Chapter 40: Fifth Level of Qi Refinement (Please keep reading, please vote)

Because the cultivation speed of the Corpse Demon Secret Method was so staggering—one thousand four hundred and forty practices per day—what exactly did that imply?

One practice per minute!

Consequently, the moment Wang Yu activated it, he felt a distinct difference.

Every minute, a surge of Yin Qi and Corpse Qi would suddenly manifest within his body. The Yin Qi merged into his bloodline, rapidly lowering his body temperature and leaving a faint, chilling sensation across his skin.

The Corpse Qi merged into his bones, making his skin paler and even somewhat gaunt; his fingernails turned dark and hardened. His entire temperament began to shift toward that of an orthodox demonic cultivator, looking immediately like someone who was not a good person.

The black hair that had previously sprouted an inch from his roots turned completely white once more. This time, it was not due to the erosion of his lifespan, but rather a form of transformation driven by the Yin and Corpse Qi.

A massive influx of comprehension and experience regarding the Corpse Demon Secret Method flooded his mind.

The ultimate goal of this secret method was to cultivate "Heavenly Yin Blood" and "Corpse Demon Bones." It was impossible to achieve this with only a remnant technique, so this was merely the preliminary transformation of the first round.

It granted Wang Yu the traits of a zombie, such as copper skin, iron bones, and immense strength.

It also provided the innate chill of a Yin Ghost; in the future, his speed in practicing frost-attribute cultivation techniques would accelerate, the power of his frost-attribute spells would skyrocket, and it would even slightly enhance his divine sense.

This type of body-transformation secret method was quite rare.

If it were a complete technique, its value would be immeasurable! However, being merely a remnant version, the massive side effects it carried meant that very few cultivators would choose to practice it.

Wang Yu valued it for its unique ability to reconnect severed limbs.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Yin Blood had a quality of simulating spiritual root aptitude, making it a method to enhance his talent to some extent. Working in tandem with the "Cold Blood Art," it would likely trigger a special connection, as both targeted Yin-cold changes within the blood.

Results could be seen in just three months!

Wang Yu quickly returned to his residence, sealed it off, and began a long period of secluded cultivation.

…………

…………

Thus.

April of the second year of his outer sect life.

Ninety days passed in a flash. In his residence at the Evil God Workshop, standing before a human-sized ice mirror, the drastically changed Wang Yu was examining his new appearance.

His eyes were a ghostly green, and the whites had turned pure black, giving him a somewhat terrifying look. Two fangs had grown from his upper jaw, looking exactly like those of a zombie.

His skin was paler than that of a corpse. His silver hair was tied in a high crown, making him look efficient and sharp, though his originally refined features, paired with his eerie pupils, added a touch of malevolence.

This was the change in his facial features; the most obvious mutation was his fingernails, which had become black and sharp.

The strength in his limbs had surged exponentially, granting him immense power; he could crush a human-sized blue rock with brute force. He possessed copper skin and iron bones, making him impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire.

At the same time, Wang Yu discovered he had become somewhat light-sensitive, preferring dark environments. He also felt a newfound bloodlust and a desire to devour wandering ghosts and lonely spirits.

These were all side effects brought by the [Corpse Demon Secret Method]. To some extent, it transformed his constitution to resemble a hybrid of a zombie and a Yin Ghost, possessing the strengths of both while suffering the drawbacks of both.

Wang Yu's body temperature had dropped to around 18 or 19 degrees Celsius, and his heartbeat was incredibly slow.

His blood had turned into Yin, with microscopic black talismanic imprints flowing within it.

His bones had turned demonic, with Corpse Qi penetrating deep into his marrow, forming a set of incomplete talismanic imprints upon his skeleton.

[Slot 3: Corpse Demon Secret Method (Remnant/Incomplete...)]

「Corpse Demon Secret Method (100/100): 1,440 practices per day; completion in twenty years.」

Wang Yu was deeply surprised, but then he understood.

The "twenty years" mentioned here likely referred to the time needed to complete it to the Second Stage; subsequent stages would correspond to the Third and Fourth Stages, matching the Nascent Soul stage.

Once the body transformation was complete, according to the description of the Corpse Demon Secret Method, the next step was to use the Yin and Corpse Qi to condense an "Yin Blood Pill" within the body. This substance was the key to reconnecting severed limbs.

Not only could it eliminate the reaction of foreign body rejection, but if one could cultivate three "Yin Blood Pills," they could even achieve the regrowth of an arm. This feat would require the technique to be completed at least to the Third Stage.

The road ahead was long and arduous.

While checking his body, Wang Yu made another discovery—his aptitude had changed!

The incomplete Heavenly Yin Blood and Corpse Demon Bones acted as if they had bestowed upon him another type of demonic aptitude, akin to a postnatal Yin Spiritual Root, which complemented his initially mutated "Ice Spiritual Root."

The Yin-Ice mutation was all applied to his Water Spiritual Root, causing its length to surge suddenly from an inch to nearly four inches.

It was now almost indistinguishable from a mixed spiritual root aptitude. This change brought Wang Yu immense joy; he had sacrificed his "younger brother's" happiness and endured so many side effects specifically for this change.

After one day of quiet cultivation.

Four strands of refined Yin-cold spiritual power had appeared within his body. This change meant his cultivation speed had doubled once again.

Counting the medicinal effects of the top-grade Cold Blood Pill, he could successfully break through to the fifth level of Qi Refinement in a maximum of 160 days—about five and a half months.

This was a milestone transformation for his entire cultivation career, possessing extraordinary significance.

From this day forward, time seemed to have been put on fast-forward.

The change in Wang Yu's appearance did not attract too much attention. After all, this was the demonic path, filled with eccentric cultivators who were neither human nor ghost; he was considered quite normal, merely resembling a zombie.

Only the Alchemist Guild, Zhao Shang, and a few others noticed the extraordinary nature of his secret method, but they did not ask questions.

Earning spirit stones continued as usual, and Wang Yu also began contacting inner sect disciples of the [Heavenly Corpse Peak] to seek a refined corpse to remedy the loss of his arm.

Although True Disciple Su had promised an arm from a Second-Stage Ice Corpse, he could not possibly ask Duan Ping about it. The fact that they hadn't been in contact for so long already spoke volumes.

If he waited a few more years, even more complications might arise.

Therefore, Wang Yu decided to look for one himself. At the very least, it had to be at the peak of the First Stage, but ideally, he could obtain a severed arm from a Second-Stage refined corpse.

For the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Heavenly Corpse Peak, there should be many Second-Stage refined corpses that were beyond repair; there would likely be many opportunities to buy just an arm.

On the other hand, Wang Yu was also scouting for high-grade magical tools to prepare for his eventual departure from the sect.

And so, five and a half months passed in a flash.

In September of the second year of his outer sect life, Wang Yu, sitting cross-legged, felt his aura swell as his spiritual power reached the limit of his current stage.

A full three hundred strands of Yin-cold spiritual power swirled around him, condensing a layer of frost upon the ground.

Qi Refinement Level Five, achieved!

The original plan was three and a half years, but he had reached the goal in just over a year; his speed was undeniably fast.

As for breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement, the process would be much longer. It would require condensing a full one thousand strands of spiritual power, at which point he would encounter the bottleneck between the middle and late stages of Qi Refinement.

He would need to perform a second refinement of the one thousand strands of spiritual power, condensing them from a thousand into a hundred. Using "strands" as a unit, one hundred strands would constitute the seventh level of Qi Refinement!

Then would come the final accumulation until he reached the threshold of the third refinement, where spiritual power turns into liquid to ascend into True Essence—one of the three trials of Foundation Establishment.

Currently, he needed to accumulate seven hundred more strands of spiritual power to reach perfection.

Based on the current efficiency of his two slots, it was estimated to take 1,750 days—nearly five years. This was not slow, but if he factored in the top-grade Cold Blood Pill, he could break through in about three years.

(End of Chapter)