Pu Du Ci Hang

"How did you see through it?"

Zhou Yi looked Li Pan up and down.

He was completely different from the cowardly, timid man who had cowered before Old Ancestor Tai Yin.

Li Pan was gaunt, but his eyes were sharp and piercing. "The moment I stepped in, I noticed something off—how could the Old Ancestor have a heartbeat?"

"So that's it. My oversight."

Zhou Yi's voice returned to its original tone, and he said with a smile, "I am Chixiao. I've long admired the Heavenly Corpse Sect's scriptures and wish to borrow them for a look. You've always been clever—surely you wouldn't disappoint me and ruin the mood?"

Li Pan snorted coldly. His figure flickered, and in the blink of an eye, he was outside the door. A bronze bell had appeared in his hand, seemingly from nowhere.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect was famed for corpse refinement. Its members were corroded day and night by corpse qi, becoming neither human nor ghost, yet their bodies were tempered to rival iron corpses.

Though Li Pan had never studied lightness skills, his speed was already at the pinnacle of the martial world.

Ding ding ding!

The bronze bell rang, answered by a chorus of corpse roars.

Li Pan barked, "This Seat doesn't care who you are, but if you dare covet—"

Rip!

A head of graying hair flew several feet into the air.

Li Pan's eyes were wide open in death—he hadn't even seen how he died.

Zhou Yi sighed. "What a clever man, yet he lost his wits when it came to life and death."

He gave a slight shake of his hand, and the bloodstains on his palm vanished.

He had used his palm as a blade, executing the Wind Breaking Saber Technique, but he hadn't expected Li Pan's neck to be so tough—he'd accidentally gotten blood on himself.

"You won't lose your wits, will you?"

Zhou Yi swept his gaze over the remaining Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples. As his eyes passed over each one, they obediently lowered their heads.

"Don't worry. I'm not a bloodthirsty man. Each of you will write down a copy from memory. Write it wrong, and you lose your left hand. Leave something out, and you lose your right."

The moment the words left his mouth, the Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples scrambled for paper and brush, racking their brains to recall the sect's scriptures.

None of them wanted to be crippled. Even fewer wanted to die.

The Heavenly Corpse Sect was already at the top of the Daoist sects. Any ordinary disciple would be a marvel in the martial world.

These elders, at least, could be called cultivators seeking immortality. They had long since grown indifferent to everything—all they cared about was living, and living longer.

Fortunately, cultivators had formidable memories. As long as they didn't deliberately tamper with the texts, there was little risk of error.

An hour later, the last to submit his scroll was Yang Bai, the Heavenly Corpse Sect's deputy sect leader.

With the sect leader dead, Yang Bai had the highest chance of taking over. As long as he kept this murderous star satisfied, he could enjoy decades of authority.

"Not bad! Not bad!"

Zhou Yi flipped through the pages, finding that no one had dared to court death.

Skill: Mysterious Yin Qi Refining Method Grade: 1st Tier Description: Absorbs Profound Yin Qi to temper the soul and body.

Spell: Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique Grade: 1st Tier Description: A method of catalyzing zombies with Profound Yin Qi, including the refining processes for Iron Corpses, Bronze Corpses, and Silver Corpses.

Aside from these two spells, there were also corpse-driving incantations, the crafting method for the corpse-driving bell, and a few cultivation taboos.

"The Heavenly Corpse Sect has been passed down for centuries, and this is all you have?"

As Zhou Yi spoke, the Dark Gold Flying Sword circled the necks of the Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples.

Yang Bai felt a chill at his throat and stammered in explanation, "Sword Saint, there really isn't anything else. Our founder was originally a true disciple of Maoshan. Later, he fell out with the sect and established the Heavenly Corpse Sect on his own."

"These two scrolls were what the founder brought from Maoshan, and even there, they were among the top cultivation methods."

Yang Bai had already guessed Zhou Yi's true identity and vaguely understood how Old Ancestor Tai Yin had died.

Zhou Yi snorted coldly but didn't press further. Acquiring the Mysterious Yin Qi Refining Method was already an unexpected windfall.

A first-tier qi refining method directly filled his greatest shortcoming.

The difference in cultivation speed with and without a qi refining method was enormous.

The Mysterious Yin Qi Refining Method was orthodox Daoist. From the Primordial Chaos Stance to the Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture, Zhou Yi's entire foundation was Daoist—there was no need to switch paths.

"What's the deal with the Great Jing Crown Prince? Why would a nation's future ruler choose a teacher from among the Buddha Dao?"

Zhou Yi wasn't looking down on Buddhist or Daoist practitioners. In truth, the learning of cultivators rivaled that of great Confucian scholars—after all, they had the ability to remember everything at a glance.

Eminent Buddhist monks and Daoist True Persons were all men of profound knowledge, more than qualified to lecture the Crown Prince, let alone the Emperor himself.

Yet, whether it was Great Jing or the dynasties before it, they all kept gods and spirits at arm's length. Great Jing's Great Ancestor had even left an ancestral decree forbidding Buddhist and Daoist practitioners from entering the court.

Because both sects put their religion before their nation—monks in power would build an earthly Buddhist kingdom, while Daoists in ascendancy would single-mindedly establish a Daoist celestial court.

"I dare not hide this from Sword Saint. Three years ago, the emperor encountered demonic mischief while hunting. Fortunately, the Buddhist master Pu Du Ci Hang saved him. Somehow, he was then appointed Imperial Preceptor."

"After Pu Du Ci Hang became Imperial Preceptor, backed by the Buddhist Sect across the land, he traveled everywhere preaching and building temples. With the Great Jing Court's support, the Buddhist Sect has reached a prosperity unseen in a hundred years!"

"Moreover, by cultivating with the Imperial Dynasty's Fortune, Pu Du Ci Hang has advanced at lightning speed, hailed as the one most likely in a millennium to Attain Dao and reach the Primordial Spirit."

Yang Bai gritted his teeth at the mention of Pu Du Ci Hang. The Heavenly Corpse Sect had been branded as heretical, and over the past two years, they had suffered no small amount of suppression and attack.

A single accusation—that refining corpses defiled the ancestors—left the Daoist sects with no rebuttal.

Old Ancestor Tai Yin was determined to seize the Grand Tutor position for this very reason. In a few years, once Pu Du Ci Hang's cultivation was complete and he struck against the Daoist sects, the Heavenly Corpse Sect would be the first to be purged.

"Pu Du Ci Hang... of all people... the Buddhist Sect..."

Others might not know Pu Du Ci Hang's true nature, but how could Zhou Yi be unclear?

Forget being a Buddhist leader—he was nothing but a demon. Among the Buddhist Sect's countless masters, several had attained the Arhat Fruit Position.

Zhou Yi didn't believe that Pu Du Ci Hang's identity as the Demon Race could have fooled those Buddhist Arhats.

"There must be something fishy here."

Zhou Yi said, "Remember this: from now on, I am Old Ancestor Tai Yin. I'll go meet this Pu Du Ci Hang."

Yang Bai and the others exchanged glances, finding they were all cowards at heart. Together, they bowed in salute.

"As you command, Ancestor. With your intervention, victory is certain, and the Grand Tutor seat will be yours!"

"Withdraw."

Zhou Yi suddenly added, "And remember to cure Nanshanzi's poison. After all, he transported This Seat to the capital—if not for merit, then at least for effort."

Yang Bai's face twisted with bitterness as he bowed in agreement.

Zhou Yi waved his hand, and the door shut on its own.

"Only 161 points of Origin. First, I'll upgrade the Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique and refine the Silver Corpse—that will greatly boost my strength."

"The Gateway to Myriad Wonders is not in this realm. Sixty-two years have passed without absorbing spiritual energy to convert into Origin. Yet my true body on Blue Star grows constantly. Even though I'm in this world, is this one of the differences between the True Self and the Other Self?"

Zhou Yi could clearly sense that his True Self was not on Blue Star.

When traversing the myriad realms, the Gateway to Myriad Wonders had drawn his True Self inside, so there was no worry about being dug out by accident.

"Never mind. Once my cultivation is strong enough in the future, I'll naturally comprehend the Gateway to Myriad Wonders' origins."

With a thought, Zhou Yi consumed Origin to raise the Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique's proficiency.

Consumed 10 Origin.

Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique (Beginner)

A first-tier spell's cost was ten times that of a zero-tier spell, equal to the Purple Sun Sword Qi Scripture.

Consumed 20 Origin.

Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique (Minor Success)

Consumed 80 Origin.

Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique (Perfection)

Countless experiences in refining zombies poured into Zhou Yi's memory.

In that single instant, in the art of corpse refining alone, Zhou Yi surpassed even the Heavenly Corpse Sect's founder.

"A Silver Corpse can actually cast spells... Good thing I didn't give Tai Yin the chance..."