This corpse was metal-aspected, but the demon core was wood-aspected.
Once spiritual energy was absorbed by the corpse, the demon core would definitely suffer considerable damage.
However, Shen Fan saw that the demon core and the corpse seemed fairly compatible, and the turmoil in his heart gradually settled.
"Ah, forget it. It's too late to say anything now. I can only grit my teeth and take it one step at a time!"
Shen Fan clenched his teeth and silently made up his mind.
At worst, all his hard work these past few days would go to waste. He could simply start over.
Having made up his mind, Shen Fan immediately began cultivating together with the corpse.
As soon as spiritual energy entered his body, it traveled along his spiritual veins and burrowed into the demon core.
Just then, Shen Fan suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
They were currently in the Waste Elixir Chamber, where fire spiritual energy was exceptionally dense.
Fire countered metal. Instead, this fire spiritual energy suppressed the harmful effect the corpse's metal attribute had on the demon core.
As a result, spiritual energy actually began slowly accumulating within the demon core.
The moment Shen Fan saw this, he hurriedly circulated the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art.
The instant he did so, an indescribable connection formed between him and the corpse.
The spiritual energy gathered within the demon core began spilling out, surging uncontrollably into Shen Fan's body.
After entering Shen Fan's body, that spiritual energy was absorbed by the Five Elements Heavenly Spirit Art he was circulating, then diverted into his five-element spiritual roots.
Seeing that it worked, Shen Fan was instantly overjoyed.
"Wait!" Shen Fan suddenly shuddered all over. "What's going on?"
He hurriedly examined his dantian internally. He saw the spiritual energy being absorbed by his earth spiritual root first, then bypassing the other four spiritual roots and following the circulation route into the place where spiritual energy was stored.
"This... this..."
Shen Fan froze, completely unable to explain the sight before him.
Spiritual roots came in the five elements, as well as special types such as ice and lightning.
Spiritual roots were further divided into nine grades. A first-grade root had one spiritual vein, while a ninth-grade root had nine.
You could think of spiritual roots as nine roads. A first-grade spiritual root had the narrowest road, so its cultivation speed was naturally the slowest.
But now, the spiritual energy fed back by the corpse had actually formed a path of its own, allowing it to be absorbed directly without passing through Shen Fan's spiritual roots.
What did that mean? It meant that cultivating with the corpse gave Shen Fan the cultivation speed of a second-grade five-element spiritual root!
"My heavens!"
Feeling the spiritual power inside him rise steadily, Shen Fan beamed from ear to ear.
"I love these demonic and Outer Dao methods! I love this cultivation path that blazes a trail of its own! This speed feels absolutely incredible!"
After entering the Heavenly Xuan Sect.
Shen Fan had also attended the Heavenly Xuan Sect's ideology classes.
Cultivators had to place one foot before the other, climbing one step at a time.
Only with a solid foundation could one display true might in the later stages.
That might work when said to disciples with fairly decent talent.
But saying it to disciples like Shen Fan, who possessed first-grade five-element spiritual roots, was simply leading people astray.
Why?
On the path of cultivation, one spent a hundred years at the Qi Refinement stage. Once one touched the path of immortality, one's lifespan reached one hundred and twenty years.
At Foundation Establishment, spiritual energy transformed into liquid, laying the foundation of cultivation, and one's lifespan could reach three hundred years.
Golden Core: eight hundred years. Nascent Soul: two thousand. Deity Transformation: five thousand. Void Refinement: ten thousand. Body Integration: twenty thousand. Mahayana: fifty thousand. Tribulation Transcendence: one hundred thousand. Ascend and become immortal, living as long as heaven itself.
Therefore.
For low-aptitude cultivators like Shen Fan.
They had no more than a fleeting hundred years.
How could they speak of taking one step at a time?
Just as Shen Fan was feeling smug about this.
A loud boom rang out.
The corpse puppet actually exploded.
The powerful shockwave hurled Shen Fan dozens of meters away.
After landing, Shen Fan spat out a mouthful of blood before coming back to his senses.
"What happened?"
Shen Fan stared at the scene before him in disbelief.
He had just been thinking how smoothly everything was going, yet in the blink of an eye, something had gone wrong.
After recovering slightly, Shen Fan clutched his chest and staggered forward to inspect it.
Since the corpse puppet had been refined by Shen Fan himself.
He knew every part of it like the back of his hand.
After examining it thoroughly, Shen Fan finally understood.
Looking around, Shen Fan sighed. "This is the heart of the Core Earth Fire. The spiritual energy between heaven and earth is all fire-aspected spiritual energy, and the Core Earth Fire contains fire poison. Absorbing it for too long means absorbing the fire poison as well. The corpse puppet and demon core were already in conflict, and the fire poison gathered inside with no way to escape. That was what caused the demon core to explode, taking the corpse puppet with it!"
Shen Fan sighed.
He then cleaned up the pile of scraps, put them into the storage pit, and burned them all to ashes.
That way, no one would know that he had cultivated the Nine Nether Corpse Refinement Art or refined a corpse puppet.
Failure was the mother of success.
After experiencing his first failure.
Shen Fan carefully summarized his experience and came to deeply realize that if he wanted to refine a corpse puppet, he had to ensure the demon core remained stable.
There could be no clash of attributes.
Only after finishing all this did Shen Fan let out a breath of relief.
This failure could not be said to have brought no gains.
At the very least, he had learned that cultivation feedback from a corpse puppet could provide the effects of two-vein cultivation speed.
Therefore, corpse puppets still needed to be refined.
But finding such an opportunity would not be easy.
After settling everything.
Shen Fan took out the Flame Serpent Art he had bought at the market.
Boss Ju had said that this Flame Serpent Art was a technique once cultivated in the early years by a Golden Core master.
Its power was undoubtedly beyond question.
The fire-aspected spiritual power here was abundant, so cultivating such a technique would surely yield twice the result with half the effort.
With that thought, Shen Fan immediately opened it and began cultivating.
After studying it for a while, Shen Fan committed its circulation method and the paths through which spiritual veins were used to memory.
He then began cultivating with incantations and hand seals working in tandem.
"Let crimson flames guide the way, burn away all yin and evil!"
Shen Fan muttered under his breath, using the incantation as a guide as he began gathering the Flame Serpent Art.
Then he pressed together his right index and middle fingers, curled his remaining three fingers inward, and turned his palm upward.
In an instant, Shen Fan felt spiritual power surge from his dantian through his arm toward his fingertips.
Seeing that the moment was right, Shen Fan immediately thrust his hand seal forward.
Boom!
A phantom flame shaped like a fire serpent shot into the empty air.
It only traveled about a meter and a half, and its power was no stronger than a torch spewing flames.
Its might was simply too miserable to look at.
"Holy shit!"
Shen Fan was completely dumbfounded. "Did I get scammed?"
Seeing the weak force of that firewood-burning flame, Shen Fan immediately became suspicious.
"Let crimson flames guide the way, burn away all yin and evil!"
"Go!"
The next moment.
Shen Fan muttered the incantation again and released it with a hand seal.
Another fire serpent actually burst forth.
Though its power was not great, its speed truly could reach the instant-cast level Boss Ju had described.
"With this kind of power, it's fine for dealing with ordinary people, but against cultivators, it's simply too miserable to look at!"
Shen Fan lamented inwardly.
Still, since he had bought it for two Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Shen Fan intended to keep cultivating it.
After all, the Waste Elixir Chamber possessed the right time, place, and conditions.
Not cultivating a fire-aspected technique here would simply be a waste of heaven's gifts!
But as Shen Fan continued cultivating.
The fire poison of the Core Earth Fire began gathering in Shen Fan's dantian.
This sudden development instantly left Shen Fan trembling in fear.
"Let crimson flames guide the way, burn away all yin and evil!"
During his eightieth round of cultivation.
After Shen Fan discovered the side effect of accumulating fire poison, he released this Flame Serpent Art.
He intended to stop afterward.
But once this Flame Serpent Art was released.
The sight before him completely stunned Shen Fan.
Before you continue