Reunion

The ancient cultivator's abandoned abode was closest to Hanging Skull Pass. After an arduous journey, Qin Sang arrived in the vicinity of the abode and located its entrance. A cracked stone stele stood amidst a ring of shattered rocks. Having weathered one spirit tide and celestial phenomenon after another, the entrance had miraculously survived without being destroyed, enduring to this day. Qin Sang noticed restrictions left behind by various sects to protect the entrance, but after a thorough probe, he confirmed that no cultivators were stationed within the secret realm, and the surrounding area was entirely deserted. Back then, when the cultivators of Hanging Skull Pass first found this ancient cultivator's abandoned abode, they had discovered traces showing that the demonic sects had visited it before. Whatever treasures remained had first been picked through by Che Yutao and the others; then came the catastrophe, followed by countless years under the control of the major sects, leaving virtually nothing behind. Moreover, unlike other secret realms, this abode was far from peaceful. It harbored numerous perilous fire spirits, and in the wake of that disaster, it had been reduced almost entirely to ruins. Its space was exceptionally unstable, making it unfit to serve as a stronghold. Its abandonment came as no surprise. Qin Sang quietly slipped inside. His cultivation was nothing like what it had been back then, and the restrictions he encountered were different as well—likely altered by the catastrophe of that year. Without exerting the slightest effort, Qin Sang made his way into the ancient abode. A blast of scorching heat rushed over him. Magma churned and roiled; everything in sight was a sea of crimson. Apart from a few scattered mountain peaks rising like isolated islands, the entire secret realm had turned into an ocean of magma! Gazing as far as he could into the depths of the realm, Qin Sang spotted the silhouette of Heavenly Peak, completely surrounded by magma. Most terrifying of all, the space there was severely unstable. Spatial rifts clustered densely around Heavenly Peak, far more numerous than when they had fled all those years ago. Hesitating briefly, Qin Sang headed due west, flying through the air toward Heavenly Peak. Beneath him, the magma surged violently. Geysers of molten rock erupted from deep underground from time to time, and fire spirits could often be seen leaping and frolicking in the magma, lunging at him with bared fangs and brandished claws whenever they noticed his presence. Perhaps someone had culled them, for the fire spirits were not as numerous as he had anticipated. Otherwise, traversing this place would have cost Qin Sang considerable effort. Before long, he reached the vicinity of Heavenly Peak—the region that had once been sealed off by flame runes. By now, the ancient restrictions were long gone. The peaks that had once dotted the landscape like stars on a chessboard had mostly been submerged in magma, and the few protruding above the surface had turned into volcanic islands, stripped of all their former ethereal beauty. Even if treasures had once existed here, after repeated baths of magma, they would have been destroyed long ago. The greatest danger lay not in the magma, but in the countless spatial rifts and the remnants of ancient restrictions scattered among them. Compared to back then, the place was not quite as chaotic as when the catastrophe had just erupted. Qin Sang observed for a while and saw no new spatial rifts forming. Yet that did not mean he could rest easy. Looking at the dense thicket of spatial rifts ahead, Qin Sang could not help feeling a chill in his heart. The magma was just as perilous. The core of the ancient restrictions lay submerged within it and had grown extraordinarily volatile. Touching a restriction would, at best, trigger a counterattack; worse, it could induce spatial tremors and leave him shredded by rifts, offering no escape even on wings. The distance between him and Heavenly Peak was not great, yet it seemed as insurmountable as a chasm! "Once I reach the Nascent Soul realm, with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's help, getting inside shouldn't be difficult. But what point would there be in searching for the Neijing Origin Talisman then? I can only give it a try. If getting inside proves truly impossible, I mustn't force it..." Qin Sang shook his head, summoned the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, and bade her land upon his shoulder to push her Heavenly Eye divine ability to its limit. He circled the perimeter of the area again and again. Only after weighing his options at length did he select a path and gingerly venture inside. Yet before he could travel far, an ancient restriction blocked his path, forcing him to retreat. He did not give up, choosing another direction to probe ahead. One attempt after another ended in failure. Every try required utmost concentration. Even with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's assistance, Qin Sang began to feel a wave of exhaustion. Knowing haste would accomplish nothing, he found an isolated island amidst the magma, intending to stay a few days. Two days slipped by in a flash. Still, no other cultivators appeared. Reassured, Qin Sang resumed his gradual exploration and finally made progress, advancing roughly half the distance. On the third day, Qin Sang entered the zone of spatial rifts. As he searched for a path to draw closer to Heavenly Peak, he suddenly sensed something. Snapping his head down, he stared intently at the magma ahead. The molten rock surged and rushed, showing nothing out of the ordinary. Yet just moments ago, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had caught sight of an inconspicuous silhouette emerging from the magma, only for it to flash away into the depths and vanish. The silhouette had been minuscule; had the Heavenly Eye Butterfly not alerted him, Qin Sang would surely have overlooked it. *Could there be other living creatures here besides fire spirits? Capable of moving freely through such a place!* Astonished, Qin Sang suddenly recalled something. *No way... Could it be them?* His gaze narrowed slightly. After a moment of thought, he quietly withdrew from the zone of spatial rifts, touched down on the island, and retrieved a jade bottle from his Qianjun Ring. Only a thin layer of spirit liquid remained within the bottle—the last of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold left over from feeding the fat silkworm and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Neither spirit insect was close to breaking through to the fourth metamorphosis, nor did he possess any other spirit insects worthy of being nurtured with Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold, so it had remained in his possession until now. Very little Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold remained, and it was of little use to either the Heavenly Eye Butterfly or the fat silkworm at this point. Previously, Qin Sang had brought out a bit of it hoping to entice the fat silkworm into waking up sooner, but that had failed. The fat silkworm had been slumbering inside Yagu. Months had passed, and it showed not the slightest sign of awakening. He wondered when this pair, woman and insect, would finally open their eyes. After eliminating the surrounding fire spirits, Qin Sang retrieved a jade plate, set it on the island, and dripped a trace of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold onto it. Then, with a flicker of his figure, he vanished into the shadows. At first, nothing happened. Waves of magma slapped against the island, cooling and solidifying rapidly into layers of black stone. Before long, a small silhouette surfaced from the magma. It swam freely within the molten rock, utterly unfazed by the heat. Evidently, it had sensed the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold and been drawn to it. Yet it was cautious, refusing to crawl ashore directly; instead, it remained concealed in the magma, circling the small island several times to scout for danger. *It really is a fire jade centipede!* Concealed in the dark, Qin Sang's eyes lit up. He could finally see its full form clearly: it was indeed a fire jade centipede. What was more, it was at the peak of the second metamorphosis! Male and female fire jade centipedes differed markedly, making them easy to distinguish. *A male! Could it be the one Old Man Dique snatched from me?* Doubt rose in Qin Sang's mind. Back then, when he had obtained the fire jade centipede, it had only been at the peak of the first metamorphosis, and after raising it for more than twenty years, he had still failed to trigger its transformation. The centipede had never recognized him as master, so Qin Sang could not be sure whether this was the original one or the offspring of that pair from years past. *The spirit insects were all kept in Old Man Dique's spirit beast bag, which was destroyed by Daoist Xuanyu. Who would have thought the fire jade centipedes actually survived? Had I known, I would have returned earlier to retrieve them... But where is the female centipede?* Aided by the Heavenly Eye divine ability, Qin Sang searched meticulously. In the end, he confirmed that this was the only one around.