Chapter 249: Refined

The murderous aura flowed like water through the corpse puppet’s body. From three steps away, Chen Luo could clearly sense the terrifying energy compressed within the zombie. If this energy were to explode, it would instantly destroy the array formations he had set up, and Chen Luo himself would suffer severe injuries at such close proximity.

Final step: Thunder Tribulation!

The Black Carapace Daoist observed the details of corpse cultivation with his mind.

Corpse cultivation doesn’t have a Demonic Heart Tribulation. At this stage, the corpse cultivator’s own cultivation synchronizes with the corpse puppet. When the zombie passes its tribulation, the corpse cultivator passes the Demonic Heart Tribulation. Only by both crossing these tribulations can one become a complete Core Formation cultivator. This is why Chen Luo had previously found Corpse-Raising Sect cultivators to have only half the spiritual energy of their peers.

“Thunder Tribulation?”

Chen Luo’s eyelid twitched. This was somewhat beyond his expectations, but having come this far, there was no turning back now.

His divine sense circled around, clearly sensing the changes in the corpse puppet. Lady Bai Gu’s White Jade Bone had completely fused with the corpse puppet, turning all the zombie’s bones white jade-colored with intricate bone patterns. The corpse spirit had filled in the puppet’s deficiencies, making the zombie’s murderous aura even more concentrated and giving it basic instincts. Through the combined effects of great demoness blood, corpse cultivation materials, and other factors, the corpse puppet’s body had become increasingly perfect.

The iron hue on the surface of the body began to fade, revealing a faint silver beneath.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling sensation descended from above - one that not even the formation could block.

Chen Luo’s head snapped upward. An ominous cloud had formed overhead, distinct from the Heavenly Tribulation Elder FusionSpirit had faced. This was no pure, majestic Thunder Tribulation of cultivators, but rather the sinister Yin Thunder.

The mummy’s brain provided a cryptic feedback.

Unusual Heavenly Tribulation? Refine thunder pearls…

Chen Luo dismissed the thought immediately.

His gaze shifted between the gathering storm and the transformed cultivating corpse. If this Heavenly Tribulation destroyed his creation, all his efforts would be wasted.

The Core Formation Stage brain’s feedback struck a chord. Chen Luo recalled he’d absorbed this very brain during the corpse’s refinement - the only Core Formation Stage consciousness now integrated into his external brain network.

With sudden resolve, Chen Luo severed control of the cultivating corpse and redirected his control technique.

ROAR!

The released corpse’s primal scream shattered Chen Luo’s containment formation. Its corpse energy twisted into a dark tendril that shot toward the heavens.

Boom!

A black-purple lightning bolt struck down viciously. The zombie soaring through the air roared, expelling twenty years of cultivated corpse fiendish energy. The gray-white energy mass coalesced above his head, colliding with the heavenly lightning.

The yin attribute lightning clashed with the corpse energy. After a single breath’s duration, they exploded violently.

The gray mass shattered, and electric arcs pierced through the corpse energy, merging into the zombie’s body. This accelerated the formation of his corpse pill. Purple lightning now circled around him, twisting yin thunder coursing through his limbs. As the lightning permeated his flesh, it further transformed his cultivating corpse.

Under the Heavenly Tribulation’s purging, the iron hue in the cultivating corpse diminished while silver tones intensified.

The explosion’s shockwave, centered on the cultivating corpse, created a spherical impact that blasted a massive crater in the mud below. Chen Luo controlled the corpse, his Foundation Establishment realm divine sense undergoing transformation under the heavenly lightning’s refinement. Gradually surpassing the Foundation Establishment realm, he advanced alongside the zombie toward Core Formation.

After the first tribulation came the second.

Small Thunder Tribulation, three trials in total.

Trials passed, Pill formed!

The Core Formation brain gazed at the Heavenly Tribulation above, a sense of familiarity surfacing in his mind. This was precisely the level of tribulation he had faced in his previous life.

Soon, the tribulation clouds from the first strike reformed, unleashing a second bolt of Thunder Tribulation.

Boom!

The second strike proved even more devastating than the first.

The newly coalesced malevolent qi of the zombie proved utterly incapable of withstanding the assault, shattering upon contact.

The Thunder Tribulation struck the zombie squarely on the forehead, leaving it completely defenseless in mid-air.

The Yin Thunder crashed into the zombie’s body, its ferocious power hurling him downward into the mire. The impact sent a wave of black mud cascading outward. As the corpse controller, Chen Luo also suffered the shock - his divine sense felt as if struck by a blunt instrument, leaving his mind blank as blood streamed from his nose.

Deep within the mire, the cultivating corpse smoked, its charred flesh revealing the underlying Bai Gu.

The luminous White Jade Bone emitted an eerie glow, its bone patterns now fully integrated with the corpse. The Corpse Pill had formed, and the power of Core Formation began to manifest within the zombie.

Before the zombie could recover, a third mass of tribulation clouds coalesced in the sky, this time concentrating energy surpassing the combined might of the previous two strikes.

Heavenly Tribulation - a trial of relentless difficulty!

Each step brings new tribulations.

Below, Chen Luo’s eyelid twitched violently. The saying went, “The Thunder Tribulation is easy to overcome, but the Demonic Heart Tribulation is hard to pass.” This “easy” was only relative to the Demonic Heart Tribulation. Those who truly believed the Thunder Tribulation could be casually passed would meet a tragic end. Elder FusionSpirit had plotted for years, yet even he had relied on Blackstone City’s Third-Order Grand Formation to face the Thunder Tribulation. The ordeal had emptied Blackstone City’s accumulated resources, leaving their formations unrepaired for many years afterward.

Now Chen Luo was controlling a cultivating corpse to withstand the tribulation. If this feat became known, it would surely shock people to the core.

CRACK!

The third bolt of Thunder Tribulation descended. At this critical moment, the Core Formation brain within his external device instinctively gave feedback - after all, this was his body, and he knew it best.

Use your right arm.

Chen Luo had no time to think. His divine sense surged to its limit, and in that moment, he seemed to hear the sound of stone shattering. His divine sense power multiplied several times, lifting the cultivating corpse off the ground again. This time, the corpse raised its right arm, forming a single-handed fist that shot upward toward the heavenly tribulation.

BOOM!

The Thunder Tribulation collided with the fist, creating a water-like pattern of sparks.

The flesh on his right arm was instantly reduced to ashes by the thunder, revealing the pitch-black hand bone beneath. Unlike the spine, the bones in his right arm were jet black, their dark patterns shimmering with iridescent light. All the corpse fiendish qi within him surged upward, converging on his arm.

Counterattack!

“This hand bone has been refined,” Chen Luo realized instantly. He finally understood why the Core Formation consciousness had prompted him to use his right arm—this limb represented the most powerful trump card of the Core Formation cultivator he’d absorbed.

The two forces clashed repeatedly, gradually consuming the Thunder Tribulation.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

By the seventh breath, the cultivating corpse’s aura began weakening. The bone patterns on his arm were suppressed as the Thunder Tribulation’s power spread downward. Arcs of lightning danced, reducing the flesh from his arm to his chest to ashes. The air filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh.

“Not enough,” Chen Luo growled, his eyes crimson. He pulled twenty more cultivating corpses from the Corpse-Raising Sack. These Iron Corpses had been looted during the Blackstone City chaos when he clashed with the Black Carapace Daoist. He’d already used the corpse fiendish qi pearls extracted from the Daoist’s stolen corpses; now it was time for the ones he’d taken himself.

Originally, Chen Luo had planned to return to the Seven Nations region to exchange resources, but now there was no time for that. His priority was to protect the Core Formation zombie!

As soon as the twenty-odd cultivating corpses appeared, the corpse energy emanating from them was instantly drained by the Core Formation zombie hovering in mid-air. The corpses withered visibly, their flesh turning to ash. Twenty-odd streams of dark gray energy flew upward, converging on the Core Formation zombie’s chest. This influx of power revitalized the previously faltering zombie.

The scattered flesh and blood reformed into a cohesive whole.

Boom!

The third Thunder Tribulation was finally overcome.

An unprecedented sense of joy surged through Chen Luo’s heart. Sensing the transformation of the Core Formation zombie, he swiftly ascended. With this cultivated corpse, he could now possess Core Formation-level combat capabilities ahead of schedule.

The residual purple energy from the Thunder Tribulation permeated his body, repairing the damage sustained by the corpse puppet during the tribulation. The baleful energy from the swamp was absorbed, restoring his flesh and giving it a pure silver hue. The Silver Carapace Corpse King had been successfully forged. The centuries of accumulation by the Black Carapace Daoist, combined with Chen Luo’s final step of assistance, had resulted in the successful cultivation of the corpse.

Corpse energy dissipated into the air. Chen Luo’s divine sense extended outward, detecting changes within the Silver Carapace Corpse King. All the corpse fiendish yin energy within its body had condensed into a single entity, forming a jet-black corpse pill. Under the influence of this pill, Chen Luo sensed a power that Foundation Establishment cultivators could not perceive.

Primordial energy of heaven and earth!

Core Formation cultivators could harness this primordial energy, which was the fundamental difference between them and Foundation Establishment cultivators. Just as Chen Luo was about to further test the Silver Carapace Corpse King’s power, a terrifying aura suddenly emerged from the depths of the swamp, as if something had been awakened by the Thunder Tribulation.

The mummy’s brain surfaced.

A creature nurtured by heaven and earth? Could it be a mountain spirit? But that didn’t seem right. The source of the swamp’s baleful energy was emanating from within there. This presence was clearly no ordinary entity. Best to retreat first and show respect.

Chen Luo produced the coffin from the Coffin-Bearing Old Man’s secret stash. He maneuvered the cultivating corpse inside, then with a sweep of his sleeve, transformed into a streak of light that raced back to the Yinsha Forest at top speed.

The moment Chen Luo entered the Yinsha Forest, the sense of danger vanished, but another layer of shackles settled over him. He paid no mind to these details, following the original path as he flew onward.

After enduring the Heavenly Tribulation, his divine sense had grown increasingly powerful, surpassing even that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even in this pitch-black forest, he could accurately find his way out.

Half a day later, Chen Luo discovered the path leading from the Yinsha Forest to the outside world, encountering no obstacles along the way.

The moment he left the forest, the oppressive pressure vanished. Looking back, he saw the same dark ancient forest stretching behind him. The towering trees swayed in the Mountain Wind, their spreading leaves resembling welcoming arms. Above them hung a haze of miasmic clouds, gray and oppressive.

This forest seems to have its own consciousness.

Chen Luo glanced back one last time before transforming into a streak of light that shot into the distance.

Whatever secrets the Yinsha Forest and the marshes held were no longer his concern. He would not cross paths with this place again anytime soon.