Investigation

Using the teleportation array required a fee in spirit stones, as well as presenting an identity medallion. However, Qin Sang did not fear the shattered restrictions within the Heavenly Scar. On his shoulder, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly fluttered its wings, scanning the surroundings to search for gaps between the restrictions. With a flash, Qin Sang quietly plunged into the thick fog. Ever since entering the Sin Abyss, Qin Sang had kept the Heavenly Eye Butterfly outside to keep watch on his behalf. Navigating through the gaps between the restriction fragments was child's play for the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Without triggering a single restriction, Qin Sang crossed the Heavenly Scar with ease and reached the opposite bank. Unfurling his map to get his bearings, he sped off toward Mount Jinhen. A day later. Qin Sang stood amidst a mountain forest, looking up at the magnificent mountain range veiled in a sea of clouds. That was Mount Jinhen! Qin Sang scouted around Mount Jinhen and found two market towns nearby. The layout of the Sin Abyss was rather peculiar; cultivators here did not shun mortals, and market towns were built right alongside mortal kingdoms. Entry and exit to the market towns were strictly regulated at the moment. As an outsider, sneaking in undetected would not be easy. "Looks like I'll have to use my old trick again." Qin Sang withdrew his gaze and pondered for a moment before vanishing on the spot into thin air. ... In a desolate, untamed forest. A gentle breeze swept through the woods, carrying along a youth in white. His cultivation was only at the Qi Refinement stage, yet he possessed an extraordinary air as he drifted swiftly through the dense grove. Though he seemed graceful, his face was clouded with deep anxiety, and he looked back over his shoulder from time to time. *Whoosh!* He flew out of the forest, and nothing seemed amiss behind him. The youth in white relaxed slightly, but then a voice suddenly rang by his ear. "Kid, your Wind Riding Technique isn't bad. Keep running! Let's see how much farther you can go!" The voice drifted from left to right with mocking amusement, like a cat toying with a mouse. The youth's complexion changed drastically. In a panic, he channeled the slender willow-leaf sword in his hand and slashed furiously to the left. At the same time, he hurled a talisman he had secretly palmed in his other hand. *Bang!* A burst of thick yellow light erupted from the ground, instantly congealing into an earthy-yellow protective barrier. When the spirit sword struck it, it only cut a single crack into the barrier. Right behind it came the talisman, transforming into a streak of blue light. A rich burst of water spiritual power erupted, condensing in an instant into more than a dozen crystal-clear icicles that all slammed into the barrier without missing a beat. *Boom!* Unable to hold out any longer, the barrier shattered with a crash. Seeing this, the youth was just about to look pleased when he saw that there was nothing beneath the barrier. That eerie chuckle rang out again like a maggot gnawing at the bone. "Still green behind the ears! A tiny incantation tricked you into wasting your Thousand Spikes Talisman! What else do you have? If that's all, this old man is going to make his move!" Before his words had even faded, the youth felt a sinister wind rushing at his back. He frantically swung his sword backward, only to strike empty air once more. With a sharp clink, an iron ring locked tightly onto the spirit sword. Terror gripped the youth, and he scrambled to reach into his sumeru bag for another magic tool, only to feel a cold stab through his heart. Looking down, he saw the bloodstained tip of a sword protruding from his chest. The light in his eyes slowly faded away. Once the youth was thoroughly dead, a figure clad in black robes and wearing a bamboo hat materialized behind him. Casting the youth's corpse aside, the figure practicedly reached for the sumeru bag, then scoffed after a moment. "Another pauper! Ever since the prominent sects sealed their mountains and the Foundation Establishment experts were dragged off to the front lines, we don't have to be nearly as careful as before, but it's been ages since I landed a big score." As he spoke, he prepared to dispose of the body and clean up the battlefield, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure standing behind him. Every hair on his body stood on end. "Who's there?!" *Clack!* Catching the thrusting flying sword with one bare hand, Qin Sang smiled at the black-robed man. "I'll be borrowing your mortal body." Paralyzed with terror, the black-robed man spun around to flee, only to lose consciousness in the very next instant. With a wave of his hand, Qin Sang whisked the unconscious man away. He had decided to use the *Seed-Origin Demon Fetus* to refine an external incarnation and borrow his identity to scout for information. Since he could no longer use a sword soul to nurture a demon seed, he had to rely on the original demonic art, planting the demon seed into a living person. Mount Jinhen had sealed its mountain gates, making it impossible to find any disciples from the sect at the moment. Qin Sang could only target rogue cultivators. He knew the outskirts of market towns never lacked wicked cultivators eager for illicit gain, and sure enough, he had found one. As for the youth, while the Sin Abyss's invasion could hardly be blamed on a minor Qi Refinement cultivator, everyone here was an enemy to Qin Sang. Had the youth managed to shake off the evil cultivator on his own, Qin Sang would not have vented his wrath upon him; since he had failed to escape, he had only his own lack of strength to blame. Dragging the captive along, Qin Sang casually carved out a temporary cave dwelling in the desolate wilderness, tossed him aside, and summoned Fat Chicken. "Go somewhere far from Mount Jinhen and find the corpse of an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator. Along the way, inquire whether there is any earth fiend qi nearby... Remember to keep a low profile and don't alert the local powers. If you bump into a Nascent Soul expert, even I won't be able to save you," Qin Sang instructed. If normal methods failed to turn up news of the Corpse Ghost Immortal, he would have no choice but to refine a baleful corpse and have his external incarnation parade it through the streets as bait. A baleful corpse refined with a distinctive earth fiend qi might just lure out someone who knew what they were looking at. Fat Chicken took his orders and flew off. Qin Sang set to work inside the cave dwelling. His cultivation was nothing like what it had once been; executing the *Seed-Origin Demon Fetus* was far easier now than during his Core Formation days. Besides, this incarnation was merely a tool—he had no intention of cultivating it all the way to the Core Formation or Nascent Soul stage, so there was no need to be excessively meticulous. Moreover, with his broadened horizons, Qin Sang could tell that this demonic incarnation art was hardly top-tier. It had its flaws, and attempting to raise an external incarnation to the Nascent Soul stage through normal means was impossible, nothing more than a waste of effort. Unless, like Senior Qingzhu, one found a method for an external Nascent Soul. In just a few days, Qin Sang refined a barely serviceable demon seed, drove it into the cultivator's body, and smoothly created an external incarnation. The incarnation took the form of a short, somewhat timid-looking middle-aged cultivator. Trembling, he stood up, looked at Qin Sang with slight confusion, and then, as clarity gradually returned to his eyes, gave Qin Sang a nod and sat down cross-legged. Sparing no thought for burning through the incarnation's potential, Qin Sang relentlessly used the blood-feeding art to forcibly elevate its cultivation. During this time, Fat Chicken returned, bringing back a corpse and news of earth fiend qi. "Master, a thousand li south of Mount Jinhen, right inside the Heavenly Scar, there's a place where earth fiend qi gathers. It's even larger than that Earth Sinking Cave you mentioned! Every Foundation Establishment cultivator knows about it—I found out as soon as I questioned this fellow." Fat Chicken pointed at the corpse. "However, he'd never heard of anyone called the Corpse Ghost Immortal. You gave strict orders to be careful, Master, so I didn't dare capture too many people." "Could this be the reason the Corpse Ghost Immortal came to Mount Jinhen? Did he only acquire the corpse-refining secret art after reaching the Core Formation stage?" Qin Sang murmured thoughtfully. This made things rather troublesome. Tracing where the Corpse Ghost Immortal had hailed from and where he had obtained the Heavenly Corpse Sect's legacy would likely prove difficult. Leaving Fat Chicken and the external incarnation in the cave dwelling, Qin Sang took the corpse and sped toward the location Fat Chicken had described.