285: Chapter 285 Extreme Yin Island!

Inside the top floor of the Liulian Residence, in that Quiet Room protected by heavy Restrictions, where even the light seemed exceptionally soft, there was now a cold, dead aura vastly different from the cozy tranquility outside.

Eighteen dark green figures, like the most loyal guards, stood stiffly and silently in the center of the Quiet Room, occupying the vast space.

These were precisely the eighteen "Tiandu Demon Corpse" obtained from Young Master Wu Chou's Storage Pouch.

Lu Qiu stood with his hands behind his back, facing these Demon Corpses, his gaze calmly sweeping over their bronze-rusted dark green skin, their tightly closed shriveled eyelids, and the faint grayish-white Corpse Qi lingering around them.

The temperature in the Quiet Room seemed several degrees lower than elsewhere, and the air was filled with a faint, peculiar scent mixed with metallic rust and aged tomb soil.

"Eighteen Tiandu Demon Corpse, each with the combat power of an Early Core Formation Stage, combined into a formation, they can fight a Nascent Soul... The Jiyin Old Monster has certainly invested heavily," Lu Qiu pondered.

These eighteen Demon Corpses were undoubtedly a great lethal weapon that the Jiyin Old Ancestor had painstakingly refined for many years, with immeasurable value.

If they could be fully controlled, it would be equivalent to gaining an army of Core Formation Stage corpse demons that feared neither life nor death, which could produce miraculous effects in certain situations.

However, problems followed.

First, the method of control.

These eighteen Tiandu Demon Corpse were clearly refined using the special corpse-refining secret techniques in the "Xuan Yin Sutra" combined with the Jiyin Old Ancestor's unique control method, the core of which lay in the "Yao Soul" and the pure Xuan Yin Demonic Qi within the Demon Corpses.

Although Lu Qiu also Cultivated the "Xuan Yin Sutra", he only Cultivated a part of it, and his main focus was not on corpse-refining and Soul-control, nor did he possess the Jiyin Old Ancestor's unique control imprint and spells.

Forcibly intruding with his own Divine Sense or Spiritual Qi would not only make it difficult to command them like an extension of his own arm, but could instead trigger a backlash from the Demon Corpses, or trigger certain self-destruct or warning Restrictions left by the Jiyin Old Ancestor within them, which would not be worth the loss.

Secondly, and more critically, there was the hidden danger.

With such precious refined corpses, how could the Jiyin Old Ancestor not leave a backup plan?

Even if not every Demon Corpse had a tracking mark, given the means of a Nascent Soul Old Monster, it was almost inevitable that he would have left some extremely hidden connection that only he could sense on these "treasures" that he had spent so much effort refining.

Perhaps they remained dormant usually, but once the Demon Corpses appeared within a certain range, or were refined or destroyed by others using unorthodox means, the Jiyin Old Ancestor would be able to sense their general location, or even invite his thunderous retaliation.

Keeping such a hot potato by his side was equivalent to having a sword hanging over his head that could fall at any time, constantly exposed to the Jiyin Old Ancestor's sensing.

"Keeping them by my side brings more harm than good. Destroying them... is too much of a pity," Lu Qiu tapped his fingers lightly on the jade table beside him, light flickering in his eyes.

He needed a method that could both eliminate the hidden danger and maximize the value of these Demon Corpses.

His gaze slowly shifted to the corner of the Quiet Room. There, in an independent small space specifically cleared out with richer Yin Qi, a gray-black figure with tattered flesh wings was lying prone, quietly absorbing the Yin Qi stored in the spatial bead, its aura steady and heavy—it was the fierce beast he had previously subdued: the Beast Owl "Xiao".

The Beast Owl was an ancient fierce beast born from the grievances of countless Yao Beasts, corpses, and Yin evil, mixed with the heaven and earth's supreme Yin Qi. It was naturally born to feed on negative energies like Yin evil, vengeful Souls, and Corpse Qi, using them to nourish itself and promote growth and evolution.

It was, in itself, a perfect, living "Yin evil energy swallowing and conversion device."

A thought flashed through Lu Qiu's mind like lightning.

"Since I cannot safely control these Demon Corpses, nor can I completely isolate the Jiyin Old Ancestor's sensing... then why not pull the firewood from under the cauldron!"

He walked to the Beast Owl and communicated with his mind. The Beast Owl, which had been lying quietly, slowly raised its head. Its pair of eyeless, dark-red mucus-dripping holes "looked" at Lu Qiu, and a low whine of submission issued from its throat.

After this period of nourishment and constant soothing and consolidation by Lu Qiu's Divine Sense, Xiao had already formed an instinctive obedience to his master's commands.

"Xiao, do you see those things?"

Lu Qiu pointed to the eighteen Tiandu Demon Corpse in the center of the Quiet Room: "Go, swallow them, swallow the Souls inside, suck dry the Yin evil Corpse Qi within, don't leave a single bit."

He did not explain in detail, but simply issued the most direct and instinctive command—devour!

The Beast Owl followed the direction Lu Qiu pointed and "looked" at the eighteen standing dark green figures.

Although it had no eyes, a kind of greed and longing instantly burst forth from those holes!

As a creature of Yin evil, it had an instinctive, irresistible attraction to high-quality Yin Qi and Soul Power of the same Origin!

To its perception, these eighteen Demon Corpses were like eighteen pieces of top-tier "blood food" emitting tempting aromas and massive energy!

"Roar—!"

A low, yet filled with endless excitement and ferocity, roar issued from deep within the Beast Owl's throat.

It suddenly spread its flesh wings covered in tough membranes, its figure turning into a blurry gray-black afterimage, instantly pouncing in front of the first Tiandu Demon Corpse!

Without any flashy movements, the Beast Owl opened its large mouth filled with dense fangs and emitting a fishy stench, and bit down hard on the Demon Corpse's neck!

It was not trying to bite flesh, but at the moment of biting, a powerful, pure Yin evil Origin, carrying endless devouring and refining power, erupted from within its body, surging madly through its fangs into the core within the Demon Corpse!

"Chi chi chi—!"

A teeth-aching corrosive sound rang out. That dark green Demon Corpse, as if thrown into strong acid, rapidly became dull, shriveled, and decayed at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Strands of pure grayish-white Corpse Qi, mixed with wisps of struggling and twisting dark green Yao Soul fragments, were forcibly extracted from the Demon Corpse, like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, disappearing into the Beast Owl's mouth!

The Demon Corpse's body, originally as hard as iron, began to show cracks, and finally, with a "clatter", it completely collapsed, turning into a pile of bone dust that had lost all luster and energy, like something weathered for thousands of years.

After devouring one, the Beast Owl did not stop, pouncing on the second, the third...

Inside the Quiet Room, gray-black afterimages flashed repeatedly, accompanied by heart-palpitating roars and the "chi chi" sounds of extraction and corrosion.

The Tiandu Demon Corpses, which once made Core Formation Cultivators fearful and on which the Jiyin Old Ancestor had spent countless efforts, were like encountering a natural enemy under the Beast Owl's overbearing devouring power, having no power to resist, and were rapidly drained of all essence, turning into dust.

Lu Qiu stood quietly to the side, watching this scene. He could clearly sense that as each Demon Corpse was devoured, the Beast Owl's aura was climbing step by step at an astonishing speed!

Those pure Corpse Qi, Yin evil, and especially the refined Yao Soul Power in the core of the Demon Corpses, were nothing less than the top-grade tonic for the Beast Owl!

Its originally slightly illusory body became more solid at a speed visible to the naked eye, and on its tattered flesh wings, new and tougher membranes seemed to be growing, while the gray-black Corpse Qi and grievances lingering around it became increasingly dense and pure, faintly emitting a heart-palpitating pressure.

When the last Tiandu Demon Corpse turned into fly ash in the Beast Owl's mouth, the Quiet Room returned to silence, leaving only a pile of grayish-white bone dust.

The Beast Owl stood quietly in place, slowly closing its large mouth. The gray-black aura billowing around it slowly retracted, but the deeper, more ferocious, and faintly perfect fluctuation emanating from within could not be concealed.

Its pair of eyeless holes "looked" at Lu Qiu blankly, as if wanting to express something, but then, a strong, irresistible sleepiness and fullness washed over it like a tide, drowning its consciousness that had just been active due to the devouring.

"Roar..." It let out a low, satisfied hiss, its massive body swayed, and then it slowly lay down, curling up in the area with rich Yin Qi in the corner, falling into the deepest, hibernation-like slumber.

On its body surface, a layer of thick, cocoon-like gray-black Yin evil Qi slowly seeped out, wrapping it entirely and forming an oval-shaped, slightly pulsating giant cocoon.

Inside the giant cocoon, a heartbeat like muffled thunder could be faintly heard, along with the strange fluctuations of some life level undergoing violent transformation and leap.

"Devoured the entire essence of eighteen Tiandu Demon Corpse... has it fallen into a slumber to evolve?" Lu Qiu looked at the gray-black giant cocoon, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes.

The Beast Owl's own potential was extremely high, it just hadn't fully matured.

Now that it had received such massive, high-quality Yin evil and Soul Power nourishment, its strength would surely have a qualitative leap after waking up from this slumber.

Breaking through to Level 8 might not be a luxury.

By then, he would have another fierce general with Nascent Soul-level combat power under his command!

Moreover, more importantly, through this method of "devouring and digesting", the last trace of secret connection that might exist between the Tiandu Demon Corpses and the Jiyin Old Ancestor was also completely severed, refined, and absorbed.

Those eighteen Demon Corpses had completely disappeared from this world, without even a trace of residue left, turning into resources for the Beast Owl's growth and advancement.

Even if the Jiyin Old Ancestor had heaven-reaching means, he would never be able to sense even a fraction of it again.

The hidden danger was completely eliminated.

The resources were perfectly utilized. Two birds with one stone.

Lu Qiu nodded with satisfaction, waved his hand to clean up the bone dust in the Quiet Room, and reinforced the Restrictions in the corner to ensure the Beast Owl's slumber and evolution would not be disturbed.

After doing all this, he sat down cross-legged again, starting to regulate his breath, digesting the insights from this battle with the Jiyin Old Monster, and continuing to make final preparations for the Void Heaven Palace that might open soon.

...

Unlike the relative tranquility of Tianxing City, "Jiyin Island", located in the southern part of the Inner Star Sea and shrouded in heavy Yin evil Demonic Qi, was currently enveloped in a suffocating low pressure and fear.

Jiyin Island, a thousand miles in radius, could be considered a giant island among the many islands in the Chaotic Star Sea.

The island itself was not a blessed land of spiritual mountains; on the contrary, because a high-quality "Xuan Yin Earth Vein" was contained deep underground, the island was filled with Yin Qi all year round, shrouded in Demonic clouds, rarely seeing sunshine during the day, and ghosts crying and wolves howling at night, like a netherworld ghost domain.

This was the lair of one of the giants of the Demonic Path in the Chaotic Star Sea, the Middle Stage Nascent Soul Old Monster "Jiyin Old Ancestor," which he had managed for hundreds of years.

As the territory of a Demonic Path giant, Jiyin Island could naturally not be desolate.

A large population lived on the island, including Mortals and Cultivators.

However, living here, whether for Mortals or low-level Cultivators, was like being in Hell, life worse than death.

On the plains on the outskirts of the island, there were scattered countless low, dirty villages and towns built of black stone.

The Mortals living here had numb complexions and hollow eyes, like walking corpses.

They were forced to mine the "Yin evil stones" on the island, plant some special Yin-attribute poisonous herbs that needed to be watered with Essence Blood or Souls, or engage in various heavy and dangerous corvée labor.

Every day, people died for no reason due to exhaustion, illness, or the whims of the supervisors.

Their Souls often could not rest in peace even after death; they would be casually collected by patrolling Demonic Cultivators, refined into Magical Artifacts, or used as Materials for Cultivating Demonic Techniques.

Here, Mortals were worse than pigs and dogs, their lives like grass, precarious and uncertain.

In the central part of the island, where the Spiritual Qi was slightly denser, the outer Sect forces of Jiyin Island and a large number of low-level Demonic Cultivators were entrenched.

They were either kidnapped or came seeking fame, with cultivation mostly in the Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment Stage.

These people also lived in fear.

They needed to regularly complete various dangerous or cruel tasks issued by the Sect, such as going out to plunder, capturing living Souls, or exploring dangerous lands.

If the mission failed, they would be punished lightly, or have their Souls extracted and spirits refined severely.

Even if they completed the mission, most of what they obtained had to be handed over, with very little left for themselves.

Among the fellow disciples, mutual intrigue, backstabbing, and slaughter for a little bit of resources or a chance to survive were commonplace.

Joining Jiyin Island meant completely handing over one's life and freedom, with life, death, honor, and disgrace all in the hands of the Jiyin Old Ancestor.

At the core of the island, a hideous giant peak, a thousand feet high, pitch-black, and shaped like a ghost claw, pierced straight into the thick Demonic clouds covering the island.

This was the true core Forbidden Ground of Jiyin Island—the location of the Jiyin Demonic Palace.

The Demonic Palace was built against the mountain, with a grand scale and continuous halls, all built with a strange, pitch-black stone that seemed to absorb light. The style was hideous and eerie, with flying eaves and corners shaped like monsters, and countless wind chimes made of human skin or beast bones hanging under the eaves, swaying with the wind and emitting hair-raising whines.

On the palace walls were carved patterns of countless suffering and struggling Souls, as if silently accusing the master of this place of cruelty and tyranny.

At this moment, on the huge square outside the "Xuan Yin Hall," the main hall of the Demonic Palace, the atmosphere was as heavy as the silence before a storm.

The square was paved with pitch-black "Nether Blood Stones," smooth as a mirror, but faintly revealing a blood color, as if soaked in countless fresh blood.

On the edge of the square stood eighteen pitch-black stone pillars, ten feet high, carved with scenes of suffering in Hell, with "Ghost Fire" that never extinguished and emitted eerie green light burning on the tops of the pillars, illuminating the entire square in a miserable green gloom.

In the center of the square, dozens of people were kneeling, both men and women, with cultivation ranging from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation, all wearing the standard black robes of Jiyin Island. At this moment, however, they were all pale, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, not even daring to raise their heads, as if waiting for the Final Judgment.

Most of them were deacons and managers responsible for assisting Young Master Wu Chou in this operation or related to the "Shuixin Island Plan." With Young Master Wu Chou dead and the plan exposed, they could not escape responsibility.

And at the very front of these people, two figures were kneeling, particularly eye-catching.

They were the two traitorous Guest Elders of the Miaoyin Sect.

The two had long since changed out of the Miaoyin Sect's attire, wearing ill-fitting Jiyin Island black robes they had found temporarily. Their faces no longer had the composure or shrewdness of the past, leaving only endless fear, regret, and despair.

They knew better than anyone that as insiders, they had allowed Young Master Wu Chou to fall, caused the Old Ancestor's plan to fail, and even brought infamy to Jiyin Island, and they were about to face a terrifying end.