Qin Sang guarded his mind and circulated his cultivation method with all his might.
He knew full well that this process drew upon astral essence to infuse and cleanse his physical body. Once he succeeded, sweetness would follow bitterness, and his flesh would undergo a complete metamorphosis.
When that happened, his physical body alone would be able to clash head-on with an early Core Formation cultivator!
Inside him, sharp pain alternated with numbness and itching.
From head to toe, it felt as though not a single patch of intact flesh remained.
His skin split, his flesh tore open, and his bones popped and cracked loudly.
The blood seeping from his wounds was not bright red; impurities within his body were also being purged during this astral essence infusion.
Replacing blood and refining bone, altering sinew and cleansing marrow.
Each phrase represented a metamorphosis, and each carried excruciating agony.
"Ancient body-refining cultivators must have endured transformation after transformation just like this before attaining terrifying divine abilities like Heavenly Phenomenon. I am only at the very beginning—what reason do I have not to endure?"
Qin Sang recited inwardly.
He had relied on unyielding perseverance to walk step by step to where he was today; at a critical juncture like this, he would not back down in the slightest.
The baptism of astral essence body infusion continued.
Qin Sang cast aside all distracting thoughts, focusing wholly on driving his cultivation method, gathering astral essence, and searching for the opportune moment to break through.
Before long, the pillar of light slowly dispersed.
The astral essence drawn in by the Star Platform receded like an ebbing tide. Sensing the change, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, the fat silkworm, and the two-headed hou all ceased their recovery and stared at Qin Sang, watching his breakthrough unfold.
Seeing that Qin Sang did not seem to have changed much, they grew somewhat puzzled.
Right then, Qin Sang suddenly moved. With a wave of his hand, a Green Overgrowth Root and a Tyrant Blood Fruit flew out of the jade box and straight into his mouth.
Tyrant Blood Fruit, Green Overgrowth Root, and Scorpion Poison Grass.
Though he had failed to gather all three, each of these spirit medicines offered some measure of aid toward breaking through, even when taken individually.
Upon entering his belly, the spirit medicines melted into a searing wave of medicinal power. Agonizing pain struck once more. The Tyrant Blood Fruit possessed an extremely tyrannical potency, and the Green Overgrowth Root was only marginally milder. Furthermore, they erupted within his innards, unlike the astral essence infusion that could disperse evenly across his entire body. Had Qin Sang not already mastered the first two layers of Heavenly Demon Transformation, he might not have been able to withstand the brunt of this impact.
It felt as if his internal organs were being shifted out of place.
Qin Sang let out a sharp cry, snapped his upper body upright, and swiftly formed an incantation gesture with both hands. A flash of azure light flared behind his back, and a pair of phoenix wings unfurled abruptly.
With Heavenly Demon Transformation activated, Qin Sang's expression eased slightly.
Moments later, an endless stream of strange light surged from within him, pouring madly into the phoenix wings.
The wings, which had previously appeared somewhat ethereal, grew far more corporeal than before. Radiant and magnificent, they looked increasingly like real phoenix wings.
Whoosh!
Flapping its wings, the pair lifted Qin Sang off the Star Platform.
A series of loud cracks echoed from within Qin Sang as his aura surged wildly. His wounds knitted together in rapid succession until a faint azure gleam flashed and faded.
His body was translucent and pristine as jade, yet contained terrifying power!
Qin Sang threw his head back and let out an exhilarating, full-throated roar.
The roar reverberated through the air, deafening to the ear.
His eyelids fluttered, and his eyes snapped open—his pupils had turned azure as well. With a tremor of his figure, he reappeared at the edge of the restriction in the next instant, driving forward a savage, heavy fist.
Boom!
A barrier manifested with blinding brilliance.
The surrounding mountains shook, sending flocks of rot-winged eagles into terrified frenzy as they scattered aimlessly.
A splintering crackle rang out as several fractures burst across the barrier formed by the restriction, teetering on the verge of being shattered through by Qin Sang's single punch.
At this sight:
The two-headed hou's pupils shrank slightly, its gaze fixed unwaveringly on Qin Sang's wings.
The fat silkworm lay there lazily, refusing to budge and waiting to be fed.
Naturally joyful for its master, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly danced through the air before darting like a young swallow toward Qin Sang's shoulder, gently nuzzling his cheek with its wings.
Qin Sang pulled his fist back and retreated, moving with effortless control.
"Although this restriction isn't particularly strong, it shouldn't have yielded so easily. To cause such astounding destruction without expending a single wisp of spiritual power... With the Heavenly Demon Transformation ability active, my physical body alone should suffice to suppress early Core Formation cultivators. It truly lives up to its status as a pinnacle heritage of the demon race."
Qin Sang thought to himself, overjoyed at the result.
"Testing it just now, my movement techniques have also improved substantially. Taking those two spirit medicines earlier was intended to break through the bottleneck in one go and increase the odds of success. Much of their medicinal efficacy remains unrefined and stagnant in my body. Once I refine it as soon as possible, my physical body can become even stronger..."
With this in mind, Qin Sang stroked the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, checked on the state of the two-headed hou and the others, stowed away the Star Platform, settled them down, and then carved out a quiet chamber for himself to enter and cultivate.
...
Spring went and autumn came.
Time flew by like a shuttle.
Mortals rarely saw many decades in their lives, and every decade left behind countless indelible memories.
Yet Qin Sang spent these ten years in bitter, secluded cultivation, undistracted by external affairs and never stepping foot off Poison Island.
Other immortal cultivators had not detected anything amiss about Poison Island, so he remained undisturbed the entire time, free to cultivate in peace.
Over these ten years, the cultivation levels of both himself and his external incarnation rose steadily.
As the opening of the Hall of Seven Kills drew steadily nearer, Qin Sang felt an increasing sense of urgency.
Though he had anticipated it, once Heavenly Demon Transformation reached the third layer and his external incarnation formed its core, their speeds of cultivation fell short of expectations, far slower than before the breakthroughs.
If things continued like this, they might fail to meet the requirements of the Sword Path when the Hall of Seven Kills opened.
Heavenly Demon Transformation was still manageable; as long as he could break through to the middle stage of the third layer, his true body's strength would suffice.
The external incarnation was more troublesome. It would be difficult to bring him to the peak of the Core Formation stage so quickly unless Qin Sang took the risk of backlash and employed taboo, rapid-advancement secret arts.
Pondering over it, Qin Sang reasoned that it was likely because his true body's realm was too low—only at the middle Core Formation stage—which offered little remaining boost to blood-feeding and body-refining, causing the cultivation speed to return to normal.
Two years ago, the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter had ground to a halt, but a subsequent discovery had brought Qin Sang a sense of relief.
It matched what he had previously guessed.
The reason he could not continue advancing lay with the ebony sword rather than himself, meaning it did not impede his continued comprehension of the Killing Talismans. As long as he acquired top-grade spirit wood in the future capable of resisting the Boundless Blood Mulberry, or returned to the Xiaohan Realm to locate more Boundless Blood Mulberry, his cultivation could quickly surge upward.
This was undoubtedly good news that alleviated much of his anxiety. At the very least, he could wait until entering the Hall of Seven Kills and confirming the state of the teleportation formation before considering whether to switch to another cultivation method.
Besides, he had not yet found a method suited to him.
Qin Sang awakened from his meditation, quietly turning these thoughts over in his mind.
Right at that moment, he seemed to sense something. Raising his head toward the outside of his cave dwelling, he slightly furrowed his brow a moment later.
North of Poison Island.
Across this stretch of sea, dozens of deserted islands of varying sizes clustered together, completely desolate and uninhabited.
Due to the presence of rot-winged eagles and the region's relative barrenness, immortal cultivators rarely showed themselves nearby, and even those passing through mostly chose to detour around it.
Yet now, a blue flying shuttle came hurtling through the air. For some reason, it wobbled precariously, flying crooked and unstable as it skimmed past several deserted islands in succession. Its trajectory seemed headed straight for Poison Island.
Chapter 912