Chapter 1197: Investigation

To use the teleportation array, one must pay a sum of spirit stones and present an identity token.

However, Qin Sang was not afraid of the restriction fragments within the Heavenly Mark.

Perched on his shoulder, the Sky-Eye Butterfly fluttered its wings, observing its surroundings and searching for gaps in the restrictions.

Qin Sang's figure flickered, and he quietly entered the thick fog.

After entering the Sin Abyss, Qin Sang had kept the Sky-Eye Butterfly outside to serve as a lookout.

Navigating through the gaps in the restriction fragments was child's play for the Sky-Eye Butterfly. Qin Sang didn't touch a single restriction, easily crossing the Heavenly Mark and reaching the other side.

He unrolled his geomancy map, discerned the direction, and swept towards Jinhen Mountain.

One day later.

Qin Sang stood among a patch of forest, looking up at the magnificent mountain range amidst the sea of clouds.

That was Jinhen Mountain!

Qin Sang roughly surveyed the area around Jinhen Mountain and found two market towns nearby. However, the layout of the Sin Abyss was peculiar, not shying away from mortals, with market towns built close to mortal kingdoms.

Currently, entry and exit from the market towns were strictly regulated, and as an outsider, it would not be easy for Qin Sang to sneak in.

"It seems I'll have to use my old trick again," Qin Sang mused.

Qin Sang withdrew his gaze, pondered for a moment, and his figure vanished into thin air.

Desolate mountains and wild forests.

A gentle breeze swept through the forest, carrying a white-robed youth whose cultivation was only at the Qi Refinement stage, yet his demeanor was extraordinary, drifting gracefully through the jungle.

He seemed carefree, but a deep anxiety clouded his face, as he occasionally glanced behind him.

"Swoosh!"

After flying out of the jungle, there was no unusual activity behind him.

The white-robed youth's expression relaxed, then a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Kid, your Wind Manipulation Art is pretty good," the voice taunted. "Keep running. Let's see how far you can get!"

The voice shifted from left to right, carrying a mocking laugh, like a cat playing with a mouse.

The white-robed youth's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly activated the Willow Leaf Slim Sword in his hand, slashing rapidly to his left, and simultaneously launched a spiritual talisman secretly held in his other palm.

"Bang!"

A dense yellow light suddenly erupted from the ground, instantly forming an earthy-yellow light barrier.

The spiritual sword struck it, only creating a crack in the light barrier.

But then the spiritual talisman followed closely, transforming into a wisp of blue light. A dense aquatic spiritual energy erupted, instantly forming over a dozen crystalline ice cones, which all struck the light barrier without fail.

"Boom!"

The light barrier finally couldn't hold on and collapsed with a crash.

Seeing this scene, the white-robed youth was about to show joy when he saw nothing beneath the light barrier.

The strange, bone-chilling laugh sounded again. "Still a novice," it sneered. "A small spell tricked you into wasting your Thousand Cone Talisman! What other tricks do you have? If none, then this old man will make his move!"

Before the words finished, the white-robed youth suddenly felt a chill wind assailing him from behind.

He hastily wielded his sword to strike backward, but unexpectedly struck empty air again.

Only a clang was heard as an iron ring firmly snagged his spiritual sword. The white-robed youth's expression changed drastically. He hastily reached for his Mustard Seed Bag to retrieve another magic item, but then felt a chill in his back and looked down to see a blood-stained sword tip emerging from his chest.

The light in his eyes gradually faded.

After the white-robed youth was completely dead, a figure clad in a black robe and wearing a bamboo hat materialized behind the youth.

The person tossed the youth's corpse aside, skillfully reaching for the youth's Mustard Seed Bag. A moment later, he snorted, "Another pauper! Ever since those renowned sects sealed their mountains and Foundation Establishment masters were pulled to the front lines, we don't have to be as cautious as before, but it's been a long time since I made a big score."

As the person spoke, he began to dispose of the youth's body and clear the scene, when suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure that had appeared behind him at some unknown time, causing his hair to stand on end.

"Who's there?!"

"Clang!"

Qin Sang caught the incoming flying sword with one hand, and looked at the black-robed man with a smile. "Allow me to borrow your body for a while."

The black-robed man was filled with fear, turned and fled, but in the next moment, he lost consciousness.

Qin Sang waved his hand, taking the unconscious black-robed man away. He decided to use the *Primordial Demon Embryo Cultivation Art* to refine an external incarnation and use his identity to gather information.

Since he could no longer use a sword soul to refine a demon seed, Qin Sang could only use the original version of the demonic art to plant the demon seed in a living person.

Jinhen Mountain had sealed itself off, so he couldn't find a Jinhen Mountain disciple for now.

Qin Sang could only target rogue cultivators. He knew that there would be no shortage of evil cultivators around market towns who sought ill-gotten gains, and indeed, he found one.

As for the youth, although the Sin Abyss invasion wasn't something to blame a mere Qi Refinement cultivator for, to Qin Sang, they were all enemies. If the youth could have escaped the evil cultivator on his own, Qin Sang wouldn't have taken his anger out on him, but since he couldn't escape, he could only blame his own lack of strength.

Qin Sang grabbed the man, casually opened a cave dwelling in the desolate mountains and wild forests, tossed him aside, and then released Fatty Chicken.

"Go somewhere far from Jinhen Mountain," Qin Sang instructed. "Find the corpse of an unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivator. While you're at it, inquire if there's any earth demon qi around... Remember to keep a low profile. Don't alarm the surrounding forces. If a Nascent Soul cultivator runs into you, I won't be able to save you."

Qin Sang ordered.

If he couldn't find information about the Corpse Ghost Immortal through normal means, he would have to refine a fiendish corpse and have his external incarnation flaunt it publicly to bait his target.

A fiendish corpse refined with unique earth demon qi might attract someone interested.

Fatty Chicken acknowledged the order and departed.

Qin Sang began to busy himself in the cave dwelling.

His cultivation was vastly different from before; performing the *Primordial Demon Embryo Cultivation Art* was much easier than when he was at the Golden Core stage. Furthermore, this was just a tool, with no need to cultivate him to the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul stage, so he didn't need to be overly meticulous.

However, Qin Sang's current perspective was different, and he could confirm that this demonic incarnation art was not a top-tier secret technique. It had flaws, and it was impossible to cultivate an external incarnation to the Nascent Soul stage through normal means; it would be a complete waste of effort.

Unless, like Senior Qingzhu, one found an unorthodox Nascent Soul cultivation method.

Qin Sang only took a few days to refine a barely usable demon seed, which he implanted into the cultivator's body, successfully creating an external incarnation.

The external incarnation was a short, somewhat timid-looking middle-aged cultivator. He shakily stood up, looked at Qin Sang with some bewilderment, his eyes gradually cleared, and he nodded to Qin Sang, then sat down cross-legged.

Qin Sang did not hesitate to overdraw the incarnation's potential, continuously using the Blood Feeding Art to forcibly raise his cultivation.

During this time, Fatty Chicken also returned, bringing back a corpse and locating earth demon qi.

"Master," Fatty Chicken reported, "about a thousand li south of Jinhen Mountain, there's a place within the Heavenly Mark where earth demon qi accumulates. Its scope is even larger than the Earth Sunken Cavern you mentioned. Foundation Establishment cultivators all know about it; I just asked this guy, and he told me."

Fatty Chicken pointed to the corpse. "However, he hasn't heard of anyone called the Corpse Ghost Immortal. You strictly ordered me, so I didn't dare to capture too many people."

"Is this why the Corpse Ghost Immortal came to Jinhen Mountain?" Qin Sang mused. "Did he only obtain the secret corpse refinement technique after cultivating to the Golden Core stage?"

Qin Sang pondered.

This was a bit tricky. It would likely be difficult to find out where the Corpse Ghost Immortal came from and where he obtained the Heavenly Corpse Sect's inheritance.

Leaving Fatty Chicken and the external incarnation in the cave dwelling, Qin Sang took the corpse and swept towards the location Fatty Chicken had mentioned.