Translator: Cinder Translations
"I’m rather curious," Song Wen began, "Yan Yiwen possesses the Primordial Yin Physique, and Tai He prepared her as a furnace to help himself break through his cultivation bottleneck. Why would he allow you to take over her body?"
Xue Mei replied, "By taking over Yan Yiwen, I could gain many ancient secret arts and hidden knowledge from her, while still allowing her to serve as a furnace for me. Furthermore, I can devour the energy of those cultivating the Corpse King’s Blood Refining Technique, speeding up my cultivation much faster than Yan Yiwen. Naturally, my Yin energy increases more quickly as well. It’s a win-win situation. Why would Tai He refuse?"
Song Wen raised another question, "Since you’ve reached the peak of the Golden Core stage, why hasn’t he tried to steal your Yin energy yet?"
Xue Mei explained, "They’re after the Bronze Key Coffin in the Soul Shade Hall. The hall is filled with numerous spirits, including a Fourth-Stage Ghost Emperor. During the last two secret realm openings, the four major demon sects sent many Golden Core cultivators, but even they suffered severe losses before they even saw the coffin. My strength far surpasses most Golden Core peak cultivators, and I’m familiar with the layout of the Soul Shade Hall. That’s why the Nine Palaces Sect wants to use me to retrieve the Bronze Key Coffin."
Song Wen finally understood. The reason why Hao Kong had asked him to draw a third-stage Thunder Talisman must have been to prepare for exploring the Soul Shade Hall.
Meanwhile, Xue Mei intended to use the Nine Palaces Sect to enter the Soul Shade Hall and claim the Bronze Key Coffin for herself.
"Since you’re so important to Tai He and the Nine Palaces Sect, why don’t they imprison you within the sect? Why allow you to go out freely?" Song Wen asked.
Xue Mei responded, "I escaped from the Nine Palaces Sect. Tai He planted a Soul Locking Curse in my consciousness to control me. However, I have a secret technique that can block my consciousness and temporarily disable the curse."
Song Wen’s doubts were resolved, but then he thought of another inconsistency.
"Since you’ve already escaped the Nine Palaces Sect, and the Soul Shade Hall is controlled by the four major demon sects, how can you still enter the Soul Shade Hall?"
Xue Mei replied, "I originally planned to take the Bronze Key Coffin from you, but my strength was inferior. So, I have no choice but to return to the Nine Palaces Sect."
"You managed to escape from the Nine Palaces Sect with great difficulty, yet now you’re going back willingly? Don’t you fear that Tai He will be enraged by your escape and imprison you again, or even take your Yin energy?" Song Wen asked.
Xue Mei smiled faintly. "When I escaped, I set up a few traps to deceive Tai He. I can sense that he hasn’t yet triggered the Soul Locking Curse, so he probably hasn’t discovered that I’ve escaped."
There was a trace of uncertainty in her voice.
She had been gone from the Nine Palaces Sect for about two hours, and she wasn’t completely sure if her traps would hold up for that long.
However, after a brief silence, her expression became resolute.
"I’ve lived one life, and now I’ve taken over a new body. If I don’t obtain the Corpse King’s Rebirth Art, I will never reach the Divine Transformation stage. Rather than slowly wasting away in this body, I might as well take a gamble and fight for the chance to ascend."
Song Wen looked at Xue Mei in surprise.
Her obsession with the Corpse King’s Rebirth Art, with reaching the Divine Transformation stage, and ascending to the Upper Realm, was deeply intense.
To enter the Divine Blood Hall, she truly feared nothing, willing to risk her life.
Xue Mei stared at Song Wen, then spoke.
"I’ll reveal everything about the Divine Blood Hall’s secrets to you. Would you be willing to let me return to the Nine Palaces Sect? After I retrieve the Bronze Key Coffin from the Soul Shade Hall, I’ll enter seclusion and begin cultivating to form my Nascent Soul. Ten years later, you and I can cooperate and enter the Divine Blood Hall to seek the continuation of the Corpse King’s Rebirth Art. I know the general layout of the Divine Blood Hall. With my help, the chances of you finding the continuation of the Corpse King’s Rebirth Art will be greatly increased."
"Alright, I’ll let you return to the Nine Palaces Sect." After some thought, Song Wen agreed.
Xue Mei smiled slightly, extending two fingers to push aside the broken Void Blade at her brow.
With that, she flew into the air, heading swiftly toward the Nine Palaces Sect.
Once Xue Mei’s figure completely disappeared, Song Wen withdrew the Six Extreme Star Guardian Formation and flew in the same direction toward the Nine Palaces Sect.
He followed her all the way until she entered the Nine Palaces Sect’s mountain gate, and only then did he leave.
Xue Mei’s return to the Nine Palaces Sect proved that she had spoken the truth.
With the matter concluded, Song Wen flew toward the Qingluo Mountain.
He had been out for more than half a day, and it was time to check on things.
Then, he would find a way to improve his cultivation to prepare for the opening of the Divine Blood Hall ten years later.
As for his agreement with Hao Kong?
Song Wen had never intended to fulfill it. After all, he couldn’t possibly dedicate himself to the study of talisman making just to keep a promise.
Moreover, with only seven months at his disposal, it would be impossible for him, with his current rune talent, to learn how to draw a third-stage Thunder Talisman.
Song Wen, having control over the Qing Luo Mountain formation, moved the formation’s array disk without alarming the guards. He opened a gap in the formation’s barrier and slipped inside.
The situation at Qing Luo Mountain remained as usual. Zhou Siyi was leading three Foundation Establishment cultivators, inspecting the medicinal herbs at the base of the mountain. The specific tasks were handled by Qi Refining stage cultivators.
"Senior Sister, I’m here. I’ll wait for you in your cave residence," Song Wen’s voice echoed in Zhou Siyi’s consciousness.
Zhou Siyi’s expression showed a slight joy, and then she coldly instructed the three Foundation Establishment cultivators beside her.
"Continue inspecting the growth of the various spiritual herbs. Be thorough and don’t slack off."
After that, she flew toward the cave residence halfway up the mountain.
Upon entering the cave residence, she found Song Wen sitting calmly on a stone chair.
Zhou Siyi smiled gently, her eyes revealing a hint of warmth and concern.
"Junior Brother, you’ve finally come. You’ve been gone for so long. I was truly worried about your safety."
Song Wen responded, "Senior Sister, I’m sorry to have made you worry."
"How did things go on your journey? Were there any issues?" Zhou Siyi asked.
Song Wen nodded lightly. "It went smoothly, and I more or less achieved my goals."
"That’s good," Zhou Siyi replied.
"Senior Sister, how have things been at Qing Luo Mountain? Have you encountered any troublesome matters?" Song Wen inquired.
Zhou Siyi replied, "There haven’t been any real problems. However, the old ghost from Yishi Ridge, Xie Chen, has sent people several times, inviting me to attend the Golden Core loose cultivator gathering at the Qingluo Mountain. I’ve refused every time."
Apart from Song Wen and Zhou Siyi, the old ghost Xie Chen was the only late-stage Golden Core cultivator among the loose cultivators at the Qingluo Mountain.
"What does Xie Chen want? Is he trying to harm you?" Song Wen asked.
"He might not be aiming to harm me. It’s more likely that he’s worried about us harming him."
Zhou Siyi paused for a moment, then continued.
"After all, for the Golden Core cultivators who have long resided at the Qingluo Mountain, we are the newcomers. And when we first arrived, we killed one of the strongest cultivators in the Qingluo Mountain, Fu Mei. It’s only natural for him to feel uneasy. He sent another invitation recently, asking me to attend the gathering in three days. It seems the other Golden Core loose cultivators from the Qingluo Mountain will also be there."
Song Wen said, "Since we plan to stay at the Qingluo Mountain, avoiding these loose cultivators is not a long-term solution. I’ll go meet with them in three days."
"Mm, that’s fine," Zhou Siyi agreed.
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