Banshee Family Training Record

Page 184

They were all in a small room, each sitting on a futon, practicing meditation and cultivating for a whole day before they were finally able to sort out their chaotic internal systems.

In the room, You Wensi's senior sister was the first to open her eyes, her gaze flickering with resentment and unwillingness.

“We need to reflect on this,” she said. “We have so much to reflect on and sort out regarding this failure!”

She said this, and the hunched old man beside her opened his eyes and said, "I agree, and I think the key to this failure lies within ourselves."

He emphasized, "Even though we obtained four powerful bronze-armored corpses from Qin Haihou's tomb, the three of us are currently too weak in cultivation. Our Golden Cores have all been shattered, and we are now only at the late Foundation Establishment stage."

"This means we can't really participate in the final battle. The slightest mistake could be fatal. Even with You Wensi's participation, we still ended up with a crushing defeat. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had followed our original plan and only the three of us had taken action. Would we all be dead at Chen Shuling's hands by now?"

The tall, burly man opened his eyes and nodded: "That's right, that final battle... If I had recovered my Golden Core cultivation back then, I would definitely have joined the battlefield myself—at that time, whether it was Chen Shuling, the Qin ambassador, or even Li Changsheng, who might grow into a major enemy of my sect, they would all have died at our hands!"

Chapter 393 Yun Chu'an's Celestial Spiritual Root

Upon hearing this, You Wensi's senior sister, Rong Jieyu, hesitated: "But if we really return to the Golden Core stage, I'm afraid that even a slight appearance will trigger the Qingyun Sect's Golden Core assassination order. At that time, with just a few of us, I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist..."

They were all cultivators who had once reached the Golden Core stage. If they had sufficient resources, it would not be difficult for them to re-enter the Golden Core realm.

The problem is that if they were to return to the Golden Core stage on their own, it might attract even greater dangers.

"So, does that mean we're destined to remain at the late Foundation Establishment stage for the rest of our lives?"

The tall, burly man could no longer contain his temper. The series of events he had recently encountered had already made him furious, and now he finally couldn't hold back any longer: "Putting everything else aside, just looking at lifespan alone, the difference between the late Foundation Establishment stage and the Golden Core stage is like heaven and earth. We say we want to revive the Corpse Driving Sect, but if we don't even have a single Golden Core cultivator, then we are not even as good as the cultivation families in these feudal states. How can we talk about reviving it!"

His words were laced with anger, and Rong Jieyu also became somewhat agitated: "I didn't say I wanted to stay in this state forever, don't impose your ideas on me!"

"What I mean is, we need to wait for a more suitable opportunity. Putting aside everything else, returning to the Golden Core stage requires a lot of cultivation resources, and where are we going to get so many spirit stones and medicinal herbs right now?"

Beside them, a hunched old man quickly reached out to mediate, saying, "Everyone, calm down! Let's pause the meeting and discuss this issue again after everyone has rested and calmed down!"

Both of them calmed themselves down, but they still looked at each other with displeasure.

At that moment, You Wensi suddenly said, "I do have a plan, would you all like to hear it?"

The three turned their heads and heard the woman continue, "If only one of us were to achieve the Golden Core stage, we would naturally be unable to resist the kill order; but if all four of us achieve the Golden Core stage at the same time, and Qi Qiao also achieves the Golden Core stage after consuming the Yinming Corpse Pill, then with five Golden Core cultivators joining forces, anyone who comes will have to think twice."

Her plan was perfect, but the three of them turned pale upon hearing it: "How many resources would that require? Do you have them now?"

You Wensi smiled slightly: "I don't, but if I were to say, perhaps we don't need that many resources?"

This question immediately piqued the curiosity of all three: "What do you mean?"

You Wensi was in no hurry to explain, but slowly said, "Aren't you all curious about Yun Chu'an, the son-in-law of my Huai Shan family?"

Rong Jieyu's eyes lit up, and then she nodded repeatedly: "Of course I suspect it. I've never been able to understand it from the beginning. How could he be Qiao'er's husband?"

"Qiao'er is the sect leader's daughter. Her talent is exceptionally high, and her status is extremely noble. After our Corpse Driving Sect is revived, we must follow her leadership. Junior sister, how can you marry her off to a man with mediocre talent and strength?"

You Wensi said, "But what if I told you that he is not as ordinary as he seems on the surface?"

"For example, he was actually supposed to be Qiao'er's soul slave?"

Upon hearing this, the men's expressions changed drastically: "What?"

Soul slaves are essential sustenance for immortal resurrected corpses. After all, immortal resurrected corpses are essentially undead and cannot generate soul power on their own, so they need to be bound to at least one soul slave to continuously provide them with soul power.

Thus, the immortal resurrected corpse can think and learn like a normal cultivator, while enjoying all the benefits of being both a living person and a zombie, while avoiding all the disadvantages.

The price is that the soul slaves will suffer a fate worse than death, with dull eyes, emaciated appearance, and finally die a painful death, emaciated and tormented.

But Yun Chuan looked full of blood and energy, radiant and healthy, with skin as smooth and firm as warm jade. He had no characteristics of a soul slave at all.

The three of them were incredulous, but You Wensi explained in detail: "You may not believe it, but I saw it with my own eyes. When I had my subordinates bring him here, my intention was to see that his soul was full and his spirit was active, so I wanted him to complete the soul slave formation ceremony with Qiao'er. But instead of having his essence and spirit drained by Qiao'er, he used his mortal body to overpower Qiao'er and complete the dual cultivation with her."

"That night, the Yin and Yang spiritual energies between heaven and earth also operated abnormally, as if they were actively cooperating with him. So, not only was his life force not drained, but without any cultivation techniques or external interference, he stepped from an ordinary person into the first level of Qi Refining on his own. Don't you think that's strange?"

The three exchanged a glance and muttered to themselves, "I can't imagine... So, junior sister, did you investigate afterward? What's so special about him?"

You Wensi shook her head: "I've studied it, but the strangest thing is that I haven't found anything special about him—Senior brothers and sisters, what do you think is the most likely explanation for this situation?"

The hunched old man lowered his head and pondered, "What treasure left behind by an immortal did he possess that suddenly took effect and helped him at that time?"

The tall, burly man said, "If that's really the case, there's no reason why my junior sister wouldn't have noticed. I suspect that he might actually be a fallen scion of some old, prestigious cultivation family, with a special mark left by their ancestor in his bloodline?"

You Wensi shook her head, indicating that their guesses were all wrong. She looked at her senior sister, who swallowed hard, her voice trembling, and finally uttered a guess that even she herself didn't quite believe: "Could it be that he is actually the legendary... Heaven..."

Her tongue was tied, and for a moment she was so excited that she couldn't even utter a complete word.

Even before she finished speaking, the two people beside her immediately understood what she meant: "Heavenly Spiritual Root?!"

The hunched old man's pupils contracted to the size of pinholes, while the tall, burly man trembled with excitement: "This...this can't be, right? The legendary genius with a celestial spiritual root, a once-in-a-century talent, we've actually run into him?"

You Wensi said, "Can't believe it? At first, I couldn't believe it either. I thought the ritual had failed and Qiao'er's body had been defiled by him. The only perfect resurrected corpse that my sect had painstakingly created has now become imperfect."

"But later I discovered that the ceremony not only did not fail, but was actually very successful. From then on, their cultivation levels advanced rapidly. In less than a year and a half, he entered the Foundation Establishment stage, and Qiao'er reached the ninth level of Qi Refining before that."

As she spoke, she glanced around and said, "Not to mention, he nourishes Qiao'er's soul power and can still cultivate with almost no pressure. Apart from the legendary Heavenly Spiritual Root, I can't think of anyone else who could have such unparalleled talent."

The three exchanged a glance, and were now almost convinced of the truth. Their hearts pounded wildly, and they were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves.

"Then, what should we do?" the tall, burly man couldn't help but ask. You Wensi remained calm and said, "Don't panic. There's no rush. At least wait until he advances to the mid or even late stage of Foundation Establishment before taking action."

"We will refine him into a human pill together, and then absorb his soul power, essence, and spirit. After that, not only will we have no problem breaking through to the Golden Core stage, but it will also be possible to reach the Nascent Soul stage in the future."

She smiled, envisioning that wonderful future: "I have already given the Yinming Corpse Pill to Qiao'er. After a while, she will take it. With her talent, that will be equivalent to being guaranteed a Nascent Soul stage."

"At that time, the five of us Nascent Soul cultivators will join forces, and the Corpse Driving Sect will be able to declare its revival."

Her declaration excited the other three, who exclaimed, "Okay, let's do it!"

They envisioned a bright future where their talents would greatly increase, and they would successfully break through to the Nascent Soul stage. Subconsciously, however, they all overlooked the seemingly unlikely threat: Yun Chu'an. Was he really so simple to manipulate at will?

Chapter 394 The Ownership of the Yinming Corpse Pill

At this very moment, in Yun Chu'an's small courtyard.

Yun Chu'an had already returned here. He pushed open the door and came in, and saw his wife Qi Qiao sitting inside, quiet and reserved, like a lady from a respectable family, not smiling.

Only when she saw him enter did the girl's face light up with a bright smile. She stood up and said softly, "You're back."

She spoke clearly and fluently, a stark contrast to when she was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining. Yun Chu'an stepped forward, grasped her cold little hand, and exclaimed with undisguised joy, "Qiao'er, you've reached Foundation Establishment?"

Qi Qiao smiled and nodded gently: "Yes, in that tomb, my mother and her friend designed a huge magic circle for me, and then she channeled a lot of, a huge amount of spiritual energy to me..."

As she spoke, what should have been a beautiful memory of her breakthrough in cultivation turned into a deeper sadness. She lowered her head, nestled in Yun Chu'an's arms, seemingly afraid: "Then, I don't know why, but somehow, I slowly broke through..."

As she spoke, she lowered her head and nestled in his arms, seemingly in a bad mood. Yun Chu'an held her close and gently patted her back: "It's alright, Qiao'er, this is a good thing, you should be happy."

Qi Qiao shook her head, but she wasn't happy about it: "But I'm very scared. There, I feel like I'm not myself anymore."

"Sometimes I suddenly get very angry, even angry at you, angry that you don't spend more time with me; sometimes I suddenly feel very sad, feeling so useless..."

"More often than not, I don't know why, I suddenly feel like hurting others... I feel my hands and feet are so cold, and my heart is so cold. Only by hurting others can I feel warmth..."

She raised her head and looked pitifully at Yun Chu'an: "I don't want this, but I can't. My mother made me cultivate there, and the more I cultivate, the more uncomfortable I feel..."

Yun Chu'an gently patted her back, and could roughly guess what was going on. The traditional method of the Corpse-Driving Sect in refining zombies was to fill the zombies' soul fire with negative emotions as much as possible, so that their weak soul fire was filled only with violent thoughts, thus making them more destructive.

As for what to do when the souls of these zombies are corrupted and polluted beyond recognition by negative emotions, the corpse-driving Taoists don't care.

All they wanted was for the zombies to fight with all their might—which undoubtedly went against the original intention of the Corpse-Driving Sect and was proof that they had completely fallen into evil ways.

At that time, when faced with Qi Qiao, a perfectly immortal resurrected corpse with self-awareness, they used the same method, which instead made the girl not only ungrateful to them, but also more attached to Yun Chu'an's warmth.

Sensing the unease in his wife's heart, Yun Chu'an hugged her tightly and gently patted her back: "It's alright, Qiao'er, don't be afraid, I will always be by your side."

He held her like that, sat down on the chair next to him, let her sit on his lap, and gently comforted her.

Qi Qiao nestled in his arms, her mind relaxing. She felt all her negative emotions being gradually released, and her heart regained its peace and tranquility.

She enjoyed the feeling and just wanted to stay nestled in Yun Chu'an's arms, without moving an inch.

Yun Chu'an gently patted her body, enjoying the tranquility. After a while, the girl suddenly changed her expression, looked up at him, and said, "By the way, my mother also gave me a pill like this, telling me to take it sometime later, saying it can help me advance my cultivation to the Nascent Soul stage."

Yun Chu'an's eyes lit up: "That's great! Have you eaten yet?"

The words had barely left his mouth when he realized he'd asked a foolish question. Looking at the girl's hesitant yet repulsive expression, a thought struck him: "It contains a large amount of Yin energy. You don't want to eat it?"

Qi Qiao nodded gently: "Yes, I'm afraid that after I eat it, I'll become less and less like myself."

As she spoke, she took out a storage bag from her waist, then pulled out a palm-sized square metal box, opened it, and Yun Chuan saw a pill lying quietly inside, its entire body utterly ruined, as if it were made of cold bone powder.

This elixir is the deepest secret, the most powerful treasure, and the most valuable thing in the tomb of Marquis Qin Hai.

Even though there wasn't a single item in the entire tomb that could reach the Nascent Soul stage, the ingenious arrangement and complex procedures of the Corpse-Driving Sect allowed them to refine this elixir, and then...

The power to elevate a zombie to the Nascent Soul stage!

This was the biggest gain for You Wensi and the other members of the Corpse-Driving Sect. However, at this moment, here, without hesitation, they decided together to leave this treasure to Qi Qiao.

Just like how Qi Qiao chose to give this pill to Yun Chu'an without hesitation.

Yun Chu'an extended his finger, his face showing hesitation, and gently brought his fingertip close to the pill.

He extended his divine sense, and before he could even begin to probe, he felt a chilling aura assault his mind. Instantly, a flood of negative emotions—sadness, anger, jealousy, lust, and more—rushed into his mind, turning his soul into a playground for these negative thoughts, causing him immense discomfort.

He quickly withdrew his hand, silently recited the incantation "Heart Like a Knife" to build a defense against these spiritual invasions, then closed the small box in front of him, gave a wry smile, and said, "This thing is indeed quite dangerous!"

Qi Qiao blinked her beautiful big eyes: "You don't have a solution for it either?"

"Then how about we throw it away, or destroy it?"

She naively proposed such an unreliable plan; if You Wensi heard it, she would probably be so angry she'd vomit blood.

In response, Yun Chuan quickly shook his head: "No, no, no, although this thing is dangerous, it is still valuable. It would be such a waste to destroy it like this."

After a moment's hesitation, he reached out and took the entire small box, keeping it for himself: "I'll keep it and see if I can find a suitable way to dispose of it later."

He accepted the pill, and then a satisfied smile bloomed on Qi Qiao's face.

She then nestled back into his arms, closed her eyes, and said nothing more.

Time moved slowly forward, and the days passed one by one. The members of the Corpse Driving Sect settled down on Huai Mountain, but they were all as elusive as You Wensi had been before, and did not take any particularly outrageous actions.

Yun Chu'an was also focused on his own affairs and didn't pay much attention to their behavior. What he needed to do now was to earn more mid-grade spirit stones to support his upcoming cultivation.

Only with strength can one deal with future threats more easily.

On this day, at the bottom of Wei Lake, in the dragon palace of the Wei River dragon clan.

"Congratulations! Congratulations to the Dragon Prince of the Wei River for successfully returning to the Foundation Establishment Realm and even turning misfortune into blessing by breaking through to the late Foundation Establishment stage."

Inside the magnificent Dragon Palace, Yun Chu'an, beaming with joy, cupped his hands in congratulations to the young dragon prince before him.

Not only was he present, but also most of the visitors from renowned cultivation families on both sides of the Wei River, such as the Wenren family, the Nalan family, and the Xiahou family, were also present.

Most of these cultivators were also at the Foundation Establishment stage, and they looked young. It was clear at a glance that they were the most talented and most likely to inherit the power of their respective families among the younger generation.

They all brought gifts to congratulate the Dragon Prince. After all, the Wei River Dragon Clan is the core of commerce in this area, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Wei River Dragon Prince is practically a chosen one. Everyone needs to cultivate good relationships with him to form alliances and make money together in the future.

Chapter 395 A Master of All Trades

Directly in front, the Dragon Prince of the Wei River, dressed in a brocade battle robe, was radiant and had a handsome face. He was also exuding a joyful aura. He cupped his hands to thank the group and said, "Congratulations! In the future, both sides of the Wei River will be more prosperous. Of course, this will depend on everyone's joint efforts."

As he spoke, he gestured for everyone to take their seats, but he reserved the only seat of honor next to him for Yun Chu'an.

Behind them, the old Dragon King, accompanied by his family, watched from afar. He did not appear in person, leaving the scene to the young people.

Watching his son settle all the family visitors in an orderly and graceful manner, he was satisfied and nodded slightly, his expression quite approving.

Yes, that's how it should be.

Practitioners shouldn't be fighting and killing every day. It's not a good thing. It dirtys their hands and ruins their image.

Cultivation is all about human relationships and worldly wisdom! It's about settling the interests of everyone, ensuring that we are all interconnected, so that it can last.

He was satisfied, watching his son handle things methodically and get along well with representatives from each family. He felt there shouldn't be any problems, so he turned and left to attend to his own business.

Unbeknownst to him, less than five minutes after he left, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside the Dragon Palace: "Oh, you guys are having a great time here, don't mind if I'm one of you?"

It was Sheng Linglong's voice.

In an instant, the expressions of the many young talents present in the Dragon Palace changed, and they hurriedly stood up from their seats. Then, they saw Sheng Linglong quickly walk into the Dragon Palace.

Yun Chu'an also stood up from his seat and looked outside. He saw that the princess was wearing a pale yellow checkered dress today. The dress was adorned with small and exquisite jewels that sparkled in the Dragon Palace. As soon as she appeared, her natural arrogance and nobility overwhelmed everyone present, making her the only focus of attention in the Dragon Palace.

The young talents from various prominent families present were secretly groaning inwardly, as they were unwilling to face this princess. Since she arrived at the Wei River region nearly half a year ago, everyone now knew that while the princess ostensibly came to eliminate the Yellow Python, she was actually there to cause trouble for them. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, everyone avoided her, fearing that this woman's blade might fall upon them.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, trembling with fear. The Dragon Prince of the Wei River, steeling himself, stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, your esteemed presence has greatly honored my humble abode..."

However, Sheng Linglong interrupted him before he could finish, saying, "Oh ho, you call this your humble abode? With so many future leaders of families gathered here, I bet there won't be any room for me here any longer."