You Had to Go Mad to Survive

Zhou Yan looked at the four still-empty Yin-Nurturing Coffins and couldn't help muttering, "What a waste of resources! Looks like I'll have to hurry up and refine four more corpses to control. I can't let these Yin-Nurturing Coffins go to waste."

His cultivation had been shallow before, and he hadn't had enough money, so he could only devote all his energy to the first corpse he was refining.

Now, he had accumulated nearly half a store of Profound Yin Essence Blood, and he had enough money. It was only right that he refine a few more corpses.

After all, he'd recently put in plenty of time refining and controlling corpses. It wouldn't take long for both of these arts to reach the proficient level.

By then, not only would the corpses he refined be stronger and more agile, he'd also be able to control several zombies at once in battle, greatly increasing his strength.

Zhou Yan made up his mind. Sitting cross-legged among the coffins, he began cultivating the Mystic Yin Art.

[Mystic Yin Art proficiency +11]

[Mystic Yin Art proficiency +17]

[Mystic Yin Art proficiency +22]

...

"Hm."

Zhou Yan's eyes flew open, a trace of surprise flashing in them.

Today, his Mystic Yin Art proficiency had increased by nearly a fifth more than usual. The amount of Yin energy absorbed into his body had increased by about the same.

For a moment, he hadn't quite processed it.

The massive amount of Yin energy entering his body had nearly frozen the blood in his veins, leaving him deathly pale and bluish-white.

At a glance, it seemed as though a layer of frost had settled over him.

Zhou Yan looked at the Yin-Nurturing Coffins, never expecting them to have such an effect. It was a pleasant surprise.

However, his body's blood and vitality would probably fall even further behind the Mystic Yin Art's progress now. The balance had been thrown off.

"Looks like I'll have to spend more time on the Five Animal Frolics and the Shennong Health Cultivation Method. I should also see if I can find some more advanced health-cultivation methods..."

As Zhou Yan thought this, the Mystic Yin Art continued circulating inside him without slowing at all.

As if! A cultivator only ever complained that cultivation was too slow. Who would deliberately slow down?

Cultivation was a struggle against fate itself. It all came down to one word: struggle.

Without that kind of spirit, he might as well not cultivate at all!

The sensation of his cultivation rapidly improving left Zhou Yan somewhat intoxicated.

By the second half of the night, he still wasn't satisfied. He actually climbed into one of the Yin-Nurturing Coffins and lay down.

Sure enough, his cultivation speed increased again.

[Mystic Yin Art proficiency +29]

[Mystic Yin Art proficiency +31]

[Mystic Yin Art proficiency +26]

...

As the saying went: you had to go mad to survive!

After a whole night, when Zhou Yan opened his eyes again, the Mystic Yin Art had broken through to the proficient level. He also had much better control over the Profound Yin Essence Blood in his body.

Mystic Yin Art (First Layer) (Proficient 107/400).

However, such reckless cultivation wasn't without its drawbacks...

"You..."

Ma Yan stared at Zhou Yan's pallid, frail appearance, his eyes widening as if he'd recalled something.

If anyone else looked like this, Ma Yan would have assumed they'd spent themselves dry in a brothel and nearly been sucked dry.

But when he saw Zhou Yan like this, the first thing he asked after recovering from his shock was, "Did something go wrong with your cultivation?"

Zhou Yan had looked like this when he first started cultivating.

Later, he began practicing the Shennong Health Cultivation Method, and his condition improved somewhat. Still, he never regained his former muscular build. He looked delicate and weak instead, almost like one of those students who couldn't even lift a chicken.

But now he'd gone back to looking like he had at the beginning. It made Ma Yan's heart pound with alarm.

This cultivation method was just too sinister!

"Cough, cough... I'm fine. My cultivation's just improved a little too quickly lately, so there are bound to be some side effects."

The moment Zhou Yan spoke, he couldn't help coughing.

Still, he reassured Ma Yan and told him not to worry.

If even Ma Yan panicked, Mother Zhou and Zhou Li would only be even more worried.

"Are you really all right?" Ma Yan asked, still concerned.

Zhou Yan nodded, and only then did Ma Yan relax a little.

"Should I go find you some more health-cultivation methods?" Ma Yan asked.

Zhou Yan shook his head. "No need. The Shennong Health Cultivation Method works well, and with the Five Animal Frolics, it's enough. It's just that as my cultivation improves, the Yin energy is growing stronger and more abundant. Health-cultivation methods alone can no longer completely neutralize it."

That was why his body had changed so drastically after a single night of cultivation.

Ultimately, health-cultivation methods could only nourish the body. They couldn't do much more than that.

As Zhou Yan's cultivation improved, their effects would only grow weaker.

The problem was that Zhou Yan couldn't find any true martial internal cultivation techniques, so he'd been using health-cultivation methods as a temporary substitute. Now they were gradually proving inadequate...

"Then what should we do?" Ma Yan asked with concern.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I need a genuine martial internal cultivation technique that can circulate and strengthen my blood and vitality. Ideally, it should be a Buddhist martial art."

Unlike external martial arts, internal martial arts excelled at regulating and strengthening one's blood and vitality, building a stronger physical foundation.

That would make it easier to care for his body. It might even solve the drawbacks of Yaksha Ghost-Swallowing.

Lately, whenever Zhou Yan practiced the Yakshas Meditation Method, he often heard hushed whispers by his ear.

But once he stopped, the voice vanished again.

Zhou Yan knew that this was a side effect of Yaksha Ghost-Swallowing.

He could forcibly suppress it for now, but it remained a hidden danger that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

Ma Yan felt a chill crawl over his scalp. Martial internal cultivation techniques weren't easy to come by.

There were certainly plenty of martial artists with internal cultivation techniques in Shen City, but they were either highly influential or exceptionally powerful. They couldn't be approached easily.

Besides, martial internal cultivation techniques were extremely precious and rarely shared with outsiders.

"Focus on recovering. I'll go ask around."

Even so, Ma Yan readily agreed. No matter how difficult it was, they had to try.

After Ma Yan left, Zhou Yan slowly stretched and began practicing the Five Animal Frolics and the Shennong Health Cultivation Method.

In the past, whenever he practiced, he could feel a warm current flowing through his body, stimulating his blood and vitality and nourishing him.

But today, that warm current was gone. It was as though a block of ice were moving through him, leaving his face paler and paler.

Zhou Yan knew that the Yin energy in his body had become excessive, even building up into a blockage.

That was why the health-cultivation methods were now almost entirely ineffective.

Even so, he persisted in practicing the Shennong Health Cultivation Method once, then went through the Five Animal Frolics several times. Only then did his body gradually begin to warm.

After a while, Zhou Yan slowly finished his exercises and let out a long breath.

The breath he exhaled carried a chilling cold. It left a distinct trail in the air.

In the early-summer weather, it lingered for a long time without fading...