Chapter 107: The Secret Never Revealed

Immediately afterward, Wang Changsheng felt a surge of true energy enter his body, flowing through his meridians before finally settling in his dantian.

“As expected...” After a thorough examination, Li Yunqing looked at Wang Changsheng with a mixture of admiration and regret.

“What’s wrong?” Wang Changsheng asked promptly.

“The cultivation method you’re using is indeed unusual,” Li Yunqing said. “For most cultivators, given your current accumulation, even those at the third stage of the Transformation Realm would be far behind you.”

“Yet, you still can’t break through to the Transformation Realm!” Li Yunqing continued.

“The third stage of Transformation Realm?” Wang Changsheng was immediately taken aback.

He had always known that his foundation was solid and that he was much stronger than others at the same level, but he had no clear grasp of just how powerful he truly was.

Now, with Li Yunqing’s confirmation, Wang Changsheng was genuinely shocked.

“Yes,” Li Yunqing nodded. “Based on my discussions with your second uncle, your current state should be the tenth layer of the Opening Meridian Realm.”

“Tenth layer of Opening Meridian Realm?” Wang Changsheng’s face showed confusion.

He wasn’t new to cultivation and understood the realms well. The Opening Meridian Realm traditionally only had nine layers—how could there be a tenth?

In fact, Wang Changsheng had never heard of such a thing.

More importantly, Li Yunqing mentioned conversations with his second uncle, which meant his uncle knew about his current condition.

“Yes, the tenth layer of Opening Meridian Realm,” Li Yunqing said solemnly. “Strictly speaking, the cultivation world doesn’t recognize a tenth layer of the Opening Meridian Realm. But since you don’t belong to the Opening Meridian Realm nor have you stepped into the Transformation Realm, we classify this as the tenth layer.”

“No way...” Wang Changsheng’s disbelief was evident.

There were countless cultivators in the cultivation world; he couldn’t believe no one else had ever encountered such a situation.

“I find it unbelievable too!” Li Yunqing admitted. “The idea of a tenth layer is too vague.”

“So... how do I break through?” Wang Changsheng asked immediately.

This was the very reason he had come to the Li family in Shangyang!

If he couldn’t find a breakthrough method, despair would be his only option.

“I don’t know either,” Li Yunqing shook his head.

“Don’t know?” Wang Changsheng’s voice was filled with surprise.

If not for the unfamiliar environment, he might have leapt up in frustration!

After all the hardships following clues left by his second uncle to find Li Yunqing—and after Chen Shangyi and the others had paid a heavy price—now Li Yunqing said he didn’t know?

“I truly don’t know,” Li Yunqing said helplessly.

“Then... my second uncle told me to find you... why?” Wang Changsheng asked, puzzled.

“To teach you a technique,” Li Yunqing said gravely. “That was the agreement between me and your second uncle. When you came to me, I was to pass on a technique to you.”

---

Wang Changsheng shook his head with a helpless look.

“Does my second uncle mean for me to switch to another method?” Wang Changsheng sighed.

Back then, his uncle had advised him not to cultivate the Longevity Technique and to change his path.

But Wang Changsheng insisted on cultivating the Longevity Technique and had even reached the ninth layer of the Opening Meridian Realm, now stuck at the threshold of the Transformation Realm.

If he changed methods now, wouldn’t all these years of perseverance be wasted?

“That’s not necessary!” Li Yunqing smiled. “The technique I’ll teach you doesn’t require you to switch your cultivation method. You can continue with your own path. But how to break through—that’s something you have to figure out yourself.”

“What technique?” Wang Changsheng asked immediately.

If he didn’t need to switch methods, what was this all about?

“It’s a body refining technique,” Li Yunqing explained. “This technique doesn’t conflict with your cultivation method. It simply aims to strengthen your physical body.”

“Ah?”

Wang Changsheng looked at Li Yunqing in surprise. “A body refining technique?”

He wasn’t new to cultivation and understood what a body refining technique entailed.

In the Early Realm, many cultivators practiced body refining techniques, as progress was quick early on. With perseverance and endurance, it was a technique without entry barriers.

But in the Deep Realm, few practiced it—perhaps one in ten thousand.

Deep Realm cultivators knew that while body refining techniques advanced rapidly at first without requiring talent, progress slowed drastically mid-course, often never reaching great heights.

No one had ever heard of a true cultivator who reached the Golden Core Dao through body refining techniques alone.

In other words, body refining techniques were looked down upon and rarely led to great achievements.

“Yes,” Li Yunqing said solemnly. “I know the situation in the Deep Realm and the common opinions about body refining techniques. But that’s because they lack powerful body refining methods. They only know to grind their bodies, which instead causes irreparable damage.”

Wang Changsheng listened quietly. Given Li Yunqing’s high cultivation, he had more authority on such matters.

“The body is the foundation of cultivation,” Li Yunqing said gravely. “If the body isn’t strong enough, what can you use to cultivate? The body is like a vessel—only a strong vessel can withstand the leap to higher realms.”

Wang Changsheng felt speechless, as if Li Yunqing was trying to brainwash him.

“Is this my second uncle’s decision?” Wang Changsheng asked.

Li Yunqing nodded. “Your second uncle told me to teach you a technique.”

He paused, then continued, “Honestly, if it weren’t for your second uncle’s direct request, I wouldn’t have agreed. The technique your uncle asked me to teach is a secret of the Li family in Shangyang. Even among the core disciples, few have the chance to cultivate it.”

“A secret technique?” Wang Changsheng was astonished.

He didn’t know the relationship between his second uncle and Li Yunqing, but he understood that such secret techniques were family heirlooms—treasured skills. The fact that Li Yunqing was willing to teach it to him meant his uncle’s relationship with Li Yunqing was extraordinary.

“Wang, my esteemed nephew, have you made up your mind?” Li Yunqing smiled and asked.

“I need to think it over,” Wang Changsheng replied solemnly.

---

This matter caught Wang Changsheng off guard.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to cultivate a body refining technique. But if he truly cultivated the Li family’s secret technique, he would inevitably become entangled with the Li family.

For other cultivators, forging ties with a great family like the Li clan in Shangyang would be a blessing, but Wang Changsheng was also deeply connected to the Corpse Refinement Sect. What would they think if he practiced the Li family’s secret technique?

It was a headache-inducing problem.

“Wang, my esteemed nephew, I heard from Ziqi that you are now an official of the Corpse Refinement Sect?” Li Yunqing asked.

“Ziqi?” Wang Changsheng blurted out. “Who’s Ziqi?”

“She’s the young woman who brought you back to the Li family,” Li Yunqing smiled.

Wang Changsheng felt embarrassed. Only now did he learn the name of the young woman he barely liked. He said, “Yes, I entered the Corpse Refinement Sect by chance and became an official.”

Upon hearing this, Li Yunqing’s expression grew thoughtful. He said solemnly, “Wang, my respected nephew, here’s some advice: you’d best stay away from the Corpse Refinement Sect.”

“Why?” Wang Changsheng asked immediately.

If Li Yunqing had said this when he first left the sect, Wang Changsheng would have nodded eagerly, even clinging to the Li family’s protection for fear of pursuit.

But after everything with Chen Shangyi and the others, especially the last great battle, Wang Changsheng had a new understanding of the Corpse Refinement Sect.

Of course, except for one elder—he wished he could kill him in an instant.

Most of the sect, however, deserved some recognition. They weren’t as terrifying as rumors claimed.

Seeing Wang Changsheng frown, Li Yunqing shook his head helplessly. “The reason the Corpse Refinement Sect is shunned in the cultivation world isn’t because of their cultivation methods.”

“Honestly, death is common in the cultivation world,” Li Yunqing said. “Although the Corpse Refinement Sect’s methods violate the natural order, that’s not the main reason people shun them.”

“Then why?” Wang Changsheng asked eagerly.

He was naturally curious and rarely had the chance to learn such things. Meeting a powerful figure like Li Yunqing meant he could learn more than most cultivators.

“Because as cultivators in the Corpse Refinement Sect grow stronger, they gradually lose their consciousness,” Li Yunqing said gravely. “The higher their cultivation, the weaker their own awareness becomes until it’s eventually swallowed bit by bit.”

“Swallowed?” Wang Changsheng looked puzzled, unsure what that meant.

“Yes, swallowed—consumed by endless darkness,” Li Yunqing said solemnly. “As for what exactly consumes them, only they know. What I do know is that they lose their consciousness and become nothing but killing machines.”

Wang Changsheng was speechless.

He had no idea how to respond. The situation Li Yunqing described was completely unfamiliar.

From Wang Changsheng’s perspective, although the Corpse Refinement Sect’s methods were unique and their environment grim, their disciples were flesh-and-blood beings with thoughts and souls, nothing like the soulless machines Li Yunqing described.

Suddenly, Wang Changsheng’s expression changed as if he had recalled something dreadful.

He muttered under his breath, “Old schemer...”