Chapter 513: Refining Oneself

There must be a reason for such a sudden command. Considering the auction at Tianyou Pass in half a month, it can be concluded that the Azure Yang Demonic Sect Master is currently not in the sect!

An opportunity not to be missed, time waits for no one. Qin Sang knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance and could not wait any longer. He made an immediate decision to activate his follow-up plan.

At this moment, Yun Youzi had already entered Boundless Valley.

Qin Sang quietly left Azure Yang City and arrived at a desolate mountain. This desolate mountain had been chosen by him long ago. A cave had been excavated within it, equipped with restrictions and a spirit-gathering array, making it an excellent cultivation abode.

He entered the cave and activated the restrictions. Qin Sang inserted spirit stones into the spirit-gathering array. Once the spiritual energy in the cave became abundant, he took a deep breath and opened his mustard seed pouch.

Swish, swish...

The Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottles, Five-Element Yin Artifacts, and Heavenly Corpse Talismans flew out of the mustard seed pouch one after another, instantly spreading across the ground in front of Qin Sang.

Having made up his mind long ago, he naturally had no further hesitation. With a flick of his finger, he drew a Heavenly Corpse Talisman into his palm, looked down at it, and after confirming it was correct, he flipped his hand and patted his glabella, controlling the talisman to enter his Nascent Soul space.

Under Qin Sang's will, the Jade Buddha did not reject the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, allowing it to enter his Nascent Soul. Reliving past experiences, Qin Sang was clearly much more skilled than before. However, last time he faced a life-or-death crisis and had no choice. This time, it was for a glimmer of possibility, to attempt a path to Core Formation, and he was doing it proactively.

Qin Sang actively accepted the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, with no repulsion or resistance, so the first step of refining a living corpse was completed with ease. What followed, however, was unprecedented. It's likely that even those demonic cultivators from the Corpse Refining Demonic Sect wouldn't be crazy enough to refine themselves into living corpses, right?

Qin Sang raised his arm and looked down. As the Heavenly Corpse Talisman entered his body, under the influence of the restrictions, his physical body had begun to change. His skin was faintly pale, and his blood vessels showed a faint bluish tint, though it wasn't obvious externally. But Qin Sang himself could feel that this was a sign of nascent corpse qi. Instinctively, a craving for blood emerged in his heart. However, the corpse transformation had just begun and was not profound, so it was easy to suppress, even without the protection of the Jade Buddha.

Pressing his pale skin, Qin Sang withdrew his gaze and looked at the Five-Element Yin Artifacts on the ground. The 'Soul Nourishing Sword Chapter' itself had no specific elemental attribute. Qin Sang had cultivated all the way following the 'Netherworld Scripture,' primarily using water-attribute spiritual energy, so he immediately pointed his hand towards the Yin Spirit Water.

Qin Sang was intimately familiar with corpse refining restrictions. He opened the bottle cap, drew out a ball of Yin Spirit Water, held it in his palm, and slowly refined it. The refining was quickly completed. Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then wrapped the Yin Spirit Water in spiritual energy and slowly guided it towards his dantian.

As the Yin Spirit Water touched his body, a chilling sensation immediately spread. Qin Sang's brow furrowed slightly, but his actions remained unaffected. He sent the Yin Spirit Water into his dantian and immediately began inscribing corpse refining restrictions on his body, working with the Yin Spirit Water to stabilize his Sea of Qi.

The Five Elements complement each other. Next were the Moon Locust Wood Core, Ghost Carved Feathers, Nine-Orifice Stone, and finally, the Azure Nether Gold. Under Qin Sang's own control, the spiritual energy within his Sea of Qi was remarkably docile. The step of establishing the foundation with the Five Elements was also completed smoothly, without any hitches.

Now, only one step remained: drawing evil qi into his body.

Qin Sang put away the remaining Five-Element Yin Artifacts, leaving only a large pile of Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottles on the ground. Logically, the step of drawing evil qi into the body would best be performed in the Earth Sinking Cave. If the earth evil qi were to be significantly depleted, it could be replenished at any time. But the Earth Sinking Cave was too far from here, and Qin Sang didn't have that much time.

Wushang had personally experienced that after drawing evil qi into the body, the earth evil qi would uncontrollably begin to impact the physical body, and the speed of corpse transformation was astonishing. If he were to refine himself into a living corpse in the Earth Sinking Cave, his physical body would completely lose vitality and become irreversible before Qin Sang could even trek all the way to Azure Yang City.

Fortunately, according to Wushang's experience, refining oneself was different from refining others. When refining others, control is exerted through a soul imprint. There's a layer of separation, which affects sensing speed, reaction speed, and control. With oneself, however, it's different. One can effectively restrain the repulsion of internal spiritual energy towards the earth evil qi, and react to any changes immediately, significantly increasing the success rate of drawing evil qi into the body and wasting much less earth evil qi. The same principle applied when later upgrading the Flying Yaksha.

However, this step presented a new difficulty. The entry of earth evil qi into the body would cause a terrifying impact on the Sea of Qi, bringing unbearable pain. And as the refining progressed, the deepening corpse transformation would increasingly affect one's mind and spirit. With both factors combined, it would be extremely difficult to maintain a stable state of mind throughout the refining process, requiring immense willpower. If the mind is unstable, one mistake could ruin everything.

Back then, Wushang had prepared some pills for healing and stabilizing the mind, but he hadn't anticipated such a fierce change. He had to stake everything on a determined Dao heart, ready to die without regret, and ultimately succeeded. Qin Sang, of course, was not afraid of being corrupted by corpse transformation, but whether he could endure the pain of his turbulent Sea of Qi would depend on his own willpower.

There was no trace of fear on his face. He swallowed a few healing elixirs and then beckoned a Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottle closer.

Bang!

The magnetic bottle opened. A wisp of earth evil qi seeped out. Qin Sang pondered for a moment, sensed his Sea of Qi, and confirming there were no oversights, he guided a wisp of earth evil qi, cautiously allowing it to enter his Sea of Qi.

Hiss...

The chill, countless times colder than the Yin Spirit Water, made Qin Sang's body tremble slightly. He then stabilized his mind and body, focusing intently on the changes in that wisp of earth evil qi.

Boom!

Within his Sea of Qi, a storm suddenly erupted. The earth evil qi permeated his Sea of Qi, and even Qin Sang's own spiritual energy was momentarily unable to restrain it, completely losing control. Witnessing the chaos in his Sea of Qi, with the two energies clashing head-on, Qin Sang, however, did not immediately expel the earth evil qi as he had before. This was because he could clearly perceive every change in his body, and he had not yet lost control.

The conflict grew fiercer. Qin Sang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his entire body frozen, yet his Sea of Qi was like a boiling cauldron. Fortunately, the barrier formed by the Five-Element Yin Artifacts made Qin Sang's dantian extremely stable, preventing it from being shattered in a short time.

Qin Sang stubbornly endured for three breaths before finally expelling that wisp of earth evil qi. While waiting for his Sea of Qi to recover, he carefully recalled the process, gaining much insight.

A moment later. Qin Sang once again drew out a wisp of earth evil qi. This time, however, he made some adjustments based on the experience he had just gained, proceeding gradually. The second attempt still failed, but he gained new experience.

He tried again. Although he failed repeatedly, his progress was clearly much faster than when he had refined other living corpses before. The expression on Qin Sang's face grew increasingly relaxed.

Finally, after depleting just one Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottle, Qin Sang successfully incorporated a wisp of earth evil qi into his Sea of Qi!