The other type is zombie cultivation, which involves the transformation of corpse monsters. This is because heavenly beings possess celestial bones, with the bones integrating into the circulation. However, it is rare for zombies to cultivate the Undying Bone to perfection in the world; without achieving the integration of bones into the circulation, evolution into Drought Fiend can't be discussed.
From the moment Xu Qing began refining the first piece of Undying Bone, he had the opportunity to bypass the state of perfection and advance into the Flying Corpse realm.
The Flying Corpse is equivalent to an Immortal, yet will never achieve the realm of Kui Ba in this life.
Later on, with three main bones, each bone cultivated would increase the upper limit of zombie cultivation. Xu Qing himself had three types of transformations. If not for the ever-present threat of White Cloud Cave, he would have chosen to refine all three bones from the start, rather than only one transformation path.
One transformation means needing a type of magical power supply, and each refinement of the three main bones can accommodate a reserve of magical power for one transformation.
Equivalent to a backup power source.
If Xu Qing had not achieved perfection, even if by chance he evolved into a Kui Ba one day, he would only become a flawed Kui Ba, like the female Drought Fiend transformed from a celestial lady, exhausted and unable to move closer to the level of a Hou.
Hou, the ultimate form of a zombie.
Because of the imminent crisis of White Cloud Cave, Xu Qing initially only hoped to lay a foundation and prove himself as Kui Ba.
Unexpectedly, due to the rapid changes in the Yin River and the natural restraint of the Sutra of Salvation on bones, within just seven years, he refined two main bones, and even the last remaining Huangting skull now has the possibility of refinement.
"People say seven years is a hurdle, the Daoist sect believes that changes occur every seven, thus borrowing lifespan with a seven-star lamp, and performing the funeral ritual on the seventh day because it marks the cycle of the soul's reincarnation..."
Xu Qing had realizations in his heart.
The so-called unity of heaven and man, returning every seven days.
No matter what kind of creature in the world, they undergo a small cycle every seven days, perfectly aligning with the cycle of heaven.
Now he has proven the path of cultivation within seven years, truly achieving heavenly success in the pursuit of the Dao!
In cultivation, there is no sense of time. Xu Qing sat solemnly in a tomb, observing the white bones to confirm his own path.
Once the Huangting skull was refined, the entire tomb chamber burst with radiant light, shining brightly. In the depths of the north-facing burial tunnel, the Black Tiger hibernating in the temple of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch suddenly opened its eyes and growled warily.
Outside the ghost cave, within the bone temple.
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch stood at the entrance of the ghost cave, looking at the radiant light that dispersed, unaware that it might be the emergence of a Yin Treasure or Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.
"What's that boy up to again..."
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch felt in the dark that ever since choosing Xu Qing as a partner, there was always a feeling that things might get out of control.
"Chaos breeds monsters. Was it right or wrong to choose him..."
Inside the ghost cave, above Xu Qing's head, a divine halo of light shone for a long time without dissipating.
The Huangting skull sat in the Jade Capital. Once refined, it symbolized that Xu Qing had already refined all 206 bones in his body and, because of the flow of white bone light observation, achieved a perfect Circulation Symbol, reaching the ultimate state of the Undying Bone.
Xu Qing opened his eyes and breathed, the Yin energy like a piercing cold wind causing frost in the tomb.
As he stood up, his whole body was smooth and integrated, like rock that doesn't transform, impervious to water and fire.
At this moment, he could truly be said to transcend the Three Realms and Six Paths, not within the Five Elements and Ten Categories.
Xu Qing felt an unprecedented unity; this state seemed not to belong to the Undying Bone, yet he hadn't crossed the Celestial Fire tribulation, not counted as a Flying Corpse or Black Evil.
"This seems to be a kind of transcendental perfection beyond all realms."
Xu Qing couldn't understand in his heart, so he simply stopped thinking about it, suppressing his thoughts as he looked up at the skeleton in front of him.
At this moment, the Eight Banner Marshals were covered with spiderweb cracks, as if a gust of wind would scatter them into a pile of dry bones.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qing reversed his hand to store the skeleton before him into the Box Garden. He had previously made two promises.
One was to erect a monument for the Old Neighbor Many Evils Ghost King and write an inscription, letting future generations know his name; the second was to return the abandoned remains of the Eight Banner Marshals to the secular world, allowing them to return to their homeland.
However, before storing the remains of the Eight Banner Marshals into the Box Garden, Xu Qing did not forget to take the severed finger attached to the opponent's hand and subsequently attach it with a paper-made thumb.
This section of the severed finger was part of the relic of King Yama, also made by that Land Nuo Immortal.
And now, Xu Qing had already possessed three parts of Emperor aura!
"I don't know when that Nuo Immortal will return if he sees that all the chess pieces of the Yin River have been plucked away..."
I suppose he wouldn't be too happy.
Upon leaving the ghost cave, as soon as Xu Qing appeared in the bone temple, he saw the Demon Exorcism True Monarch standing at the tunnel entrance, scrutinizing him back and forth.
"Are you cultivating righteous or evil techniques?"
After observing for a while, unable to detect anything unusual, the Demon Exorcism True Monarch finally asked the question that had been weighing on his mind for a long time.
Xu Qing blinked, evasively replied, "I've cleared the Yin Sha evil energy under the ghost cave for True Monarch, no need to thank me."
"..."
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch was even more puzzled; the aura that had dissipated from the ghost cave earlier was unlike any Yin ghosts or evil spirits, yet it definitely wasn't the fluctuation of righteousness.
But if you claim that Xu Qing practices evil techniques, he can still sweep away all the filthy, turbid air and restore clarity to this place.
Such methods do not seem to belong to the path of evil.
There must be something unusual when things deviate from the norm!
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch could roughly sense Xu Qing's extraordinariness, but couldn't discern what kind of anomaly this was.
"Forget it, I won't question your past origins. As long as you're willing to walk the righteous path and help me eradicate evil, then you are a good person."
Good person? Who's a good person, me?
Xu Qing was displeased at the time.
"Don't accuse me of being a bad person. I'm not some good person, you're insulting me!"
"..."
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch took a deep breath and said softly, "A thousand years ago, the True Monarch of Profound Altar said similar words. He claimed he wasn't a sage and couldn't be called good, but in the end, he died under the great calamity to prevent the evil world from arriving."
Upon hearing the True Monarch of Profound Altar, Xu Qing suddenly felt a stir in his heart.
"What kind of deity was the True Monarch of Profound Altar?"
"He was a complete reckless brute!"
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch sneered, "I've been slaying ghosts for a thousand years; no one understands ghosts better than I do. If the True Monarch had listened to me back then and remained patient, would I be in such difficulty now, finding it hard to get even a single helper?"
Xu Qing was curious: "Is that why you sought me out? Why are you so sure I'm not a reckless brute?"
It's not surprising Xu Qing was curious. He'd known the Demon Exorcism True Monarch for such a short time, how could the other recognize him so easily?
"You're a brute?" The Demon Exorcism True Monarch looked at Xu Qing as if he had heard a great joke.
"Do you know how to write 'reckless'?"
Xu Qing gazed at the red-robe man mocking him and said quietly, "It's a variation of the word 'bury'."
"..."
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch's laughter was stifled; he huffed lightly, ignoring Xu Qing's absurd remark, and said to himself, "Back when the Ghost Law was at its height, the True Monarch of Profound Altar, knowing he wasn't a match for it, still went heroically to his death."
"The True Monarch said he might not have the depth of experience I do in slaying ghosts, but in an age of catastrophe, someone had to set an example for the multitude. He did it for the gods and buddhas in the heavens, this is righteousness!
The True Monarch was reckless, yet surpassed me by far!"
Xu Qing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "When does the True Monarch plan to battle the Ghost Law?"
The Demon Exorcism True Monarch understood the implication; Xu Qing's words were about the timing of the battle, but the subtext indicated he was ready to lend a helping hand.
"No rush, don't you have to deal with the Tianhu from Baiyun Cave? I can't let you have any worries. Foxes excel in transformation arts, misleading the mind, and that Bone Temple happens to counter such divine techniques. You should use that heavenly fox as a whetstone."
"If you can't even defeat that old vixen, how can you speak of helping me annihilate the Ghost Law?"
Xu Qing was touched internally, realizing this man's manner was far more straightforward than that white-haired monkey.
The former spoke somewhat of mutual sentiments, while the latter was purely manipulative.
Xu Qing opened his mouth to speak but finally let all his words turn into a carefree laugh, cupped his hands towards the Demon Exorcism True Monarch, and turned to leave the Bone Temple.
This retreat lasted more than a year, and Xu Qing had been at the Yin River for nearly nine years.
Adding the days in the mortal world, it had been just over twelve years since he employed the Immortal Seeking Art at Bright Moon Stream in search of immortal fate.
The Immortal Seeking Art ranked among the celestial spells.
This divine magic could be performed once every twelve years, aligning with the full cycle of a jiazi.
In the world, immortal fate has its quotas, and each jiazi, one can perform rituals, setting up altars, conducting ceremonies to communicate with heaven and earth, and discern where the immortal fate lies.
Though another cycle had passed, this time Xu Qing didn't immediately travel the world in search of immortal fate.
Baiyun Cave has the Tianhu with the Celestial Scripture; Mount Taihua holds a secret cave with the celestial axe techniques inscribed on the cave walls; furthermore, a red-tailed monkey on Mount Jiwa in Zhongzhou once encountered a natural large stone hidden beneath a waterfall, with stick techniques also inscribed on the cave walls beneath it.
All these immortal fates can be traced, and Xu Qing plans to explore them all. Once the obvious immortal fates are removed, he'll then employ the Immortal Seeking Art to seek out the other immortal fates.
For now, Xu Qing intends to go to the Yin Corpse Sect.
He received a confirmed answer from the Demon Exorcism True Monarch that beneath the Yin Corpse Sect indeed lay a dormant Drought Fiend.
Xu Qing was unsure whether this place would also be considered an immortal fate, but he planned to visit it nonetheless. If nothing was found, it would at least eliminate a concern.