War was brewing

In the days that followed, Song Wen planned to intensify his cultivation.

Since we can't leave the sect, the only option is to work hard to improve our cultivation. No matter what the crisis, only by becoming stronger can we survive.

Just as Song Wen was about to begin his cultivation, he suddenly remembered something.

He took out Chen Yi's Message Jade Slip and sent a message to her.

[Junior Sister Chen, something big may happen soon. Please be careful.]

A short while later, Song Wen received a reply from Chen Yi.

[Thank you for the reminder, Extreme Yin. Please be more careful in your actions.]

The next morning, Song Wen arrived at the Corpse Dissection Cave early, as usual.

He went to Feng Deng to collect the bodies, but only received eighty-two. The sudden decrease in the number of bodies made Song Wen feel somewhat uneasy.

"Why are there so few corpses today?" Song Wen asked in surprise.

Feng Deng: "The sect forbids its disciples from leaving the sect. Where would you get fresh corpses? These are all remnants from the past. In the future, they will probably become fewer and fewer."

Song Wen nodded, said no more, and turned to walk towards the Dissection Platform.

"It seems I need to seize this last bit of time to steal as much Essence Blood as possible. If there are no more corpses to dissect, the Corpse Dissection Cave will close, making it difficult to steal Essence Blood. If this slows down my cultivation speed, it will be a huge loss."

Song Wen thought to himself.

He released his physical body, absorbing as much of the Blood Qi dissipating in the air as possible.

He dared not consume too much of the Essence Blood from the corpse he had personally decomposed, for fear of arousing suspicion. However, consuming the Blood Qi floating in the air was much harder to detect.

As long as he doesn't act too blatantly and cause the Blood Qi in the Corpse Dissection Cave to show obvious signs of converging towards him, he won't be discovered.

Although Song Wen had slowed down the dissection process, the dissection of over eighty corpses was completed in just two hours, leaving Song Wen feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled.

After leaving the Corpse Dissection Cave, Song Wen returned to his cave abode and began cultivating diligently.

"Bang!"

A blood-red coffin suddenly appeared and crashed onto the ground of the cave abode.

This Blood Coffin was obtained from Shi Shou, and inside is Shi Shou's second-tier Corpse Puppet, whose strength is equivalent to the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

This Corpse Puppet has been reforged by Song Wen using the secret techniques in the <Corpse Puppet True Canon>, and its appearance and aura have been completely changed. Song Wen released it to nurture it with some Yin attribute spiritual materials so that its strength can steadily increase.

Half an hour later.

Another pitch-black coffin appeared inside the cave abode.

Inside the black coffin was Wu Sui's pseudo-second-tier Corpse Puppet. The wounds inflicted on the Corpse Puppet during the last battle with Shi Shou had been repaired.

After being reforged using Song Wen's secret techniques, it has become a true second-tier Corpse Puppet.

Similarly, Song Wen put some Yin-attribute spiritual materials into the black coffin, and then repeatedly cast Method Formula.

Soon, the black coffin was shrouded in black mist, with corpse energy surging and malevolent Sha Qi swirling around it. Corpse Corpse-Baleful Qi was inhaled and exhaled from the Corpse Puppet's mouth and nose, constantly being injected into the Corpse Puppet's Corpse Puppet and tempering its physical form.

After dealing with the two Corpse Puppet, Song Wen released eight more Black Armor Gu.

After this period of nurturing, two more Black Armor Gu have advanced to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. However, Song Wen still hasn't found a way to advance the Black Armor Gu to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

After feeding them some Silver-Shining Stone and Purple Moonflower, Song Wen left them alone, letting the Black Armor Gu roam freely in the cave abode.

Song Wen took out a seven-colored pill, opened his mouth, and swallowed it.

These seven-colored pills are called 'Gelsemium', a beautiful name, and the pills themselves look lovely, but they are extremely poisonous. Even a mortal who comes along and just takes a whiff of it will suffer a gruesome death.

Upon tasting the pill, a faint sweetness first filled the mouth, followed by a fishy smell.

The pill slid down the throat and into the abdomen.

The toxins began to spread in the stomach, and the foul odor grew stronger, making one want to vomit.

Waves of excruciating pain followed, and Song Wen could clearly feel the poison corroding his internal organs, which were gradually beginning to decay.

The toxins invaded the heart and blood vessels, then circulated throughout the body via the bloodstream.

Song Wen's entire body turned purplish-blue and black.

A stench, mingled with the smell of rotting flesh, permeated the entire cave abode.

At this moment, Song Wen resembled a corpse that had been dead for many days and was beginning to turn black and rot.

Beads of sweat, the size of soybeans, dripped down Song Wen's cheeks.

Enduring excruciating pain, Song Wen fully activated the <Myriad Poisons Primordial Body>.

Seven days later.

The number of corpses in the Corpse Dissection Cave was decreasing, and Song Wen completed the dissection in just one hour.

They left the Corpse Dissection Cave and headed towards the market town.

After not visiting the market for several days, Song Wen was surprised to find that it had become very deserted. There were hardly any cultivators on the streets, and some shops were even closed. Even the underground black market had shut down.

The strangest thing is that none of the Rogue Cultivator who used to come to the market to sell spiritual materials have been seen.

"It seems these Rogue Cultivators have all realized something terrible is about to happen and have all fled."

Song Wen secretly speculated in his heart.

What Song Wen didn't know was that his guess was completely different from the truth.

After purchasing some spiritual materials, Song Wen returned to his cave abode.

Back in his cave abode, the thought of the desolate scene in the market made him even more uneasy.

What major event is about to happen at the Corpse Demon Sect?

Song Ti suddenly realized that while his usual dedication to his studies had avoided a lot of trouble, it had also kept him out of touch with the world, making it difficult to find ways to get information at such a crucial moment.

After much deliberation, Song Wen took out Chen Feihe's Message Jade Slip.

At this moment, Chen Feihe is the only well-informed person Song Wen can think of.

[Elder Chen, do you know what major event has recently occurred at the Corpse Demon Sect?]

A full hour passed before Chen Feihe finally replied.

[Fellow Daoist Zhang, why haven't you left the Corpse Demon Sect yet! Are you confused? What are you doing lingering in the Corpse Demon Sect as a Rogue Cultivator?! Have you been secretly captured by the Corpse Demon Sect too?! Forgive me, but I cannot help you; I cannot save you.]

The distance that a message can be transmitted Message Jade Slip is limited. The fact that Chen Feihe was able to receive Song Wen's message indicates that the two are not too far apart.

Therefore, based solely on receiving a message from Song Wen, Chen Feihe was able to conclude that Song Wen had not yet left the territory of the Corpse Demon Sect.

Upon seeing the message on the Jade Slip, Song Wen was startled.

The Rogue Cultivator have all been secretly controlled by the Corpse Demon Sect!

Song Wen felt somewhat fortunate that he hadn't made the choice to leave the sect and mingle with the Rogue Cultivator.

But why is the Corpse Demon Sect capturing these Rogue Cultivators?

Could it be true, as I had previously suspected, that war is about to break out?

Is the Corpse Demon Sect going to use Rogue Cultivator as cannon fodder? Or, in times of heightened tension, will they use Rogue Cultivator to create an army of Corpse Puppet?

But where did the war originate?

Or a righteous sect? Or some other demonic force?

Is the Corpse Demon Sect going to attack other forces, or are other forces attacking the Corpse Demon Sect?

Countless thoughts flashed through Song Wen's mind, but with so little information, he couldn't make a judgment for the time being.

So he sent another message to Chen Feihe.

[Elder Chen, do not worry, I am safe for now. Where does the crisis of the Corpse Demon Sect come from?]

Under Song Wen's repeated questioning, Chen Feihe finally relented.

[Several righteous sects in the northeastern part of the Heavenly Origin Continent are joining forces to attack the Corpse Demon Sect.]