A dead silence fell over the Ice Crystal Palace.
One could have heard a pin drop.
The expressions of the others were hardly better than Yue Wu's.
Even with minds as resolute as Nascent Soul cultivators', every single one of them was struck dumb, staring at Qin Sang as though looking at a monster.
The juniors standing in attendance lower down could not discern the change in Qin Sang's cultivation. Seeing the bizarre behavior of these Nascent Soul Patriarchs, they were frightened into silence, their expressions varying with apprehension.
"What? Are you all not welcoming me?"
Qin Sang stepped into the Ice Crystal Palace with a soft laugh.
"How could we! Please, Temple Master Qin, please enter..."
As if waking from a dream, the Yue brothers offered hurried apologies and stepped forward quickly to welcome him.
Before, they had treated Qin Sang as an honored guest out of gratitude for his help in driving the Sin Abyss out of the Celestial Alliance.
Now, their eyes held an added measure of reverence.
Reverence for the truly strong!
Fairy Qiuzhi rose gracefully, her beautiful eyes fixed on Qin Sang as though trying to see through him completely. "Hehe... I never imagined Fellow Daoist Qin would break through to the middle Nascent Soul stage in such a short time. Now, even I am no match for you."
Her words sent shockwaves through the entire hall.
"What?!"
"Senior Qin has broken through to the middle Nascent Soul stage?"
"How is that possible!"
...
The juniors' eyes widened like brass bells in sheer disbelief.
The Snake King glanced at Jingyu beside him. "Fellow Daoist Qin's breakthrough is a joyous occasion. Was there any need for you to keep it so closely guarded?"
Jingyu gave a wry smile, looking at Qin Sang with slight reproach. "I only just emerged from seclusion and accepted your invitation to attend this council. I hadn't even had the chance to ask my juniors, so how could I have known Fellow Daoist Qin would..."
Jingyu knew Qin Sang had three blooms of Corpse Flower Blood Amber in hand.
Yet she could never have dreamed he would break through to the middle Nascent Soul stage so quickly.
Such speed of cultivation was truly shocking.
If Old Demon Ye were still alive, even he would feel ashamed of his own inferiority and marvel that yet another genius had arisen in the Beichen Realm.
Did bottlenecks simply not exist for him?
"The human race has produced yet another earth-shattering talent!" the Snake King sighed, his expression tinged with a hint of worry.
"Fortunately, it is Fellow Daoist Qin," Jingyu said, suppressing the astonishment in her eyes.
The Snake King nodded heavily. "Indeed. Fortunately, it is Fellow Daoist Qin!"
Qin Sang was invited to take the seat of honor.
The atmosphere within the Ice Crystal Palace remained bizarre. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Qin Sang, and it seemed hardly possible for the council to proceed normally.
"I was merely fortunate enough to stumble upon some opportunities, and unexpectedly broke through the bottleneck in one burst..." Qin Sang said dismissively.
Disbelief was written plain on everyone's faces.
Qin Sang offered no further explanation, and no one dared to press him.
After a round of sickeningly lavish flattery, the meeting resumed, but the shock had been too great; everyone was visibly distracted, and the council concluded hastily.
Nevertheless, Qin Sang had already inquired about everything he wished to know.
In addition, Qin Sang no longer concealed his search, openly issuing a bounty through the Beichen Alliance to look for the Ghost Mother and Tan Hao.
Based on the information gathered during this period, Qin Sang surmised that Tan Hao and the Ghost Mother were most likely no longer in the Beichen Realm; the bounty was merely to confirm this suspicion.
If he wanted to find Tan Hao, he would likely have to step outside the Beichen Realm and head to the other three realms.
Coincidentally, having just achieved a breakthrough, Qin Sang would find it difficult to raise his cultivation further in a short time, and he also wished to travel abroad.
With his current cultivation, he should be able to cross the storm belt with some effort, and possessing the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros horn, he had no need to fear losing his way within the tempest. He had greater confidence than anyone else.
Before leaving, however, he needed to enter seclusion for a time to stabilize his cultivation, and there were several other matters to attend to.
When the council ended, Qin Sang and Jingyu departed together. Instead of returning to Qingyang Temple, they flew toward the Sin Abyss.
Between the two of them, there was no need for empty flattery. Jingyu merely asked Qin Sang about his insights during his seclusion, while Qin Sang spoke of his plans.
"I am afraid it will not be convenient for me to travel with you, Fellow Daoist Qin. Fat Chick's cultivation has progressed well, but he still requires my personal supervision and a long period of careful tempering before I can feel at ease letting him consume the Corpse Flower Blood Amber..." Jingyu said apologetically.
Qin Sang had never intended to trouble Jingyu in the first place.
With Jingyu remaining in the Beichen Realm to look after their domain, no scoundrels would dare act recklessly, allowing him to travel far and wide without attachments or worries.
Though Qingyang Temple was founded in accordance with Yunyouzi's dying wish, it had ultimately been built by Qin Sang's own hands, and he had no wish to see it decline so soon.
"After I leave, I entrust Qingyang Temple to you, Fellow Daoist," Qin Sang said.
"Worry not, Fellow Daoist."
Jingyu nodded, then suddenly chuckled. "Did you see the looks on those old fellows' faces just now? Your breakthrough this time was terrifyingly fast. Even if you never show yourself, I doubt anyone would dare lay a finger on Qingyang Temple within a millennium..."
"What are you two discussing that brings such delight?"
Flying ahead, Fairy Qiuzhi heard the laughter and slowed her pace, turning her head to ask.
Qin Sang shook his head, caught up to Fairy Qiuzhi, and inquired about the situation in the Abyss Ruins.
Daoist Canghong was still at the bottom of the Heavenly Scar, searching tirelessly.
"It is not very optimistic..."
Fairy Qiuzhi did not conceal anything. "The Daoist found several places, but all proved to be false hopes. Only one spot is suspected to be a fragment of the Abyss Ruins, but it is extraordinarily chaotic and dangerous. He has tried multiple times, all to no avail. With Fellow Daoist Qin assisting this time, there will surely be some gain!"
"After so many years, only one location was found?"
Seeing Fairy Qiuzhi nod, Qin Sang's heart sank slightly.
The Abyss Ruins had truly been utterly destroyed.
Upon arriving at the Sin Abyss, Fairy Qiuzhi invited them to be guests at her sect.
A few hours later, the three entered the Heavenly Scar and rendezvoused with Daoist Canghong.
The bottom of the Heavenly Scar was far more dangerous than before.
Fragments of ancient restrictions were everywhere.
The space here had also been torn apart.
Nowadays, Core Formation stage cultivators did not dare venture too deep into the Heavenly Scar.
Even those as powerful as Qin Sang and the others had to proceed with caution, evading the iridescent light flying about everywhere.
The iridescent glow was composed of chaotic currents, some stretching out in sheets, others mere thin wisps. If one were struck by these currents, getting swept into an ancient restriction or colliding with a spatial fissure would almost certainly mean a grim demise.
Having explored such a place for several decades, Daoist Canghong showed faint traces of exhaustion on his face.
Leaving aside how stunned they were upon seeing Qin Sang's realm, the group arrived at their destination.
Looking at the scene ahead, Qin Sang finally understood why there had been no progress for so long.
Before them, sheets of iridescent glow merged together, where ancient restrictions, spatial fissures, and chaotic currents were tangled in utter turmoil. And the place suspected to be a fragment of the Abyss Ruins lay right at the center of that glow.
Qin Sang hesitated. To take such a massive risk when what lay inside might not even be the Blood Lake he was looking for was simply not worthwhile.
Daoist Canghong pleaded repeatedly, making promises.
They knew Qin Sang possessed a remarkable spiritual eye divine ability that could be of tremendous use here. Previously, they had gone to Qingyang Temple to invite him several times, only to return empty-handed.
Now that the key person had finally appeared, how could they let him go!
After considering for a long while, Qin Sang agreed to assist.
The Nascent Soul cultivators were overjoyed.
They had studied the area for a long time and had already identified a potential breakthrough point.
With the Nascent Soul talisman puppet and Jingyu guarding his left and right flanks, Qin Sang activated his Heavenly Eye divine ability, guiding everyone to seek a path through what seemed impossible.
It took a full several months before they finally made a new discovery, but in the end, they encountered another stumbling block.
From this vantage point, one could already tell that inside was indeed a fragment of the Abyss Ruins, but unfortunately, it was not the Blood Lake.
This place was too dangerous.
Qin Sang decided to withdraw, leaving Daoist Canghong and the others to continue their study.
Chapter 1367