Chapter 414

"Wuu!"

On Huanhu Dao, the little fox suddenly saw the huge corpse Yunhe had released, leapt up from the ground, its fur standing on end, looking extremely frightened.

If it weren't for Yunhe being present, and given that the corpse had no sign of life, Bai Ning would have fled immediately.

But even so, it was still frightened quite a bit.

Not only was the little fox Bai Ning startled, even the little azure phoenix Qing Yao, who had been reborn through Nirvana and possessed considerable memory, was likewise startled.

It stared at the huge pitch‑black corpse, then said blankly:

"A fifth‑level creature?"

Qing Yao knew this was not a demon beast's corpse, but she wasn't exactly sure what kind of creature it was; she only knew that the aura it emitted was unmistakably that of a fifth‑level being.

Seeing their reaction, Yunhe chuckled, "Sorry for scaring you."

The corpse, resembling a huge stone, suddenly trembled slightly, causing Yunhe and the two little ones to instinctively tense up.

However, regarding the subsequent questions, they soon stopped worrying, because Yunhe often produced things they couldn't understand, and they had long grown accustomed to it.

But even if he sent this corpse to the Yao Shou Shijie, constantly wrapping it in Demon Sense, he still found no clue.

If it were said that Yunhe could never have complete trust in human cultivators, then for the much simpler‑minded demon beasts, he could give Bai Ning and Qing Yao his full trust; thus, when he produced the corpse of this fifth‑level abyssal beast, he had no great reservations, which is why it startled them.

Yunhe said a sentence.

Why did it die, and how did it end up in Yunhe's hands?

I never expected that this time he would actually produce a corpse of a fifth‑level creature; it really did startle us.

After thinking this over, Yunhe hesitated slightly, then took out the pitch‑black skull he had obtained from Xiao Wu Xian's storage bag.

This is a fifth‑level creature; if it suddenly came back to life, it would be extremely dangerous even for Yunhe, who is only an early fourth‑level demon beast, let alone the two little ones who are merely third‑level.

Bai Ning and Qing Yao both shook their heads.

"Is it because the corpse is incomplete? Or is the problem with that skull?"

"This is the corpse of a fifth‑level abyssal beast."

Yet he made no movement; he simply covered the corpse with Demon Sense, sweeping it back and forth continuously.

Suddenly.

This seemed to be merely a special reaction of the body and skull appearing together; the corpse showed no sign of life.

Hum—

The Heavenly Corpse Gu could allow him to take this corpse so easily, leaving him always wary of it.

They cautiously approached, gazing at this abyssal beast corpse that had been dead for who knows how long, feeling both fear and a hint of curiosity.

What kind of creature's corpse is this exactly?

But as the skull and corpse appeared together, Yunhe faintly discerned a clue about this abyssal beast's corpse.

Fortunately.

The Demon Sense he used to cover and wrap it became vague and flickering, like

"like a bottomless pit that can devour divine sense and demon sense."

Yunhe involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

On this corpse there should be no worms planted by the Heavenly Corpse Gu; even if the Gu were extraordinary, it shouldn't be able to hide so deeply in a fifth‑level corpse.

"So, is this a residue of the Soul‑Devouring Technique?"

Yunhe gradually realized.

This abyssal beast corpse was originally a cultivator of the Abyss, just like Ling Ya, except that overuse of the Soul‑Devouring Technique turned it into this state.

And the Soul‑Devouring Technique is ultimately a special secret art that devours divine soul, divine thought, and divine sense.

Because Abyss cultivators cultivate the Soul Infant, they value divine sense even more than human cultivators; the essence of the abyssal beast is the Black Soul Crystal, likewise a concretization of divine soul and divine thought, so the Corpse Soul Gu can strengthen itself by consuming the Black Soul Crystal, since the Gu also devours divine soul and vital soul.

"No wonder that Heavenly Corpse Gu's target is Ling Ya rather than this corpse, for he knows full well that even he could not refine this corpse into a 'Heavenly Capital Gu Corpse'; the residual Soul‑Devouring Technique on it would cause any subsidiary Gu he poured in to be devoured in equal measure."

"But Ling Ya is different. Ling Ya has not completely lost control due to the Soul‑Devouring Technique; he remains within his controllable range. Moreover, if one could fully master Ling Ya and then induce an excess of the Soul‑Devouring Technique, it would not be entirely without control."

"He left no means on this corpse, or rather could not leave any means, allowing me to take it; on one hand because he truly hadn't expected it, and on the other because he wanted to see whether I would fall into the 'trap' left on this corpse."

Unable to be refined into a corpse puppet, this corpse's value is greatly reduced.

Of course, after all it is a fifth‑level creature, still very precious, only its relative value has decreased.

"But what if I could fill its Soul‑Devouring Technique residue?"

Yunhe's eyes flickered.

This is certainly no easy task.

At least he currently has no way to do it; he merely has this thought.

If he used a large number of demon beast souls to fill it, I don't know whether it could be filled.

More boldly.

In the Abyssal Ravine, besides Gui Yuan, there are also two old fellows whose divine souls are of unknown strength.

However, this thought having just arisen, Yunhe himself snuffed it out.

"In short, at the very least this corpse can be refined into a magical treasure, and at worst it should reach the level of a high‑grade fourth‑level item."

Once certain that no backup had been left by the Heavenly Corpse Gu, that was enough for him.

World of Immortal Cultivation, Eastern Border, Tai Xuan City.

"Fire‑attribute Spirit Body, condense!"

Yunhe, seated cross‑legged atop the ice‑pure lotus of congealed fat, was bathed in blazing firelight; the temperature inside the cultivation chamber rose to an extremely terrifying degree, and were it not for the formation restrictions he had left behind, perhaps merely the scorching heat he was now emitting would be enough to burn most of the chamber's contents to ashes.

But as Yunhe, with eyes tightly closed, lightly formed a hand seal, a black‑green‑yellow‑white four‑color aura surged from his body; the scorching firelight gradually receded, and the room's temperature likewise eased down.

The five‑colored light circulated, forming the image of the five elements mutually generating.

After a while, the magical power circulating around Yunhe's body retracted; he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid breath mixed with a few black strands.

His face suddenly turned pale, and his aura dropped to the extreme.

But as soon as he turned around, he returned to his optimal state.

This is the manifestation of lifespan depletion caused by condensing the Five Elements Spirit Body; fortunately, Yunhe's lifespan is dominated by his Demon Beast Body, and the depletion of his Cultivator Body's lifespan, as long as it is not all lost at once, can quickly recover.

"Five Elements Spirit Body" has already condensed three, but the "Cycle of Mutual Generation of the Five Elements" formed by the "Minor Five Elements Spirit Body" is also becoming increasingly unstable.

Just think about it and it becomes clear.

The mutual generation of the Five Elements emphasizes balance among them; if any link becomes excessively strong or unusually weak, mutual generation cannot be established, and the balance scale will gradually shift.

This also means Yunhe must quickly condense the remaining Earth and Metal Spirit Bodies; otherwise, the longer the delay, the more imbalanced the Five Elements become, potentially leading to the collapse of the spirit body and the dissipation of Dao and spirit.

"What a shame, that Land Mountain Turtle is so useless."

Yunhe shook his head.

If it weren't for the Land Mountain Turtle's insufficient Cultivation Base and thin bloodline, he could now condense the Earth Spirit Body, leaving only the Metal Spirit Body to be formed.

In fact, Yunhe already had a target for the essence blood needed to form the illusion of the Metal Spirit Body: the white-haired golden-winged tiger that the Shen siblings encountered earlier was an excellent candidate.

But before that, he still needs to first condense the Earth Spirit Body.

This requires the Hundred Knowledge Tower to play its role.

However, having just condensed the Fire Spirit Body, Yunhe is not in a rush to leave seclusion.

He first circulated his cultivation technique, practiced several great cycles, and carefully sensed his current cultivation speed.

"Compared to before, it is indeed much faster; he should now be barely able to match a cultivator with heavenly-grade spiritual roots."

This is only after condensing three spirit bodies; if he condenses the five elemental spirits to form the Five Elements Spirit Body and achieve a qualitative change, the boost to his cultivation speed will absolutely be enormous.

Even among heavenly-grade spiritual roots, there remains a gap.

He finds it hard to imagine just how fast his cultivation speed would become if, in the future, he condensed the true 'Great Five Elements Spirit Body' of this technique.

Merely condensing the Five Elements Spirit Body is already faster than most heavenly-grade spiritual roots; just how far could the Great Five Elements Spirit Body reach?

"Absorbing the essence blood of the Vermilion Fire Peacock to condense the Fire Spirit Body has also given my Cultivation Base considerable progress."

After testing his cultivation speed.

Yunhe then took out the jug of 'Zao Jian Wine' that Wuxiang Jianjun had given him, as well as the Jade Slip recording the two sword techniques, 'Refining Sword into Silk' and 'Formless Sword Formation'.

While sipping a mouthful of 'Zao Jian Wine' and slowly refining it, he also carefully read and practiced the teachings within.

He wasn't sure if it was due to the influence of Wuxiang Jianjun, but Yunhe felt that drinking alcohol while practicing sword truly gave him a sense of complementary enhancement.

His set of Five Elements Thunder Sword needs reforging and strengthening, but he currently has not found suitable materials, nor has he decided what to add to strengthen this set of flying swords; for now, he can only pour vast amounts of mana into day-and-night sacrificial refinement.

In fact, judging by the materials used to forge the Five Elements Thunder Sword, even if Yunhe does not reforge it, as long as he performs day-and-night sacrificial refinement, the sword will eventually advance to the late Fourth Level, peak Fourth Level, and even higher stages.

However, this kind of sacrificial refinement consumes too much mana, affecting the speed of Cultivation Base advancement; moreover, this advancement speed somewhat falls short of the strength of the opponents Yunhe currently faces, so he considers using reforging to accelerate its promotion.

Anyway.

As long as the materials infused do not hinder his Five Elements Thunder Sword, for this set of his natal magic treasure, there are only benefits and no drawbacks.

Thus, Yunhe refined the alcoholic potency and sword intent within the 'Zao Jian Wine', practiced the 'Refining Sword into Silk' technique, and contemplated the 'Formless Sword Formation', while occasionally brandishing his Five Elements Thunder Sword for a simple drill.

While his Cultivation Base advanced, his swordsmanship level also surged rapidly.

Previously, Yunhe could only be considered a cultivator, though his natal magic treasure happened to be a flying sword; but now him calling himself a sword cultivator is not unreasonable.

(End of Chapter)