The Astral Platform

They arrived near the beam of light. "You have entered Pointing Sky Peak before and should know what it is like inside. Once you enter, concentrate on cultivating the secret technique and do not act recklessly..." Qingjun summoned Qin Sang forward. Her hands shifted through a flurry of incantation gestures, driving seal after seal into his body. Qin Sang offered no resistance whatsoever. As the restrictions entered him, he immediately felt his cultivation suppressed to the Foundation Establishment stage. Having completed the restrictions, Qingjun stepped back. Still uneasy, Jiugu and the demonic cultivator took action as well, placing layer upon layer of seals over Qin Sang. Suddenly, Qin Sang's expression changed. The treasures on his person—his mustard seed bag, spirit beast bag, and Qianjun Ring—had all been sealed by Jiugu and the demonic cultivator. "Not a single astral essence stone may be taken out of Pointing Sky Peak! When you emerge, I will personally undo these seals for you." Jiugu stared into Qin Sang's eyes, issuing a low, stern warning. Having weathered countless battlefields, the man possessed a gaze laden with a thick, murderous aura. Qin Sang glanced at his Senior Sister. This measure was clearly taken to guard against the Yuanshen Sect and Qingjun. The Yuanshen Sect excelled in the Dao of formations, and all of the sect's treasures had fallen into Qingjun's hands. There was bound to be an ancient formation among them that required astral essence stones to deploy. Otherwise, Leng Yuntian would not have schemed so painstakingly to contest the immortal estate and sent someone sneaking into Pointing Sky Peak to steal astral essence stones. If Qingjun were to present such an ancient formation to the Two Realms Alliance to resist the Sin Abyss, the others would gladly welcome it. But if she were hoarding astral essence stones for herself, that was something the other factions definitely did not wish to see. "Go on!" Qingjun said nonchalantly. Qin Sang nodded without a word, turning to fly toward the entrance. A vortex and storm appeared across the water's surface. Without hesitation, Qin Sang plunged straight into the whirlpool. With his powerful physical body, the storm at the entrance of Pointing Sky Peak could no longer trouble him. Whenever the suction took hold, he broke free of it with ease. Before long, Qin Sang entered Pointing Sky Peak. The scenery in this space remained unchanged. Vast swathes of multicolored glow formed by ancient restrictions blended with the astral essence stones. Rich astral essence power permeated every corner, thickest of all atop Pointing Sky Peak. Yet unexpectedly, Qin Sang did the opposite of what one might expect and sped straight down the mountain. Before heading to Cangheng Island, Qin Sang and Qingjun had already foreseen this development and made a prior trip to the immortal estate. Qin Sang had stashed several treasures there in advance, including a Star Spirit Net and the astral platform. The Star Spirit Net was used to capture astral essence stones. In aiding Qin Sang, Qingjun also harbored the intent to harvest astral essence stones. As for the astral platform, it was the crescent-shaped stone platform Qin Sang had seized from the Witch Clan cultivator back at the Landou Sect. He had relied on its astral essence body infusion to break through the third layer of the Heavenly Demon Transformation. This treasure could gather astral essence and might assist him once again. Relying on his formidable physique, Qin Sang had no need to expend any true essence at all. He proceeded unhindered all the way to the location of the teleportation formation. Qingjun had previously tampered with the area to conceal the formation. Qin Sang easily activated the teleportation formation, suppressed his cultivation to the Qi Refinement stage, teleported across to the immortal estate, and retrieved the treasures. Afterward, he gathered astral essence stones in large quantities while racing toward the mountain peak. "Such dense astral essence power!" The delight on Qin Sang's face grew more pronounced. At this rate, he would meet the requirements for the astral essence body infusion before even reaching the summit. Before long, Qin Sang halted his steps. After sensing his surroundings, he thought, "This place is sufficient." Circling Pointing Sky Peak, he found an open clearing free of restrictions, took out the astral platform, sat cross-legged upon it, and silently recited the incantations of his cultivation method. As he channeled the secret technique, the stray astral essence power in the area seemed drawn by an invisible pull and converged toward him from all directions. An ethereal, mysterious force entered his body, mingled with dark, inscrutable astral fiend power. Just as he had expected, the astral essence power inside Pointing Sky Peak also contained chilling astral fiends, no different from the outside world, making it perfectly suited for the astral essence body infusion. *Whoosh...* Qin Sang sat motionless. Astral essence power flowed continuously toward him like running water, with the astral platform aiding in gathering it. Yet upon entering his body, it turned into turbulent waves, crashing violently within him. Thunderous roars echoed in the depths of his heart with every surge. His skin and flesh began to tremble faintly under the tempering of the astral essence. Having undergone an astral essence body infusion before, Qin Sang had long anticipated the pain and endured it through sheer willpower. Around him, the astral essence power grew increasingly dense until he was bathed in brilliant starlight, glowing dazzlingly. The gathering astral essence power surged faster and faster, finally meeting the technique's requirements. Qin Sang's expression tightened slightly, and his hand seals abruptly shifted. *Boom!* A deluge of astral essence power charged wildly into his body, sweeping through him with devastating force. Flesh tore, and his bones felt as though they would be crushed to powder by the torrential flood. Qin Sang let out a muffled grunt, his face flushing crimson as he gritted his teeth. Ignoring the agony, he drove the technique onward. Blood seeped through his pores along with newly refined impurities. The baptism of astral essence brought dreadful torment, but it also brought transformation. It felt as though his bones had been shattered, his marrow washed clean by astral essence, and his flesh replaced countless times over. He could not say whether all body cultivators had to endure such suffering, or if it was solely because he was cultivating a demonic art. Qin Sang's resolve remained unshakeable. Under waves of searing pain, his channeling did not falter in the slightest. His physical body was repeatedly torn apart and remolded anew. *Boom!* Astral essence rolled in endlessly. Qin Sang's body trembled violently. Inwardly, he roared, *Why haven't I broken through yet?* The astral essence power he had gathered had long exceeded the upper limit described in the manual, pushing him near his breaking point, yet there was still no sign of a breakthrough. Disregarding the torment, he visualized the qingluan, yet he remained unable to grasp the most critical element—the Heavenly Demon Dharma Idol! Qin Sang could distinctly feel that his physique had grown stronger, taking another step forward from the peak of the third layer. The fourth layer felt within arm's reach, yet loomed like an impassable chasm! "Ah!" He let out a sudden roar. The astral essence scattered. *Slap!* Qin Sang propped himself up against the astral stone with one hand, blood oozing from the cracked fissures across his skin. His hair was disheveled, and his entire body was covered in wounds, but he had no heart to tend to his injuries. The breakthrough had failed! His brow furrowed tightly. Though he had gained benefits from the astral essence body infusion, he had failed to condense the Heavenly Demon Dharma Idol from start to finish, preventing him from advancing to the fourth layer. "As expected... visualizing only the puppet doesn't provide enough of the qingluan's true meaning, does it?" Qin Sang murmured. He had harbored this concern since the start of his cultivation, and now it had indeed become an insurmountable roadblock. After resting, he attempted the process several more times. Not only did he gain no further benefits, but the bottleneck remained utterly unyielding. "It truly is an alien race's technique after all!" Qin Sang sighed. "For immortal cultivators, forming a Nascent Soul is a major metamorphosis that requires crossing a tribulation! The fourth layer of the Heavenly Demon Transformation certainly differs from the first three by more than just raw physical strength. It touches upon the Heavenly Demon Dharma Idol, something that cannot be forced. If visualizing the puppet isn't enough, would seeing a true qingluan phantom suffice?" A trace of worry crept into Qin Sang's thoughts. If this path proved to be a dead end, he might never be able to continue cultivating the Heavenly Demon Transformation in the future. Shaking his head, Qin Sang prepared to rise and put away the astral platform. To his surprise, he discovered that while he had been absorbed in his breakthrough attempt, an unexpected change had taken place in the astral platform beneath him—it was absorbing astral essence power entirely on its own!