Refining Zombies

Although the corpse before Zhou Yan did not have any special fate, its birth date and hour met the requirements for corpse refining.

"Nothing missing, birth details are correct. No problems."

Zhou Yan let out a soft breath, and a restless eagerness appeared in his eyes.

The greatest part of the Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique was corpse refining. Once successful, it would bring great benefits both in combat and cultivation.

Once he succeeded, Zhou Yan could be considered a true cultivator, with extraordinary abilities.

Until then, he could only be considered an ordinary person with a little extra strength.

That was because Zhou Yan only knew the methods for refining and controlling corpses. He knew none of the other incantations or techniques.

When Ma Yan heard Zhou Yan's words, he felt relieved as well.

He was just an ordinary constable, and had spent a great deal of time and effort obtaining this corpse. He had even spent nearly half of the silver dollars he had on hand, all to grease the wheels in various places.

If something went wrong, he would be beside himself with worry.

"Brother-in-law, go outside."

Zhou Yan spoke gravely without turning around. "You absolutely mustn't come in unless I say so. And if you notice anything wrong, leave at once and run as far away as you can."

His grave expression alarmed Ma Yan, who couldn't help saying, "A Yan, if you aren't sure, we can wait a while longer."

But Zhou Yan shook his head. "There's no time to waste."

With his current circumstances, he had no room to hesitate. All he could do was charge ahead recklessly.

If he missed this chance, it wouldn't just damage his confidence; the circumstances wouldn't allow it, either.

Ma Yan now had fewer than twenty silver dollars.

Adding Zhou Yan's money to that, they could indeed try again.

But Zhou Yan needed money to support both his cultivation and his corpse refining.

The Five Animal Frolics only shortened the recovery time and reduced some of the strain. He still needed to buy medicinal ingredients to replenish his qi and blood and dispel the yin energy. Those were indispensable to cultivation.

The expense of cultivating the Dao was far greater than that of practicing martial arts. It was a bottomless pit.

Of course, he could avoid spending so much on medicinal ingredients.

But unless someone had exceptional talent, they were unlikely to achieve much that way.

Most people would end up like those spirit mediums, accomplishing almost nothing in their entire lives.

Once Ma Yan had left, Zhou Yan gazed at the corpse and quietly took a deep breath.

According to the Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique, even if everything went smoothly, refining a zombie would take forty-nine days.

During that time, Zhou Yan would have to cast spells on the zombie and nurture it every day.

If the refining failed, not only would all the supplies he had used go to waste, but his time and effort would be lost as well.

So Zhou Yan had to stay fully focused and allow himself no mistakes.

He couldn't afford to waste anything...

Zhou Yan first lit an incense stick for the ritual, then stripped away everything covering the corpse. Using a talisman brush, he painted symbols mixed with cinnabar and blood across its body, covering nearly half of it with talismans.

When he finished the final stroke, the bright red talismans on the corpse shimmered faintly, then gradually sank into its body.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. The first step of corpse refining had gone smoothly.

Next, he placed the corpse in the coffin he had prepared in advance.

It was already filled with a large amount of Yin Soil. He made sure the corpse was completely buried in it, with not a single part exposed, and then closed the coffin lid.

The Yin Soil had all been dug up from the Chaos Burial Mound, from within ten meters of the graves. It also had to be at least three years old.

This kind of Yin Soil gathered a great deal of yin energy and was essential for refining corpses.

Zhou Yan's means were limited. If he could get his hands on century-old Yin Soil, or even millennium-old Yin Soil—not to mention Yin Soil from an imperial mausoleum—the zombie he refined would be far more powerful.

[Corpse Refining proficiency +1]

[Corpse Refining proficiency +7]

[Corpse Refining proficiency +3]

...

Zhou Yan glanced at his Corpse Refining proficiency. It had increased by eleven points at once, and delight showed on his face.

At this rate, by the time he refined his first zombie, his Corpse Refining proficiency would have risen from beginner to proficient.

He gave it one last look, then carried the candlestick out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Ma Yan had been waiting anxiously outside. When he saw Zhou Yan emerge unharmed, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is it done?" he couldn't help asking.

His eyes held both worry and hope.

Zhou Yan nodded slightly. "The initial refining has succeeded. It still needs to be nurtured and steadily catalyzed for forty-nine days. I can't leave this place for even a moment during that time. I'll have to leave everything to you."

Ma Yan nodded firmly. "Don't worry. I won't let your eldest sister or Mother come here, and I'll make sure you have enough food, firewood, and other supplies."

They talked a little longer, then Ma Yan left.

Zhou Yan gave Ma Yan almost all the silver dollars he had, telling him to buy medicinal ingredients and other supplies.

This was their all-or-nothing gamble.

If they succeeded, they might be able to turn their fates around. If they failed, both their confidence would likely take a blow.

Zhou Yan glanced toward the spot in the inner room where the zombie was being nurtured. Determination filled his eyes.

He would succeed!

From then on, Zhou Yan trained even harder.

Every morning, as soon as he got up, he practiced the Mystic Yin Art. The yang energy was too strong once the sun rose, making it unsuitable for practicing the Mystic Yin Art.

When the sun began to rise, he would force his seemingly stiff body through the Five Animal Frolics, shortening the time it took to replenish his qi and blood and speeding up his recovery.

Then he would study the Profound Yin Corpse Refining Technique.

He had nearly read the book to pieces, studying every word and sentence for fear of missing or overlooking something.

After that, he would nurture and catalyze the zombie, and continue cultivating.

The inner room had always been heavy with yin energy. As the zombie was refined, the yin and corpse energies inside grew stronger by the day, making it an ideal place for Zhou Yan to cultivate.

But the result was that Zhou Yan's body felt increasingly weak. The qi and blood within him were nearly depleted, and traces of corpse energy and yin energy had even begun to invade him.

Although he kept working to refine the corpse energy and yin energy, and practiced the health-preserving Five Animal Frolics, he still couldn't dispel them completely.

Some stubborn energy always remained entrenched in Zhou Yan's body, impossible to refine or force out.

Moreover, as his cultivation improved, this situation became more and more frequent, and the energy grew stronger...