Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

Soon, a hidden figure emerged from the shadows in the corner.

It was the Yin Ghost Sect Saint Child who had first ventured towards the depths of the Dragon Burial Cave.

The position he was in was just beyond Lin Xiuzhu’s Divine Sense range, and his entire being was enveloped in endless Blood Fiend Qi, blending completely into the surroundings.

With just a slight movement of his Magical Power, a ghostly soul surrounding him merged with the Blood Fiend in the cave, drifting towards Lin Xiuzhu.

Li Ji’an sneered, observing the unfolding events.

As the ghostly soul from the Yin Ghost Saint Child drifted over, the six masses of Yin Qi that Lin Xiuzhu had been fully absorbing suddenly trembled.

Then, to his surprise and doubt, the six masses of Yin Qi began to merge into one.

"Not good!" Lin Xiuzhu was greatly alarmed.

He had decided to use the Corpse Refining Vessel to absorb this Ghost King because he found that the opponent had already lost his consciousness and retained only instinct.

After he summoned six corpse puppets, the Ghost King’s Yin Soul voluntarily split into six avatars, greatly reducing its own power.

Now, however, it began to merge back together.

Once united, it would truly possess the power of a late Core Formation stage.

"Capture!" At this point, he could no longer overthink; he had to increase the absorbing power, regardless of consuming more of the Corpse Refining Vessel’s essence.

Boom~

However, just before the six masses of ghostly souls were about to be absorbed into the Corpse Refining Vessel, they united.

In an instant, an even stronger Yin Fiend power erupted.

The eerie mist before him gradually formed into a humanoid figure shrouded in black mist, with eyes glowing a blood-red light.

A dense Evil Qi surged through its nostrils.

As soon as it returned to its original form, the Ghost King took a deep breath, drawing in the surrounding Blood Fiend, continuously nourishing the Yin Fiend Qi that Lin Xiuzhu had just consumed.

Lin Xiuzhu’s six corpse puppets immediately stood in front of him, and the Corpse Refining Vessel above his head was pushed to the extreme.

But it was no longer able to move the adversary by even an inch.

"Roar~" The Ghost King absorbed the surrounding Blood Fiend, slowly turned its head, glanced at the Corpse Refining Vessel, and finally fixed its pair of blood-red eyes on Lin Xiuzhu.

"Youngling, courting death!" It then spoke in human tongue, the voice hoarse and deep like a ghost from Hell.

Lin Xiuzhu’s expression changed abruptly.

Moments ago, he had confirmed the opponent’s consciousness had perished, yet now it had been restored.

Before he could retract the Corpse Refining Vessel, the Ghost King spewed a plume of black fiend that instantly enveloped the vessel.

In an instant, his connection with the Corpse Refining Vessel was severed.

"Audacious ghost!" Lin Xiuzhu was aghast, for the Corpse Refining Vessel was not only a sacred relic of the Corpse Puppet Sect but also a token representing the Sect Leader’s status. The Golden Puppet Holy Monarch had passed it to him before heading to the Central Ten Domains, solidifying his position as the next Sect Leader of the Corpse Puppet Sect.

With no regard for preserving strength, Lin Xiuzhu bit his tongue sharply and pointed towards a dark-golden corpse puppet.

The dark-golden corpse puppet instantly radiated a golden light, its entire body resembling a statue cast in gold, and its aura surged dramatically, suddenly escalating to the peak of a Tier Three Golden Body Corpse Puppet.

After its aura reached the extreme, the Golden Body Corpse Puppet fiercely charged towards the Ghost King.

The Ghost King exhaled forcefully, showing no fear, and lunged towards the Golden Body Corpse Puppet.

"Bang!" The two collided fiercely, both retreating three yards, unexpectedly matched in strength.

"Cackle cackle cackle~" The Ghost King was not angered but delighted, its blood-red eyes fixed obsessively on the Golden Corpse, revealing an extreme desire.

"This Golden Body, I shall have it." With that, it carried black mist to sweep over once again.

The Golden Puppet, devoid of spirit and consciousness, continued its relentless assault.

However, this time, the Ghost King did not clash head-on. When the Golden Puppet struck, the area touched instantly turned into ghostly vapor, rendering the attack a miss.

Each time the ghostly mist made contact, it adhered a considerable amount onto the Golden Puppet.

Lin Xiuzhu could clearly feel that with each wisp of ghostly mist attaching, the Golden Puppet’s movements grew noticeably sluggish.

And the Golden Puppet’s assaults focused mainly on brute force and corpse poison, having minimal effect on the Ghost King.

"Ghost Possession!" Lin Xiuzhu promptly discerned its motive, his expression growing even more stern.

Through the Corpse Refining Vessel, the sea of consciousness of a corpse puppet had been purified, thus making it no ordinary body, preventing even a regular Nascent Soul from taking possession, for without a sea of consciousness, a Nascent Soul had nowhere to reside.

However, ghost cultivators were different; they indeed had the potential to possess it and make it their own body.

"How dare you!" Lin Xiuzhu dared not delay any longer and summoned his Lifebound Magical Treasure from his Dantian.

His Lifebound Magical Treasure was a Bronze Rod, covered with bloodthirsty hooks, which, upon appearance, greedily absorbed the Blood Fiend Qi in the air.

"Boom!" A blow struck out, combined with a fierce gang wind, surprisingly unleashing nearly fifty percent of the power of this Sixth Grade treasure.

As the fierce gang wind swept through, the Ghost King dared not resist hard, though likewise showing no fear, easily evading by turning into ghostly mist.

It then retaliated with ghostly Qi, forcing Lin Xiuzhu to fend off with all his might.

With one blow from the Ghost King, the Protective Magic Shield around Lin Xiuzhu dimmed slightly.

Mere moments later, Lin Xiuzhu had to retreat explosively to escape the Ghost King’s attack range.

The Ghost King did not pursue; it continued a standoff with the Golden Body Corpse Puppet, progressively enveloping it in ghostly mist.

By now, Lin Xiuzhu clearly sensed that his Golden Body Corpse Puppet’s movements had slowed by a significant margin, overall power diminishing by at least thirty percent.

"Today, I shall see you annihilated!" Lin Xiuzhu, fully enraged, slapped his Storage Pouch, releasing a Talisman radiating the Power of Thunder and Lightning.

Lightning spread over its surface, emanating an intimidating aura of dread.

Even through Gugu sensing, Li Ji’an felt a similar unease in his heart.

It was indeed a Talisman Treasure.

With his Tier Three top-grade Talisman Master insight, Li Ji’an recognized at a glance this Talisman was not an ancient artifact, having formed only within the last three hundred years.

It must have been crafted by some seasoned Tier Three Talisman Master of this era.

From the lightning power on this Talisman, it was crafted from an Upper Three Grades of Thunder Attribute Magical Treasure.