Charting the Path

The jade Buddha could not possibly respond to Qin Sang. Looking at the tranquil, undisturbed Buddhist light, Qin Sang was helpless. He recalled his three experiences entering Ziwei Palace, yet he could not recall any unusual behavior from the jade Buddha. "The sword spirit..." Qin Sang remembered that he still had another living entity brought out of Ziwei Palace on him—the sword spirit of the Killing Sword! The Killing Sword spirit possessed an independent consciousness and might know the inner secrets of Ziwei Palace. Perhaps through Ziwei Palace, he could uncover the origins of the jade Buddha. At the thought, Qin Sang felt an even greater urgency to search for the Killing Sword fragments and awaken the sword spirit. *** Three years later. Peach Blossom Valley, inside the cave dwelling. Qin Sang awoke from his meditation and slowly opened his eyes. His true essence surged faintly before settling back into stillness, leaving his entire aura profound and without the slightest ripple. "Good, my cultivation has stabilized." Qin Sang looked down toward his dantian. His gaze held no complacency, only solemnity. "From here on, there are no shortcuts. Relying on one's own cultivation is arduous indeed. In truth, my cultivation speed is hardly slow anymore. No wonder great cultivators are so rare..." Qin Sang understood well that from this stage forward, nothing could be rushed. It would do no harm to travel abroad; after all, he was still young. Over two hundred years remained before his first heavenly tribulation would arrive. With his current cultivation, the first heavenly tribulation posed little threat, so there was no need to hurry. Turning it over in his mind, Qin Sang thought to himself that if he wished to enhance his strength as quickly as possible now, bitter cultivation alone would not suffice. He could only turn his sights toward other divine abilities. Over these past years, because he had concentrated fully on his core cultivation, he had no time to attend to the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* and the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form*, leaving both at a standstill. The *Heavenly Demon Refining Form* was still far from breaking through to the mid-stage of the fourth layer. After reaching the Nascent Soul realm, Qin Sang had weighed his options and almost shelved the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form*, resulting in exceptionally slow progress. Moving forward, he could take up body refinement again. However, Qin Sang planned to devote his primary efforts first to cultivating the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*, seeking to break through to the second layer as soon as possible. According to the technique's description, once a practitioner broke through to the second layer of the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*, their divine consciousness would experience a dramatic leap, with self-evident benefits. His divine consciousness was already formidable. By an optimistic estimate, after breaking through, he might even be able to manifest his divine consciousness into physical form, rivaling that of a great cultivator! Back then, Old Devil Mou had reached at most the second layer, yet he had managed to escape the encirclement of both the righteous and demonic factions and play dead right beneath the nose of the ancient demon's soul fragment, which showed just how potent his divine consciousness had been. Naturally, Qin Sang's ambitions did not stop there. Cultivating essence, qi, and spirit in tandem had aided his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, and advancing to the next realm—or even achieving Deity Transformation—would surely be no exception. Only by taking one solid step at a time to lay a firm foundation could he build up the reserves needed for explosive growth. And he possessed the capital to do so! Having mapped out his future cultivation path, Qin Sang summoned the fire lotus seed. The fire lotus seed appeared almost solid. It required continuous refinement of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire until a qualitative transformation occurred before it could break through. Qin Sang took out his demonic banner and attempted to refine the demonic fire, discovering to his delight that his cultivation speed was faster than when he had been in the early Nascent Soul realm, shaving off a significant amount of time. With no one to learn from, Qin Sang did not know how long it would take to see results. While traveling abroad, he could just as easily refine the demonic fire without having to stay cooped up in his cave dwelling. Having refined a wisp of demonic fire, Qin Sang drew his technique to a close with satisfaction, then attempted to cultivate the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form*. An increase in realm also benefited body refinement, but it still required arduous cultivation on his part; breaking through would undoubtedly take far longer than with the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*. Afterward, Qin Sang summoned his magic treasures: the Yunyou Sword and the Sun God Tree. The Yunyou Sword had undergone no change, still in the shape of a sword embryo. Qin Sang carefully extended his divine consciousness inside, sensing the faint true spirit within. After examining it closely, a wry smile touched the corners of his lips. After all these years, he could not detect the slightest sign of the true spirit growing stronger. Nurturing sentience and crafting a spirit treasure truly was an arduous and protracted process! Qin Sang had no idea which would come first: breaking through to the late Nascent Soul realm or the Yunyou Sword's advancement. "As long as I can successfully nurture Senior's true spirit, any wait is worth it." Qin Sang lightly stroked the sword embryo, then shifted his gaze toward the Sun God Tree. The transformation of the Sun God Tree was striking. The instant he took out the treasure, the entire cave dwelling was illuminated, casting a red glow across Qin Sang's face. The Sun God Tree was crimson from top to bottom, far more dazzling than before, like a blaze of fire resembling the legendary Fusang Tree more and more. Around the divine tree, the air rippled with distortions, giving off an intensely searing wave of heat. At present, Qin Sang dared not attempt to subdue the Nanming Primordial Fire using the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*, nor was there any need. He would wait until after the Nine Nether Demonic Fire was fully refined. What drew Qin Sang's attention was the flame power gathered on the nine flower buds of the Sun God Tree. Unlike the tree itself, these flames were contracted into tight clusters, dark red and restrained. They were less glaring, yet all the more impossible to overlook. Qin Sang extended his hand, carefully supporting the Sun God Tree, and scrutinized it at length. "Not bad!" Qin Sang nodded. The treasure had not slipped from his control and was developing in the direction he had envisioned. Once this flame power condensed to the extreme and transformed into nine divine birds, the treasure and the Nanming Primordial Fire would stabilize, fully ready for his use. The Sun God Tree would likely complete its transformation sooner than Yunyouzi, and its prospective might filled him with anticipation! With these treasures in hand, he would have no need to fear facing powerful foes in battle, nor would he need to rack his brains searching for other magic treasures. He could concentrate on his cultivation, as well as searching for the Killing Sword fragments and the Reception Platform. Stowing the treasures, Qin Sang summoned his three spirit insects and Yagu. With a steady supply of Fire Melting Pills, the Fire Jade Centipede had feasted heartily. Twenty years ago, it had broken through to the mid-stage of its third transformation, and reaching the late stage was only a matter of time. Regrettably, unless it encountered a tremendous opportunity, advancing further would be extremely difficult for it. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly's potential far exceeded that of the Fire Jade Centipede, yet its advancement speed was too slow. Having tasted the benefits of a natal insect gu, Qin Sang naturally wanted to elevate the Heavenly Eye Butterfly as quickly as possible. He had exhausted every method he could think of, but with little effect. On this trip to the Three Realms of the North Sea, he could also search for secret techniques of insect taming. The fat silkworm was fast asleep, snoring softly. Qin Sang valued it no less than the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, yet the creature was even pickier. Once the poisonous algae fruit was gone, it would have to go hungry. The fat silkworm was Yagu's natal insect gu, leaving a layer of separation between it and Qin Sang. As for how to help the fat silkworm advance, Qin Sang had no clues whatsoever and could only take things one step at a time. Qin Sang flicked his finger, tapping the fat silkworm awake. The moment the fat silkworm saw food, it forgot all pain. It swallowed the poisonous algae fruit in a single gulp, rolled onto its back, and drifted straight back to sleep. Qin Sang shook his head, his gaze falling upon Yagu. Following Bai's guidance, Qin Sang had inscribed several more bone curses onto Yagu's arm. Whether due to the effects of the bone curses or some benefit gained from slumbering alongside her natal insect gu, Yagu's condition was steadily improving. Her aura was full and complete, her cheeks rosy; aside from being asleep, she appeared no different from an ordinary person. Even more astonishingly, a seven-colored light circled around Yagu's primordial spirit like a cocoon of radiance, enfolding her and lending her an air of mystery. Qin Sang could not decipher the purpose of this light. Without a doubt, the anomaly originated from the fat silkworm. He simply did not know whether it was a unique ability of the creature itself, or something brought about by its voluntary recognition of a master.