Chapter 189: Refining the Corpse

However, Qin Sang knew that searching for Senior Qingzhu in this way would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, entirely dependent on luck. He couldn't afford to expend too much energy on it; his immediate priority was to cultivate diligently.

Suppressing his wandering thoughts, Qin Sang walked to the pond. Noticing the clear spring water and the blooming flowers, he took out the section of tree root and placed it over the spring's source, allowing the spiritual spring water to wash over it. He had no idea if it would work and could only wait for the results.

Even if the tree root could accelerate the spiritual spring's maturity, it wouldn't show results overnight. Qin Sang resealed the restrictions over the pond and paid it no further mind.

Sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, Qin Sang took out the section of Goldthread Fir wood.

When the Ebony Sword refined the Goldthread Fir wood, it only required Qin Sang's assistance during the initial absorption of the spiritual wood. For the subsequent refining process, the Ebony Sword could autonomously refine itself using the power of his Nascent Soul and the intent of slaughter; Qin Sang merely needed to house it within his Nascent Soul.

The duration of this process depended on Qin Sang's cultivation level and the quality of the spiritual wood. As his cultivation improved, the speed would increase.

The higher the quality of the spiritual wood, the longer the process would take.

Naturally, the more powerful the spiritual sword would be once it was fully formed.

However, it was best not to use the spiritual sword before it was fully formed. An unformed spiritual sword's power would be greatly diminished, and if it suffered severe damage, it could easily be destroyed, wasting all his effort and leading to irreparable regret.

In the cultivation world, Goldthread Fir wood was considered low-grade spiritual wood; its refinement would take less than a month. However, if it were one of the legendary Ten Divine Woods, even decades might not be enough, and the process would be far more intricate.

With most external matters handled, Qin Sang didn't plan to go out for a while. He decided to refine the Goldthread Fir wood first.

A flash of sword light.

Qin Sang summoned the Ebony Sword, which hovered before him. He simultaneously raised the Goldthread Fir wood, carefully examining its grain while his spiritual sense completely enveloped it, analyzing the distribution of wood elemental power within.

This process was extremely intricate, requiring meticulous attention and allowing no mistakes.

Artificers and alchemists were most skilled at such tasks. The artifact refining notes Qin Sang had borrowed from Shopkeeper Wu also contained relevant explanations, making it relatively easy to get started; he quickly became proficient.

An hour later, Qin Sang had a complete understanding of the Goldthread Fir wood. With a thought, the Ebony Sword trembled slightly and flew above the Goldthread Fir wood. The sword runes on its body suddenly lit up, emitting a powerful sword qi that enveloped the Goldthread Fir wood.

Under the control of Qin Sang's spiritual sense, the sword qi transformed into countless strands—some thick, some fine, as intricate as a spiderweb—and then, guided by Qin Sang, entered the spiritual wood.

The sword qi grew increasingly intense. During this process, the Goldthread Fir wood was directly cut into countless fragments by the sword qi, yet the wood elemental power on each fragment remained perfectly intact and incredibly pure.

Useless wood scraps were refined out, scattering down, while green specks of light, like fireflies, appeared in the air.

Qin Sang nodded subtly and lightly tapped the Ebony Sword with his hand.

Swish!

The Ebony Sword immediately emitted a powerful suction force, drawing all the green specks of light into its body. As the specks integrated, the slender Ebony Sword expanded and contracted, its shape constantly shifting.

Qin Sang immediately channeled spiritual power into the sword body and activated the sword runes, helping the Ebony Sword subdue the wood elemental power.

Before long, the Ebony Sword gradually stabilized. Qin Sang's expression brightened as he withdrew it into his Nascent Soul for nurturing. Once the Goldthread Fir wood was completely refined, it would return to its original state.

After this, Qin Sang meditated for a while, recovering the spiritual sense and power he had just expended. Then, he lightly brushed his hand over his mustard seed pouch, and various items flew out one after another, neatly arranging themselves before him.

Elder Baiyun's corpse was sealed in an ice coffin. His silver hair still retained a hint of luster, appearing as it did moments after his death.

There was a wound on his chest left by the Five-Element Spell-Breaking Sword. More horrifying, however, was his complexion; having been pierced by a poisoned needle just before death, snake venom had entered his body, leaving his entire being with an eerie dark green hue.

However, as long as the Dantian region remained undamaged and the corpse was otherwise intact, it would not affect the refinement of a Fiend Corpse.

Inside the slender-necked Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottles was Earth Fiend Qi. As this was Qin Sang's first time refining a Fiend Corpse, he had prepared two bottles as a backup.

Next were the Five-Element Yin items.

The Nine-Orifice Stone, riddled with holes.

A small, shimmering piece of Azure Nether Gold.

Yin Spirit Water, held in a jade bottle.

A section of Moon Locust wood core, pure as moonlight and about the length of a forearm, emanated an aura that brought tranquility to the soul.

The last item was a Ghost Vulture Feather, with Yin fire burning fiercely in its center, emitting a chilling aura.

Then, Qin Sang took out a mass of grayish-white aura from his Corpse Puppet Pouch. These were the souls of demonic beasts he had collected, aggregated into a single mass.

All the necessary materials for refining a Fiend Corpse were now ready. Qin Sang did not rush into action; instead, he calmed his mind. He meticulously recalled the 'Heavenly Yin Corpse Art' several times, ensuring no detail was overlooked. Then, he pointed his hand at the ice coffin.

Thump!

The ice coffin shattered into pieces. Elder Baiyun's corpse flew obliquely and stood upright before Qin Sang.

Qin Sang's expression subtly darkened. His spiritual sense spread out, enveloping Elder Baiyun's corpse. Man and corpse faced each other, and an eerie silence fell over the cave dwelling.

After a long while, Qin Sang suddenly raised his hands. His hand seals shifted, and his spiritual sense connected with his spiritual power. A strange restriction quickly formed in his palm before he struck it towards Elder Baiyun's left arm.

The restriction merged into the corpse and vanished, and Elder Baiyun's body showed no visible change.

Meanwhile, Qin Sang's movements grew increasingly swift. His fingers shifted rapidly, creating blurs of afterimages too quick for the eye to discern. One by one, restrictions quickly formed in his hands and were swiftly struck into various parts of Elder Baiyun's body.

As time passed, more and more restrictions were applied, and Elder Baiyun's corpse finally began to change. The vital energy and blood in his body were condensed by the restrictions, transforming into virulent corpse qi, and his entire body appeared much gaunter.

Next, his facial features slowly became sunken. Two fangs slowly emerged from his exposed gums, and the nails on his ten fingers also grew rapidly, sharp as blades.

During this process, Elder Baiyun's body began to emit a thick corpse qi. Influenced by the corpse qi, his fangs and nails began to exude dark green corpse poison.

Concurrently, as more restrictions permeated his body, Elder Baiyun's bones and skin also rapidly transformed, becoming as hard as if they were being refined into a magical artifact.

While Elder Baiyun's appearance was still discernible, he resembled a dried corpse more than a human.

At this point, Elder Baiyun was slowly transforming into a zombie. If placed in an area rich in Yin qi, it could absorb the qi on its own, and if left undisturbed for years, it would even develop sentience and evolve into a Fiend Corpse.

The Demonic Sect possessed corpse-refining techniques that could accelerate this process.

However, according to the steps outlined in the 'Heavenly Yin Corpse Art' for corpse refinement, this was just the beginning.