"I am fine, and Yagu's condition is very stable," Bai replied via voice transmission.
As Qin Sang walked outside, he said, "Ziwei Palace and the Hall of Seven Kills have completely different atmospheres. In a bit, I'm going to take a look at Tianshan. Fellow Daoist, you can see if it stirs up any memories..."
Passing through the Sword Path Great Hall once more, Qin Sang actually gained new insights!
Beyond his pleasant surprise, Qin Sang chuckled wryly to himself. Back then, his cultivation had been humble and his vision too narrow, causing him to underestimate this Sword Path.
The sword intent in the hall was vast and multifaceted, gathering all rivers into the sea, seemingly without end.
Combined with the Qingzhu Sword Scripture, it brought about an entirely different comprehension.
Having entered the Hall of Seven Kills three times, Qin Sang had first fought alone against the puppet sword formation in the Trial Realm, then later obtained the Qingzhu Sword Scripture. Adding to his prior foundation, he felt he was not far from comprehending sword momentum and sword formations.
However, he did not need to be overly harsh on himself to deduce a sword formation entirely on his own.
The cultivation method he had obtained in Nether Valley was none other than the subsequent five layers of the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter, which could take a cultivator from the mid Core Formation stage all the way to the late Nascent Soul stage!
And within that method, the divine ability unlocked after forming a Nascent Soul was precisely a sword formation, named the Seven Po Killing Formation!
Seeing this sword formation, Qin Sang immediately understood why the ray of sword light produced by the cultivation method after he formed his core had contained the aura of a divine soul.
As it turned out, it was related to the sword formation!
Just as its name implied, the Seven Po Killing Formation was not merely an offensive killing sword formation; it possessed other grand divine abilities.
Stepping out of the Sword Path Ancient Hall, Qin Sang stood before the cliff edge.
Around him, waves of forest canopy rose and fell, presenting a scene brimming with vitality.
"It really is different from the Hall of Seven Kills," Bai remarked in wonder as he appeared beside Qin Sang, surveying their surroundings.
He noticed the shadow of Tianshan in the distance. "Is that the Tianshan you spoke of? Its presence seems even grander than Yitian Peak. Could there be some Demon Lord sealed beneath it as well?"
At the mention of the Demon Lord's terrifying might, lingering dread still stirred within Qin Sang.
"If there really were a Demon Lord, there would be no one here capable of stopping him from breaking the seal. Before I left, the highest-cultivated person, the Red-Haired Patriarch, had not managed to break through to late Nascent Soul either. At most, he was on par with the leaders of the Three Great Merchant Alliances..."
Qin Sang gazed toward Tianshan, detecting no unusual movement.
He also wondered whether the one summoned forth by the Sin Abyss was truly a Demon Lord.
Qin Sang decided it was unlikely. Even if it were indeed an ancient demon, its strength had to be limited. Otherwise, the Sin Abyss would not have needed to scheme against the Xiaohan Realm and the Tianxing Alliance like this—they could have simply steamrolled through.
After pondering for a moment, Qin Sang looked at the fluctuations in the cloud vapor in the sky and said, "We still have a little time. Let's head straight to Tianshan."
"All right!"
The two set off at once, speeding toward Tianshan.
Qin Sang's purpose was to check whether the stone array in the small lake—the one Dongyang Bo had led them through to enter Tianshan—was still there.
The sword spirit was also part of the Killing Sword.
Since the sword spirit had been inside the Black Pagoda on Tianshan, could another part of the cultivation method be hidden there as well?
Even Chen Yan's master had been trapped inside the Black Pagoda, so he had no ability to enter now. However, he could make preparations in advance and investigate once his cultivation was sufficient in the future.
The land here was vast and sparsely populated.
Qin Sang flew for a long time without spotting another soul.
Only when they drew near Tianshan did the two exchange a glance, instantly diving into the mountain forests to conceal their tracks.
Atop Tianshan, wondrous light flashed and fluctuations surged erratically. Without even thinking, one knew that Nascent Soul Patriarchs were battling within.
The two agreed upon a rendezvous point.
Qin Sang quietly slipped toward the mountain lake, while Bai headed elsewhere.
The small lake lay halfway up Tianshan.
Recalling the route Dongyang Bo had taken when leading him up, Qin Sang found the lake without much trouble.
Hiding in the distance, he activated his Heavenly Eye divine ability to observe for a while. Seeing nothing unusual in the lake, he quietly drew close and found that there was no stone array at the bottom of the lake at all.
"Sure enough, the entrance isn't here anymore!"
Qin Sang frowned and glanced at the summit of Tianshan.
If he successfully formed his Nascent Soul, he should have the strength to force his way through the ancient restrictions. Yet to uncover the secrets of the Black Pagoda and the bronze hall, he would likely have to deal with Shaohua Mountain and Dongyang Bo.
"Dongyang Bo and Chen Yan... I wonder if they turned against each other after I left..."
Qin Sang withdrew from Tianshan, and Bai was already waiting for him at the rendezvous point.
Bai stood on the ground, staring at the summit of Tianshan, lost in thought.
Only as Qin Sang drew near did he seem to snap out of a dream. After exchanging a few brief words with Qin Sang, he slipped back into the corpse puppet bag.
"Sword Mark Mountain!"
Qin Sang looked toward another direction, his expression solemn.
"If this old Daoist fails, just burn an incense stick for me the next time you enter Ziwei Palace, Little Brother. That will be enough!"
These were Yunyouzi's parting words before he left.
To this day, Qin Sang had not forgotten a single word of them!
To achieve Core Formation, Yunyouzi had willingly thrown himself into the Nanming Primordial Fire, using the demon fire to incinerate his body, temper his divine soul, and be reborn from the flames.
Though Qin Sang had helped him obtain the green copper chunk to suppress the Nanming Primordial Fire, Yunyouzi's action was still like a moth darting into a flame—a desperate gamble with almost certain death.
Qin Sang had come on this journey to fulfill that promise.
If Yunyouzi had succeeded, they would still have the chance to meet again, support each other, and continue forward on the immortal path.
If Yunyouzi had perished in the Nanming Primordial Fire, he would still light a stick of incense to send his old friend off!
Speeding through the mountain forests, Qin Sang felt unsettled and anxious, iron-willed though he was.
Qingzhu and Yunyouzi had both been mentors and friends to him.
Comparatively speaking, he had spent far more time with Yunyouzi, and their bond was even deeper.
He had just witnessed the curtain fall on Senior Qingzhu's legend; he did not want to send off yet another old friend!
Arriving at the foot of Sword Mark Mountain, Qin Sang took a deep breath. Following the instructions Yunyouzi had once given him, he passed through the ancient array.
This time was far easier than the last, and before long, Qin Sang smoothly reached the stone hall.
He looked around.
Everything in the stone hall was as usual, bearing no trace of other cultivators.
Qin Sang located that stone brick and pressed it down. A wave of fluctuations rippled out, the underground tunnel opened, and an intense wave of scorching heat immediately rushed over him.
The Nanming Primordial Fire was still here!
He sped into the depths of the secret tunnel, finally catching sight of a ball of deep crimson fire.
Unable to wait a moment longer, Qin Sang stepped forward, his gaze darting swiftly across the Nanming Primordial Fire. His hanging heart abruptly dropped back into place, and an expression of joyful surprise surfaced on his face.
The green copper chunk was not here!
At the very least, this proved Yunyouzi had not perished here and had likely succeeded.
Just then, a soft sound of surprise came from Bai within the corpse puppet bag. "To think it's Nanming Primordial Fire!"
Hearing this, Qin Sang hurried to ask, "Fellow Daoist, you recognize this flame?"
Bai materialized, nodding. Pointing at the illusory image of the divine bird at the center of the Nanming Primordial Fire, he marveled, "This is the natal true fire of a Vermilion Bird! If I'm not mistaken, the reason this Nanming Primordial Fire hasn't extinguished to this day is very likely because of a Vermilion Bird True Feather! Its power is definitely not inferior to that long plume in the hands of the Nine Phoenix King. If it is an intact true feather, it is bound to be even stronger!"
"A Vermilion Bird True Feather?!"
Qin Sang was astonished as well.
The Nine Phoenix King's long plume had left an indelible impression on him, yet a Vermilion Bird True Feather was actually stronger than that plume!
Bai glanced at Qin Sang and chuckled softly. "Subduing a Vermilion Bird True Feather won't be easy. Without Vermilion Bird bloodline, one cannot gain the feather's recognition. Even for descendants of the Vermilion Bird, given the conditions of the present world where bloodlines are exceedingly thin, it would still be impossible."
Chapter 1095