Chapter 846: The Landou Sect

The journey was urgent, taken at breakneck speed, day and night without pause.

Deep in the Demonic Sea, they dared not flaunt their presence. They had to remain concealed at all times, carefully avoiding the senses of demonic beasts. Everyone’s expressions were tense. Within only a few days they were already exhausted, forced to land and rest.

The sights along the way were shocking.

The great islands once occupied by immortal cultivators had all fallen into the hands of demonic beasts, becoming their nests. The cultivators had vanished without a trace. Even the small islands they passed bore clear signs of beasts passing through, their lands drenched in blood.

During the march, Qin Sang seized every spare moment to cultivate.

Half a month after departure. One evening they happened upon a small island, where they landed to restore their true essence.

The four took turns keeping watch. This time it was Elder Zhushan’s turn.

Qin Sang found an open spot, sat cross-legged, and set up a simple barrier. When the power of the sun in the sky weakened, he hurriedly began cultivating

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement.

This art drew down star essence to temper the body. In the eyes of others, it was nothing more than a body-refining method that borrowed the cosmic orbit and star power, so no one would suspect that what Qin Sang cultivated was a demonic art.

With others nearby, he could not employ the bone flute, so his speed of drawing in star essence was slower. Yet even so, it remained a top-level body-refining secret art.

Upon reaching the second stage, the foundation laid earlier began to show diminishing effect, and his progress slowed.

After learning from Elder Zhou that the next opening of Seven-Kill Hall would be in just over forty years, Qin Sang felt even more pressure.

The deeper he understood this art, the more certain he became that if the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

remained stagnant, then by cultivating the

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement

to the middle of the third stage, and unlocking the supernatural ability Heavenly Demon Transformation, he would possess terrifying power at the peak of Core Formation Realm, enough to contend with a swordsman on the path of swords.

Even while still in the second stage, Qin Sang already had a strong premonition: the strength of the body and the true essence could complement each other. The benefits of cultivating both body and arts far exceeded his expectations.

He could not help but wonder whether this was the true path.

If he could also obtain a top-tier art to strengthen his primordial spirit and cultivate spiritual consciousness, then by training all three together, his power would be overwhelming, able to crush cultivators of the same realm with ease.

Unfortunately, this was mere fantasy. Such top-tier arts had long since been lost in the river of time. The two he had obtained were already fragmentary. Even if such an art truly existed, cultivating three top-tier arts simultaneously would be impossible in today’s world of cultivation, where resources were scarce.

To be divided in focus was to regret bitterly at the end of one’s life when longevity expired.

If not for the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

hitting a bottleneck, Qin Sang would never have shifted his focus to the

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement

before reaching the Spiritual Infant Realm.

Now, with the Maoshan Vine within reach and only the Scorpion Venom Grass missing, he had a real hope.

So long as he could break through in time, he had a strong chance of reaching the middle of the third stage before Seven-Kill Hall opened.

He estimated that before the next natural emergence of Seven-Kill Hall, it might be forcefully opened several times, but he dared not slacken or delay even a little.

The world was unpredictable, and turmoil often broke out in Canglang Sea. Accidents could happen at any time. He had to grasp what lay before him.

Raising his head to the starry sky, he let his eyelids fall and sank into meditation.

A layer of pure radiance surrounded him, starry light being drawn toward his body.

The galaxy flowed, the bright moon shifted westward.

At dawn, Qin Sang sensed his barrier being touched. He awoke from meditation and, checking the time, found it was not yet time to depart. Outside the barrier stood Elder Zhushan.

"Daoist Zhusan, do you have something to talk to me about?" Qin Sang dispelled the barrier and invited him inside.

Elder Zhushan nodded with a smile, stepping in and sweeping his gaze around. Some starlight still lingered in the air.

Curiosity appeared on Elder Zhushan’s face. "While on watch earlier, I noticed the island’s star essence converging upon Daoist Master, and I became curious. Forgive this intrusion. Could it be that Daoist Master cultivates a rare cosmic orbit technique? Do you have some connection with the Landou Sect?"

"Landou Sect?"

Qin Sang was taken aback, recalling that the Landou Sect was a powerful sect in the Inner Sea. Its mountain gate lay northwest of Tianxing Island, not far away. He had heard of it a few times.

"I indeed cultivate such a technique, but I have never had dealings with the Landou Sect. Why do you ask?"

"Then I must have guessed wrongly."

Elder Zhushan pointed toward the dispersing star essence and explained, "Cultivators who cultivate with the power of stars are quite rare. Among these arts, there are many differences. If I’m not mistaken, Daoist Master directly draws star essence into the body. That method is extremely dangerous, often harming one’s foundation. Very uncommon. It reminded me of one of my master’s old acquaintances. At that time, I had only just stepped on the immortal path, while that senior was already a Core Formation elder of Landou Sect. When he visited my master, I was serving tea at the side and caught a glimpse. The phenomena of his cultivation were very similar to yours. Seeing this, I felt a sense of familiarity and thought you might be his descendant."

"It must be a coincidence. I have never met cultivators of Landou Sect. I obtained this art by chance. To my knowledge, Landou Sect’s three greatest inheritances are two five-elemental arts and one Yin-Yang Tiandou[1] Secret Technique, said to be extremely difficult to cultivate. None matches this type. Daoist, do you still recall that senior’s name?"

Qin Sang had searched widely for places suitable for Star Essence Infusion and collected information about the great sects’ inheritances. Nowhere had he found a record of a renowned cosmic orbit art.

Instead, he had already obtained two of the required spiritual herbs, leaving only the last one to complete his set. His hope was high.

"I only remember that senior’s Dharma name was Qiyunzi. Afterward, I heard nothing more of him."

Elder Zhushan shook his head regretfully. "The Landou Sect has stood in the Inner Sea for many years. Beyond their three great inheritances, it is not strange if they also kept other arts. But to ignore the true inheritances and achieve success with another art would be extremely difficult. Senior Qiyunzi must not have amounted to much in the end, fading into obscurity."

"Perhaps so..."

Qin Sang nodded and chatted idly with Elder Zhushan until Granny Yue and Kong Yun also awoke. The group decided to set out early.

As they sped through the air, Qin Sang pondered Elder Zhushan’s words.

The Dharma name and background were too specific to have been fabricated just to get close to him. There was no conflict of interest between them, so Elder Zhushan had no reason to lie.

That being so, perhaps the Landou Sect did indeed conceal a technique akin to the

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement.

It certainly would not be the same art. Qin Sang had traveled untold tens of thousands of li, by sheer luck gathering the three bone flute fragments to piece it together.

But the human race had many brilliant predecessors. For one of them to comprehend an art similar in principle was not impossible.

Elder Zhushan was right: even among cultivation methods that used the power of the cosmic orbits and stars, the approaches varied greatly. The

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement

was among the most brutal and perilous.

Breaking through was even worse, requiring forced Star Essence Infusion to shatter bottlenecks.

If Qiyunzi cultivated such an art to the Core Formation Realm, would his breakthrough also demand the same ordeal?

1. Tiandou has several meanings. "Tian" represents heaven, sky; "Dou" represents the Dipper. Tiandou can mean the space between the stars. ☜