Chapter 903: Divine Sense Amplified, Imperishable Bones, Corpse-Shedding Immortal

Although Nascent Soul cultivators are usually as elusive as dragons.

Without urgent matters they rarely show up in public.

But upon receiving news of Yangming True Lord’s arrival, even though he said there was no rush, the Heaven Corpse Sect Master and Ah Youduo still hurried to the Yin Ghost Sect at once.

Learning Lu Changsheng was in seclusion in the cave residence and would not be disturbed, the two True Lords from Jin Kingdom settled in at the Yin Ghost Sect to wait quietly.

More than half a month later.

While resting and waiting for Lu Changsheng to emerge, the Heaven Corpse Sect Master and Ah Youduo felt their spirit-souls jolt. They stood and looked toward the deepest part of the Yin Ghost Sect.

This had once been True Lord Mingsha’s cave, now occupied by Yangming True Lord.

There, under a shroud of gloomy arrays and chilling ghostly qi, the sky above the cave suddenly howled with wind as countless strands of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy converged.

A godlike figure, half tangible half illusory, gleamed with a faint golden sheen, looming like a golden blazing sun and spilling dazzling radiance.

At the same time it felt like sun and moon shared the sky, shards of gold weaving with moonlight, merging, colliding, then snapping apart.

Daylight dimmed, dusky clouds sagged low, and under this omen even the ghostly Yin Ghost Sect carried a hint of sacred aura.

Thanks to multiple formations isolating it, the phenomenon mainly affected the deepest cave region, as if that slice of space had been cut out.

With the celestial signs rolling, not just Ah Youduo and the Heaven Corpse Sect Master but the Yin Ghost Sect’s Core Formation cultivators noticed the commotion from the depths and watched with reverence.

But it was a sect restricted zone, blocked by a fourth-rank array, so their view was hazy.

They only felt a deity standing in the depths, drawing heaven-and-earth spiritual energy to worship, gathering into golden glow and silver radiance, auspicious and serene.

The phenomenon did not last long.

Half a day later a faint elusive voice resounded through the Yin Ghost Sect.

It was like a dragon’s long cry, a clear lingering chime, like the subtle sound of the Dao, like a sage handing down the Way, like the prayers of ancient ancestors spanning endless ages.

The Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators who heard it felt as if gods and sages had revived and manifested, the pressure terrifying and oppressive.

But as Nascent Soul cultivators, Ah Youduo and the Heaven Corpse Sect Master felt their spirit-souls quake, sensing a dreadful pressure and fluctuation.

Though it was veiled,

almost gone in a blink,

they clearly realized it was the divine sense of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Not someone who had just stepped into mid-stage,

at least fifth layer of Nascent Soul, maybe even sixth.

In the depths of the Yin Ghost Sect, inside True Lord Mingsha’s cave.

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes and let out a long, murky breath.

He had not expected cultivating the God-Devouring Technique to stir such a grand phenomenon.

Feeling his spirit-soul swell and his divine sense double outright, joy lit his face.

Though the God-Devouring Technique had harsh requirements,

once mastered it could amplify divine sense in an unbelievable way—doubling it outright.

Before this, relying on the Taiyi Spirit Body and the Yin-Yang Myriad Laws Nascent Soul, the moment he broke through to Nascent Soul his spirit-soul already rivaled mid-stage.

Now that he had mastered the God-Devouring Technique, he had gone from merely comparable to actually stepping into the threshold of mid-stage, reaching the sixth layer.

That kind of boost was nothing short of outrageous.

And this was only the first layer of the God-Devouring Technique.

With his current cultivation, as long as he adapted and stabilized his spirit-soul and divine sense, he could continue on to the second layer.

Once he broke through the second layer, his divine sense would cross the chasm from mid to late Nascent Soul.

As the Taiyi Spirit Body’s growth waned later on, Lu Changsheng had worried his spirit-soul would become his weakness.

Facing late-stage Nascent Soul experts in the future, he would easily fall behind in the realm of spirit-soul and be exploited.

Now though, with the God-Devouring Technique achieved, his divine sense had become a strength.

Right now he could not wait to complete the second layer and push his spirit-soul even further.

With a thought, the entire Yin Ghost Sect lay bare to his mind.

Seeing that Ah Youduo and the Heaven Corpse Sect Master had already arrived and the whole sect was focused on this side, Lu Changsheng took on the guise of Yangming True Lord and stepped out of the cave.

“Mili, I caused some commotion while cultivating a divine ability. Go handle it.”

Lu Changsheng sent a voice transmission to Nangong Mili.

Under normal circumstances, True Lord Mingsha’s cave could have blocked such cultivation phenomena.

But the cave’s formations had been forcefully broken earlier by him and Ti Hun, leaving many damages and greatly reducing their power.

Moreover the cave’s formations were linked to the Yin Ghost Sect’s fourth-rank grand array.

Yet that grand array had its foundation damaged after the Soul-Taking Beast devoured a large number of ghost spirits, weakening its power.

In such a situation all formation restrictions in the sect had dropped a tier and could not fully isolate the disturbance from his cultivation.

Thankfully the commotion was not excessive and only the high-level cultivators of the sect could perceive it.

“Mm~”

As time passed, Nangong Mili’s mindset had already shifted completely. She obeyed Lu Changsheng in everything, gentle and attentive.

Lu Changsheng came to the main hall and sent a voice call to Ah Youduo and the Heaven Corpse Sect Master: “Ah Youduo, Friend Yan, come to the hall for a chat.”

The two hurried over at once and looked respectfully at Lu Changsheng in his black robe and cloak, hands cupped in salute.

“Greetings, Master!”

Earlier the Heaven Corpse Sect Master still had a few little schemes regarding the Yangming True Lord before him.

But after the news from the Liang-Yue War his attitude shifted. He set aside his pride and only wanted to tie himself to the big ship that was the Immortal City of Damengze.

Especially just now, the hint of spirit-soul pressure from Lu Changsheng’s God-Devouring cultivation had deeply intimidated him.

“I kept you waiting.”

Lu Changsheng spoke with a smile, without putting on airs.

Nascent Soul cultivators counted as top-tier wherever they were.

Even if the two had already submitted, they still deserved respect.

The two hurriedly said they had only just arrived, had not waited long, and had nothing else to do anyway.

After a few pleasantries, Lu Changsheng said, “You should have heard about the Liang-Yue War by now.”

The two praised the Master’s divine might and asked curiously about the Demonic Mastermind.

“Now that the Liang-Yue War is settled, the Heavenly Sword Sect will relocate to Liang Kingdom, and Jiang Kingdom belongs to me.”

“I am short on capable people for the moment. There are many assets in Liang and a lot of prisoners of war to receive and process. Have each of your sects assign some people to head to Liang and help.”

Lu Changsheng told them.

For now the assets and prisoners in Liang were being handled by his son Lu Lingxiao and True Lord Incinerating Wither.

Taking custody of and settling those prisoners was a massive undertaking.

Even with True Lord Incinerating Wither leading the Asura Sect cultivators, they could handle it properly.

But Lu Changsheng did not fully trust True Lord Incinerating Wither.

He could not hand everything over to him.

And after the Heavenly Sword Sect moved, taking over and managing Jiang’s assets and territory would also need manpower.

Relying only on Lu Family disciples was far from enough.

He needed to bring in other forces to create balance and stability.

“Rest assured, Master.” The two were more than willing to serve Lu Changsheng.

With Jiang coming under the Immortal City of Damengze, Jin and Jiang could move freely between each other, which also benefited them.

At this time Yan Wujiang cautiously asked, “Master, when you pacified Liang, did the demonic envoy behind Beast God Mountain make a move to stop you? Will he come after us?”

They did not know Mo Luo’s situation, but they knew there had been an envoy from the Seven Demonic Sects fanning the flames in the Liang-Yue War.

They were very wary of that demonic envoy.

Worried he would seek revenge.

“Relax. He is already gone and will not dare show himself for a while.”

Lu Changsheng spoke calmly and did not elaborate.

Hearing this, the Heaven Corpse Sect Master and Ah Youduo were shaken.

For their Master to say so meant the demonic envoy had intervened, only to be repelled or even badly hurt.

After business was done, Lu Changsheng remembered one of the reasons he had come. Using the Heavenly Yuan Lotus he brought out a crystal coffin.

It was the coffin where Bing’er slept.

Back when Bing’er fell into a long slumber he was swamped with affairs and had not disturbed her.

Now with Yan Wujiang, a grandmaster of the corpse path, present, Lu Changsheng wanted to ask him to examine Bing’er’s condition and see if he could deduce her origins.

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master, seeing the crystal coffin, thought of how Lu Changsheng had once asked him about yin corpses.

He realized a yin corpse lay sleeping inside this coffin.

“Master, is the yin corpse you mentioned before sleeping in this coffin?”

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master carefully examined the crystal coffin.

It looked like jade yet like ice crystal, imbued with chilling essence. He could not see inside and it blocked magical energy and divine sense.

Anticipation rose in him. He wanted to know what lay within.

After all, anything that Yangming True Lord, a reincarnated mighty one, valued so highly could not be ordinary.

Ah Youduo studied the coffin as well.

“Yes, so I would like you to take a look for me.”

Lu Changsheng nodded and stepped forward to lift the lid.

In an instant a bone-piercing chill spread from within.

Inside lay a breathtaking beauty, skin snow-white, features delicate, her body sheathed in a thin layer of frost like a woman carved of ice crystal.

As the coffin opened the frost on her face and body began to melt.

Frost-clumped lashes fluttered like tiny fans, as if she were about to wake.

“What pure Profound Yin cold!”

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master recognized that the chill was Profound Yin cold, not ordinary cold.

He kept his gaze on Bing’er in the coffin.

“Mmm~” The frost on Bing’er’s face fully dissolved. She woke in a daze, letting out a little catlike hum.

Her eyes were crystal clear, spotless, like a mountain spring, overflowing with a purity beyond words.

“Brother!” She seemed to catch Lu Changsheng’s scent. Her spirit perked up, drowsiness gone, and she looked at the black-robed, cloaked Lu Changsheng disguised as Yangming True Lord.

She was a little puzzled. Why did Brother look different?

“Bing’er.” Lu Changsheng reached out to her and called.

Hearing his voice, Bing’er recognized him at once, rose and hugged him, her expression affectionate and clinging.

Lu Changsheng felt Bing’er’s physical strength had grown considerably.

Years ago, Bing’er possessed a body rivaling late third-rank body refinement.

Now he felt her physique nearly touching the fourth rank.

“Friend Yan, can you tell what is going on with Bing’er?”

Holding the long-lost Bing’er in his arms, Lu Changsheng asked Yan Wujiang.

“Did not Yuge say Yangming True Lord disliked yin corpses?”

Watching Lu Changsheng dote on Bing’er, Yan Wujiang muttered inwardly.

Earlier when he asked Yin Yuge about her progress with Yangming True Lord, she had said he disliked yin corpses,

and that even her natal corpse, Yin Wugou, had earned his displeasure.

So what was this then?

Did he just think Yin Wugou was not pretty enough?

Granted, Yin Wugou could not match Bing’er in looks,

but she was still exceptional.

Pushing aside the thought, Yan Wujiang examined Bing’er with divine sense and realized she was completely different from the yin corpses cultivated in his sect.

If he had not seen her wake with dense yin-cold corpse qi flowing through her body, he would not have taken her for a yin corpse at all.

She was like a girl with a heart as pure as an uncarved gem.

He asked Lu Changsheng about Bing’er’s situation and wanted to get closer for a hands-on inspection.

“No!” Bing’er wanted nothing to do with the corpse-path Yan Wujiang and rejected him outright.

Faced with that, Yan Wujiang could only examine her with divine sense, but learned little.

He continued asking Lu Changsheng about the Profound Yin baleful qi in her body.

But the Profound Yin baleful qi and demonic qi only surfaced after Bing’er had been out of the coffin for a while and drowsiness set in.

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master, seeing how Bing’er leaned on Lu Changsheng, cupped his hands and took his leave, saying that if anything came up Lu Changsheng should call him.

Though Ah Youduo wanted to pour out her longing to Lu Changsheng, given the scene she followed the Heaven Corpse Sect Master and left first.

“Alright.”

After Yan Wujiang and Ah Youduo left, Lu Changsheng took the initiative to check Bing’er’s body.

Her overachieving physique had advanced greatly, now pressing close to the fourth rank.

Beyond that, he noticed her bones were different from before.

As if she had cultivated some body refining method and been tempered; each bone was crystal clear, etched with patterns carrying a hint of Dao rhythm.

His eyes narrowed as he committed those Dao-patterns to memory and continued his examination.

Aside from flesh and bone, he did not find other changes in Bing’er.

A few days later Bing’er grew drowsy.

Within her yin-cold corpse qi, a demonic qi and baleful qi began to seep out.

Lu Changsheng summoned Yan Wujiang at once.

Sensing the demonic and baleful qi in Bing’er, he cried out, “Corpse Demon Primal Qi!”

Lu Changsheng arched a brow and asked what that was.

“Master, Corpse Demon Primal Qi is the highest-grade essence of corpse demons. Only top-tier corpse demons of exceptional quality possess it.”

“Even in my Heaven Corpse Sect, our top corpse-demon refinement, the Golden-Armored Corpse Demon, rarely develops Corpse Demon Primal Qi. Only after advancing to fourth rank and being nurtured by all kinds of natural treasures is there a chance for corpse-demon qi to transform into it.”

Yan Wujiang said excitedly, “And even then, it would not be as pure as Miss Bing’er’s.”

“This primal qi not only heavily suppresses other corpse demons, it can also serve as a refining spirit item to irrigate and cultivate other yin corpses and corpse demons.”

Looking at Bing’er, Yan Wujiang could not hide his excitement and hunger.

If Lu Changsheng were not there, he would have wanted to study and dissect her body to learn why she possessed such pure Corpse Demon Primal Qi.

If he could figure Bing’er out, it would hugely advance his Heaven Corpse Sect.

“Brother, sleepy.”

Bing’er said timidly to Lu Changsheng. With that delicate pale face and innocent eyes, even tempered steel would bend like a ribbon.

“Alright, rest first.” Lu Changsheng’s heart softened and he let her return to the ice coffin to sleep.

He then asked the Heaven Corpse Sect Master, “Aside from the Corpse Demon Primal Qi, did you see anything else?”

“Forgive my incompetence.” The Heaven Corpse Sect Master looked at the closed crystal coffin with real regret. He wanted to study her further.

Lu Changsheng did not blame him and described what he had learned from examining Bing’er these days.

For instance her body had already reached the fourth rank.

And her bones were crystal clear, with Dao-patterns woven through them.

“Imperishable Bones!?”

Hearing about her bones, the Heaven Corpse Sect Master was shaken.

Lu Changsheng did know Imperishable Bones as an honorific for top-grade refined corpses.

It represented the pinnacle realm of yin corpses.

But what the Heaven Corpse Sect Master meant by Imperishable Bones was not the one he knew.

Rather it was a kind of aptitude, an innate endowment and potential.

Like a cultivator’s Spirit Root or Spirit Body, it meant Bing’er had the potential to become a fifth-rank Corpse Sovereign.

In fact, her current state showed she was advancing toward Imperishable Bones.

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master was stunned. He could hardly imagine how Lu Changsheng had obtained such a top-tier yin corpse.

If he could study Bing’er, he felt his corpse path and cultivation realm would soar, maybe even take another great step.

Because within her body there had to be a supreme corpse-path inheritance.

“Master, Miss Bing’er’s situation exceeds my Heaven Corpse Sect’s legacy. In my judgment she is no ordinary yin corpse or refined corpse. She is very likely a great cultivator who used a corpse-cultivation inheritance to reincarnate through a corpse.”

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master analyzed aloud, believing the difficulty to refine something like Bing’er was too high and too exacting.

And if refined, it would be hard for her to develop wisdom and be as pure-hearted as a young girl.

“A great cultivator, huh.” Lu Changsheng’s face stayed calm. He had long suspected as much.

He nodded. “Yeah, that was my guess too. Early on Bing’er even awakened a second personality. It was like she became a different person and her strength surged.”

“What, a second personality awakened?”

The Heaven Corpse Sect Master’s ashen face changed. The news shocked him yet again.

Bing’er had already blown his mind over and over today.

A top-tier yin corpse beyond his sect’s legacy, and she actually housed a second personality.

If that was not a great cultivator’s rebirth, he would never believe it.

For a moment he felt a bit of fear toward Bing’er.

Afraid that inner second personality would wake and take an interest in his Heaven Corpse Sect.

Then he seemed to recall something and said to Lu Changsheng, “Master, there is a lineage recorded in my sect’s classics called ‘Corpse-Shedding Immortal.'”

“Corpse-Shedding Immortal?” Lu Changsheng asked.

“Its core lies in the words ‘corpse-shedding.’ First you refine yourself into a corpse. When the yin corpse body is consummate, you use secret methods or even a Heavenly Tribulation to shed and resolve the ‘corpse shell,’ absorb it, strip away all yin and baleful outward aspects, return to the origin, and condense an ultimate pure yin corpse-immortal body.”

“Miss Bing’er’s case is somewhat similar to that lineage, aside from the dual personality. But that inheritance is extremely hard to cultivate and has long been lost. My Heaven Corpse Sect only has scant records.”

Yan Wujiang voiced his guess to Lu Changsheng.

Bold though it was,

Bing’er’s condition had already shocked him beyond measure.

Moreover, even Yangming True Lord—this reincarnated mighty—did not know her specifics. That meant it was beyond his knowledge too, so he might as well make bold inferences.

“For that Corpse-Shedding Immortal inheritance, at what point counts as a consummate yin corpse body? Fourth rank? Fifth?”

Lu Changsheng narrowed his eyes and asked.

“That depends on the particular method. Different arts set different bars.”

“Some may consider the body consummate at fourth rank, others mid-fourth, late-fourth, even fifth.”

Yan Wujiang said as much. He did not know a lot about that corpse-path inheritance.

“Given Miss Bing’er’s case, perhaps only when all her bones transform into Imperishable Bones will her yin corpse body be considered consummate,” Yan Wujiang speculated.

Once all her bones advanced to Imperishable Bones, even if she had not reached fifth rank as a Corpse Sovereign, she would be a quasi–fifth-rank existence.

If his guess was right and she was a mighty one cultivating the Corpse-Shedding Immortal lineage, then that mighty one was at least a Nascent Soul True Lord, maybe even a Spirit Transformation True Venerable.

Thinking of all that, Yan Wujiang’s throat went dry and his scalp prickled.