Sensing the aura of the spiritual fires, the fire spirit instinctively felt dread.
Both the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and the Ancestral Holy Fire were higher-grade entities than the subterranean flames that had birthed it.
In particular, the hierarchical suppression of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire was the most pronounced, leaving the fire spirit trembling violently in sheer terror, not daring to resist.
Bing Han seized the opportunity to quicken her pace.
At the same time, she lightly patted her mustard seed bag, and dozens of streaks of light soared into the air.
Each streak of light enveloped a spiritual material.
Refining a spirit treasure was not something a mere fire spirit alone could accomplish; the Xuling Sect had planned this since the time of their founding ancestor, and generations of cultivators had expended untold effort before finally gathering all the necessary materials.
At this stage, Bing Han had only one chance; there was no room for error.
Her expression remained calm. Guiding the various spiritual items into the square cauldron with her divine sense, she refined them one by one, purging their impurities and leaving only the purest essences to merge into the fire jade.
Working in concert with the spirit formation, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and the Ancestral Holy Fire proved remarkably effective at suppressing the fire spirit.
The fire jade transformed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Originally a pure blue, it gradually took on a tinge of bright crimson as the various spiritual materials merged into it. Furthermore, its shape was changing as well, stretching outward at both ends to gradually outline the silhouette of a blade.
Everything went exceptionally smoothly.
The vigilance in Qin Sang's and Xiang Qing's hearts relaxed slightly. Captivated by Bing Han's artifact refinement techniques, they watched closely.
Bing Han's expression also grew increasingly relaxed.
Just as the final runes were about to be inscribed and the spirit embryo was on the verge of taking final shape—
a sudden disruption occurred!
Rumble!
The Mountain within the Mountain shook violently.
The power of the subterranean fire vein surged with unprecedented fury, crashing toward them with terrifying violence. Sensing the approach of death, the fire spirit's survival instinct overcame its fear in a desperate, do-or-die struggle!
At the Xuling Sect.
Bing Han had already activated the sect-protecting grand formation, and all disciples had been ordered to remain inside the sect grounds and forbidden from leaving.
With this sudden anomaly in the forbidden ground, the entire sect began to quake as if an earth dragon were turning in its sleep.
Disciples of the Xuling Sect rushed out of their cave dwellings in alarm. Tremors had occasionally struck the sect lately, but this one was violent beyond precedent.
The source seemed to be the forbidden ground.
Yun Lan and several other Core Formation cultivators, stationed at the foot of the mountain under orders, shouted to halt the disciples who were gathering toward the forbidden ground.
Worry was written across their faces as well, yet none knew the reason; they only knew that the sect master had invited two Nascent Soul experts, meaning this matter was certainly of the utmost gravity!
Meanwhile, inside the forbidden ground.
The three reacted with lightning speed.
Noticing the fire spirit's rebellion, Qin Sang and Xiang Qing did not hesitate in the slightest. Pouring all their power into their spiritual fires, they forcefully stabilized the jade cauldron and took the brunt of the fire vein's impact in Bing Han's place.
Boom!
Qin Sang turned pale as fire poison invaded his body.
Yet he paid it no heed, fixing his gaze unwaveringly upon the jade cauldron. He noticed that this shockwave had been so violent that even Bing Han had not been spared and had taken a hit.
Thump! Thump!
The fire jade slammed madly against the jade cauldron.
Qin Sang's eyes narrowed. Directing his divine sense into the corpse puppet bag, he unsealed the Nascent Soul talisman puppet. It flashed out and interposed itself behind him, shielding him from the brunt of the tremors.
The sudden appearance of an extra figure startled both Xiang Qing and Bing Han.
Then, realizing it was actually a Nascent Soul-level puppet, their astonishment deepened even further.
Qin Sang had already shone brilliantly on the battlefield with his early Nascent Soul stage cultivation.
Who could have imagined he had secretly harbored a Nascent Soul talisman puppet all along, entirely unknown to the world!
Xiang Qing felt a chill of dread in his heart. Giving Qin Sang a profound look, he rejoiced that he had never made an enemy of this man.
Qin Sang paid no heed to what they were thinking. With the puppet easing the pressure on him, he immediately deployed the secret artifact refinement arts he had just mastered, helping Bing Han steady the jade cauldron and joining forces with her to refine the fire jade.
Willing to expose his Nascent Soul talisman puppet, he naturally had his own calculations.
Shaping the spirit embryo was the most critical step; only by participating personally could one comprehend its profound mysteries. Under normal circumstances, Bing Han would never have allowed them to interfere unless pushed to the brink, but now she had no reason to refuse.
Sure enough, Bing Han cast a glance at Qin Sang and remained silent, tacitly accepting his help.
With the two working together, the fire spirit's final struggle was suppressed.
The square cauldron gradually settled back into calm.
The ever-shifting form of the fire jade stabilized as well, ultimately becoming a three-inch-long jade blade.
The spirit embryo was successfully forged!
Whoosh!
All three let out a breath of relief in unison.
Qin Sang felt pain wracking every inch of his body. Fire poison had seeped inside him and would likely take some time to purge completely, and his Nascent Soul talisman puppet had suffered damage as well.
Yet every bit of the cost had been worth it!
Recalling what he had just gained, Qin Sang's eyes sparkled with brilliant light.
It was tantamount to personally forging the embryo of a spirit treasure—an experience that could never be obtained from ancient texts!
Xiang Qing looked somewhat haggard; having just recovered, he was injured once again.
However, Xiang Qing was in no rush to inspect his own condition, his attention drawn instead to the Nascent Soul talisman puppet behind Qin Sang. The talisman seal had already been converted into a puppet seal; no matter how hard Xiang Qing wracked his brain, it would be difficult for him to connect it to the Nascent Soul talisman puppet of Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace.
"Fellow Daoist Qin, you have hidden your depths far too well,"
Xiang Qing sighed in heartfelt admiration.
Within the fire spring.
The jade blade floated quietly inside the jade cauldron.
Bing Han reached out a finger and gently caressed the blade.
Gradually, the jade blade was swallowed by the subterranean fire, forming a fiery cocoon.
Had this treasure been completed right now, it would undoubtedly have been another top-grade magic treasure, no weaker than Qingjun's Five Directions Pagoda. Yet Bing Han did not do so, choosing instead to let it remain here until it nurtured true spirituality.
Enveloping the jade blade, the fiery cocoon sank into the fire spring.
"My deepest thanks to both fellow daoists for your wholehearted assistance."
Bing Han landed beside them, her beautiful eyes turning toward Qin Sang. "Fellow Daoist Qin, I thought I had already held you in high enough esteem, yet you repeatedly bring us surprises."
"This puppet is still somewhat lacking in refinement. The situation was dire just now, so I had no choice but to release it; I must apologize for the unsightly display. Qin has made no small number of enemies, so I hope the two of you can keep this secret for me," Qin Sang replied with a faint smile, stowing away the Nascent Soul talisman puppet before gazing at the jade blade.
This jade blade would likely be the very first spirit treasure he had helped forge with his own hands; he wondered whether he would ever have the chance to witness its true might in the future.
Knowing better than to pry, neither pressed further.
Bing Han said, "It has been hard on you both. I have already prepared medicinal pills for you; let us head out quickly to suppress the fire poison in your bodies, lest it leave lingering harm."
Qin Sang asked, "Qin may now peruse your esteemed sect's records, I presume?"
"Of course!"
Bing Han nodded, then activated the spirit formation to seal the fire spring once more.
...
Time flowed like water.
In the blink of an eye, Qin Sang had remained at the Xuling Sect for ten full years.
Many things had transpired during this decade.
Two years ago, Jingyu had successfully broken through to the mid Transformation stage, and an exceptionally perilous heavenly tribulation had followed on its heels.
In the end, Jingyu weathered the heavenly tribulation without grave mishap.
Delighted by this breakthrough, Qin Sang insisted on holding a grand celebratory ceremony for Jingyu in the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea, sending invitations across the monster race's ranks, and making an appearance at the celebration himself.
Observing Jingyu's respectful attitude toward Qin Sang, the monster kings also understood the deeper meaning behind the occasion.
The Snake King even took the initiative to approach Qin Sang and clink cups with him.
As for Qin Sang himself, he studied the various texts with insatiable hunger, mastering the heritage secrets of the Xuling Sect. Throughout this time, Li Yufu continuously sent over a steady stream of spiritual materials for him to practice on, causing his progress in the dao of artifact refinement to advance by leaps and bounds.
The finished magic treasures were all handed over to Li Yufu, either kept to reward their sect members or sold outside.
Through frequent contact, Li Yufu and the others had also grown thoroughly acquainted with the disciples of the Xuling Sect.
Chapter 1322