The night sky was covered in the light of the stars. The outdoors were quiet. Besides the occasional croak of a frog, everything was completely silent. A cold wind convoluted the interior of an empty cave while Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on an enormous rock within the cave. His expression was solemn. A moment later, he waved his hand and two items rushed out of his Storage Ring. These items landed heavily on the ground, stirring up some dust.

Two corpses that had been frozen appeared on the ground. Xiao Yan was not unfamiliar with these two corpses. They were Yun Shan and the Old Ground Demon Ghost...

Xiao Yan’s gaze slowly swept across the faces of these two corpses, that had been maintained with the expression that they . Finally, his gaze paused on the white-robed Yun Shan. Xiao Yan finally let out a sigh a long time later. After so many years, Xiao Yan’s hatred had gradually reduced following the disbanding of the Misty Cloud Sect. Moreover, its miserable fate was barely able to make up for what it did to the Xiao clan.

When comparing the two corpses, Yun Shan’s strength was around that of a two to three star Dou Zong before he died while the Old Ground Demon Ghost had the strength of a seven star Dou Zong. If one were to compare which corpse to use to refine the ‘Sky Demon Puppet,’ the success rate of the latter might be a little higher. Moreover, Xiao Yan did not wish for something with Yun Shan’s appearance to follow beside him even if that thing was merely a puppet with Yun Shan’s face...

Xiao Yan’s gaze paused on Yun Shan’s face. His mind was somewhat absent. A graceful and proud figure that emitted a noble aura vaguely surfaced within his mind along with the cloud-white dress that gently drifted on the figure, highlighting the figures moving curves.

“Yun Yun...”

A low muttering sound was suddenly emitted from Xiao Yan’s mouth. His fist was involuntarily clenched as he recalled her complicated gaze when she was about to leave back then.

Seventy percent was desolation within those eyes, ten percent was helplessness, ten percent was sadness from giving up and there was a faint amount of hatred. She seemed to still take his viciousness to heart. He had cruelly shattered everything she had. It was this little thread of hatred that spurred her to leave the place she had lived for so many years... perhaps from the way she saw it, that place was a place of sadness. After leaving, it would be extremely difficult for her to return.

Xiao Yan’s fist under his sleeves tightened. He undeniably possessed faint feelings to this woman, the first person to have skin contact with him back when he was training outside. All that had happened in that cave was far too great a blow to his youthfulness. It was from that moment on that he truly understood what a woman was. He was no longer a boy; he had transformed into a true man. Xiao Yan knew that he would never be able to forget her for the rest of his life. All of this seemed to be like a searing imprint that caused him to be unable to forget her.

The meeting of the two was quite moving. However, it seemed to have ended in misery. It was impossible for Xiao Yan to forgive what the Misty Cloud Sect and Yun Shan had done to the Xiao clan. Hence, being the Misty Cloud Sect’s leader, she had to stand against Xiao Yan even if the one who had ended up miserably injured was her. This was an ending that had already predetermined from the start...

A soft sigh slowly reverberated within the cave. Xiao Yan waved his hand and returned Yun Shan’s corpse to his Storage Ring. He was unwilling to use his body to refine the ‘Sky Demon Puppet.’ Even he was unable to figure out what was the actual reason was. All he wanted to prevent was the vague thought of piercing a bloody knife into the weak heart of a woman, covered in injuries.

There had been no news of Yun Yun ever since she left the Jia Ma Empire. The Dou Qi continent was enormous. Attempting to look for a person in the vast sea of people was equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack. However, Xiao Yan had a vague feeling that he might be able to meet her again in the Central Plains...

Although this feeling was without any reason, Xiao Yan still chose to believe it. Hence, he had stored away Yun Shan’s corpse. He did not wish to unexpectedly run into her and have her not want to see him because of the puppet following him...

“Teacher, once this disciple has rescued you, this disciple will personally help you find an even stronger body.”

Xiao Yan quietly muttered within his heart. His eyes also gradually became clear as a stern expression quietly appeared.

Xiao Yan clenched his hand and the jade-green flame once again surged out. He flicked his finger and the flame rushed out, and wrapped around the Old Ground Demon Ghost’s corpse. The high temperature swiftly melted the layer of ice that covered the body.

The clothes of the Old Ground Demon Ghost turned to powder after the ice melted. The hot temperature caused the corpse to turn fiery-red. Following this repeated grilling, threads of faint black air escaped from the corpse and were incinerated by the jade-green flame into nothingness.

This kind of black gas was a kind of corpse vapor. It contained the will of the owner when he was still alive. If this black gas was not completely expelled, other spirits would find it difficult to merge with the body. Moreover, the refinement of the ‘Sky Demon Puppet’ needed the body, Monster Core, and spirit to be seamlessly merged. Hence, this corpse vapor needed to be removed.

The temperature of the Heart Flame was precisely controlled by Xiao Yan. The flame was able to force out the corpse vapor but not burn the body.

Just refining the physical body took up three hours of Xiao Yan’s time. Only then was the corpse vapor within the corpse completely expelled.

Xiao Yan sighed in relief when the final thread of corpse vapor left the body. He immediately flicked his finger and two Dou Qi storms shot out, opening a fist-sized hole in the chest and the forehead of the corpse.

No fresh blood flowed out of the holes because all of the blood had been vaporized during the refinement of the corpse. This was a small step in refining the ‘Sky Demon Puppet.’

At this moment, the corpse of the Old Ground Demon Ghost had also been struck by a couple of circles. The skin of his body was grayish-white with a cold appearance. The skin tightly adhered to its shriveled muscles. His hands had also become exceptionally long, appearing like sharp daggers.

Xiao Yan refined this corpse a according to what was written on the bamboo scroll. After which, he extended his hand and beckoned. The fiery-red Monster Core appeared out of nowhere, and fell into the small hole on the corpse’s chest. After completing all this, Xiao Yan’s pulled out another jade bottle with a cold expression. The jade bottle was faintly emitting a powerful spiritual ripple.

“Xiao Yan, what does it take for you to let off the old me?” A furious and vicious roar was transmitted from the jade bottle the moment it appeared.

“Protector Tie, there is no need to be anxious. I will let you out immediately...” The corner of Xiao Yan’s mouth was lifted into a cold smile. He clenched his hand and the jade bottle suddenly shattered, revealing a black-colored spirit. The spirit had just came out when it fled toward the cave’s exit without caring about anything else. However, Xiao Yan, who was prepared, caught it.

The black-colored spirit struggled wildly as curses were emitted from his mouth. His tone was also filled with fear and craziness. Clearly, Protector Tie was aware of what was going to happen. Hence, he unleashed his final strength amid his despair.

Xiao Yan’s gaze was dense as he stared at Protector Tie’s soul that was trying its best to struggle away. The corner of his mouth revealed a cold smile. After which, he increased his strength and the flame in his hand surged. It wrapped around Protector Tie. Sharp miserable cries and incomparably vicious curses immediately resounded within the cave.

Xiao Yan appeared to have failed to hear the vicious curses. He merely continued to increase the temperature of the flame. With this high temperature refinement, Protector Tie, who had been sealed for a long time, lost the intelligence hidden within his soul. At this moment, his intelligence had completely vanished...

Xiao Yan glanced at the cluster of black fog in his hand after having refined Protector Tie’s awareness. He gently tossed it and the black fog transformed into a swirling gas that entered the hole in the corpse’s head in a lightning-like manner.

The tightly shut eyes of the Old Ground Demon Ghost suddenly opened after the insertion of this intelligence. His eyes were filled with a dark-black color...

Xiao Yan was not surprised by this scene. He flicked his ten fingers and numerous metallic objects, containing strange lusters, shot from his Storage Ring. They steadily drifted in the air in front of him.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly upon inspecting the many strange metals floating in the air. He clenched his hand and the jade-green flame was spat out of his palm like a fire pillar. A suction force surged out and sucked the metals in...

Under the refinement of the high temperature of the Glazed Lotus Heart Flame, these strange metals gradually showed traces of melting. However, they weren’t melting just yet.

At this moment, Xiao Yan split his attention in half. On one hand, he was controlling the flame to refine the corpse at a constant temperature. On the other, he used an extremely high temperature to refine the strange metals. The high and low flame temperatures required an extremely difficult level of flame control. However, it was fortunate that Xiao Yan had already practiced the ‘Five Ring Flame Expelling Skill.’ Hence, he did not end up scrambling around.

The two refinements required a lot of time, especially the corpse refinement. The refinement needed to reach a certain point in order to force the spirit and the Monster Core, placed within the corpse, to perfectly merge...

Moreover, Xiao Yan knew that this was not a task that he could complete within a short period of time. Hence, Xiao Yan, seated cross-legged on an enormous rock, gradually shut his eyes and quietly waited for the moment when the perfect merger was achieved.

This wait continued for seven days. The strange metals had been completely refined during these seven days. They had transformed into a dark-gold-colored liquid. It slowly flowed within the flame, emitting an unknown luster.

The metal refinement had already finished. However, the perfect merger of the body, spirit, and Monster Core still had not arrived. Nevertheless, Xiao Yan did not feel remotely frustrated because of this.