Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 855: Incarnation

During his seclusion on Tianxing Island, Qin Sang had befriended a few Daoists. Most of the Sound Transmission Talismans were left behind by them. Qin Sang casually picked up two.

Some were invitations to gather with a few close friends for discussions on the Dao.

Others invited him to join them in listening to lectures held by senior experts elsewhere.

But Qin Sang was eager to examine the condition of his external incarnation. He left the Sound Transmission Talismans where they were for now and quickly strode into the cave dwelling.

Inside the cave dwelling, Moonstones shed a faint glow.

The external incarnation sat cross-legged on a futon. Isolated by barriers, he did not sense Qin Sang’s arrival.

His breathing was steady, sitting upright like a bell.

This was a good sign, showing that nothing untoward had happened during Qin Sang’s absence.

He lifted the barrier and entered. The external incarnation remained unmoving.

Qin Sang sat down opposite him and examined his condition. He discovered that the devil seed had already consumed, or rather, fused with the body, and had reached the most critical moment of gestating an embryo.

He had not expected to be gone for so long, nearly missing a crucial opportunity.

Qin Sang’s expression grew solemn. After a brief moment of thought, he rose and sealed the cave dwelling. Then he took out spirit stones and arranged a spirit-gathering array around him.

Once seated again, Qin Sang guided his spiritual consciousness to link with the external incarnation’s awareness, preparing for the ritual of blood feeding.

The spiritual qi on Baogu Mountain was already rich. With the spirit-gathering array supporting it, the cave dwelling now held more than enough qi to sustain Qin Sang through the secret technique.

He worked through the entire night. When he was certain everything was flawless, Qin Sang pressed a drop of his blood and essence from his fingertip.

The blood and essence floated between him and the incarnation. Qin Sang’s expression turned grave as his hand seals shifted rapidly. Spiritual qi in the cave dwelling surged, and runes emerged from thin air, swiftly falling onto the drop of blood.

The blood absorbed the runes, glowing a dazzling red.

Though it was but a single drop of blood, it had to bear hundreds, even thousands, of runes. It tested Qin Sang’s control greatly. Fortunately, his cultivation was no longer shallow, and everything proceeded smoothly.

At last, the final rune sank into the drop.

With a sharp crack, the drop burst like a bubble. The blood and qi condensed without dispersing and finally transformed into a small humanoid blood shadow.

The figure was no larger than a finger, its features strikingly similar to Qin Sang’s, though its brow bore a sinister air.

A strange smile twisted across its face, one glance enough to make the spine crawl.

"No wonder this is called a devilish art, it truly reeks of evil," Qin Sang murmured to himself.

From the very start, the art planted the seed of backlash.

Even with his current cultivation, he could faintly sense the shadow's intent. Though extremely weak, it was still present.

"Go!" Qin Sang gave a low command, pointing toward the external incarnation. The blood shadow’s eerie grin deepened, and it eagerly dove into the incarnation, drilling in through the center of its brow.

The external incarnation quivered faintly, then fell still again.

Qin Sang, meanwhile, guided his spiritual consciousness along with the blood shadow into the upper dantian. There he saw a black cocoon of light. Within it rested the slumbering sword soul and devil seed, on the verge of breaking free like a butterfly from its chrysalis.

As the blood shadow merged with the cocoon, it vanished. But Qin Sang did not stop. He forced out several more drops of blood, refining them into shadows. Some entered the upper dantian, while others blended into the incarnation’s body.

When the work was finally complete, Qin Sang exhaled slowly, his face slightly pale. Checking the external incarnation, he confirmed the secret technique had succeeded without hindrance.

Between him and the incarnation now existed a faint, subtle connection.

The sword soul and devil seed remained remarkably stable. At this rate, with a few more rounds of blood feeding, the external incarnation would be successfully refined.

Having exhausted so much of his blood and essence, he quickly swallowed several spirit pills.

In the blink of an eye, nine days had passed.

Each day, Qin Sang repeated the secret technique, using his blood and essence to catalyze the embryo. Now came the ninth and final round.

Poof! Poof! Poof!

Blood shadows manifested at his fingertips, then rushed into the external incarnation. Crimson scars appeared across the incarnation’s body. Most striking of all was the cocoon of light within the upper dantian, now completely stained a deep blood red.

When the last blood shadow entered, the cocoon suddenly split open. The sword soul and devil seed leapt out, and at that instant, the external incarnation abruptly opened his eyes.

His eyes glowed red, as though two pools of blood filled its gaze. A sinister smile seemed to twist faintly across his face.

Qin Sang’s expression darkened. With a voice like thunder rolling from his tongue, he invoked the secret technique of the Seeded Devil Embryo, dispelling the incarnation’s unbidden thoughts and drawing him fully under his control.

The external incarnation stiffened as though struck by lightning. The scarlet in his eyes gradually receded, and his expression returned to normal.

The two figures looked different, yet their aura bore striking similarities.

However, the tenuous thread of connection between Qin Sang and the refined incarnation now became subtle and difficult to detect.

Unless Qin Sang and his incarnation appeared side by side, or unless the other party’s cultivation was vastly superior to his, no one would be able to discern the incarnation’s true nature at a glance.

Moreover, the incarnation possessed his own consciousness and could act independently. Even outside Qin Sang’s sight, he behaved no differently from any ordinary cultivator.

Having finally refined the external incarnation, Qin Sang allowed himself a faint smile as he examined the incarnation's state.

His original cultivation had only been at the Qi Refining Realm, and becoming an incarnation had not raised it higher. To increase his strength, Qin Sang would have to continue blood feeding, aided by secret technique, to hasten its progress.

Of course, the Seeded Devil Embryo also recorded another method, and that was devouring other immortal cultivators. The stronger the victim, the faster the incarnation’s cultivation would rise.

But the consequences of such a path were obvious. The incarnation would become more prone to turning on its master, ultimately creating a devil that would destroy him.

Since his Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment had stalled, Qin Sang was relying on his middle-stage Core Formation cultivation to control an incarnation that could eventually reach the peak of the Core Formation Realm. To remain cautious, he chose to raise him only through blood feeding, gradually and steadily.

The pity was that the incarnation had not cultivated a second embryo, nor could he be stored like a refined corpse inside a Corpse Puppet Pouch. He had to remain outside at all times.

To prevent mishaps, until he gained a measure of self-preservation, Qin Sang could only leave him behind in the cave dwelling.

Qin Sang pressed out a few drops of blood and essence, completed another feeding, and ordered the incarnation to remain in seclusion.

He himself sat cross-legged, entering a state of forgetfulness. Immersed in meditation through the night, he washed away his exhaustion.

At dawn, Qin Sang glanced once more at the incarnation before pacing out of the cave dwelling.

His thoughts turned toward the Landou Sect.

The sect possessed a cultivation art that harnessed the power of the cosmic stars. It had once produced Core Formation cultivators, yet now was scarcely known. Was it because the art itself was flawed, leaving no one able to practice it? Or had some misfortune befallen them?

To uncover the truth, he would likely need to venture near the Landou Sect’s gate and find a way to approach its core disciples or stronger cultivators.

From Tianxing Island, the journey to the Landou Sect was not far. With his traveling speed, he could reach it in less than a month.

"Before leaving, I should visit Alchemist Yi and see if there is any news of the Scorpion Venom Grass. For now, the priority remains in searching for spiritual herbs. Oh, right..."

Qin Sang’s eyes fell on the Sound Transmission Talismans outside. He reached out and drew them in.

Most of the messages within were outdated. But one caught his attention. It was left by a shopkeeper, the very same one who had previously helped him trade for high-grade spirit stones.