Chapter 874: Mastering

"Apprenticeship?" Qin Sang's heart stirred, but he shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Fellow Daoist, you must be joking. Even if we wanted to join the Landou Sect, they wouldn't accept us."

"Indeed." The brawny man sighed, "We are already Foundation Establishment cultivators. Unless under very special circumstances, those prestigious sects would never admit us. If we harbored any ulterior motives, we wouldn't even be able to pass through the Landou Sect's Heart-Searching Path."

"Heart-Searching Path?" Qin Sang heard this term for the first time. Upon asking, he learned it was a method the Landou Sect used to screen disciples. Even those already within the sect had to walk a portion of the Heart-Searching Path after reaching Foundation Establishment. Qi Refining disciples in most sects are referred to as outer disciples or external affairs disciples; without reaching Foundation Establishment, they can never truly be respected. Foundation Establishment disciples, however, are the core strength of a sect and must be chosen carefully.

Major sects do not lightly accept core disciples; they all employ similar screening methods. Some even begin this process when recruiting outer disciples, but the sects Qin Sang had joined previously were all unique, so he had never experienced it.

The Guiyin Sect recruited people as sacrifices for the Yama Banner, accepting anyone as long as the conditions were met. The Yuanzhao Sect's Immortal Ascension Assembly, on the other hand, was to provide blood sacrifices for a collapsing secret realm. To entice more rogue cultivators to join, they didn't set any other thresholds.

Those recruited into these sects were not valued at all; they were mere laborers, burdened with demanding tasks and strict requirements, with no future whatsoever. Once they reached a certain age, they were expelled. Had it not been for Yu Hua, who was bribed by the Guiyin Sect, Qin Sang would have been exhausted in the Yuanzhao Sect, with no time to cultivate.

Shaohua Mountain did have similar methods, but Qin Sang entered with a Sword Intent Edict. Moreover, such a screening was only experienced by outer disciples after reaching Foundation Establishment when their jade scrolls were changed. However, Qin Sang's method of achieving Foundation Establishment was unique, practically unprecedented.

He not only became involved with the sect's Core Formation elders but also received elixirs directly from the Nascent Soul Grand Ancestor. The Sect Master personally observed the entire process, deeming it an act of nature, and thus dared not apply such methods to him. Through a series of coincidences, he had never experienced any of these screenings.

Of course, even if Qin Sang had undergone the Heart-Searching Path, he wouldn't have revealed any flaws. With the protection of the Jade Buddha, such methods would have been completely ineffective against him.

Joining the Landou Sect was merely a jest; both knew it was impossible. Qin Sang pondered, realizing that he would likely only be able to inquire about Qiyunzi's whereabouts by interacting with Landou Sect disciples.

The problem was that ever since the demon uprising, the Landou Sect Master had also gone to the demon sea. Now, the Landou Sect was practically in seclusion, with core disciples rarely venturing out. It was even difficult to encounter them in the Landou Sect's market city.

Moreover, as the brawny man said, the Landou Sect would not allow outsiders extensive access to their true legacies. Even if he found out about such a legacy, acquiring it would still be a problem.

The brawny man excitedly said, "I used to always commission a refining master from the Landou Sect. That person is very arrogant and demands exorbitant prices, yet their refining skills are far inferior to yours, Fellow Daoist Mingyue. Fortunately, he's been holed up in the Landou Sect recently and hasn't come out. I heard about you from a friend's recommendation, which is why I traveled thousands of miles to seek your help. Otherwise, I would have missed this opportunity!"

Hearing the brawny man consider meeting him an opportunity, Qin Sang smiled faintly. After sending the man away, he fell into deep thought.

A moment later, he swiftly left his quiet room, gave an instruction to an attendant, and departed in a hurry.

It wasn't until the evening of the next day that Qin Sang returned to his cave abode. He gazed at his external incarnation, his eyes flickering with thought. That day, he had been investigating the Landou Sect and its affiliated sects to find out when they accepted new disciples.

He learned that the Landou Sect opened its doors to new disciples once every cycle, typically twelve years. Unfortunately, they had just recruited a batch of disciples this year, meaning the next opportunity would be in twelve years.

Originally greatly disappointed, Qin Sang then learned that among the sects affiliated with the Landou Sect, there was one called Misty Pavilion that would soon hold its disciple recruitment ceremony. Many rogue cultivators were already hurrying there in preparation.

Although Misty Pavilion was not as powerful as the Landou Sect, it had deep foundations. Its sect master was a Core Formation expert, and being affiliated with the Landou Sect allowed it to thrive, making it quite a prestigious sect.

During his conversation with the brawny man, an idea spontaneously arose in Qin Sang's mind. He himself would find it difficult to be accepted by the Landou Sect, but his external incarnation had a clean background, so there might be a chance for it to infiltrate.

After Qin Sang brought his external incarnation into the market city, the incarnation had remained in the cave abode, cultivating and never interacting with outsiders, so their connection had not yet been exposed.

The external incarnation's true name was Zhang Yue, and he had a clean background, having been a native cultivator on Egret Island. After occupying this body, Qin Sang, both to honor Zhang Yue and to ease his own conscience, properly handled Zhang Yue's posthumous affairs. Before leaving, he informed Zhang Yue's parents that their son had left home in pursuit of the Dao. This allowed Zhang Yue's identity to be preserved.

His origins were very clear. Even if questioned, there would be no fear, as the sword soul within the external incarnation had inherited some of the Jade Buddha's power. These sects would not employ overly violent methods on newly admitted disciples, as it could cause irreparable internal injuries. Unless a Nascent Soul Grand Ancestor was present, it would be very difficult to expose the external incarnation's true identity.

Qin Sang would still hesitate if it meant infiltrating the Landou Sect directly, but Misty Pavilion did not have cultivators powerful enough to discern the external incarnation's true nature. Misty Pavilion had a close relationship with the Landou Sect, so taking a circuitous approach, though potentially time-consuming, was a viable option. His true body could remain outside, conducting covert investigations. Coordination between the inside and outside would greatly increase their chances.

What concerned Qin Sang most was that his external incarnation lacked sufficient strength and adaptability in the face of danger. If the mission failed and the incarnation was lost, he would deeply regret it.

"So be it! No pain, no gain!" Qin Sang's expression hardened, and he made up his mind. The "Heavenly Demon Forging Body Art" was as crucial as his external incarnation; neither could be dispensed with. Taking a risk was worthwhile.

However, Qin Sang would not act rashly. He needed to equip his external incarnation with enough life-saving measures. The most effective items for this purpose, like the Fire Pearl and Void Thunder, possessed terrifying power and exploded instantly, leaving enemies with no escape. But these had already been used. As a fallback, he could only prepare more Soul-Devouring Cones.

The one thing most abundant here was demon corpses. Qin Sang's refining skills were far superior to before. Reworking the Soul-Devouring Cone, he was confident he could enhance its power to a level that would make even pseudo-Core Formation cultivators fear it. While the Soul-Devouring Cone would be more than enough to handle general dangers, it would be somewhat powerless if a Core Formation cultivator targeted it.

Qin Sang thought for a moment and decided to let the Heavenly Eye Butterfly accompany his external incarnation. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly was proficient in concealment and illusion techniques, possessing an even stronger ability to hide than the external incarnation, allowing it to deceive even heaven. After gaining the Thunder Control divine ability, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's strength was no longer weak; it should be able to contend with a Core Formation cultivator for a while, until Qin Sang's true body arrived.

With his external incarnation sent away, his true body would naturally not stay too far. The power of the Green Fufu Coin was not yet exhausted and could still be used. He would have his external incarnation carry it to give timely warnings.