Corpse Seed

At the top of the earthen mound.

There was a three-acre Corpse Field, gleaming with an oily black-red sheen. Not far beside it stood a two-story wooden house. Its exterior looked thoroughly dilapidated, piled with withered grass and fallen leaves.

Zhu Yu stepped into the Corpse Field, crouched down, and grabbed a handful of soil.

Unlike ordinary earth, the soil of the Corpse Field was dry and soft, its grains distinct. On closer inspection, it resembled crystalline black-red sand, and one could clearly sense the exceedingly dense Yin Baleful Spirit Qi contained within.

"Not bad."

Zhu Yu nodded in satisfaction and turned toward the house nearby.

The wooden house had been built entirely from Yin Wood growing on the mound. Though it looked worn and mottled, it was merely somewhat dirty and messy; its main structure showed no signs of decay.

He went up to the second floor.

Zhu Yu swept his gaze around. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly gave a soft "Hm?" and quickly approached a wall. With a sweep of his sleeve, a gale sprang from thin air, rolling the dead branches and scattered leaves on the floor out through the window.

A hole roughly three feet across appeared where they had been. Along its edge glimmered a jade-like luster that did not match the dark floorboards.

"Radiation from a cultivator's aura..."

Looking at the hole, realization appeared in Zhu Yu's eyes. Then he chuckled. "It seems that if I want to live here later, I'll have to patch this hole first."

Shaking his head slightly, he turned and walked to the window.

Through it, he could clearly see the three acres and two fen of Corpse Field, the weeds and dead leaves carpeting the ground, as well as Beast Pens of varying sizes a thousand meters from the mound—and, farther away, a streak of emerald green.

"This will be my place of cultivation from now on..."

Listening to the faint roars and cries of beasts drifting from afar, Zhu Yu could not hide his delight. Though everything before him looked withered and desolate, and beast roars rang out every so often, at least for the next three years, this place would be his own home.

For the time being, he had gained a foothold in the Heavenly Dao Sect.

After his joy subsided, Zhu Yu casually found a spot and sat cross-legged. He took two jade slips from his sleeve, picked up one of them, and clicked his tongue in wonder.

"Corpse Planting... I wonder how it differs from farming?"

His Divine Sense entered it, and a vast amount of information immediately flooded into his mind.

A short while later.

Zhu Yu withdrew his Divine Sense, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

According to the jade slip.

Cultivating Living Corpses was far from simple. The first step was selecting and raising Corpse Seeds, which could broadly be divided into two categories: human and nonhuman. The bodies of cultivators who had entered the Dao and demon beasts were best, but such materials were precious and beyond what he could consider for now.

Beyond that.

There were the various mortal corpses gathered by the Heavenly Dao Sect from outside, which also differed somewhat from one another.

Among them, corpses that had not decayed for a hundred years and beasts that had lived out their natural lifespan possessed the greatest potential, though they were difficult to cultivate. Next came those who had died suddenly, met untimely deaths, or died with grievances. Their potential was average, but they were easier to cultivate.

There were also some subtle distinctions between them, but there was no need to mention them for now...

Although Zhu Yu did not have a psychological aversion to corpses, he had no desire to cultivate the corpses of his own kind. His thoughts settled on beast corpses.

Beasts that had lived out their natural lifespan were, as the name suggested, animals that had gradually come to understand human nature and developed spiritual intelligence. Cats, dogs, and cattle were the most common, followed by foxes, jackals, wolves, and the like...

Living Corpses cultivated from them possessed abundant spirituality. Further cultivation would be easier, and their value would be greater as well.

"Why not use these six months to cultivate one and give it a try?"

The thought made Zhu Yu's heart stir, and he immediately began considering even more.

It would be best to choose a large beast. Once cultivated, it could serve as both a meat shield and a mount. It could not be more cost-effective.

"Then I'll give it a try."

The more Zhu Yu thought about it, the more tempted he became. He rose directly to his feet and walked down the stairs.

The storage area for Corpse Seeds lay in the depths of the Underworld Grounds.

With the sounds of ghosts weeping and wolves howling echoing all along the way.

Zhu Yu walked for nearly two hours before arriving before a gray-white hall spanning more than ten acres. He glanced at the plaque bearing the words "Corpse Grotto," then entered with the sparse stream of people.

The hall was somewhat deserted, with only a dozen or so people inside.

Zhu Yu had not waited long when a gray-robed attendant approached him and respectfully said, "Greetings, sir. Are you selecting Corpse Seeds or purchasing corpse-cultivation materials? Just tell this lowly one directly."

Zhu Yu nodded slightly. "I'm selecting Corpse Seeds and buying materials." After a pause, he added, "I want large beast corpses."

The moment he said that.

Several people nearby turned to look at him. Some were astonished, some admiring, and some disdainful...

Zhu Yu ignored them completely.

The gray-robed attendant respectfully said, "Please follow this lowly one, sir."

With that, he stepped forward to lead the way.

Zhu Yu followed at an unhurried pace and soon arrived before an Earth Cavern. Before he even entered, a wave of icy coldness rushed at his face.

Once inside, the chill grew even stronger. Gray-black mist coiled around the surrounding walls, winding and crawling like long worms.

After descending for more than a hundred meters and passing through a gray-black barrier, a space as large as several football fields appeared before him.

He could see.

Dense black fog filled the space. As it surged, it revealed countless beast bodies piled across the ground. At the same time, a thick, lingering stench of rot and blood hung in the air.

Zhu Yu frowned and used spiritual power to block his sense of smell. Looking around, he vaguely saw several people within the black fog selecting Corpse Seeds besides himself. Watching them continuously pick up and put down beast corpses, anyone unaware of the truth might have thought they were shopping for vegetables.

At this moment, the gray-robed attendant beside him respectfully said, "Sir, you may choose freely. Once you select a Corpse Seed, this lowly one can help transport it back to your cave dwelling."

"Mm."

Zhu Yu nodded slightly and headed straight for the large beast Corpse Seeds. Before long, he arrived before the corpse of a yellow ox lying on its side, its shoulders and neck patchily bald and its body gaunt. Just as he was about to extend his Divine Sense, it felt as though he had slammed headfirst into a wall of copper and iron.

"Hm?"

The gray-robed attendant following not far behind hurriedly explained, "Sir, to prevent Corpse Seeds from undergoing corpse transformation after prolonged contact with Divine Sense, every Earth Cavern storing Corpse Seeds has array restrictions that isolate Divine Sense."

Zhu Yu understood at once. He immediately realized why those people had been selecting Corpse Seeds as though buying vegetables. He nodded slightly, thought for a moment, then placed his hand on the yellow ox's head and silently recited:

"Scan and collect information on the yellow ox Corpse Seed."

In the next instant, a notification appeared.

[Target: Yellow Ox Corpse Seed]

[Race: Ox]

[Bloodline: None]

[Body Integrity: 47%, Aberration Level: 3%]

The information on the panel had manifested based on Zhu Yu's memories concerning Corpse Seeds.

The higher a Corpse Seed's body integrity and the deeper its aberration level, the greater the chance of cultivating it into a Living Corpse, and vice versa.

This yellow ox clearly belonged to the poorer category.

Zhu Yu shook his head slightly, stood up, and walked to the corpse of a black horse nearby. After examining its glossy black hide, he pressed his hand against its head.

[Target: Black Horse Corpse Seed]

[Race: Horse]

[Bloodline: None]

[Body Integrity: 77%, Aberration Level: 16%]

Compared to the yellow ox Corpse Seed, the black horse Corpse Seed had much higher integrity and aberration levels, and it was also better suited to serve as a mount.

Zhu Yu marked it down as one of his alternatives and continued toward the next large Corpse Seed.

[Target: Donkey]

[Race: Wild Donkey]

[Bloodline: None]

[Body Integrity: 61%, Aberration Level: 2%]

[Target: White Deer]

[Race: Great-Horned Deer]

[Bloodline: None]

[Body Integrity: 79%, Aberration Level: 7%]

[Target: Rhinoceros]

[Race: White Rhinoceros]

[Bloodline: None]

[Body Integrity: 61%, Aberration Level: 5%]

After examining Corpse Seed after Corpse Seed, Zhu Yu not only failed to find one containing a bloodline, he did not even see any large ferocious beasts like lions, tigers, or elephants.

Just as he was about to ask the attendant beside him whether there were other Earth Caverns storing large Corpse Seeds, a patch of yellow stripes entered his field of vision not far away.

"Hm!"

Zhu Yu's eyes brightened at once. He quickly walked over, but when he saw the Variegated Tiger in its entirety, his expression froze.

Its body was gaunt, and its fur was mottled and sparse. It was clearly an aged tiger. That in itself was not a problem—after being cultivated into a Living Corpse, the older it was, the more spiritual it would be.

But the bad news was that a section of one hind leg was missing. It was a lame tiger.

"What a pity..."

Zhu Yu shook his head slightly. He had intended to turn and leave, but having finally encountered a tiger, he simply crouched down and pressed his hand against its head.

"Scan and collect information on the tiger Corpse Seed."