Two Years

Before long, the other eagle king was also slain. Leaderless, the rot-winged eagles fell into complete panic and fled Poison Island in utter disarray. Qin Sang only eliminated the greater demons at or above the Demon Spirit stage without chasing down the lesser ones. Instead, he trapped them, intending to pen them across several mountain peaks to maintain the appearance that everything on Poison Island remained as it had always been. Afterward, he located the island's spirit vein and nodded to himself in satisfaction. "Not bad! The lair of these two eagle kings occupies the best position along the spirit vein, making it ideal for a cave dwelling. But the smell inside is atrocious..." Qin Sang frowned, cast an incantation to purge the foul odor, and after some thought, walked the entire perimeter of Poison Island. He released the captive rot-winged eagles and set up both an illusion formation and a storm-warding spirit formation he had purchased earlier. The illusion formation worked in tandem with the poisonous miasma to create the first protective barrier. He then returned to the cave dwelling and laid down several layers of restrictions and spirit formations. After all, barring any unforeseen events, he would be cultivating here for decades; no amount of caution was excessive. "All finished!" Qin Sang produced a prayer mat, sat down cross-legged, and smiled with satisfaction. After resting for a while and washing away his fatigue, he could finally give thorough thought to what lay ahead. "First, push the external incarnation to the Core Formation stage so it can assist me with astral essence body infusion. "The incarnation is already at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, so I can now begin preparations to re-refine the corpse core with the *Seed-Origin Demon Fetus*. Having studied both cultivation methods for so long, I have a sixty percent certainty of re-refining the corpse core. Once it reaches the False Core realm, I should gain fresh insights to refine the method further, making success practically guaranteed. "By then, *Heavenly Demon Form Refining* will likely have reached the peak of the second layer as well. Once everything is in order, it will just be painstaking cultivation, using spare moments to study artifact crafting. Nothing complicated about that..." Qin Sang shifted his gaze to the two spirit insects on his shoulder. The fat silkworm was looking up at him eagerly, waiting to be fed. After feeding the fat silkworm a purple crystal, Qin Sang allowed the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to roam freely around the cave dwelling, musing silently: *I wonder if they can break through to the mid third transformation before the Hall of Seven Kills opens. Advancing will greatly boost their divine abilities and let them help me even more.* *Then there's the two-headed hou. Given that creature's stubborn temperament, it will probably never submit. In that case, there's no need to force it. As long as it can break through to the late stage on its own, or once I find a more suitable spirit beast, I'll set it free.* *With the Astral Platform, I don't need spirit medicines to break through to the third layer of body refinement. I might as well leave that Tyrant Blood Fruit to it. It has helped me a lot over the years, so consider it compensation...* With his thoughts sorted, Qin Sang summoned his external incarnation. After finishing the blood feeding, he left it to cultivate on its own and brought out the jade slip recording the *Thunder Command Art*. During this past period, he had already studied the *Thunder Command Art* countless times. He had merely put off practicing it until now because he hadn't found a secure place. "Refine astral fiend power, command heavenly thunder, and evolve the ultimate lightning art... Quite the boast," Qin Sang muttered. The *Thunder Command Art* was indeed formidable, but as his cultivation rose, whether it truly lived up to the jade slip's claim of being the ultimate lightning art remained debatable. "To cultivate this Daoist art, one must first refine astral fiend power and then channel heavenly thunder until the art is mastered. Storms frequently strike the Liefeng Archipelago, so there will be no shortage of thunderous rainstorms, but drawing heavenly thunder into one's body is far too perilous. When Landou Sect disciples cultivated it, they surely had Nascent Soul seniors guarding them, whereas I can only rely on myself..." Reading through the cultivation process of this Daoist art, Qin Sang felt a prickle of dread on his scalp. Yet the art's power was undeniably immense, making such a great risk worth taking. When a practitioner unleashed the *Thunder Command Art*, its power correlated directly with their cultivation level—the higher the cultivation, the greater the might. However, because both forces were extremely volatile, casting the *Thunder Command Art* would not only inflict harm upon the caster's body at that instant, but also drain seventy to eighty percent of their true essence, which was precisely why it could unleash such terrifying destructive force. "No wonder the Douniu Peak disciples suffered such a crushing defeat and some were even captured alive in the end. This Daoist art can only be used when certain of slaying the opponent in a single strike, or as a desperate last stand when driven into a corner..." Qin Sang looked solemn, reminding himself to exercise utmost caution in the future. Fortunately, he also practiced body refinement. Once he broke through to the third layer of *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, his physical body would be far superior to that of ordinary cultivators, and he should be able to withstand the backlash of the *Thunder Command Art*. When night fell, Qin Sang cultivated *Heavenly Demon Form Refining*, gathering sufficient astral fiend power within his body, and then immediately began cultivating the *Thunder Command Art* to refine the astral fiend power. Imperceptibly, a month flew by. None of the nearby cultivators noticed that Poison Island, a place that struck fear into their hearts, had changed masters. Qin Sang cultivated steadily according to his plan, savoring the rare tranquility. At last, the first storm since taking Poison Island arrived. At midday, the blazing sun was abruptly swallowed by dark clouds. In an instant, darkness descended, howling winds swept the sea, and towering waves surged toward the sky. The spirit formation steadily protected Poison Island. Qin Sang stood atop the mountain, taking in the apocalyptic scene around him. Finally, he looked up at the sky, where dense clouds churned and electric serpents darted, knowing he would soon have to charge up into them to summon the heavenly thunder. Even with Qin Sang's cultivation level, he felt a twinge of apprehension. Calming his nerves, he waited until the storm neared its end and the thunder grew less ferocious before forming hand seals, chanting an incantation, and leaping into the sky. *Crack!* A bolt of lightning pierced the darkness and slammed violently into a figure. A muffled grunt escaped Qin Sang's lips as he plummeted headlong into the sea. The two-headed hou, which had been waiting below all along, fished him out and carried him on its back as it flew back to Poison Island. Catching the scorched scent, the two-headed hou wore a look of utter disgust. Qin Sang's body trembled slightly, but he forced himself upright and immediately began cultivating without a moment's delay. Given his cultivation, withstanding that lightning bolt would not have been difficult, but to cultivate this Daoist art, he had to lower most of his defenses, focusing entirely on completing the incantation and drawing the heavenly thunder into his body. The pain was merely a trivial matter. With an unyielding expression, Qin Sang sat atop the peak, turned his awareness inward, and channeled the astral fiend power to subdue the lightning running wild through his body. The two-headed hou stood guard beside him. Cocked to one side, its heads watched Qin Sang's focused expression, seeming to grasp something before it finally drew back its gaze and lay down on the ground. From then on, Qin Sang charged into the sky again and again, voluntarily drawing down heavenly thunder until the storm abated. In the end, his robe was blasted to tatters, and lightning-shaped scars covered his skin. Paying no heed to his disheveled appearance, Qin Sang performed hand seals and assessed what he had gained today. "Good, my comprehension of the *Thunder Command Art* was spot on! Just a few more storms, and I'll achieve minor accomplishment in this Daoist art..." Looking pleased, he returned to his cave dwelling. Before he knew it, another two years passed. Poison Island remained peaceful, entirely undisturbed. One night, while cultivating, Qin Sang seemed to sense something and suddenly opened his eyes. A flash of joy crossed his face as he murmured, "It's finally done!" Before his voice had even faded, Qin Sang vanished in a flash and reappeared in the depths of the cave dwelling. Looking at his external incarnation, which had now attained the False Core realm, his eyes shone with brilliant light.