Recaps

Song Wen used talismans and fierce oil from the air to destroy the Heavenly Baleful Gang’s siege weapons and set its courtyard ablaze. With Tang Yinian burning and the Flying Talisman’s duration running low, Song Wen flew toward the back mountain to escape.

• Tang Yinian’s elite fighters ambushed Song Wen with arrows, but Song Wen used a Gale Talisman and Shield Technique to survive and spread the courtyard fire.
• Tang Yinian escaped to his men and ordered ten Eight-Ox Ballistas to fire at Song Wen.
• Song Wen used a Flying Talisman to rise beyond the ballistas’ reach and destroyed two of them with Fireball Talismans.
• Song Wen dropped fierce oil jars onto the gang members and ballistas, intensifying the fire and causing widespread casualties.
• Tang Yinian’s loyal subordinates shielded him until Song Wen hit him with a fireball and a fierce oil jar, setting him ablaze.
• Song Wen threw down his remaining fierce oil jars, then flew toward the back mountain as the Flying Talisman’s duration waned.

Song Wen was captured by Shi Shou, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Corpse Demon Sect, who discovered his Sixth-Grade Spiritual Root and recruited him. Song Wen accepted and was taken aboard Shi Shou’s flying ship, where he met several other youths as the ship departed.

• Shi Shou examined Song Wen and found that he had a Sixth-Grade, mid-tier Spiritual Root.
• Shi Shou stopped Song Wen in midair and offered him a place in the Corpse Demon Sect, and Song Wen agreed.
• Shi Shou introduced himself and learned that Song Wen called himself Extreme Yin.
• Shi Shou carried Song Wen to his flying ship, where Song Wen noticed six other youths, including an arrogant boy guarded by a corpse-like figure.
• Shi Shou accelerated the ship through the night sky while Song Wen settled on deck and looked down at the burning Heavenly Baleful Gang.

Song Wen and five other recruits arrived at the Corpse Demon Sect and were assigned outer sect cave dwellings, while the four newcomers were warned to begin cultivating within a month or be turned into living corpses. Song Wen found his cave dwelling, but someone called out and demanded that he swap places.

• Shi Shou ordered Song Wen to give the starving four youths food and water, then declared all six recruits disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect.
• Shi Shou introduced Wu Sheng as a third-level Qi Refinement cultivator and asked Du Qiu to take extra care of him before leaving the recruits with Du Qiu.
• Du Qiu gave the six recruits storage pouches and warned them that they would be assigned to different halls in a month, and that those who failed to learn their cultivation art could be refined into living corpses.
• Du Qiu opened the four newcomers' pouches, revealing the Corpse Baleful Art, pills, spirit stones, and other materials, then left them to manage on their own.
• Song Wen found his cave dwelling, Bing Twelve, and was about to enter when someone called him Extreme Yin and demanded that he swap cave dwellings.

Song Wen entered the Corpse Demon Sect, surrendered his better cave dwelling to Wu Sheng, and discovered that Shi Shou had given him a rare body-refining technique suited to his five-element Spiritual Root. After learning the sect’s brutal rules, he understood that even its ban on disciple violence could be bypassed by paying a fine.

• Wu Sheng used his Iron Corpse to intimidate Song Wen into exchanging cave dwelling tokens, leaving Song Wen with the poorer C-97 dwelling.
• Song Wen inspected his supplies and found a Jade Slip instead of the Corpse Baleful Art manual given to the other new disciples.
• Song Wen learned that Shi Shou had given him the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art, a technique requiring a five-element Spiritual Root, and decided to cultivate it rather than his Longevity Art.
• Song Wen read the Corpse Demon Sect’s rules and learned that disciples could escape punishment for violence by paying fines, while those unable to pay faced a horrific fate.

Song Wen cultivated the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art in his cave for a month, reaching the late first layer while learning that the art consumed his essence blood. After the cultivation period ended, he discovered he could suppress or reveal the art’s effects and conceal his cultivation, but Du Qiu called him out to begin his sect duties.

• Song Wen studied the Corpse Demon Sect’s regulations and began cultivating the Corpse King Blood Refinement Art with the aid of his cave’s Corpse Qi Well.
• Song Wen spent his monthly supplies of Spirit Stones, Fasting Pills, and Corpse Blood Pills to reach the late first layer, while Zhang Xiaofan visited to ask him to join the other newcomers in seeking Du Qiu’s guidance.
• Song Wen realized the art depleted his essence blood and turned his body iron-blue, but stopping its circulation restored his flesh and revealed the righteous aura of the Longevity Art.
• Song Wen learned he could control the art’s circulation to conceal his cultivation or display only its first layer’s middle-stage aura.
• Du Qiu’s warning formation lit up, and he called for Song Wen because the month was over.

Song Wen and the other newcomers went to the External Affairs Hall to choose missions that would bind them for five years. Wu Sheng secured an exception to become a corpse hunter, while the others had yet to choose.

• Du Qiu led Song Wen and the five other newcomers to the External Affairs Hall and warned them that their missions would shape their next five years.
• The old man at the hall listed the available newcomer jobs and said their choices could not be changed for five years.
• Wu Sheng asked to join the Yin Fiend Hall as a corpse hunter, though the job was not on the list and normally required greater cultivation.
• Wu Sheng cited his dead father's service, his own cultivation, and his Iron Corpse, then offered the old man fifty Spirit Stones.
• The old man accepted the bribe and gave Wu Sheng a Corpse Hunter token.

Song Wen chose the dangerous corpse dissector assignment at the Corpse Demon Sect’s Blood Refining Hall, hoping to use the many corpses to strengthen himself. He entered the Corpse Dissection Cave and found a vast underground cavern filled with foul air, yin qi, and corpse qi.

• Wu Sheng accepted a corpse-catcher assignment, and the four other newcomers chose to cultivate spirit herbs at the Spirit Medicine Hall.
• Song Wen chose to become a corpse dissector despite the old man’s warning about the dangers of the Corpse Dissection Cave.
• The old man gave Song Wen a Corpse Dissection Token, and Zhang Xiaofan sighed while Wu Sheng wished Song Wen would survive five years in the cave.
• Song Wen went to the cave entrance at the northwestern foot of Corpse Demon Peak and used his token to pass through its defensive array.
• Song Wen walked a thousand meters underground and emerged into a huge cavern lit by pale flames and filled with a nauseating stench.

Song Wen arrived at the Corpse Dissection Cave, met Yuan Cheng, and received a Bone-Slicing Knife and instructions to begin dissecting corpses the next day. He watched the grisly work and saw that the corpse dissectors were not all welcoming, while his body began absorbing the cave’s blood qi.

• Song Wen showed Yuan Cheng his Corpse Dissection token and introduced himself as a newly inducted outer sect disciple assigned to the cave.
• Yuan Cheng gave Song Wen a low-grade magical artifact Bone-Slicing Knife and told him to observe that day and collect corpses the next morning.
• Song Wen discovered that his body absorbed the cave’s blood qi, replenishing the vital blood depleted by his cultivation.
• Song Wen watched a corpse dissector expertly dismember a woman and a man, forcing himself to endure the sight.
• Song Wen tried to greet the corpse dissector, but the man told him to move aside and handed Yuan Cheng bags of flesh, bones, and organs.
• As the day ended, the number of corpse dissectors remaining in the cave dwindled to a little over twenty.

Song Wen began his work as a corpse dissector, struggling through his first day while controlling his Bone-Slicing Knife and suppressing his body's urge to consume the corpses' essence blood. After he completed fifty dissections, Yuan Cheng approved his work and told him to dissect twice as many corpses the next day.

• Song Wen refined the Bone-Slicing Knife, then went to the menial disciples' dining hall to eat before meditating through the night.
• Yuan Cheng gave Song Wen fifty corpses for practice and assigned him Corpse Dissection Platform No. 73.
• Song Wen clumsily dissected his first corpse, suppressing his nausea and his body's attempts to devour its essence blood.
• Song Wen dissected all fifty corpses over more than six shichen, exhausting his spiritual power and leaving himself mentally and physically drained.
• Yuan Cheng inspected Song Wen's work, praised him as suited to demonic cultivation, and doubled his assigned corpse count for the next day.

After adapting to corpse dissection, Song Wen advanced to the Qi Refining Second Layer but discovered that his cave’s Corpse-Baleful Qi supply could not keep up with his cultivation. He visited the Transmission Hall to look for ways to strengthen himself, but the blood-based techniques he wanted cost more Spirit Stones than he could afford.

• Song Wen endured his first days of corpse dissection, replenished his vitality by consuming blood qi, and used sleep to recover from the work.
• Over the next month, Song Wen became a faster corpse dissector and advanced to the Qi Refining Second Layer by secretly drawing blood qi from corpses.
• Song Wen realized that his cave’s fixed supply of Corpse-Baleful Qi was insufficient for his faster cultivation and planned to search the market for Killing Intent.
• After collecting his stipend, Song Wen washed and went to the Transmission Hall to seek combat techniques.
• Song Wen considered the Blood Sacrifice Technique and Blood Escape Technique but could afford neither, then examined the Corpse Puppet Refinement Arts.

Short on funds, Song Wen searched the Foothill Market for Corpse-Baleful Qi but could not afford the going price. He sold his pill furnace for 180 Spirit Stones, leaving him able to pursue his cultivation needs.

• Song Wen visited the Foothill Market to find Corpse-Baleful Qi and explore its stalls.
• Song Wen tried to bargain for a bottle of Corpse-Baleful Qi, but the stall owner rejected his offer of twenty Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen learned that pure Corpse-Baleful Qi usually cost around sixty Spirit Stones, or ten fewer if he supplied a jade bottle.
• Song Wen offered his pill furnace to a magical artifact shop, whose attendant initially valued it at fifty Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen walked away from the shop until the attendant raised the offer to 180 Spirit Stones, and Song Wen accepted.

Song Wen bought Corpse-Baleful Qi and an incomplete Soul-Banishing Technique from a stall owner, then returned to the Transmission Hall to purchase two more cultivation methods. He left with the Blood Escape Technique and the Ghost Corpse Technique, which included methods for refining walking corpses and living corpses.

• Song Wen bought a bottle of Corpse-Baleful Qi for sixty Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen examined the incomplete Soul-Banishing Technique and learned it purported to strengthen the divine soul by devouring soul fragments.
• Song Wen bargained the stall owner down to five low-grade Spirit Stones and bought the Soul-Banishing Technique.
• Song Wen returned to the Transmission Hall and purchased the Blood Escape Technique and the Ghost Corpse Technique for twenty-five Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen chose the Ghost Corpse Technique because it taught the refinement of both walking corpses and living corpses.

Song Wen learned the Soul-Banishing Technique and refined the soul fragments stored in his Sea of Consciousness, greatly strengthening his soul and spiritual power. He secretly devoured extra essence blood while dissecting corpses, then expelled more than a hundred drops of it into a jade bottle without weakening himself.

• Song Wen worried about his dwindling Spirit Stones and failed to draw a single Fireball Talisman despite using all his blank talisman paper.
• Song Wen cultivated the first layer of the Soul-Banishing Technique and rapidly consumed the soul fragments in his Sea of Consciousness.
• Song Wen absorbed soul fragments and secretly devoured extra essence blood while working in the Corpse Dissection Cave.
• Yuan Cheng noticed Song Wen lingering beside the Dissection Platform, but Song Wen blamed his symptoms on disordered spiritual power and was allowed to leave.
• Song Wen expelled more than a hundred drops of essence blood into a jade bottle while remaining vigorous.

Song Wen advanced his cultivation by secretly collecting blood essence, then received an unusual corpse from Yuan Cheng to dissect. He began cautiously, suspecting the corpse belonged to a powerful cultivator and fearing an unforeseen danger.

• Song Wen condensed three bottles of pure blood essence while cultivating until he reached the middle stage of Qi Refining Second Layer.
• After Song Wen delivered his work, Yuan Cheng ordered him to dissect a corpse immediately and warned him to be careful and thorough.
• Song Wen prepared leather protection and inspected the corpse, an old woman whose body was frozen and whose skull had been shattered.
• Song Wen suspected the woman had been a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator whose blood essence had been drained over time.
• Song Wen began dissecting the corpse cautiously and chose not to devour its blood essence.

Song Wen found the hidden Blood Gu Art and eight Beetle Gu eggs while dissecting a Gu Master's corpse, then concealed both discoveries from Yuan Cheng. Back in his cave, he learned that the Beetle Gu were quiet, tiny scouts with limited combat ability.

• Song Wen found Blood Gu Art concealed inside the old woman's thigh and secretly put it in his storage pouch.
• Song Wen discovered eight Gu Worm eggs in the old woman's ruined heart and collected them in a jade vial.
• Song Wen finished dissecting the corpse and told Yuan Cheng that nothing dangerous had happened.
• Yuan Cheng paid Song Wen five spirit stones and told him not to mention the extra job to anyone.
• Song Wen read Blood Gu Art in his cave and learned that the eggs would hatch into Beetle Gu, which were useful for scouting.

Song Wen examined the Beetle Gu eggs and weighed the risks of raising Gu in a cauldron or nourishing them with his body. He sold three bottles of essence blood for Spirit Stones, bought cultivation supplies and a Gu Cauldron, and spotted Junior Sister Chen in the market.

• Song Wen found that seven of the eight Beetle Gu eggs had strong vitality and learned about the two methods of raising Gu, but he hesitated to nourish them with his body after seeing the old woman's ruined organs.
• Song Wen sold three bottles of essence blood to the shop attendant for 420 Spirit Stones and decided he would disguise himself and avoid that shop if he sold essence blood again.
• Song Wen bought 20 Qi-Gathering Pills and a secondhand, unranked Gu Cauldron to hatch the Beetle Gu eggs.
• Song Wen spotted Junior Sister Chen while walking through the market.

Song Wen reunited with Chen Yi at a market stall and bought Azure Spirit Grass to feed his Beetle Gu. After returning to his cave, he prepared the insect eggs for hatching and began cultivating with Qi-Gathering Pills.

• Song Wen recognized Chen Yi, who explained that Zhang Xiaofan had become a Golden Core elder’s personal disciple and that she and two others tended his spirit field.
• Song Wen bought all eighty-eight of Chen Yi’s Azure Spirit Grass stalks for ten Spirit Stones and exchanged communication Jade Slips with her.
• Song Wen returned to his cave, put eight insect eggs and powdered Spirit Stone into the Gu Cauldron, and began cultivating with Qi-Gathering Pills.
• Song Wen found that Qi-Gathering Pills, Corpse-Baleful Qi, and his abundant essence blood let him cultivate faster than Corpse Blood Pills, though the pills were expensive.

Song Wen raised his Beetle Gu from eggs to adult beetles, testing their combat strength and scouting ability. One black-spotted larva grew unusually strong and had yet to cocoon, leaving Song Wen hopeful it might become a Sacred Beetle Gu.

• Song Wen watched all eight Beetle Gu eggs hatch, noticing that the final larva had a black spot and a much larger appetite than the others.
• Song Wen fed the larvae Azure Spirit Grass and refined their cocoons with blood essence and hand seals, but the black-spotted larva did not form a cocoon.
• The other larvae emerged as tiny gray beetles that recognized Song Wen and flew around him.
• Song Wen tested a Beetle Gu's durability and found that his Corpse King Blood Refinement Art provoked it to attack when it sensed mortal danger.
• Song Wen used a Beetle Gu to scout about forty meters away, extending his perception well beyond what his spiritual power could reach alone.

Song Wen’s unusual Beetle Gu turned on him, but he subdued and refined it by feeding it a vast amount of essence blood. He began breeding Black-Bellied Beetle Gu in his body, and three of their eggs remained unhatched after the others produced ordinary larvae.

• Song Wen’s black-abdomen Beetle Gu reached the Qi Refining Middle Stage and attacked his Sea of Consciousness, so he swallowed it and refined it with essence blood.
• After successfully taming the Beetle Gu, Song Wen refined the seven ordinary Beetle Gu into his body and decided to breed Black-Bellied Beetle Gu in large numbers.
• Song Wen paired the Black-Bellied Beetle Gu with four females, and a month later they laid twelve eggs as his cultivation advanced to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
• Seven days after the eggs began hatching, nine produced ordinary larvae, while the remaining three stayed dormant and gave Song Wen hope.

Song Wen raised Black-Bellied Beetle Gu, bought Silver-Shining Stone after discovering Purple Moonflowers did not strengthen it, and cautiously gathered supplies in the marketplace. After two black-spotted larvae became adult females, he began breeding them with his original Black-Bellied Beetle Gu.

• Song Wen successfully hatched two black-spotted larvae, fed the dead egg and ordinary larvae to them, and prepared to buy more Azure Spirit Grass.
• Song Wen disguised himself, sold eight bottles of essence blood for 1,100 spirit stones, and bought spiritual herbs and cultivation supplies from multiple shops.
• Song Wen discovered that Purple Moonflowers strengthened ordinary Beetle Gu but did not improve the Black-Bellied Beetle Gu, so he bought Silver-Shining Stone instead.
• Song Wen changed his appearance at a gambling house and carefully returned to his cave abode without being followed.
• After more than thirty days of feeding, the Black-Bellied Beetle Gu's aura grew stronger, and the two black-spotted larvae matured into adult females.
• Song Wen started breeding the three Black-Bellied Beetle Gu in hopes of producing stronger offspring or Sacred Beetles.

Song Wen dissected a hundred corpses of young children at Dissection Platform No. 8 and impressed Wu Sui, Yin Fiend Hall’s personal disciple. Wu Sui invited Song Wen to seek him out if he reached Late Qi Refinement within six years, while Yuan Cheng explained Wu Sui’s family ties and exceptional cultivation.

• Yuan Cheng assigned Song Wen to dissect special corpses at Dissection Platform No. 8 and told him they were mortal children’s bodies.
• Song Wen found a hundred corpses of children under five, dissected them in just over two hours, and brought the separated remains and blood to Yuan Cheng.
• Wu Sui inspected Song Wen’s work, praised his skill, and invited him to Yin Fiend Hall if he reached Late Qi Refinement within six years.
• Yuan Cheng told Song Wen that Wu Sui was the biological grandson of Yin Fiend Hall’s master, Wu Ren, and a gifted sixteen-year-old at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
• Yuan Cheng reflected on his own lack of backing and his struggle to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Song Wen, now secretly at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, received his required annual sect mission and prepared for a trip to Poison Miasma Swamp. He left with a low-risk herb-inventory assignment and a growing stock of talismans to help protect himself.

• Song Wen continued cultivating in the Corpse Dissection Cave, using its blood qi and remnant souls to advance while concealing his true cultivation.
• On the anniversary of joining the Corpse Demon Sect, Song Wen went to the External Affairs Hall to receive his annual mission and discreetly bribed the deacon for a safer assignment.
• The deacon assigned Song Wen to inventory Seven-Colored Grass in Poison Miasma Swamp alongside another disciple, with instructions to meet Elder Shen at the Pill Chamber in three days.
• Song Wen recalled that he had broken through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer half a month earlier but still presented himself as being at the Third Layer.
• Song Wen reviewed his combat preparations and noted that he had accumulated more than fifty Fireball Talismans and over twenty Shield Talismans.

Song Wen reviewed his growing combat abilities and prepared to acquire a defensive magical artifact before leaving on a sect mission. At a market shop, he noticed the seductive saleswoman had concealed her cultivation and asked whether she had mid-grade defensive artifacts.

• Song Wen noted that maintaining twenty-one Black-Bellied Beetle Gu cost too many Spirit Stones, while his increased mental strength improved his spellcasting and cultivation.
• Song Wen assessed his combat skills and weaknesses, including his lack of a defensive magical artifact and his still-imperfect Flight Technique.
• Song Wen checked on the Corpse Puppet he was refining and estimated it would finish in two or three days, then planned to take it along on his sect mission.
• Song Wen disguised himself and went to a large magical artifact shop, where a seductive woman recommended several low-grade artifacts.
• Song Wen realized the woman had seen through his displayed cultivation and concealed her own, so he withdrew his mental strength and asked for mid-grade defensive artifacts.

Song Wen bought a Ghost Head Shield at a bargain price, then slipped away before the shopkeepers realized their mistake. After searching market stalls for stronger defenses, he asked Senior Brother Xu for something that could threaten Late Qi Refinement cultivators, and Xu hinted that he had a suitable item.

• Song Wen bargained with the shopkeeper and bought the Ghost Head Shield for 180 Spirit Stones before leaving the shop.
• The shopkeeper learned from Xiao He that she had sold the shield below its 400-Spirit-Stone price, but Song Wen had already disappeared.
• The shopkeeper and Xiao He discussed Song Wen's resistance to her charm technique and decided they could not attack him in the market.
• Song Wen removed his disguise at a restaurant, confirmed nobody was following him, and searched the market stalls for defensive items.
• Song Wen asked Senior Brother Xu for an item powerful enough to threaten Late Qi Refinement cultivators, and Xu told him to take a look.

Song Wen bought two Heavenly Thunder Talismans and ten drops of Heaven-Burning Fire from Senior Brother Xu, then stocked up on other supplies before his sect mission. He returned to his cave dwelling without finding Chen Yi, leaving him still short of information about Seven-Colored Grass.

• Song Wen realized his Longevity Art could activate the righteous-qi-requiring Heavenly Thunder Talismans and bought both from Senior Brother Xu for fifty Spirit Stones.
• Senior Brother Xu inferred that Song Wen was preparing to leave for a sect mission and offered to sell him Heaven-Burning Fire.
• Song Wen bought all ten drops of Heaven-Burning Fire for 120 Spirit Stones.
• Song Wen failed to find Chen Yi, then bought five Flying Talismans, six Swift Movement Talismans, and ten Thunderclap Bombs.
• Song Wen returned to his cave dwelling, still lacking details about the Seven-Colored Grass mission.