Ding-97 Black Coffin
Ghost Market, information shop.
The elderly shop owner, whom Song Wen had met once before, sat behind the counter.
When the old man saw Song Wen enter the shop, he didn't get up, but asked indifferently.
"Fellow Daoist, what information do you need?"
"The latest intelligence on the Righteous-Demonic War."
One hundred Spirit Stone.
Song Wen felt a slight disappointment.
This price is way too cheap!
Such a low price can only mean one thing.
The information the old man possessed regarding the Righteous-Demonic War and evil was essentially the same as the information circulating in the Cultivation World, and therefore not worth much.
Song Wen handed over one hundred Spirit Stone in exchange for a Jade Slip.
He probed the Jade Slip with his Divine Sense and quickly scanned it.
As Song Wen had predicted, the information in the Jade Slip was basically the same as what A Yao had said, and there wasn't much of value in it.
"Any latest information about the Corpse Demon Sect?"
"Five hundred Spirit Stone," the old man quoted again.
After paying 500 Spirit Stone, Song Wen received another Jade Slip.
According to the information in the Jade Slip, the Corpse Demon Sect has been rebuilt, regained all its original territory, and joined forces with the Nine Palaces Sect to occupy a large spirit mine of Primordial Unity Temple.
After a Righteous-Demonic War, the Corpse Demon Sect only lost two Golden Core Ancestors and forty-one Foundation Establishment cultivators.
As for the Qi Refinement disciples, the casualties were devastating.
Intelligence estimates suggest that the Corpse Demon Sect lost over ten thousand Qi Refinement Refining disciples, with almost all of its menial disciples killed or wounded.
Aside from losing a large number of low-level disciples, the Corpse Demon Sect suffered minimal losses in its high-level combat power, and its overall strength was not significantly weakened. In fact, due to its cooperation with the Nine Palaces Sect in occupying a large spirit mine, its strength has even subtly increased.
The siege of the Corpse Demon Sect by several major righteous sects ended up in such a situation, which was truly unexpected by everyone in the Cultivation World.
After a Righteous-Demonic War, the Corpse Demon Sect suffered almost no losses in its high-level combat power.
Conversely, the same situation applies to the righteous path, where very few Golden Core cultivators die.
It was as if both sides had a tacit understanding: without sufficient benefit, Golden Core Realm expert would not risk their life.
After all, people cultivate immortality for longevity, not to show off their bravery.
The intelligence report also mentioned that the Corpse Demon Sect issued a proclamation, stating that it would not pursue past grievances and would recall all its lost disciples and followers.
Song Wen, however, dared not gamble, knowing that the Corpse Demon Sect would keep its promise.
The Corpse Demon Sect is currently facing a severe shortage of low-level disciples.
Mining, corpse refining, farming, medicine making, corpse dissection, blood refining... and so on all require a large number of low-level disciples.
In order to ensure the normal operation of the sect, the Corpse Demon Sect has gone so far as to recruit Rogue Cultivator.
Currently, the Corpse Demon Sect is short-handed, so it's possible they won't pursue the crimes of those who deserted. However, in three to five years, once the situation eases, it's hard to guarantee that the Corpse Demon Sect won't seek revenge later.
After all, even menial disciples could be treated as cultivation materials and slaughtered indiscriminately.
After putting away the intelligence Jade Slip, Song Wen asked, "Do you have any information about the Golden Core stage Cultivation Method of the Longevity Art Technique?"
The Longevity Art Cultivation Method in Song Wen's possession only had the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment Realm. After advancing to the Longevity Art Foundation Establishment Realm, Song Wen began to inquire about the Golden Core stage version of the Longevity Art Cultivation Method.
But so far, no useful information has been obtained.
If one cannot find a successor to the Longevity Art Cultivation Method, after reaching the Core Formation stage, one can only switch to cultivating other orthodox Cultivation Method to replace the Longevity Art.
However, to switch to other orthodox Cultivation Method, one must first transform the spiritual energy cultivated in the Longevity Art to make it compatible with the new Cultivation Method. This process is extremely time-consuming and requires a large amount of Spirit Stone.
Furthermore, switching to other Cultivation Method doesn't mean that any orthodox Cultivation Method will suffice.
The spiritual energy attribute of the new Cultivation Method must be the same as that of the original Cultivation Method.
For example, someone who cultivates water-attribute Cultivation Method must also cultivate water-attribute techniques when switching to Cultivation Method. Someone who cultivates Cultivation Method based on the five elements can choose any of the five elements as their subsequent Cultivation Method.
If he could continue cultivating the Longevity Art, Song Wen still didn't want to switch to other Cultivation Method.
No Golden Core stage Cultivation Method can be obtained easily.
The old man said, "I'm giving this information to you for free, fellow cultivator. As far as I know, there are currently three places in the Cultivation World that possess the Golden Core stage cultivation technique, the Longevity Art Cultivation Method: the Beast Taming Sect, the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect, and the Blissful Union Sect."
Song Wen clasped his hands in thanks.
These three major sects are all righteous sects, and are indeed the most likely places to possess the Golden Core stage Cultivation Method of the Longevity Art Technique.
The Blissful Union Sect does not accept male disciples. If Song Wen wants to obtain the subsequent Cultivation Method the Longevity Art, he can only do so through the Beast Taming Sect and the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.
1:15 AM (寅时一刻).
The moon and stars are sparse.
Under the moonlight, Song Wen returned to the rented courtyard.
They entered the underground chamber and began refining elixirs.
The first thing to be refined was the Beast Brocade Pill.
Due to a lack of spirit medicine, Song Wen had not refined Beast Brocade Pill for some time.
The Sacred Beetle Gu, accustomed to eating Beast Brocade Pill, have recently been feeding on Silver-Shining Stone, which has made them quite unhappy, and they often express their complaints to Song Wen.
The Ironback Turtle's demon core and physical body were devoured in three separate instances by the six Sacred Beetle Gu.
As a result, the six Sacred Beetle Gu grew rapidly, and they were not far from breaking through to the Second-Order Mid-Stage.
After nine days of Alchemy, three batches of Beast Brocade Pill were successfully refined, yielding a total of twenty-four pills.
Refining the Beast Brocade Pill was quite mentally taxing, so Song Wen closed his eyes, sat in meditation, and circulated his internal energy to regulate his breathing.
Just then, the Sacred Beetle Gu, which was on guard outside, suddenly sent a message.
Three Beast Taming Sect cultivators entered Zhao Dapeng's courtyard across the street. The one in the lead was a middle-aged female cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
Zhao Dapeng, with an enthusiastic and ingratiating expression, led the three into the Small Courtyard.
"Elder Xia, my two inner sect brothers, please have a seat!" Zhao Dapeng said, pointing to the chairs in the courtyard.
Elder Xia remained indifferent and did not take a seat.
"This elder is busy with many matters and has no time to waste here. Take us to see the living corpse!"
Zhao Dapeng bowed and scraped, "Elder Xia, please follow me."
Led by Zhao Dapeng, the three entered a secret room located beneath the side room.
The rat-eyed man, neither human nor corpse, bared his teeth and glared fiercely when he saw the four enter the secret room, resembling a wild beast enraged by the invasion of its territory.
In the depths of its eyes, one could no longer see any human rationality, only animal instinct.
The rat-eyed man, with his limbs planted firmly on the ground, moved rapidly like a predatory spider, quickly attacking Zhao Dapeng, who was closest to him.
Zhao Dapeng raised his hand and waved, unleashing a burst of spiritual energy that easily repelled the rat-eyed man, but it only repelled him and did not harm him in the slightest.
Seeing the rat-eyed man's terrifying appearance, Elder Xia's eyes gleamed with delight.
"Unexpectedly, with his Dantian shattered and all his cultivation lost, his body, nourished only by Spiritual Qi, was able to withstand the erosion of corpse energy for several years. The corpse energy and life energy have already begun to merge."
Elder Xia raised his hand and waved, and a black coffin flew out.
The words 'Ding Jiushiqi' were written on the lid of the black coffin.
Elder Xia unleashed a burst of spiritual power, drawing the struggling and roaring rat-eyed man into the black coffin.
Elder Xia tossed a Storage Bag to Zhao Dapeng and said.
"You did a great job, these are a reward for you."
"Next, you can find some physically strong ordinary people, or ordinary people who practice external martial arts, and continue to try. If you achieve anything, this elder will not be stingy with rewards."