blood and the corrosive influence of the corpse fiend Qi had taken their toll. Song Wen's skin had turned a sickly iron-blue, and his once-healthy flesh had slightly withered. He now truly looked the part of a corpse-path demonic cultivator.

Song Wen looked down at his own body with a hint of disgust.

"I wonder if I can change it back."

This half-human, half-ghost appearance was a bitter pill to swallow for someone who had only just stepped onto the demonic path. On the bright side, he no longer had to worry about the righteous aura produced by the Everlasting Longevity Art. Walking around the Corpse Demon Sect with a pristine, orthodox aura would have drawn far too much unwanted attention.

Song Wen immediately ceased the circulation of the Corpse King Blood Refining Art. The moment he did, rich essence blood surged outward from his bone marrow. It was as if this vital energy had been forcibly suppressed by the demonic technique, unable to surface. Now free, it flooded his system, autonomously mending his severely depleted vitality.

Song Wen's flesh rapidly regained its healthy fullness. His iron-blue skin faded back into its natural, living tone. Even the faint aura of corpse Qi completely vanished, leaving no trace that he had ever practiced the Corpse King Blood Refining Art.

Only the orthodox, righteous aura of the Everlasting Longevity Art emanated from him.

Song Wen's face lit up with pleasant surprise. "What's going on?"

"My physical body actually hides such a secret... Does this mean I can freely conceal my cultivation?"

"Let's see if I can project a partial cultivation aura."

Song Wen carefully manipulated the circulation of the Corpse King Blood Refining Art. His body began to exude a faint trace of corpse Qi, and his skin took on a grayish pallor. Finally, his outward aura stabilized at the middle stage of the first layer.

"Success!"

"With this, I can display a weakened state to outsiders and keep my true strength hidden as a trump card. At a critical moment, this might just save my life."

Right at that moment, the cave dwelling's warning formation flared to life, and a harsh voice rang out from beyond the door.

"Ji Yin, your one month is up. Come out!" It was Du Qiu.

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