Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, Qin Sang had spent eighteen years in seclusion within Peach Blossom Valley.
Fortunately, the cultivation world remained relatively calm, allowing Qin Sang to cultivate in peace. Aside from occasional trips to the market towns to pick up resources he had commissioned mercantile guilds to purchase, he hardly ever stepped foot out of Peach Blossom Valley.
A year into his seclusion, Qingjun had left. Her movements were elusive, showing neither head nor tail, like a divine dragon through the clouds.
Over the past dozen or so years, Qin Sang had seen her return only once before she departed in haste again.
Every year, Li Yufu and the other two sent transmissions to ask for his guidance. What worried Qin Sang, however, was that there was still no word from Yunyouzi.
Yet after hearing Li Yufu mention that this was normal for Yunyouzi, he felt slightly relieved.
With eighteen years of single-minded, bitter cultivation and his exceedingly generous spending—consuming the resources brought back from the Canglang Ocean like flowing water—his progress was naturally rapid.
Over these years, Qin Sang focused primarily on cultivating his main methods.
He temporarily set aside the *Green Bamboo Sword Scripture*, making no deliberate effort to divert his attention toward comprehending it.
With the *Essence Cultivating Sword Chapter* preceding it, once he successfully formed a Nascent Soul, comprehending sword intent and sword formations would come naturally. It would be far easier to study the *Green Bamboo Sword Scripture* then.
Additionally, the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* had also stalled.
After condensing the fire lotus seeds a bit further, Qin Sang was limited by his cultivation and could advance no further. He had no choice but to shelve it for now alongside the *Green Bamboo Sword Scripture*.
How many demonic banners he could command was tied to the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*.
The twelve-banner formation was a notch more powerful than the *Thunder Command Art* and was Qin Sang's strongest technique at present.
With his secret technique hard to advance and his Soul-Cleansing Liquid fully exhausted, he could only seek other ways to find similar pills capable of temporarily boosting his spiritual consciousness.
After entering seclusion, Qin Sang quickly restored his former cultivation.
After weighing his options, he decided to prioritize *Heavenly Demon Metamorphosis* for the time being, supplemented by the *Essence Cultivating Sword Chapter*, aiming to push his physical body to its peak first.
Even during the ten years he spent tempering himself in the Demon Sea, Qin Sang had never neglected refining his physical body.
Fortunately, through the mercantile guilds and factions he had commissioned, he managed to purchase several spirit fruits recorded in ancient demon-script texts. Although their potency was inferior to the Dominant Blood Fruit, they were still of considerable help to him.
Their price was steep, and buying them made Qin Sang feel a pinch in his chest.
Thanks to the spirit fruits and years of arduous cultivation, Qin Sang's physical body grew increasingly formidable. Within a few years, he would bring the third layer of *Heavenly Demon Metamorphosis* to full completion.
Of course, he had never discontinued cultivating the *Essence Cultivating Sword Chapter*, though its progress was somewhat slower than that of *Heavenly Demon Metamorphosis*.
The genuine killing talismans did not disappoint him.
After breaking through to the late Core Formation stage and inscribing the sixth killing talisman to completion, Qin Sang's cultivation speed had already surpassed that of dual spiritual root prodigies. If all seven killing talismans were assembled, he would not be far behind the favored sons of heaven blessed with a heavenly spiritual root.
It was precisely such rapid cultivation speed, coupled with the absence of bottlenecks between minor realms, that enabled Qin Sang to cultivate both methods concurrently.
Both Qin Sang and his natal insect gu made breakthroughs.
Sustained by a continuous supply of spirit herbs, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had also successfully advanced into the late stage of its third transformation.
Since it was only an advancement of a minor realm, there was no noticeable change in the Heavenly Eye Butterfly compared to before, save that the heavenly eyes upon its wings were deeper and more spirited, and their power had risen to another level.
The lightning-commanding divine ability it had acquired from its previous mutation remained neither hot nor cold.
Perhaps there would be new changes once it completed its fourth transformation. However, with his Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold nearly exhausted, Qin Sang had no idea how to help the butterfly achieve that fourth metamorphosis.
In addition, there were the other two spirit insects: the Fire Jade Centipede and the fat silkworm.
After consuming the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold, the Fire Jade Centipede had not transformed, though its demeanor toward Qin Sang had grown somewhat friendlier.
The fat silkworm's state was even less promising.
Qin Sang had originally assumed that the fat silkworm was simply slumbering from overexertion as it had in the past, and that it would recover after a while. Unexpectedly, even after all this time since his return, it remained asleep within Yagu's body, showing no sign of waking, just like its master.
Externally, not the slightest change could be seen.
Unsure of the state the person and insect were in, Qin Sang did not dare to wake the fat silkworm rashly and could only wait patiently for it to awaken on its own.
In the dead of night, beneath a starry sky.
Qin Sang sat cross-legged upon the Astral Platform, drawing down the astral essence power to temper his physical body.
The astral fiend power was blocked by the jade Buddha and expelled from his body.
At this moment, Qin Sang assumed his demon-transformed physique, phoenix wings unfurling behind his back.
Enveloped in astral essence, Qin Sang's body was translucent like precious jade, shimmering with faint luminescence. The phoenix wings appeared increasingly solid, blending seamlessly with his flesh.
To any onlooker, it would be difficult to imagine that these wings were merely conjured by a divine ability.
Specks of astral essence seeped into Qin Sang's body, purging impurities from his flesh and blood and strengthening his sinews and bones.
Though the astral essence power was cool and ethereal, the process of tempering the body inflicted a sensation of tearing and agony. Yet his physical body was far from what it used to be, and he remained completely motionless.
No telling how much time passed.
The luminescence on Qin Sang suddenly dimmed, and the astral essence power ebbed away like a receding tide.
With a soft exhale, Qin Sang woke from his meditative trance and subconsciously clenched his fist.
"Not bad!"
A look of satisfaction appeared on Qin Sang's face. "Dual cultivation of technique and body—every step forward brings a massive improvement... Reaching the peak should only take another year or two."
He folded away the phoenix wings, stood up, and glanced toward Bai's cave dwelling.
When Qingjun returned to the valley, Bai had emerged from seclusion only that once to pay his respects.
At all other times, he had stayed inside his cave dwelling without coming out. Qin Sang had not seen him show his face either, and had no idea how his comprehension of the Corpse Soul Pearl was progressing.
"Eighteen years... time truly flies. From the rumors gathered in the market towns and major mercantile guilds, dark undercurrents are surging through the cultivation world; it is far from peaceful. Word is that tensions along the border are mounting, and a great war could erupt at any moment. To get accurate news, I'd still have to ask Senior Sister, but her movements are so elusive..."
Mulling over these thoughts, Qin Sang walked out of the cave dwelling.
A crane cried.
A white silhouette flew before Qin Sang, revealing a handsome, magnificent crane.
During his seclusion, Qin Sang had left the white crane outside to look after the peach grove.
He did not restrict the white crane's cultivation.
If it could break through to the late Demon Core stage on its own, he wouldn't mind setting it free.
However, the white crane did not seem to have the high ambitions of the two-headed hou; it showed no strong desire to break free of his control.
Its sole grievance was being confined to the valley by Qin Sang, forbidden to leave.
It could not go out to chase after other birds, nor had Qin Sang found it a mate.
The white crane landed before Qin Sang, throwing a tantrum on the ground and scratching at its ears and cheeks in agitation.
"This is cultivator territory. Aren't you afraid of being captured out there, plucked, and roasted for a meal?"
Qin Sang scolded it a little. "Enough of this nonsense! Any news recently?"
The white crane drooped its head, letting out a mournful cry, and waddled back to its roost. Gazing up at the boundless azure sky, its eyes went hollow.
Qin Sang was caught between exasperation and amusement.
Just as he was about to return to his cave dwelling to continue cultivating, a fluctuation suddenly came from the grand formation outside the valley.
Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly, and he flickered into motion, flying out of Peach Blossom Valley.
A man stood outside—none other than Li Yufu.
Upon seeing Qin Sang, Li Yufu bowed and said with joy, "Martial Uncle, Martial Great-Grandmaster has returned! Learning that you returned safely, he was overjoyed. He intended to visit you in person, but because he urgently needed to enter seclusion and couldn't leave, he instructed me to invite you over!"
Qin Sang was overjoyed at the news.
"Let's go!"
Chapter 1116