Chapter 874: Becoming a Disciple

Becoming a disciple?

Qin Sang’s mind stirred. He shook his head at once and said repeatedly, "You must be joking, Daoist. Even if we wanted to join Landou Sect, they would never accept us."

"True enough." The burly man sighed. "We are already Foundation Building cultivators. Unless under very special circumstances, those prestigious sects will not take us in. And even if someone harbored ulterior motives, there is no way they could pass Landou Sect’s Heart-Questioning Path."

"Heart-Questioning Path?"

It was Qin Sang’s first time hearing the term. He asked and learned that it was one of Landou Sect’s methods for screening disciples. Even inner sect disciples had to walk a stretch of the Heart-Questioning Path after reaching the Foundation Building Realm.

In most sects, Qi Refining Realm disciples were called external affairs disciples or outer sect disciples. Without Foundation Building, they would never enter the inner circle. Foundation Building disciples formed a sect’s core strength, so selection had to be handled with care.

Every great sect had its own equivalent trials for choosing core disciples. Some even began when recruiting outer sect disciples, but the sects Qin Sang had joined were unusual, and he had never experienced such a test.

Kuiyin Sect recruited people as offerings for the Yan Luo Banner. As long as one fit the conditions, they accepted all comers.

Yuanzhao Sect held an ascension conference to feed a hidden realm on the brink of collapse. To lure more rogue cultivators, it set no additional thresholds.

Those chosen received no consideration at all. They were worked to the bone with onerous tasks and harsh demands, with no future to speak of, and were expelled once they aged out.

If not for Yu Hua, who was bribed by Kuiyin Sect, helping him, Qin Sang would have been ground down in Yuanzhao Sect, with no time to cultivate.

Shaohua Mountain did have something similar, but Qin Sang had entered with a sword will decree, and that trial came only after an outer sect disciple achieved Foundation Building and had their jade records replaced.

Yet Qin Sang’s route to the Foundation Building Realm had been singular, perhaps unprecedented.

He not only became entangled with a Core Formation elder and became a cauldron furnace, but even received medicine personally from a Spiritual Infant grandmaster, with the sect leader observing throughout in astonishment. They would never have dared apply a standard method to him.

By a twist of fate, he had never undergone such a trial, not even once. Of course, even if he had faced a trial involving the heart, it could not have exposed him. With the Jade Buddha’s protection, such methods would have been useless against him.

To join Landou Sect was just idle talk. Both of them knew it was impossible.

Qin Sang pondered. He would likely have to get close to Landou Sect disciples to learn anything about Qiyunzi.

The trouble was that since the demon chaos began, Landou Sect’s leader had gone to the Demonic Sea. The sect was now nearly closed to the outside. Core disciples seldom left, and even in Landou Sect’s own market town they were hard to encounter.

Moreover, as the burly man had said, Landou Sect would never allow outsiders to peruse their handed-down arts at will. Even if he identified the right transmission, obtaining it would still be a problem.

The man said excitedly, "Before this, I always hired a Landou Sect master refiner. He was arrogant and charged outrageously, yet his craft was far inferior to yours, Daoist Ming Yue. Fortunately, he has been turtling up inside Landou Sect these days. A friend recommended you, so I traveled a long way to ask for your aid. Otherwise I would have missed this opportunity!"

Hearing the man treat meeting him as a stroke of fortune, Qin Sang smiled faintly, sent him off, and fell into thought.

Moments later, he strode out of the quiet room, gave the attendant a brief instruction, and hurried away.

Not until the following evening did Qin Sang return to the cave dwelling. He looked at his external incarnation, his gaze flickering. He had spent the day investigating when Landou Sect and its affiliated sects would recruit disciples.

He learned that Landou Sect opened the mountain and recruited once every cycle. Unfortunately, they had just taken in a batch this year. The next time would be twelve years later.

He had been deeply disappointed, but then discovered that among the sects attached to Landou Sect, a sect called Yanmiào Pavilion was about to hold a grand disciple-recruitment ceremony. Many rogue cultivators had already set out for it.

While inferior to Landou Sect, Yanmiao Pavilion still had a solid heritage. Its sect leader was a Core Formation expert. Under Landou Sect’s wing, it had flourished and could be counted among reputable sects.

During his talk with the burly man, a notion had arisen in Qin Sang’s heart. He himself would be hard-pressed to be accepted by Landou Sect, but his external incarnation had a clean background and might be able to slip inside.

Ever since Qin Sang brought the incarnation into the market, it had kept to the cave dwelling to cultivate, never meeting outsiders. Their connection had not been exposed.

The incarnation’s true name was Zhang Yue. His origins were clean as he had been a native cultivator from Lu Island.

After taking over the body, Qin Sang had arranged Zhang Yue’s affairs properly for his own peace of mind, informing his parents before departure that their son had left to seek the Dao.

Thus Zhang Yue’s identity had been preserved. His background was perfectly clear.

He had no fear of questioning either. The incarnation’s sword soul had inherited a trace of the Jade Buddha’s power. No sect would use excessively violent methods on brand-new disciples, which could cause irreparable hidden wounds.

As long as a Spiritual Infant grandmaster did not interrogate him face to face, the incarnation’s identity would be hard to pierce.

If the goal were to infiltrate Landou Sect itself, Qin Sang would hesitate. But Yanmiao Pavilion did not have cultivators of such strength who could see through the incarnation’s depths.

Yanmiao Pavilion and Landou Sect were closely allied. This roundabout approach might take more time, but it was a viable path.

His true body could remain outside to investigate in secret. Working inside and outside together would increase the chances.

What worried Qin Sang most was that the incarnation lacked power and might have no way to respond to danger. If things failed and he lost the incarnation, he would regret it bitterly.

"Enough. Fortune favored the bold!" Qin Sang’s expression hardened as he made up his mind.

The

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement

and the external incarnation were equally important. Both were indispensable. The gamble would be worth it.

Still, he would not act recklessly. He needed to equip the incarnation with ample life-preserving measures.

The best were items like the Flame Orb and Xutian Thunder. They had terrifying power with instantaneous eruption that left enemies no time to evade, but those had been spent. The next best item he could prepare was the Essence-Devouring Spikes. If anything, this place had no shortage of demonic beast corpses.

Qin Sang’s refinement skill had advanced greatly. In reforging the Essence-Devouring Spike, he was confident he could raise its power to a level that even Fake Core Realm cultivators would dread.

Essence-Devouring Spikes would more than suffice for ordinary dangers, but if a Core Formation cultivator targeted the incarnation, they would be lacking.

After some thought, Qin Sang decided to have the Sky-Eyed Butterfly follow the incarnation.

The Sky-Eyed Butterfly excelled at concealment and transformation. Its ability to hide surpassed even the incarnation’s and could cover the sky and sea.

Having gained the lightning control supernatural ability, the butterfly’s strength was no longer weak. It should be able to tangle with a Core Formation cultivator for a time, long enough for his true body to arrive.

Once he sent the incarnation off, his true body would not stay far away.

The power of the Qingfu Coin had not yet been exhausted and remained usable. He would have the incarnation carry it to send warnings in time.