Starting with the Corpse-Eating Worm, he worked his way up to become the Left-Winged Immortal Lord.

Shady area behind the mountain.

The pale white yin energy moved with the wind, taking away the peace in the hearts of each Taoist disciple, leaving only unease about their own situation.

Gu Qing then rode the Corpse-Eating Insects underground. As soon as he reached the area where the second-tier purple zombie was located, the sense of flying zombies from the coffin enveloped him.

However, Gu Qing did not ask the question directly.

Because the flying zombie in the coffin is no pushover; once it opens its mouth to ask a question, no matter what the question is, there will be no answer.

The only way to get the answer is to trade with them.

So Gu Qing had to wait until the flying zombie in the coffin couldn't stand the loneliness and spoke up, then he would find a breakthrough to ask questions.

however.

After an hour or two, the flying zombie in the coffin showed no reaction.

But the Corpse Sense never left; instead, it kept peering at the Corpse-Eating Worm, as if trying to see through it inside and out.

Finally, the flying zombie in the coffin couldn't help but transmit its voice.

"You cunning brat, your insect seems to be only the Corpse-Eating Insect ranked 1,326th on the list of alien insects. But I have even seen a fourth-order Corpse-Eating Insect comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but its stealth effect is not as strong as yours."

Gu Qing did not respond.

He seemed indifferent and unresponsive.

Upon seeing this, the flying zombie in the coffin immediately increased the stakes.

"I don't mean to pry, I'm just curious. Tell me whatever you want... In exchange, I can answer one question for you."

Gu Qing was overjoyed.

This is exactly the effect he wanted.

However, he cannot appear too enthusiastic.

"I'm not curious about you," Gu Qing replied telepathically.

The flying zombie in the coffin immediately fell silent, then urgently transmitted its voice, "Don't you want to know about Foundation Establishment? You've reached the late stage of Qi Refining, but all information related to Foundation Establishment is monopolized by the Xuanqing Academy. You cultivators under their command are not qualified to know... It's no exaggeration to say that they don't even want to see you achieve Foundation Establishment."

"Alright, then I'll tell you the name of the insect," Gu Qing replied smoothly.

The flying zombie in the coffin chuckled, "A name alone isn't enough."

"I only want to exchange for equivalent information about a name," Gu Qing replied.

The flying zombie in the coffin hesitated for a few moments, then said, "Alright."

"Phantom Corpse Eater."

"I haven't studied the alien insect rankings much, but I don't think I've ever heard of any phantom corpse-eating worms."

"It's my turn to ask you."

"Okay, okay, go ahead and ask."

"You probably wouldn't know about Foundation Establishment, but I happen to have a question: what does the Heavenly Principle Sect need such a vast amount of vital energy for?"

How did you know that?

The flying corpse in the coffin was suddenly startled and became wary.

Gu Qing didn't answer, but instead posed another question, "What answer will you offer in exchange for this, senior?"

however.

This time, the flying zombie in the coffin did not propose a deal.

"The question you just asked is too valuable. The name of an insect is not enough; you need the answer to this question as well."

"Never mind then."

Gu Qing simply stopped paying attention.

The flying zombie in the coffin was extremely cunning. Gu Qing believed that even if he revealed the answer, the zombie would not tell him the truth.

If that's the case, then let's give them some more time to cool off.

"You cunning boy, don't be like that. I haven't lied to you at all. The matter of qi and blood is indeed of utmost importance."

After transmitting his voice, Gu Qing did not respond.

Left with no other choice, the flying zombie in the coffin could only reply, "The Heavenly Principle Sect has a method that can only be practiced by those at the level of altar master or above. To cultivate it, one needs a large amount of vital energy... If you tell me how you know about this, I will tell you the specific information."

"The Heavenly Principle Sect has made a comeback and is now massacring miscellaneous and unorthodox sects, as well as cultivators from the Five Abundance Temple."

Gu Qing did not hide anything.

He also wanted to see how the other party would react after finding out about it.

"Only fifty years... how could it be so fast?" The flying zombie in the coffin showed a look of horror again.

Gu Qing didn't immediately press further, but said, "You should keep your promise."

But this time, the flying zombie in the coffin did not respond immediately.

Instead, they remained silent for a long time.

He seemed to be thinking about something.

When the voice was transmitted again, the flying corpse in the coffin uttered a startling statement.

"That method requires a large amount of Qi and blood to reach perfection, and once the Qi and blood are sufficient, the cultivator can use it to step into the Qi Refining Perfection stage... At that time, the Foundation Establishment Dao Fruit will be right before their eyes. As long as they are willing to pay the price, it will be within their grasp."

Gu Qing's heart skipped a beat.

He had previously suspected that the Heavenly Principle Sect was used for breakthroughs, so he was worried that the cultivators of the Heavenly Principle Sect were aiming for the Qi Refining Perfection or Foundation Establishment Dao Fruit.

Unexpectedly, the other party wanted both.

If so.

If he succeeds, even if he only succeeds halfway and reaches the perfect state of Qi cultivation, let alone Wufeng Temple, even the combined abbots and deputy abbots of several surrounding counties would probably find it difficult to contend with him.

"What price?" Gu Qing asked instinctively.

The flying zombie in the coffin refused, saying, "This problem is not solved even if you release me from the coffin right now."

"Never mind then, forget I asked."

Gu Qing realized that she had spoken out of turn and that the other party had seized the opportunity, so she immediately restrained her thoughts.

This time, however, the flying zombie in the coffin didn't try to pull him away. Instead, it immediately sent a telepathic message to Gu Qing, "You cunning brat, wait!"

"What for?"

Gu Qing responded.

"I wanted to give you a heads-up, you only have one path left to take now..." The flying zombie in the coffin spoke in a tone that was very different from before.

"What road?"

"That means joining the Heavenly Principle Sect."

"Not interested."

"You think I'm fooling you? That's because you don't understand the Heavenly Principles Sect, let alone the Xuanqing Academy above you. The Heavenly Principles Sect has only been lying low for fifty years before making a comeback, so it must be just one step away, not far away. Even if you refine more purple zombies now, or make this Phantom Corpse-Eating Worm even stronger, it will be of no use."

Upon hearing this...

Gu Qing was taken aback.

Just one step away?

In other words, some people within the Heavenly Principle Sect are already preparing to establish their foundation?

Is that why the people of Xuanqing Academy don't intend to get involved?

Do they intend to allow the cultivators of the Heavenly Principle Sect to build their foundations?

wrong.

Why does the Xuanqing Academy's management system deny its subordinate Taoist temple cultivators any opportunity to establish their foundation?

While he was pondering, the flying zombie in the coffin continued to threaten him telepathically, "What you need now is the Foundation Establishment method... If you change your cultivation method and join my sect, I can guarantee you a place in the Heavenly Principle Sect; otherwise, you will only face death. Cunning brat, you are a smart man, you should know that I am not exaggerating."

Gu Qing did not respond.

It's not that I don't want to respond.

Instead, he wanted to use silence to tell the other person that he was hesitant.

If you act too decisively, the other party will lose the will to continue to tempt or threaten you.

Only by keeping him in this state can he focus on refining the second-tier purple zombie.

"But now, to cultivate the Shattered Stag Beetle to the third tier, it requires 16000 Corpse Qi, which is more than cultivating the Corpse Devouring Worm to the middle stage of the third tier."

Despite expending so much corpse energy, the Void-Shattering Stag Beetle will definitely enhance his strength once again, but simply improving his ability to kill enemies head-on is not enough.

After all, even Chen Ye and Deng Hui have third-tier talismans, so the foundation of those true late-stage Qi Refining cultivators would only be stronger.

If they have top-tier Tier 3 defensive runes, even the Void-Shattering Stag Beetles can't do anything about them.

So now I have to get the forbidden word bug to join the team.

The Forbidden Word Insect's ability greatly amplifies the Void-Shattering Stag Beetle's frontal killing power, making it far more useful than simply raising the Corpse-Eating Insect or the Void-Shattering Stag Beetle to a higher level.

I put my thoughts aside.

Gu Qing ignored the flying zombie in the coffin and immediately decided to improve the forbidden word insect in the days to come.

Over the next few days, the flying zombie in the coffin kept tempting him with the Foundation Building Technique.

These are mostly examples of late-stage Qi Refining cultivators who toiled until death but never even reached the threshold of Foundation Establishment.

Gu Qing remained silent throughout, occasionally uttering a few words to express her inner struggle.

It was at this time that the monks sent by Wufeng Temple to inquire about the situation in the neighboring county returned to Wufeng Temple.

And it brought a surprising piece of news.