Chapter 249: Late Stage Foundation Establishment!

Qingzhou, Yin Corpse Sect Headquarters, Yin Hu Secret Realm.

Forces overseen by Cultivators at the Void Profound Realm or above usually have their core headquarters located in an alternate dimension attached to the Tian Yuan World.

This alternate dimension, opened by a Void Profound powerhouse, is safer and more concealed than the lands situated in the outside world, making it less susceptible to foreign invasion.

Nine Infant Demon Lord, one of the four Void Profound Old Ancestors of the Yin Corpse Sect, earned his name by using Demonic Path secret techniques to strip the Nascent Souls of eight God-Physique prodigies and integrate them into his own body.

He is also the mastermind behind the Yin Corpse Sect’s Immortal Puppet Plan; however, this plan has now nearly been ruined due to the interference of the Ancient Kingdom.

“Old Ancestor! The Longevity Physique has appeared.” A Soul Transformation Cultivator wrapped in corpse shrouds stood before a graveyard, calling out to the Nine Infant Demon Lord.

“Where?” An emotionless voice drifted out from within the graveyard.

The Yin Corpse Sect Protector spoke.

“Reporting to the Old Ancestor, that Longevity Physique, Lin Jing, is indeed in Qingzhou. The divination was correct, but he—appeared at the Heavenly Lion Clan’s Centennial Grand Ceremony.”

“The Heavenly Lion Clan?” The graveyard shook as the Nine Infant Demon Lord burst through the air. “What is that Longevity Physique doing at the Heavenly Lion Clan?!”

Protector Yuan said tremblingly, “This Lin Jing publicly revealed his identity as a Longevity Physique at the Heavenly Lion Clan’s ceremony and placed a bounty before countless Yao Beast forces. Using his own Longevity Blood and flesh, he has put a price on the heads of our Sect’s Cultivators…”

The Nine Infant Demon Lord froze for a moment, then laughed out of sheer anger.

However, Protector Yuan’s next words made his smile vanish.

“Afterward, using some unknown method, he caused the Longevity Physique kept by the Heavenly Lion Clan to instantly reach the Void Profound Peak. The two of them slaughtered more than half of the Heavenly Lion Clan’s members and even ransacked their treasury before disappearing without a trace—”

“I suspect… suspect it is the legendary Heavenly Demon Body. After all, Lin Jing has had contact with the Demon Subduing Division. His purpose in going to the Sky Lion Clan might have been to pass the Heavenly Demon Body to the other Longevity Physique.”

“That is the only possibility that would allow two low-level Chang Sheng Bodies to wreak havoc on the Sky Lion Clan.”

The Nine Infant Demon Lord fell into a deathly silence before slowly speaking, “The Heavenly Demon Body… since the destruction of the Heavenly Demon Sect, only two people in the Ancient Kingdom have successfully cultivated it in thousands of years. And you’re telling me both of these Chang Sheng Bodies have mastered it?”

“Damn it!”

“How are we supposed to repair the Immortal Puppet now!” He shouted in rage, causing the surrounding graveyard to explode.

Protector Yuan remained silent.

Countless years ago, the Yin Corpse Sect discovered the corpse of an Immortal Beast in a ruin within the Ancient Kingdom.

This Immortal Beast corpse was closely linked to the ruin and was difficult to move.

Thus, the Yin Corpse Sect secretly converted the site into a branch base, intending to refine the Immortal Beast into a corpse puppet on the spot.

Thus began their efforts spanning countless years.

Unexpectedly, at the most critical moment, they were discovered by the Ancient Kingdom’s Demon Subduing Division, and the base was destroyed.

Many Yin Corpse Sect Cultivators in the base were killed, and the Physical Body of the Void Profound Old Ancestor overseeing the site was destroyed.

Although they eventually succeeded in moving the Immortal Beast corpse, the forced relocation caused severe damage to it, making rare resources desperately needed for its repair.

After investigation, the Yin Corpse Sect discovered that the best materials for repairing the Immortal Beast corpse were the ultimate Origin of Life and Origin of Death.

One of these could be found within a Longevity Physique.

Whether it was for refining an Immortal Puppet or repairing a corpse puppet, a Longevity Physique would be useful.

Therefore, the Yin Corpse Sect once again set its sights on Lin Jing’s Longevity Physique and planned the Hidden Dragon Academy transfer operation.

Yet, unexpectedly, this Longevity Physique Lin Jing was like a mouse, remaining deeply hidden despite the divinations and searches of Void Profound powerhouses.

And now, the first news the Nine Infant Demon Lord heard of Lin Jing was that he and another Longevity Physique had wreaked havoc on the Heavenly Lion Clan, which was simply terrifying.

“I thought that if I really couldn’t find Lin Jing, I would go to the Heavenly Lion Clan and seize their Longevity Physique. Although the Heavenly Lion Ancestor is incredibly difficult to deal with, offending him is nothing compared to restoring the Immortal Beast corpse—”

“But now, the other Longevity Physique’s life Origin is likely exhausted—”

“Only this Lin Jing is left. It’s said that the adopted daughter of the Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect, where this boy comes from, is the Demon Court Saintess.”

“If Lin Jing eventually chooses to seek refuge with the Demon Court, there will be no hope of capturing a Longevity Physique at all.”

“Although the probability of a Longevity Physique daring to join the Demon Court is low, still—”

“You useless trash! You discovered the Longevity Physique so early, so why didn’t you recapture him immediately? If you had caught him sooner, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Facing the Demon Lord’s accusation, Protector Yuan had no way to voice his grievances. The Yin Corpse Sect simply didn’t have many experts available in the Ancient Kingdom, as most were guarding the Immortal Beast ruins.

At that stage, a Qi Training Stage Longevity Physique wasn’t taken seriously at all, and he had entered the Beast Taming Sect.

Even if they dispatched Soul Transformation demonic Cultivators, it would be difficult to break through a Sect protected by a Sect-Protecting Array and a Dragon Vein in a short time.

Dispatching Soul Transformation experts to invade an Ancient Kingdom Sect is something that generally requires careful planning to avoid alerting the enemy.

After all, the Immortal Puppet Plan was more important.

However, before the Sect could even finish its discussions, the Longevity Physique had stayed at the Beast Taming Sect for less than a year before quickly heading to the Hidden Dragon Academy. At that stage, it became even harder to recapture him.

As for the eventual damage to the Immortal Beast corpse and the need for a Longevity Physique’s life Origin to repair it, such subsequent events were beyond anyone’s prediction.

“Forget it.” The Nine Infant Demon Lord let out a breath and said, “Continue searching for Lin Jing; we cannot give up. He himself might not have necessarily mastered the Heavenly Demon Body.”

“Before the Sect Master went into seclusion, he entrusted the refinement of the Immortal Puppet to me. I must not disappoint him—” A hint of fear flashed across his expression.

The current Sect Master of the Yin Corpse Sect, Emperor Hu, is a Dao Inquiry Stage powerhouse of an even older generation than the First Generation Ancient Emperor. He is a Corpse Cultivator, but because he was heavily injured in a battle with the Ancient Emperor back then, he has been in seclusion for thousands of years to recover.

The other purpose for the existence of the entire Yin Corpse Sect is to collect a large amount of Physique Origins to maintain the Sect Master’s Corpse-Nourishing Grounds.

This Immortal Puppet is an important task given to him by the Sect Master. If it fails, punishment is certain. The Nine Infant Demon Lord was determined to capture Lin Jing’s Longevity Physique and repair the Immortal Beast corpse puppet.

“I will personally take action to find the Longevity Physique.” Although he had previously invaded the academy with a phantom body, he was still tracked through the phantom body’s curse by Ancient Kingdom Cultivators and severely injured. However, now was no time for recovery.

With the information about the Longevity Physique exposed, many forces will likely be searching for him.

While the Yin Corpse Sect was in a mess due to Lin Jing’s havoc at the Heavenly Lion Clan, Lin Jing’s true body, under the protection of his Senior Sister, had already sensed the terrifying aura of the ancient Demon Ancestor from within the Blood of Zhu Yan by suppressing it with his Beast Control Body.

An ancient Demon Ancestor could never accept being suppressed by a Beast Control Body, not even a single drop of its blood.

The process of their collision allowed Lin Jing to gradually gain a deeper understanding of the Zhu Yan Demon Ancestor.

At the same time, thanks to the chaos he caused at the Heavenly Lion Clan, he had gained an incomparable amount of Potential Dragon Luck, which could be used to enhance his Comprehension Ability.

“It’s almost ready. By combining the Thousand Transformations skill—which has reached the Spell Spirit level—with the Reverse Illusion Art to summon a materialized Zhu Yan, although it’s impossible to exert the true combat power of a Demon Ancestor, there shouldn’t be any major problems as long as the opponent hasn’t reached the Nascent Soul stage.”

Lin Jing stopped his seclusion and discovered that during this process, his cultivation had broken through to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment!

Although the Core Formation feedback from the Dragon Carp hadn’t allowed him to break through in one go, he was only a hair’s breadth away. Now, after a few days of cultivation, he had successfully crossed that threshold himself.

“How do you feel?” Xu Qingyao, who had been protecting Lin Jing, saw him open his eyes and said, “When you just broke through a minor Realm of the Foundation Establishment Stage, you almost sucked all the Spiritual Qi in this Immortal Cave dry.”