Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 875: One Body

Qin Sang’s thoughts surged, and the more he pondered, the more he felt the plan was feasible. The problem lay in how his external incarnation could be chosen by Yanmiao Pavilion and infiltrate within.

This body’s natural talent was very ordinary, possessing only four spiritual roots. During his lifetime, it had some luck and obtained a fortunate opportunity, allowing him to reach the fifth stage of the Qi Refining Realm at a young age. But then he was trapped by the major bottleneck of the sixth stage and died without breaking through.

Even if he had survived and somehow managed to break past the bottleneck, his future achievements would have been limited.

The external incarnation’s strength mainly came from blood feeding and the secret technique. Since the Seeded Devil Embryo required no particular talent in the body, Qin Sang had chosen this corpse as the vessel.

With such talent, there was no way Yanmiao Pavilion would take notice. His only path was to gain recognition through cultivation level.

The three major bottlenecks of the Qi Refining Realm were hurdles every immortal cultivator had to face.

If someone succeeded in breaking through all three, even with poor talent, it would at least prove that the person was either extremely steadfast in temperament or blessed with extraordinary fortune. That meant the possibility of eventually reaching the Foundation Building Realm. Such qualities alone were enough to justify selection.

Even if one failed to achieve Foundation Building, with that resilience, one could still study a supporting discipline and contribute to the sect, ensuring that Yanmiao Pavilion would not end up with a useless disciple.

Unlike great sects like Landou Sect, Yanmiao Pavilion could not afford to set requirements too harshly, or it might not recruit enough people at all.

The external incarnation’s cultivation had advanced rapidly and was already close to the peak of the seventh stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

There was only about a month left before Yanmiao Pavilion’s disciple recruitment ceremony. To reach the ninth stage in one month would be difficult, but Qin Sang planned to expend his blood and essence to forcefully push it through.

"If I keep feeding him with blood, I should be able to push him to the ninth stage within a month. The rush may cause his state of mind to become unstable, but with such a low cultivation level, and with the sword soul still carrying a trace of the Jade Buddha’s power, there’s no chance of backlash..."

Having made up his mind, Qin Sang ordered his attendant to purchase demonic beast corpses at high prices, then returned to his cave dwelling and sat cross-legged opposite his external incarnation.

One month later, Qin Sang ceased the secret technique and slowly opened his eyes.

His complexion held a faint paleness, which quickly faded as he regained normalcy.

The external incarnation’s aura, however, was unstable. In just one month, his cultivation had reached the peak of the eighth stage and was in the midst of breaking through.

Boom! The true essence in its Qihai suddenly expanded, then compressed sharply before settling down once more.

Cracking sounds rang out from its bones as its body underwent tempering during the breakthrough. Soon, with its aura stabilized, the tempering was complete.

His cultivation had successfully broken through to the ninth stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

If other cultivators witnessed such an effortless and smooth breakthrough, and through the final great bottleneck no less, they would be filled with envy.

Qin Sang carefully examined the external incarnation’s state and, seeing no issues, finally relaxed.

Over the past month, the one most exhausted had not been the incarnation but Qin Sang himself. He not only maintained the secret technique but also provided blood and essence. Still, the results were excellent.

Yet, this method of blood feeding to raise cultivation would weaken as the incarnation’s strength drew closer to his own. By then, the only way to quickly increase his power would be to truly tread the path of a devil, devouring the essence and qi of other immortal cultivators.

The Seeded Devil Embryo was, after all, a devilish art. Even though Senior Qingzhu had refined it to appear less sinister, its core remained blood-soaked.

Qin Sang calculated the time. "Six days from now is Yanmiao Pavilion’s disciple ceremony. It’s best to head there early. I should let the incarnation stabilize its realm, and I must also refine some Essence-Devouring Spikes for him, to give him more means of self-defense."

He laid down barriers to isolate a chamber for the external incarnation, then summoned the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells. Using them, he refined the demonic beast corpses delivered by his men and retrieved several glossy, strange-looking demon bones from the Thousand-Jin Ring.

To ensure the incarnation’s safety, Qin Sang spared no expense and took out treasured demonic beast bones. They had come from Demonic Core Realm beasts, and though using them to refine Essence-Devouring Spikes was extravagant, the resulting power would be undeniable.

Without rest, he immediately began refining. The devilish flames gathered into a ball, floating before him.

Now, his control over the flames and his artifact refinement ability had advanced far beyond before. Calmly, he watched the demonic beast bones tumble in the fire, impurities burned away until only purest material remained, gradually forming the shape of the Essence-Devouring Spike.

From past experience, he also layered additional sinister tricks onto them, such as poisonous needles.

After a round of busy work, more than a dozen Essence-Devouring Spikes lay before him. He stored them in his Mustard Seed Pouch, then selected other suitable artifacts for the incarnation to refine, matching his assumed identity.

He studied the incarnation carefully, searching for any overlooked detail.

Three nights later, Qin Sang set out with the incarnation.

The market city was still a long way from Yanmiao Pavilion, but for Qin Sang, it was nothing. By dawn, they had already entered Landou Mountain.

Landou Mountain was the territory of Landou Sect, with several small sects attached to it, scattered across the mountains.

On one peak, Qin Sang gazed out at the endless ranges ahead, his external incarnation standing expressionless beside him.

"We part ways here. Take this." Turning, Qin Sang handed him a Qingfu Coin. He had decided to separate here, letting the incarnation travel to Yanmiao Pavilion alone while he protected from the shadows.

The incarnation silently accepted the coin without expression. Qin Sang summoned the Sky-Eyed Butterfly. His lips moved, seemingly instructing it. The butterfly flitted around him, reluctant to leave.

Finally, sensing a familiar aura from the incarnation, it lessened its resistance, its wings flashing as it disappeared into the incarnation’s Qihai.

"With the Sky-Eyed Butterfly’s concealment, it should be enough to evade outside detection. But it’s best not to summon it casually..." Qin Sang’s face grew solemn.

Both were of great importance to him, yet now they had to separate.

The incarnation nodded to his true body, then tapped his foot and summoned a bamboo-leaf-shaped artifact, flying swiftly into the mountain mists until his figure vanished.

The true body inhaled deeply before silently vanishing to follow. The light leaf carried the incarnation gracefully through the mountains.

He wore a plain gray robe, fastened with a jade belt, and carried a longsword on his back. The sword was a high-grade artifact with decent power, but what made it unique was its special refining material. It was crafted from a kind of mysterious jade that granted it invisibility when activated, striking unseen.

Besides the sword, his other artifacts were unremarkable, yet for a rogue cultivator, already more than decent.

He pinched the Qingfu Coin in his fingers before tucking it into the Mustard Seed Pouch, his gaze turning toward Yanmiao Pavilion. "From this moment on, my name is Zhang Yue."

In that instant, his eyes and expression were strikingly similar to Qin Sang’s. After all, they were one and the same.