Watching the barrier appear at the cave entrance behind the waterfall, Yun Yun stood frozen in place. After a long while, she murmured in disbelief, "He really is just cultivating?"
This realization poured cold water over the warmth and restlessness that had just stirred in her heart.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and she bit her red lips tightly, stomping her foot in frustration. A trace of unwilling grievance flashed across her beautiful face.
She had been lost in her own romantic fantasies, never expecting the other party to simply be an eccentric cultivator.
"What a strange guy. He'll just stay lonely for the rest of his life," Yun Yun muttered through clenched lips, angrily kicking a nearby boulder.
A fierce burst of energy shot out, shattering the boulder into pieces and tearing a ravine over ten meters long into the ground.
Little Red, who had just cheerfully returned to the top of the valley, shrank its head at the sight.
This kind of human definitely isn't edible. Such a violent temper would probably upset digestion.
Crawling backward a short distance, Little Red turned and dashed toward the small valley filled with medicinal herbs. The depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range really aren't safe. I'd better stick to my guard duties.
After venting her anger, Yun Yun's cheeks were flushed. She exhaled softly and stabbed her sword into the ground.
Her long, fair legs gracefully knelt on the grass as she took another deep breath, suppressing the rare emotions that had surfaced on her face.
Though she didn't know the specifics of how he cultivated, based on the lingering memories in her mind, she could guess a little.
It probably involved using alluring feminine charm as an aid in cultivation. If one could maintain their mental discipline, their strength would grow.
Just thinking about it made her body feel weak, and she couldn't help but let out a soft snort. "What kind of bizarre cultivation method is that?!"
Yun Yun had read plenty of ancient texts, but no matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn't find any records of cultivation methods that used feminine allure as an aid. This made her even more resentful as she glared at the cave behind the waterfall.
Given her status, Yun Yun had met countless outstanding young talents, some of whom held positions so prestigious that women would throw themselves at them.
Yet, she had never paid them any extra attention. The only one who could stir such intense emotions in her was this complicated young man.
Inside the cave, after sealing the entrance with Dou Qi, Xiao Yan waved his black sleeve and summoned the corpse of the traitor, Scorpion Mountain.
The Three Paths Gu had erupted from within, staining Scorpion Mountain's Dou Zong-level corpse a sickly green, completely different from an ordinary skeleton.
The reason for sealing the cave wasn't just to prevent interruptions—it was also to contain the poisonous aura of the Three Paths Gu.
Looking at the strongest corpse he had obtained so far, Xiao Yan couldn't help but recall the even more powerful figure from the Chu Yun Empire.
"What a pity about Scorpion Bi Yan, that four-star Dou Zong. After using the Demon Poison Spot, his body and soul were completely destroyed."
"Still, thanks to that old man's Demon Poison Spot, I was able to break through to the Dou Huang level in an extremely short time. Otherwise, I might have had to seclude myself for a very long period."
Thinking about how he had surpassed the Dou Huang bottleneck—a barrier that stumped most geniuses—in such a short time, Xiao Yan's regret faded.
As for the body needed to revive Yao Lao, he would worry about that after obtaining the other two materials. Keeping this Dou Zong corpse unused would only cause its value to depreciate.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Xiao Yan flicked his finger, releasing a wisp of dark green flame. The evolved Netherworld Poison Flame enveloped Scorpion Mountain's corpse.
Thanks to the extreme toxins cultivated by the Little Fairy Doctor, the Netherworld Poison Flame had evolved far faster than other Heavenly Flames, becoming the first to surpass its original ranking on the Heavenly Flame List.
Under the dark green Netherworld Poison Flame's refinement, black corpse energy gradually seeped out of Scorpion Mountain's remains over time.
Unlike previous refinements, once the black corpse energy emerged, Xiao Yan suddenly changed his hand seals. The Netherworld Poison Flame surged, forcibly refining the corpse energy back into the bones.
As a flame he had personally nurtured, Xiao Yan's control over the Netherworld Poison Flame had reached an incredibly precise level—almost rivaling Yao Lao's mastery over the Bone Chilling Flame.
It was worth remembering that Yao Lao had spent years honing his alchemy skills, step by step, until he reached the eighth-tier level. Xiao Yan, however, was only around fifteen years old, with far less training time.
This altered refinement process took a full four to five hours before all the corpse poison was fully integrated into Scorpion Mountain's remains.
After absorbing the corpse poison, the bones took on the same color as the Netherworld Poison Flame—a deep, eerie green.
Though it had taken time, the Three Paths Gu had fused with this strange corpse energy, evolving into an even more troublesome poison. This elevated the quality of Scorpion Mountain's corpse.
This level of toxicity was so potent that even Xiao Yan, its creator, would need considerable effort to neutralize it now.
Once the body was prepared, Xiao Yan flexed his fingers, releasing five bursts of energy that drilled five holes into Scorpion Mountain's forehead and chest.
After this step, he retrieved four demon cores and a jade vial from his storage ring.
Looking at the five holes in the corpse, Xiao Yan shook his head slightly.
Normally, crafting a puppet only required one hole in the forehead (for the soul) and one in the chest (for the demon core).
But unfortunately, his resources were lacking, so he had to compensate with quantity.
After sorting through the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate's collection, he hadn't found a single seventh-tier demon core. Fortunately, he had managed to gather a few sixth-tier ones.
When light entered the jade vial again, the Iron Protector's voice roared out, filled with venomous fury:
"Xiao Yan! What will it take for you to let me go?!"
"Don't worry, you'll have your freedom soon," Xiao Yan chuckled, flicking the four sixth-tier demon cores into the four holes in Scorpion Mountain's chest.
Having slain many powerful experts from the Chu Yun Empire, the sixth-tier demon cores from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate were only a fraction of his total stock.
These four sixth-tier cores had been carefully selected—all were top-quality fire-attribute cores.
After all, this was his only Dou Zong-level corpse. Naturally, he treated it as a treasure, handling it with the utmost care.
Hearing Xiao Yan's promise of freedom, the Iron Protector's mood brightened.
"So, you've finally realized the might of the Soul Palace?"
"Your strength isn't bad. With my recommendation, you could immediately become an Earth Protector—a rank above me. After some more training, becoming a Heaven Protector wouldn't be difficult."
(End of Chapter)
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