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Translator: CinderTL
"Kong Guan, you may leave. There's nothing more for you here."
Ying Wu's sudden words filled Kong Guan, who had been filled with worry, with overwhelming joy.
"This junior bids farewell. I can never repay your life-saving grace. Should you ever pass by the Kong Clan, I implore you to contact me. I will personally welcome you with the utmost respect."
Kong Guan bowed deeply and turned to leave.
At that moment, Ying Wu's voice rang out again.
"Remember, you must never speak of anything related to this cave to anyone. Otherwise, I will personally visit the Kong Clan to demand an explanation."
"I swear on my life, I will not utter a single word to outsiders," Kong Guan replied quickly.
Ying Wu paid him no mind, merely waving him away. Her gaze remained fixed on the water surface several li ahead, as if trying to see through it to the cave below.
Song Wen shook his head slightly.
Ying Wu's curiosity was perhaps too strong, and she didn't seem to fear the trouble it might cause.
Their approaches to matters were vastly different.
He acted with clear objectives, preferring to plan meticulously before taking action.
Even if faced with an unexpected treasure, he wouldn't be easily swayed. After all, such treasures often carried immense risks.
Ying Wu, on the other hand, acted far more impulsively. She would try anything that piqued her interest, like their recent passionate encounter.
Perhaps it was precisely this impulsiveness that allowed her to cultivate those powerful and peculiar demon beasts.
"Ye Hua, do you think the people inside the cave have noticed us?" Ying Wu asked.
"Of course they have," Song Wen replied.
Two Body Integration Stage cultivators standing openly at someone's doorstep—how could they not be noticed?
"Then why haven't they made any move?" Ying Wu pressed.
"Either they're too busy with something to respond, or the cave's concealment formation, though sophisticated, lacks a high-tier cultivator to oversee it," Song Wen suggested.
"I believe it's the latter. If a Body Integration Stage or higher cultivator were present, even if preoccupied, they would have at least sent us a message."
As Ying Wu spoke, her aura suddenly turned icy.
"They have no high-tier cultivators guarding the premises, yet they keep their gates shut and refuse to let us in. This is a lack of courtesy. Then I shall teach them personally what proper hospitality means."
The moment she finished speaking, a three-foot-long green-edged sword materialized before her.
The green edge blazed with a cold, radiant light, erupting into a thousand-zhang-long, dazzling sword aura.
"Slash!" Ying Wu cried out softly.
The green edge, wreathed in the thousand-zhang sword aura, descended toward the water's surface.
Instantly, the water split in two, forming a long, deep chasm.
As the green edge continued its descent, the chasm deepened, extending dozens of li until the seabed was exposed.
The massive, thousand-zhang-wide cave entrance was revealed in its entirety.
The flying sword's momentum remained undiminished as it plunged into the cave.
Clang!
A crisp, metallic clash echoed.
The seabed trembled violently, and countless large stones at the cave entrance crumbled, tumbling into the depths.
The divided water, now unsupported, crashed together like two towering walls, unleashing a colossal tidal wave.
The earth shook and the waters surged, while heavy dark clouds hung overhead, continuously unleashing thunderbolts—a scene of utter devastation.
A cold glint shot out from the waves and landed before Ying Wu: her three-foot green-edged sword.
Song Wen glanced sideways, his eyes widening in surprise at the flying sword.
He was astonished that Ying Wu, who he knew was skilled in raising demon beasts, was also a master of the sword dao.
With a casual strike, she had shattered the cave's seventh-tier formation. Truly worthy of being a Body Integration Stage elder of the Myriad Swords Pavilion.
As the formation collapsed, the water surged into the cave.
The torrent rushed downward for a hundred li before being blocked by an invisible barrier.
But this barrier could no longer contain Song Wen and Ying Wu's divine sense.
Below the barrier lay a vast cavern, more than twenty li wide.
Within the cavern, tens of thousands of Corpse Coffins were densely arranged, stretching for several li.
The Corpse Coffins, special ritualistic artifacts, were absorbing the scattered lightning energy from the heavens and earth.
Electric serpents danced and leaped between the coffins, their movements erratic and unpredictable.
Inside each Corpse Coffin lay a corpse.
Tempered by the lightning, the corpses showed no trace of corpse qi; instead, they radiated an aura of righteous energy.
Four Divine Transformation Stage cultivators hovered above the coffins.
Clearly, the four had been refining these corpses when the commotion caused by Ying Wu's formation-breaking startled them, and they now stared upward in alarm.
"Why are you refining these corpses?" Ying Wu's voice, though soft, carried clearly to the four cultivators.
"Reporting to Senior, we are disciples of the Azure Flame Sect, acting under the orders of our Sect Leader, Daoist Wenxuan, to refine these corpses here," replied the peak Divine Transformation Stage middle-aged male cultivator, the highest ranked among the four.
He deliberately revealed the sect's name and Daoist Wenxuan's identity, hoping to deter the intruders by leveraging their influence.
Ying Wu responded with a cold smile.
"What a coincidence—running into Daoist Wenxuan's dirty dealings even in the Abyss of Extinction. However, you seem to have misunderstood my question. I asked what purpose these corpse refinements serve, and why you are using lightning to temper them?"
Hearing that Ying Wu had a grudge against Daoist Wenxuan, the four cultivators grew even more anxious.
"This... we were merely following orders to refine the corpses and are unaware of the underlying reasons," the middle-aged male cultivator replied.
"This is a method of rapid corpse refinement," Song Wen suddenly interjected. "By using lightning to temper the corpses, their resilience can be quickly enhanced. However, since they lack corpse qi, they will need to be nourished with it afterward."
After a brief pause to organize his thoughts, Song Wen continued.
"However, this corpse refinement method has significant drawbacks. First, it consumes far more spiritual materials than conventional techniques. Second, any slip-up during the process could result in the corpse being torn to shreds by the lightning. Though only ten thousand Corpse Puppets are visible here, it likely required at least a hundred thousand corpses to select these.
"Ye Hua, your explanation only deepens my confusion. These ten thousand Corpse Puppets are only third-tier in strength. Despite their sheer numbers, they would be of little use to Daoist Wenxuan, a peak Body Integration stage cultivator. Why would he refine them? Furthermore, Kong Guan mentioned that these puppets were crafted from mortals. Why would Wenxuan go to such lengths, using a hundred thousand mortals for corpse refinement, instead of simply capturing ten thousand golden core rogue cultivators to refine? Wouldn't that be far easier?" Ying Wu asked.
Song Wen shook his head. "I don't know. Perhaps there's another hidden motive."
Ying Wu turned to the four cultivators below. "To what level did Daoist Wenxuan instruct you to refine these Corpse Puppets?"
"Senior, the sect leader ordered us to refine them into fourth-rank Corpse Puppets," the middle-aged male cultivator replied.
Surprise flashed across Song Wen and Ying Wu's faces.
The spiritual materials required for ten thousand fourth-rank Corpse Puppets would be an astronomical sum.
What could Daoist Wenxuan possibly be planning with such a massive undertaking?
(End of the Chapter)
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