Enslavement would not last forever. As long as one had intelligence and instincts, few would willingly accept servitude.

It was said that higher-level astras could give birth to artifact spirits, but the relationship between an artifact spirit and its owner was closer to that of family or companions, fundamentally different from enslavement.

Once those enslaved gained the power to break free, they would inevitably turn on their master.

This was also true for the living corpses refined using the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art.

According to the secret art, it was best for the one refining corpses to use a cultivator at the same level to create a living corpse. If a refiner in the early stage of the Foundation Building Realm used a cultivator from the middle stage of Foundation Building Realm as the corpse, they would need to be cautious when controlling the corpse in battle.

A single stage difference wasn’t too significant and could generally still be suppressed under normal circumstances. But if a late-stage Foundation Building cultivator was turned into a living corpse, the refiner would be better off abandoning control entirely to avoid backlash and focus on escaping.

With the assistance of the Jade Buddha, I might be able to surpass this limitation.

Qin Sang mused.

However, refining a living corpse was the most challenging step, as it required not only defeating the opponent but also capturing them alive and imprisoning their primordial spirit.

Since he couldn’t even handle a middle-stage Foundation Building cultivator on his own and lacked the help of a teacher, refining a late-stage Foundation Building cultivator into a living corpse was out of the question.

With this thought, Qin Sang shook his head, dismissing the idle notions from his mind. He fixed his gaze on Hermit Baiyun and recalled the instructions in the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art.

Once refined into a zombie, two additional steps remained. The first was to build a foundation using the five-elemental yin objects, and then to channel Earth Malevolent Qi into the body, transforming Hermit Baiyun into a full-fledged malevolent corpse.

Ordinary corpse refinement arts didn’t require the step of using the five elements as a foundation. As long as a cultivator’s dantian wasn’t damaged before death, it could absorb malevolent yin qi, forming a Qihai of yin qi within the dantian to transform into a malevolent corpse.

Even corpses with a destroyed dantian could eventually metamorphose into malevolent corpses if left in a highly concentrated yin environment for long enough, but such corpses could no longer be refined.

Earth Malevolent Qi was far more violent than yin qi, so the five-elemental yin objects were essential to stabilize the dantian and prevent the malevolent corpse from being destroyed.

Moreover, the five-elemental yin objects were the key to concentrating Earth Malevolent Qi. They would allow the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art's

barrier to merge with Hermit Baiyun and suppress Earth Malevolent Qi.

In life, Hermit Baiyun had cultivated a wood-based art. Qin Sang’s eyes flashed as he focused on the core of the Moon Pagoda Tree before him, pulling it into his palm.

The core was pure white, radiating a tranquil aura. This core, the essence of a six-hundred-year-old Moon Pagoda Tree, was the most refined part of the tree.

Forming a blade with his spiritual power, Qin Sang carefully sliced a piece from the Moon Pagoda Tree's core, which then floated in the air before him. He cast several barriers over it.

Before long, the core began to melt like ice, and eventually, only a small, liquid-like remnant of the purest Moon Pagoda essence remained.

“Go!”

Qin Sang aimed at Hermit Baiyun’s dantian and flicked his finger, sending the Moon Pagoda Tree's core shooting into Hermit Baiyun’s dantian. Immediately, Hermit Baiyun’s aura rippled. ℝ𝖆NỒBЁʂ

Under Qin Sang’s control, the essence of the Moon Pagoda Tree's core quickly spread throughout Hermit Baiyun’s dantian, nourishing the withered dantian. The once-depleted Qihai seemed to regain a glimmer of vitality.

Without missing a beat, Qin Sang proceeded according to the generative cycle of the five elements. Next, he summoned a Ghost Feather. Enveloping it in spiritual power, he meticulously extracted a cluster of yin fire from within the feather.

As the yin fire was forcibly extracted, the Ghost Feather shattered into fragments, destroying valuable spiritual material. Qin Sang, however, didn’t give it a second glance, his focus locked on the yin fire, continuing to refine it with barriers.

Then came the Nine-Orifice Stone, the Blue Nether Gold, and finally the Yin Spirit Water.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

One by one, he embedded each of the five-elemental yin objects into Hermit Baiyun’s body. Their essences fused within, fortifying his dantian and building layer upon layer of barriers.

Now, the true challenge awaited!

Qin Sang exhaled deeply, adjusted his state, and picked up a Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottle.

Opening the lid, a wave of intense chill immediately poured out. Qin Sang carefully extracted a wisp of Earth Malevolent Qi, ignoring the biting cold, and fully suppressed the wisp of Earth Malevolent Qi until it settled. Then, he gradually directed it into Hermit Baiyun’s dantian.

Boom!

As soon as the Earth Malevolent Qi entered, Hermit Baiyun’s dantian surged as if an explosion had erupted!

Drawn by the qi fluctuations, Hermit Baiyun’s body began to tremble violently. Qin Sang focused on stabilizing Hermit Baiyun’s physical form, not daring to hesitate, and quickly activated the barriers he had placed in the dantian, refining this strand of Earth Malevolent Qi.

Puff!

A cloud of black qi erupted from Hermit Baiyun’s dantian, generating violent tremors that seemed about to burst.

Qin Sang’s face darkened slightly, and he waved his hand to release a surge of spiritual power, silently dispersing the black qi.

As expected, the first attempt failed, but this was anticipated. Unfazed, Qin Sang took a brief rest before seizing another wisp of Earth Malevolent Qi.

He repeated this process, failing several times, until nearly half of the Earth Malevolent Qi in the bottle was consumed. Then, a flicker of excitement crossed Qin Sang’s face as his spiritual consciousness detected a wisp of black qi, moving like a fish through Hermit Baiyun’s dantian, finally subdued.

The first step was always the hardest. After this breakthrough, each subsequent attempt became easier, and by the time the malevolent corpse refinement was complete, he hadn’t even used the entire bottle of Earth Malevolent Qi.

Qin Sang let out a long breath, waved his hand to return the spiritual items to his Mustard Seed Pouch, and looked at Hermit Baiyun with satisfaction.

Compared to the previous zombie state, Hermit Baiyun’s outward appearance hadn’t changed much—only a faint layer of black qi now shrouded his body.

At this stage, it was still not a true malevolent corpse. It required time for the Earth Malevolent Qi within it to seep throughout its body, gradually refining and fortifying its flesh with the help of the barriers.

Once Hermit Baiyun and the Earth Malevolent Qi fully fused, becoming inseparable, his entire body would be enveloped in black qi, transforming him into a malevolent corpse as fearsome as an evil spirit, with strength reaching its peak!

Qin Sang didn’t need to intervene further. He placed Hermit Baiyun into the Corpse Puppet Pouch, letting it metamorphose slowly on its own—a process that wouldn’t take too long.

Bang!

The malevolent corpse vanished, only to reappear immediately before Qin Sang, throwing a heavy punch his way. Qin Sang easily caught the blow, assessing the strength of the malevolent corpse.

Although it was newly refined and still slightly weaker in speed and power compared to a cultivator at the thirteenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm, its strength would certainly surpass that once metamorphosis was complete.

Qin Sang conducted several additional tests.

The malevolent corpse could indeed move freely and could be controlled with a split focus. If well manipulated, it would be highly effective.

However, the limitations were clear. When Qin Sang exited his cave dwelling to test it, he found that if the malevolent corpse strayed too far, the connection with his soul imprint weakened significantly. Not only did he lose control over it, but even sensing its presence became difficult, leaving it to act autonomously.

This discovery dashed his hopes of using the malevolent corpse to scout dangerous areas ahead.