Sun De's eyes flickered with craftiness. "Junior Brother Qin, since you don't fear the Heart-Devouring Insect devouring your origin soul, why be in such a rush? Just now, I answered everything you asked with utter honesty—that alone shows my sincerity. Now it's your turn to show yours. First find me a suitable physical body so I can carry out a possession. Once I'm safe, I will definitely tell you how to resolve the Heart-Devouring Insect..."
Qin Sang looked at Sun De expressionlessly. Spiritual power surged wildly in his palm, and he clenched his fist with sudden ferocity.
Sun De had never expected Qin Sang to be so decisive in killing him. He screamed in terror, "Only a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Kuiyin Sect knows how to purge the Heart-Devouring Insect from you! Spare my life, and I'll beg my father to help you... Aaaagh!"
Leaving behind only that shrill scream, Sun De had his origin soul crushed to powder by Qin Sang, dissolving into specks of light dust.
"You must have wondered why I can resist being devoured by the Heart-Devouring Insect, yet you endured and didn't ask a single word about it. Quite impressive, honestly. You wanted to refine me into the main soul of a Yanluo Banner, you know so many of my secrets, and you're so deeply calculating—how could I possibly let you leave alive? As for the Heart-Devouring Insect, at worst, I won't leave Shaohua Mountain before breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage. The Kuiyin Sect only has one Core Formation old ghost left; I can't be unlucky enough to run into him, can I?"
Qin Sang dusted off his hands and murmured to himself.
Leaving Sun De with one last breath so that his origin soul had a chance to leave his body was also Qin Sang's deliberate doing. From the very beginning, he had never intended to spare Sun De's life.
Shifting his gaze, Qin Sang felt the chill lingering deep inside him. He truly had tasted more than enough of the cultivation world's treachery. Without the aid of the jade Buddha, he didn't know how many times he would have died by now.
His eyes swept over Sun De's corpse, and he spotted the mustard seed bag that had been flicked aside earlier. Raising a hand, he beckoned it over.
Using his spiritual sense to empty out everything inside the mustard seed bag, a vast heap immediately filled the cave dwelling.
Tossing aside some miscellaneous sundries and low-grade magic tools, Qin Sang's eyes immediately fell upon seven black ghostly banners.
Among the seven ghostly banners, one was large and six were small. The six smaller ones were the same size as his Yanluo Banner, but the ghosts depicted on the banner cloth were far more ferocious than the Yanwang, and their forms were markedly different. Qin Sang thought to himself that these were likely the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners.
Sun De actually possessed six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners—enough to form an array. No wonder he had dodged and ducked during their clash earlier, constantly trying to retrieve a magic tool. Fortunately, Qin Sang hadn't given him a single moment to catch his breath.
The Ten Directions Yanluo Array left behind by Patriarch Kuiyin was definitely formidable. If Sun De had been given the chance to deploy it, the ebony sword might not have been a match for him.
Secretly rejoicing, Qin Sang picked up these Ten Directions Yanluo Banners and found their grade slightly inferior to ordinary high-grade magic tools, falling far short of top-grade magic tools. It seemed Sun De had indeed been bound hand and foot in Shaohua Mountain, not daring to act recklessly.
These Ten Directions Yanluo Banners could only be used after sacrificial refinement, so he stowed them all away. Picking up the largest ghostly banner, he took a look, and his expression instantly shifted.
This ghostly banner was identical to the one Zhao Yan had used in the Yuanzhao Sect—it was a magic treasure!
"Could this be an authentic Ten Directions Yanluo Banner left behind by Patriarch Kuiyin?"
Qin Sang muttered in astonishment. Sun De had mentioned just now that Patriarch Kuiyin distributed the five remaining Ten Directions Yanluo Banners among his disciples, and Sun De's father was a successor to one of those disciples.
Recalling how Zhao Yan had actually been able to command this magic treasure back then, a sudden surge of heat rose in Qin Sang's heart. The ebony sword was merely a remnant fragment of a magic treasure, yet it was already so powerful. If he could wield an intact magic treasure, who among cultivators of the same realm could possibly stand against him in battle?
Immediately, however, a basin of cold water was poured over Qin Sang's excitement. He remembered the scene of Zhao Yan using the magic treasure—it was very likely accomplished through the power of the sect master's projection stored within the Four Clouds Divine Restriction. Otherwise, with a cultivation base at the Qi Refinement stage, it would have been impossible to wield a magic treasure.
Since he had thrown away the Four Clouds Divine Restriction, he could now only look at it in vain.
Sighing inwardly, Qin Sang carefully put the magic treasure away as well and continued his search. He discovered that Sun De's wealth was truly bountiful; having a father in the Foundation Establishment stage was undeniably advantageous.
There were five middle-grade spirit stones alone, as well as over a hundred low-grade spirit stones.
Sun De hadn't had the chance to retrieve and use some of the common talismans, which now fell into Qin Sang's hands.
There were also bottles upon bottles of elixir pills, a sight that dazzled Qin Sang. He was no longer an illiterate novice in the cultivation world; he could roughly identify most of these elixirs. Healing pills made up the majority, and they were a tier above the medicine he had obtained from the bamboo-hatted man.
There were even elixirs capable of replenishing spiritual power during battle.
Qin Sang sorted and stored them by category, setting aside the ones he didn't recognize with plans to look them up at Pagoda Peak. But when he uncovered a certain jade bottle, he suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. An expression of wild excitement surfaced on his face as he snatched up the bottle and held it before his eyes to examine it closely.
Inside the jade bottle lay two brilliant blue spirit pills, roughly the size of broad beans. Qin Sang gently unstoppered the bottle, and a pungent odor instantly wafted into his nostrils, matching the descriptions he had heard before to the letter.
Foundation Establishment Pills!
And two of them at that!
Sun De was under forty years old yet had already reached the eleventh layer of the Qi Refinement stage. One of these pills had likely been rewarded by Shaohua Mountain, while the other was probably left to him by his father.
Sun De had likely shared the same thought as Qin Sang: intending to break through to a higher layer before consuming the Foundation Establishment Pill, thereby increasing his chances of success.
Qin Sang gripped the jade bottle tightly, his heart pounding wildly. Even when he had obtained the magic treasure just moments ago, he hadn't felt this thrilled.
A magic treasure was merely an external object, whereas a Foundation Establishment Pill could genuinely transform him!
Foundation Establishment—what an exhilarating and captivating term. Once he succeeded, he would no longer be a helpless minnow at the mercy of others, and the sect would hold him in far higher regard.
More importantly, it meant taking a massive stride forward on the immortal path!
What Qin Sang had feared most previously was that his aptitude was too poor, and that a single Foundation Establishment Pill would not suffice to help him break through.
He had even prepared himself to spend over a decade gathering Foundation Establishment Pills. Although the likelihood of succeeding in Foundation Establishment decreased after the age of forty, as long as one's vitality had not deteriorated severely before fifty, the impact would not be entirely decisive.
Now, with three Foundation Establishment Pills within his grasp, how could Qin Sang not be ecstatic?
Qin Sang could hardly bear to part with them, turning the bottle over in his hands and inspecting the pills repeatedly. Suddenly remembering something, he hurriedly stoppered the jade bottle, lest the spiritual energy leak out and diminish its efficacy—a loss he would regret bitterly.
He had gotten a bit carried away. A touch of self-mockery appeared on Qin Sang's face, yet the upward curl of his lips simply refused to come down, and he felt an overwhelming urge to laugh aloud.
Managing with great effort to calm his surging emotions, Qin Sang began pondering how to wrap things up.
Sun De was a legitimate disciple of Shaohua Mountain, not a rogue cultivator who could simply be killed without consequence. However, since Sun De had come here to retrieve the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, he had definitely sneaked over without letting anyone know. Furthermore, Dichen Cave was an ideal place to destroy a corpse and eradicate all traces. Clearing himself of suspicion shouldn't be difficult.
With that thought in mind, Qin Sang sprang into action. Keeping only the vital items, he gathered the rest of the belongings along with Sun De's corpse and flew toward the depths of Dichen Cave.
Only after watching the remnants burn to ashes and scatter adrift into the depths of Dichen Cave did Qin Sang finally set his mind at ease.
Chapter 111