Chapter 244: with translation of chapter title

Zi—

Under Yunhe's control, an extremely tiny corpse-soul insect slowly crawled out from his palm.

It entered the jade box.

As the corpse-soul insect approached, its aura slowly changed, gradually imitating the divine soul aura of the Yinming Elder Ancestor.

Hum—

After the Yinming Elder Ancestor's divine soul aura appeared, the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying that had lain quietly in the jade box for over a year trembled slightly.

'There's a show!'

Seeing this, Yunhe's eyes suddenly lit up.

Although the movement was tiny, almost negligible, that was because this was only a single corpse-soul insect; this special insect born of chance and coincidence needs to reach a certain number before it can exert its true ability.

But there is no doubt that if the number of corpse-soul insects is sufficient, able to imitate a strong enough Yinming divine soul aura, he might actually be able to control this corpse-transformed Yuan Ying!

And as long as he can control the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying, it means he can manipulate this Yuan Ying-refined corpse, and it also means he might possibly gain the ability to slightly resist a Yuan Ying Cultivator even at mid Core Formation!

This is absolutely the greatest guarantee for his own safety.

Yunhe immediately recalled the corpse-soul insect, and the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying fell still again.

'Order the corpse-soul insects to reproduce as quickly as possible.'

For him, who has been raising insects for decades, this is already a piece of cake.

Coincidentally, among the storage bags he obtained in the secret realm, there were usable materials.

He placed the corpse-soul insects back into the insect chamber, left materials to speed up their breeding, left two puppets to tend them, and then Yunhe returned to the cultivation chamber.

In the following time, besides continuing to slowly increase his cultivation base, he also had to devote extra effort to the corpse-soul insects.

During this period he summoned He Yuanlin again, ordering him to help gather materials that could assist the corpse-soul insects' breeding.

Yunhe still needs to return to the He family; on one hand, because this identity is relatively safe, no one would link He Wen and Yunhe, who have no connection at all. On the other hand, because an entire 'family' of members can do many chores for him, saving him much time that he can better devote to cultivation.

Nowadays, the He family, regarding Yunhe as the 'He Family Old Member,' no longer harbors any suspicion or speculation about his identity, because their lives have been gradually improving, all of this stemming from the 'Old Ancestor's' blessing.

In the blink of an eye, another two years passed.

When Yunhe came to the corpse chamber again, the corpse-soul insects in his hand, which had been barely noticeable, had once more consolidated into the form of millipede worms and strange worms, now possessing a considerable scale!

At this point, the corpse-soul insects can imitate the divine soul aura of the Yinming Elder Ancestor; if Yunhe were not their master, upon first sensing it he would probably be startled.

Whoosh—

Just saw

A corpse-transformed Yuan Ying covered in corpse spots suddenly opened its eyes and shot out of the jade box at great speed.

Most Yuan Ying Cultivators have a trump card: the ability to separate their Yuan Ying from the body, like some sword cultivators who can even control their swords with their Yuan Ying, because the Yuan Ying is extremely fast; it is even said that some powerful Yuan Ying Stage cultivators can briefly perform spatial maneuvers and teleportation with their Yuan Ying.

If it weren't for the Yuan Ying's main body being too fragile, this method would absolutely be a divine skill for ambush.

At this moment, as the corpse-soul insects imitated the Yinming Elder Ancestor's divine soul aura and attempted to sense the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying, that Yuan Ying seemed to 'come alive' and appeared at great speed beside the corpse-soul insects.

'Success!'

Seeing this, Yunhe couldn't help but show a look of great joy.

Although controlling the corpse-soul insects and then using them to control the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying inevitably feels sluggish, at least now this corpse-transformed Yuan Ying is moving.

Afterwards

Under Yunhe's indication, the corpse-transformed Yuan Ying approached the Yuan Ying-refined corpse and slowly 'squeezed' into its body.

The next second

The corpse refinement, which had lain silent for years, suddenly bolted upright; its grayish-white pupils gradually turned to those of a normal person, and it began to walk, one step, two steps, inside the corpse chamber, its movements gradually shifting from stiff to agile.

Immediately after, a thought from Yunhe made the corpse refinement halt its movement; a terrifying surge of magical aura suddenly erupted from its body, and the entire corpse refinement rose into the air.

Yuan Ying-refined corpse!

Yunhe tried scanning it with his divine sense, and the feeling was almost exactly the same as when the Xuanning Elder Ancestor once controlled it to chase 'Star Child'.

But soon Yunhe furrowed his brows again.

'Merely controlling its movements is no problem, but when activating magical power, that sluggish feeling becomes especially obvious; in battle, it would probably be somewhat difficult.'

Actually, that's also normal.

After all, the corpse-soul insects only imitate the Yinming Elder Ancestor's divine soul aura; they are not the true Yinming Elder Ancestor, and their strength is far from reaching that level, so controlling them naturally cannot be done with ease.

'But if one had it,'

Yunhe flipped his palm, and a small, motionless, listless worm appeared in his hand—the soul-devouring insect.

This is a special insect refined by the Yinming Elder Ancestor from a strand of his own divine soul, and its essence is also the Yinming Elder Ancestor's divine soul.

Then Yunhe threw the insect to the corpse-soul insects, which did not eat it but instead merged it into their bodies.

For a moment

The divine soul aura it released became ever more apparent, making Yunhe feel that controlling the corpse refinement was somewhat easier.

'If this is used as a "catalyst," it can better control the corpse refinement. The original decision to keep this insect was still quite correct.'

This result made Yunhe very satisfied, and he felt fortunate that he had decided not to exterminate this insect back then.

With a wave of his hand, the corpse-soul insects plunged into the corpse refinement.

This made control much more convenient.

Of course

Controlling this Yuan Ying-refined corpse in battle is still not a simple matter, but at least it has become a possibility, as long as the corpse-soul insects continue to breed.

Combined with the corpse insects, in non-combat situations Yunhe can already freely control it.

Clatter—

Yunhe patted his storage bag and took out a pitch-black cloak, completely wrapping the corpse refinement.

This cloak is a magic item he refined in his spare time; its rank is not high, and its function is very simple—namely, to conceal one's form, aura, and so on.

"I don't know if I can deceive those Yuan Ying old monsters; probably not, unless my divine sense can advance further to reach a level comparable to a Yuan Ying Cultivator, then I could roughly pass off this Yuan Ying refined corpse as genuine."

"However, deceiving Jie Dan Cultivators should be no problem; even if they are Late Jie Dan Stage or Perfect Jie Dan Stage Cultivators, upon seeing this refined corpse, their first impression would be a Yuan Ying Cultivator!"

"This is enough for Yunhe to intimidate by invoking the tiger's might."

"Even if this trip to the Luotian Secret Realm yields nothing, this refined corpse alone is absolutely a huge profit."

"The only pity is that this refined corpse lacks a magic treasure."

"Hmm, not exactly."

Yunhe rubbed his chin.

Then he saw the Yuan Ying refined corpse, shrouded in a cloak, suddenly raise its hand.

"Pa!"

The great banner in the corner of the corpse chamber fell into his hand.

"Equipped with a third‑grade supreme magic treasure 'Beast Soul Banner', it can barely pass as genuine."

"Moreover, the yin qi of the 'Beast Soul Banner' conceals it, making its refined corpse identity harder to detect."

After doing this, Yunhe's brows suddenly tightened; he formed a seal with one hand, his internal mana circulated, transforming his fingers into a sword, and a five‑colored illusory long sword swiftly condensed, shooting straight at the Yuan Ying refined corpse at great speed.

Thereafter, the Yuan Ying refined corpse grasped the great banner with one hand and raised the other, condensing a mass of grayish yin qi in its palm; the five‑element flying sword Yunhe shot vanished upon contact with that yin qi, leaving hardly a ripple.

Although Yunhe did not exert his full strength, the Yuan Ying refined corpse dispelled it with apparent ease.

"Not bad."

Only then did Yunhe finally reveal a satisfied smile.

Leaving aside other matters, purely in defense, this Yuan Ying refined corpse is already outstanding.

"With such a guarantee, affairs concerning my Demon Beast Body can be bolder."

This Yuan Ying refined corpse is now Yunhe's greatest trump card, whether in his Cultivator Body or Demon Beast Body.

Perhaps the Demon Beast Body side is even more adept; after all, even a fourth‑level demon beast likely has never seen a Yuan Ying refined corpse, and would more likely regard it as a special corpse‑transformed demon beast.

Yunhe took a sip from the red gourd, then walked out of the corpse chamber, heart full of contentment.

"Ancestor, this is what you requested."

He Yuanlin respectfully handed over a storage bag, which contained not only two pieces of high‑grade spirit stone but also many precious materials.

Most of them are materials for refining the 'Breaking Realm Pill', and some are for refining the 'Wisdom Spirit Pill'.

"Very good."

Yunhe glanced at it, then stored the storage bag away, praising generously.

To say these materials are extremely precious would be an overstatement, but they are numerous and varied, making collection rather tedious.

Mobilizing the entire He family's strength took this much time; even if he gathered them himself, it would not be much faster.

After all, although he, as a Mid Jie Dan Stage Cultivator, can access higher levels, an individual's strength in gathering diverse materials is not necessarily an advantage.

Yunhe pondered briefly, then tossed out a storage bag.

Under He Yuanlin's somewhat doubtful gaze, he explained: "These contain second‑ and third‑level elixirs; you may store part in the family warehouse, and either sell the rest in the market or auction it to increase reputation."

Most of the elixirs in the storage bag were obtained from the storage bags of those individual puppets, with a small portion refined by Yunhe in his leisure; since they are useless to him, he ought to produce something befitting an ancestor.

Otherwise, even if the He family is vast and prosperous, there will come a day when he 'devours' it.

Yunhe, who increasingly finds it convenient to have a family handle affairs, naturally does not wish for the He family to collapse so quickly.

The stronger the He family, the greater the benefits he can obtain; killing the hen for the eggs is not a good choice for him, who now needs a tranquil environment for cultivation.

"Thank you, Ancestor!" He Yuanlin glanced at the storage bag, then immediately knelt and kowtowed respectfully, his eyes showing some excitement.

"Among these are many third‑level elixirs; if managed well, they can raise the heat of the family's auction house by another notch!"

"Anything else?"

Seeing He Yuanlin not about to retreat, Yunhe raised his eyebrows and asked.

"It's like this, Ancestor: half a year later, the new island master will have completed three years in office and plans to hold the 'Little Southern Mountain Assembly'." He Yuanlin immediately continued.

"Little Southern Mountain Assembly?"

After He Yuanlin's explanation, Yunhe understood what the so‑called 'Little Southern Mountain Assembly' is.

It invites all cultivators below Jie Dan Stage and under fifty years old from the entire Southern Lodging Island to participate in a platform duel.

Those who achieve rankings can receive substantial rewards, have a chance to join the Cloud‑Upper Palace for cultivation, and may even be taken as personal disciples by this new island master.

Simultaneously with holding the 'Little Southern Mountain Assembly', this new island master also sent invitations to all Jie Dan Stage cultivators of the Southern Lodging Island's families, requesting them to discuss the island's future development.

After hearing this, Yunhe's first impression was that this new island master is quite adept at maneuvering.

Then he realized this might also be a show of force, the new island master seeking to establish his prestige on Southern Lodging Island.

After all, regardless of how one puts it, families like the Wang family on Southern Lodging Island possess Late Jie Dan Stage cultivators, while the new island master at most has Perfect Jie Dan Stage strength, necessitating such a process to establish prestige.

However, Yunhe also understands that, as the He family's 'Ancestor', he cannot avoid this occasion.

He reckons it will last at most a month, not too long a delay, so he said:

"Yuanlin, arrange the personnel; I will accompany you."

"Yes!"

He Yuanlin respectfully performed a salute, then withdrew.

"Little Southern Mountain Assembly. Interesting."

With Yunhe's status, he cannot currently appear in the sight of the Cloud‑Upper Palace.

But as the He family's Ancestor, there is no problem.

Coincidentally, he is not clear about the caliber of these young He family cultivators; he can use this opportunity to gain some insight.

At the same time, he can try to learn something about the Cloud‑Upper Palace; he always feels that internal developments are brewing within this greatest power of the Cloud‑Upper Realm.

That is a premonition of an impending storm.

And Yunhe believed his intuition had always been relatively keen.

(End of chapter)