Mysterious Yin Corpse Refining Technique.
It recorded the Five Elements Spirit Corpses, yet contained no corresponding corpse-refining method.
Five Elements Spirit Corpses were formed by absorbing the Five Elements baleful qi.
Individually, they were slightly stronger than Bronze Corpses but far weaker than Silver Corpses. However, they were born with the Five Elements Escape Technique.
All things under heaven lay within the Five Elements. When the Five Elements Spirit Corpses gathered together, nothing could bar their escape. They already possessed a trace of the mysteries of divine powers.
Hold the heart to press forward courageously, but act with caution and care!
The Five Elements Spirit Corpses' escape technique was wondrous. Even if he truly could not defeat Pu Du Ci Hang in the end, he could still go anywhere under heaven.
That day, Zhou Yi inspected the Five Elements Corpse Nurturing Grounds when a Heavenly Corpse Sect disciple came to report with delight written across his face.
"Old Ancestor, that bald donkey Ku Bu has finally spoken."
Zhou Yi controlled the Heavenly Corpse Sect's inherited Silver Corpse and bore the name of Old Ancestor Tai Yin, making enemies of eminent figures from the Buddha Dao.
Even if the Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators did not wish to submit, they had no choice. If those Buddha Dao experts could not deal with Zhou Yi, would they spare the Heavenly Corpse Sect once it no longer had the Old Ancestor's protection?
"Eunuch Chu finally made his move?"
"Old Ancestor's calculations are flawless. How could Eunuch Chu refuse a Yang Revival Secret Method?"
"Actually, if Chu Xiu had refused, I would have been even happier..."
Zhou Yi let out a disappointed sigh, rose into the air, and flew straight toward the Heavenly Prison.
The disciple scratched his head, unable to understand what great figures were thinking, then continued hauling bricks and refining corpses.
Heavenly Prison.
It had been established when Great Jing was founded.
Countless heinous criminals had once been imprisoned there. Legend had it that the previous dynasty's guardian grandmaster had died here.
There was also an evil-path True Person who, after being captured, had his cultivation crippled and slowly died of old age within the Heavenly Prison.
The Heavenly Prison truly lived up to its name. At least two Innate Grandmasters had died here.
Ku Bu Luohan would be the third, and the first Buddhist Arhat.
Heavenly Prison Cell No. 1.
Five pale golden chains, each as thick as a wrist and forged from Essence Gold, pierced through Ku Bu Luohan's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.
The chains had fused directly into the cell. The entire cell was forged from metal and buried several zhang beneath the ground.
Forbidden Seals were inscribed upon the Essence Gold Chains. With his fleshly body, True Essence, and soul all suppressed, even if the Arhat Golden Body possessed the strength to move mountains, he could not wield even a fraction of it.
Moreover, a Silver Corpse stood guard. Even if he truly escaped the Forbidden Seals, he would still be suppressed.
In just ten days, three groups of people had taken turns interrogating Ku Bu Luohan.
The first had been Heavenly Corpse Sect disciples. Yet no matter how they racked their brains to torture him, they could not make him speak.
Afterward, they brought in Great Jing's foremost interrogation official. He pierced acupoints and severed meridians, but Ku Bu Luohan endured it as though savoring a sweet treat.
Then came the Imperial Guard Directorate Commander, Eunuch Chu.
Eunuch Chu was skilled in torture, inherited the imperial palace's secret interrogation methods, and was himself an Innate Grandmaster.
At first, Chu Xiu sternly refused. First, he did not wish to offend the Buddhist Sect. Second, Li Yu's attitude toward Zhou Yi remained unclear.
However, the Yang Revival Secret Method Zhou Yi had discovered among the imperial clan's archives finally prompted Chu Xiu to act.
In a single day, Ku Bu Luohan spoke and demanded to see Zhou Yi.
When Zhou Yi saw Ku Bu Luohan again, he had nearly failed to recognize him. His condition was simply too miserable.
Even the punishment of roasting would have been no worse. Flaying and tendon-pulling were commonplace. If not for the Arhat Golden Body still being useful, perhaps only his soul would have remained.
"Tell me, what exactly is the relationship between Pu Du Ci Hang and the Buddhist Sect?"
Ku Bu Luohan raised his head. Eerie white bones were exposed, and air leaked from all sides when he opened his mouth. Hardly any teeth remained.
"It was originally a Spirit Beast raised by Puzhao Temple..."
"As expected, it is connected to your Buddhist Sect."
Zhou Yi snorted. "Since it is a Spirit Beast, it is not bound by lifespan. It should have cultivated diligently in pursuit of the immortal path. Why did it commit the acts of demons, seeking to devour a dynasty's Dragon Qi?"
Spirit Beasts belonged to the demon race, yet they differed from Demon Beasts and demon fiends.
One type consisted of bloodline Spirit Beasts, born noble, such as dragons, phoenixes, and Kirin.
The other type resembled Pu Du Ci Hang. They were raised by human cultivators and, aside from their outer shells, were no different from human cultivators.
Spirit Beasts had long lifespans. As guardian beasts of a mountain, they could at least protect a sect from decline for several centuries.
"Hehehe!"
Ku Bu Luohan laughed eerily, no longer resembling a Buddhist monk of great virtue. "Of course Pu Du Ci Hang did not wish to. But one of the Buddhist Sect's old immortals is nearing the end of his lifespan and urgently needs to extend it."
"The Buddhist Sect possesses a method to condense Eightfold Heavenly Dragon Qi and extend one's lifespan. Must its eminent monks be sacrificed instead? There are six Spirit Beasts in the Buddhist Sect across the realm. Pu Du Ci Hang was merely unlucky enough to be chosen!"
Ku Bu spoke of the Buddhist Sect again and again, calling its ancestor an old immortal. He clearly no longer regarded himself as a Buddhist cultivator.
"So that was it?"
Zhou Yi frowned. "I thought the Buddhist Sect had colluded with demons to expand its power. I never expected it to be even more filthy than I imagined."
"Who exactly is that old immortal seeking to extend his lifespan? He drove a Spirit Beast to devour Dragon Qi and throw the people into chaos, all to live a few more years. He truly deserves death!"
Ku Bu Luohan fell silent for a moment. This person was a great secret of the Buddhist Sect, a figure who suppressed its fortune. Otherwise, the Buddhist Arhats would not have supported extending his lifespan by devouring a dynasty's Dragon Qi.
A dynasty's Dragon Qi contained the power of the people's wishes. Cultivators avoided it like the plague; who would dare touch even the slightest bit of it?
One careless mistake, and they would incur heaven's wrath and the people's resentment, only to be struck dead by five bolts of lightning.
The Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragon Secret Method could purify it through an intermediary vessel, reducing ninety percent of the Dragon Qi's backlash, but it was still extremely dangerous.
Zhou Yi said, "Master Ku Bu, who is it? I promise you, I will not refine your corpse."
"You can bear to? With this body of mine, I cannot say it could be refined into a Gold Corpse, but it would certainly be far stronger than Kongxing if refined into a Silver Corpse!"
The Heavenly Corpse Sect's inherited Silver Corpse had been refined from the stolen remains of Kongxing Arhat's Arhat Golden Body. This was also the fundamental reason the Buddhist Sect targeted the Heavenly Corpse Sect at every turn.
Kongxing Arhat had exhausted his lifespan and passed away naturally. The golden body he left behind was no longer at its peak.
"I can. I swear upon my Dao heart that I will never refine Master Ku Bu's corpse."
Ku Bu Luohan sighed. "That person is my grandmaster, Zen Master Fahong!"
"Fahong..."
Zhou Yi's expression changed. He said in disbelief, "How could it be him? He was from more than two hundred years ago. His lifespan should have long since ended!"
"You are still too young, and you do not come from a sect. Whether in the Buddha Dao, there are at least one or two old immortals who use secret methods to seal their blood and prolong their lives."
Ku Bu Luohan said, "They only act when their lineage faces extinction, to turn the tide. Zen Master Fahong has lived for two hundred and seventy-three years! Yet compared to the one hidden in Qingcheng Mountain, he is at least fifty years younger!"
"Such people actually exist? What is their cultivation? Can they condense a primordial spirit?"
Zhou Yi had read True Person Taiyuan's explanation of cultivation realms from the Kunlun Rogue Cultivator. After Qi Induction came qi refinement and spirit transformation.
What was spirit transformation? It was when qi and spirit merged, qi returned to spirit, and one formed a primordial spirit.
"Hehehe! You actually know of primordial spirits. The Daoists call it a primordial spirit, while the Buddhist Sect calls it attaining the Bodhisattva realm."
Ku Bu Luohan said, "Not only now, but even a thousand years ago, there was absolutely no one in the realm who had attained a primordial spirit."
"To condense a primordial spirit, one must pass the Minor Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. The last recorded descent of a heavenly tribulation was fifteen hundred years ago, when the Daoist True Person Ziyang, whose learning encompassed heaven and man, attained a primordial spirit and enjoyed a lifespan of one thousand years!"
Zhou Yi's doubts vanished, and he also understood the foundations of the Buddha Dao. They were merely at the peak of Qi Induction into Body.
If he could not defeat them in a direct battle, then once the Five Elements Spirit Corpses were complete, escaping would not be a problem.
After cultivating qi for two hundred years, one's True Essence would be as vast as the sea. With overwhelming mana, one could crush everything. It was no longer something skill could withstand.
"May Master Ku Bu enter Paradise. When you return through reincarnation, enter the Dao path once more!"
Ku Bu Luohan revealed a terrifying smile.
"In my next life, I will cultivate demonic arts!"
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