Chapter 855: Transformation

During his quiet cultivation period on Tianxing Island, he befriended several fellow cultivators. Most of the communication talismans were left by them. Qin Sang casually picked up two: some were invitations for small gatherings with friends to discuss the Dao, while others were invitations to attend lectures given by senior cultivators elsewhere.

Eager to check on his external avatar, Qin Sang left the talismans there for the time being and quickly entered the cave dwelling.

Inside the cave dwelling, moonlight stones cast a faint glow. The external avatar sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, unaware of Qin Sang's arrival due to the restrictive spell that isolated perceptions. Its aura was very stable, sitting as still as a bell. This was a good sign, indicating that no accidents had occurred during Qin Sang's absence.

Qin Sang opened the restrictive spell and walked in. The external avatar remained motionless, still cross-legged. Qin Sang sat opposite it and examined its condition. He found that the demonic seed had almost completely 'devoured'—or rather, merged with—the physical body, reaching the most crucial stage of forming the primordial fetus. He hadn't anticipated being away for so long, almost missing this critical development.

Qin Sang's expression turned serious. After a brief moment of thought, he got up, sealed the cave dwelling, then took out spirit stones and set up a spirit-gathering array around it. After sitting down again, Qin Sang activated his spiritual sense, connecting with the external avatar's consciousness to prepare for the blood feeding ritual. The spiritual energy on Mount Baogu was already very dense. With the added support of the spirit-gathering array, the spiritual energy inside the cave dwelling was sufficient for Qin Sang to complete the secret art.

It took a full night to ensure everything was foolproof. Qin Sang then forced a drop of his vital essence blood from his fingertip. The drop of vital essence blood hovered between them. Qin Sang's expression grew slightly grim as he rapidly changed his hand seals. The spiritual energy within the cave dwelling fluctuated, and numerous runes materialized out of thin air, quickly descending upon the vital essence blood. The vital essence blood absorbed the runes, glowing a dazzling crimson. This single drop of vital essence blood had to withstand hundreds, even thousands, of runes, posing a significant test to Qin Sang's control. Fortunately, his cultivation level was not low, and everything proceeded smoothly.

The last rune finally merged into the vital essence blood. With a soft 'pop', the vital essence blood burst like a bubble. A surge of blood qi, instead of dispersing, solidified and eventually transformed into a humanoid blood phantom. The blood phantom was only finger-sized, its facial features remarkably similar to Qin Sang's, yet there was an unsettling malevolence in its brow. It wore a sinister smile, sending a shiver down one's spine at first glance.

"As expected of a demonic evil art, it is indeed malevolent," Qin Sang murmured. From the very beginning of the secret art, the root of a backlash was sown. Even with his current cultivation, he could already sense the intent of a backlash, though it was extremely faint and negligible.

"Go!" Qin Sang commanded. He pointed a finger at the external avatar. The sinister smile on the blood phantom's face intensified, and it eagerly lunged towards the external avatar, burrowing into its glabella. The external avatar trembled slightly, then became motionless. Qin Sang then activated his spiritual sense, following the blood phantom into the Purple Mansion. There, he saw a black cocoon of light, within which lay the dormant sword soul demonic seed, on the verge of breaking out.

The blood phantom merged into the light cocoon and vanished. However, Qin Sang did not stop. He successively forced out several more drops of blood, refining them into blood phantoms. Some of these phantoms entered the Purple Mansion, while others integrated into the external avatar's physical body. Having completed these steps, Qin Sang slowly exhaled, his face slightly pale. He checked the external avatar's state and found that the secret art had been successfully completed. There seemed to be a subtle, almost imperceptible connection between the external avatar and himself. The sword soul demonic seed was exceptionally stable. At this rate, the external avatar could be successfully refined with just a few more blood feeding rituals. After expending so much vital essence blood, he quickly consumed several spiritual pills.

In the blink of an eye, the ninth day arrived. Every day, he had repeated the secret art, using vital essence blood to catalyze the primordial fetus. This was now the ninth and final iteration.

*Pop! Pop! Pop!*

Blood phantoms materialized at Qin Sang's fingertips, then instantly darted towards the external avatar, leaving streaks of blood on its body. Most notably, the light cocoon within the Purple Mansion had been stained blood-red. As the last blood phantom entered its body, the light cocoon abruptly cracked open, and the sword soul demonic seed leaped out. Simultaneously, the external avatar's eyes suddenly opened. Its eyes were blood-red, like pools of blood, and its face seemed to bear a hint of a wicked smile.

Qin Sang's expression darkened. With a thunderous roar, he activated a secret method from the "Demon Fetus Cultivation Manual" to eliminate the external avatar's unwanted thoughts and bring it under his control. The external avatar stiffened as if struck by lightning. The blood-red hue in its eyes gradually receded, and its expression returned to normal.

Though two entirely different individuals in appearance, their temperaments were remarkably similar. However, the subtle connection between the now-refined external avatar and Qin Sang became more obscure. As long as Qin Sang and the external avatar did not appear together, or unless an opponent's cultivation was far superior to Qin Sang's, it would be impossible to discern the avatar's true nature at a glance. Furthermore, the external avatar possessed its own consciousness and could act independently, appearing no different from an ordinary person even when outside Qin Sang's direct observation.

With the external avatar finally refined, a smile appeared on Qin Sang's face as he examined its condition. The external avatar's cultivation level in its previous life was only at the Qi Refining stage. It wouldn't be higher after its refinement into an avatar. Qin Sang would need to continue feeding it vital essence blood and utilize secret arts to quickly enhance its strength. Of course, the "Demon Fetus Cultivation Manual" also documented another method: devouring other cultivators. The higher their cultivation, the faster the external avatar would improve. However, the consequences of such an act were obvious: the external avatar would be more prone to turning against its master, creating nothing but a demonic entity that would eventually backfire.

Since the "Primordial Spirit Sword Cultivation Chapter" had stagnated, Qin Sang would need to control an external avatar at the peak of the Core Formation stage with his mid-Core Formation cultivation. For safety, it was better to feed it vital essence blood and slowly increase its power. Unfortunately, the external avatar had not cultivated a second nascent soul, nor could it be stored in a corpse-puppet bag like a refined corpse. It had to remain outside at all times. To prevent any unforeseen incidents, and until it possessed a certain degree of self-preservation ability, he had no choice but to keep it within the cave dwelling.

Qin Sang forced out a few drops of vital essence blood. After completing the blood feeding, he commanded the external avatar to cultivate in seclusion on its own. He, too, sat cross-legged on the ground, entering a state of profound meditation. After a night of deep trance, he finally shed all his weariness.

The next morning, Qin Sang glanced at the external avatar, then slowly walked out of the cave dwelling. He was contemplating the matter of the Landou Sect. The Landou Sect possessed a cultivation method based on the celestial stars, which had once produced Core Formation cultivators. Yet, it was now unknown. Was the cultivation method flawed, or had some unforeseen change occurred, leading to no one practicing it? To ascertain this, he would likely have to go near the Landou Sect's mountain gate and find a way to contact their core disciples or high-level cultivators. The journey from Tianxing Island to the Landou Sect was not far; at his current flight speed, he could reach it in less than a month.

"Before I leave, I should first ask Alchemist Yi if there's any news about Scorpion Venom Grass. My priority is still finding spiritual herbs. Oh, right..." Qin Sang noticed the communication talismans outside and reached out to retrieve them. Most of the messages in the talismans had expired, but one caught Qin Sang's attention. It was left by a shop owner, the same one who had helped him trade for high-grade spirit stones last time.