"Once she wakes, let it be according to her own wishes."
Qin Sang glanced down at the slumbering Su Nü.
He had only met her a handful of times. Each time he had stepped in to save her, it had been for unrelated reasons, and he had never had much personal contact with her.
Qin Sang crushed the ghost seal in his grip, having never intended to keep Su Nü as a true soul slave.
For one thing, surviving this ordeal was in part thanks to her, so he owed her a debt of gratitude.
For another, after what had happened with the two-headed hou, Qin Sang understood that forcing someone against their will could never last; it would only brew enmity.
The two-headed hou had followed him for so many years, yet even a Tyrant Blood Fruit had failed to tempt it into giving up its desire for freedom. It had willingly served as bait just to break free from his control.
If even a beast acted thus, how much more so a human?
Su Nü would never resign herself to being another's soul slave, and she was bound to keep backup plans in reserve. Given how ruthless this woman had been to refine herself into a soul slave, Qin Sang doubted he would ever sleep soundly if he forced her to stay by his side.
It was better to let her go and forge good karma instead.
Taking his leave of the Bao siblings, Qin Sang followed after Qingzhu.
Neither Lingzhuzi nor the elder made any move to stop them.
Leading Qin Sang, Qingzhu flew out of the space, traversed the river channel, and returned to Yitian Peak, flying toward the summit without uttering a single word.
Suddenly, Qingzhu's body went limp, and he nearly tumbled to the ground.
"Senior!"
Qin Sang was alarmed. He rushed forward to support Qingzhu, only to be struck by a pungent stench of blood. Only then did he realize that Qingzhu was already drenched in blood from head to toe.
Earlier, Qingzhu had merely been putting on a brave face before Lingzhuzi and the others to avoid giving away his weakness.
"It is nothing."
Qingzhu grasped Qin Sang's arm. Though his voice was faint, his tone remained steady and calm as he said in a low voice, "To the Nether Valley!"
"Senior, your body..."
Qin Sang was full of worry. The aura within Qingzhu was extraordinarily feeble, and his vitality was ebbing away at a terrifying speed.
He immediately brought out the Three Lights Jade Liquid to give to Qingzhu, but Qingzhu stopped him.
"My origin has already been riddled with holes... Do not squander such miraculous medicine on me."
Even so, he could not dissuade Qin Sang.
Qingzhu ceased resisting and sighed softly. "Very well. It so happens I still have an unfulfilled wish, and it concerns you as well."
Qin Sang then brought out the Soul-Nurturing Wood plaque.
"Senior, try this as well..."
Qingzhu looked genuinely surprised, then smiled. "You truly are a Daoist of Many Treasures. I recall your natal spirit sword was crafted from a wood-attribute spiritual item. No wonder you were able to cultivate so smoothly to this realm—it turns out you possess Soul-Nurturing Wood. Your fortune is profound indeed..."
Seeing that Qingzhu mistakenly believed he had relied on the Soul-Nurturing Wood to cultivate the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter, Qin Sang tacitly accepted the assumption and offered no further explanation.
"I drew the sword intent into my body, annihilating both the demonic soul and the ancient demon's split soul, but the sword qi also shattered my own foundation. My divine soul is on the verge of guttering out; it is only thanks to the spirit sword fragment that I have clung to this breath of life. It is beyond saving. Soul-Nurturing Wood cannot alter anything either; it will merely allow me to linger on a brief while longer..."
The Three Lights Jade Liquid nourished his physical body while the soul glow of the Soul-Nurturing Wood nurtured his remnant soul, bringing a slight improvement to Qingzhu's complexion.
Yet just as he said, his condition was beyond remedy; this was nothing more than the final burst of radiance before the end.
The moment Qingzhu had willingly drawn the sword intent into himself, Qin Sang had anticipated this, yet he had not expected that even Soul-Nurturing Wood would fail to save him.
Qin Sang secretly consulted Bai, but Bai had no solution either.
"He is different from me. Back then, I must have made preparations, which allowed me to persist as a wisp of a remnant soul. His origin has been torn to pieces by the sword intent, fractured beyond measure; he cannot even coalesce a remnant soul. Were it not for that fragment, he would have perished on the spot..."
Bai had also been caught in the blast of the demonic roar.
Fortunately, he had shielded Yagu in time. The two of them would recover after a period of quiet recuperation.
Qin Sang's eyes dimmed.
This was only his second time meeting Senior Qingzhu in person, yet his soul had communed with Qingzhu across the years ever since he joined Shaohua Mountain.
Seeing Qingzhu slash himself with the sword intent without the slightest hesitation, Qin Sang knew he had not misjudged him. If there were any way to save Qingzhu, he would have spared no effort.
"You must still harbor many doubts."
Side by side, they glided toward the summit of Yitian Peak.
Looking up at the sword qi grand palace beneath the rosy glow, Qingzhu's thoughts drifted back. He recounted everything he had experienced, from being teleported from Ziwei Palace to the Hall of Seven Kills, to what followed in the Boundless Ocean.
Much of it was intimately connected to Qin Sang, resolving numerous mysteries that had long puzzled him.
"The time I was teleported to the Hall of Seven Kills counted as its first emergence into the world. The second was when you were teleported here, and the third was this time."
Qingzhu gazed into the depths of the rosy clouds and murmured softly,
"Back then, my junior sister and I set an ambush in Ziwei Palace to kill Leng Yuntian to avenge our senior sister, but Leng Qian saw through our plan, and we only managed to wound Leng Yuntian severely. Leng Qian discovered me and hunted me relentlessly. Fearing I would drag my junior sister down with me, I activated the teleportation array after being wounded and ended up here."
Qingzhu pointed up toward the immortal restriction.
"The ancient teleportation array sits above the immortal restriction, right where the inner and outer halls meet. Following the white jade gallery, I found the exit below and laid down some arrangements to conceal the true passage. Commit the route to memory; using this talisman seal, you will be able to return."
He relayed the route to Qin Sang and imparted a talisman seal to him.
Qin Sang promptly memorized the path. His mind relaxed, relieved that he finally knew the location of the ancient teleportation array and could return to the Xiaohan Realm.
"Thank you, Senior, for fulfilling my wish."
Qingzhu gave a faint smile. "There is no need to thank me. Had I not come first, you would have been the first to discover the secret of the immortal restriction, and you would not have had to go through so many twists and turns."
Qin Sang listened intently.
"After being teleported here, I made my way from the immortal restriction to the Nether Valley..."
Qingzhu paused, then asked, "Do you know the origins of the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter and this fragment?"
"This junior heard that the cultivation method originated from Ziwei Palace, but before this, I had no knowledge of any fragment."
Qin Sang searched his memory carefully, but he had truly never heard of such a fragment.
Evidently, that spirit sword fragment was indeed related to the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter.
This caught Qingzhu somewhat off guard. "After me, you have achieved the highest realm in cultivating the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter, have you not? What is more, unlike me, you carry no hidden peril of murderous intent. When did Dongyang Bo become so blind?"
"This..."
Qin Sang felt a wave of shame. After a moment's hesitation, he hid nothing from Qingzhu, giving a brief account of his entanglements with Chen Yan and Dongyang Bo's schemes regarding him.
Qingzhu chuckled softly. "I bear no ill will toward Dongyang Bo. Back then, Leng Qian was at the height of his power, while my cultivation journey was fraught with difficulty. In his position, few would have offended Yuanshen Sect for the sake of a single disciple. Still, Dongyang Bo has always made the revitalization of Shaohua Mountain his personal duty. I wonder what look his face will wear if he ever learns he drove away a genius from his sect who had hopes of forming a nascent soul..."
Hearing this, Qin Sang broke into a cold sweat and protested repeatedly that he did not dare claim such a title.
If he were considered a genius, other cultivators would have to be celestial prodigies.
"There is no need to belittle yourself! From what I see, your essence, qi, and spirit are all abundant. You are actually cultivating both magic and the physical body, and you possess Soul-Nurturing Wood. Having taken the Soul-Washing Liquid as well, your chances of forming a nascent soul are greater than most. In the future, you will surely have the opportunity to stand upright and tall before Dongyang Bo."
Qingzhu seemed rather to look forward to such a scene.
"Cultivating both magic and the body aids in forming a nascent soul?"
Upon hearing this, Qin Sang's eyes lit up, and he hurried to seek Qingzhu's guidance.
This was the very first time he had ever received direct instruction from a Nascent Soul Patriarch.
Chapter 1091