Chapter 249: The Descent of the Second Life

Chapter 249: The Descent of the Second Life

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Half an hour later, Lan Chang'an ended his soul-searching interrogation.

Most of the sensitive information regarding the Unseen Gate within Xing Peng's memory was sealed by restrictive spells, making it impossible to disclose.

Even so, the small glimpse Lan Chang'an had gained was terrifying enough.

"Within a decade or so, the Six Demonic Sects will invade the neighboring cultivation countries."

This revelation was Xing Peng's personal assessment, but it was unlikely to be far from the truth.

After all, before the Six Demonic Sects launched their invasions, they would always send the Unseen Gate ahead to infiltrate, gather intelligence, subvert targets, and establish insiders.

The Unseen Gate had already been infiltrating the cultivation nations around Feng Kingdom for years.

Xing Peng emerged from his trance and opened his eyes. "M-Master Lan! Have you finished your questioning?"

"Yes, and it seems your mission was self-initiated, without reporting to the Shadow Hall Chief?"

"Correct! You were just one of many targets on my list. I planned to complete the mission first and then report back to my elder cousin to earn credit."

"However, I do have two Foundation Establishment underlings who helped me gather intelligence on you. They may have a faint suspicion, but nothing concrete."

Xing Peng’s two Foundation Establishment underlings were busy individuals, handling the grunt work for him.

As long as Xing Peng didn’t die or send out a distress signal within seven days, no other Unseen Gate agents from the Shadow Hall would be alerted.

Given this, Lan Chang'an reconsidered his plan.

Joining the Unseen Gate didn't necessarily mean he had to use his own identity, Lan Chang'an.

If his association with the Unseen Gate was ever exposed, it would leave him with no place to stand in any of the nearby cultivation nations.

The safest option would be to create an alias.

Alternatively, he could simply control Xing Peng.

Using the Hundred Illusions Mask, Lan Chang'an could perfectly imitate Xing Peng’s aura and appearance, making it difficult for anyone who wasn’t intimately familiar with him to detect the difference.

Although Xing Peng wasn’t a high-ranking member of the Unseen Gate, as an Incense Master, he was still a core operative who had access to valuable information.

Moreover, his elder cousin, the Shadow Hall Chief, was a mid-Core Formation cultivator and a rising star within the Unseen Gate. He was one of the three giants overseeing the Jing Kingdom branch.

...

After finalizing his plan, only one problem remained.

How could he securely control Xing Peng?

After all, Xing Peng was a Fake Dan cultivator. While he might be a bit of a show-off, his abilities as a spy were formidable.

Among Fake Dan cultivators Lan Chang'an knew, only Xiang Jinglong and Tan Immortal could rival his strength.

Lan Chang'an pondered for a long time but found the solution elusive.

Should he make him swear a heart demon oath? However, if this person had no ambitions, a Heart Devil Oath would have little binding effect.

Setting a restrictive spell?

Lan Chang'an was in the late Foundation Establishment stage, with spiritual sense on par with a Fake Dan Immortal, so he could set a restrictive spell of that level, though his technique would be a bit more refined.

However, Xing Peng’s elder cousin was able to remove such a restriction.

Controlling him with poison?

Lan Chang'an didn't possess any particularly potent poison—his only effective toxin was a degraded third-rank poison, barely potent enough to be useful.

Besides, the Unseen Gate was notorious for its expertise with poisons, often using them to control their agents and external members.

As a legitimate member of the Unseen Gate with strong family connections, Xing Peng wasn’t treated as expendable.

"It seems only my second life’s descent will do."

A few years ago, Lan Chang'an had obtained a superior-grade third-rank Tong Ghost Bamboo and had considered summoning his second life's shadow to craft third-rank treasure talisman.

The descent of his second life was one of his key life-saving measures, with a ten-year cooldown, so he hesitated to use it lightly.

"A hundred years ago the soul of my first life, at the peak of Qi-Refining, could only descend for a short time."

"But my second life, at the pinnacle of Core Formation, is hundreds of times stronger. Its duration will undoubtedly be much longer."

This meant that with the descent of his second life, he could accomplish many things over an extended period.

Not only could he craft treasure talismans in his peak state, but he could also plant a restriction in Xing Peng's mind.

A restriction set by the soul of a Core Formation peak cultivator would be nearly impossible to remove for anyone below the Nascent Soul Realm.

Only then could Xing Peng be truly subdued.

"Master Lan, when will you let me return? I need to make my report," Xing Peng asked, his tone obsequious.

"If you’re worried, I’m willing to swear an oath and allow you to set a restriction. I even have leverage within the Unseen Gate that I can offer you..." Xing Peng pleaded, his face full of a desperate smile.

He was keenly aware that this was the most dangerous moment. Even after obtaining valuable information, Lan Chang'an might still kill him to silence him.

"There's no rush, wait for half a day. I’ll summon a senior at the late Core Formation stage to set a restriction on you, so I can feel at ease when you go back to make your report."

Moments later, the Earth Burrowing Rat emerged from the ground, its young voice sounding obedient.

"Spare some blood."

Lan Chang'an smiled warmly.

“Ah, Master, this is what you mean by ‘some blood’...”

A short while later, the Earth Burrowing Rat, looking drained and weary, glanced at the basin of blood in front of it, its spirit visibly diminished.

The basin contained dozens of drops of its essence blood, including blood from its heart and vital organs.

Using essence blood or heart blood was ideal for crafting spirit ink, as regular blood would require a large amount to concentrate adequately.

“Here’s some Five Element Earth as compensation.”

Lan Chang'an tossed a handful of Five Element Earth to the rat.

“Thank you, Master.”

The Earth Burrowing Rat's eyes lit up as it devoured the soil, then quickly burrowed away to recover.

"Five Element Earth, a universal soil source, is capable of nurturing nearly any spiritual herb and enhancing the quality of magic treasures. I wonder if it can improve spirit ink quality."

Intrigued, Lan Chang'an decided to experiment by adding a small amount of Five Element Earth to his newly crafted low-grade third-rank spirit ink that was of superior quality due to being the Earth Burrowing Rat's blood.

Using a one-twentieth ratio, the quality of the ink improved from low-grade to mid-grade third rank.

Exceeding this ratio yielded no further improvements.

"An increase of half a grade—excellent."

Satisfied, Lan Chang'an adjusted the remaining ink accordingly and also added in the Five Element Earth in proportion.

In this way, he stored a jar of third-rank mid-grade spirit ink that could be used for a long time.

...

With the brush, ink, and talisman embryos ready, Lan Chang'an began crafting third-rank treasure talismans.

After taking a Blood Yang Pill to boost his energy to nearly the Fake Dan level, he set up a spirit-gathering formation and took out some spirit stones.

Holding mid-grade spirit stones in his hand, Lan Chang'an felt his energy surging to early Core Formation power with his second life’s soul.

His eyes gleamed, and with the brush in hand, he gracefully traced the symbols on the specially crafted talisman paper.

The peak state of his past life allowed him to use more advanced techniques, making his strokes seem like celestial inscriptions to an ordinary talisman master.

After a long period, a third-rank mid-grade Thunderbolt Talisman, emitting a powerful pressure, appeared on the table.

"A third-rank mid-grade Thunderbolt Talisman."

Lan Chang'an wiped the sweat from his forehead, nodding in satisfaction.

Completing it without downgrading was a success, especially considering his limitations with soul power and brush quality.

After resting to restore his energy, Lan Chang'an began work on the next talisman.

Two days later.

He successfully crafted nine third-rank treasure talismans.

Seven were mid-grade, while two had downgraded to low-grade. Nonetheless, even the latter were of superior quality within their rank.

In his past life, Lan Chang'an had been a third-rank superior-grade talisman master, yet even then, he hadn’t achieved a perfect success rate with mid-grade third-rank talismans.

"With proper nurturing, these talismans should reach mid-grade third rank, and with time, even superior-grade isn’t impossible."

Lan Chang'an was satisfied with his success rate.

Even after he advanced to Core Formation, these mid-grade third-rank talismans would still be of great use.

Superior-grade third-rank talismans, in particular, could serve as his trump card.

At the Core Formation level, small differences in cultivation made a significant impact.

Especially in the late Core Formation stage, where cultivators could effortlessly kill early Core Formation opponents and were considered elite elders in Nascent Soul sects.

Lan Chang'an also took out his remaining superior-grade Tong Ghost Bamboo. He knew that crafting superior-grade third-rank talismans with it would be challenging, with a very low success rate.

The main reason was that the difference in mana strength was too great, and the talisman brush was also lacking.

Additionally, the Tong Ghost Bamboo could also be used to refine an excellent wood-element magic treasure.

"No need to rush; the second life’s soul can persist for a long time."

Lan Chang'an could sense that the soul of his second life had only drained by a few percent.

"Oh right, I nearly forgot about him."

Recalling something, Lan Chang'an took out his Hundred Illusions Mask and placed it over his face.

With the power of his second life’s soul, in an instant, his appearance, aura, and even his cultivation changed to that of the white-bearded old man at the peak of Core Formation from his past life.