Chapter 510: Corpse Puppet Secret Technique, Wen Tianyang (Combined Chapter)

"This Ghost King Core is condensed from the pure Yin energy between heaven and earth. Using it as the main material, combined with the secret Corpse Puppet technique, one can refine a Jin Dan stage corpse puppet. It is a rare treasure in the cultivation world. Brother Song, you have only been back for a few days and have already obtained such a precious item; your luck is truly excellent."

Song Qingming smiled and nodded, saying: "Haha! Brother Chen is right. I didn't expect to encounter such a thing as soon as I returned. This time, it was somewhat perilous; I never imagined such a great hidden danger was lurking near the family, nearly causing a major disaster."

"Fortunately, that Ghost King had only just broken through to the Jin Dan stage and its strength was still average, so I was able to take it down smoothly. Otherwise, I fear I wouldn't be sitting here chatting with you, Brother, right now."

"Since you mentioned this item to me, Brother, are you here for this Ghost Core?"

Chen Xuanxin paused upon hearing this before speaking: "Brother Song is correct. I am indeed here because of the Ghost Core in your hand. However, Brother, do not misunderstand; I have no interest in the Ghost Core itself. I merely wish to exchange an item in my possession, which has a deep connection to this Ghost Core, for a spiritual object from you."

"Oh! I wonder what item is related to this Ghost Core? Please, Brother, explain in detail first!" Hearing Chen Xuanxin say he had something useful for the Ghost Core in his possession, Song Qingming immediately became interested.

"Brother Song, you know that a Ghost Core can be refined into a Jin Dan corpse puppet. Many years ago, while I was traveling, I happened to obtain a scroll of secret techniques for refining such Jin Dan corpse puppets. I came here today to exchange this item for a spiritual object from you." After Chen Xuanxin finished speaking, he took out a cyan scroll and tossed it directly to Song Qingming.

Song Qingming calmly caught the scroll and opened it. He discovered that, just as Chen Xuanxin had said, it was indeed a secret technique for refining corpse puppets. Song Qingming scanned it briefly and found that, apart from the Ghost Core required as the main material—which was relatively difficult to find—the other materials were not hard for him to gather at present.

Since obtaining this Ghost Core, Song Qingming had not yet thought about how to use it. He did not expect that only a few days later, Chen Xuanxin would personally come to his door to deliver such a great gift, which truly surprised Song Qingming.

"Brother Chen, you are giving me this secret technique for refining corpse puppets; I wonder what you wish to exchange it for?" After scanning the cyan scroll, Song Qingming immediately returned it to Chen Xuanxin's hand.

Although Song Qingming had not told Li Xianyun that he still possessed "Millennium Spirit Milk" after completing their transaction back then, Li Xianyun, as a Jin Dan rogue cultivator who had traveled extensively for years, certainly possessed keen observational skills. He must have guessed that Song Qingming still had some of this item at that time.

If he could successfully obtain a Jin Dan stage corpse puppet, Song Qingming's strength among early-stage Jin Dan cultivators would likely make it difficult for him to encounter any opponents. Even if he were to encounter a mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator with average strength in the future, he might not be without the power to fight.

Although the "Millennium Spirit Milk" was only a few drops and its value might not be extremely high, it was a rare spiritual object useful to Jin Dan cultivators. Chen Xuanxin coming to Song Qingming's door today to exchange for it was likely for the purpose of breaking through his own cultivation realm.

"Brother Song, do not overthink it. You may not know that my relationship with Daoist Li Xianyun has always been quite good. I learned about your exchange of spiritual objects with him back then from his own mouth. Rest assured, apart from me, no one else in the sect should know about this matter."

Facing Song Qingming's exhortation, Chen Xuanxin smiled knowingly: "Brother Song, rest assured. I am not a loose-lipped person. Even if the Sect Master were to ask me, I would not casually reveal your secrets."

Hearing Chen Xuanxin mention the "Millennium Spirit Milk," Song Qingming's originally calm expression changed slightly. Not many people knew he possessed this spiritual object, and for a moment, he did not understand how Chen Xuanxin had learned of it.

"To be honest, this item is extremely important to me right now. If you truly have more, Brother Song, please exchange some with me. I will certainly remember this favor." After Chen Xuanxin finished speaking, he stood up, cupped his hands, and looked at Song Qingming with an expectant expression.

Although Song Qingming still had half a small bottle of "Millennium Spirit Milk" left, he truly did not want too many people to know he possessed this spiritual object, lest it bring him too much unnecessary trouble in the future.

A corpse puppet refined using a secret technique is not comparable to an ordinary puppet beast of the same tier. Not only is its combat power formidable, but a Jin Dan stage corpse puppet can also use a magic treasure to fight, just like an ordinary Jin Dan cultivator. Used properly, it is almost equivalent to the combat power of an equal-tier cultivator, making it a spiritual object that could be of great help to Song Qingming right now.

"So it really was Li Xianyun who let this slip." Song Qingming sighed inwardly. Back then, during the great battle against the demon beasts at Purple Star Market, Song Qingming had used a few drops of "Millennium Spirit Milk" to exchange with Li Xianyun for a Demon King's essence soul, which he used to break through his "Soul-Devouring Art."

When he made the deal with Li Xianyun that day, Song Qingming had been a bit too anxious. He had thought that Li Xianyun, with his indifferent personality and dislike for social interaction, was not a loose-lipped person. It was his own carelessness that led to Chen Xuanxin coming to his door today.

"Brother Song, since both public and private matters have been settled, I shall take my leave now. Another day, when you come to Mount Guyang, you must remember to come sit at my cave dwelling."

After hesitating for a moment, Song Qingming agreed to Chen Xuanxin's request, took a small porcelain bottle containing a few drops of "Millennium Spirit Milk" from his person, and handed it to him.

Song Qingming only had half a small bottle of "Millennium Spirit Milk" left. He might need to save it for his own use in the future, so naturally, he did not want to exchange it with others casually. If it weren't for the fact that the "Corpse Puppet Secret Technique" Chen Xuanxin brought out truly moved him, Song Qingming would not have handed over the "Millennium Spirit Milk" so easily.

If he could truly refine a Jin Dan corpse puppet from the Ghost Core in his hand, as recorded in this secret scroll, then Song Qingming's transaction today was not only worthwhile but could even be considered a great bargain.

Chen Xuanxin put away the scroll and spoke directly: "I wish to exchange this item with you, Brother Song, for some Millennium Spirit Milk. Not much, just four or five drops will suffice. I hope you can grant this favor."

"Apart from the drops I gave you, Brother, I truly do not have many drops of Millennium Spirit Milk left. I ask that you please never mention this matter to anyone else, otherwise, if other brothers come knocking in the future, it will put me in a difficult position." After completing the transaction, Song Qingming said to Chen Xuanxin with a troubled expression.

"Safe travels, Brother Chen!"

Hearing Chen Xuanxin mention the "Millennium Spirit Milk," Song Qingming immediately thought of Li Xianyun. However, he had not expected that the relationship between Li Xianyun and Chen Xuanxin would be so close that even his secret transaction with Li Xianyun had been revealed to the other party.

"Brother Chen, you are too kind. I obtained this item by chance in the Mount Yunwu range years ago. Most of my cultivation progress over these years has actually been thanks to this stroke of luck. Since you came here specifically for this item today, Brother, I could not refuse you. Please, Brother, keep it safe."

"Brother Song is truly a straightforward person. I thank you, Brother!" After Chen Xuanxin took the porcelain bottle and opened it to take a look, his face immediately lit up with joy. He cupped his hands in a salute, then handed the "Corpse Puppet Secret Technique" scroll he had just put away to Song Qingming.

After the two walked out of the meeting hall, the happy Chen Xuanxin cupped his hands to bid farewell to Song Qingming, and soon transformed into a streak of golden light, leaving Mount Funiu.

Half a month later, the Xiaoyao Sect's General Affairs Hall sent a large flying boat directly, carrying over a hundred cultivators and a large amount of supplies to Qinghe Market. These people were all cultivators sent by the sect's General Affairs Hall to participate in planning the mining of the "Yin Fire Stone" vein.

Under the arrangements of the Song family, the next day, a team of nearly two hundred cultivators took the Xiaoyao Sect's large flying boat and headed straight for Mount Yunwu in a grand procession. They soon occupied the mountain range where the ghost cultivator's cave dwelling was located and renamed this originally nameless mountain range "Yin Wind Ridge."

This time, the Song family also gathered many cultivators to come along. Under Song Qingming's command, the group quickly swept through the demon beasts entrenched around "Yin Wind Ridge" and began cultivating the spiritual vein on the mountain.

Although there were many demon beasts on the side of Mount Yunwu near the State of Wei, no Demon Kings above the third tier had appeared. Although "Yin Wind Ridge" was located deep within Mount Yunwu, as long as four or five Foundation Establishment cultivators were stationed there, there would be no major danger.

Once the spiritual vein was cultivated in a few months and a second-tier or higher mountain-protecting formation was set up on "Yin Wind Ridge," combined with several Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed there year-round, there would basically be no major problems, and they could boldly and safely mine the Yin Fire Stone vein below.

This time, the Xiaoyao Sect's General Affairs Hall sent two Foundation Establishment cultivators and over a hundred Qi Refining cultivators to Qinghe Market, all of whom were prepared to be stationed at the "Yin Wind Ridge" mine for the long term.

On the Song family's side, Song Qingming arranged for Song Yuanli to take dozens of cultivators to help. Because the Song family would need to provide many cultivators to mine the ore, Song Qingming directly arranged for the family to start recruiting rogue cultivators in Qinghe Market. Once the spiritual vein at "Yin Wind Ridge" was upgraded, he would send them directly there to help with the mining.

After being busy for nearly a few months, the spiritual energy of the second-tier spiritual vein cultivated at "Yin Wind Ridge" finally stabilized, and it finally slowly got on the right track, beginning to mine ore. Song Qingming finally found some free time.

On this day, Song Qingming sat in his cave dwelling, carefully set up a formation restriction on the spot, and took out a "Soul-Gathering Bowl," releasing a ball of green light that had been imprisoned inside and was now somewhat weak.

"Daoist... I beg... beg..." Before the ghost cultivator could finish its intermittent words, Song Qingming directly cast a spell to cover its primordial spirit with a golden talisman. Immediately after, Song Qingming closed his eyes and began to control his spiritual sense, entering directly into the ghost cultivator's primordial spirit.

After Song Qingming reached the Core Formation stage, he learned many advanced spells from the Xiaoyao Sect's Merit Hall that Core Formation cultivators could practice. Among them was this "Soul-Searching Secret Technique." After casting the spell, the practitioner could directly enter the opponent's primordial spirit and quickly obtain the memory information hidden in the opponent's sea of consciousness.

This type of soul-searching secret technique is very common in the cultivation world, and almost every cultivator who reaches the Jin Dan stage knows it. However, when casting this technique, the success rate is only higher when facing cultivators with lower cultivation bases than oneself. If one casts it on a cultivator of the same tier and the opponent's primordial spirit is too powerful, not only is it difficult to succeed, but the practitioner might also immediately suffer a backlash, damaging their own spiritual sense.

When Song Qingming captured the primordial spirit of the ghost cultivator who ambushed him earlier, he learned from the ghost cultivator's own words that the opponent had once been a Jin Dan cultivator, and its primordial spirit might not be weaker than his own.

Because of this, after leaving the ghost cultivator's cave that day, Song Qingming did not rush to search its soul. Instead, he placed it in the "Soul-Gathering Bowl" to refine it for several months. Only today, when its primordial spirit was already weak, did he begin to cast the soul-searching secret technique on it.

Regardless of success or failure, once the "Soul-Searching Secret Technique" is cast, it will cause the opponent's soul memories to become chaotic. The practitioner only has one chance to obtain the opponent's complete memories, so Song Qingming was very careful and cautious when casting the spell.

After his spiritual sense entered the ghost cultivator's primordial spirit, it didn't take long for Song Qingming to successfully find the memories the ghost cultivator had hidden in its sea of consciousness, and he began to patiently flip through them.

Just as Song Qingming expected, it was this ghost cultivator who had actively caused the trouble when Song Changze was sucked into the ancient formation that day, and the restriction on his body had also been placed by this ghost cultivator.

The reason the opponent did this was to use a secret technique to seize Song Changze's physical body and be reborn. Unfortunately, the process of seizing a body is very cumbersome and cannot be prepared casually in a day or two. Before the ghost cultivator could even cast it, Song Qingming and the others had come knocking at its door.

After flipping through these earlier memories related to Song Changze, Song Qingming's spiritual sense rested for a moment before exploring the deeper memories of the ghost cultivator, slowly learning some of the ghost cultivator's true origins.

The earlier memories were actually similar to what the ghost cultivator had described itself. The ghost cultivator's name was "Wen Tianyang," and before it fell, it had indeed been a Jin Dan cultivator.

In its previous life, its physical body was injured by someone for unknown reasons, and it had no choice but to flee to that cave to take refuge. In the end, it still fell in that cave due to severe injuries. Before its primordial spirit dissipated, Wen Tianyang used a secret technique to actively transform into a ghost cultivator and remain in the world, embarking on the path of practicing the ghost Dao.

After entering the ghost Dao, although Wen Tianyang preserved most of its intelligence and memories because it had actively transformed into a ghost cultivator, it was somewhat different from the ghost cultivators in the Yin Spirit lands.

Afterward, Wen Tianyang hid in that Yin Spirit land and practiced with that group of ghost cultivators. There is also competition among ghost cultivators, and Wen Tianyang, who had just switched to practicing the ghost Dao, did not have an easy time at first.

Later, after its cultivation base became higher, Wen Tianyang regained some memories. Using a set of ancient cultivation formations from its storage bag, it hid the cave where its physical body had fallen. Whenever it encountered threats from other ghost cultivators, it would hide in that cave.

Just like that, after about a thousand years, Wen Tianyang slowly re-cultivated to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, only one step away from condensing a Ghost Core.

Just as Song Qingming continued to flip through, from a fragment of Wen Tianyang's previous life's memories, he suddenly saw something he was somewhat familiar with, which made Song Qingming feel extremely surprised, nearly shouting out!

"It can't be such a coincidence!"

What Song Qingming saw was a small, exquisitely crafted cyan-green jade box. This item was something Wen Tianyang had seen shortly before its death in its previous life. Although it was only a light glance, Song Qingming recognized this jade box at a glance; it was very similar to a jade box he had found over a hundred years ago after being ambushed in Mount Yunwu.

It was precisely because he had accidentally obtained that jade box back then that Song Qingming discovered the "partial map" treasure that he had carried with him for many years.

However, it was a pity that when Song Qingming flipped through Wen Tianyang's memories further, he never found any images related to the jade box or the "partial map" again. This made it impossible for him to fully confirm whether the jade box he saw in Wen Tianyang's memories was the same thing as the one he had obtained in Mount Yunwu back then.

Because after transforming into a ghost cultivator, most of Wen Tianyang's memories from its previous life were lost, Song Qingming was unable to know why it had fallen and died, or what its detailed identity had been in its previous life.

From some scattered memory fragments, he only saw some images of Wen Tianyang practicing in its previous life. It could barely be seen that this person did not seem to be a cultivator from the Floating Yunshan range. It seemed that it had come to Mount Yunwu to find something, but for some reason, it had ended up falling here.

It was not until two hours later that Song Qingming ended this soul-searching with a solemn expression and cast a spell to withdraw his spiritual sense.

After searching in Wen Tianyang's memories for so long, Song Qingming had seen most of the useful memories. Apart from knowing many things he had expected, it also brought him a pile of doubts.

After seeing this jade box in Wen Tianyang's memories, Song Qingming felt extremely excited and could not calm down for a long time. The two jade boxes were almost identical in appearance and both appeared in Mount Yunwu. Although they were separated by over a thousand years, it was indeed very likely that they were the same thing.

"Could it be that the thing this guy came to Mount Yunwu to find back then was this jade box?"

Although he vaguely felt in his heart that the two matters were highly related, the information Song Qingming could obtain now was still too little. Even if the jade box Wen Tianyang saw was the "partial map" that fell into his hands a thousand years later, Song Qingming still knew nothing about the origin of this "partial map" or Wen Tianyang's purpose in searching for it.

Just a moment after Song Qingming ended the spell, Wen Tianyang's primordial spirit, which had been imprisoned by the spiritual talisman, suddenly became restless. As the effect of the spiritual talisman slowly dissipated, the damage to its memories after the soul-searching gradually caused it to scream in pain.

Seeing this, Song Qingming did not hesitate too much and directly cast a spell to release a streak of golden light, dispersing Wen Tianyang's primordial spirit and ending its pain.

For someone like it who had actively switched to practicing the ghost Dao, its primordial spirit was not tolerated by reincarnation and could not be reincarnated. It soon dissipated directly between heaven and earth.

After resolving Wen Tianyang's primordial spirit, Song Qingming took out the storage bag it had left behind and found a black jade plaque from a pile of messy items.

Because over a thousand years had passed, the spiritual objects in Wen Tianyang's storage bag had basically been eroded and corrupted by the Yin energy in the cave because they were in a Yin Spirit land. The only things left that were still useful, apart from the ancient cultivation formation it had set up at the entrance, were a few dozen mid-grade spirit stones and the black jade plaque in Song Qingming's hand.

Apart from the material being somewhat special and not fearing Yin energy corrosion, this item had no other use. The front was engraved with Wen Tianyang's name, while the back was carved with some simple, ancient patterns and a black dragon. It looked like an identity token of a large sect.

Since opening Wen Tianyang's storage bag and discovering this item, Song Qingming had been holding the black token for many days, but he had never seen any clues on it and did not know where this Wen Tianyang had come from.

Just as Song Qingming was pondering the black token in his cave dwelling, a sound transmission talisman suddenly flew in from outside the cave and landed beside him.

Seeing his train of thought suddenly interrupted, Song Qingming's face revealed a trace of displeasure. Since advancing to the Jin Dan stage, very few people dared to come find him when he was in seclusion.

After Song Qingming opened the sound transmission talisman and saw the content inside, he realized it had been sent by Song Yuanfang. However, the matter written inside was something Song Qingming had not expected. His expression turned from initial displeasure to a trace of surprise, and he quickly tidied up, stood up, and walked out of his cave dwelling.

——

At the summit of Mount Tuoyun, Feng Yangde was practicing with his eyes closed in a cave dwelling.

This cave dwelling had very abundant spiritual energy and was the place where Chen Jinliang had practiced back then. More than a decade ago, before the demon beast turmoil began, Chen Jinliang, the number one rogue cultivator of the State of Wei, had actually passed away in this cave dwelling.

At that time, in order to stabilize the situation on the mountain and cope with the impending demon beast turmoil, Feng Yangde and the others chose to bury Chen Jinliang's remains hastily and sealed the news of the Chen Chen Laozu's passing from the outside world, only informing the Xiaoyao Sect of the matter.

It was not until the demon beast turmoil ended that Feng Yangde and the others held a grand funeral for their Master on Mount Tuoyun.

Although he had only formed a False Core and his own cultivation speed was very slow, Feng Yangde still did not abandon his daily practice. When he had nothing to do, he basically stayed in his cave dwelling in seclusion.

Feng Yangde, who was meditating, suddenly felt a fluctuation in the restriction at the entrance of his cave dwelling. He put away his cultivation technique, stood up, and came outside the cave dwelling, only to discover that the visitor was his senior brother, Liang Wenxu.

Seeing Feng Yangde, Liang Wenxu, who was already somewhat old and frail, hurriedly handed a letter in his hand to him.

"Fourth Junior Brother, the Ma family has sent another letter, inviting you to discuss the matter of Mount Luoyun. This time, it was written personally by Ma Hongshan, who specifically named you to go to the appointment together."

Because both were disciples formally accepted by Chen Chen Laozu, and Liang Wenxu had entered the sect earlier, even though Feng Yangde was now a Core Formation cultivator, he still had to call Liang Wenxu "Senior Brother."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 511 =====