Chapter 154: Mysterious Corpse

Among the four great sects of the Fire Burning Alliance, only the War God Temple, Luo River Gate, and Heretical Devil Sect remained on the Main Peak. As for the Corpse Yin Sect, after staying for a short period during the initial phase, they immediately withdrew and returned to the Fire Burning Country once the four-level Cultivation Country eliminated the Calamity of Fire Beasts.

This action puzzled many people. Although the Fire Beasts in the Fire Burning Country were destroyed, the Spiritual Qi was filled with violent energy, making it impossible to breathe in and absorb. Consequently, this area became a deadly ground for Cultivators.

The Corpse Yin Sect offered no explanation for this and departed one deep night, the entire sect leaving.

In the eyes of the other three great sects, the Corpse Yin Sect was extremely mysterious. Although they did not have many Nascent Soul Stage members, whenever the Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of the various sects met, they could vaguely sense a terrifying power contained within the bodies of the Corpse Yin Sect's Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Therefore, the three great sects remained silent regarding the Corpse Yin Sect's actions and offered no obstruction.

In the extreme west of the Fire Burning Country, beneath a continuous chain of volcanoes, there was a massive Lava Cave. Chamber after chamber connected, forming a huge underground world.

Compared to the Corpse Yin Sect in the State of Zhao, the structure was largely similar, just significantly larger.

Zhao Chuanliang, the current Sect Master of the Corpse Yin Sect, was currently kneeling on one knee in a Stone Chamber. Directly in front of him floated an Irregular Crystal formed by countless intersecting Rhomboid Luminous Bodies.

Zhao Chuanliang’s attitude was respectful, and a faint hint of fear appeared on his face. He whispered, "Superior Sect, I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly. Please grant me a few more days; I will definitely find the reason for 4876's disappearance."

"If I grant you a few more days, who will grant me a few more days? 4876 is a Disciple of the Heavenly Stellar Sect in the four-level Cultivation Country, Heavenly Stellar Country. My division is also located in the Heavenly Stellar Country. Now the other party has come demanding the person. Based on the timeline, 4876 should have already completed the Fusion of the Possession. What am I supposed to hand over?" A ferocious human face appeared within the Rhomboid Crystal, and a roaring sound burst from its mouth.

Zhao Chuanliang secretly lamented, showing extreme deference and fear, and quickly said, "Superior Sect, I have already uncovered some clues and found the location where 4876 disappeared. Based on various signs, a War God Temple Disciple named Ma Liang is somewhat connected to this matter. I have already dispatched people to track him down and received news that he is currently in the Xuanwu Country. If you just give me ten days, I can definitely find the truth."

The human face in the Crystal slightly softened its expression. After glancing at Zhao Chuanliang, it sighed and said, "Chuanliang, out of consideration for my current Physical Body, I will give you ten days. If there is still no result after ten days, then don't blame me for reporting this matter to the Five-Level Division. At that time, using the methods of the Five-Level Division, they will definitely revoke your chance to choose a new Physical Body after your current one is Possessed."

After speaking, the human face inside the Crystal slowly disappeared.

Zhao Chuanliang collapsed onto the ground, forcing a bitter smile. "Since 4876 belonged to the Heavenly Stellar Country, wouldn't it have been better to perform the Possession directly there? Why throw him here, alas!" In truth, he understood that when Cultivators from their own country performed Possession, the Sect Headquarters usually chose to send them to another country for handling.

"Revoking your chance to choose a new body, Zhao Chuanliang, things aren't looking good for you!" A cold voice emerged from within Zhao Chuanliang's body.

"Ye Zizai, what do you think I should do?" Zhao Chuanliang was silent for a moment, then sighed softly.

"What to do? I don't know either. However, as the former Sect Master of the Corpse Yin Sect in the State of Zhao, I have encountered similar situations. What happened to my Junior Brother back then was quite similar, just slightly different. 4876's Soul Lamp hasn't gone out, meaning he hasn't died. If you can find him, that would naturally be best. If you can't, then you are in danger.

I am just very curious, the Superior Sect just said he would tolerate you for ten days out of consideration for his Physical Body—who is that Physical Body to you?"

"He is my younger brother. We both entered the Corpse Yin Sect four hundred years ago, and his natural talent was exceptional, so he was chosen by the Superior Sect as a Physical Body." Zhao Chuanliang spoke slowly, his tone flat.

"Hmph, if the excellent Physical Body I chose hadn't suddenly been discovered and forcibly taken away by the Five-Level Sect Country, I would have fully recovered my cultivation and successfully completed the Possession by now." Ye Zizai sneered, his tone full of resentment.

Zhao Chuanliang took a deep breath, stood up, took out a Jade Slip, placed it on his forehead for a moment, and then flung it out.

"Core Formation Stage Cultivators and above of the Corpse Yin Sect, follow me to the Fire Burning Alliance!" With this command, the Disciples who were in secluded cultivation in the various Stone Chambers throughout the Corpse Yin Sect opened their eyes, and faint, eerie lights flashed within them.

Returning to Wang Lin, although the Divine Dao Technique was profound, it was not suitable for him to Cultivate. He pondered for a moment, sighed inwardly, and rose to walk out. However, Wang Lin was pleasantly surprised that the Divine Dao Technique remained in his mind ever since he saw through the stone wall, unlike previous instances where knowledge vanished quickly.

However, when Wang Lin took out a Jade Slip and attempted to Transfer the knowledge, he found he still couldn't do it. It was as if there was an invisible resistance preventing the Divine Dao Technique from being recorded.

Wang Lin remained silent for a moment, abandoning the idea of Transferring the technique. He looked at the surrounding Water Mirror Gates; behind each one was pitch darkness, making the interior impossible to discern.

He pondered for a moment and spread out his Divine Sense, but upon touching the Water Mirror Gate, it was as if there was a layer of obstruction, and his Divine Sense bounced back. Wang Lin’s eyes flickered. He first looked at the massive Water Mirror Gate that served as the exit; the Red-Faced Elder should be right outside that door.

He leaped up and landed in front of one of the Water Mirror Gates on the surrounding walls. He reached in, and a chilling sensation came from his palm. When his arm was halfway in, he touched a stone wall.

Wang Lin withdrew his hand and stared at the mirror gate. After a moment of silence, he patted his Storage Pouch, and the War God Temple Artifact Refining Jade Slip appeared in his hand. He swept his Divine Sense across it and quickly flipped through the contents of the Jade Slip.

The three steps of the War God Temple Artifact Refining Technique are Adjusting, Melting, and Combining. All Magic Treasures are refined through these three processes. Wang Lin read for a bit and immediately found a section introducing a technique called the Reverse Flow Technique.

The so-called Reverse Flow Technique was originally intended for communication between Artifact Refiners, allowing them to reverse-engineer each other's Magic Treasures, starting from the Combining step and ultimately restoring the Magic Treasure to its initial state.

Long-term practice of the Reverse Flow Technique can increase Artifact Refining experience. Through reverse-engineering, one can learn from the strengths of others and thus perfect one's own Artifact Refining.

However, this Reverse Flow Technique can only be used on Magic Treasures created using the Adjusting, Melting, and Combining methods.

Wang Lin carefully read it once, put away the Jade Slip, placed his hands together across his chest, and concentrated Spiritual Qi from his body onto his hands. As he pulled them apart, fine Spiritual Threads appeared within his hands.

Wang Lin softly commanded, "Go."

The Spiritual Threads immediately severed from the center. Thin, elongated Spiritual Threads quickly drilled into the Water Mirror Gate, with the other ends connected to Wang Lin’s hands. The scene looked as if Wang Lin’s hands had branched out into countless filamentous extensions. These Spiritual Threads swayed inside the Water Mirror Gate. As Wang Lin poured in Spiritual Qi, the threads grew more numerous and longer, quickly and densely enveloping the entire Water Mirror Gate.

The Combining stage of the Artifact Refining Technique is actually similar to the Consecration of a Magic Treasure, allowing the Spiritual Qi and Formation within it to perfectly merge with the Artifact Embryo, thus achieving a mysterious balance.

The Reverse Flow Technique, however, goes against this principle. The first thing it must destroy is this balance. Once successful, the Combining step is immediately broken. Spiritual Qi continuously poured in. Wang Lin's expression was calm, but his eyes flickered slightly as he stared intently at the Crystal Gate.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and the fine threads extending from his hands immediately trembled. A brilliant halo appeared in the center of the Water Mirror Gate. This halo emitted faint cracking sounds and slowly began to shatter. The instant it completely broke, the halo violently rippled outwards, spreading to the four corners of the entire gate before disappearing.

The entire Water Mirror Gate immediately became dull and dark. Wang Lin knew that the balance of the Combining stage had been destroyed. Next, what needed to be done was to separate the Artifact Embryo from the Spiritual Orb that had been Fused during the Melting stage!

Wang Lin’s expression was solemn as he controlled the fine Spiritual Qi threads, slowly pulling them back.

As the fine threads retracted, ripples stirred across the Water Mirror Gate. Bright light flashed along the edges of the four corners of the gate. This circle of light gradually shrank, finally condensing completely in the center position, forming a sphere of light resembling crystal.

Countless dense, fine threads grew on the sphere of light, with the other ends connected to Wang Lin’s hands.

"Retrieve!" Wang Lin shouted softly.

Under the pull of the fine threads, the sphere of light immediately popped out of the stone wall. The instant it appeared, Wang Lin shook his hands, and the fine Spiritual Qi threads vanished from his grasp.

Wang Lin looked at the sphere of light suspended mid-air, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He had succeeded in the second step of the Reverse Flow Technique: destroying the Fusion of the Melting stage. Now, this Spiritual Orb from the War God Temple Artifact Refining Technique was separated from the Artifact Embryo.

Wang Lin took a deep breath and glanced back at the exit. He didn't know how many days he had stayed here, but the Water Mirror Gate isolated Divine Sense and Spiritual Qi fluctuations, meaning no matter how significant the changes were inside, they would definitely not be detected outside.

Furthermore, the Red-Faced Elder simply did not believe that Wang Lin, with his Core Formation stage cultivation, could break the mirror surface, so he had not been waiting inside continuously.

This gave Wang Lin an opportunity, but Wang Lin knew he had to be fast. Otherwise, if the other party suddenly entered, all his efforts would be wasted.

Thinking of this, he patted his Storage Pouch and took out the Reaction Furnace, which was made from Beast Bone obtained from the depths of the Fourteen Valleys. After carefully placing the mid-air sphere of light inside, he struck a Spiritual Spell onto the Reaction Furnace. The Reaction Furnace immediately shook and began spinning rapidly in place. Slowly, it spun faster and faster.

After casting the Spiritual Spell, Wang Lin walked straight toward the Artifact Embryo stone wall.

This Water Mirror Gate was composed of two parts: the Artifact Embryo stone wall and the Spiritual Orb prepared from Materials. The combination of the two created the Water Mirror Gate. Now that Wang Lin had separated them, the only thing blocking him was the Artifact Embryo stone wall.

Wang Lin reached out and pressed his hand onto it. His Divine Sense penetrated through, immediately entering the interior. After sweeping his Divine Sense through the Stone Chamber, Wang Lin’s expression instantly became strange.

Inside the stone chamber, there was only a skeleton. The skeleton seemed to be supported by an invisible force, preventing it from collapsing. It sat cross-legged on the ground, fingers touching the floor. A wisp of black Qi emanated from its bones, seeping into the ground along its fingers.

Wang Lin meticulously investigated with his Divine Sense, then withdrew it. He rubbed his chin, glanced at the rapidly spinning reaction furnace, and with a grab of his right hand, the furnace immediately stopped rotating. The spirit orb flew out, its color slightly dimmed.

Wang Lin looked at it, then tossed it back into the reaction furnace. The furnace body immediately began to spin again. Wang Lin's gaze shifted to the next stone chamber. After opening more than ten water mirror doors in the same manner, his expression grew increasingly strange.

"What exactly is this War God Hall up to? Is this place a burial ground?" Wang Lin murmured to himself. Each stone chamber contained a skeleton. Other than that, there were no other items.

Wang Lin looked around, remained silent for a moment, then began searching again one by one. After opening each one and completing his inspection, he would immediately control the spirit orb to restore it to its original state. Finally, after all the stone chambers were opened, in one of them, as Wang Lin's Divine Sense entered, he immediately discovered an anomaly.

The skeleton in this stone chamber was distinctly different from the others. This skeleton was not sitting cross-legged on the ground but was floating in mid-air. Wisps of black Qi slowly emanated from all directions within the stone chamber, forming thin threads that connected to the skeleton.

Wang Lin's heart immediately tensed.

This person was not dead; there were still fluctuations of life force, and judging by those fluctuations, the vigor of their life force was quite startling.

Wang Lin was about to retreat without hesitation, but then his gaze fixed on a black, gold-threaded cloth bag beneath the skeleton. This was clearly a Storage Pouch. Wang Lin narrowed his eyes, observed for a moment, then pondered briefly. He didn't act rashly but withdrew his Divine Sense and immediately retreated.

After retreating, Wang Lin grabbed the reaction furnace, which was spinning slightly slower. The light orb inside had now melted into a crystal-clear liquid. Wang Lin reached in with his right hand without hesitation.

He immediately scooped out most of the liquid, rubbed it a few times in his hands, infused a Spiritual Spell, and then threw it onto the outer wall of the earliest opened stone chamber, which instantly returned to its original state.

Having done all this, he took a deep breath, a hint of hesitation on his face. The Storage Pouch, from its appearance, was very different from any he had seen. But this was, after all, the War God Hall. They had allowed him to observe the Divine Dao Art. If he were to take things before leaving, it would truly be inexcusable.

If the stone chamber contained Artifact Refining Materials, then he wouldn't mind taking a portion. But currently, among all the stone chambers, only this one was peculiar.

After a brief contemplation, Wang Lin suddenly seemed to realize something. He had a vague guess: could it be that the skeletons in the many stone chambers were actually for the cultivation of the person in that special stone chamber?

Thinking of this, Wang Lin's heart stirred. The black Qi he had just seen on the skeleton was identical to the black Qi emanating from the skeletons in the other stone chambers.

Wang Lin's face showed a look of shock. He was now certain that his conjecture was very likely correct; this person must be cultivating some kind of Divine Ability. He looked at the surrounding stone chambers, hundreds of them, densely packed. The skeletons in these stone chambers must have been prepared for this person's cultivation.

Wang Lin was silent for a moment. He had a vague suspicion that this person might not be from the War God Hall, and perhaps the War God Hall didn't even know of this person's existence. If not, the red-faced elder would not have been so calm when introducing the place earlier, and most importantly, if he knew about this place, he would never have allowed himself to enter alone so rashly.

Of course, it didn't rule out the possibility of the other party harboring malicious intentions, but Wang Lin's analysis suggested that if he were to die, it would bring no benefit to the War God Hall, and there was no need for such an elaborate scheme.

The more he analyzed, the more certain he became of his idea: this must be the burial ground of the War God Hall's ancestors, and for some unknown reason, it attracted that person's attention, who then came here to Cultivate.

Thinking of this, Wang Lin retreated a few steps, feeling a chill wind blowing through the area, as if a pair of eyes had been silently watching him for the past few days.

But soon, his eyes flickered a few times, and he immediately returned to the entrance of the unusual stone chamber. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of Spiritual Qi, from which the crystal-light Flying Sword immediately appeared.

It immediately pierced into the lower right corner of the stone wall, and in an instant, carved out a fist-sized hole. Wang Lin's Divine Sense was tightly fixed on the skeleton, his mind taut. He used the Gravity Spell from a distance, grabbed the Storage Pouch, and quickly pulled it out through the hole.

He didn't have time to examine it closely, immediately put it in his怀里, and at the same time, retreated. He continuously waved his hands, and the nearby light orb immediately returned to the stone wall. In an instant, the stone wall returned to normal, and the water mirror door reappeared, though there was a not-so-obvious blank spot in the lower right corner.

Wang Lin didn't stop, quickly darting out of the exit. Once outside, he immediately saw the red-faced elder meditating in the distance.

The red-faced elder opened his eyes and said in a low voice, "You stayed inside for seven days. Have you comprehended it?"

Wang Lin shook his head, smiling bitterly, "This Divine Dao Art is too peculiar. After reading it once, I immediately forget it and can never comprehend it. Senior, I have something to ask. What exactly is sealed within those water mirror doors in the stone mansion? Could you please tell me?"

The red-faced elder glanced at Wang Lin and said calmly, "The ancestors of the War God Hall, after death, are all sent into the stone chambers."

Wang Lin's expression was normal, but his heart trembled. He could now be completely certain that his guess was correct. So he leaped up, cupped his fists, and said, "Junior will not disturb you further. I'll take my leave!"

The red-faced elder nodded, rose, and walked towards the stone mansion. The moment his body entered the water mirror door, Wang Lin immediately transformed into a sword light and shot out from the mountain peak.

In a flash, he left the Fire Incineration Alliance mountain peak. In the distance, he saw the green-robed elder sitting on a cloud. The moment Wang Lin flew over, his eyes suddenly opened, and he snorted lightly, "If you hadn't come out, this old man would have gone in to look for you."

Wang Lin didn't say a word and quickly flew away. The green-robed elder moved, and the cloud he sat on immediately dispersed, revealing a huge Gourd within the cloud, which immediately caught up to Wang Lin.

Wang Lin lightly tapped his foot, stepping onto the Gourd, and disappeared with the green-robed elder into the distant sky.

The Gourd was extremely fast, even a bit faster than Wang Lin's Earth Evasion Spell. From a distance, the border between the Fire Incineration Country and the Xuanwu Country was already visible.

The two didn't speak a word throughout the journey. Wang Lin could feel the Storage Pouch in his embrace, but he didn't examine it immediately, nor did he even probe it with his Divine Sense.

After all, the green-robed elder was right in front of him. If there were any unusual movements and the other party noticed, it would certainly lead to more trouble.

Before long, the Gourd flew past the Xuanwu Country's border and entered the Fire Incineration Country. A day later, they had already arrived outside the Cultivation Devil Sea. Looking from a distance, the Cultivation Devil Sea was shrouded in mist, with rolling fog slowly moving. Within it, some Spirit Beasts living in the fog occasionally emerged, then immediately disappeared again.

Outside the Cultivation Devil Sea, the green-robed elder patted the Gourd, which immediately shrunk and landed in his hand. Wang Lin leaped and landed on the ground. The elder put away the Gourd and said expressionlessly, "Wait here for a few days. Another person is coming. Then the three of us will enter together."

After speaking, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Wang Lin gazed at the Cultivation Devil Sea, sitting on the shore. Layers of mist rolled and surged like a tide, emitting wisps of cold Qi. He was silent for a moment, then sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

Before long, Wang Lin suddenly opened his eyes. He saw a strange sight suddenly appear above the Cultivation Devil Sea: eight purple light pillars emerged from the Void Realm, gradually transforming into eight colossal purple trees, interweaving to form a circular Formation. Massive spiritual power blew out like a hurricane, even stirring the mist in the Cultivation Devil Sea below, scattering it and revealing a giant Vortex.

Ancient symbols and patterns were carved on the eight giant trees, making them look solemn and majestic. Between the eight giant trees, several fluorescent light lines connected, and looking from above, one could see these lines intertwining, forming one light circle after another, nested together. Counting carefully, there were forty-nine such light circles.

"This is the Corpse Yin Sect's unique Teleportation Formation. These half-human, half-ghost fellows, who knows what's gotten into them, daring to come here!" The green-robed elder opened his eyes, snorted lightly, and said in a low voice.

The three words "Corpse Yin Sect" were extremely familiar to Wang Lin. Even this Formation looked somewhat familiar to him. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly identical to the Formation he had seen at the Corpse Yin Sect in the State of Zhao that day, only expanded countless times.

At this moment, the light circles within the Formation rapidly lit up, one after another, until all forty-nine circles were bright. More than thirty dark figures appeared within the Formation. Although these people had varied appearances, their expressions were identical: their eyes emitted a ghostly light, and their aura was slightly chaotic. However, their cultivation, at the very least, was Late Stage Core Formation, and ultimately, five of them had reached the Nascent Soul Stage.

Aside from the five Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators, black wooden coffins floated behind all the others.

Zhao Chuanliang was one of those five Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators. Standing within the Formation, his gaze swept around, lingered briefly on the green-robed elder, and finally settled on Wang Lin.

After a slight hesitation, he didn't say a word, but with a grab of his large hand, he immediately transformed into a black mist, instantly sweeping down from mid-air and attacking Wang Lin.

Wang Lin sneered, not dodging, still sitting cross-legged on the ground, acting as if he ignored it. Just as the black mist was about to touch Wang Lin, and the chilly Qi almost assaulted his face, the green-robed elder, with a gloomy expression, waved his right hand. The black mist immediately dissipated with a roar. The aftermath impacted Wang Lin, but it was easily resolved by a very ordinary defensive Jade Talisman he pulled out of his Storage Pouch.

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Two chapters, 3000 words combined. There will be another chapter tonight. Several days of 9000 words, so tired, but for the monthly vote, I'll push through.