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

The situation immediately became quite awkward.

In an instant, dozens of gazes with different expressions shot towards Yan Cheng.

Yan Cheng blinked slightly, and the corners of her mouth, which had been frozen, slowly turned down.

He cursed inwardly:

"You damned, wicked thing..."

The reason he didn't hide his breakthrough speed from Tian Tong was to gain the favor of Tian Tong and Huang Tong behind him, thereby acquiring more resources.

That doesn't mean he wants to be roasted on a stove by this sinister thing in front of everyone!

Now that things have come to this, Yan Cheng has no better options.

I had no choice but to put on a smile and walk forward.

Tendo affectionately took his hand; someone unaware of the situation might have mistaken them for close friends or family.

"Junior Brother Yan, Senior Sister Huang greatly admires your performance."

"It's fortunate that you trampled that good-for-nothing to death back then, which made the palace have a promising talent."

He handed Yan Cheng a ring that was jet black and had a soft, subtle sheen.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

"This is a gift from Senior Sister Huang to congratulate Junior Brother on breaking through to the mid-stage; it is called the Black Gold Corpse Control Ring."

"By simply raising the ring, one can suppress the mind, body, and soul of any early-stage corpse cultivator, turning them into a servile slave at will."

He subconsciously made a gesture to take the reins, only then remembering that he hadn't brought his mount with him tonight.

He immediately laughed it off, defusing the awkward situation.

"Compared to the puppet-binding silk I received back then, this precept focuses on controlling the spirit of lower cultivation, rather than the physical body."

"However... the physical body of a corpse cultivator in the early stages is inherently fragile and cannot play a significant role in actual combat."

"The value of this thing does not lie in this."

Tian Tong's smile was chilling:

"The corpse cultivators controlled by this ring have not been transformed into corpse puppets, so they naturally still have the ability to continue cultivating and producing corpse demons."

"A mid-level early-stage corpse cultivator can condense about four to five strands of Yin Corpse Qi per month."

"Since it is at your command, the malevolent energy it produces naturally ends up in your possession!"

As soon as he said this, all eyes turned to Yan Cheng with burning intensity.

Given Huang Tong's image in the eyes of the cultivators, no one could have predicted that she would bestow such a wondrous object as a gift!

Control a nascent corpse cultivator and turn them into a source of malevolent energy.

For corpse cultivators, whose speed of cultivation is entirely based on the amount of malevolent energy they possess.

This is a top-tier treasure, far surpassing any magical weapon used for killing!

If everyone had known that the first corpse cultivator to break through would gain such benefits, they would have gone into seclusion to try and reach the mid-stage long ago.

How could things have turned out this way, with such good things ending up in the hands of an unknown newcomer?

Envy, jealousy, and bitterness—a hundred thousand emotions weighed heavily on the young corpse cultivator standing beside Tian Tong.

Yan Cheng saw right through these guys' thoughts, his brows furrowing even deeper, yet he still asked with a smile:

"This item probably won't be effective against a mid-stage corpse cultivator, will it?"

Tian Tong laughed:

"That's natural."

"The mechanism by which it works is a bit complicated, and it's difficult to explain to you in a short time."

"But simply put, it is related to the status of both parties."

"Mid-stage cultivators are ahead of early-stage cultivators on the path of cultivation and occupy a higher position, so they can use this precept to suppress early-stage cultivators."

"Among mid-stage cultivators, everyone is in the same position, so the ring can no longer play its wonderful role in controlling subordinates."

His explanation put many of the corpse cultivators at ease.

That makes sense. How could His Highness possibly give a mid-stage corpse cultivator a spiritual artifact that can control them?

Even so, a ring that can control an early-stage corpse cultivator is precious enough for all cultivators!

Yan Cheng knew what Zhu Xiu was thinking, and Tian Tong knew it too.

He smiled and clapped his hands:

"It would be a bit redundant to bring this up again now."

"But I must remind you all again that His Highness will never allow his disciples to kill each other or fight amongst themselves."

"You must understand that your fellow disciples are no longer consumables that can be consumed at will."

"Every mid-stage cultivator is an irreplaceable talent to the Hall!"

"Let me make this clear from the start: if I were to find out that someone, driven by momentary greed, would dare to attack and kill a fellow disciple..."

Tian Tong's smile is very beautiful:

"But I'll drag them to feed the corpse puppets."

The art of managing people since ancient times has always been about using both kindness and severity, which is why Huang Tong's lineage of cultivators is so keen on holding meetings.

If we don't hold more meetings, how can we have the opportunity to speak eloquently and assert our authority in front of a group of lower-level practitioners?

Yan Cheng felt that these guys should become orators rather than cultivators.

In any case, after Tian Tong's words of intimidation, the newly recruited corpse cultivators dared not attack him for a short period of time.

There has never been much affection among the corpse cultivators in the hall. Everyone is focused on their own cultivation, so the speed at which news travels is not very fast. He is not afraid that he will suddenly be surrounded and killed by a group of old corpses who have reached the end of their cultivation.

"According to Tiantong's plan, he wants me to join the enforcement team out of my insecurity and thus be under his control."

"I imagine that once I've mastered those three basic techniques, he'll come and invite me to join him."

"What benefit would he gain from bringing me under his command?"

There's definitely a trap here!

Yan Cheng's gaze was gloomy, but his face remained calm and indifferent as he moved into his new residence under the guidance of his servants.

The new residences arranged by Tian Tong for the new mid-stage cultivators are far better than the second-floor residences for the early-stage corpse cultivators.

Not only are all the furniture and utensils needed for daily life provided, but there is even a separate area for practicing martial arts.

On the gloomy high platform, a futon sat all alone.

Above the prayer mat, a formation diagram was clearly drawn in ink lines.

【Gathering Yin and Condensing Evil Spirit Array】

With the help of the Hidden Immortal Mirror, Yan Cheng immediately recognized that this array was equivalent to a version of the "Gathering Yin and Condensing Evil Technique," and had the function of assisting Yin-attribute cultivators in their cultivation.

This formation was of little use to him, but it also shows that the Emperor really cares about the mid-stage corpse cultivators.

After all, they are important assets that only one out of ten early-stage individuals might emerge, so they cannot be treated like the early-stage individuals and left to fend for themselves.

If we must use up our resources in the mid-game, we must ensure that each use is worthwhile.

From Tian Tong's perspective, it would certainly be worthwhile to eliminate all his fellow disciples when necessary.

However, no matter how vicious this treacherous thing was, and how meticulous its schemes were, there was one thing it could never have foreseen.

Yan Cheng toyed with the black gold corpse-controlling ring in his palm, his eyes gleaming:

"From His Highness's perspective, this ring only works on corpse cultivators of lower rank than himself; even if he gave it to me, it wouldn't cause any trouble."

"But I never imagined that in this hall today, which Qi Refining stage corpse cultivator isn't ranked below me!"