Chapter 271: Chapter 182 Jiang Chen
With the “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array” based on the third-grade spiritual item “Netherworld Crystal” in place, Li Shiming didn’t need to seek a suitable location for Corpse Refining.
In the Ghost Domain, Refining the corpse required fewer materials.
Even so, he still purchased second-grade main materials for Corpse Refining, preparing them for Li Yuanba, using the corpse of the Golden Core Sword Cultivator Yun Xingyi as the material.
He even had Li Yuanba turn the corpse of Golden Core Sword Cultivator Yun Xingyi into a Life-bound Corpse Refining, an idea he had long harbored.
Had Li Shiming not granted the sole slot for Life-bound Corpse Refinement to Li Yuanba, he would have wanted to refine Yun Xingyi’s corpse into his own Life-bound Corpse Refining.
The corpse of Yun Xingyi, even in death, possessed astonishing defensive power. A Foundation Establishment Cultivator, drawing on the power of a Third-Grade Sword Base, could barely cut through its skin, and even then, the cutting was extremely slow.
This was even without Spiritual Power in his body postmortem.
Once his corpse was refined, its defensive power would undoubtedly be among the top in the Iron Corpse category.
That was just the skin. The defensive power of Yun Xingyi’s muscles was even stronger, not to mention his bones. The bones of a Golden Core Sword Cultivator, almost as hard as those who focused on Body Refinement, were influenced by long-term exposure to Sword Intent.
Even though Yun Xingyi had only managed to refine the Sword Bone of his right thumb, Sword Intent had permeated all his bones, constantly enhancing their strength during cultivation.
Even in death, the Sword Intent in his bones couldn’t completely dissipate.
This time, Li Shiming personally dug out a cave dwelling while Li Yuanba set up a Formation with flags outside.
In the cave, Li Shiming prepared for Corpse Refining. His “Xuanming Corpse Refining Chapter” only advanced Corpse Refining to the Foundation Establishment stage, and the subsequent techniques were missing, but it was sufficient.
Currently, the enhancement of Corpse Refining mainly relied on the “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array,” which sped up the process of Corpse Refining up to the Golden Core Stage immensely, much faster than the methods described in the “Xuanming Corpse Refining Chapter.”
Once Li Yuanba truly joined the Senluo Sect, it was conceivable that obtaining a Corpse Refining technique that could reach the Golden Core Stage wouldn’t be difficult.
The inheritance of Corpse Refining still depended on the demonic sects; other sects’ inheritances often omitted the particularly evil elements.
He hadn’t expected to be able to buy Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid directly in the store. He had some remaining Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid, but its quality was only at the Qi Refinement Realm, which might be inadequate for transforming the body of Golden Core Sword Cultivator Yun Xingyi.
This time, however, the Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid he purchased was of Iron Corpse quality and was an excellent second-grade main material.
He took some fresh blood from Li Yuanba, mixed it into the Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid, then combined it with many other materials.
The corpse of Yun Xingyi was well preserved, almost identical to how it was when first placed, thanks to an isolated environment.
The mixture of Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid was carefully applied to the surface of the corpse, and complex patterns were drawn on crucial parts of the body. This method was devised by Li Shiming, combining it with the Corpse Refining secret technique obtained alongside the “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array” to enhance the effect of Corpse Refining.
He owed this to Ren Fei’er, which allowed him to touch upon a bit of knowledge about Golden Core Stage Corpse Refining. Although it was just a bit of knowledge, its impact was significant.
Yun Xingyi’s corpse was placed in the “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array.” Under the influence of the Yin Cold Power of the Ghost Domain, the body soon underwent transformations.
The surface of the corpse turned the color of bronze, which was an external change. Internally, in what was originally an empty shell, the spirit of Corpse Refining was being born.
At the birth of the spirit of Corpse Refining, influenced by the Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid mixed with Li Yuanba’s blood, the spirit carried an aura of Li Yuanba.
Li Yuanba sensed the birth process of the Life-bound Corpse Refining, gradually connecting with his soul, growing from nothing to something, from small to large.
The “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array” significantly shortened the transformation process that would have otherwise taken a long time to just a few hours.
The spirit of Corpse Refining was complete within four hours, but the transformation of the Corpse Refining was not yet complete.
The bronze color of the skin surface deepened, gradually turning into the color of black iron.
This was due to the quality of the second-grade Life-bound Corpse Refining Fluid and the quality of the corpse itself, skipping the copper corpse stage and directly entering the Iron Corpse State within the “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array.”
Corpse Refining might seem extremely simple, able to grant a cultivator an Iron Corpse with Foundation Establishment combat capabilities in a short time.
But one must consider the source of the corpse for Corpse Refining; not to mention corpses at the Golden Core Stage, even those at the Foundation Establishment stage are hard to obtain.
Moreover, the previous spirit root seeds of the corpse must also be considered, otherwise, this corpse wouldn’t have much potential. It’s likely that by the time the cultivator himself advances to Foundation Establishment, the Corpse Refining would still be lingering in the copper corpse stage.
Corpse Refining also has a success rate; all the preparation in the world can still carry the risk of failure.
The reason Li Shiming succeeded this time was due to his purchasing of high-quality second-grade materials for Corpse Refining, and the Ghost Domain environment created by the “Netherworld Ghost Realm Array” also contributed significantly to enhancing the Corpse Refining.
After staying there for three days, continuing until the Life-bound Corpse’s body reached a limit, with faint white lights flowing on its skin, the Corpse Refining process was finally complete.
Li Shiming wondered if he had the complete Golden Core Stage Corpse Refining technique in hand, whether he could directly refine Yun Xingyi’s corpse into a Silver Corpse.
Of course, this possibility was extremely low; the potential of Yun Xingyi’s corpse was almost completely depleted. Any further enhancement would require a massive stack of Corpse Refining materials.