Chapter 505 - 281: "Fruit

In early March, good news arrived.

One of Lü Zhong’s Possession Incarnations had finally broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage after consuming a vast quantity of Spiritual Objects to advance his cultivation. His long-awaited intelligence-gathering mission could finally begin.

The mission to gather intelligence overseas was of critical importance, so Lü Zhong treated it with the utmost seriousness. He not only meticulously refined a Star Shifting and Dipper Changing Seal for the Incarnation, but also prepared various Spiritual Objects to shroud its destiny. This was to prevent the Incarnation from accidentally revealing its identity and causing trouble for his true self.

The next morning, the Incarnation boarded a ship at Bidao Harbor.

The ship, carrying Lü Zhong’s hopes, sailed slowly toward the East Sea.

’The plan can finally begin!’

Lü Zhong pondered for a moment before connecting with his other Incarnations. The three who had joined sects had all broken through to Late-stage Qi Refining. The fastest among them was already at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining Cultivation, but still had a long way to go before attempting Foundation Establishment.

He had anticipated this.

Although those Incarnations had each received his knowledge of the Talisman Dao, Alchemy Dao, and Array Dao, their circumstances were different. Unlike the Incarnation assigned to the East Sea mission, they didn’t have a virtually limitless supply of resources that allowed them to cultivate in peace. They had to complete sect missions and find ways to earn Spirit Stones on their own.

All these factors combined to slow their cultivation progress.

’I wonder how Wang Lin is doing...’

As Lü Zhong thought this, he connected with that Incarnation. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the Incarnation’s condition. The Incarnation’s life force was nearly exhausted, and his body and face were covered in age spots of varying darkness.

From the looks of it, he wouldn’t last much longer.

To prevent the "fruit" from being damaged, Lü Zhong immediately transformed into an Escape Light and flew toward the Huayi Domain. He needed to be there when the Incarnation, Wang Lin, breathed his last, to harvest the fruits of his Soul Forging Technique cultivation.

...

「Over half a month later.」

「Dongniu Town.」

From the courtyard of a wealthy estate, the sounds of weeping family members, young and old, could be heard. The founder of the Wang Family, Ancestor Wang Lin, was in his final moments.

Suddenly, the doors to the main room swung open.

Mrs. Li of the Wang Family emerged. Without a single glance at the kneeling crowd outside, she used Spiritual Power to wipe the tears from her face. Following her master’s instructions, she first sealed the doors shut and placed a sound-muffling Prohibition upon them. Then, she summoned a shroud of Cloud Qi, completely obscuring the main room from view.

Inside the room, Lü Zhong’s form materialized.

Gazing at the eternally youthful face of his true self, Wang Lin, now a withered old man, let out a weak sigh. Still, he was grateful. Ever since his "birth," his true self had never interfered, allowing him, an Outer Body Incarnation, to fully experience what it was to be human.

Now, as his life drew to a close, there were still things he couldn’t let go of.

With a struggle, Wang Lin managed to sit up in bed. He hesitated for a long moment before speaking. "True Self, can you help me fulfill one last wish?"

"What wish?" Lü Zhong said expressionlessly.

Even as he spoke, his mind was on the secrets of the Outer Body Incarnation technique. ’It stated that if an Incarnation willingly accepted fusion, the True Self would not only gain greater benefits, but the various side effects of the process would also be significantly reduced.’

’If it dies happy, will the quality of the meat be better...’

He couldn’t help but have this thought.

Meanwhile, the Incarnation, Wang Lin, stated his request. It wasn’t anything outrageous. He was simply worried about his favorite son, the youngest, born to a mortal concubine. He feared the boy would be harmed by Mrs. Li of the Wang Family after his death. Therefore, he begged his True Self to find a way to get his young son, who possessed Four Spirit Roots, into the Ancient Dragon Temple.

Lü Zhong agreed immediately.

Sending one person to the Ancient Dragon Temple was impossible for the Incarnation, Wang Lin, but for Lü Zhong, it was a trivial matter that could be accomplished with a single order.

Seeing his True Self agree, Wang Lin sighed in relief, a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

"So sleepy..."

Slowly, he closed his eyes with a faint smile.

At that very moment, however, Lü Zhong formed a golden Dharma Seal. It was the Fusion Seal Technique, a part of the Outer Body Incarnation Divine Techniques, used to merge an Incarnation with the True Self to enhance one’s power.

He swallowed the "fruit" in one gulp.

Sensing no immediate benefit, he summoned the Celestial Net Secret Eye and began examining Wang Lin’s corpse, hoping to collect some data.

’Huh, the True Spirit dissipated on its own!’

In other words, after the Incarnation’s soul scattered, it didn’t undergo the legendary cycle of Reincarnation. It simply dispersed into the world.

’So the incarnation technique is just that—a technique. It doesn’t create a true living being...’ Having found the answer he sought, Lü Zhong’s figure flickered and vanished from the spot.

He reappeared on a desolate mountain, where he found a large, flat stone and sat down cross-legged.

It was time to sort through his gains.

Lü Zhong entered the Gray Mist Space and sealed away all of the Incarnation Wang Lin’s memories. He had no intention of ever accessing them again. He considered it a unique "tombstone" for the Incarnation, a testament that he had once existed in this world and left his own mark.

As for the "fruit."

After absorbing it, the range of Lü Zhong’s Divine Sense Projection increased by nearly fifteen feet.

’An Incarnation cultivating the Soul Forging Technique for nearly thirty years yields a truly bountiful fruit,’ Lü Zhong mused. ’Even Pills designed to strengthen one’s Divine Sense are hardly more effective than this. And all I had to do was wait thirty years for the ’fruit’ to ripen to achieve a similar result.’

However, merging with an Incarnation was not without its side effects.

Right now, he could feel his Divine Soul was unstable. He would need a period of secluded cultivation to eliminate this hidden danger. But compared to the benefits, it was a negligible price to pay.