With the Sky-Soaring Shuttle in hand, the Void-Traversing Wind—which could only lift someone two zhang off the ground—felt somewhat superfluous and could be traded to the white cat. Furthermore, as a demon, she wouldn't dare fly openly in the territory of human cultivators; using the Void-Traversing Wind only to flee when in danger suited her perfectly.
He could also give her the Azure Wave Sword. In any case, Qin Sang only used it as a front; at worst, he could switch to the blood saber in the future without much consequence.
What a pity the Soul-Bewildering Mirror had been destroyed by Sun De. Otherwise, the Soul-Bewildering Mirror, the Void-Traversing Wind, and the Azure Wave Sword—these three magic tools together—would surely have satisfied the white cat.
Right at that moment, a thought struck Qin Sang. His eyes lit up, and he said in a low voice, "I can give you a technique to conceal demon qi."
Hearing this, the white cat was initially overjoyed, but then asked with deep suspicion, "Does Young Master truly possess a technique capable of concealing demon qi?"
Before fully transforming into human form, demon beasts carried a unique demonic fiend aura, known in the cultivation world as demon qi. The reason the cat demon dared not roam freely outside was precisely out of fear that human cultivators would identify her through her demon qi.
A demon beast's hide, fur, bones, and blood were all prime materials for artifact crafting. The white cat in particular was already a great demon in the late Mortal Demon stage; taking her fleshly body and pairing it with a few precious spiritual materials, it would not be difficult for an artifact-crafting master to forge a high-grade magic tool. Any cultivator of decent strength would inevitably be tempted.
In the territory of human cultivators, if the white cat exposed her traces and fell into a siege, even that stalk of green bamboo would hardly save her life.
Yet demon qi was not so easily concealed; otherwise, demon beasts would have long run rampant across the world. Even though the white cat possessed intelligence no inferior to a human's, it was exceedingly difficult for her to draw all her demon qi completely inward. The moment she drew near a cultivator, she would give herself away.
It was for this reason that she found it hard to believe Qin Sang just happened to possess a technique suitable for demon beasts that could also conceal demon qi.
Qin Sang smiled and said, "I won't lie to you. This technique is called the Spirit Concealment Art, which I obtained from Gu Tiannan. I do not know who created it. Not only could Gu Tiannan conceal his cultivation level, but not a single trace of the corpse-fiend qi on him leaked out either, all relying on this technique. As long as one can manipulate spiritual power, one can practice it. It not only hides corpse qi, but is also effective against demon qi, demonic qi, and fiend qi. You demon beasts can cultivate it as well."
There were two techniques within Gu Tiannan's jade slip: one called the Heavenly Demon Form Refining, and the other this breath-concealing Spirit Concealment Art; the two complemented each other.
Just from its name, the Heavenly Demon Form Refining was clearly not an orthodox Daoist art. After skimming through it, Qin Sang grew increasingly alarmed; it was an extraordinarily vicious and brutal evil art—not only to others, but even more so to oneself!
The Spirit Concealment Art, on the other hand, was purely a breath-concealing technique, far more potent than the various breath-concealing incantations of Shaohua Mountain.
The Heavenly Demon Form Refining and the Spirit Concealment Art were not of the same lineage; the creator of the Heavenly Demon Form Refining had likely found it elsewhere out of fear that others would discover their practice of the evil art.
However, in Qin Sang's view, the creator of the Spirit Concealment Art probably hadn't designed it merely to conceal one's cultivation level.
Gu Tiannan had used the Spirit Concealment Art to mask the corpse-fiend qi upon him; even when facing a mid Foundation Establishment stage cultivator, he had a high probability of passing unnoticed. For the white cat, it couldn't be more fitting.
Saying so, Qin Sang retrieved the jade slip from his mustard seed bag, then took out a blank jade slip and copied over the portion containing the Spirit Concealment Art.
Just as he was about to toss the jade slip to the white cat, Qin Sang paused and said mildly, "Miss Bai, shouldn't you show some sincerity as well?"
From the few words they had exchanged, Qin Sang could tell that although the white cat was very clever, she had ultimately spent all her time cultivating in seclusion within her cave abode and still retained the naivety of someone untouched by the world, ill-equipped at deception. What she said was likely eighty to ninety percent true.
Even so, the spirit eye was of immense importance to him. To ensure that nothing went awry, Qin Sang still decided to exercise caution, lest the white cat take the jade slip and run.
The white cat was naturally eager to receive the Spirit Concealment Art within the jade slip, but upon hearing Qin Sang's words, she began to hesitate again, unable to make up her mind for a long time.
Qin Sang also knew that this demand was somewhat excessive for the white cat.
After all, a cave abode could not be moved. If Qin Sang learned its location, and later went back on his word to gather a group of helpers, the white cat would be left isolated and helpless, forced to flee for her life and hand the cavern over on a silver platter.
"How about this: acquiring this technique was partly due to your help anyway, so I'll give you two more magic tools."
Qin Sang retrieved the Azure Wave Sword and the topographical map from his mustard seed bag, then opened his mouth and spat out the wisp of Void-Traversing Wind, handing them all over to the white cat while patiently explaining their uses to her.
"This topographical map is a treasure from Shaohua Mountain. It marks the locations of cultivation sects of all sizes all the way to the border of the Heavenly Demon Mound. As long as you take care to avoid sect disciples, even if you run into a few rogue cultivators along the way, it won't be a big problem. This wisp of wind is called the Void-Traversing Wind, a high-grade magic tool. Once you refine it, you can ride the wind to flee in times of danger; few cultivators in the Qi Refinement stage will be able to catch up with you. The Azure Wave Sword is likewise a high-grade magic tool; you have experienced its power before. With these three things plus the Spirit Concealment Art, along with some healing pills and life-saving talismans I will give you, that should be enough to exchange for your cave abode, shouldn't it?"
Qin Sang had truly done all he could. If the white cat was still dissatisfied, at most he could only give her all the talismans and pills on his person.
Even so, even if he exhausted all his wealth, exchanging it for a cave abode established atop a spirit eye would still be well worth it in Qin Sang's eyes.
The white cat gathered the items in her arms, patting one and stroking another, unable to put them down. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint purring sound came from her throat.
After finally examining the jade slip containing the topographical map, the white cat wagged her tail and said cheerfully, "This map of yours is far more detailed than the one I obtained before, and covers a much larger area—it even marks the dangers in the Yuncang Great Marsh! Wonderful! I'll lead you to my cave abode right away. I hope you won't deceive me."
Before setting off, they did not forget about the mortals. The white cat released the restrictions on them, while Qin Sang condensed a ball of clear water, dropped in a spirit pill to dissolve, and fed a few drops to each of them.
The complexions of these mortals turned ruddy at a rate visible to the naked eye. Once their vitality was restored, it wouldn't be long before they woke up.
Qin Sang erased the traces of the cultivators' battle as best he could, picked up the unconscious Gu Yuan, and flew after the white cat toward her cave abode.
South of Guyuan Country lay the Yuncang Great Marsh. The white cat's cave abode was located on an inconspicuous, uninhabited desert island within the marsh. Beneath the barren island ran a spirit vein hidden deep within the Yuncang Great Marsh; the spirit vein was not large, but its spiritual power was pure, and it happened to form a spirit eye at the bottom of the island.
The bamboo demon who had enlightened the white cat had set up an array formation to seal the spirit eye so its spiritual power would not leak out. Unless someone dug a tunnel straight to the island's base, they would never discover the existence of this cave abode.
The entrance to the cave abode was a naturally formed stone fissure among the reefs at the base of the island. Following the white cat inside, Qin Sang immediately sensed an extraordinarily dense spiritual energy. It truly was a spirit eye.
Chapter 122