*Heavenly Demon Form Refining* drew upon the astral power of the heavenly circuit to temper the body.
According to the technique's description, in the process of drawing down the astral power of the heavenly circuit, a sinister, chaotic energy was simultaneously introduced into the body.
This energy was known as astral fiend power, born alongside the astral power of the heavenly circuit. Anyone whose origin soul was infiltrated by astral fiend power met a grim end without exception, succumbing to madness, losing all intelligence and reason, and ultimately transforming into an unspeakable monstrosity before dying a wretched death.
However, *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* could harness the power of a demon beast's bloodline to refine away this astral fiend power, obtaining pure astral power to temper the physical body. At the same time, practitioners could turn misfortune into a blessing by gradually purifying their bloodlines as they cultivated.
This was the single greatest crux of the technique.
Immortal cultivators lacked bloodlines like those of demon beasts and were incapable of refining the astral fiend. Practicing this method was tantamount to seeking death, yet this was precisely what gave Qin Sang a glimpse of opportunity.
Sheltered by the jade Buddha, he should be able to withstand the astral fiend's intrusion into his origin soul.
Through all his trials, the jade Buddha had never once let him down.
When a demon cultivator practiced *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, they had to first mobilize their bloodline power to refine away the energy, not daring to leave behind even the slightest trace of astral fiend. Their cultivation speed was deeply tied to the potency of their bloodline—in other words, the demon cultivator's innate talent.
Qin Sang did not need to divert his focus to refining the astral fiend, putting him on par with demon cultivators of the highest caliber. His cultivation speed would far outstrip theirs.
Naturally, *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* would become a purely body-refining technique in his hands. But if his understanding was correct, even as a pure body-refining art, it remained top-tier—the finest Qin Sang had encountered in his lifetime, fully worthy of the Heavenly Demon name!
Realizing this, Qin Sang was overjoyed.
Yet he did not let excitement cloud his judgment. After all, this technique had been created by an apex demon cultivator, with no precedent of a human cultivator attempting it. While the jade Buddha could keep the astral fiend at bay, the technique itself might affect the practitioner in other ways.
For instance, at the entry stage, the instant the practitioner's mind connected with the stars, they had to continuously visualize the form of a heavenly demon. Demon cultivators visualized their own ancestors to determine their path, but what was he supposed to visualize?
Furthermore, what Qin Sang could see right now were only the first four layers of *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*.
If his interpretation was accurate, they corresponded neatly to the first four realms of cultivation: Qi Refinement, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul.
To his eyes, the fourth layer was already profoundly obscure and required deep contemplation. He had no idea whether arbitrarily visualizing a demon beast might trigger unforeseen complications.
Qin Sang possessed only a superficial grasp of demon script, barely able to decipher the words. His current understanding might harbor discrepancies, making any rash attempt ill-advised.
Unfortunately, what lay beyond was cloaked in dense mist, hidden from view.
This indicated that the technique was likely complete, and it was only his insufficient cultivation that prevented him from piercing the shroud. It also made it all the more impossible for Qin Sang to let it go—*Heavenly Demon Form Refining* might not simply point toward the Deity Transformation stage, but something even greater!
Still, before committing to cultivating *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, he had to master demon script and decipher the entire technique. Otherwise, if something went awry, regret would come too late.
Regardless, *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* had genuinely offered Qin Sang a ray of hope.
In the century since obtaining the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*, Qin Sang had encountered countless cultivation methods—Shaohua Mountain alone housed over a hundred—yet aside from Wu Shang's astral-fiend core clash and the Witch Clan's secret arts of natal insect gu, those suited to him were exceedingly rare.
Coupled with his modest aptitude, he had no energy to spare for distractions.
*Heavenly Demon Form Refining* might very well be another art that suited him. Being a body-refining technique, it did not conflict with the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*, allowing him to cultivate both concurrently.
The reason both arts suited him was intimately tied to the jade Buddha.
One could even say that his entire path of cultivation was founded upon the jade Buddha.
The significance of *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* went beyond that, too.
With no news of the Ten Great Divine Woods for so long, the ebony sword could not be upgraded, leaving Qin Sang's cultivation in constant danger of stalling.
Without bolstering his strength, he could not pass the trial of the Sword Path. Behind the Sword Path lay a potential connection to an ancient teleportation array. If he could not locate an ancient teleportation array, he would be unable to return to the Lesser Cold Domain to search for the Avici Blood Mulberry, resulting in an impasse.
Yet magic treasures and insect gu would be sealed within the Sword Path, leaving him no choice but to rely on his own physical body.
Body refining was an exceptional option.
Dual cultivation of technique and body would do far more than merely double his combat prowess.
Without even needing to reach the peak of the third layer of *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, he would possess strength on par with the peak of the late stage. This would give Qin Sang another path to take, freeing him from desperately pursuing the Ten Great Divine Woods for the time being.
"Once I find a knowledgeable senior on Tianxing Island, I can learn demon script and study it thoroughly. With no precedent for this technique, I can only find my own way..."
Qin Sang put the technique away and turned the bone flute over in his hands. A sudden flash of insight struck him, and he realized something unusual.
Without question, both *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* and the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* were top-tier cultivation methods even in ancient times—one belonging to demons, the other to humans.
Yet both had shared the exact same fate.
Only after being teleported to the Canglang Sea had he managed, through a twist of fate, to assemble the technique in full. Otherwise, the three bone flute fragments might never have been reunited.
A sudden chill crept up Qin Sang's spine.
A question had long lingered in his heart. Whether in the Lesser Cold Domain or the Canglang Sea, countless legends of the ancient cultivation world circulated, all testifying to the astonishing power of ancient cultivators, with no shortage of tales concerning ascension to immortality.
In today's cultivation world, late Nascent Soul cultivators stood at the apex of power. Deity Transformation cultivators were nowhere to be found, while cultivators of higher realms existed solely in legend.
The path to immortality was severed, and top-tier techniques were scattered and broken apart.
Was all of this a mere coincidence?
Or was it by design?
Qin Sang lowered his head slightly as thoughts surged like a tide. Yet with his meager cultivation, his foremost priority remained Nascent Soul formation, and overthinking served no purpose. On the bright side, if the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* was like *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*—merely scattered across different places rather than incomplete and ruined—he still had a glimmer of hope to gather the full technique.
***
Tianxing Island.
After deciphering the contents of *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, Qin Sang could not wait to set out, making haste toward Tianxing Island.
For the time being, he intended to pose as a rogue cultivator and lease an immortal's cave on Tianxing Island. He had far too many matters to attend to, and needed to remain on the island to gather resources.
The Inner Sea was safer than the Demon Sea. Flying alone, Qin Sang encountered no turbulence and soon arrived near Tianxing Island.
He possessed the medallion of a Qiongyu Guild steward, which was certainly unusable now. Fortunately, he had anticipated such a scenario and forged the identity of a rogue cultivator, which he had already used in the Demon Sea for some time. It was the perfect moment to dust it off.
The Canglang Sea was far vaster than the Lesser Cold Domain, but because the overwhelming majority was open ocean, islands blessed with spirit veins were almost entirely controlled by major factions.
Following the truce between the righteous and demonic factions, they had joined hands to control most of the waters, partitioning them into four seas and laying down strict rules.
Even for factions outside the righteous and demonic spheres, having their disciples show their identities when traveling abroad spared them a great deal of trouble.
Chapter 800