Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

ROAR!

Zhang Chi flew rapidly on his Corpse Puppet. Soon, a Tier Three Peak giant silver wolf below spotted his Escape Light. It shot into the sky, baring fangs and brandishing claws as it pounced at the Corpse Puppet.

BANG!

But with a single shudder of its body, the Corpse Puppet unleashed a powerful pressure that radiated outward, instantly and severely suppressing the giant wolf’s power.

The Corpse Puppet seized the chance to throw a punch. The Demon Wolf was struck squarely in the abdomen. While its fur remained completely unscathed, the immense force pierced straight through its body, shattering its internal organs and even its brain.

The Demon Wolf died instantly.

The Corpse Puppet then moved forward. With a wave of its large hand, it grabbed the Demon Wolf’s corpse and quickly processed it.

He took the Demon Wolf’s hide, fangs, and Demon Pill, while the flesh and blood were fed directly to Flying Dragon No.1.

Next, Zhang Chi found the Demon Wolf’s den and quickly plundered the few Tier Three Spirit Medicines it possessed.

Finally, Zhang Chi performed a Soul Search on the Demon Wolf’s soul and was somewhat surprised by what he found.

According to the Demon Wolf’s memories, the Human Race was not, in fact, extinct on this Oasis.

Unfortunately, these humans were now prey for Demon Beasts. Many had even degenerated to the point of eating raw meat and drinking blood, becoming an extremely rare sight in most parts of the Oasis.

Among the Demon Beasts, however, many factions had already emerged, some of which had even occupied ruins left behind by humans.

’Truly, survival of the fittest. I never thought the Human Race would end up at the bottom of the food chain here.’

Zhang Chi couldn’t help but shake his head slightly before resuming his flight.

Although he sympathized with those humans, he knew he couldn’t possibly save them.

The Demon Wolf’s memories showed that this Oasis was home to numerous Tier Four Great Demons, many of whom were at the Tier Four Middle Stage or higher.

From then on, encounters with Demon Beasts became a frequent occurrence.

Zhang Chi didn’t go out of his way to avoid them; after all, he was in no hurry.

Although the other Explorers probably also had maps, the Oasis’s geography was already vastly different from what was depicted on them.

Relying on a map alone, they had no hope of getting ahead of him.

When he encountered Low Tier Demon Beasts and Spirit Grass, Zhang Chi chose to ignore them.

But when he came across Tier Three Demon Beasts or Spirit Grass, Zhang Chi would take action.

While this didn’t make Zhang Chi fabulously wealthy, his gains were still quite substantial.

However, Zhang Chi noticed that he had only encountered Demon Beasts of Tier Four and Below.

He wasn’t surprised by this.

After all, the Oasis seemed vast. Although there were Tier Four Demon Beasts, they were undoubtedly spread far apart.

As time went on, Zhang Chi flew an unknown distance before finally encountering a Tier Four Low Grade Black Tiger.

This tiger was a full hundred zhang long and looked incredibly fierce, but the moment it saw Zhang Chi, it immediately fled in a frenzy.

Evidently, the tiger was smart enough to know that Zhang Chi’s Realm was higher and that he was not someone it could afford to provoke.

BANG! BANG! BANG...

But Zhang Chi had no intention of letting this Black Tiger, a walking treasure trove, escape. He immediately had the Corpse Puppet charge forward and attack.

At the same time, Flying Dragon No.1 joined the battle.

Instantly, the scene was filled with booming sounds and dazzling flashes of light.

An hour later, the Black Tiger was finally driven into a pre-arranged Array and killed by the combined efforts of the Corpse Puppet and Flying Dragon No.1.

Of course, this was only possible because both the Corpse Puppet and Flying Dragon No.1 were stronger. Moreover, the Corpse Puppet had detected the tiger in advance, allowing for ample preparation.

Otherwise, it was entirely possible the tiger would have escaped.

The rewards from this kill were immense.

Whether it was the tiger hide, fangs, bones, Demon Pill, Essence Blood, or Demon Soul, all of it was extremely valuable.

Furthermore, Zhang Chi quickly found the Black Tiger’s den, which contained numerous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, including a stalk of Nine-Curves Spirit Ginseng.

Zhang Chi already had an extra portion of Moonlight Dew. Now, with this Spirit Ginseng, he could refine another batch of Nascent Soul Pills.

This made Zhang Chi sigh with emotion.

Before he achieved the Nascent Soul Realm, it was hard to find even Low-quality Infant Formation Pills, but now he had easily acquired a main ingredient.

The Golden Core Realm truly couldn’t compare to the Nascent Soul Realm.

If a Golden Core Cultivator were here, they would surely die, let alone kill a Tier Four Demon Tiger to obtain a Spiritual Object.

After finishing the looting, Zhang Chi continued onward. Three years passed in a flash.

During this period, Zhang Chi killed many more Tier Three Demon Beasts and even encountered three Tier Four Demon Beasts.

However, he only managed to kill two Tier Four Low Grade beasts. The third, a Tier Four Middle Grade beast, was injured by the combined efforts of Zhang Chi and his Spirit Beast but ultimately managed to escape.

Evidently, Zhang Chi’s current Combat Power was still somewhat lacking.

Zhang Chi didn’t mind, though. While he hadn’t killed the Demon Beast, he had plundered its den, and the rewards were still significant.

One day, Zhang Chi finally slowed down, and a hint of excitement appeared on the Corpse Puppet’s rigid face.

’According to my Divination Technique, this should be the place!’

As he thought this, he immediately set up an Array below. He then concealed his aura and flew low to the ground, heading deep into the mountains ahead.

Soon, he discovered that the Spiritual Qi in the air had suddenly become abundant.

Ahead of him, a vast complex of pavilions and towers suddenly appeared—clearly the site of a Major Sect.

Moreover, many human-like figures could be seen moving among the buildings, suggesting the presence of Cultivators.

But when Zhang Chi moved closer to investigate, a strange expression came over his face.

Because these figures were not people, but rather a group of Demon Beast Black Bears.

These Black Bears were enormous, at least one zhang tall, but they walked upright on two legs, which was why they looked like human silhouettes from a distance.

Many of these Black Bears were even draped in Beast Hides and carried bone clubs, stone spears, or even metal weapons.

Clearly, they had learned to use weapons.

’It seems these Demon Beast Black Bears have occupied the human ruins. They must have obtained some kind of inheritance from it.’

After observing them in secret for a while, Zhang Chi quickly made further assessments.

After that, he settled in and waited patiently in hiding.

After a long wait, a lone Tier Two Black Bear finally left the ruins.

BOOM!

Zhang Chi had the Corpse Puppet shoot out. In an instant, it was behind the bear. It threw a light punch, knocking the Black Bear out on the spot, then dragged it into the shadows, grabbed its head, and performed the Soul Searching Technique.

Soon, Zhang Chi obtained more information about this place, which largely confirmed his suspicions.

He also discovered one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

The good news was that this was indeed the Pill and Artifact Sect ruins he had been looking for. It contained many of the Pill and Artifact Sect’s inheritances, including Tier Four Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation Inheritances and various Secret Techniques.

Moreover, there were many Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and it was highly probable that even Star Divine Iron could be found here.

Of course, because this Black Bear’s Level and status were too low, it didn’t recognize Star Divine Iron and was not qualified to see it, so the information on that front wasn’t specific.

But even just the inherited techniques and other Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were enough to make Zhang Chi’s heart race.

The bad news was that this place was home to a Tier Four Late Stage King of Demon Bears, as well as thirteen Tier Four Middle Stage Demon Bears.

There were even more Tier Four Early Stage Demon Bears—dozens of them—and the number of Demon Bears Tier Four and Below was simply countless.

Fortunately, although these Demon Bears had obtained the ruins, their foundation was ultimately not as profound as that of human Cultivators. As a result, their mastery of various Cultivation Techniques, Magic, and the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation was poor.

For example, they had only grasped a superficial understanding of the Mountain Protection Array and didn’t even activate it under normal circumstances.

As for the Black Bear he had just captured, its Demon Soul shattered after the Soul Search, killing it instantly.

But Zhang Chi didn’t care.

Low Tier Black Bears like this one were often lost during activities like hunting. Unless it had a special status, such as being the son of the Bear King, the High Tier Black Bears generally wouldn’t pay it any mind.

As for the creation of items like Life Tokens and Soul Lamps, the High Tier Black Bears here had mastered the technique, but they hadn’t implemented it widely. Only the High Tier Black Bears and their direct offspring had Life Tokens.

’So many High Tier Black Bears... A frontal assault seems unrealistic. I have to come up with a plan!’

Zhang Chi left the Tier Two Black Bear for his Spirit Beast to deal with, while he himself gazed at the distant Black Bear Nest, deep in thought.

In just a moment, he came up with two possible plans.

The first was to find a way to lure other Explorers here, let them besiege the Black Bears, and then he could fish in troubled waters.

But the other Explorers might not be strong enough.

So that plan was a non-starter.

And even if the Explorers were powerful enough, a large portion of the final rewards would likely end up in their hands.

The second plan was infiltration.

However, infiltration itself had two approaches: direct infiltration...

...and infiltration with the help of an external object, like using a Phantom Beetle.

Zhang Chi immediately ruled out the first option. Even if he used the Divine Concealment Technique through his Corpse Puppet, he definitely wouldn’t be able to hide from the Tier Four Late Stage Demon Bear. Besides, these Demon Bears had an unnaturally sharp sense of smell and would easily detect something amiss on him.

So, Zhang Chi quickly made his decision: he would once again use the Divine Splitting Possession Technique to possess a Black Bear and infiltrate the Black Bear Nest.

Of course, the Black Bear Nest actually had a name: the Pill and Artifact Sect.

These Black Bears now called themselves Cultivators of the Pill and Artifact Sect, claiming their ancestor was the Mountain Guardian Spirit Beast of the human Pill and Artifact Sect.

Of course, the latter claim was most likely false.

It was just that other Demon Beast factions on the Oasis had also occupied various Spiritual Land ruins, large and small. By making such claims, they could legitimize their occupation.

Zhang Chi scoffed at this.

’A bunch of beasts fighting over legitimacy,’ he thought, ’how laughable.’

Moreover, these Black Bears had no love for humans; in fact, they enjoyed capturing and eating the humans on the Oasis.

They all believed this would increase their intelligence.

For a sustainable food source, they even kept some in captivity. A very small number of humans had even become their slaves, or rather, their tools.

After all, humans held advantages in many areas, especially intelligence.

---

Once the plan was set, Zhang Chi resumed his stakeout.

「Three days later」, Zhang Chi easily captured another Black Bear that had ventured out alone.

Bringing the Black Bear back into his Grand Array, Zhang Chi used the Soul Searching Technique to obtain its memories. He then completely erased its consciousness, turning it into a walking corpse.

Only then did Zhang Chi perform the Divine Splitting Possession Technique.

The process was actually quite simple.

Although Zhang Chi’s main body wasn’t present, he had left a portion of his Divine Thought in a Tier Three Peak Puppet and on his Spirit Beast.

SWISH! SWISH!

At this moment, Zhang Chi used the Corpse Puppet to cast a Magic spell, quickly transferring the Divine Thought Power from the Tier Three Puppet to the Black Bear.

The Black Bear immediately became a special kind of Puppet.