Yin Corpse

Chapter 35: Yin Corpse

Legend had it that the Demon Prison had once been the site of a great war where countless cultivators perished. Combined with the many Myriad Demon Sect disciples who had fallen there since, the physical remains of these cultivators had been baptized by Yin energy over the long years, eventually developing faint, residual consciousnesses and transforming into ghosts.

This time, a total of twelve ghosts appeared. Eight of them hovered at the early Xiantian Realm, while the remaining four were at the peak of the Houtian Realm.

Perhaps because they were ghosts, their bodies were saturated with far more Death Energy than normal living beings. Each Xiantian Realm ghost that died granted Chen Lin over 230 points of Death Energy, while the four peak Houtian Realm ghosts provided him with over 50 points each.

This single wave of ghosts brought Chen Lin a massive windfall of 3,261 points of Death Energy.

Added to the three waves he had encountered previously, in less than two hours, Chen Lin's Death Energy points—which had been somewhat strained due to his cultivation adjustments—became abundant once more. They reached an unprecedented height: 8,937 points!

Moreover, whenever a ghost died, he would tirelessly refine its residual soul, rapidly cultivating the Soul-Devouring Soul-Refining Scripture. However, this practice was clearly time-consuming, drawing dissatisfied looks and even whispered complaints from the other three.

As long as you still have use for me, why should I care about your dissatisfaction?

Chen Lin rolled his eyes internally, ignoring their grumbling and continuing to refine the residual souls as he pleased.

Feeling the rapid surge of Death Energy points within him, Chen Lin remained calm on the surface while feeling ecstatic inside. At this rate, even if he failed the main quest, he would have enough to gather the 3,000 Death Energy points required to erase the penalty for failure. In this way, his life was finally guaranteed.

However, this thought was clearly premature. After wiping out two more waves of ghosts, the group finally arrived at the location of their mission objective.

It was a gloomy cave surrounded by uneven hills. Hiding behind a hill less than a hundred meters from the cave, the group quickly held a council.

"According to the disciple who reported this, the spiritual herb grows in the deepest part of the cave, where three Yin Corpses wander. A detour to steal the herb is clearly not feasible; we must slay them to obtain it and complete the mission," Situ Kong sighed, helpless.

Chen Lin's eyes flashed as he asked, "By the way, Brother Situ, I still don't know what the spiritual herb required for this mission actually is."

"It is a spiritual herb called the 'Shadow Moon Poison Leaf.' It is nourished by the corpse saliva of Yin Corpses and only grows in places of evil Yin. It takes thirty years to mature and bloom. It is likely needed by an elder in the sect who cultivates evil immortal arts, which is why this mission was posted."

"Since the reward is a precious Sea-Breaking Pill, why didn't the high-level inner sect disciples take the mission? Why leave it to us?" Chen Lin nodded upon hearing this and continued to ask.

"The Sea-Breaking Pill holds no attraction for the sect's inner disciples, as they are each allocated one by the sect when they break through to the Sea-Opening Realm. The pill is only effective the first time it is consumed; taking more has no effect. Naturally, such missions are left for us registered disciples to complete."

Han Shuitong, standing to his side, gave a soft laugh and explained.

Chen Lin nodded, a look of understanding dawning on him.

"Alright, enough idle chatter. Let us replenish the spiritual energy we consumed in the previous battles. We will prepare to move in one hour."

With that, Situ Kong patted the storage bag at his waist and took out four talismans. A flicker of pain crossed his eyes as he kept one for himself and handed the others to Chen Lin and the two others.

Chen Lin took the talisman with some confusion, not understanding its purpose.

"This is a mid-grade 'Qi-Concealing Talisman.' It can mask the blood energy on our bodies for one hour," Situ Kong said, glancing at Chen Lin. "Brother Chen, perhaps you don't know this since it's your first time in the Demon Prison, but the ghosts here have an extremely keen sense for creatures with vigorous blood energy. With this hour, we can naturally recover our spiritual energy in peace."

Chen Lin nodded. Seeing the other three press the talismans into their bodies and confirming there was no issue, he flashed his eyes and did the same. Immediately, he felt his aura grow much weaker. Although Situ Kong and the others were still beside him, their presence became faint and elusive.

Watching the three of them close their eyes and sit cross-legged, holding Spirit Stones to rapidly replenish their internal spiritual energy, Chen Lin's gaze flickered.

In truth, during the previous battles, he had relied solely on his physical strength. Combined with the mysterious ancient Dao Heaven scripture he cultivated, his spiritual energy was incredibly pure, and his consumption was negligible—he didn't need to recover at all. But he naturally wouldn't show that, so he closed his eyes and settled down as well.

An hour later, everyone opened their eyes. Their gazes were sharp, clearly having returned to their peak states.

Situ Kong scanned the group and said solemnly, "It seems everyone has recovered. Let us complete the mission as quickly as possible. Anything can happen in the Demon Prison; the sooner we finish, the safer we are."

The others nodded, having no objections.

"Brother Chen, among the three Yin Corpses, the most powerful one at the Sea-Opening Realm has immense physical strength. You must hold it back for now. The two of us—Daoist Liu and Daoist Han—will deal with the other two Yin Corpses first, then we will assist you in slaying it together. Brother Chen, do you have any issues with this?"

As he spoke, Situ Kong's expression grew grave.

Chen Lin sighed inwardly. Facing a Sea-Opening Realm Yin Corpse alone was naturally extremely dangerous, but for the sake of the main quest, he had to grit his teeth and do it.

"I can do it, but if I find myself unable to handle it, I will prioritize saving my own life."

Chen Lin nodded, his face expressionless. His thoughts were simple: if he was outmatched, he wouldn't gamble with his life. He would just spend more time killing ghosts to gather enough Death Energy points to ensure his survival.

"That goes without saying." Situ Kong nodded, then turned to Liu Han. "Daoist Liu, you can bring out the top-grade Dharma Artifact 'Immortal-Descending Formation Flags' you borrowed from Senior Brother Nie. This will buy us quite a bit of time."

"Hmph!" Liu Han snorted coldly. Reluctantly, he patted his storage bag and handed the four flag-like artifacts to Chen Lin. "These 'Immortal-Descending Formation Flags' are no small matter. They can briefly seal the surrounding spiritual energy and form a profound array, preventing that Sea-Opening Realm Yin Corpse from flying so it can only fight you on the ground."

Immediately after, as if remembering something, Liu Han gave a sinister smile and threatened Chen Lin, "These flags are top-grade Dharma Artifacts and are incredibly precious. I borrowed them temporarily from Senior Brother Nie Wuyuan of the Blood Hand Lineage. I advise you to use them carefully. If they are damaged... hehe, I'm afraid even if you had a few more lives, it wouldn't be enough to appease Senior Brother Nie's fury!"

Since they were top-grade Dharma Artifacts for self-preservation, Chen Lin naturally wouldn't refuse. Ignoring Liu Han's threats, he took the flags and gave a faint smile without a word. I have five Dharma swords in my possession that are all top-grade Dharma Artifacts. If I were to show them all, wouldn't it blind your titanium-alloy dog eyes?!

With that, the group discussed a few more details before making their decision. They stood up and crept quickly toward the nearby cave.

"Awoo!!"

"Roar!!"

When they were less than thirty meters from the cave, the Yin Corpses inside seemed to sense something. A series of eerie, angry roars erupted from the cave, followed by the sound of chaotic, heavy footsteps.

Under the hazy starlight, three figures of varying shapes darted out from the cave entrance.

Chen Lin's expression tightened as he looked closely.

Two of them were tall, beast-like Yin Corpses—one resembling a tiger-lion, the other a giant ape. Clearly, they were the remains of Demon Race members who had fallen here. Their auras were sinister and terrifying, both having reached the peak of the Xiantian Realm!

Chen Lin only glanced at them before focusing all his attention on the seemingly weakest and most unremarkable Yin Corpse in the middle.

It was a withered, gaunt Yin Corpse, less than five feet tall. Its body was so dried up it seemed devoid of all moisture, with skin stretched tight over its skeleton, looking exceptionally horrifying.

Its face was severely twisted, with disgusting yellow pus oozing out constantly. Cyan veins lay across its face like parasitic worms, and its lips had rotted away, revealing unknown bits of flesh and disgusting mucus.