Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 388: Condensing Malevolent Qi, Refining Celestial Gale

As far as Qin Sang knew, the first half of the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art allowed for the refinement of three types of corpses.

The zombie was the weakest, refined using mortal zombies, the corpses of Qi Refining Realm cultivators, or even the bodies of Foundation Building cultivators whose dantians had been shattered.

The malevolent corpse required the intact body of a Foundation Building cultivator. Using five-elemental yin objects, its foundation was reconstructed before Earth Malevolent Qi was drawn into the body. This was one of the greatest distinctions from other corpse refinement techniques.

The living corpse, however, demanded a far more complex process.

First, it needed to be suppressed by a Heavenly Corpse Talisman to anchor its soul. Then, multiple five-elemental yin objects were required to stabilize its Qihai. Earth Malevolent Qi would be infused into the body without damaging the dantian, preserving the living corpse’s Qihai and allowing it to retain spiritual power. The difficulty of this process was extremely high, with a significant chance of failure.

Now, Qin Sang had just discovered the secret art for refining a flying yaksha from the writings left behind by Wu Shang.

The process was roughly outlined below:

A living corpse had to be refined from a Foundation Building cultivator who had reached the peak of the Fake Core Realm, leaving no room for further advancement. Then, through a secret art and the infusion of Earth Malevolent Qi, a Golden Core or demonic core would be refined within the body, transforming into what was known as a corpse core.

As a disciple of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Wu Shang was deeply familiar with the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art. Once he had resolved to embark on this path, he made thorough preparations, including mentally preparing himself.

Once he turned himself into a living corpse, two fundamental changes would occur.

First, his primordial spirit would merge with the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, triggering unpredictable transformations.

Second, his physical body would undergo corpse transformation, especially after being infused with Earth Malevolent Qi.

Since he had already decided to forge a new path and use the way of corpses to attain immortality, Wu Shang was fully prepared to abandon his fleshly body. As long as his consciousness remained intact, even if his body underwent corpse transformation, he would not hesitate.

The Heavenly Corpse Talisman was capable of refining others into living corpses—what if it were used on oneself?

To ensure his survival, Wu Shang collected numerous spiritual elixirs, secret arts, and artifacts that could stabilize the primordial spirit and protect the soul. He also exhausted his wealth to gather everything required for corpse refinement, including a demonic core.

Refining a living corpse did not impose overly strict requirements on the Golden Core or demonic core; as long as it remained intact, it would suffice.

No one knew if any predecessors of the Heavenly Corpse Sect had ever been mad enough to use the Heavenly Corpse Talisman on themselves since its creation.

Regardless, there were no such records within the sect.

Wu Shang only knew that he was the first.

The Heavenly Corpse Talisman merged into his primordial spirit.

Wu Shang immediately sensed its influence. However, since he had personally refined the talisman and made modifications to its barriers, the effects were somewhat mitigated. As long as he did not actively erase his own consciousness, he would not immediately lose his mind and become a mindless corpse puppet.

He felt a persistent sense of drowsiness, proving that the Heavenly Corpse Talisman indeed affected the primordial spirit.

Eventually, the talisman would fully assimilate him—this was inevitable. However, the transformation was gradual, requiring time. Moreover, some of the preparations he had made proved effective, granting him a longer window of resistance.

As for what he would ultimately become, even Wu Shang himself had no idea.

Perhaps, once he transformed into a flying yaksha, his power would surge, and he might be able to find a way to resolve the issue.

The changes to his physical body unfolded just as he had anticipated. Before infusing himself with Earth Malevolent Qi, he could slow down the corpse transformation by consuming the blood and essence of other Foundation Building cultivators. However, the moment the malevolent qi entered his body, the corpse transformation would accelerate uncontrollably, and no method would be able to stop it.

Once the malevolent qi invaded his body, he quickly abandoned all resistance and fully embraced his transformation into a refined corpse.

Naturally, Wu Shang did not mind.

In fact, he felt a sense of relief—his consciousness remained intact, leaving him with a sliver of hope.

Without delay, he proceeded to the next stage of his transformation.

He fused the demonic core into his body, achieving the form of a flying yaksha!

Astonishingly, he had truly succeeded, becoming a Golden Core refined corpse.

With inner vision, he examined himself. His corpse core, tainted by malevolent qi, was as dark as ink, nestled within his dantian, entirely at his command.

This was his Golden Core.

This was the power of a Core Formation cultivator!

The sight was mesmerizing.

But just as Wu Shang was reveling in his newfound strength, he was suddenly horrified to discover the corpse core within him was continuously releasing Earth Malevolent Qi, and it had begun attacking his primordial spirit!

In truth, when he first infused Earth Malevolent Qi into his body, there had already been signs of this issue. However, the duration was short, and Wu Shang had not paid much attention to it. He had assumed that once he successfully refined his corpse core and gained Core Formation Realm power, he would be able to suppress the Earth Malevolent Qi.

To his shock, not only was the corpse core unable to suppress it, but the situation had worsened drastically.

Though his consciousness had not been obliterated by the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, the relentless erosion of Earth Malevolent Qi was beginning to affect his mind, pushing him toward madness.

At this rate, he would soon lose his sanity completely and become nothing more than a mindless walking corpse!

This sudden change was like a bucket of ice water, instantly waking him up.

Time was running out. Wu Shang desperately tried everything to resist the invasion of Earth Malevolent Qi. Now that he had transformed into a flying yaksha, his strength had skyrocketed, granting him access to treasures he could never have obtained before.

He consumed all kinds of spiritual elixirs, experimented with numerous righteous and demonic secret arts, attempted to convert his cultivation to yang-based arts, and even tried refining earth fire's essence into his body...

Yet none of these methods worked. Some were completely ineffective against the Earth Malevolent Qi, while others were simply too weak to withstand its impact.

In the end, Wu Shang suddenly recalled an object—a miraculous yang object that was as renowned as Earth Malevolent Qi itself.

Celestial Gale Qi!

Perhaps, if he could draw Celestial Gale Qi into his body, he could neutralize the Earth Malevolent Qi.

Both Earth Malevolent Qi and Celestial Gale Qi were extraordinary forces born from the flow of heaven and earth's energy—one representing ultimate yin, the other ultimate yang. Both were extremely violent. Ordinary cultivators would not even dare to approach them, let alone absorb them into their bodies—let alone both at the same time.

A single misstep would result in a catastrophic explosion.

Yet as Wu Shang pondered deeply, he began to see a glimmer of hope. The idea was taking shape in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that it might work.

However, by that time, his mind had already been heavily corroded. He had little time left and no strength to seek out Celestial Gale Qi for experimentation. His primordial spirit needed to be cleansed first, and to do that, he required a rare spiritual herb.

Thus, Wu Shang came to this place in search of the Night Lily.

Unfortunately, by then, he was already at his limit. His primordial spirit had been almost entirely devoured by Earth Malevolent Qi, and his dwindling consciousness could no longer hold on.

It was here, within this frozen cavern, that his mind was finally lost, and he fully transformed into a flying yaksha.

At the moment of his demise, Wu Shang was filled with deep unwillingness. He could not accept that after all his painstaking research and efforts, his findings would vanish into oblivion, buried in this desolate ice cave.

In his final moments, he carved his writings onto the ice walls and etched his name into them!

This explained why the writing on the ice wall grew more and more erratic—as by that point, Wu Shang had already been on the verge of insanity, relying on sheer willpower to hold on until the very end.

Within his writings, Wu Shang meticulously detailed the secret art he had conceived but never had the chance to test. He called it "Condensing Malevolent Qi, Refining Celestial Gale!"

And in his final act, he poured all his remaining strength into planting a lingering obsession within his flying yaksha body.

It was precisely because of this obsession that the flying yaksha remained confined to this place. When it sensed the aura of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman within a living corpse, it refrained from striking a lethal blow.

"To the future disciples of the Heavenly Corpse Sect, if you come across my writings, take them with you. If you are one with great ambition, you may attempt my secret art and condense your corpse core. Will you remain trapped in the Foundation Building Realm, living out your days in mediocrity? Or will you risk everything, defy the heavens, devote yourself to the Dao of corpse, and seek immortality to look at the world from a Golden Core expert's eyes? The choice is yours."