When Cheng Xinzhan saw that Steward Che's first reaction upon seeing him was merely shock, rather than shouting or attacking outright, half the weight lifted from his heart.
After all, he had sent this little bug away far too long ago.
As far as Corpse Nourishing went, Uncle Qing still had a remnant soul, so he had combined the Dark Mystery Ancient-Knowledge Corpse-Nourishing Art with the Supreme Unity Azure Splendor secret art to summon his spirit and achieve quick results. Zhong Yuan's corpse had been fresh, so he had awakened him with the Primordial Fetal Spirit Corpse-Nourishing Art and the Great Yin Rebirth secret art, which had not taken very long either.
Only this bug, the first corpse he had nourished, had developed spiritual intelligence bit by bit entirely through the Primordial Fetal Spirit Corpse-Nourishing Art, favorable timing and terrain, and his own patience.
The bug had been born in one of the finest Corpse Nourishing grounds in the world-Bright Governance Mountain-buried by Cheng Xinzhan in the medicinal field before Carefree Cave. The furrows formed an Eight Trigrams formation, with five elements mineral jade buried within.
While nourishing the corpse, he had poured untold amounts of Xin Metal magical power into it to reinforce the foundation of its metal nature. He had burned so many Corpse-Nourishing Secret Talismans that their ashes had stained the patch of earth where the bug lay black.
Every autumn and winter, he had condensed Yin Water and Yang Earth magical power into a cocoon to nourish the bug's corpse. In spring, he had washed its body with Yang Wood magical power to spur vitality. In summer, he had tempered and refined it with lightning and fire to prevent sinister, evil thoughts from forming.
Seven years of this had yielded a single corpse.
After all, even