Seeing these threads, Qin Sang paused, his expression growing even graver.
Next, he attempted to pluck one of the threads.
At first, nothing seemed amiss. Inside the cave dwelling, the light radiating from the ice chest cast its glow over Qin Sang's solemn face.
A moment later, an abrupt transformation occurred!
Without warning, the ice chest violently shuddered and erupted with dazzling white light. An exceedingly frenzied fluctuation surged outward, snapping back along the path of Qin Sang's power in a vicious backlash.
Every hair on Qin Sang's body stood on end as an instinctive tremor of dread seized his heart. His expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly pulled back his hands.
The ice chest gradually returned to normal.
Qin Sang stared intently at the ice chest, recalling the mysterious power he had just felt, and then noticed that the seal upon it had actually shifted.
The power of this new seal was completely different from the previous one.
All his efforts had been wasted.
"Is this... a twofold fail-safe left by Xuantian Palace to prevent anyone from stealing the supreme treasure and unraveling the seal?"
Qin Sang had a faint suspicion.
He fell silent for a moment and made another attempt, only to yield the exact same result.
The power of the seal on the ice chest was extraordinarily potent—something Qin Sang had never seen before—and with this shifting property, cracking it would be even more difficult.
Even if one painstakingly unraveled the seal, there was no guarantee that the power wouldn't undergo yet another transformation.
Xuantian Palace had truly spared no effort.
Opening the ice chest in the short term was entirely out of the question.
"If only Bai were here. He might have a way to deal with these bizarre, esoteric things."
Qin Sang furrowed his brows.
Helpless, he was just about to put the ice chest away when a thought suddenly struck him.
"Xuantian Palace places such great importance on this treasure—would they really have left only this single countermeasure?"
After a moment's hesitation, Qin Sang's thoughts stirred. The fire lotus seed flew out from between his brows, releasing a wisp of demonic fire that wove into a dense web of flames and clung to the surface of the ice chest.
The ice chest turned into a fire chest.
Qin Sang applied a layer of demonic fire seal onto its surface, using the aura of the demonic fire to isolate the ice chest.
That was all he could do for now.
"Before opening the ice chest, it's best not to go to the Hidden Sun Realm," Qin Sang thought to himself. He put away the chest, then brought out the Fallen Phoenix Jade and the Jinchen Sword.
In Qin Sang's original plan, refining the Jinchen Sword still required two kinds of spiritual items with specific properties. The Fallen Phoenix Jade met the criteria, and its quality was even higher than what he had anticipated.
If he were impatient, he could try to refine it right away.
However, this round of refinement was intended to push the Jinchen Sword into the supreme grade, which would be a severe test for both the magic treasure and the refiner.
If the advancement failed, it might instead damage the treasure itself.
Out of caution, he decided to wait a little longer.
Thereafter, Qin Sang remained stationed on Shouchen Island.
In the world outside, a fierce war erupted between humans and demons.
The flames of war reached the heavens and even spread into the Star Sand Islands.
Both races suffered grievous casualties.
Blood stained the vast sea crimson, and countless corpses and severed limbs drifted with the ocean currents, littering every stretch of water, with demon remains being the most numerous.
The outcome was decided in just a few short months.
Even when the demons finally collapsed into rout, Bi Fang had hardly shown his face on the battlefield, confirming the suspicions held by Qin Sang and the others. Although the little fox and its fellow demons had invited several more helpers, they could not withstand the human offensive; suffering heavy losses in troops and generals, they fled in panic back into the demon realm with their remnants.
The demon beasts entrenched between the Star Sand Islands and the Crescent Moon Realm were largely purged. Maritime routes reopened and grew increasingly prosperous.
Qin Sang also made the acquaintance of several fellow Daoists from the Star Sand Islands.
After the great war ended, Qin Sang attended a victory banquet hosted by Master Feng on Mount Fengyang.
He had personally taken part in a few battles.
Seeing that the tide had turned against them, those Demon Kings had fled with astonishing speed.
Though he had not managed to kill any Demon Kings, he had plundered quite a few treasures from their cave dwellings, storing them inside his Qianjun Ring. Once he had the opportunity to attend more trade fairs and auctions to purchase the remaining spiritual materials he required, he would be able to advance the Jinchen Sword.
A month later, two streaks of light flew out from Mount Fengyang, heading south.
They were none other than Qin Sang and Master Feng.
"Thank you for troubling yourself to accompany me on this trip, Fellow Daoist Feng," Qin Sang offered in gratitude.
Master Feng laughed. "I haven't even apologized for keeping you waiting for so long, Fellow Daoist. Thanks to your righteous intervention, we were able to drive away the little fox and the other demons so quickly. Otherwise, had the conflict dragged on and they invited a demon Great Sage, unexpected variables might have arisen. Besides, I was already planning to travel to the Southern Realm to visit an old friend, and Hundred Flowers Valley happens to be right on the way."
"I've heard that Hundred Flowers Valley maintains a very low profile—to the point that outsiders can't even locate their mountain gate?"
Qin Sang had not pinned all his hopes on Master Feng alone.
During this period, whenever he had free time, he had inquired into news regarding Hundred Flowers Valley.
Hundred Flowers Valley was widely renowned, known even to cultivators of the Star Sand Islands.
In truth, the title of being foremost in insect-rearing was not inherently awe-inspiring; it was its rarity that made its reputation spread so far.
Cultivators who specialized in insect mastery were rare in the cultivation world.
Spirit insects advanced slowly, and the vast majority of cultivators were unwilling to pour their energy into raising them. Most who kept spirit insects had simply chanced upon one with an unusual divine ability and kept it around as a handy tool.
Qin Sang had secretly learned the Witch Clan's secret art of natal insect gu, nurturing the Heavenly Eye Butterfly with his essence blood. Its cultivation speed was faster than that of other spirit insects, yet compared to human cultivators, it was still painfully slow.
As for how to achieve breakthroughs in the future, he was completely at a loss.
Naturally, the Witch Clan's heritage surely contained far more than what he had learned, but his cultivation had been insufficient back then to gain access to the rest.
Unfortunately, there was no going back.
Master Feng nodded with an affirmative hum. "According to Fellow Daoist Mu, it seems to be an ancestral precept of Hundred Flowers Valley: unless someone provokes them, they will never actively participate in the conflicts of the cultivation world, choosing instead to keep their doors closed and tend to their flowers and insects. Many people have heard that Hundred Flowers Valley is near Blackwater Bay, but none can find their mountain gate."
The Fellow Daoist Mu he spoke of was the current valley master of Hundred Flowers Valley.
Blackwater Bay lay near the central region of Crescent Moon Island, along its eastern coast.
Bordering Blackwater Bay on land was a black marsh that spanned almost the entire width of Crescent Moon Island, dividing the island in two. With the Black Marsh as the boundary, they were colloquially known as the Southern Realm and the Northern Realm.
The Black Marsh gave off a foul stench and was exceedingly perilous inside; the vast majority of its expanse was unsuitable for cultivation.
Cultivation sects were scarce in this region.
By establishing their mountain gate here, Hundred Flowers Valley faced very little pressure.
"Such a sect is truly rare," Qin Sang remarked with emotion.
Withdrawing from the mundane world and living without conflict was nothing more than a fond wish in the cultivation world.
Master Feng thought back and said, "While chatting with Fellow Daoist Mu, I occasionally heard a few words. It seems the founding ancestor of Hundred Flowers Valley hailed from the Boundless Sea. Arriving alone after traveling tens of thousands of li, they established a sect in the Crescent Moon Realm without any allies or support. That is probably the very reason they never wished to be drawn into the disputes of local cultivators. Fortunately, Hundred Flowers Valley has always remained powerful, and with the Black Marsh serving as a buffer, they have been able to maintain their aloof and transcendent status."
Pausing for a moment, Master Feng added, "The reason Hundred Flowers Valley is so renowned is that they treat insect-rearing as their foundational heritage. In fact, there are other forces skilled in the art of insect-rearing as a secondary discipline—such as Mount Star and the Thousand Saliva Alliance. However, I have no friendship with them and cannot introduce you, Fellow Daoist."
Qin Sang offered his thanks.
He had already inquired about the factions Master Feng mentioned. "Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist. That is precisely my intention. After leaving Hundred Flowers Valley, I shall pay a visit to each of them in turn."
Master Feng nodded and went on to share some more details regarding Hundred Flowers Valley, mostly rumors and anecdotes that touched upon no real secrets.
Qin Sang committed them all to memory.
Chapter 1393