by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“Then how did you end up in this state that is neither human nor ghost?” sneered Long Chen.
“Tch, what do you know. Back then three Meridian Opening experts surrounded and besieged me. Furthermore, I was already wounded then. Otherwise, how would I have ended up like this?”
Gui Sha clenched his teeth, his voice filled with anger and brutality. A terrifying killing intent immediately filled the entire lounge.
That killing intent seemed to almost take a solid form, striking shock and fear even in Long Chen. Who knew just how many people this old ghost had killed in order to compile such a terrifying killing intent?
“Kid, don’t try any crap with me. I see that your talent isn’t bad, and your physical body is perhaps even perfect. If you can study my Grand Corpse Devil Refinement Technique, I guarantee you’ll become a true expert within three years,” said Gui Sha.
Long Chen didn’t respond, descending into thought.
“Kid, don’t get any ideas. Even in this dead state, I am still alive. I’ve experienced over three thousand years of time. No plots will work against me.
“Right now you only have two choices. The first is death. The second is to become my apprentice and bring me out of here,” said Gui Sha icily.
“How can I bring you out of here?” asked Long Chen.
“I can hide my soul within your Dantian. You’ll carry out this corpse’s head to exchange for the badge.
“Then when you find a good opportunity, flee from the Xuantian Monastery and I’ll bring you to my sect. Hmph, there you will get one hundred times better grooming than here…”
Long Chen sneered inside. As expected, this old ghost was trying to trick him. How could he place someone else’s soul within his Dantian? Did this old ghost think he was an idiot?
You want me to give up my defenses so that your soul can invade my body and swallow my own soul. How is this me bringing you out? It’s obviously you seizing control of me.
But with his Spiritual Strength, it would normally be easy for him to take control of someone with my cultivation base.
It seems that this corpse has some mysterious energy enveloping it that is sealing his soul inside, so he can’t escape as easily as he should.
“What do you think? Do you want to die? Or do you want to become my apprentice? Do you want to receive my techniques that will allow you to enjoy endless power and beauties?” Gui Sha asked icily. Although he did his best to sound calm, Long Chen’s own powerful Spiritual Strength could sense the fluctuations in his voice.
“Accepting you as a master is fine. Bringing you out of here is also fine. But I, Long Chen, am also this generation’s genius, and I still need to see what qualifications you have to be my master.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s simple. Teach me something that will let me admire you. If you can’t satisfy me, hehe, as a proud man, I, Long Chen, would rather die than surrender,” he proudly said.
“Jiejiejie, ok, interesting. Then, I’ll teach you a technique. Look closely.”
Gui Sha sat down and began to speak. “Your body is excellent, and your physical strength is even comparable to a third rank Magical Beast. But you have no decent Battle Skills.
“So I’ll teach you a decent Battle Skill right now. It is called the Blood Killing Hand. Its strength is limitless and will allow you to fight above your realm.”
“How do I train in it?” Long Chen hastily followed up. That was definitely something he really wanted to learn.
“To cultivate in the Blood Killing Hand is extremely simple. Each day use the warm blood of a person’s heart to dye your hand, letting the blood and qi condense over your palm. When you attack, circulate that blood energy and easily cut across the space to crush your enemy’s heart.”
Long Chen’s heart trembled when he heard this. Use a person’s heart’s blood to temper the hand every day? Then didn’t he need to go kill someone every single day?
Furthermore, Gui Sha had said that so indifferently. It was as though he had been talking about something completely insignificant.
“If you kill one hundred people a day, then in less than one hundred days you will reach the initial mastery point. If you want to reach complete mastery, it will require at least one thousand days. At that time, whenever you strike with your hand, even those with a higher cultivation base than you will still die if they aren’t on guard. Now I’ll teach you the technique…”
“Wait, I’m an upright person. How can I cultivate such sinister techniques?” raged Long Chen.
“Nonsense! Since I am your master, you’ll definitely have to learn these!”
“No, absolutely not! Teach me something else.” Long Chen shook his head.
Gui Sha was infuriated inside. He was a Corrupt sect’s esteemed Elder. For him to teach Long Chen something other than his Corrupt techniques was definitely a kind of humiliation.
He actually wanted to give this brat a slap and kill him, but since he needed to rely on Long Chen’s body to get out of this cave, he couldn’t. He needed to take control over his body, but without Long Chen’s cooperation, it would be impossible for him to escape his current corpse body.
Gui Sha controlled his temper, and once more told him of two other kinds of techniques, but Long Chen shook his head to both. He refused to go follow the Corrupt cultivation path.
“Brat, don’t be too excessive!” Gui Sha’s anger was already at his limit.
“Has there been some mistake? Didn’t you yourself say you were absolutely amazing? Just this little bit has already exhausted all your abilities?” asked Long Chen disdainfully.
“You…!” With his temperament, he would have long since tortured Long Chen to death. But unfortunately, he couldn’t right now. He really was afraid to lose this good of an opportunity.
“Fine, I’ll teach you a footwork technique. It’s called the Netherworld Ghost Steps. It’s a secret technique I have never transmitted, but it’s extremely profound. If you can’t understand it, then don’t blame me.” Gui Sha ground his teeth and began to teach Long Chen the Netherworld Ghost Steps’ mnemonic.
Long Chen put on a blank face as if trying to understand it was extremely taxing. But inside, he was so excited he was almost about to shout.
Chapter 168 Cave Age
Even once Long Chen had disappeared into his cave, many people continued to closely watch.
But that cave was so quiet that it was frightening. Not the slightest sound came out, causing people to look at each other in dismay.
“It couldn’t be that he died just like that without making a sound, right?” People wondered what was going on, as it had already been a while without any noise.
When other people entered their caves, it was never more than just a couple of breaths before intense explosions would begin to ring out.
“There’s no way! Even if he died, he should have at least let out a scream.”
Tu Fang looked at that cave helplessly. He could have stopped such a thing from happening, but he had decided to keep his mouth shut when he remembered what the sect leader had told him before entering seclusion.
“If I remember correctly, it’s been many years since anyone has ever come out of that cave! And it also seems that cave is the deepest of all the caves…” Tu Fang sighed sorrowfully inside.
What puzzled everyone was that no activity came from Long Chen even after all this time. They had no idea that Long Chen had already begun to fight with Gui Sha at this time. It was only that the cave was too deep, and this specific rock muffled most of the sound.
“There’s someone coming out!”
Someone noticed that the sound coming from one of the other caves had faded away and a figure was slowly walking out.
“It’s Tang Wan-er!” Her hair had already scattered, and there were bloodstains on various parts of her body, appearing quite destitute.
Her entire face was now incredibly pale, but a trace of resolve had now appeared in her eyes that had
not been present before. With the head in her hand, she walked out.
“Yes!” Tang Wan-er’s people all let out cheers. There were even some women crying tears of joy. Qing Yu’s hands cupped her face; she was already sobbing noiselessly.
An extremely rare smile appeared on Tu Fang’s solemn face. That was the birth of a core disciple.
Tang Wan-er flew off the cliff, and there was immediately someone who handed her her badge. There was no need for her to personally go over to them; that was the treatment core disciples had earned.
Rubbing that badge, Tang Wan-er was filled with pride. By relying on her willpower, she had finally taken that step. From this moment on, her heart had completely transformed.
For that, she would have to thank that scoundrel’s reminder. Tang Wan-er smiled and looked over everyone, searching for that familiar figure. But she couldn’t find him.
“Where is Long Chen?” asked Tang Wan-er.
Her faction became silent. It was Qing Yu who finally said, “He’s in the trial.”
“Which trial did he choose?” For some reason, Tang Wan-er had a bad feeling.
“... The core disciple trial,” sighed Qing Yu.
“That fool!” Tang Wan-er’s face grew even paler. She had just passed the core disciple trial and knew from experience just how powerful that corrupt corpse inside was.
Tang Wan-er had brushed against death several times in their battle. She had used her full force, almost using up all her energy by the end. In fact, it was only because of her willpower that she had managed to endure long enough to cut off her opponent’s head.
She was the number one genius of her powerful family. She had many life-preserving techniques, but she had practically used them all up. Only then had she managed to eke out a slight victory. For Long Chen to attempt the same, the chances of him passing were too uncertain.
Tang Wan-er was so angry that she stamped her foot and bit her lip. “Why does that scoundrel never listen?!”
Qing Yu gently pulled the aggrieved Tang Wan-er into a hug, consoling, “Don’t worry, Long Chen isn’t crazy. He’ll return alive.”
“Tch, him?! Probably not even his bones remain anymore, so stop waiting-”
An inner disciple from Qi Xin’s faction icily ridiculed Long Chen, but before he had even finished speaking, a figure had appeared before him, and a wind blade was placed right against his throat, cutting him off.
“Do you want to say that again?”
Tang Wan-er angrily glared at that person, killing intent soaring from her eyes. Because wind blades could not be controlled as perfectly as water blades due to the wind energy constantly needing to be in movement, her wind blade had already made several cuts against that person’s throat, causing blood to flow down.
That person turned pale from fright. The current Tang Wan-er was like a beautiful death god, about to announce his final judgement at any moment.
“Wan-er!” Qing Yu was given a fright and quickly pulled her back. She couldn’t possibly kill someone here, or the consequences would be far too dire.
“Bastard, you better pray that Long Chen’s fine, or if anything happens to him, I’ll cut your corpse into a thousand pieces!” Tang Wan-er icily shouted as she pushed away that completely terrified fellow.
That person fell flat on his butt, scared stupid. His companions quickly helped him up and brought him further away to recuperate.
Tang Wan-er took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. Looking at the cave Long Chen had chosen, she prayed, “Long Chen, you better return!”
After another quarter hour went by, Lei Qianshang and Yue Zifeng also came out. They were covered in wounds, but they had also passed.
Following them was Ye Zhiqiu. Her white robes had been dyed almost completely red, but her expression was as icy as ever. Only her eyes revealed a difficult to conceal exhaustion.
The three of them first returned to their factions, receiving a heroic welcome. Once Ye Zhiqiu returned to her faction, she asked Tang Wan-er, “Where’s Long Chen?”
Tang Wan-er sighed and told her that Long Chen was currently in one of the caves.
Ye Zhiqiu consoled her, “Don’t worry, Long Chen will be fine. I’ve always had a suspicion that Long Chen’s strength has already surpassed our imaginations.”
Tang Wan-er only nodded, taking Ye Zhiqiu’s words as just her attempt to comfort her. But before he came out, she would not be able to calm down. A roiling uneasiness filled her heart.
Normally, when Long Chen was present he would infuriate her with just a single sentence, making her want to beat him half to death. But when he wasn’t by her side, she felt as if something was missing.
Suddenly, everyone looked back up to the stone wall. That was because the loud explosions that had been coming from there had all of a sudden become silent.
“Qi Xin’s also come out!” That person was precisely Qi Xin. But his current state was extremely miserable. Blood completely dyed his robes, and one of his arms was broken and just drooped there. A long cut stretched across his face, an extremely horrifying state.
But he also held a person’s head in his hand, so he had clearly passed. Once he came down, a crowd of cheers welcomed him.
He immediately swallowed a couple of medicinal pills. His wounds were just too severe. He was the most miserable-looking of all the five core disciples.
There was no way around it. His water energy didn’t pose that great of a threat to a corpse. His enemy hadn’t feared him at all, causing him to suffer greatly.
Now all five monster-class experts had passed the core disciple trial, allowing Tu Fang to relax greatly.
But everyone was still looking at the stone wall. There was still not the even the slightest movement from Long Chen’s cave.
Tu Fang sighed and turned around to another Elder. “Elder Li, every year’s trial records are handled by you, right?”
“Yes,” nodded that Elder.
“Then do you know what the cave ages of their trials are?” asked Tu Fang.
Elder Li Qi nodded, and a notebook appeared in his hand. “Lei Qianshang’s cave age was 317 years.
“Ye Zhiqiu’s was 365 years, Yue Zifeng’s was 396 years, Qi Xin’s was 298 years, and Tang Wan-er’s was 478 years.”
A burst of questions rang out from the crowd. What was a cave age? What meaning was behind that? Was that when the cave had been excavated?
Tu Fang told them, “Some of you might not have realized, but the corrupt corpses you fought all had an expert’s soul sealed within them. That soul could control the corpse to fight.
“Furthermore, the souls within these corpses are capable of cultivating themselves. As more time passes, their souls begin to grow stronger, raising their strength.
“Although all the corpse bodies of the trials are on the same level, the souls within them have not been sealed at the same time. So their strengths also vary.
“From the moment a soul is sealed within one of the cave’s corpses, we begin counting the time to get the cave age.
“The higher the cave age, the stronger the soul within the corpse, and so the greater the strength of the corpse. The outer disciple trials’ corpses all have weaker souls sealed within them, and the corpses themselves are also weaker.
“Those souls all have cave ages around ten to thirty years. As for the inner disciple trials, those corpses are a bit higher grade and have cave ages around fifty to a hundred years.
“So of two people with equal strength, one might easily pass, while the other might die inside. That’s up to luck.”
Hearing that, an uproar immediately exploded from the crowd. No wonder there were some people who were clearly stronger yet had failed to pass.
“If you want to become an expert, other than talent, perseverance, and intelligence, luck is also equally important. Those who are out of luck are fated to never be able to become experts.
“As for the core disciple trials, they are also the same. But the cave ages are between
two hundred to five hundred.
“Furthermore, those corpses are refined from experts of the Corrupt path and are incomparably hard.
“And the souls sealed within their bodies are Elders of Corrupt sects. Some of them were even stronger than us Elders.
“Most importantly, because they are Corrupt cultivators, their Spiritual Strength is exceptionally strong and they maintain a powerful combat skill.
“Although those corpses limit their true strength, they are still incomparably terrifying,” explained Tu Fang.
Hearing this, everyone understood just how powerful the opponents of the monster-class geniuses had been. No wonder even people as powerful as them appeared so miserable now. Qi Xin had even almost died.
As for Qi Xin, his expression became green as he listened to this. Wasn’t this a slap in his face? He had fought in the cave with the lowest cave age, but he had ended up suffering the most injuries. Was Tu Fang using him as an example?
Everyone looked at those core disciples with great respect. That was especially true of Tang Wan-er. She should be the number one of the monsters.
Tang Wan-er suddenly asked, “Elder, I want to ask, just what is the cave age of Long Chen’s cave?”
That Elder with the notebook nodded and looked up that cave’s cave age.
But when he saw that number, he let out a startled cry:
“What?!”
Chapter 169 Most Difficult Trial in all of History
When that Elder saw that number, his expression completely changed. He looked at it with disbelief.
“How is this possible?!”
Everyone was shocked. To cause an Elder-level expert to become so shocked, just what was it?
Tu Fang sighed. “If I haven’t remembered wrongly, the fellow that is imprisoned in that cave has never been defeated in many years.”
Tang Wan-er hastily asked, “What is the cave age?!” The situation was definitely not good. Her heart sank.
“One thousand… One thousand and twenty-five years,” sputtered out that Elder.
The crowd descended into absolute silence. After each battle, those souls in the corpses would end up using up all their spiritual energy, requiring a great deal of time to recover.
