Chapter 540: Decryption of the Talisman

The iron thumb ring's internal space was more expansive than that of a mustard seed bag.

Qin Sang placed all his belongings inside, yet they only occupied a small fraction of the available space.

A sudden thought struck him. He opened his corpse puppet bag, summoned the last remaining fierce corpse, and was surprised to find that he could successfully store the fierce corpse inside the iron thumb ring.

This raised the question: Could it also store living corpses?

Since there were no living corpses to test, Qin Sang thought of his blood-winged ghost-head bees and picked up the spirit beast bag beside him.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

A crimson blur zipped out of the spirit beast bag. Upon closer inspection, it revealed itself to be a fist-sized blood-winged ghost-head bee.

These blood-winged ghost-head bees were still larvae from their initial hatching, showing no signs of metamorphosis.

Furthermore, their growth rate was remarkably slow. The blood-winged ghost-head bees Qin Sang now possessed were comparable in size and strength to those he had encountered years ago in Boundless Valley.

However, this seemed to be their limit. Qin Sang had attempted to strengthen them using ghost-head bee cultivation methods, but to no avail.

He had once risked returning to their original habitat, hoping to discover the cause of their unusual growth, only to find their nest destroyed and overrun by countless ghastly beasts. The blood-winged ghost-head bees themselves were long gone.

Qin Sang remained clueless about how to properly cultivate them. He could only sustain them by feeding them blood.

Despite their volatile nature and refusal to acknowledge any master, Qin Sang's prolonged efforts in feeding them had produced some minor results.

At the very least, upon sensing Qin Sang's aura, they wouldn't immediately go berserk and attack.

However, that was the extent of it; controlling them in combat remained impossible. Had ghost-head bees not been such rare and extraordinary insects, Qin Sang would have discarded them long ago.

The blood-winged ghost-head bee hovered before Qin Sang; it was just one of many.

Qin Sang had collected a beehive back then, which eventually yielded over two hundred hatched bees. While their individual combat prowess wasn't high, unleashing all the ghost-head bees from the spirit beast bag simultaneously could still cause significant trouble for an unwary early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Qin Sang activated his True Essence, constrained the blood-winged ghost-head bee, and guided it into the iron thumb ring.

After a brief wait, he attempted to summon it back, only to find the blood-winged ghost-head bee completely lifeless.

"It appears I still can't discard the corpse puppet bag and the spirit beast bag."

Qin Sang shook his head, then with a wave of his hand, cleared away the deceased blood-winged ghost-head bee and the various items cluttering the cave. He unconsciously twirled the iron thumb ring on his right thumb, deep in thought.

After a moment, Qin Sang dismissed his thoughts and once again settled into a meditative posture.

This time, he focused his inner awareness, 'gazing' at the Corpse Core. Then, his consciousness returned to his Primordial Spirit space, and with resolve, he severed the Heavenly Corpse Talisman from his Primordial Spirit!

*Crack!*

A brilliant Buddhist light erupted, and the Heavenly Corpse Talisman shattered instantly.

In that instant, Qin Sang's heart pounded in his chest as he nervously watched the changes occurring within his Qi Sea.

The moment the Heavenly Corpse Talisman fragmented, the corpse refining restrictions on his body crumbled like rootless duckweed. Even the Five-Element Yin Objects, which had stabilized his Qi Sea, began to show signs of instability.

Qin Sang was utterly surprised that these were the first elements to change.

The Five-Element Foundation had been laid *before* the Heavenly Corpse Talisman sealed his soul. He hadn't anticipated that its destruction would trigger such a rapid and astonishing chain reaction.

With the Five-Element Yin Objects destabilized, keeping them in his Qi Sea was pointless and potentially detrimental. Qin Sang wasted no time, swiftly expelling them, and redirected his attention to the evolving Corpse Core.

In the span of a single breath, the corpse refining restrictions on Qin Sang's body had almost completely dissipated. Qin Sang clenched his fists, his gaze fixed intensely on the Corpse Core.

The worst-case scenario had not materialized.

Qin Sang sensed that despite the Heavenly Corpse Talisman's fragmentation and the dissolution of the corpse refining restrictions, his intrinsic connection to the Corpse Core remained. His premonition had come true!

Nevertheless, it was far too soon to celebrate.

The very last restriction on his body shattered!

*Boom!*

His Qi Sea was suddenly thrown into turmoil by surging True Essence.

The Corpse Core abruptly flared before beginning to vibrate wildly. Concurrently, the True Essence within his Qi Sea violently churned, like boiling water.

Waves of searing pain emanated from his Dantian.

Qin Sang's expression drastically changed.

In that moment, though the Corpse Core hadn't become estranged from him, when he attempted to channel his True Essence to stabilize it, he discovered a new sensation of sluggishness.

It felt like a child trying to wield a great saber, completely unable to lift it.

Qin Sang's expression fluctuated with uncertainty; he couldn't determine if this outcome was favorable or disastrous.

Without the ability to use his True Essence, he was at a loss on how to stabilize the Corpse Core.

However, the Corpse Core hadn't shattered outright, nor had it backfired. This, at least, suggested there was still a chance for salvage.

Qin Sang's expression turned serious. After a moment's contemplation, he unhesitatingly projected his entire divine sense into his Qi Sea, racing against time to establish contact with the Corpse Core. He quickly realized his divine sense was too weak; without the support of True Essence, it was utterly insufficient to pacify the Corpse Core.

Still unwilling to give up, Qin Sang immediately used his divine sense to activate the Ebony Sword, guiding it into his Dantian. Though it emanated the aura of a magical treasure, its effect was limited.

When Qin Sang attempted to utilize the power of restrictions, he extracted and partially modified some of the Corpse Core refining and human-core integration restrictions from the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art*, leveraging his own understanding of restrictions. He then directed these modified restrictions towards the Corpse Core, and they finally had some discernible effect.

However, he still couldn't fully subdue the Corpse Core. If this continued, it would undoubtedly result in the Corpse Core completely slipping from his control.

Nevertheless, throughout this process, the connection between Qin Sang and the Corpse Core grew progressively clearer, and a realization slowly dawned upon him.

The phenomenon wasn't likely due to the Corpse Core actively trying to break free.

Instead, it was likely due to his own insufficient strength and his current inability to wield anything but divine sense. Without the assistance of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman and the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art*, controlling the Corpse Core was simply impossible, leading to its instability and the stagnation of his True Essence.

Their connection remained unbroken, and Qin Sang was certain the Corpse Core felt no repulsion towards him.

As long as he could stabilize the Corpse Core, he could bring it back under his control!

Naturally, this didn't imply Qin Sang needed power superior to the Corpse Core's to suppress it. He merely needed to apply a small force to achieve a great effect, leveraging the Corpse Core's inherent affinity for him and the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art*'s restrictions to subdue it and prevent it from spiraling out of control.

After all, if the Corpse Core was weaker than Qin Sang's own power, what purpose would it serve?

That's right, spiritual power!

Qin Sang suddenly recalled that with the Heavenly Corpse Talisman unsealed, he had been reborn, and the *Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter* had returned to him. This meant he could now use spiritual power to stabilize the Corpse Core.

However, his own cultivation was merely at the False Core stage, still insufficient to control the Corpse Core.

After all, this particular Corpse Core was capable of contending with genuine Core Formation stage cultivators!

Qin Sang's mind raced, searching for other possible solutions, but he could only conceive of one: deliberately allowing the Corpse Core to dissipate some of its power.

He estimated that if the Corpse Core's power were reduced to the level of a Flying Night Yaksha, he should then be able to subdue it and utilize it as an external core.

This would be a regrettable outcome, as it would mean he could no longer carelessly antagonize Core Formation cultivators in the future.