"How is your Grand Master's condition?"
Hearing that Yunyouzi was eager to enter seclusion, Qin Sang asked with no small amount of concern.
"Martial Uncle, don't worry. Grand Master is unhurt. It seems he gained some new insight and needs to enter closed-door meditation to comprehend it fully," Li Yufu replied.
The two did not pause for a moment, flying straight back to the cave dwelling.
Tan Yi'en and Bai Hanqiu had already been waiting for a long time and stepped forward at once to pay their respects.
Yunyouzi was in quiet meditation.
As Qin Sang waited, he resolved the doubts and questions Li Yufu and the other two had encountered in their cultivation.
When they had first met, Li Yufu had sensed that Qin Sang had only recently broken through to the mid stage. Yet in a mere dozen or so years, Qin Sang had broken through to the late Core Formation stage.
Unaware of the underlying truth, Li Yufu and the others held boundless admiration for him.
Come nightfall.
Qin Sang was instructing Li Yufu in swordsmanship when he suddenly fell silent.
"Brother Qin!"
An old man in long robes emerged from within the cave dwelling, stopping in his tracks to look at Qin Sang.
"Senior!"
Qin Sang rose abruptly to his feet.
Their eyes met, and without coordination, both burst into hearty laughter.
The sound shook the skies!
Li Yufu and the other two bowed to Yunyouzi and quietly withdrew.
Qin Sang and Yunyouzi sat across from each other.
Qin Sang looked his old friend over.
Having not seen each other for so many years, Yunyouzi looked just as aged as before.
Just as Li Yufu had said, his cultivation had reached full perfection, only half a step away from forming a Nascent Soul—a cut above Qin Sang's own.
"I truly never thought I would have the chance to see you again, Brother!" Yunyouzi said with deep emotion.
The cultivation world was ever-shifting and perilous; every parting could well be the last, let alone with Qin Sang having fallen victim to a Nascent Soul cultivator.
"When I left Ziwei Palace back then, I didn't see you and felt something was amiss. Later, I lurked near Shaohua Mountain and made extensive inquiries, eventually bumping into Mu Yifeng, and only then learned what had occurred at the Black Pagoda. Though you escaped from the devil's clutches, your whereabouts were lost. Tianshan was shrouded in immortal restrictions, and I lacked the strength to search for you..."
"I barely escaped with my life, and through that, I chanced upon several opportunities. A blessing in disguise, one could say..."
Recalling the events of that day, Qin Sang sighed as well.
Though a century had passed, both could sense that neither's nature had fundamentally changed, each remaining true to their original aspirations. As such, there was not the slightest estrangement between them.
"I never expected you to have gone through so much, Brother, blessed with fortune upon fortune, breaking through to the late Core Formation stage in a mere hundred-odd years."
Seeing Qin Sang's cultivation level, Yunyouzi's eyes gleamed with brilliant light.
"Senior laughs at me. According to Yufu, you reached the peak of the Core Formation stage many years ago. I am still far behind you," Qin Sang said, feeling outmatched.
Yunyouzi waved his hand and said solemnly, "I must still thank you, Brother, for helping me be reborn from the flames..."
Qin Sang listened intently to the account.
Back then, after Qin Sang departed, Yunyouzi had plunged into the Nanming Primordial Fire, using the demon fire to temper his divine soul.
Yunyouzi had nearly been burned to cinders by the Nanming Primordial Fire several times. Yet relying on the Three Lights Jade Liquid and his own unyielding willpower, he had persevered, resolving the hidden perils in his body and attaining rebirth.
Not long after leaving Ziwei Palace, Yunyouzi successfully formed his golden core, after which his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
"Senior, is that green copper chunk still in your possession?" Qin Sang took the opportunity to ask.
"It is. Do you need it, Brother?"
Yunyouzi drew the green copper chunk from his mustard seed bag and said in slight confusion, "The green copper chunk is a fragment of an ancient treasure, but none of its former might remains, nor can it be reforged."
Qin Sang happened to want Yunyouzi's opinion, so he explained, "I have an idea, though I don't know if it is feasible. Since the Nanming Primordial Fire fears the green copper chunk, perhaps its power can be used to subdue the spiritual fire, thereby acquiring a stupendous divine ability."
"I see."
Yunyouzi chuckled upon hearing this. "I had a similar thought before, but after obtaining the green copper chunk, I found it virtually impossible to achieve. If you have some good method, Brother, you might as well take it and give it a try. You were the one who took great risks to retrieve this treasure in the first place, so it rightly belongs to you."
With that, without allowing any refusal, Yunyouzi handed the green copper chunk to Qin Sang, along with a jade slip.
Recorded inside were Yunyouzi's insights.
"Then this junior shall respectfully accept."
These insights would be of immense help to Qin Sang, so he did not stand on ceremony and put both items away.
Afterward, Qin Sang chatted with Yunyouzi about the major events that had unfolded in the Xiaohan Realm over the past hundred years.
As a Core Formation cultivator, Yunyouzi provided a very different perspective from Qingjun.
"You took in two disciples, Brother. Do you also intend to establish a sect?"
Yunyouzi's tone shifted as he asked.
Qin Sang explained, "They are both descendants of old acquaintances. When I first returned, I urgently needed an identity to travel the cultivation world. Later, I encountered a senior with whom I shared prior ties. Under that senior's protection, I no longer have to worry about my safety for the time being, so I am still prioritizing cultivation. Yufu mentioned that you also wish to revive Qingyang Temple?"
"Not me, but Yufu."
Yunyouzi shook his head. "He has always been the successor of Qingyang Temple. After you told me about Yufu's talent, the idea sprouted in my mind, and I deliberately kept him at a distance from the Taiyi Dan Sect. You share deep ties with Qingyang Temple as well, Brother. Since you also wish to establish a sect, let Yufu cultivate under you in the future to carry on the lineage of Qingyang Temple."
"Forming a Nascent Soul is exceedingly difficult. I do not even know what chances I have, so speaking of this now is premature."
Qin Sang shook his head, sensing something amiss in Yunyouzi's tone—it almost sounded as though he were entrusting his ward. "What does Senior mean by this? Could it be that you plan to travel far away?"
"You have walked this far despite possessing a five-element spiritual root, and I witnessed it with my own eyes. If even you cannot break through to Nascent Soul, I don't know who can."
Yunyouzi seemed to have immense faith in Qin Sang.
"It is not a long journey. Over these years, while polishing my cultivation, I have been settling my worldly affairs—preparing for a rainy day, getting ready to form my Nascent Soul and face the Nascent Soul Tribulation. Earlier, I sought out two old friends, intending to entrust Yufu to their care. But now that you have returned, Brother, no one could be more suited than you."
"Senior is already preparing to undergo the tribulation?"
Qin Sang was both thrilled and shocked.
His shock came from how truly terrifying the Nascent Soul Tribulation was. Yunyouzi lacked a jade Buddha like his own and did not temper his physical body on the side; he would have to endure the inner demon tribulation entirely on his own.
Still, with Yunyouzi's disposition and fortitude, he should not fear the inner demon tribulation.
"Though the Nascent Soul Tribulation is arduous, with Senior's cultivation and willpower, you will surely turn misfortune into fortune and pass it with ease."
Yunyouzi laughed heartily. "May your auspicious words ring true, Brother! I have made ample preparations, though I still need to concoct several spirit elixirs. I estimate that within three to five years, I will be able to find a place to undergo the tribulation. When the time comes, I hope you can come to stand guard for me."
"Rest assured, Senior, this junior will certainly be there in person."
Qin Sang understood that as a mere Core Formation cultivator, he was hardly qualified to protect Yunyouzi during a tribulation.
Yunyouzi was offering him the opportunity to observe his tribulation, which would bring immense benefits.
"Senior, do you still remember the Three Lights Jade Liquid? It should be of assistance for your tribulation. Alas, having relied on the liquid to survive perilous situations multiple times over the years, I have very little left."
Qin Sang brought out a jade bottle, containing only a thin layer of the spiritual liquid, and spoke with some shame.
"I recall you had a Nine Illusions Heavenly Orchid that required Three Lights Jade Liquid to mature..." Yunyouzi hesitated.
Hearing Qin Sang say that the spirit herb had already matured, Yunyouzi's eyes lit up, and he accepted the jade bottle without standing on ceremony. "Thank you, Brother! With the help of this divine liquid, I have that much more confidence in facing the tribulation!"
Chapter 1117