Translator: Cinder Translations
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"How has your cultivation improved so quickly? Could it be that you cultivated the Corpse King's Rebirth Art and then absorbed the powers of those who practiced the Corpse King's Blood Refining Technique to rapidly enhance your strength?"
"But to absorb the powers of practitioners of the Corpse King's Blood Refining Technique, you'd need to set up the Devouring Soul Formation. The Corpse King's Rebirth Art you obtained from me back then didn't include the method to set up that formation. Besides, where did you even find so many cultivators practicing the Corpse King's Blood Refining Technique for you to absorb?"
Xue Mei fired off a string of questions, clearly curious about how Song Wen's cultivation had advanced so quickly.
"Daoist Xue Mei, as a prisoner, don't you think you're asking too many questions?"
Song Wen's gaze turned cold, and the Void-Breaking Blade resting against Xue Mei's forehead trembled slightly.
"Now, I'll ask, and you'll answer."
Xue Mei replied, "What do you want to know from me? If it's revenge against Yan Yiwen, you're out of luck. I took over her body eighty years ago; her soul has long since scattered."
Song Wen said, "I'm not looking for Yan Yiwen. I'm looking for you. Where in the current cultivation world can I find the subsequent techniques of the Corpse King's Rebirth Art?"
"So, you really have been cultivating the Corpse King's Rebirth Art," Xue Mei said with a hint of amusement. She continued, "It seems there are plenty of practitioners of the Corpse King's Blood Refining Technique in the Chaos Sea, which allowed your cultivation to grow so rapidly. However, I still don't understand where you got the Devouring Soul Formation. Moreover, using that formation to absorb another's power results in impure and mottled energy, requiring a long time to refine and temper. For you to have advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, your energy must be incredibly pure. How did you accomplish all of this in just over a century?"
"One more word of nonsense, and I'll kill you," Song Wen said coldly.
As he spoke, the Void-Breaking Blade pressed forward, breaking the skin on Xue Mei's forehead. A thin line of blood trickled down.
Despite the blade at her forehead, Xue Mei remained unfazed, her smile unbroken, and she showed no fear of Song Wen's threat.
"You won't kill me. If you do, no one will be able to tell you where to find the subsequent techniques of the Corpse King's Rebirth Art."
Song Wen sneered, "I advise you to cooperate. Otherwise, I'll just switch to cultivating another method."
Xue Mei responded, "I've already reached the peak of the Golden Core stage and will soon form my Nascent Soul. I also need the subsequent techniques of the Corpse King's Rebirth Art. Perhaps we can collaborate to find them together."
Song Wen replied, "First, tell me where to find the subsequent techniques. Then I'll decide whether or not to work with you."
"Divine Blood Hall," Xue Mei answered promptly, without hesitation.
"Divine Blood Hall?" Song Wen asked coldly. "Where is it?"
"In the Tuocang Mountain Range," Xue Mei replied.
Song Wen suddenly produced a jade slip and infused it with spiritual energy.
In an instant, a virtual map of a mountain range appeared in midair.
It was a map of the Tuocang Mountain Range. However, the map was incomplete—its southwestern parts were detailed, while its northeastern parts, which delved deeper into the mountain range, became increasingly vague.
This lack of detail was due to the inner regions of the Tuocang Mountain Range being dominated by ferocious beasts, making it a perilous zone rarely visited by human cultivators.
"Point out the location of the Divine Blood Hall on the map," Song Wen demanded.
Xue Mei shot a stream of spiritual energy into a specific spot deep within the Tuocang Mountain Range.
Seeing Xue Mei answer so decisively, Song Wen grew a little suspicious.
"You're not just marking a random spot to deceive me, are you?" he asked.
Xue Mei smirked. "I'm not lying to you. The Divine Blood Hall is indeed at this location. However, you can't enter it."
"Why not?" Song Wen asked.
"The Divine Blood Hall is protected by a restrictive formation. Ever since the fall of the Divine Blood Gate, no one has been able to break the formation. You can only enter when the formation's power weakens, which happens once every 300 years," Xue Mei explained.
"When will it open next?" Song Wen asked.
"In 21 years," Xue Mei replied. "However, to enter the Divine Blood Hall, you must have the Bronze Key Coffin. The bronze coffin you obtained in the Blood Cloud Cave is precisely the Bronze Key Coffin."
"How is the Bronze Key Coffin used?" Song Wen asked.
"You seal yourself inside it to withstand the tearing force of the formation," Xue Mei replied.
Song Wen narrowed his eyes. "Are you telling me this because you want to share the coffin with me to enter the Divine Blood Hall?"
Xue Mei chuckled. "Would you share a bronze coffin with anyone?"
"Not a chance," Song Wen said flatly.
Although Xue Mei didn't elaborate, Song Wen could guess that forcing one's way through the formation using the Bronze Key Coffin likely came with significant discomfort or risk. Sharing the coffin with someone else would leave no room for escape if the other person turned hostile.
Xue Mei smiled faintly. "Relax. I won't be sharing your Bronze Key Coffin. Each coffin can only be used by one person. If I want to enter the Divine Blood Hall, I'll need to find another coffin. As far as I know, there's another bronze coffin in the Soul Shade Hall, and I plan to retrieve it."
"Soul Shade Hall?" Song Wen asked, confused. It was yet another mysterious location he had never heard of.
"Soul Shade Hall is located in the Poison Miasma Swamp, once under the dominion of the Corpse Demon Sect. It first appeared 60 years ago and opens once every 30 years. The next opening is in eight months. Only cultivators at the Golden Core stage or below can enter. The secret realm is jointly controlled by the four major demonic sects, and their disciples are all permitted entry," Xue Mei explained.
Song Wen recalled that the Poison Miasma Swamp was once the territory of the Yan family. Every few years, the swamp experienced a miasma tide, during which the sky would display radiant and colorful auroras. Could it be that these miasma tides were caused by the Soul Shade Hall?
"Mi He of the Beastmaster Sect also holds a Bronze Key Coffin. How many such coffins exist in this world?" Song Wen asked curiously.
"I'm not sure," Xue Mei admitted, "but there should be quite a few. Most of the eight major righteous and demonic sects possess at least one Bronze Key Coffin."
"We're both looking to enter the Divine Blood Hall for the follow-up techniques of the Corpse King's Rebirth Art. But those Nascent Soul cultivators from the major sects—what are they seeking in the Divine Blood Hall?" Song Wen asked.
"The method to reach the Divine Transformation stage," Xue Mei replied.
"The method to reach Divine Transformation!" Song Wen's face lit with surprise. "Are you saying the Divine Blood Hall holds the secrets to breaking through to the Divine Transformation stage?"
Xue Mei shook her head. "I'm not sure. However, many of the core disciples of the Divine Blood Gate in its heyday ascended to the Upper Realm. I suspect that the so-called method to reach the Divine Transformation stage is related to the Corpse King's Rebirth Art. Most of those who ascended back then cultivated that very art."
"If the Divine Blood Gate was so powerful, why did it suddenly decline and vanish entirely from the cultivation world?" Song Wen asked, voicing a question that had puzzled him for a long time.
"When the Divine Blood Gate fell, I was imprisoned beneath the Blood Cloud Cave. How could I possibly know? But I suspect some great upheaval occurred, leading to the massive deaths or ascensions of its high-level cultivators. That's likely why the sect declined so rapidly," Xue Mei speculated.
(End of the Chapter)
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