Starting with the consumables of the Demonic Sect, one can barely achieve immortality.

The fourth floor of the Hall of Longevity is the martial arts training ground.

After breaking through to the mid-stage, the corpse cultivators in the hall were each assigned a cave dwelling, and most of them spent their days in seclusion cultivating in their cave dwellings, living even more low-key lives than the Ju family in Yan Cheng's previous life.

The reason is simple: just dealing with the needs of cultivation and the exploitation by superiors has already made most corpse cultivators exert all their strength, so how can they be distracted by other things?

Even the three-piece set of mantras that Senior Brother Tiantong repeatedly encouraged all practitioners to devote their efforts to, some of them neglected to practice them.

If it weren't for the deep wariness that everyone harbored towards their so-called fellow disciples on the same floor, fearing that they might be secretly ambushed and killed one day, many of them might have already stopped practicing their magic techniques.

If one is distracted by cultivating techniques but achieves nothing, it is a waste of the effort that should have been put into proper cultivation. In the eyes of the corpse cultivators, this is a huge loss, and just thinking about it makes one break out in a cold sweat.

Ultimately, whether it's cultivation techniques or secret formulas, only a minority of people have the talent to achieve them.

Most cultivators are of average talent; they are lucky if they can accumulate enough experience over time to build up some foundation.

Of course, there are always people in this world who are more outstanding than others.

Yang Hao considers himself to be that kind of person.

This was his twelfth match of the day, yet this top mid-stage corpse cultivator still displayed formidable strength.

On the tenth move alone, it tore through the sky with its claws, its five claws hovering above Pei Yi's head.

Pei Yi sighed softly and took a few steps back:

"I was never a match for you, senior brother. These past few months I've been focused on recovering from my injuries, and as I've fallen behind, I'm afraid I'll be even less able to keep up with you in the future."

Yang Hao smiled slightly and withdrew his hand, which was covered in black demonic energy.

"Thank you for your concession."

"My junior sister has just recovered from serious injuries, and it would be unfair for me to win this match."

"However, as everyone knows, you are the one with the highest movement technique among all cultivators of the same period."

"If even you, Junior Sister, cannot evade my Ghostly Corpse Claws, then I doubt anyone in the Hall can!"

Pei Yi smiled, but her gaze was cold.

The corpse cultivators in the hall have always lacked mutual trust. Only a handful of people would spend their precious time in the training grounds, testing and verifying the techniques they have learned.

Yang Hao, on the other hand, was undoubtedly the one most enthusiastic about fighting with others.

Aside from sleeping and cultivating, he spent almost the entire day in this martial arts arena, and could be said to have fought against all the mid-stage corpse cultivators with relatively high combat power in the hall.

With his cultivation having opened up the six extraordinary meridians, coupled with his ruthless and swift Shadow Claw, he has been undefeated in every battle to date.

Every time Pei Yi sparred with this guy, he would lament his own lack of purity as a disciple of the Immortal Sect.

Every time I lost a battle, I couldn't help but feel resentful.

He felt that his opponent only had the advantage in cultivation level and relied on the speed of his physical body to surpass his own movement technique, without any skill involved.

But on second thought, bullying the weak and oppressing the powerful is exactly what a qualified disciple of a celestial sect should do.

Should we then turn around and bully the strong, using the low to defeat the high? That would be utterly disregarding our own lives.

Moreover, Yang Hao is considered to have a bottom line among corpse cultivators. He won, but he wouldn't take the opportunity to kick her while she was down and ruin her cultivation.

If you can't even handle his five claws, how can you possibly dodge the lightning-fast silk threads in Tian Tong's hands!

Every time Pei Yi recalls the painful experience three months ago when Tian Tong used the puppeteer's silk to force her to lift the Yin Spirit Coffin, resulting in severe injuries to her hands, a chill runs down her spine.

It was this experience that made her realize that burying herself in pursuing cultivation was not a wise move.

No matter how fast one cultivates, can one outpace the Heavenly Child who possesses the Heavenly Yin Moon?

Since he was destined to be inferior to the other party in terms of cultivation, he was like a rag in the other party's eyes, to be thrown away wherever he was needed!

What truly helps one survive is combat strength, not simply cultivation level.

Deng Jian's cultivation level was below his own, so why didn't Tian Tong choose him to carry the coffin that day?

It's just because this guy's swordsmanship is so good that he's not as easy to bully as she and Li Bai, those two pushovers!

This female cultivator was just a country girl from the mountains in her previous life. Since entering the temple, she has learned on her own how to use her flesh and blood to make a living, but no one has ever taught her the great principles of making a living.

You can't learn something just by being taught it, but you can learn it after just one lesson.

From the perspective of those in the hall, it was naturally hoped that all cultivators would bury themselves in diligent practice and not learn any magical arts.

Even when they are used as consumables, they have no strength left to resist.

When it came time to have the soldiers explore the ruins and secret realms for the emperor, he changed his stance and began urging the corpse cultivators to diligently practice their techniques.

In summary, the emperor wanted the corpse cultivators to be just the right strength, and only just the right strength.

"But I'm not going to do as you wish..."

Pei Yi could see it clearly: even if one's cultivation reached Yu Caiying's level, wasn't she still easily used by Tian Tong as a scapegoat to take the fall?

She diligently practiced the magic techniques, not to serve the court any longer.

When the time is right, there might be a chance to escape...

The mere thought sent shivers down her spine; she could only try to calm herself, her mind heavy with thoughts:

"If you want to succeed, you at least need to master your own 'Shadow Corpse Flowing Cloud Step'."

As for cultivation level, it should be as high as possible, even if it's just a little bit higher.

"This next exploration might be my only chance..."

Her mind stirred slightly, and she simply smiled and said:

"With your skills, Senior Brother, you must have already received orders from above to explore the 'Moon-Hidden Palace'."

"I've heard that His Highness attaches great importance to this exploration, with Senior Brother Chen, who has opened all eight meridians, personally leading a group of over twenty mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to participate in this grand undertaking."

"Given your exceptional skills and important position, Senior Brother, it shouldn't be difficult for you to arrange for my younger sister to be among these twenty-odd people as well."

Yang Hao glanced at her upon hearing this and smiled:

"I wondered why my junior sister had the leisure to spar with me, but it turns out it was for this very reason!"

"It seems that the exploration three months ago really did bring you a lot of benefits, to the point that you've even developed a taste for it."

"Since Senior Brother Chen is leading this matter, why don't you ask him to lend you a hand?"

Pei Yi smiled nonchalantly:

"Senior brother knows the customs here. Even if cultivators have had a relationship of dual cultivation, it is like fleeting clouds without any lingering attachment."

"Unlike those righteous cultivators in the South, who, once they become Daoist partners, are of one mind and walk the path together on the Great Dao?"

"What's more, his new lover is quite fierce. I'm afraid that as soon as she hears that I'm going with her, she'll unleash a blast of dark fire without saying a word."

Yang Hao's gaze was subtle:

"It's not that I can't help you, but you have to do something for me."

Pei Yi smiled and said:

"Is it dual cultivation? I didn't expect Senior Brother to be interested today."

Yang Hao chuckled and shook his head, his expression suddenly turning serious:

"When Junior Sister went to that morgue last time, she was with a newcomer named Yan Cheng, right?"

Seeing Pei Yi nod, Yang Hao slowly asked:

"How much do you... know about that person?"

Pei Yi blinked:

"Why do you ask this, senior brother?"

"Although Junior Brother Yan is highly regarded by his superiors, his cultivation is still shallow, and he should..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yang Hao interrupted him with a cold laugh:

"Your cultivation is still shallow? Are you kidding me?"

"This person was personally brought here by Senior Sister Huang the other day, who said she wanted to appoint him as the second-in-command for this expedition to the Hidden Moon Palace."

"Your senior brother Chen sparred with him as usual, not comparing techniques, but only fighting in terms of cultivation. In an instant, he was forced back five steps away."

"This person has always been unknown in the palace, but unexpectedly, he has secretly opened up all eight extraordinary meridians!"