Gateway of Immortality

These two external paths could both become powerful aids, directly enhancing one's combat abilities.

Back during the Foundation Building Realm, Qin Sang had gained considerable insight into this.

The reason he had advanced so smoothly to the point where he was able to suppress other cultivators of the same realm during the Foundation Building Realm was, of course, partly due to his cultivation arts, but he had also relied heavily on external sources of power.

Aside from astras, the greatest help had come from his choice to delve into corpse refinement.

One of the hallmarks of the Heavenly Corpse Sect's art was the ability to rapidly enhance combat power.

Unfortunately, Qin Sang only possessed the first half of theHeavenly Yin Corpse Art. He had tried more than once to track down the missing portion, and had inquired widely into any news about the Heavenly Corpse Sect during his free time, but his efforts had borne little fruit.

The flying yaksha, while powerful, had its limits.

Like any living corpse, its strength was fixed the moment it was refined. In the early stage of the Golden Core Realm, the flying yaksha was a formidable asset but once he advanced further, it would become little more than dead weight.

Even when refining a corpse core for himself, Qin Sang had struggled to find ways to improve it. As for enhancing the yaksha, he was utterly clueless.

He wondered whether the Heavenly Corpse Sect had any other secret arts capable of elevating the yaksha's power further, similar to how one could strengthen a corpse core.

The corpse refinement methods of other sects clearly followed a different path from that of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.

The only reference value they offered lay in the physical refinement techniques for corpse bodies. Perhaps by using those methods to temper the yaksha's body, he might be able to break through the constraints of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman.

Qin Sang needed to plan ahead. He couldn't afford to tie himself to a single path.

After thoroughly studying theFragmented Records of the Taixuan Arrayand the Golden Core insights, Qin Sang couldn't help but sigh as he closed the books. There seemed to be no other secret arts like theHeavenly Yin Corpse Art, something fast to learn and requiring little mental burden.

Whether the path of arrays or the path of beast taming, both demanded significant time and effort.

Without enough foundation in the path of arrays, he couldn't even comprehend theFragmented Records of the Taixuan Array, unless he found a true master of arrays to teach him from scratch.

Still, Qin Sang hadn't entirely given up. He continued to ponder the scroll frequently. Through analogy and pattern recognition, he hoped it might at least benefit his existing expertise in barriers.

As for the beast taming path, it too was a difficult road.

Though the Golden Core insights left behind by that Yuling Sect cultivator were not especially obscure, as the saying went, "A clever housewife cannot cook without rice."

The field of beast taming was vast and intricate.

Among spirit beasts, there were birds, beasts, fish, and insects, each requiring different approaches.

For some beast tamers, such as the infamous Snake Granny, the focus lay in raising a single spirit beast, nurturing it with essence, binding their lifeforces together. That beast would become as powerful as its master, allowing them to fight two-on-one against an enemy.

Others went the opposite route, using sheer numbers to overwhelm.

Still others specialized in cultivating venomous beasts, collecting all manner of bizarre and poisonous creatures. Their methods weren't so different from demonic cultivators who practiced the path of poison.

The Golden Core cultivator's notes also mentioned that Yuling Sect possessed an array method called the beast array, in which beasts themselves were used to form the structure of the array. The most powerful beast arrays could rival the famous spirit arrays, though their requirements were extraordinarily strict.

That cultivator had clearly been eccentric. He expressed little interest in the above-mentioned styles. What he loved most was a branch of beast taming known as bug manipulation technique, and it was this path his notes focused on.

To make use of these notes, Qin Sang would have to follow the same path, which explained why Di Que had once gone to such lengths to collect supernatural and spiritual insects.

But the challenges were obvious. He would have to invest an immense amount of effort into finding and raising these rare species.

At this thought, Qin Sang couldn't help feeling regretful.

Back in the ancient ruins, he had narrowly escaped with only Di Que's Mustard Seed Pouch. He hadn't managed to obtain the Spirit Beast Pouch. If he had, things would be far easier now.

spiritual insects were manageable. Though rare, a Core Formation Realm cultivator like himself could locate them without too much difficulty. However, their potential was far inferior to that of supernatural insects. Take the Qingfu insect for instance. Even when painstakingly raised to adulthood, it could only serve as a support.

Strictly speaking, the world of immortal cultivation didn't draw clear lines between supernatural insects and spiritual insects. They were all simply called spiritual insects. The distinction between the two was something Yuling Sect had established on their own.

They created a list, defining supernatural insects by two criteria.

First: whether they possessed strange and powerful abilities. Second: their potential.

Supernatural insects had far greater potential.

Some of them required multiple stages of metamorphosis to reach adulthood, and their adult forms could rival even Spiritual Infant Realm cultivators, or go beyond!

However, they were extremely difficult to find. Each species was rare to the point of impossibility, and raising one was an extraordinary challenge.

Their conditions for metamorphosis were often harsher than those for a human cultivator to break through a realm.

The Yuling Sect's records noted:

"After hatching, all spiritual insects would undergo metamorphosis before reaching adulthood. The first transformation, from egg to larva, was equivalent to a cultivator achieving Foundation Building. The second, comparable to forming a Golden Core. And so on, stage by stage.

"Spiritual insects typically only underwent one or two metamorphoses at most before reaching adulthood. Supernatural insects, however, had the potential for at least three metamorphoses.

"And each metamorphosis was more difficult than the last.

"Especially after reaching adulthood, when their potential was exhausted, further metamorphosis became impossible, unless they encountered some miraculous opportunity.

"But having potential didn't guarantee they could metamorphose."

Back then, who knew how long Di Que had been in possession of those Fire Jade Centipedes? They had already grown to the threshold of their first metamorphosis, yet remained unable to take that critical step, and could only be used for treasure-seeking.

Even Yuling Sect had no idea how to help the Fire Jade Centipedes undergo metamorphosis.

In truth, Yuling Sect's understanding of supernatural insects was limited. In the current world of immortal cultivation, so few supernatural insects remained that very few cultivators had actually interacted with them.

What little knowledge they did possess came from ancient texts or passed-down experience from earlier generations. Only a handful of supernatural insect species had been documented, along with the spiritual herbs required to assist in their metamorphosis.

Even then, such records mostly covered only the first two metamorphoses.

Take Qin Sang's Blood-Winged Ghost-Headed Wasps for example, no one knew how to help them progress. All he could do was let them grow as they would, or perish on their own.

If not for a stroke of luck leading those two Fire Jade Centipedes to encounter the fruit of a Scarlet Gold Vine, which could assist spiritual insects in breaking through, they might still have been unable to metamorphose.

The Blood-Winged Ghost-Headed Wasps were in even worse shape. They hadn't even reached the stage of their first metamorphosis, and their growth had already stalled. Even feeding them Crimson Fire Gilded Gold did nothing.

Qin Sang only had a single Scarlet Gold Vine fruit, and his Crimson Fire Gilded Gold reserves were limited. He couldn't afford to waste them on the wasps.

After weighing his options, Qin Sang still couldn't make a decision. All he could do was take things one step at a time. If he happened to come across a supernatural insect with potential for cultivation, it wouldn't be too late to fully commit to the beast taming path then.

Besides, he didn't necessarily have to choose between just those two options.

Shaohua Mountain was one of the Eight Major Sects of the righteous path, home to many Spiritual Infant and Core Formation elders.

Once he formed his Golden Core, he could seek their guidance, or consult the cultivation manuals reserved for Core Formation disciples. Perhaps he might discover a secret art more suited to his path.

Having thought it through, Qin Sang no longer dwelled on the matter and instead shifted his focus to artifact refinement.

He had studied artifact refinement for more than twenty years. Although his skill was far from profound and couldn't compare to true masters, it was nonetheless decent. Now that he was on the verge of Core Formation, he couldn't let the craft fall into neglect.

From now on, he intended to forge his own astras.

Qin Sang quietly made up his mind.

Once he reached Core Formation, he would try befriending a few cultivators from the Xuling Sect, and seek their instruction. After all, his artifact refinement techniques came openly from Shopkeeper Wu, so there was nothing to hide.

His own sect surely had treasured manuals on artifact refinement as well. Though not as advanced as those of the Xuling Sect, they would still be worth studying.