Volume Two - The Nine Provinces Map Revealed, Entering the Spirit Ruins Chapter Ninety-Seven: Cultivating the Dao Art Again

Chen Yu slipped quietly out of the Forget-Sorrow Forest. As for what final fate awaited that tomb mound, it was no longer his concern.

On the road back to Spirit Ruins, he gathered a great many spirit herbs. By rough reckoning, the amount was enough to cover three months of required tasks.

Upon returning to Spirit Ruins, Chen Yu did not disturb a soul. As soon as he was back in his quarters, he shut the door and, before settling down for a comfortable sleep, went through the spoils of his journey once more.

Apart from the Dao-Bone Yin Essence, there was also one Green Corpse Pill, ten Purple Corpse Pills, and more than a dozen other items in varying quantities: five Refining Evil Pills, Borrow-Wind Talismans, Immobilizing Talismans, Beast-Gathering Talismans, Sword Art Talismans, and the like.

What delighted him even more was the magic sword. Carved within it was a sword-riding sigil; with spiritual energy infused into it, one could fly by sword. It was even faster than riding a horse, though it consumed spiritual energy at a fearsome rate.

These days in the Forget-Sorrow Forest had also given Chen Yu a firsthand taste of the cruelty and excitement of the cultivation world. Every trial could be said to be walking a tightrope, seizing fortune from heaven and earth while balanced between life and death.

By the next day, when he awoke and drew a breath of the fresh air, Chen Yu devoted himself to a full day of cultivation.

First he went to the Outer Sect Grand Hall to listen to his senior brother's lecture, where he also ran into the three of them, Xue Ren and the others.

"Senior Brother Chen, when did you come back?" Seeing that Chen Yu was safe and sound, Xue Ren and the others were overjoyed.

"I returned last night. I just did not want to disturb everyone."

"Senior Brother Xiao Gu said he did not see you at that tomb mound. We thought that perhaps you..." The three of them gave embarrassed smiles.

"There really was a great deal of danger. But I did not go deep inside and withdrew early, so I never ran into them," Chen Yu said casually, making up an excuse on the spot.

Naturally, the three of them would not doubt him. After all, even many senior brothers at the One-Origin Realm had perished inside. Only by doing as Chen Yu said could one possibly have escaped disaster.

"What was that tomb mound like? Do you know?" Chen Yu could not help asking them.

Their expressions turned grim.

"This time it was not just our Spirit Ruins. Even the Heart Sword Sect, the Great Sun Sect, the Void Sky Sect, and the others all suffered terrible losses. The major sects have issued a joint decree to wipe out the Ghost Abyss Sect completely."

"Yes... I heard that in the end, besides Senior Sister Xia Ruo of the Subtle Heart Peak, Senior Brother Xue You and the elders from those sects, seven or eight people in all, went together in hopes of capturing the Ghost Abyss Sect Master. But they never even saw a trace of him."

"Right. Some people speculate that the fiend must have escaped by means of an earth-travel talisman or something similar."

"Then what has the sect decided to do?" Chen Yu asked, confused.

"What else can be done? They can only issue a kill order for the Ghost Abyss Sect Master." The three of them spoke helplessly.

Hearing this, Chen Yu finally felt utterly relieved. At the very least, he was safe for the moment.

After chatting with them for a while, Chen Yu went to the Ten-Thousand Books Pavilion, hoping to find some information about corpse pills and the Dao-Bone Yin Essence.

Unfortunately, his status was lowly, and being able to find even a description of corpse pills was already considered quite fortunate.

Corpse pills are formed when zombies gather yin, baleful energy, and resentment, which are then refined together with lunar power. They contain tremendous force and are also a sacred medicine for cultivation. One might equally call them poison for cultivation. Because they are born of gathered yin, baleful energy, and resentment, they are naturally steeped in evil. If used directly, one is liable to be invaded by evil qi, lose one's reason, and even have one's dantian and qi sea defiled, slowly turning the cultivator into a corpse-like being before finally evolving into a fiend that knows only slaughter.

Therefore, if one wishes to use corpse pills in cultivation, one must first refine them with upright yang energy, dissolving the yin, baleful, and resentful force within. Only then can they be used without fear.

In the end, he also found several methods of refinement. The first was to use the fire of a pill furnace; the second, to refine it with true fire; the third, to slowly dissolve it through the method of mending heaven and bathing in sunlight.

The first two methods were perhaps beyond Chen Yu's reach, but the method of mending heaven and bathing in sunlight was one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Arts.

The further Chen Yu cultivated, the more he felt the power of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Arts. Perhaps the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Arts and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Arts truly deserved to be called the foundation of all methods.

Though he had not found any records regarding the Dao-Bone Yin Essence, Chen Yu was not anxious. After all, the most important thing now was still to strive for a breakthrough into the One-Origin Realm.

After returning to his quarters, Chen Yu burned incense and bathed, then adjusted his mental state before seeking out a secluded place to begin cultivating the Revolving Creation Art and the Sun-Bathing Heaven-Mending Method.

He recited the incantations of the two arts one by one, taking in the mysteries contained within them.

Time passed little by little, and strands of insight began to surge up in Chen Yu's mind.

That day, under the blazing sun, Chen Yu, seated cross-legged, suddenly formed a wondrous connection with the great sun in the heavens. His body seemed to be plated with a layer of gold, yet also like a body of golden flame.

What Chen Yu did not notice was that at that very moment, the aura in his dantian was likewise absorbing that layer of golden flame, condensing it ninefold. His dantian seemed to be coated in a sheen of gold as well.

As time went by, when the sun set, the gold light on Chen Yu's body receded as well, as though nothing at all had happened.

Yet Chen Yu showed no signs of awakening. Thus it continued until deep in the night, when the gold light once again appeared upon his body. Only now it differed from the light of day, for within it there was a trace of the aura of creation. This was the result of his cultivation of the Revolving Creation Art.

Day after day, aside from the meals he had to take, Chen Yu spent every moment cultivating the Revolving Creation Art and the Sun-Bathing Heaven-Mending Method. His understanding of the two arts deepened more and more.

On another day, Chen Yu was cultivating as he usually did, when unexpectedly he was spotted from afar by eyes on Sky-Soaring Peak.

"Huh, Senior Sister... look, what is that?" A clear, silver-bell voice, sweet and pleasant, rang out. "It seems to have been like that every night for the past several days."

A woman of gentle elegance, as detached and picture-perfect as a painting, smiled faintly and said, "Perhaps some disciple is cultivating there."

"Really? How strange!" The little girl was instantly piqued with curiosity. Tugging at the painted beauty's sleeve, she pleaded, "Senior Sister, why don't we go take a look?"

"What is there to look at? What if we disturb someone else's cultivation?"

"Just one look, Senior Sister..."

"Sis, what is it you want to see?" At that moment, another voice sounded.

"Brother..."

"Senior Sister Xia Zhen!" The man was none other than Chu Shu. He gave the woman before him a slight bow.

"Brother, look. Is someone cultivating over there?" The little girl's eyes curved into crescent moons as she pulled Chu Shu to look.

Chu Shu gave an awkward smile. It was so far away that there was no way to see clearly. He said offhandedly, "Perhaps. You do not mean to go over there and look, do you?"

"Yes... yes... it appears every night these days." The little girl once again began to coax him pleadingly. "Brother... let's go have a look."

Chu Shu could only smile helplessly. If he refused, he feared his younger sister would truly pester him endlessly. That was hardly what he wanted.

Seeing this, Xia Zhen could only smile wryly in resignation.