Chapter Twenty-Four: Refining Corpses

  "Be careful!" Cha Yun'er saw Mu Yuan reaching out to grab the stone gu and hastily reminded him. The people in Fei Long Zhai had been washed with medicine since childhood, so they were not afraid of the gu worm. She saw that Mu Yuan was young and didn't think he was a cultivator, fearing that he would be injured by the stone gu, she cried out anxiously.

  Zha Ying also said in a low voice, "Little friend, don't underestimate this. Although the stone gu is a lower-level existence among the gu insects, it is extremely dangerous, so be careful!"

  Mu Yuan smiled and nodded, indicating that it was nothing to worry about. His true energy protected his body, and the palm of his hand was constantly circulating with true energy, faintly revealing the path of the Green Wood Divine Spark. However, due to his limited cultivation, he couldn't release it outwardly. With one hand grasping the Stone Gu, he felt that the stubborn stone in his hand seemed to have a life of its own, jumping and leaping about, and even emitting a faint cry like an infant's wail, which was truly strange and unusual.

  "This is...?" Mu Yuan looked at the shadow, and his curiosity about the stubborn stone that could make such a noise was beyond words! Fortunately, he had seen the mountain goblin before, and knew that even plants, trees, and stones could produce wisdom. It's just that this stone in front of him was really too small, and its texture wasn't very good either. If it could produce spiritual wisdom, it would be surprising!

  Unexpectedly, Cha Ying also had a suspicious look on his face and said in surprise, "This is really strange. Although the stone can make a sound, it's only when it enters the body of a living spirit, three to five days later, after absorbing the essence and energy of the soul, that it can do so. However, it still doesn't count as a living spirit. Just now, it entered Xiao You's hand and was able to make a loud noise, this is truly an unprecedented event!"

  Mu Yuan listened to this and felt somewhat enlightened, thinking that his own longevity true energy was indeed in growth, containing life essence far surpassing ordinary mortals. This stone cicada, once it came into contact with the vital energy, would immediately be able to exert its effects, which was also normal.

  Having grasped the trick, Mu Yuan was quite fond of this stone that could move on its own and played with it ceaselessly. Cha Ying laughed, though he didn't know the reason behind it, "Little friend is indeed an extraordinary person, able to hold a Stone Gu without getting hurt. However, let's eat first, we can look at other Gu later!"

  Cha Ying was quite enthusiastic and generous, seeing Mu Yuan's interest in Gu insects, he didn't hide anything, thinking that the technique of raising Gu insects was complex and wouldn't let outsiders know the method, but it wasn't a big deal.

  Mu Yuan smiled slightly and put down the stone pendant in his hand, his curiosity was too strong, so he put it aside and buried his head to eat.

  The table was filled with a variety of dishes, both vegetarian and meat-based, but mostly featuring bamboo shoots. This was likely due to the abundance of bamboo in Feilongzhai. Although bamboo shoots are available all year round, they are best in spring and winter. Despite it being late autumn, the bamboo shoots were still tender, fragrant, and extremely delicious. After eating meat for many days, I found the bamboo shoots refreshingly sweet and aromatic, and couldn't help but eat more than my fill, feeling utterly satisfied.

  After dinner, he took Mu Yuan to the backyard to see the various wasps he had raised. There were snake wasps, mud daubers, paper wasps, cicada killers, and yellowjackets... The variety of species left Mu Yuan speechless!

  After a glance around, Mu Yuan suddenly asked, "I've heard rumors in the Central Plains of a Golden Silkworm Gu, said to be extremely formidable. Uncle, have you ever raised one?"

  After hearing Mu Yuan's words, Cha Ying's face showed a proud expression, and he smiled, saying, "The Golden Silkworm Gu is the most ferocious type of gu worm in our Fei Long Zhai, but only the leader knows how to raise it, we don't!"

  Mu Yuan hesitated for a moment, then asked again, "I've heard that the Golden Silkworm is immune to water and fire, and can't be injured by swords or knives. Is that true?"

  Hehe, that's natural. The Golden Silkworm is the king of all silkworms. Those who are poisoned by it rarely have a chance to survive. Even cultivators who practice internal energy exercises have great reservations about the Golden Silkworm. How could they easily get along with each other?

  Mu Yuan smiled but didn't speak, regarding the rumored Golden Silkworm Gu, he was already very curious, and after seeing the ones raised by Cha Ying, he understood the profundity of the Gu worms. As for the one known as the King of a Hundred Gu, the Golden Silkworm Gu, he became even more curious!

  "It's getting late and the autumn air is cool, so why don't you stay at my place tonight, little friend? Tomorrow I'll take you to see the scenery of Feilong Fortress!" Cha Ying had a good impression of this cheerful young man, and the other person's fondness for his beloved Gu insects made him even more affectionate, so he invited Mu Yuan to stay overnight.

  Mu Yuan didn't hesitate either and agreed to stay. Anyway, he had no particular purpose in mind, so it wouldn't hurt to spend another day here, taking in the sights, which was also a good idea.

  Before long, the moon rose over the eastern hills, bright and clear, round like a jade plate. It was a wonderful time. The whole family set up tables and chairs in the courtyard to enjoy the moonlight together, filled with joy and harmony. Mu Yuan couldn't help but feel envious.

  "I just heard Uncle say that there is still a technique for refining corpses here, I wonder how it is?" After drinking a cup of hot tea, in this cool autumn night, Mu Yuan felt refreshed and comfortable all over, his interest in talking was piqued, and he asked.

  Zha Yun'er spoke up before Zha Xing could respond, "The method of refining corpses is actually only done by a few people in the village. It's similar to raising Gu insects, but it's much more troublesome. The most powerful one in the village is also refined by the village master, a thousand-year-old flying corpse that has almost reached the state of being as white as jade and emitting mist under the warm sun!"

  "Her whole body was like jade, and the warm sun produced mist?" Mu Yuan was somewhat astonished, curiously asking, "What kind of realm is this?"

  Mu Yuan was after all young and inexperienced, and many things were beyond his knowledge. This art of corpse refinement would never appear in the classics of the Longevity Palace, even among the demonic sects that practiced it, there were very few who did so. Whether it was raising Gu insects or refining flying corpses, not only was it not a proper cultivation method, but it was simply a means to counter enemies, just like refining equipment!

  "Upon seeing his daughter interrupt, he also happened to have some spare energy, so he let her continue speaking. Then, Cha Yun'er continued, 'The flying corpses that are refined through sacrifice can be divided into six levels. The first four levels are gold, silver, copper, and iron. Only when the corpse is refined to the point where it's not afraid of knives and guns can it be considered a flying corpse, which is the iron corpse! After the gold corpse comes the jade corpse, with a body that's pure white and clean, like warm jade, no longer an icy cold corpse. When exposed to sunlight, there's a colorful mist that fuses together! The highest level is returning to one's origins, becoming indistinguishable from ordinary people, with breathing, heartbeat, blood vessels, and muscles all the same as those of the living, except for lacking a soul, which is why it's also called a living dead person!'"

  Cha Yun'er's words opened Mu Yuan's eyes, and he didn't expect that the ordinary Fei Long Zhai would have such a method of refining corpses. He thought that the first layer of corpse refinement was already immune to swords and guns, and the highest level of living dead people were unknown to what extent they had reached! It just so happened that the best ones were these soulless corpses, which were simply the best bodies for snatching souls!

  Mu Yuan did not expect that the method of refining flying corpses was actually a shortcut used by cultivators to seize houses. The most powerful living dead, with a strong physical body comparable to the ancient divine dragon and qilin, plus being an inanimate object from the beginning, after a period of refinement, experiencing the five realms of gold, silver, copper, iron, and jade, is like a peerless divine sword, with a long lifespan, almost indestructible. However, every promotion is extremely difficult, like the golden corpse in Fei Long Zhai that has been passed down for many years through hard work. Moreover, only powerful cultivators can refine flying corpses to the highest level, otherwise, how could they withstand the daily torture, and wouldn't have been destroyed by medicinal stones long ago?

  Refining a flying corpse, choosing the right corpse is crucial. For example, this golden corpse in Fei Long Zhai was actually the body of an ancient war general, which was accidentally unearthed by the ancestors of the master of Fei Long Zhai while robbing a tomb. After years of refinement, it finally reached the state of a golden corpse! If it were an ordinary person's corpse, refining it to the level of a bronze corpse would already be the limit!

  These circumstances Mu Yuan would not know, even if it was the Cha family, or even the leader of Fei Long Zhai, they were unclear. Seeing Mu Yuan dazed and distracted, Cha Yun'er pointed to a place not far north and smiled, saying, "Look, that golden light is the leader, Yuan Longtai, sacrificing the flying corpse!"

  He turned around and saw in the distance to the north, a golden light shooting up, exceptionally clear in the night, like a laser beam, straight and bright, shining through the sky. The moon's power was slowly being absorbed into the golden light, as if water droplets merging into a stream, amplifying the majesty of the golden light!

  "What a pity, I've heard about the flying corpse of the Yuan family since I was young, but I've never seen it before. Every night, I can only see this beam of light, which is much more magnificent than the Gu insect!" Cha Yun'er's face was full of regret, with a hint of yearning, gazing at the golden light that seemed to pierce through heaven and earth, muttering to herself!

  Muyuan's heart stirred, "Has Yun'er also not seen it?"

  "Ha! Not just Yun'er, my husband and I have lived for thirty years, but we've never seen the golden corpse of the village master's family. The most formidable ones that are rarely seen are the silver corpses!"

  Mu Yuan smiled and stood up, "I'd like to go see this flying corpse's skills, are you all interested?"

  "Good fellow, don't be rash," said Cha Ying in surprise. "The leader of the stronghold has always treasured his golden corpse like a precious jewel and never allowed anyone to see it, how can you get a glimpse?"

  Muyuan smiled and said, "The mountain people have their own wonderful plan, can Uncle Cha come together?"

  Zha Ying shook his head, "I'm different from you. If I get caught, I won't be able to stay in the village anymore. You can go, it's fine. Even if the village master finds out, he'll just drive you out of the village, but he won't hurt anyone!"

  Zha Yun'er, however, was eager to try and coquettishly said to Zha Ying, "Daddy, I'll go take a look with Mu Da'ge. Since Mu Da'ge says there's a way, then there must be a way!"

  "Impossible, you're not allowed to go!"

  Cha Yun'er made a bitter face, Mu Yuan saw her eager expression and smiled at Cha Ying, "Don't worry, uncle, I have a way!"

  As he spoke, he waved his hand and a layer of purple-black air spread out, which was the true energy of the tide. A faint mist surrounded his whole body, and Mu Yuan's figure gradually faded away, until he completely disappeared from the sight of several people.

  Zha Ying and his wife were shocked, but Mu Yuan had already reappeared with a smile on his face. This was just one of the hidden divine arts in the Black Water Mystical Method, which allowed him to hide his body in the water vapor. It was quite simple, similar to the Five Elements Escape Technique, but much more superficial.

  Zha Yun'er was overjoyed and said to Zha Ying, "Daddy, look! Mu Da Ge can hide himself, so he must be fine!"

  Investigating the shadow, he couldn't help but think that Mu Yuan had such a magical technique. He himself also had the idea of going together for a moment, but unfortunately, what he said earlier was too proud, and it wasn't good to change his words now. Smiling, he said, "So, Mu Xiao You actually knows this strange skill, I really underestimated you! Never mind, Yun Er, you go first, just be careful not to reveal any traces!"