Landou Sect

A matter of utmost urgency, traveling day and night under the stars. Deep within the Demon Sea, they dared not draw attention to themselves. They had to conceal their presence at all times, carefully avoiding the eyes and ears of demon beasts. With everyone on edge, exhaustion set in after just a few days, forcing them to land and rest. Along the way, the sights were shocking. Large islands once occupied by cultivators had all fallen into demon dens, their former inhabitants nowhere to be found. The smaller islands they passed also bore obvious signs of demon beast rampages, having been thoroughly washed in blood. During their journey, Qin Sang seized every possible moment to cultivate. Half a month after setting out. One evening, they spotted a small islet and landed to regulate their breathing and restore their true essence. The four took turns keeping watch, and this time it was Old Man Zhushan's turn. Qin Sang found an open clearing and sat cross-legged, laying down a simple restriction around himself. As the solar power in the sky waned, he raced against time to cultivate *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*. *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* channeled astral essence to temper the physical body. To an outsider's eyes, it appeared merely as a cultivation technique that harnessed the stars of the heavenly circuit; no one would suspect that what Qin Sang was practicing was an art of the demon race. With others nearby, it was inconvenient to cultivate with the aid of the bone flute, so the speed of channeling astral essence was somewhat slower, yet it was still nothing short of a top-tier body-refining secret art. After entering the second tier, the foundation he had laid down before yielded diminishing effects, and his progress had slowed. Having learned from Elder Zou that the next opening of the Hall of Seven Kills would take place in just over forty years, Qin Sang felt an even greater sense of urgency. As his understanding of this technique deepened, Qin Sang estimated that while the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* remained at a standstill, if he could cultivate *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* to the mid-third tier and activate the Heavenly Demon Transformation, he would possess terrifying strength comparable to the peak Core Formation stage—enough to contend with one of the swordsmen on the Sword Path! Even while still at the second tier of *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, Qin Sang already had a premonition that the power of the physical body and true essence could complement each other; the benefits of dual cultivating both magic and body would exceed all expectations. Qin Sang could not help but wonder: could this be the true path? If he had another top-tier technique to strengthen the origin soul and cultivate spiritual sense, practicing all three simultaneously, just how terrifying would his strength be? He would easily crush cultivators of the same realm. Unfortunately, this was nothing more than wishful thinking. Not to mention that such top-tier techniques had long been lost to the river of time, and the two he had been fortunate enough to obtain were both incomplete. Even if such a technique truly existed, simultaneously cultivating three top-tier methods would be impossible in today's resource-starved cultivation world. The result of dividing one's attention would only be bitter regret when one's lifespan ran dry. Were it not for the bottleneck in the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*, Qin Sang would never have focused his primary energy on *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, at least not before achieving Nascent Soul formation. There was hope for the Hairy Mountain Vine now; only Scorpion Poison Grass remained missing. As long as he could make a timely breakthrough, there was great hope of reaching the mid-third tier before the Hall of Seven Kills opened. Qin Sang estimated that before the Hall of Seven Kills emerged on its own next time, it might be opened multiple times, yet he dared not slacken or delay in the slightest. Affairs in the world were unpredictable, and chaos was erupting across the Canglang Sea. Unforeseen mishaps were inevitable, so he had to seize the present. He looked up at the starry sky, lowered his eyelids, and settled his mind into meditation. A layer of clear radiance suffused around him as ambient starlight was drawn in, converging upon his person. The river of stars flowed onward; the bright moon drifted westward. At dawn, Qin Sang sensed that his restriction had been touched. Awakening from his meditative trance, he checked the hour—it was not yet time to set out—and found Old Man Zhushan standing outside the barrier. "Fellow Daoist Zhushan, is something the matter?" Qin Sang withdrew the restriction and invited him inside. Old Man Zhushan nodded and walked in with a smile, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings. Faint traces of starlight had not yet completely dispersed. With a look of curiosity, Old Man Zhushan said, "While keeping watch earlier, this old man sensed the astral essence on the island converging toward Daoist. Curiosity got the better of me, so I took the liberty of disturbing you—I hope Daoist will take no offense. Could it be that Daoist is cultivating a rare heavenly circuit astral technique? I wonder if Daoist has any ties to the Landou Sect?" "Landou Sect?" Qin Sang was momentarily taken aback. Recalling the name, the Landou Sect was a sect of considerable strength in the Inner Sea. Its mountain gate was located in the sea expanse northwest of Tianxing Island, not terribly far away, and Qin Sang had heard of it a few times. "This poor daoist does indeed cultivate an art of this kind, but I have never had any dealings with the Landou Sect. Why does Fellow Daoist Zhushan ask?" "Then this old man must have guessed wrong." Old Man Zhushan pointed toward the rapidly dispersing astral essence and explained, "In the cultivation world, fellow daoists who cultivate astral power are few and far between. It is said that there are differences among such techniques as well. If I am not mistaken, Daoist appears to draw astral essence directly into the body. Such a method is exceptionally perilous and can easily damage one's foundation, making it exceedingly rare. This reminded me of an old acquaintance of my master. Back when this old man was merely an unknown novice just stepping onto the immortal path, that senior was already an esteemed Core Formation cultivator and an elder of the Landou Sect. When he visited my master, I served tea at their side and caught a glimpse of him. The phenomenon during his cultivation was remarkably similar to Fellow Daoist's. Seeing this sparked a sense of familiarity, leading me to wonder if Fellow Daoist might be his descendant." "It is likely a mere coincidence. I have never had contact with cultivators from the Landou Sect before, and I obtained this technique entirely by chance. As far as I know, among the Landou Sect's three most famous true legacies, there are two five-element techniques—belonging to wood and earth respectively—and one Yin-Yang Heavenly Dipper Secret Art, which is said to be exceedingly difficult to cultivate. There is no such technique among them. Does Fellow Daoist Zhushan recall that senior's name?" In his search for a place for astral essence body infusion, Qin Sang had made inquiries far and wide. Yet in gathering information about the true legacies of illustrious sects, he had not discovered any renowned heavenly circuit astral arts. On the contrary, of the three spirit medicines, he was now only missing the last one, so hope was high. "I only recall that senior's Daoist name was Qiyunzi. Later on, there was no more news of him." Old Man Zhushan shook his head with regret. "The Landou Sect has stood in the Inner Sea for many years, so it is hardly surprising that they possess other techniques beyond their three true legacies. However, without cultivating a true legacy, achieving great accomplishments through other techniques is immensely difficult. Senior Qiyunzi likely accomplished little in the end and faded into mediocrity." "Perhaps..." Qin Sang nodded. After chatting with Old Man Zhushan for a while, Immortal Aunt Yue and Kong Yun also woke up one after another, and the group decided to set off early. As they sped through the air, Qin Sang pondered over what Old Man Zhushan had just said. The Daoist name and background were stated clearly. Old Man Zhushan had likely not fabricated them just to curry favor; there was no conflict of interest among the four, and he had no reason to do so. Could it be that the Landou Sect harbored a technique of the same vein as *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*? It certainly could not be *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* itself. He had crossed tens of thousands of miles and was fortunate enough to gather all three bone flutes before obtaining this art. Even so, generation after generation of human forebears had produced geniuses; it would not be strange if someone had comprehended a technique sharing similar wonders with *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*. Old Man Zhushan was right. Even among techniques that drew upon the astral energy of the heavenly circuit to cultivate, the differences were vast, and *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* was the crudest and most perilous variety. Breaking through realms was even more terrifying, requiring one to forcefully infuse astral essence into the body to charge through the bottleneck. If Qiyunzi had formed his core through a technique of this sort, did his breakthroughs carry similar requirements?