Spirit Ascension Rite

Qin Sang possessed the original natal insect gu secret art of the Witch Clan and had no interest in Hundred Flowers Valley's altered heritage. What piqued his curiosity was just how much Hundred Flowers Valley knew about what came after a natal insect gu advanced to the fourth metamorphosis! The low-ranking disciples of Hundred Flowers Valley could not possibly know such secrets. After speaking with a few disciples, Qin Sang lost interest. Once he finished browsing the texts in the Scripture Pavilion, he returned to the bamboo lodge to meditate in seclusion while waiting for word from Lan Jingsi. During this time, Qin Sang brought out the ice box once more and attempted to break its seal. The result was the same as before, with agonizingly slow progress. He was not the least bit discouraged; the stronger the seal, the more precious the treasure inside, making it all the more worthy of anticipation. Meanwhile. Hundred Flowers Valley's forbidden grounds. Lan Jingsi sat cross-legged upon a prayer mat, her silhouette melting into the darkness amid total stillness. Before her lay an extraordinarily intricate spiritual array arranged in the shape of an altar. Before long, Lan Jingsi raised a hand, tapping her jade-like finger toward the center of the array. The spiritual array flared with white light, radiating invisible ripples as its glow flickered uncertainly. A few breaths later, it faded back into darkness, returning to normal. Unfazed, Lan Jingsi resumed her meditation. After an unknown length of time, Lan Jingsi repeated the action. This time, a new change finally occurred. The white light vibrated and swiftly coalesced toward the center of the array, forming a luminous orb. Then, the voice of a man actually drifted from within the orb. "Junior Sister..." Lan Jingsi opened her eyes and looked at the orb, urgently asking, "Senior Brother, did you make it out of there? How did it go?" "Only probing the perimeter... haven't truly entered yet... not looking very optimistic..." Perhaps due to the immense distance, the voice from the other side sounded faint and intermittent. "What happened... to use a precious Heavenly Hearing Talisman... only three left..." A sense of worry bled through the voice. Realizing her senior brother had misunderstood, Lan Jingsi hastily replied, "Rest assured, Senior Brother, nothing is wrong in the valley! A few days ago, Master Feng brought someone who wished to pay you a visit..." "A friend of Fellow Daoist Feng... who is it..." An incense stick's time later. Lan Jingsi flew out of the forbidden grounds, heading straight for the bamboo lodge where Qin Sang stayed. Sensing her arrival, Qin Sang immediately opened the lodge's restrictions and invited Lan Jingsi inside. "I just received Senior Brother's reply," Lan Jingsi said, getting straight to the point without any preamble. "Senior Brother said it can be revealed to you... his spirit insect advanced to the fourth metamorphosis with the help of a secret technique." Qin Sang was surprised. He had not expected it to be so easy. Even as pleasant surprise welled within him, he did not let down his guard, asking solemnly, "Does Fellow Daoist Mu have any conditions?" Lan Jingsi shook her head. "Allow me to explain the pros and cons of this secret technique first." Qin Sang listened attentively. Lan Jingsi said, "This technique is called the Spirit Ascension Rite. In essence, it uses external items and forces to stimulate the spirit insect's potential, forcefully helping it leap up a realm." The Spirit Ascension Rite. Qin Sang searched his memory; he had never heard of such a secret technique on the Witch God Continent. Would using external items to stimulate a spirit insect's potential cause severe damage to it? If the price of a single advancement was mortgaging its future, Qin Sang would certainly hesitate. Before Qin Sang could voice his concern, Lan Jingsi took the initiative to explain: "Using the Spirit Ascension Rite for the first time does not cause severe harm to the spirit insect, and there are ways to make amends. However, using it successively will not only drastically lower the success rate, but also inflict irreversible damage on the spirit insect. Furthermore, even on the first attempt, the chance of success is less than twenty percent—and that is for cultivators of our Hundred Flowers Valley, under the premise of being thoroughly prepared. If you perform the Spirit Ascension Rite on your Fire Jade Centipede, Fellow Daoist, your odds of success will surely be even lower than ours!" Qin Sang was not frightened off by her words. He immediately pressed on, "Can the Spirit Ascension Rite only be used to advance to the fourth metamorphosis? And how can one increase the chances of the Spirit Ascension Rite succeeding?" From Lan Jingsi's words, Qin Sang caught an underlying implication that set his heart racing. The higher success rate for Hundred Flowers Valley cultivators was very likely due to their cultivation of natal insect gu. And Qin Sang happened to have a natal insect gu as well! Moreover, his indirect inquiries under the guise of the Fire Jade Centipede were solely aimed at finding a way to help the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Whether the Fire Jade Centipede could advance was of little consequence; if the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could use the Spirit Ascension Rite to improve—even if only by a minor sub-realm within the fourth metamorphosis—it would be a tremendous gain! "As for your first question, I truly haven't considered it before. The past patriarchs of Hundred Flowers Valley have all applied the Spirit Ascension Rite to advance their spirit insects to the fourth metamorphosis; there has never been a precedent for using it after the fourth metamorphosis. However..." Lan Jingsi pondered for a moment before continuing, "When the ancestral masters handed down the Spirit Ascension Rite, they never specified that it could only be used to break through to the fourth metamorphosis. The principle of stimulating potential to advance should theoretically hold true across any realm. The only difference lies in how exquisite the stimulation technique is and how precious the external materials used are. The spiritual materials required by the Spirit Ascension Rite are all exceedingly valuable, so it should likely be effective for minor realms within the spirit insect's fourth metamorphosis as well." Pausing, Lan Jingsi added, "As for improving the success rate, one can only look to oneself. The closer the bond between master and spirit insect, and the more affectionate and trusting the spirit insect is toward its master, the greater the likelihood of success. In addition, the level of the master's own cultivation will also have an effect." With that, Lan Jingsi glanced at Qin Sang. "Truth be told, my own spirit insect is still at the peak of the third metamorphosis, and I intend to wait until at least the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage before considering helping it break through. Fellow Daoist, you are already in the middle Nascent Soul stage, so you need not worry about your cultivation level. However, I do not know by what method you subdued your spirit insect, nor how close the bond between you truly is." Qin Sang feigned ignorance, asking, "The heritage of Hundred Flowers Valley is unique in the world of immortal cultivation. Would it be possible for this poor Daoist to draw reference from it?" Lan Jingsi said apologetically, "It is not that we are unwilling, but that our valley's cultivation methods are unique; for immortal cultivators beyond the Core Formation stage, they offer no reference value whatsoever." Qin Sang nodded and did not press further. Though he appeared deep in thought on the surface, he was overjoyed inside. He had not expected that so soon after arriving in the North Sea, there would already be hope for the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Lan Jingsi had used the word "leap" earlier rather than a mere breakthrough. Did that mean it did not strictly require the insect to be cultivated to the peak of its current realm? Without having seen the contents of the Spirit Ascension Rite with his own eyes, Qin Sang had no way to judge. If it could help the Heavenly Eye Butterfly advance even a single realm, that would be more than enough. Without corpse flower blood amber and soul shadows, Qin Sang still did not know how he would break through to the late Nascent Soul stage. Helping the Heavenly Eye Butterfly catch up to his own cultivation realm as soon as possible would provide vital assistance when he broke through in the future due to the properties of the natal insect gu; this was of immense significance. Every bit of advancement was precious beyond measure! Thoughts racing through his mind, Qin Sang was already determined to obtain the Spirit Ascension Rite at all costs. However, knowing matters would never be so simple, he did not immediately ask about the rite itself. Instead, he shifted his tone and asked, "Valley Master Mu must have some message for this poor Daoist, doesn't he?" Lan Jingsi said solemnly, "Senior Brother instructed me to pass along his words: if Fellow Daoist Mingyue wishes to learn about the Spirit Ascension Rite, he hopes you will not mind making the journey to the Boundless Sea. Senior Brother would like to meet with you in person." With that, Lan Jingsi produced a jade slip containing a nautical chart. She placed the chart on the table, leaving the decision to Qin Sang.