The Time Approaches

With that, Qin Sang paid no heed to the others and simply began to speak on his own. Peace quickly returned to the mountain, leaving only Qin Sang's calm, measured voice drifting leisurely across the peak. At first, what Qin Sang taught was quite elementary, simple enough for even Qi Refinement disciples to comprehend. They had initially worried that a sermon by a Nascent Soul patriarch would be far too profound, having only come to join the excitement. To their surprise, they found themselves genuinely gaining something from it, and one after another, they began to listen with rapt attention. Seeing an esteemed Nascent Soul patriarch expounding at such length on such low-level concepts—and on the external path of artifact crafting no less—some of the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators grew impatient. Naturally, they dared not step out of line before a Nascent Soul cultivator, only grumbling silently in their hearts. Yet while their minds wandered, a few noticed that several of their peers were listening in utter fascination, seemingly enthralled—and it did not look like an act. Realizing they might have missed something, they hastily refocused their attention. Only then did they discover that those seemingly shallow concepts, which they assumed they had mastered long ago, actually harbored unimaginable profundities. With just a few words, Qin Sang had opened up an entirely new world for them. From magic tools to magic treasures... Qin Sang explained it all, layer by layer. His artifact crafting fused the ways of the Canglang Ocean and the Xuling Sect, forming a system all his own. Because of their earlier carelessness and disdain, many cultivators found themselves increasingly unable to follow what came later, as if listening to heavenly scriptures. Gently pushed beyond the mountain by a soft, unseen force, they finally understood what they had lost, filled with bitter regret. In the end, only four people remained on the mountaintop: Qin Sang, Qingjun, Bing Han, and Jingyu. All of them wore pensive expressions. After listening patiently until Qin Sang finished, they chimed in one by one to debate the Dao with him. This exchange was not restricted to artifact crafting and lasted seven days and seven nights. When the lower-stage disciples looked up at the mountain summit, they could see four figures seated around the stone platform, yet could hear no sound at all. Enshrouded in thin mist, they seemed like immortals amidst the clouds. ... Two years later. Peach Blossom Valley. The mist parted, and three figures dashed forth—Qin Sang, Qingjun, and Bai. Qingjun took out a voice transmission talisman and said, "Demon Monarch Tongyou sent word. They have already gone ahead and told us to meet them directly at the Abyss Ruins." Bai said apologetically, "It was I who delayed things. I had intended to cultivate a secret technique, but I didn't expect it to take so long." "Brother Bai's cultivation is what truly matters," Qin Sang said. "The immortal gate has not yet opened, so what difference does it make whether we arrive early or late?" Qin Sang looked toward the west and silently calculated the time. "Fellow Daoist Jingyu should be arriving shortly." Before his voice had even faded, a streak of lightning flashed across the distant sky, descending before the three of them in the blink of an eye. Exchanging greetings, everyone set off at once. Bai recalled something and said, "I had better hide myself away for now, lest running into others along the way forces us into tedious explanations." With that, he slipped into Qin Sang's corpse puppet bag. Qin Sang had been thinking along the same lines. The purpose of their journey was to head to the Abyss Ruins and prepare to enter the immortal gate. Barring any accidents, Ziwei Palace would emerge in the near future. There were far too many variables in exploring Ziwei Palace this time. Bai was the greatest trump card at his disposal; the later he was exposed, the better. Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage were entirely excluded from this venture into Ziwei Palace. The other Nascent Soul cultivators of the Xiaohan Realm had already departed; they had been delayed by a few days while waiting for Bai to exit seclusion. Qin Sang was not entirely sure what level of strength Bai had reached by now. For Bai, the greatest hurdle had been breaking through to the corpse king stage. Having already passed that milestone successfully, what followed would be far simpler. Still, only twenty years had passed, so his growth likely had not reached anything too outrageous. The three of them flew along. Upon entering the grasslands, they met up with several Nascent Soul cultivators from the Celestial Alliance and traveled together. The Sea of Mist at the Abyss Ruins. Figures hovered in twos and threes around the Seven Waters Heaven-Befuddling Formation. Daoist Zhenyi and several others were clustered together, glancing occasionally toward the vortex of mist as they discussed something. As soon as Qin Sang and his companions arrived, they were immediately welcomed over. Qin Sang glanced around. They were practically the last to arrive; the Nascent Soul cultivators across the Beichen Realm had received word early on and rushed here ahead of time. Old Demon Ye's conspiracy and the anomalies in Ziwei Palace held immense allure for them all. Aside from those genuinely prevented by exceptional circumstances, virtually everyone was present. "The three of you have finally arrived," Daoist Zhenyi said. "Daoist Master, please go over what we just discussed once more..." Qin Sang, Qingjun, and Jingyu turned their gazes toward Perfected Canghong. "Within the Sin God Palace lie three forbidden grounds," Perfected Canghong explained. "They conceal ancient secrets that our Sin Abyss has always sought to explore, and they may very well be Old Demon Ye's targets as well; they cannot be ignored. After careful consideration, I propose that we divide into three groups and head straight for the three forbidden grounds. If Old Demon Ye is discovered, we will encircle and slay him inside Ziwei Palace. If there is no trace of him in any of the three locations, we will quickly regroup before the passage to Ziwei Palace; doing so will not cost us much time. In addition, Fairy Qiuzhi and several fellow Daoists will remain outside to guard the Seven Waters Heaven-Befuddling Formation to prevent Old Demon Ye from escaping..." Daoist Zhenyi lightly tapped the void with a finger, causing a cluster of mist to morph into the topography of the Sin God Palace. The terrain within the Sin God Palace was exceptionally intricate, riddled with perilous restrictions and far more treacherous than the Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace. Although Daoist Zhenyi and the others had already heard this once, they still listened with utmost gravity. The three forbidden grounds pointed out by Perfected Canghong were situated in three different directions within the Sin God Palace. If everyone stayed together and searched them one by one, it would waste a tremendous amount of time. Dividing their forces was indeed the best course of action. Doing so carried a degree of risk, even as they overestimated Old Demon Ye's strength as much as possible. Nevertheless, everyone had prepared thoroughly for this expedition; if they did cross paths with Old Demon Ye, they should be able to hold him off for a while until reinforcements arrived. "Daoist Zhenyi and I will take the forbidden ground on the left; Fellow Daoist Tongyou and Feather King will head to this one on the right; and Fellow Daoist Qin, your group and Fellow Daoist Lu will go here. What do you think?" Perfected Canghong pointed toward the forbidden ground located in the center of the Sin Abyss. Qin Sang and his companions neither agreed nor objected immediately, inquiring instead about the perils within the forbidden ground and how they could be certain whether Old Demon Ye was there. Perfected Canghong held nothing back in his replies. Qin Sang and Qingjun conferred through voice transmission; the dangers of all three forbidden grounds were roughly comparable, so choosing one over the others made little difference. What truly called for vigilance was Old Demon Ye. Next, Perfected Canghong pointed toward the depths of the Sin God Palace, where the passage to Ziwei Palace lay. "We suspect Old Demon Ye's ultimate objective is most likely Ziwei Palace. Yet he has been inside for some time, and it is impossible for us to outpace him; we can only search for him slowly once we enter Ziwei Palace. Old Demon Ye has grand schemes, and whatever moves he makes, signs are bound to manifest." Demon Monarch Tongyou took over: "The Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace appears stable and less hazardous than the Sin God Palace. In truth, most of its forbidden grounds are far beyond what we Nascent Soul cultivators could brave alone, so the targets Old Demon Ye can choose from are limited. Last time, he forced his way into Tianshan, and in all likelihood, he will head there again this time..." Seeing that they had already thought everything through, Qin Sang and Qingjun raised no further objections and agreed to the plan. Together with Lu Boyuan, they gathered the other Nascent Soul cultivators traveling with them to discuss their subsequent course of action. With Ziwei Palace on the verge of emerging, the tremors throughout the Abyss Ruins grew increasingly violent. The Sea of Mist was thrown into disarray, turbulent currents surging everywhere. Cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage would find it difficult even to stand their ground here without someone protecting them. As time ticked by, a few more Nascent Soul cultivators arrived in trickles. In silence, everyone watched the swirling vortex, awaiting the opening of the immortal gate!