Snake Corpse, Two Rays of Light

Click!

Li Ye had just stepped into the Corpse Incineration Hall when the door locked behind him.

Drip, drop!

Blood dripped from the Corpse Wrapping Cloth, and the thick, bloody stench permeated every corner of the room.

Just how much blood did this guy have? He had been bleeding the entire way, and it was still dripping.

Carrying his doubts, Li Ye stepped forward and slowly lifted the Corpse Wrapping Cloth, revealing a large snake coiled into an oval shape.

The large snake was snow-white, but its skin was shredded; there wasn't a single intact inch, and beads of blood rolled out incessantly.

The snake's body was thick, about thirty centimeters in diameter. Its massive head happened to be coiled toward Li Ye's side. Its fist-sized eyes were wide open, looking as if they were still alive and filled with bloodshot veins. Li Ye's gaze met them the moment he looked down.

Stumble, stumble, stumble!

Li Ye had been caught off guard. His face turned pale, and he retreated violently, his soul nearly flying out of his body.

Bastards, why didn't you warn me beforehand?

Are you trying to scare me to death?

A bunch of morally bankrupt scoundrels.

Snakes were terrifying enough on their own, let alone one this size.

A perfectly sane person could be scared into a mental breakdown.

Li Ye cursed inwardly, silently greeting the ancestors of everyone in charge of the Corpse Refining Courtyard down to the eighteenth generation.

However, why was this Snake Demon sent here?

Was it really the one from Yihongyuan?

Li Ye went up to examine it closely. He saw that the White Snake was a bloody mess, with not a single patch of intact skin.

The snake skin had lost its value.

The snake blood was thin and had also lost its intended purpose.

Continuing his inspection, Li Ye discovered the fatal wound on the snake's torso—a massive, bloody hole from which a terrifying aura emanated.

The formless, sharp intent made the skin on Li Ye's cheeks sting.

"Such powerful Sword Intent. This wound must have been caused by Junior Brother's Heaven Severing Sword."

"Did Junior Brother shatter the Snake Demon's Inner Core with a single strike? No wonder the Divine Concealment Sect sent it here. The Snake Demon's physical body has no value left, and they were likely too lazy to deal with it, so they sent it here to be burned to ashes."

Based on the Holy Son's memories, Li Ye discerned the clues within the wound.

The Heaven Severing Sword of his Junior Brother was immensely powerful. Though it appeared as if he had merely slashed through the Snake Demon's torso, in reality, the terrifying sword intent had already pulverized everything beneath the creature's skin.

Flesh, internal organs, the Demon Core, bones—all had been destroyed and torn apart by the sword intent.

This was why the body of the Snake Demon, which spanned hundreds of meters, had rapidly shrunk to its current size after death.

It was no exaggeration to say that this carcass was now nothing more than a pile of meat. Jiang Ming's Heaven Severing Sword was far too overbearing; it had severed all the inner divinity of the opponent, leaving nothing of value behind.

"However, there is still residual, fragmented cultivation energy from the Snake Demon within these scraps of meat. It cannot be underestimated."

"For me at my current stage, it still counts as a treasure that cannot be ignored."

Li Ye said, then pushed the giant snake into the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

I wonder what kind of reward the Corpse Incineration Furnace will give me in a moment.

It wouldn't be some kind of divine ability, would it?

A cultivation technique manual?

No, please, definitely not that.

That would be such a waste.

The cultivation extracted from this giant snake's body is enough to get me to the Qi Gathering stage.

I want cultivation.

It has to be cultivation.

Otherwise, I'm going to lose my mind at you, Corpse Incineration Furnace!

Li Ye prayed in his heart.

The giant snake was dead beyond any doubt. Under the Heaven Severing Sword of his Junior Brother Jiang Ming, there was absolutely no chance for it to undergo a Corpse Transformation; the Heaven Severing sword intent was still lingering within the creature's body, refusing to dissipate.

Therefore, until the moment the giant snake entered the Corpse Incineration Furnace, there were no signs of a Corpse Transformation.

In the blink of an eye, the corpse merged with the flames.

The fire blazed fiercely, and as the Snake Demon's life imprint was broken down, scenes from its life began to unfold.

However, Li Ye couldn't quite make sense of these images.

The Snake Demon was born in an underground snake den within a vast forest. Her mother was a White Snake, and her father was a black snake.

Since they had both achieved human form, it meant that this pair possessed at least the strength of the Object Manipulation Realm.

What Li Ye could not understand was that the White Snake had laid a clutch of eggs, which eventually hatched into dozens of little snakes.

Some of the little snakes were white, some silver, some black, some cyan, and so on.

They were all snakes, and there were several white ones; Li Ye could not distinguish which one was the Snake Demon.

It was not until the other little white snakes died during the growth process, leaving this Snake Demon as the only white snake among her siblings, that Li Ye was finally able to tell them apart.

At this point, the White Snake's siblings had dwindled from the original dozens down to only six.

The others had either been killed by natural predators while out foraging, died during cultivation, or died of old age.

Only the White Snake and her six siblings had successfully embarked on the path of cultivation.

But in the end, they all went their separate ways.

Li Ye was surprised: She still has siblings and parents alive?

They won't come looking for me to take revenge in the future, will they?

The White Snake's growth experience was very dull; for the first few hundred years, she cultivated in the mountains and fought with the Demon Race.

It was only after breaking through to the Object Manipulation Realm and taking human form that she entered human territory.

Then, she devoured the essence of one human master after another to practice her arts and undergo transformation.

Until she was killed today.

With that, the fragments of the White Snake's life came to an end.

Her life was very long, stretching over several hundred years, witnessing the vicissitudes of the human world and the rise and fall of dynasties.

Yet, she had also struggled in this "Saha" world for hundreds of years.

After finishing the White Snake's life, Li Ye felt a sense of loss in his heart.

Hundreds of years—what a long span of time.

But no matter how long the White Snake's life was, it still reached its curtain call.

Eternal life and vision!

Li Ye's conviction was once again solidified in his heart. He would defeat the human world, defeat time, defeat life and death, and exist in this world forever, enjoying all glory and splendor.

Otherwise, he would be doing a disservice to his identity as a transmigrator.

Hum!

Just then, a mist of light shot out from the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

It must be cultivation.

It has to be cultivation.

Li Ye shouted in his heart. In the blink of an eye, the mist of light dove into his body, circulating through his entire being.

Boom!

Li Ye's limbs and bones trembled. The breathing technique of the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art flowed naturally. In an instant, it was as if he had undergone years of bitter cultivation, and his aura soared.

Boom!

Before long, a resonant chime rang out within Li Ye's body. A powerful aura surged out, and energy overflowed from his form.

Crimson electric light, resembling a babbling brook, flowed over his entire body, enveloping Li Ye.

He had broken through.

Hahaha, it really is cultivation...

But what is this about the tenth level of Body Tempering?

A series of question marks flashed across Li Ye's face.

Yes, he had broken through, but not to the Qi Gathering Stage; it was the tenth level of Body Tempering.

How could there be a tenth level in the Body Tempering Realm? After the ninth level, shouldn't one enter the Qi Gathering Stage?

Where did something go wrong?

Li Ye repeatedly inspected his dantian, confirming that it had not yet opened and was not absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. He was still in the Body Tempering Realm.

It really was the tenth level of Body Tempering.

What was being released from his body was physical force, not spiritual power.

Li Ye watched the crimson electric arcs flowing over his skin, lost in deep thought.

"Is it because I transmigrated? The combination of a soul from another world with this body caused a mutation, abnormally breaking the refinement system and entering the tenth level of Body Tempering?"

"Or is it because the Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art is too powerful, causing me to break through to a tenth level that shouldn't exist while still in the Body Tempering Realm?"

Li Ye guessed to himself.

Forget it. Regardless, he had broken through, and that was all that mattered.

Li Ye did not dwell on the problem too much. Breaking through to the tenth level of Body Tempering meant his physical potential was immense, exceeding the scope of the standard cultivation system.

The next breakthrough should be the Qi Gathering Stage.

As Li Ye was thinking this:

Whoosh!

Another mist of light rushed out from the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

What?

Li Ye's face was full of astonishment.

Two mists of light—this was unprecedented.

This mist of light was still the power of cultivation. In the blink of an eye, it drilled into Li Ye's body, flowing through his entire being, tempering his Five Viscera and his limbs and bones.

And Li Ye had not yet fully absorbed the energy from the first mist of light.

His aura began to soar once again.

Li Ye was incredibly excited. "Two mists of light! As expected of a Snake Demon's physical body. Truly, heaven is helping me."

"It seems that today, I am destined to step into the Qi Gathering Stage."