Chapter 17: Auspicious Day, Refine the Corpse!

"Haha, now that's a true son of the Han family!"

The world was in turmoil, with nothing but rotten wood holding office in the court.

Refugees were rising up; barbarians were knocking at the gates.

Any conscientious descendant of the Han would not stand idly by and watch such unbearable incidents unfold.

"Have you learned Corpse Driving? Only by mastering the Corpse Driving Technique can one truly master the Chenzhou Talisman."

"Not yet..." Xu Xuan shared the difficulty of Corpse Driving with Li Hu. Since he had decided to bring Li Hu into his fold, he might as well be honest; perhaps Li Hu knew some ancient method.

This world had not an iota of spiritual energy; the difficulty level was incomparable to that of the Mirror Realm.

Li Hu was a true successor of the Corpse Driving path and probably knew some secret techniques passed down from the ancient times.

"To refine a living corpse, someone must willingly cooperate. How about I do it?"

Li Hu's words shocked Xu Xuan.

Xu Xuan lifted his head, looking incredulously at the old man.

"Why?"

"For family, and for country," said Li Hu expressionlessly, his resolve to die firm. "I am not trying to drive a wedge between you brothers. Xu Feng is restless; you will inevitably clash with each other. If it doesn't happen, then so be it, but if it does, please let me take my revenge with my own hands."

The reason for the country was mainly to deal with the barbarians.

Controlled by the barbarians for many years, Li Hu deeply hated them, and he was also well aware of their cruelty.

If Xu Xuan were to face the barbarians in the future, he was willing to contribute his strength.

"I am definitely going to deal with the barbarians, but whether sooner or later requires further consideration," said Xu Xuan.

Dealing with the barbarians was also mainly for personal gain.

If historical progress were correct, the barbarians would cause significant damage to tradition; if what had been passed down for thousands of years was already scant, then after the ravages of war, perhaps nothing would be left at all.

Reliance on the mirror alone wouldn't suffice; the mirror could at most provide some spiritual resources, but obtaining treasures would still be less probable than by his own efforts.

Xu Xuan had a Phoenix Stone in his possession, which he planned to use when he reached a bottleneck.

"However, I don't recommend you doing this. Maybe a death row inmate wouldn't be bad either."

A death row inmate might not cooperate, but they could be deceived into participation.

Li Hu shook his head in refusal and said, "I don't have many months left to live. I understand the Corpse Driving Technique; this will be a good opportunity for you to gain experience."

Xu Xuan was about to say something, but Li Hu, impatient, interrupted, "As a successor of the Chenzhou Talisman Method, my biggest regret in this life is not being able to perceive the great Dao. Now that you have this divine skill, it's as if I'm involved. Let this old man experience it once more before I die!"

"Alright, give me three days. As soon as the materials are delivered, we'll start," replied Xu Xuan.

"It's a deal."

Xu Xuan placed his hand on Li Hu's back and channeled True Qi into him, purifying his flesh.

"Feel the True Qi carefully; later you will absorb spiritual energy according to the Calming Charm," Xu Xuan instructed.

As he sensed the mysterious energy circulating within him, Li Hu couldn't help but marvel at the magic of this technique.

The two arrived at the Tianwen Palace on the mountain.

To the left of the palace was the Training Hall, with simple facilities; a desk littered with various Talisman Papers, a few meditation cushions on the floor, and the character for 'Silence' hung large on the wall.

Xu Xuan took out a thumb-sized Spirit Stone from his chest pocket.

"Hold this in your hand and attract spiritual energy. You will do just this for the next three days."

"Alright."

Li Hu sat cross-legged and entered into a state of contemplation.

Meanwhile, Xu Xuan went to the side desk, picked up the Fox Tail Brush, spread out the draft paper, focused his mind, and wrote in one go.

The outcome, naturally, was a failure.

Xu Xuan still did not give up; he wrote over and over again, continuously adjusting. The desk was covered with a thick stack of draft papers.

He was practicing the Corpse Preserving Talisman and Corpse Driving Talisman.

He compared each drawn talisman to the information from the mirror on his chest.

Corpse Preserving Talisman (Minor Proficiency 3%), Corpse Driving Talisman (Minor Proficiency 8%).

He had been practicing these two talismans daily for the past few months.

He had no time to practice the Armored Horse Talisman or Levitation Technique. These two spells were quite limited in usefulness; when proficiency was low, they were not very effective. The Levitation Technique required at least to reach Major Proficiency or Mastery to briefly fly at low altitude; at lower proficiencies, it only served to make one an easy target.

Soon, his proficiency began to increase.

This mirror didn't have allocation points, but with proficiency it was more intuitive – one could know whether they were doing it right or not.

It's like having a famous teacher constantly correcting one's own mistakes.

After practicing the Talisman Techniques, one still needs to refine the Corpse Driving Bell with True Qi.

Half an hour later, Li Hu woke up, returned the Spirit Stone to Xu Xuan with a bitter smile, and said, "I couldn't sense the spiritual energy, it seems I don't possess the aptitude."

"Don't worry, let's wait a bit longer."

Three days later.

At dawn, in the backyard, a large vat was set up with flames burning underneath.

The vat was boiling with bubbling water, and Xu Xuan stood by it, holding medicinal ingredients, adding them in one by one.

"Peony Flowers, Immortal Herb, Lotus Pods, Placenta, Dog Bone Ash, Arsenic, Heartbreak Grass, Strong Liquor, Centipedes..."

As the ingredients were added and simmered, the water in the vat turned dark and turbid.

Li Hu watched leisurely with his arms folded.

He quite enjoyed studying spells, striving to break the limits not surpassed by ordinary people in an era without the magic of immortality.

"You know, if I were fifty years younger, I would certainly kill and plunder for treasures," laughed Li Hu.

Xu Xuan didn't turn his head, "If you weren't only going to live for a few more months, and had even a year of life left, I would have killed you to keep you silent a long time ago."

"Haha!" Li Hu laughed heartily. He assured himself that even without his reminder, Xu Xuan wouldn't be taken by surprise by anyone; on the contrary, it would be surprising if Xu Xuan wasn't the one scheming against others.

Despite their close relationship, Xu Xuan seemed casual but was always on his guard.

Li Hu didn't mind this at all. Those who achieve great things share a common trait: they are suspicious. How can you allow others to sleep soundly by your couch? Even parents and children don't share their secrets.

Another trait is decisiveness: once you choose to do something or pick someone, you stick with it.

The flames died down, and after the medicine cooled, Li Hu stripped off his clothes, revealing an old yet robust body.

He completely submerged himself in the vat.

"Humph..."

Intense pain assaulted him, as though countless little knives were cutting into his flesh. Li Hu's face turned red and his veins bulged.

"Endure it! Sense the spiritual energy!" Xu Xuan's shout awakened Li Hu.

Li Hu steadied his heart and grasped the Spirit Stone in his hand, trying to sense the spiritual energy.

In fact, this process wasn't to help Li Hu cultivate True Qi but to allow spiritual energy to enter his body.

Artificially infusing spiritual energy into the body, fulfilling the conditions for corpse refinement.

The day when spiritual energy officially entered Li Hu's body was the moment to begin corpse refining.

Xu Xuan watched intently by the side, fearing he might miss any part of the process.

He had to observe the living corpse refining so as to master the art of refining the dead, otherwise, it would be a betrayal of Li Hu's sacrifice.

In this world, there are no immortals.

The Path of Immortality is difficult; even Emperor Qin and the Han warriors exhausted the nation's alchemists, and none met with a good end.

Xu Xuan is determined to carve out his own path against fate and achieve transcendence in this world.

Rising from insignificance, he set foot on the road to immortality.

Days passed by, day after day of medicine boiling and body refining; Li Hu's skin became darker and hard, the medicinal water permeating his organs.

"My joints are a bit stiff... my organs... the back of my head..." as Li Hu expressed his feelings, all this was valuable experience, Xu Xuan hurriedly took note.

Previously, he studied minor spells that any cultivator could learn. The art of Corpse Driving is far more advanced and specialized, not easily self-taught.

Li Hu went from pain to numbness over time.

One did not retreat, and the other did not persuade, continuing according to plan.

Fourteen days later.

"I've sensed the spiritual energy!"

Another five days passed.

The auspicious moment had arrived.

At night, all was silent, and the full moon was bright.

In the rear hall, a coffin was placed; Li Hu stood in front of it.

"Let's begin."

...