Ten years later.
Peach Blossom Valley.
Qin Sang was meditating inside his cave dwelling, with its restrictions fully activated.
Peach blossoms bloomed in abundance, their fragrance drifting throughout the valley in tranquil serenity.
At the entrance of Peach Blossom Valley, a simple cave abode had been carved into the rock face. Upon a flat stone outside the entrance, a white cat lay sprawled lazily.
The days were peaceful and gentle.
The white cat possessed delicate, charming features and fur as sleek as brocade. She rested in a languid posture, seemingly dozing.
After Qingjun departed, Qin Sang had settled down in Peach Blossom Valley for his quiet cultivation and summoned the white cat over to join him.
Naturally, she had been overjoyed.
Fat Chicken was a second-generation demon beast, personally trained by its mother, and had a piece of Corpse Flower Blood Amber awaiting its breakthrough. Its prospects of achieving human form in the future were the brightest of all.
The white crane came from humble beginnings, but it had found a wonderful Dao companion. Ever since Qin Sang and the Snake King buried the hatchet, the pair of cranes frequently flew back and forth between the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea and Hualong Mountain to pay their respects to the Snake King, winning great favor with him.
The white cat was the only one who dedicated herself solely to arduous cultivation. She switched to cultivating the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form*, and staying in Peach Blossom Valley allowed her to seek Qin Sang's guidance whenever needed.
The results of a top-tier cultivation technique were immediate and apparent.
Her aura was far stronger than in the past, and she was on the verge of breaking through to the mid Demon Core stage.
Though she appeared asleep, she had not relaxed for a moment. Her spine rose and fell in subtle ripples, as though a small serpent were slithering through her meridians.
She breathed in spiritual energy, running the technique's cycles.
The only reason she remained outside the cave dwelling was that today was an extraordinarily important occasion, and she feared becoming so immersed in cultivation that she would neglect the momentous event.
After completing a full heavenly cycle, the white cat's tail twitched. She snapped her eyes open, rolled to her feet, and cast a wary gaze outside Peach Blossom Valley.
Her expression instantly shifted to one of deep reverence as she opened the restriction at the entrance.
"Greetings, Senior."
*Whoosh!*
A flash of silver light streaked down, and Jingyu landed before the white cat. She glanced toward the valley's interior and asked, "Tomorrow is the grand founding ceremony of Qingyang Temple, and guests from all directions will soon arrive. Can your master really keep his composure so well that he hasn't even emerged from seclusion?"
"Reporting to Senior, the master is refining a sect-protecting treasure. He said he would emerge by tonight at the latest," the white cat replied respectfully.
"Oh?"
Curiosity flashed in Jingyu's eyes. "A few years ago, he gathered souls of cloud beasts to refine the Beast King Banner. Its power was quite remarkable, sufficient to protect the lineage of Qingyang Temple, and it could pass as a sect-protecting treasure. What novel idea has he come up with now?"
The white cat could only confess her ignorance.
Jingyu did not stand on ceremony. She fluttered into a pavilion among the peach trees to wait for Qin Sang, calling the white cat down to offer her some pointers in the meantime.
At that moment, inside the cave dwelling, Qin Sang sat cross-legged upon a prayer mat.
The ebony sword hovered before him, and in his hand was the charred wood housing Yunyouzi's true spirit.
After retrieving the Nanming Primordial Fire atop Sword Mark Mountain, Qin Sang had gained fresh insights into the art of artifact refining. He had waited until he thoroughly grasped every detail and could guarantee nothing would go wrong before finally making his move.
How long it would take for the ebony sword to stabilize after fusing with Yunyouzi's true spirit remained uncertain, yet he felt not the slightest hesitation.
*Buzz, buzz...*
The ebony sword vibrated continuously, its hum growing increasingly intense.
Gradually, the sword blurred into a cluster of brilliant light.
At that moment, Qin Sang raised his hand and tossed the charred wood gently toward the ebony sword. In the blink of an eye, it sank into the glowing sphere.
From beginning to end, the light remained remarkably stable.
Qin Sang stared at the glowing orb, hesitated briefly, and then summoned black flames from between his brows. The fire lotus seed drifted out, shedding a wisp of demonic fire that slowly drew near the light.
Smelting the charred wood's true spirit into the ebony sword did not inherently require external force; bringing in foreign power could easily cause failure instead.
However, Qin Sang had thoroughly refined the demonic fire of the fire lotus seed until it responded to his every thought like an extension of his own body. Combined with several secret techniques at his command, it could actually increase the chance of success.
This was a method Qin Sang had devised only after careful, deliberate thought.
Inside the glowing sphere, the ebony sword hung upside down, pointing straight at the charred wood.
Sword light rained down like silken threads dancing in the breeze, exquisitely gentle as it gradually enveloped the charred wood. The demonic fire transformed into runes that melded into the sword light, bereft of the wild fury that normally characterized it.
With a solemn expression, Qin Sang dared not be negligent in the slightest. An intricate cascade of talisman seals struck the glowing sphere like surging waves, a bewildering sight.
As time slipped past, the ebony sword's physical form gradually "melted."
The charred wood had originally been Qingfu upright bamboo, but the heavenly tribulation had nearly annihilated it. Beneath the sword light and demonic fire, layer upon layer of impurities were stripped away, until at last Yunyouzi's true spirit merged seamlessly into the ebony sword.
"Phew..."
Qin Sang exhaled a long breath, the tension in his heart easing slightly.
This was Yunyouzi's only hope of revival, an endeavor where failure was not an option. Fortunately, his preparations had been thorough, and the fusion process had unfolded without a hitch. He had not failed his friend!
*Swoosh!*
The sword light receded, leaving a sword embryo floating in midair, its texture as pure and unblemished as fine jade.
Qin Sang could clearly sense that Yunyouzi's true spirit rested within the sword embryo, still exceedingly fragile.
The embryo was like a womb, gently nurturing the true spirit.
He reached out and lightly brushed the sword embryo, not daring to apply any force. His eyes held a complex swirl of emotions, seeming both to reminisce about the past and to brim with hope. In the end, he murmured softly, "This sword is named Yunyou!"
After gazing upon it for a long while, Qin Sang drew the sword embryo into his nascent soul to nurture it, memories of his past encounters with Yunyouzi flashing through his mind.
Then, his thoughts drifted to Bai and Qingjun, whose fates remained unknown.
He recalled the scene of Ziwei Palace's ascension ten years ago.
When the immortal palace ascended, Qingjun, Bai, and Old Demon Ye had followed it into the celestial rift.
The remaining Nascent Soul cultivators had discovered that the Outer Hall was beginning to crumble. Powerless to stop it, they could only watch in despair as the Reception Platform collapsed into ruins, and then fled outside as fast as their legs could carry them.
Qin Sang had only moved after watching Qingjun disappear, yet he had been among the first to escape.
Emerging from the Outer Hall, the crowd looked back in shaken terror.
All they saw was billowing dust and smoke.
The Reception Platform, the Immortal Graves, the stone mountain, and even the outermost golden palace had crumbled to ashes, leaving not a single trace behind.
The secret realm of Ziwei Palace had vanished from the world forever!
The aftershocks of the immortal palace's ascension took a full day and night before showing any signs of weakening.
Where Ziwei Palace had once stood, a colossal vortex of wind and clouds remained.
The space there had originally been exceptionally stable, yet it now turned far more perilous than any other corner of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Though the spatial storm gradually dispersed, its lingering force continuously battered the area.
As the swirling storm clouds scattered, gale-force winds howled, the void shattered, and spatial fissures appeared everywhere.
The Nascent Soul cultivators waited for a long time, watching the heavens with particular attention.
The heavenly rift sealed shut.
Only after confirming that no further changes could occur did they finally resolve to depart.
Following that battle, Old Demon Ye, the Beichen Realm's greatest menace, had "ascended."
Few had died at the hands of Old Demon Ye and Jade Bone, but several cultivators had perished inside the palace due to excessive greed, and even more had suffered injuries. The Feather King was hurt worst of all; even reverting to human form could not conceal his frailty.
Aside from that, the greatest casualties had fallen upon the Celestial Alliance and Qin Sang.
With Daoist Priest Zhenyi's fate unknown, the Celestial Alliance was left without a leader; only the Twin Battle Generals could step forward to take his place.
Qin Sang had lost both his senior sister and Bai, two exceptional mentors and friends. He had also lost a refined corpse at the level of a corpse king. Fortunately, the demonic fire and the Nascent Soul talisman puppet remained in his possession; otherwise, his standing would have plummeted.
What frustrated Qin Sang most was that the Sword Path Hall and the ancient teleportation array had also "ascended" alongside the immortal palace, severing the route to the Canglang Ocean.
All his prior plans regarding the Canglang Ocean were rendered utterly useless.
Chapter 1352