Yu Hua held a higher status within the Kuiyin Sect than Qin Sang had imagined and was thoroughly privy to many secrets.
Not only did he know the complete secret technique for the Heart-Devouring Insect gu, but he was also intimately familiar with the movements of the Kuiyin Sect's remnants.
The sole surviving Golden Core cultivator of the Kuiyin Sect was known by the Daoist name Jiupao. He was Yi Tiannie's martial nephew and a grand-disciple of Patriarch Kuiyin.
The Kuiyin Sect's talents had withered; Daoist Jiupao was the only surviving Golden Core cultivator among the third generation of disciples.
The other two Golden Core cultivators had been Yi Tiannie and his junior brother, both of whom were old bastards nearing the end of their lifespans.
Daoist Jiupao had not broken through to the Golden Core stage long ago. Under ordinary circumstances, after Yi Tiannie and his junior brother died, Daoist Jiupao would have succeeded as the sect master of the Kuiyin Sect and taken command of the demonic sect.
He should have enjoyed a boundless future, yet he had been unlucky enough to cross paths with Yi Tiannie and become dragged into the disaster.
Now, with his physical body destroyed and his golden core heavily wounded, he could only gather the remnants of the Kuiyin Sect and hide near Qingyang City to eke out an existence, quietly dispatching his lackeys disguised as a minor sect named Demon Flame to search for spirit herbs.
Qin Sang recalled the information gleaned from Yu Hua, wearing a thoughtful expression.
The reason he chose not to expel the Heart-Devouring Insect gu was that he was considering using it as bait to hunt down the Kuiyin Sect's remnants, and perhaps even the Kuiyin Sect's Golden Core cultivator!
Qin Sang had never forgotten his innate aptitude: five spiritual roots.
For a cultivator with five spiritual roots, reaching Foundation Establishment was already a stroke of divine fortune. Aspiring to Core Formation was utterly out of the question.
Yet Qin Sang was not satisfied.
He was unwilling to stop here!
Among cultivators at the False Core stage, less than one in ten succeeded in forming a core. Those able to cultivate to the False Core stage were already outstanding individuals among cultivators, each possessing aptitude countless times greater than his own, which showed just how difficult the immortal path truly was.
Senior Brother Qi Yuanshou's aptitude was among the best in Shaohua Mountain. When Qin Sang first arrived at the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, Qi Yuanshou was already at the False Core stage, yet even now he had made no progress and had failed to form a core.
Every cultivator was struggling.
So what if one had a heavenly spiritual root?
Even if one could effortlessly traverse Foundation Establishment and Core Formation, one could still end up trapped at the step of Nascent Soul formation.
Fairy Chenyan had been a favored child of heaven with a heavenly spiritual root, but in the end, hadn't she still been forced to choose a demonic method of plucking and replenishing to break through her bottleneck?
Upon his return to the sect this time, Qin Sang had heard no news of Fairy Chenyan successfully forming a Nascent Soul. She was likely still in secluded cultivation. Even though she had pledged herself to the demonic path, her chances of forming a Nascent Soul remained slim.
If any mishap occurred during seclusion, perishing and seeing one's Dao extinguish was entirely commonplace.
Even after forming a Nascent Soul, there was still the formidable hurdle of Deity Transformation.
In the Lesser Cold Domain, though Nascent Soul cultivators were rare, they still existed. Yet it had been an extraordinarily long time since anyone had achieved Deity Transformation.
Unless driven to absolute desperation, Qin Sang would not take this peril-laden, untrodden path.
However, preparations had to be made ahead of time to avoid having regrets if the need ever truly arose.
The existence of the jade Buddha freed Qin Sang from having to worry about the most terrifying pitfall of this secret technique. This was where he surpassed Wu Shang and everyone else, and it was also his greatest reliance!
The Congealing Fiend and Refining Astral Qi core formation method created by Wu Shang required two essential items, each exceedingly difficult to obtain.
The first was Qiantian astral qi.
Qiantian astral qi was bred high in the nine heavens, deep within the astral winds, where even a Nascent Soul could not pass.
To acquire Qiantian astral qi, one could only search for Qiantian astral essence that had plummeted from the nine heavens, remained in the mortal realm, and eventually evolved.
Qiantian astral essence was exceptionally rare, even harder to come by than an Earth Fiend yin vein.
At present, Qin Sang only knew of the Qingyang astral essence within the Qingyang Demonic Sect. However, that essence was tied to the Qingyang Demonic Fire, the very foundation of the Qingyang Demonic Sect. They would obviously never permit him to enter and harvest it at will.
The second item was a 'fresh' golden core or demon core from an early Core Formation or early Demon Core stage entity, harvested within the past ten years at most—the fresher the better.
Normally, refining a Flying Yaksha also required a golden core or demon core, but the requirements for the core itself were not high, so long as it was completely intact.
Wu Shang's Congealing Fiend and Refining Astral Qi method, however, was different.
The secret technique demanded that at the exact instant the core was refined into the body and elevated to a Flying Yaksha, both earth fiend and heavenly astral qi had to be refined into the body simultaneously. Only in this manner could the earth fiend qi be tempered and harmonized by the heavenly astral qi the moment it entered the body, preventing the corpse core from being entirely tainted by the earth fiend and assaulting the physical body and origin soul.
Although Qin Sang did not fear the earth fiend assaulting his origin soul, he did not want his physical body destroyed by the earth fiend qi, completely reducing him to a refined corpse. That would truly be beyond redemption.
Therefore, if he truly reached this step, he had to fulfill Wu Shang's requirements to the letter; subsequent recovery would then be far easier.
When heavenly astral and earth fiend qi entered the body simultaneously, collisions between them were inevitable, which would exert tremendous shock upon the golden core or demon core.
A golden core or demon core kept in storage for too long might have restrictions preserving its power from dispersing, but it would become an 'inert object' unable to withstand the shock.
The secret technique concerned core formation; the slightest discrepancy would result in immeasurable consequences.
The outcome would be a destroyed core and the cultivator's death!
Golden cores and demon cores could be used in medicine and artifact crafting, offering infinite wondrous uses; their preciousness went without saying.
Qin Sang estimated his own strength and wealth. Liquidating everything he possessed might yield a sliver of hope to purchase a golden core or demon core, but the secret technique's requirements were far too stringent. He had to seek another path.
After learning of Daoist Jiupao's state, Qin Sang set his sights on the man.
Under normal circumstances, Qin Sang would not dare provoke a Core Formation cultivator even if he were given a hundred times the courage.
One who was gravely wounded with his physical body destroyed, however, was another matter entirely.
Qin Sang had suffered terribly at the hands of the Kuiyin Sect. Aside from Tan Hao, Shi Hong, and a few others, he felt no goodwill toward anyone in the sect. Slaying someone to seize their core would not burden his conscience in the slightest.
Of course, if he truly went through with it, he would have to wait until his cultivation reached the False Core stage and he had refined Yu Hua into a Flying Yaksha before setting any plans in motion.
Even if not for slaying Daoist Jiupao, the Flying Yaksha had to be refined regardless.
With a Flying Yaksha at his command, Qin Sang could look down upon Foundation Establishment cultivators, and whatever he set out to do would become vastly easier.
With the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner magic treasure and a Flying Yaksha, Qin Sang would possess two means of confronting a Core Formation cultivator.
If he could secure a few more methods before breaking through to the False Core stage, success was not entirely out of reach!
He only hoped Daoist Jiupao's injuries would not heal so quickly.
For some unknown reason, Daoist Jiupao dared not show his face in person and could only dispatch his lackeys to hunt for medicine.
Judging from Yu Hua's tone, the backgrounds of those lackeys were quite complex, including disciples of Yi Tiannie and the other Golden Core cultivator.
Each of them was shrewd, treacherous, and excessively proud. It was only under the pressure of the gap in cultivation and the hunt by the Yuanzhao Sect that they had temporarily submitted to Daoist Jiupao's command.
Outward compliance coupled with inward defiance was practically standard practice.
Whether they would truly carry out Daoist Jiupao's orders to the letter was a massive question mark.
Perhaps there were things he could do as well...
Qin Sang's eyes flickered.
If he could eliminate Daoist Jiupao's direct subordinates, he might be able to slow Daoist Jiupao's rate of recovery. It was precisely with this goal in mind that Qin Sang had pressed Yu Hua for detailed information on the identities of those Kuiyin Sect remnants.
This was merely a broad framework of a plan. Specific actions would require meticulous plotting; he could never allow the Kuiyin Sect remnants or Daoist Jiupao to become aware of his existence.
Chapter 396