Qi Refining Fourth Layer

Song Wen left the Corpse Dissection Cave with an unchanged expression.

Everything that had just happened in the Corpse Dissection Cave had been nothing more than another act put on for survival, as far as Song Wen was concerned.

As for Wu Sui's earlier words about choosing Yin Fiend Hall once he became an inner disciple, Song Wen had already cast them to the back of his mind.

Of course, if that day truly came, Song Wen would not object to going to Yin Fiend Hall. No matter where he went, as long as he could live well, it would be a good place to him.

Besides, Song Wen remembered that Wu Sheng, who had once bullied him, was in Yin Fiend Hall. If the chance arose, he would have to settle that score.

While dissecting corpses was fraught with danger for others, who risked having their minds and spiritual power contaminated at any moment, it posed no danger at all to Song Wen.

The mottled blood qi and remnant souls within the Corpse Dissection Cave had all become resources for his cultivation.

Originally, all the corpse dissectors in the Corpse Dissection Cave, along with Yuan Cheng, believed that with Song Wen's Early Qi Refinement Stage cultivation, he would be contaminated by the mottled turbid qi and die from cultivation deviation within as little as one or two months, or at most several months.

To their utter astonishment, Song Wen remained perfectly alive and well, his cultivation steadily increasing. Before anyone realized it, he had actually broken through to the Qi Refining Third Layer.

Today marked exactly eleven months since Song Wen had joined the Corpse Dissection Cave, and it was also the one-year anniversary of his joining the Corpse Demon Sect.

Having just collected his monthly stipend, Song Wen received a message from the sect's External Affairs Hall.

New outer sect disciples were required to complete one external mission every year.

The message from the External Affairs Hall stated that today was the final deadline. Song Wen had to go to the External Affairs Hall to receive a mission, or he would face severe punishment from the sect.

Song Wen hurried out of the Corpse Dissection Cave and headed straight for the External Affairs Hall.

There were not many people in the External Affairs Hall, only a few outer sect disciples receiving missions.

Song Wen handed his disciple token to an old man and said,

"This disciple, Extreme Yin, pays respects to the deacon. This disciple has come to receive his annual external mission."

The old man's cultivation was not particularly high, around the seventh or eighth layer of Qi Refinement. However, he had considerable backing within the sect; otherwise, such a lucrative position as deacon of the External Affairs Hall would never have fallen into his hands.

The old man slightly raised his eyelids and gave Song Wen a cold, indifferent glance.

He looked down completely on people like Song Wen, who had neither foundation nor connections in the sect.

No backing, no resources, not even a drop of profit to be squeezed from him.

Still, that was fine. Those dangerous sect missions could be handed over to people like them.

If everyone had connections, then no one would be willing to take on those sect missions where nine deaths awaited for every one chance of life.

The old man began flipping through the mission registry before him, searching for a mission for Song Wen.

Well versed in the ways of the world, Song Wen saw at a glance the contempt and disdain in the old man's eyes. His mind stirred at once, and he realized he ought to do something.

With a turn of his right hand, Song Wen discreetly slipped the twenty Spirit Stones he had received as his monthly stipend that very day, still not warm in his pocket, into the old man's hand.

"This disciple has only been in the sect for a year and is weak in strength. I ask the deacon to trouble himself with finding this disciple a low-risk mission."

Song Wen spoke in an extremely low voice.

As for why he gave only twenty Spirit Stones, it was not that Song Wen was unwilling to offer more as a bribe. Rather, considering his monthly stipend, producing twenty Spirit Stones was already difficult enough. If he gave too many, it might instead invite unnecessary trouble.

The old man felt the Spirit Stones inside the cloth pouch, and a faint smile appeared on his indifferent face.

This disciple might be young, but he was quite sensible.

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"There is a mission from the Pill Chamber to inventory spiritual herbs that happens to suit you. The mission location is Poison Miasma Swamp, more than two thousand li northwest of the sect..."

After the old man's introduction, Song Wen roughly understood the mission's contents.

Poison Miasma Swamp was shrouded in miasma that lingered all year without dispersing. It was highly toxic and naturally quite dangerous, a place truly devoid of human traces.

Yet within Poison Miasma Swamp grew a rather precious spiritual herb known as Seven-Colored Grass.

Seven-Colored Grass was naturally somewhat toxic, but it was the main ingredient in refining Profound Qi Pills and an important supplementary ingredient for Foundation Establishment Pills. Its value could not be overstated.

Poison Miasma Swamp fell within the Corpse Demon Sect's jurisdiction. For the sect's benefit, the Corpse Demon Sect had opened spiritual fields there and arranged for the Yan Family, an affiliated lineage of the sect, to guard the place.

To prevent the Yan Family from embezzling Seven-Colored Grass, the Corpse Demon Sect sent disciples to Poison Miasma Swamp every three years to inventory the age and corresponding quantity of the Seven-Colored Grass.

Two disciples were generally assigned to the task, often one Late Qi Refinement disciple leading a disciple in the Early or Middle Qi Refinement Stage.

Intimidated by the Corpse Demon Sect's formidable strength and ruthless methods, the Yan Family had never dared encroach upon the sect's interests. Thus, the once-every-three-years spiritual herb inventory had naturally become a mere formality.

This mission truly counted as one with almost no danger at all.

"At the hour of the dragon three days from now, go to the Pill Chamber and find Elder Shen. He will give you the detailed mission materials. You will also meet the fellow senior brother carrying out the mission with you then. Remember to be on time. Do not be late."

The old man added.

Song Wen cupped his fists. "Thank you, Deacon. I will be there on time."

Song Wen took the mission token and left the External Affairs Hall.

The mission would not begin until three days later, so he could use this time to prepare some means of preserving his life.

Though the mission was said to be extremely low-risk, in the peril-filled Cultivation World, where could there be a place of absolute safety?

Half a month earlier, he had broken through the bottleneck that had trapped him for a full two months, reaching the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. This was the first time since beginning cultivation that Song Wen had felt the existence of a cultivation bottleneck.

That he had broken through to the Qi Refining Middle Stage in only a year was, by Song Wen's own estimation, mainly due to several reasons.

First was his Sixth-Grade Spiritual Root aptitude and ample cultivation resources.

Second, demonic cultivation arts were already known for being easy to begin with and for their rapid cultivation speed in the early stages.

Third, the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art he cultivated was a body-refining technique. Though it was a demonic cultivation art, body-refining techniques remained fundamentally the same despite countless variations.

All body-refining techniques in the world strengthened a cultivator's own blood qi by absorbing and refining heavenly treasures, the blood qi of demon beasts, or that of humans. They then refined that blood qi into essence blood, nourishing and tempering the fleshly body with abundant essence blood, thereby strengthening the cultivator's body and ultimately breaking through its limits to achieve bodily evolution.

Song Wen, however, could directly draw upon the blood qi of others to condense his own essence blood. This greatly accelerated his cultivation progress and spared him much arduous cultivation.

That was the true reason his cultivation had advanced so swiftly.

Otherwise, he could never have so easily broken through the bottleneck and entered the Qi Refining Middle Stage. Back then, Extreme Yin had been trapped at the Peak Qi Refining Third Layer for years without finding the opportunity to break through.

At present, Song Wen displayed cultivation at the Qi Refining Third Layer.

His fleshly body's ability to conceal his aura was extraordinarily wondrous. Up to now, Song Wen had not discovered anyone capable of seeing through his hidden cultivation.

However, the cultivators Song Wen had encountered thus far were mainly at the Qi Refinement level. As for those with higher cultivation, he had no idea whether they could see through his concealed cultivation.

On his way back to his cave abode, Song Wen calculated the offensive methods currently at his disposal and considered what he still needed to make up for.

After Song Wen's long efforts, he had finally become able to successfully draw Fireball Talismans and Shield Talismans. Since he lacked no cultivation resources, he had never sold either type of talisman. He had now accumulated more than fifty Fireball Talismans and over twenty Shield Talismans.

Though both types were only low-grade first-tier talismans, a quantitative change could bring about a qualitative change.

Song Wen believed that if dozens of Fireball Talismans came crashing down at once, even a Late Qi Refinement cultivator could only avoid their edge.