The External Incarnation is a divine ability. Virtually every existence worthy of being called a Great Dao expert possesses this ability, and they all have their own External Incarnations.
However, nurturing such a thing is a troublesome affair.
To be precise, it's not the nurturing of the External Incarnation itself that's troublesome, but the refinement process. It's even far more troublesome than refining a magic treasure. It requires not only long-term, sustained cultivation and nourishment but also the expenditure of immense energy, effort, and even one's own cultivation base to refine.
Refining a magic treasure requires numerous resources.
Nurturing an External Incarnation similarly requires many resources.
The difference is that the resources needed to refine a magic treasure are mostly inanimate objects, while the resources needed to nurture an External Incarnation are living beings. Otherwise, what is produced is not an External Incarnation at all, but merely a lifeless puppet.
Therefore, unless for special needs, most Great Dao experts rarely bother to nurture their own External Incarnations. For them, External Incarnations hold little significant meaning. The energy spent nurturing one would be better spent cultivating their True Body for tangible gains. At the very least, refining an extra magic treasure is more worthwhile than refining a superficially impressive External Incarnation.
Even so, many Great Dao experts still nurture their External Incarnations.
Their purpose in doing so is not to conceal the identity or secrets of their original True Body, nor is it to enhance their own strength. It is for survival.
Yes.
Survival.
If they encounter danger and find themselves outmatched, facing death, or if their original True Body is destroyed or severely injured, they can then sacrifice their soul to merge with their External Incarnation.
Perhaps the External Incarnation cannot compare to the original True Body, but at least the soul has a place to reside.
Without an External Incarnation, if the soul wanders the void and has to seize a physical body at the last moment, it is often too late. After all, the soul is the origin of a person's existence and is extremely fragile. Wandering the void, it struggles to survive.
Using an External Incarnation for survival is the choice of many Great Dao experts.
Of course.
Having said that, the sole meaning of an External Incarnation for them is survival. But for some Great Dao overlords and Great Dao Emperors who bear the Mandate of Heaven, the significance of an External Incarnation is immense.
Because each of them is a heaven-defying genius with powerful backgrounds and identities, possessing inexhaustible resources.
Most importantly, they either possess a body full of Fortune or are laden with Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts.
As is well known.
Fortune is not something where more necessarily means greater power. Many Fortunes counteract each other. The more Fortunes one possesses, the more they can become a heavy burden and shackle. Stagnating one's cultivation is a mild consequence; severe cases can drain one's cultivation base dry, and it's not impossible to suffer backlash from the Fortunes themselves.
Such is the case with Fortune. Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts are even more terrifying.
It must be understood that Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts are transformed from Great Dao overlords who once dominated heaven and earth. Although they lose their original self and self-awareness after death, they inherit spiritual wills.
Integrating a single Divine Sense or Demonic Thought is an extremely dangerous act in itself. Failure can result in backlash, or in severe cases, the loss of one's original self, becoming a puppet of that Divine Sense or Demonic Thought. Even if integration succeeds, one will be influenced by the spiritual will of the Divine Sense or Demonic Thought, with consequences full of unknown dangers.
And that's just integrating one. If integrating two, the danger only multiplies.
Those Great Dao overlords or Great Dao Emperors mostly possess a body full of Fortune. For them, some of these Fortunes are useful, some are useless, and others are a burden.
Since ancient times, no one cultivates a body full of Fortune. Not even Heaven-mandated Great Dao Emperors or earth-shaking Great Dao overlords can do so.
The more powerful the Fortune, the 'heavier' it is, the greater the burden, and the more effort and energy required to nurture it.
One or two, three or four Fortunes they might be able to bear. Five or six, they might barely manage. Any more, and no one can withstand it.
At this point, the External Incarnation becomes extremely important.
They can bestow their excess Fortunes upon an External Incarnation, or directly use the excess Fortunes to nurture one.
This way, they can both reduce the burden on their original True Body and avoid wasting the excess Fortunes.
Many Great Dao Emperors across heaven and earth do this. Some nurture not just one External Incarnation, but two, possibly three, perhaps even more.
Great Dao overlords of renowned prestige like the Western Heaven Buddha Emperor Miao Rulai, the Great Sun Radiant Emperor, Lord Black Mountain, Patriarch Blood River, and others all possess many External Incarnations. Each of their External Incarnations may possess two or three extraordinary Fortunes, and some even possess Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts.
Leaving others aside for now.
The first External Incarnation of the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor alone is terrifying enough.
It can transform into both a Dark Evil Dragon and a Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest.
The Dark Evil Dragon is a type of Fortune. However, that Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest is a Divine Sense or Demonic Thought.
What does this indicate?
It indicates that this Incarnation of the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor possesses one Fortune and one Divine Sense/Demonic Thought.
In anyone's eyes, this is an External Incarnation forged with immense investment. The strength of that Dark Evil Dragon is witnessed by all, exceedingly formidable, undoubtedly a powerful Fortune. Moreover, there's the Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest, a Divine Sense/Demonic Thought of that caliber.
Yet the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor claims this is merely an External Incarnation he casually nurtured.
Such words cannot be described as anything but arrogant.
Arrogant enough to make one's teeth itch with hatred. Even the experts who had been watching the battle from afar felt the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor's words were utterly infuriating.
After all, how many experts dream of obtaining a Fortune like the Dark Evil Dragon but cannot? As for a Divine Sense/Demonic Thought like the Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest, needless to say, anyone who sees it cannot help but envy.
In their view, the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor is simply squandering heavenly treasures. Using a Dark Evil Dragon to nurture an External Incarnation is one thing, but to also have a Divine Sense/Demonic Thought like the Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest... what is this?
The dry die of thirst, the drowned die of flood?
How many people seek Fortune in vain? Seeking Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts offers no path at all. Many Great Dao experts don't even have a single Divine Sense or Demonic Thought in their original True Body, yet the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor uses them to nurture an External Incarnation.
How could this not make people green with envy? How could it not stir feelings of jealousy and hatred?
Everyone also couldn't imagine: the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor says this External Incarnation, nurtured with the Dark Evil Dragon and a Divine Sense/Demonic Thought like the Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest, was just for casual amusement.
Then what terrifying Fortunes does his current sinister and ghostly External Incarnation possess?
His original True Body doesn't even use a Divine Sense/Demonic Thought like the Four-Faced Skull Hell Guest. It's truly impossible to imagine how many terrifying Fortunes and how many terrifying Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts his original True Body actually possesses.
Such is the Heavenly Dragon True Emperor. And beside him stands another: Emperor Wuzang.
How many Fortunes, how many Divine Sense and Demonic Thoughts does his External Incarnation possess? No one knows. The only thing known is that he can transform into a Blazing Sun that purifies the void, and he has also summoned the Five-Star Solar Radiance.
It is known that Emperor Wuzang possesses the Radiant Bloodline. For him to nurture an External Incarnation capable of transforming into a Blazing Sun using his own Radiant Bloodline is not particularly difficult.
But the Five-Star Solar Radiance is a Great Dao innate Fortune that guards the five directions of heaven and earth! It even shattered the wrathful statues of the Five Great Vidyārājas, overwhelmingly powerful. And now, he actually uses it to nurture an External Incarnation as well.