Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme - Chapter 1133

Chapter 1133: Chapter 686: Return Chapter 1133: Chapter 686: Return A month later, Xu Yang returned from Su Country, relocating the Yousu Clan into the Taoist Domain and making arrangements for them before he headed back to the Palace of Ten Thousand Dao.

In this time of turmoil across the world, defenses needed to be prepared on all fronts. Although the Wandao School boasted considerable strength, with several True Immortal Guest Elders and numerous High-level cultivators of the Tribulation Realm, along with Mahayana Unity, relying on the power of Mecha Armor and the defensive formations of the Taoist Field to hold their ground, should they face an existence like the Emperor’s Corpse, they would still be inadequate.

As a Taoist Master, and the strongest combatant of the Scholar’s Palace, Xu Yang had many responsibilities. Not only did he have to patrol the Taoist Domain to prevent unforeseen dangers, but he also had to intermittently extend help to various factions, win over the hearts of people, or clear the aftermath of battles and straighten out the consequences. Additionally, he had to manage cultivating, teaching, and a multitude of affairs, truly a case of endless daily tasks.

Even so, he still found time to properly study that Emperor’s Corpse.

In the Palace of Ten Thousand Dao, the Qilin Hall, the Formation was activated.

Xu Yang sat alone in the hall, with a wave of his sleeve, he released an item – the headless Emperor’s Corpse he had previously seized.

As the sole gain from the battle, the value of this Emperor’s Corpse was not insignificant. If it could be utilized, it would almost equal half an Imperial Arms.

Unfortunately, this ‘if’ was not valid.

Corpse Refining and Ghost Rearing, a Netherworld Skill – although it was once one of Xu Yang’s initial methodologies, he had discarded it years ago and no longer cultivated it.

The reason for abandoning it was not due to a disdain for such a sidetrack method, but as his cultivation and strength amplified, such mana points became increasingly superfluous – discarding them was indeed regrettable, but utilizing them was even less palatable.

The main flaw of methods like these was the difficulty in finding materials, which were indispensable yet elusive. Not to mention refining corpses – if you want to refine, you must have a corpse, right?

Corpses, particularly low-order ones, were easy enough to come by, but high-order cultivators’ corpses were rare, and the ones predaciously acquired through slaughter were often incomplete. After all, as long as there wasn’t a vast gap in power, even in defeat, mutual destruction was possible.

Difficulty in sourcing materials aside, the combat power was also very concerning. In the Ten Thousand Tribulations Yin Spirit, it’s notoriously hard to attain sanctity; Underworld Ghosts and corpses are inherently inferior, and while it might be conceivable to compensate with quantity at lower tiers, they are utterly disgraceful at high tiers.

Furthermore, with constraints on energy and time, as well as other issues regarding human nature and sentiments, Xu Yang had to give up on the practice of Corpse Refining early on. Only the Ghost and God’s Skill continued in practice due to the reasons of the Yin Mountain Mansion and the numerous ghostly beings within the scholarly institutions.

Hence, although he now possessed an immensely valuable Emperor’s Corpse, Xu Yang couldn’t transform its worth into something practical, unless he used the Emperor’s Corpse as material for Artifact Refining … which seemed feasible.

The world is a vast furnace; all things are fodder. If the essences of flying birds, running beasts, and the plants can be materials, so too can human flesh and blood. With sufficient cultivation and skills, the Corpse Body of an Earth Immortal could be used – confidently speaking, even if not Imperial Arms, a Tenth Order Heavy Weapon should be no issue.

But right now, these were not Xu Yang’s main concern.

He sat on the meditation cushion, carefully observing the Emperor’s Corpse.

This was a corpse, one that had died countless tens of thousands of years ago.

On it, there was nothing else but a gray robe. Though it appeared ordinary, the texture was extraordinary, having undergone a battle with Xu Yang and sustaining only a few sword marks without much damage.

Within the sword marks, beneath the robe, were shadows like wisps of cotton or willow fluff. Looking closely, they turned out to be densely grown hair, black and green, interspersed with grey and white, emitting a scent of decay and a sinister, ominous feeling.

Hair grows on corpses; it’s not unusual – the common zombies are categorized into Black Zombies and White Zombies, referring to the color of the hair on corpse bodies. As entities that are dead yet not rigid, rigid yet not decomposing, the hair color represents the symbol of their non-standard reincarnation after death, a sign of post-mortem transformation.

But this black hair on the Emperor’s Corpse…

Decay, sinisterness, and yet it exudes an inexplicable vitality.

Xu Yang looked at it, silent, as he lifted a hand and reached toward the black hair.

“Gurgle~!”

As the flesh and blood of the living approached, the corpse made a strange noise, and the black and green hair on its surface writhed, moving towards Xu Yang’s fingertips as if alive, as though it wanted to penetrate into his body and suck away the force of life.

Xu Yang didn’t make a sound, only twisting two fingers and a sharp edge flashed, making the approaching hairs break and fall apart, turning into ashes scattered in the air, becoming green smoke rising, and after that utterly annihilated.

Xu Yang withdrew his hand, looking at the Emperor’s Corpse, his brows tightly furrowed.

Although he had long discarded the art of Corpse Refining, with his experience and the various indications from the corpse itself, Xu Yang could confirm that it had undoubtedly undergone some kind of refining process; otherwise, it wouldn’t be in its current state.

What kind of refining?

Xu Yang did not know.

But it very likely had something to do with that Heavenly Immortal Taoist Master, who was brought down by the unified forces of the Ancient Tao Lineages.

This Dark Chaos, the grave calamity of commoners, probably nine times out of ten, was his doing, struggling to survive or to reincarnate, plundering the forms of all beings to replenish himself.

Although now, his Palace of Ten Thousand Dao is also seen as a mortal enemy by the Upper Realm’s various Tao Lineages, and they desire to eradicate him immediately, it’s not necessarily true that the enemy of an enemy is a friend.

Different paths do not conspire together!

From the actions of this party, Xu Yang was certain that he would undoubtedly stand on the opposing side.

A foe, not a friend!

Even compared to the Ancient Tao Lineages of the Upper Realm, this enemy was more imminent and more dangerous.

Although the Ancient Tao Lineages of the Upper Realm watched him like a tiger eyeing its prey, desiring his immediate removal, after all, the realms were separate, and their reach was limited. When the Earth Immortal Demon Saints would descend is unknown, leaving time for development.