Chapter 589: Chapter 296: Ancient Aberration, Tier 4 Corpse
"A monster?"
Zheng Qingqing’s beautiful eyes fell upon the Spirit Stone.
She gazed at the strange corpse inside the Spirit Stone, her expression thoughtful.
A moment later, a flash of spiritual light appeared in her hand, revealing a Jade Scroll with an ancient aura.
"Chang’an, when I was training in the Thousand Lakes Secret Realm, I obtained an ancient text. It recorded a type of Alien Race that is somewhat similar to the monster in this Spirit Stone."
As she spoke, she handed the Jade Scroll to Li Chang’an.
"An Alien Race?"
Li Chang’an took the Jade Scroll and extended his Divine Sense into it, carefully examining its contents.
According to the Jade Scroll, in the Cultivation Immortality Realm, almost everyone cultivated Magical Power.
But the Human Race was just one among countless species. Some races didn’t cultivate Magical Power, yet still possessed immense strength.
However, the ancient text was damaged and didn’t specify which races these were.
It did mention that there was a race naturally suited to cultivating their physical bodies.
This race seemed to have been involved in several great calamities in the Cultivation Immortality Realm, and even the destruction of the Nine Ancient Major Sects.
Reading this, Li Chang’an recalled his experiences from the two lives he had dreamt of in the ancient past.
The enemies of the Nine Great Sects were not all Cultivators.
Some of their enemies were not Cultivators and harbored an extreme hatred for them, calling them Immortals and believing all Immortals should be killed.
The Immortal Suppression Stele seemed to be their creation.
Although they had not embarked on the path of cultivation, the various methods they possessed were no weaker than those of Cultivators.
’The waters of the Cultivation Immortality Realm run deep indeed. Who knows how many other strange things are hidden within it?’
Li Chang’an took a deep breath, casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind.
In any case, the era of the Nine Great Sects was over, and the enemies who had destroyed them had long since vanished.
He didn’t need to overthink it; he just had to keep moving forward.
He could consider more complicated matters after he reached the Nascent Soul realm.
’According to this ancient text, the corpse of this kind of monster is an excellent material for Body Refinement.’
’This monster should have reached Tier Four Body Refinement in life, making it comparable to a Nascent Soul True Monarch. Every scale, every inch of flesh, and every bone on its body is a Tier Four Material.’
’If I used it to refine a suit of Treasure Armor, it might be able to withstand an attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator...’
Li Chang’an’s offensive power was strong, but his defense had always been a weak point.
Neither his Tier Three Body Refinement nor the Ancient Wood Divine Armor gave him much of a sense of security.
If he used this corpse before him well, it should give him more confidence in facing a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
Thinking of this, he immediately put the corpse away and warned all the Cultivators present not to speak of this matter.
Everyone swore an oath and signed a Spirit Contract, guaranteeing they would not reveal what had happened.
Xu Shouye declared solemnly, "Patriarch, rest assured, my lips are sealed on this matter!"
"Good."
Li Chang’an appeared relieved, but he secretly activated his Wood Seed Technique, planting a Wood Seed in every Cultivator present.
He didn’t control them; he merely used the Divine Sense within the Wood Seeds to monitor them.
After all, this concerned a Tier Four Body Refinement corpse.
If news of this got out, he feared even Nascent Soul True Monarchs would be tempted.
Fortunately, these people didn’t know much about the corpse.
Strange occurrences were common in the various Spiritual Ore mines, so they were already used to them.
"Let’s go."
After handling the matter, Li Chang’an and Zheng Qingqing returned to Changqing Mountain together.
On the way, the two suddenly noticed something.
Not far from Changqing Immortal City, a young pair of Cultivators was being chased by a Demon Beast.
Zheng Qingqing said, "Chang’an, the area around your Changqing Immortal City doesn’t seem very safe."
"The Immortal City was established only a short time ago. We haven’t completely cleared out the surrounding area yet."
As he spoke, Li Chang’an casually pointed a finger, killing the Demon Beast.
The two Qi Refining Cultivators stopped in their tracks and glanced at each other, their eyes filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
They cupped their hands in unison and thanked him in one voice.
"Thank you for saving us, Senior!"
"It was nothing."
Li Chang’an waved his hand dismissively.
"Are you two heading to Changqing Immortal City?"
"Yes, Senior. My young miss and I are planning to go to the Immortal City to prepare for Foundation Establishment."
The young male Cultivator began to explain their origins.
He came from another region and was just a Loose Cultivator from a Marketplace.
The Female Cultivator beside him, however, was the young miss of the Foundation Establishment Clan that controlled that Marketplace.
Although their statuses were different, they were very close and both planned to pursue Foundation Establishment in Changqing Immortal City.
"What a coincidence."
Li Chang’an and Zheng Qingqing smiled at each other.
These two young Cultivators were very similar to how they had been back then.
If they could make it to the end, perhaps they would become cultivation partners.
Li Chang’an raised a hand and pointed, sending two beams of Spiritual Light into their respective Seas of Consciousness.
"This is some insight on Foundation Establishment. The two of you should study it well."
"Thank you, Senior!"
The pair was ecstatic, bowing deeply in gratitude.
When they rose, Li Chang’an and Zheng Qingqing were already gone.
...
「In a courtyard on Changqing Mountain.」
Li Chang’an and Zheng Qingqing sat facing each other.
The encounter with the young pair of Cultivators had left them both feeling a bit sentimental.
They reminisced about the old days for a while before turning to serious matters.
Zheng Qingqing had come today to ask about Core Formation Treasures.
"Qingqing, are you planning to attempt Core Formation?"
Li Chang’an extended a wisp of Magical Power to probe Zheng Qingqing’s body for a moment. He discovered that her Magical Power had become quite profound.
Within her Dantian, her Liquid Magical Power already exceeded three hundred and twenty drops.
Zheng Qingqing’s Spiritual Root wasn’t the best—it was only a Middle Grade Spirit Root—but thanks to the Ten Thousand Flames Heaven-Burning Technique, her cultivation Speed had never been slow.
She had reached Foundation Establishment even earlier than Li Chang’an.
After so many years, it was normal for her to have accumulated this much.
"The full potential of the Ten Thousand Flames Heaven-Burning Technique has not yet been reached. I plan to accumulate for another twenty or thirty years."
Zheng Qingqing shook her head slightly. She didn’t want to attempt Core Formation right away; she just wanted to prepare the necessary Treasures for it first.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of Core Formation Treasures were controlled by Golden Core Influences.
Her search in many places had been fruitless, so she had no choice but to come to Changqing Mountain.
After all, the current Changqing Mountain was also a renowned Golden Core Influence.
Li Chang’an controlled Changqing Immortal City and had absorbed hundreds of years of accumulation from Yellow Crane Immortal City. He was bound to have many Core Formation Treasures.
Zheng Qingqing had come to borrow some Core Formation Treasures.
Once she successfully formed her core, she would naturally gather Treasures of equal value to repay Li Chang’an.
"Chang’an, what do you think?"
"That’s a simple matter."
Li Chang’an agreed immediately.
He had plenty of Core Formation Treasures on hand; there was no need to be stingy with Zheng Qingqing.
Zheng Qingqing smiled gently. "Chang’an, thank you."
That night, she did not leave. Instead, she stayed on Changqing Mountain and thanked him... earnestly.
...
「A few days later.」
Li Chang’an walked out of his Changqing Mountain Cave Mansion and swallowed more than ten Elixir Pills to replenish his Essence.
Zheng Qingqing and Mo Qingxue were completely different. One had a Fire Spirit Root, the other an Ice Spirit Root, and their personalities and styles were worlds apart.
Within the short span of half a month, he had experienced an alternating storm of ice and fire.
It was a bit much for Li Chang’an to handle.
’Focusing on cultivation is the Righteous Dao.’
He once again warned himself not to get lost in worldly affairs.
That afternoon, Li Chang’an saw Zheng Qingqing off and returned to his cave mansion, taking out the Tier Four Body Refinement corpse.
He activated his Wood Seed Technique, sending a Wood Seed out in an attempt to control the corpse.
As expected, he failed.
The Tier of this corpse was too high. The roots and branches that sprouted from the Wood Seed couldn’t spread within the corpse at all; they were completely suppressed.
’Looks like my only option is to use it for Artifact Refining.’
Li Chang’an began trying to peel off the crimson scales from its body.
He entered the Borrowed State and exerted all his strength. After a great deal of effort, he finally managed to pry off a single scale, about the size of a fingernail.
’If I can refine these scales into a suit of Treasure Armor, it should be able to block a few attacks from a Nascent Soul cultivator.’
In the days that followed, Li Chang’an continuously peeled scales from the corpse, planning to gather enough for a full suit of Armor.
At the same time, the number of Golden Core Masters he controlled in Shi Hu Immortal City was growing.
「Two years later.」
All the Golden Core Cultivators in Shi Hu Immortal City, with the exception of Shi Hu Master himself, had been refined into his Puppets.
’If these dozen or so Golden Core Cultivators attack at the same time, they should be able to kill or severely injure Shi Hu Master in an instant.’
Li Chang’an had a premonition; the time to make his move had come.
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