Through the connection established by the Triple Yin Soul-Refining Manual, Chen Gensheng could see it clearly: the toxin swirled through her meridians, was devoured by the newly opened Corpse Gate, and in turn, nourished her entire frame.
She eats poison for breakfast.
Gensheng looked at the Map of a Hundred Ethereal Apertures. Two thousand low-grade spirit stones. Had that "Bamboo Pole" man really sold something this heaven-defying for such a pittance? Was he an idiot, or was there...
Gensheng frowned. There were no fools in the Abode of Ten Thousand Pills. Either the man didn't realize the map's true value, or there was a massive hidden flaw in the technique he hadn't discovered yet.
But there was no turning back now.
"Simin, I'm sorry to put you through this," he whispered, pressing all six hands against her cold skin. "But we’re opening more apertures!"
In the days that followed, Gensheng became a complete shut-in on that isolated island. Aside from occasionally sending out his Ashen Butterflies and Corpse-Miasma Wasps to clean up any nosy cultivators, he devoted every waking second to the "Great Project" of Li Simin's renovation.
It was an exhausting process of spiritual surgery.
The 2nd Aperture: Spirit-Devouring Hole. Located at the throat. Once opened, she could swallow yin-energies—miasma, death qi, resentment—and convert them into fuel. The moment it opened, Li Simin took a long breath. The green fog for a hundred meters was sucked in like a vacuum, forming a visible emerald cyclone in her mouth.
The 10th Aperture: Vajra Hole. Located at the center of the sternum. Her bones and muscles underwent a qualitative leap. Gensheng took his ruined flying sword and hacked at her arm. Clang! Clang! Sparks flew. It didn't feel like hitting flesh; it felt like striking tempered steel. The sword's edge rolled. Li Simin’s arm didn't even show a white scratch.
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"Good! Perfect!" Gensheng was overjoyed.
The 36th Aperture: Ghost-Foot Hole. Located at the soles of her feet. She could now tread on yin-energy, her movements losing their stiffness and gaining a ghostly, flickering speed.
Time blurred as he drained the last of his mid-grade spirit stones. Finally, after exhausting his soul-force to open the 108th aperture—the Nether Heart—Li Simin’s body jolted.
An aura so powerful it made Gensheng’s own heart skip a beat erupted from her. This was her own unique Corpse Essence, a perfect cycle of power centered in her Nether Heart.
He stepped back to admire his masterpiece. If before she was a well-made puppet, now she was an ancient beast in human skin. Her power was easily at the level of a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment master!
I finally have the power to protect myself.
For the next month, the island witnessed a strange sight: a six-armed handsome youth casting low-tier spells, and a girl in a white dress mimicking him. He cast a fireball; she cast a green toxic orb. He threw a wind blade; she flung a black bone-shard. He raised earth spikes; she summoned pillars of poisonous mud and bone.
By the end, Li Simin could even improvise, forming shifting bone-armor over her skin or turning the surrounding swamp into a death-trap of quicksand.
One day, the island shuddered. A massive head covered in dark green scales erupted from the water. A Black-Scaled Python, a Foundation Establishment beast known for its resilience. In the past, Gensheng would have fled instantly.
"Simin. Work's here."
Li Simin dismantled the serpent in short order. Gensheng then released his Corpse-Miasma Wasps to feed. The eight tiny creatures dove into the wounds of the beast, feasting on the spiritual flesh—a banquet far superior to the mortal corpses they usually ate.
As they fed, the Spatial Casket in Gensheng’s chest flared with light! New information branded itself into his mind.
[Species: Soul-Devouring Corpse Wasp] [Grade: Grade-3, Low-Tier] [Attributes: Death Qi, Corrosive, Soul-Eater] [Bloodline: Corpse King Wasp Lineage] [Innate Abilities: Death-Erosion, Flesh-Sculpting, Hive-Mind, Soul-Consumption] [Evolution Path: Ghost-Face Wasp → Corpse Emperor Wasp] [Nurturing Advice: Consuming flesh rich in spiritual and soul power will accelerate evolution.] [Quantity: 8]
The "Breeding Conditions" column, previously greyed out, began to flicker. Something was generating.