The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 163 - 148: Corpse Transformation Realm Cultivation Technique, Making Great Virtue Temple Pay the Price

Yang An was stunned by the Bow Lady's words.

"His soul is missing?"

"It was there right when he died, but now it's gone. That damned mutt! If I find out who you are, I'll skin you alive!"

The Bow Lady was furious. It was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

Yang An extended his senses, but he couldn't detect anyone's aura nearby.

'Was it the old man? Or Second Senior Brother?'

Yang An leaned toward the latter. After all, Fu Ming had been present outside Jiang Hechuan's residence just a moment ago, only leaving later on.

Of course, he couldn't rule out the old man's involvement either; the entire Life Crane Sect belonged to him, after all.

"It's fine that it's gone. We'll have a chance to get a better one later."

After he placated the Bow Lady, she fumed but said no more.

Yang An decided to find Fu Ming first before heading to the Heavenly Respect Pavilion.

He needed Fu Ming's help to get to the Heavenly Respect Pavilion, but getting Jiang Hechuan's possessions and Cultivation Technique was also important.

Even though he already possessed the Cultivation Technique for this stage, it was a spoil of war he had rightfully earned.

Soon, Yang An found Fu Ming in his residence.

"These were Seventh Junior Brother's things."

Fu Ming handed Yang An a Bone Ring, exactly like the one Yang An had seen in the Secret Seal Space.

"Senior Brother, I need to see Master,"

Yang An said, accepting the Bone Ring and stating his purpose.

In truth, he was very nervous. 'At my current Cultivation Level, even if I use the Illusion Technique with all my strength, I doubt I can hide much from the old man.'

This meant the old man would undoubtedly discover the truth. He hadn't just obtained the Cultivation Technique for the Seventh Understanding from the Earth Spirit Stele, as the old man mistakenly believed—he had actually acquired the complete set for the entire Visceral Stone Realm.

If time weren't so pressing, he could have taken Jiang Hechuan's Cultivation Technique and pretended it was the key to his breakthrough.

But with the Great Virtue Temple's arrival likely imminent, he had no time for such a charade.

He could only bite the bullet and go see the old man.

Hearing Yang An's words, Fu Ming remained unhurried, making no move to act.

His coughing gradually subsided. He looked at Yang An, his thoughts unreadable.

After a long moment, he finally spoke.

"Junior Brother, I can actually help you."

"Oh?"

Yang An raised an eyebrow, looking at Fu Ming.

"You want the Cultivation Technique for the Corpse Transformation Realm. I can give it to you. I have all the techniques for that realm in my possession."

"..."

Fu Ming said slowly, a faint smile suddenly appearing on his face.

Yang An frowned. This was out of character for Fu Ming, who had always given him the impression of being the most rule-abiding person, someone who wanted nothing to do with worldly conflict.

But now, Fu Ming was actively showing a trace of… danger?

"Senior Brother, you once said that while Master doesn't forbid giving the Cultivation Technique to others, he doesn't allow any transactions or alliances between disciples. What are you trying to do?"

"I am merely lending the Cultivation Technique to you for your viewing, Junior Brother. There is no transaction, nor is there any need for you to ally with me. So, no rules are broken.

I just want you to do me a favor. The two matters are completely unrelated."

"..."

'Well, well, well. Exploiting a loophole in the rules, are we?!'

Yang An's heart went cold. He suddenly wanted to know what Fu Ming was planning.

"And what you mean is... Senior Brother?"

"It's simple. Once you've read the Cultivation Technique for the Corpse Transformation Realm, you can skip that stage when you see the Magic Stele and go straight to viewing what comes after: the Zombie God Realm."

"And then? That's it?"

Fu Ming nodded.

It really was that simple.

"I just want to see Master. I can visualize the Cultivation Technique on my own. Forgive me, Senior Brother, but I can't accept your offer."

Yang An's reply was swift.

Fu Ming clearly had an ulterior motive in this. If he tried to pull something inside the Earth Spirit Stele, Yang An would be the one in trouble, not him.

It was a huge risk; almost anyone would refuse.

But upon hearing Yang An's refusal, Fu Ming just smiled.

"Junior Brother, even if I hadn't said a word and simply showed you the Cultivation Technique, you would have done this anyway, wouldn't you?"

Before Yang An could answer, he continued,

"More importantly, don't you want to obtain the Cultivation Technique for the Zombie God Realm?"

The Cultivation Technique for the Zombie God Realm…

Yang An fell silent.

If the Great Virtue Temple was truly on its way and the Life Crane Sect was facing annihilation, then obtaining more Cultivation Techniques before he had to leave would undoubtedly be a huge boon.

But Yang An worried that instead of getting the Cultivation Technique, he would be discovered by the old man beforehand. That would be a truly dangerous situation.

"Everyone can only stay inside the Magic Stele for two hours at most. How many Cultivation Techniques you can obtain depends entirely on your ability. The more you get, the happier Master will be. You don't need to worry about that, Junior Brother."

Seeing Yang An's silence, Fu Ming seemed to know what he was thinking and did his best to reassure him.

But the more proactive Fu Ming was, the more Yang An felt that something was amiss.

"Why don't you fight for the chance to use the Visualization Earth Spirit Stele yourself, Senior Brother?"

"Master would never give us that opportunity. We can only wait for his grace.

Only you, Junior Brother. And this is likely your last chance as well."

Fu Ming shook his head.

'Is it because the old man is afraid his disciples will surpass his control?'

Yang An was lost in thought.

If that was the case, then failing to use this last chance to obtain more Cultivation Techniques would make it extremely difficult to get any more in the future.

Yang An had a few suspicions about Fu Ming's plan.

'He wants to use me to get the Cultivation Technique for the Zombie God Realm!'

And that was exactly what he needed.

"Senior Brother, why me?" he asked, perplexed.

"Because you already killed Seventh Junior Brother."

"..."

Yang An suddenly recalled seeing Fu Ming walk out of Jiang Hechuan's residence earlier.

'So, before I killed Jiang Hechuan, I wasn't his only choice.'

"Master will notice."

"No. If it's you, Master might not notice a thing!"

Fu Ming was certain that Yang An had obtained the Cultivation Techniques for all three stages of the Visceral Stone Realm from the Earth Spirit Stele. The fact that none of them knew—not even Elder Life Crane—was proof.

If he had known before that Yang An was already at the Late Stage of the Visceral Stone Realm, he wouldn't have chosen Jiang Hechuan as his first target.

This was why he was telling Yang An all of this now.

Yang An was immediately caught in a state of hesitation.

Seeing his hesitation, Fu Ming remained unhurried and took something from his sleeve.

"Junior Brother, you don't have much time. Only one hour.

This is the Cultivation Technique for the Corpse Transformation Realm. If you decide to do this, familiarize yourself with its contents as quickly as possible. Only then will you have a chance to see what comes after inside the Magic Stele."

It was three Scrolls, which Fu Ming produced with ease and placed casually before Yang An as if they were insignificant trifles.

After placing the Scrolls in front of Yang An, Fu Ming turned, took out a brazier to light a fire, and went back to fiddling with his medicine pot, leaving Yang An to make his choice.

Staring at the Scrolls before him, Yang An hesitated for a moment before finally taking them in hand.

'It's better to be decisive than to waver.'

Whatever Fu Ming wanted to do, he would likely find someone else or come up with another plan even without his help.

That being the case, he might as well play along. If he could obtain the Cultivation Technique for the Zombie God Realm, it would be a win-win.

As for the danger, the *real* danger would be failing to obtain the Cultivation Technique.

「Mystic Path Decoded: [Partially Missing] [Reaches Corpse Transformation Tenth Understanding] Sourced from the Earth Spirit Stele, passed down through the Life Crane Sect lineage. One Realm, Three Understandings, one understanding per technique, Miaofa Entwined, Melt Dao Ascension...」

「Mystic Path Decoded: [Partially Missing] [Reaches Corpse Transformation Eleventh Understanding] Sourced from the Earth Spirit Stele...」

「Mystic Path Decoded: [Partially Missing] [Reaches Corpse Transformation Twelfth Understanding] Sourced from the Earth Spirit Stele...」

The moment he touched the Scroll, a text box popped up before his eyes. This meant the Cultivation Technique Fu Ming had given him was genuine.

Yang An opened the first Scroll and used Purification on it as a matter of course…

With his back to Yang An, placing his medicine pot on the brazier and dropping a few more ingredients inside, a slight smile touched Fu Ming's lips.

...

「One hour later.」

"Junior Brother, let's go. To the Heavenly Respect Pavilion."

Fu Ming put all his things away, tidied up a bit, and spoke to Yang An.

Yang An nodded, returned the Scrolls to Fu Ming, and rose to follow him out.

Simply memorizing the Cultivation Technique on the Scrolls had been an easy task.

Soon, the two of them arrived outside the Heavenly Respect Pavilion.

After Fu Ming announced their arrival, Yang An was summoned by Elder Life Crane into the Heavenly Respect Pavilion.

"You've hidden yourself quite deep, my little disciple."

The moment he entered the main hall of the Heavenly Respect Pavilion, He Tou stared at him with a grim expression, having clearly seen through Yang An's Cultivation Level.

"You spoke first, Master. I was merely doing as you said. I had no intention of hiding anything; you simply never gave me a chance to explain."

Yang An said, steeling himself.

He knew all along he couldn't hide his Cultivation Level from the old man. It wasn't his fault the old man hadn't realized he'd already obtained the Cultivation Technique; that was hardly something to blame him for.

"To obtain all the Cultivation Techniques for the Visceral Stone Realm in a mere two hours… Your Enlightenment truly exceeds my expectations."

This time, it wasn't He Tou who spoke, but Elder Life Crane.

To possess such Enlightenment despite being an Innate Flesh Mushroom… what a pity.

He Tou and Elder Life Crane exchanged a glance, and Elder Life Crane nodded slightly.

In the next second, before Yang An could even react, his figure vanished from the spot, having already entered He Tou's mouth.

He Tou let out a burp, then turned back to Elder Life Crane with a sly grin.

"Old man, are you that impatient to see him die? Once he gets the Cultivation Technique, he won't be far from death's door anyway."

"It matters not. If he truly manages to see something within the Magic Stele, I can personally act and Seal his Cultivation Level at the Visceral Stone Realm forever."

A smile appeared on Elder Life Crane's face. He was clearly still dwelling on what Yang An had seen in the Earth Spirit Stele the last time.

"And what if he sees nothing?"

"That matters not either. As he is dying, I will do my utmost to preserve his soul.

The soul of an Innate Flesh Mushroom is special. Many people in the Outer Continent yearn to obtain the secrets of the Innate Flesh Mushroom. Either way, it can be traded for some fine things."

"HAHAHAHA!"

He Tou couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"You old bastard, you're truly ruthless."

It was unclear whether this was praise or a curse, but either way, Elder Life Crane remained unmoved.

"At a time like this, we should be thinking about how to deal with that bunch of baldies from the Great Virtue Temple! We've already hidden ourselves away here in Han State, yet those bald monks still managed to track us down.

We might have to find a new place again and recruit some more decent disciples."

"But before that, we must make the Great Virtue Temple pay a steep price!"