Do I Look Good?

Time slipped by. Four years later. Qin Sang had stood guard here for three more years in Qingjun's stead. Adding his own three years, he had spent a total of six years barely taking a step away from the Abyss Ruins. Throughout this time, he never slacked in holding himself to high standards. While reforging the Jinchen Sword, Qin Sang had identified his shortcomings and continued instructing Li Yufu to deliver spirit materials, causing his artifact craftsmanship to grow increasingly refined. At the same time, he began to seriously conceptualize a magic treasure capable of subduing the Nanming Primordial Fire. This time, there were no existing magic treasures to serve as a reference; everything had to start from scratch. Unable to enter Ziwei Palace and closely observe the Nanming Primordial Fire, Qin Sang could only make targeted preparations based on the information he had gathered before. Bai had speculated that there was likely a Vermilion Bird true feather within the Nanming Primordial Fire, which was why it had remained burning to this day. Knowing that his own breadth of knowledge fell far short of Bai's, Qin Sang could only trust his judgment. Among the spiritual materials in Qin Sang's possession that could be used for artifact forging, the most precious was the green copper chunk. This object had come from Ziwei Palace and was a fragment of a supreme treasure, still retaining a might that struck fear into the Nanming Primordial Fire. The future magic treasure would be built around the green copper chunk as its core. Next was the shell of the Nine Lives Black Tortoise. Refined with immense effort by a Transformation-stage great demon, the shell was inherently comparable to a magic treasure, and it had deflected attacks for Qin Sang multiple times to help him escape peril. Qin Sang planned to combine these two treasures into one to capture the Vermilion Bird true feather! Both the green copper chunk and the tortoise shell contained the power of Mysterious Water, which inherently countered flames. By relying on the green copper chunk to suppress the Vermilion Bird true feather inside the tortoise shell, the probability of success would be very high. However, Qin Sang also had to consider how to suppress—or by what means to contain—the exceedingly violent Nanming Primordial Fire once the feather was retrieved. The power of the Nanming Primordial Fire was beyond doubt, even surpassing that of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. Qin Sang turned his gaze to the mysterious white copper. At the Xuling Sect, Qin Sang had scoured countless ancient texts without finding any mention of something resembling the mysterious white copper. Out of necessity, he had consulted Bing Han, but even she could not identify what the white copper was. After arriving at the Sin Abyss, Qin Sang had interacted with Sin Abyss cultivators and asked them whether Old Demon Ye and the others had obtained any ancient texts after slaying the evil spirit in the great battle at the Abyss Ruins. In the end, he still came away empty-handed, as everything had been taken by Old Demon Ye. Qin Sang could be certain of two things. First, the mysterious white copper had been kept on the evil spirit's person, proving that even in ancient times it was no ordinary item. Second, the mysterious white copper blazed like flame, rivaling the sun in its incandescence; it was undoubtedly a top-tier fire-attribute treasure, making it an excellent choice for containing the Nanming Primordial Fire. Taking these three treasures together with the various spiritual materials paid as compensation by the Sin Abyss, their sheer preciousness far exceeded that of materials used for top-grade magic treasures. For safety's sake, Qin Sang was in no hurry to begin forging. If a clash of energies occurred due to carelessness and caused the treasures to destroy themselves, regret would come too late. Over these four years, Qin Sang had tried every possible means to analyze the properties of the mysterious white copper. The cultivation world was vast and boundless, filled with countless treasures. No artifact craftsman could possibly know every single spiritual material, so methods naturally existed to analyze the properties of unknown materials—methods Qin Sang had also learned at the Xuling Sect. Perhaps because the grade of the mysterious white copper was too high, the secret techniques did not yield the expected results on it. Qin Sang could only resort to a clumsy method: keeping the white copper in his hands at all times until it practically felt like an extension of his own body. It had yielded tangible progress, but he still could not draw definitive conclusions. The one arriving to relieve him this time was Feather King. Qin Sang handed the jade talisman over to Feather King. Just as he was about to leave the Abyss Ruins, he ran into Judge at the entrance. "Fellow Daoist Qin," Judge said with great warmth, offering a mustard seed bag. "These are the spiritual materials you specifically requested. Please inspect them." Qin Sang opened it and found only sixty to seventy percent of the items on his list inside. He looked up at Judge. Judge rubbed his palms together and said with a wry smile, "The opening of Ziwei Palace is drawing near, and I wish to achieve something there as well. However, having lost my second primary soul in the Battle of Yucheng, I have been trying to reforge it all these years, but things haven't gone smoothly. Recently, in a restricted ground, I discovered a spiritual material that might aid me. Could Fellow Daoist Qin return the death jade to me first? The remaining materials are truly rare. Seeing my sincerity, I hope Fellow Daoist can grant me a bit more time!" Under Judge's expectant gaze, Qin Sang considered it for a moment and nodded in agreement. The man was an expert at the Nascent Soul stage and practiced the eerie corpse dao; there was no need to push him into a corner. Qin Sang put away the mustard seed bag, promptly brought out the death jade, and returned it to Judge. Judge was overjoyed. "Did you discover anything while investigating the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Fellow Daoist?" Qin Sang had also told his juniors to keep an eye out, but had found nothing. Tan Hao and the mysterious figure seemed to have vanished completely without leaving the slightest trace. Judge replied, "After parting with you last time, I investigated in secret. As you know, Fellow Daoist Qin, while we cultivators of the corpse and ghost dao aren't entirely hunted down wherever we go in the cultivation world, our situation is extremely precarious. We are seen as even more wicked than demonic cultivators, so we have no choice but to help one another. I can contact several masters skilled in this art across various realms, but to this day, I haven't found the person you described, nor have I noticed anyone secretly gathering corpse dao cultivators under their banner." Tan Hao had vanished so completely—could something have happened to him? Qin Sang's brow furrowed slightly. ... At the Yuanshen Sect. Qin Sang entered the spirit vein to inspect the Corpse Flower Blood Amber. According to estimates, purifying the Corpse Flower Blood Amber would take at least twenty years—right around the time Ziwei Palace was due to emerge. He did not know if it would be finished in time. Even if it was completed before Ziwei Palace emerged, he likely wouldn't have time to refine it. Dispelling the ward, the spirit plant was revealed before Qin Sang. Compared to over a decade ago, the spirit plant remained lush and verdant, but the Corpse Flower Blood Amber had changed tremendously! What was once a chunk of crimson blood amber now showed only the faintest trace of blood-red hue within. The original appearance of the spirit flower could already be clearly seen; once the blood tint disappeared entirely, it would be thoroughly purified. After inspecting it closely, Qin Sang restored the ward and walked out of the restricted ground, where he unexpectedly ran into Qingjun. "Senior Sister, you've come out of seclusion?" They had not seen each other for sixteen years. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, even though he had grown accustomed to such long partings, seeing her familiar face still brought a faint smile to his lips. Qingjun nodded gently. "I happen to have something to show you. Junior Brother, come with me." Qin Sang had guarded the immortal gate for three years in her place, yet Qingjun did not offer words of thanks. Given their relationship, there was no need for such unnecessary formalities. The two slowed their pace, taking in the picturesque sights of the Yuncang Great Marsh as they flew leisurely toward Peach Blossom Valley. Qin Sang spoke of what he had gained from his rigorous training over the past dozen-plus years. Qingjun listened attentively, offering her own insights from time to time. Though artifact forging was not her forte, her attainments in the puppetry dao were second to none; since all great daos converge, her suggestions offered Qin Sang great inspiration. In the end, Qingjun asked for the mysterious white copper, using her unique secret techniques to help Qin Sang analyze it as well. Before long, the two arrived before Peach Blossom Valley. Qingjun withdrew her secret technique and noticed Qin Sang's appreciative gaze. "Do I look good?" Qingjun brushed aside a strand of hair. Qin Sang waved a hand to open Peach Blossom Valley. His gaze fell upon the blooming peach blossoms, and after ostentatiously sizing them up, he shook his head and sighed, "Though peach blossoms are fair, at this moment, they fail to catch the eye." "Flatterer!" Qingjun chided softly, a smile touching the corners of her mouth, though her eyes remained crystal clear. With a flash, the two vanished into the valley.