Qi Condensation Fourth Layer

Chapter 47 Qi Condensation Fourth Layer

Song Wen left the Corpse Dismemberment Cave with a calm expression.

Everything that had just transpired in the Corpse Dismemberment Cave was, for him, nothing more than another act performed for the sake of survival.

As for Wu Sui's earlier words-telling him to choose the Yin Fiend Hall upon becoming an inner sect disciple-Song Wen had already tossed them to the back of his mind.

Of course, if that day truly came, he would not object to going to the Yin Fiend Hall. No matter where he went, as long as he could survive, it was a good place for him.

Moreover, Song Wen remembered that Wu Sheng, who had once humiliated him, was in the Yin Fiend Hall. If the opportunity arose, that grudge still needed to be settled.

...

While dismembering corpses was fraught with peril for others-carrying a constant risk of having one's consciousness and Magic Power contaminated-it posed absolutely no danger to Song Wen.

The impure blood qi and remnant souls within the Corpse Dismemberment Cave had all become resources for his cultivation.

Originally, the other Corpse Dismemberers and Yuan Cheng all believed that with Song Wen's early-stage Qi Condensation cultivation, he would be contaminated by the chaotic, turbid qi within a month or two, or at most a few months, and die from Qi Deviation.

To their utter astonishment, Song Wen continued to live perfectly well, and his cultivation steadily advanced. Unbeknownst to them, he had already broken through to the third layer of Qi Condensation.

Today marked exactly eleven months since Song Wen had entered the Corpse Dismemberment Cave, and also marked his one-year anniversary of joining the Corpse Demon Sect.

Just after receiving his monthly stipend, Song Wen received a summons from the Sect's External Affairs Hall.

Novice outer sect disciples were required to complete one external assignment every year.

The summons from the External Affairs Hall stated that today was the final deadline. Song Wen had to report to the External Affairs Hall to claim an assignment, or face severe Sect punishment.

Song Wen hurriedly left the Corpse Dismemberment Cave and headed straight for the External Affairs Hall.

There were not many people inside the hall, only a handful of outer sect disciples receiving assignments.

Song Wen handed his disciple token to an old man, saying,

"Disciple Jiyin greets the Deacon. This disciple has come to claim the annual external assignment."

The old man's cultivation was not particularly high, around the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Condensation. However, he possessed considerable backing within the Sect; otherwise, the highly profitable position of External Affairs Hall Deacon would never have fallen to his head.

The old man slightly raised his eyelids, casting a cold, indifferent glance at Song Wen.

He completely looked down on people like Song Wen, who had no foundation or connections within the Sect.

They had no backing, no resources, and not a single drop of profit could be squeezed from them.

But that was fine as well; those dangerous Sect assignments could be handed over to people like him.

If everyone relied on connections, there would be no one left to undertake those Sect assignments that promised nine deaths and one life.

The old man began flipping through the assignment registry before him, searching for a task for Song Wen.

Deeply well-versed in the ways of the world, Song Wen immediately caught the contempt and disdain in the old man's eyes. His mind stirred, realizing he needed to do something.

With a flick of his right hand, the twenty Spirit Stones he had just received for his monthly stipend-not even warmed in his pocket-were discreetly slipped into the old man's palm.

"This disciple has only been a Novice for a year and possesses meager strength. I must trouble the Deacon to expend a little effort and find a low-risk assignment for this disciple."

Song Wen said in an extremely low voice.

As for why he only gave twenty Spirit Stones, it was not that Song Wen was unwilling to offer a larger bribe. Rather, considering his monthly stipend, producing twenty Spirit Stones was already difficult. Giving too many would instead invite unnecessary trouble.

The old man felt the Spirit Stones through the cloth pouch, and a faint smile surfaced on his indifferent face.

This young disciple before him was quite sensible.

"The Alchemy Room happens to have a Spirit Grass stocktaking assignment that suits you. The location is the Poisonous Miasma Swamp, over two thousand li northwest of the Sect..."

Following the old man's brief explanation, Song Wen gained a rough understanding of the assignment.

The Poisonous Miasma Swamp was filled with miasma that lingered year-round. It possessed potent toxicity and naturally carried a high level of danger, making it a truly desolate place rarely visited by anyone.

However, a rather precious spirit medicine grew within the Poisonous Miasma Swamp, named Seven-Color Grass.

Although Seven-Color Grass naturally carried a certain level of toxicity, it was the main ingredient for refining the Profound Qi Pill, as well as an important supplementary material for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill. Its value could not be understated.

The Poisonous Miasma Swamp fell under the jurisdiction of the Corpse Demon Sect. For the sake of the Sect's interests, they had opened up spirit fields within the swamp and arranged for an affiliated clan, the Yan Family, to garrison the area.

To prevent the Yan Family from privately hoarding the Seven-Color Grass, the Corpse Demon Sect would dispatch disciples every three years to the Poisonous Miasma Swamp to count the ages and corresponding quantities of the Seven-Color Grass.

Usually, two disciples were assigned, often with a late-stage Qi Condensation disciple leading a mid or early-stage Qi Condensation disciple.

Deterred by the Corpse Demon Sect's formidable power and ruthless methods, the Yan Family had never committed any act of embezzling the Sect's interests. Naturally, the triennial spirit medicine stocktaking had become a mere formality.

This assignment could indeed be considered one with almost no danger at all.

"At the hour of Chen three days from now, go to the Alchemy Room and find Elder Shen. He will give you the detailed information for the assignment. At that time, you will also meet the fellow Senior Brother who will carry out the task alongside you. Remember to be punctual and do not be late."

The old man added.

Song Wen clasped his fists and said, "Many thanks, Deacon. I will be there on time."

Holding the assignment token, Song Wen left the External Affairs Hall.

The task would not begin for another three days, so he could just use this time to prepare some life-preserving methods.

Although the danger of the task was extremely low, in the peril-ridden Cultivation world, where was there ever an absolutely safe place?

Half a month ago, he had broken through the Bottleneck that had trapped him for two full months, and his cultivation reached the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. This was the first time since he began cultivating that Song Wen had felt the existence of a Bottleneck.

To be able to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Condensation in just a short year, according to Song Wen's own guesses, there were a few main reasons.

First was due to his sixth-grade spiritual root aptitude and abundant cultivation resources.

Second, demonic path techniques were inherently renowned for being easy for a Novice to grasp and having a rapid cultivation speed in the early stages.

Third, the Corpse King Blood Refining Art he cultivated was a body-refining technique. Although it was a demonic path method, all body-refining techniques never strayed from their fundamental roots.

All body-refining techniques in the world worked by absorbing and refining heavenly treasures, Demon Beasts, or the blood qi power of humans to enhance the cultivator's own blood qi. The blood qi was then refined into essence blood, using that abundant essence blood to nourish and temper the physical body. This achieved the goal of strengthening the cultivator's flesh, ultimately breaking past the physical limits to attain bodily evolution.

However, Song Wen could directly absorb the blood qi of others to condense his own essence blood. This vastly accelerated his cultivation progress, saving him a great deal of bitter cultivation.

This was the true reason his cultivation advanced so rapidly.

Otherwise, he would absolutely not have broken through the Bottleneck so easily to advance to the mid-stage of Qi Condensation. Back then, Jiyin had been trapped at the peak of the third layer of Qi Condensation for several years without finding an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Right now, the cultivation base Song Wen revealed outwardly was the third layer of Qi Condensation.

His physical body's ability to conceal its aura was extremely miraculous. Up until now, Song Wen had yet to find a single person who could see through his hidden cultivation.

However, the cultivators Song Wen had come into contact with thus far were primarily of the Qi Condensation realm. As for whether those with higher cultivation bases could see through his hidden cultivation, Song Wen had no certainty in his heart.

Furthermore, after multiple attempts, Song Wen also discovered that he could completely retract his aura, ensuring not the slightest bit leaked out. However, when doing so, he could not use the slightest trace of spiritual power, or else a faint trace of his spiritual aura would inevitably leak.

On his way back to his cave dwelling, Song Wen mentally calculated his current offensive methods, pondering over the areas that needed reinforcement.

After long periods of hard work, Song Wen had finally managed to successfully draw Fireball Talismans and Shield Talismans. Because he lacked no cultivation resources, these two types of talismans had never been sold. Right now, he had already accumulated over fifty Fireball Talismans and more than twenty Shield Talismans.

Although these two types of talismans were merely first-tier, Low Grade talismans, a quantitative change leads to a qualitative change.

Song Wen believed that if he smashed out dozens of Fireball Talismans all at once, even if a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator came, they would have no choice but to avoid their sharp edge.

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