In the Beichen Realm, Nascent Soul cultivators would sometimes use alliances and assemblies as opportunities to interact and trade with one another, effectively serving as small trade fairs.
However, a gathering like the Myriad Demons Assembly—which brought together so many Nascent Soul experts and was personally overseen by a late Nascent Soul great cultivator—was something Qin Sang was hearing of for the first time, and it piqued his interest.
"The items on the list are only a small portion intended to draw attention," Valley Master Mu kindly advised. "Even if you do not see the treasure you desire, it is best not to miss it. There is certainly no harm in going; at worst, it will still be a chance to converse and exchange with fellow Daoists..."
As they spoke, the four flew forward through the seawater for some distance.
Just then, Valley Master Mu and the other two abruptly came to a halt. Turning around, they looked at Qin Sang with smiling faces, each wearing an amused expression, eager to see his reaction.
"Did you notice anything unusual, Daoist?" Valley Master Mu asked with a smile.
Qin Sang was puzzled and looked around.
The underwater depths were dim.
The icy currents flowing past his protective divine aura were entirely real.
Everything appeared normal.
Then, Qin Sang suddenly realized something. Whirling around to look behind them, he exclaimed in surprise, "Could the entrance to the Jinghai Sect be right here?"
Only then did Valley Master Mu solve the riddle. Pointing back along the route they had just traveled, he said, "Do you recall what I told you before, Daoist? We just passed straight through the formation guarding the Jinghai Sect. We are now on the other side of it."
"What?"
Hearing this, Qin Sang's pupils abruptly contracted, his gaze locking tightly onto the water behind him.
Although he had been conversing with Valley Master Mu and the others, he had remained vigilant at all times, having awakened the Heavenly Eye Butterfly early on and secretly channeled its Heavenly Eye divine ability.
Yet as they passed through the formation just now, neither he nor the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had sensed anything amiss.
The stretch of water behind him was indistinguishable from anywhere else!
Valley Master Mu had briefly recounted his experiences during this period, but Qin Sang had not expected the Jinghai Sect's formation to be so bizarre. No wonder they had been unable to discern anything about its true nature even until now.
Seeing the doubt written across Qin Sang's face, the cultivator surnamed Qi gave a chuckle. "There is no need for Daoist Qin to find it strange. In a moment, you can cross back and forth a few times, and if you observe carefully, you will notice what is wrong. To our eyes, it looks like an ordinary stretch of water, and passing through the formation feels completely normal as well. But in truth, it is all an illusion. The path we actually take does not match our perception; space seems to be shifted or folded here. Had I not spotted the anomaly earlier and realized something unusual was here, I would never have noticed a thing even after passing right through it."
Could it be a mustard seed space?
Yet even Nascent Soul cultivators only had a superficial understanding of spatial laws.
In today's cultivation world, refining a mustard seed bag was already the pinnacle. How vast of a mustard seed space would be required to serve as the grounds for an entire sect?
Marveling at this, Qin Sang asked, "Fellow Daoist Qi, what kind of anomaly did you witness back then?"
The cultivator surnamed Qi pointed upward toward the sea surface. "At the time, a beam of scarlet light surged into the clouds. It lacked any earth-shattering momentum and lasted only a very brief moment, dissipating in less than an incense stick's time."
Nothing could be deduced from the anomaly.
At this point, Valley Master Mu suggested trying a few more passes.
Qin Sang turned around and walked back and forth seven or eight times, first tracing the path they had arrived by, and then trying several different directions.
Just as the cultivator surnamed Qi had said, no matter which direction one passed through, the outcome was the same.
Not the slightest fluctuation could be felt here, nor did the formation attack intruders. If not for someone pointing it out, Qin Sang would certainly have overlooked it had he merely passed by.
Qin Sang secretly ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to employ its divine ability to the fullest, but found no trace of an illusion formation.
Valley Master Mu stepped through himself, allowing Qin Sang to observe from the outside.
Finally, Qin Sang noticed that shortly after Valley Master Mu stepped in, space seemed to distort ever so slightly, and Mu abruptly appeared further ahead. The displacement showed not the slightest abnormality, and someone inside the formation would feel nothing.
Once inside, the shift occurred without any warning or omen, leaving them with no idea where to begin.
The formation had defined boundaries. Looking down from above, it formed roughly a large circular region, buried deep in the seabed, negligible in comparison to the vastness of the Kongling Sea.
Unless someone deliberately passed through while having a companion constantly watching from outside, it was virtually impossible to detect.
What was certain was that the formation's purpose was undoubtedly to protect the secret hidden here—namely, the entrance to the Jinghai Sect that Valley Master Mu spoke of.
"Why not summon your Fire Jade Centipede, Daoist, and see if it can sense the Myriad Spirit Fruit?" Valley Master Mu asked with anticipation.
Qin Sang nodded and opened his mustard seed bag.
The Fire Jade Centipede flew into his palm, lying there lazily.
It had just consumed a Fire Melting Pill and was still digesting its medicinal potency.
Qin Sang took it through several attempts, but just as expected, the Fire Jade Centipede showed no reaction whatsoever. Valley Master Mu followed closely behind Qin Sang, and the two were displaced out together; seeing this, disappointment surfaced on Mu's face.
Qin Sang divided his attention to observe Valley Master Mu's behavior.
Like him, Mu's eyes remained clear, without the slightest sign of daze or disorientation; evidently, the formation's power did not affect the soul.
This made the situation feel exceedingly troublesome to Qin Sang as well.
The Heavenly Eye Butterfly and the jade Buddha—his two greatest trump cards—were of no help in breaking this formation.
Still, it was too early to draw conclusions. If they could stimulate the formation's power to reveal its full layout, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly would surely have a chance to show its worth.
"What do you think, Daoist?" Valley Master Mu looked at Qin Sang.
Qin Sang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Give me three more days. If I still cannot devise a way to break the formation, we will set up the Three Spirits Pan King Formation."
"Very well!"
Valley Master Mu nodded.
The three stepped aside to give Qin Sang room.
Three days later.
Qin Sang was equally helpless. He went to Valley Master Mu and agreed to set up the insect formation.
Valley Master Mu and the others were overjoyed and immediately began preparing to set up the altar.
According to their agreement, Valley Master Mu first transmitted the secret techniques of the Spirit Ascension Rite and the Three Spirits Pan King Formation to Qin Sang.
*Hiss! So many materials need to be prepared!*
Qin Sang first examined the Spirit Ascension Rite he had longed for, and was instantly shocked by the spirit materials required for the ascension.
The list densely enumerated several dozen types of spirit materials!
For the Spirit Ascension Rite to elevate a spirit insect's realm by an entire grade out of nowhere, how could it be an ordinary feat?
During the ascension process, the power that stimulated the insect's potential came partly from the master and partly from external items.
Fortunately, most of them did not reach the level of rare treasures.
However, some were items that even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have to expend considerable effort to gather, with no guarantee of finding them. Advancing the Heavenly Eye Butterfly through the Spirit Ascension Rite was not as simple as he had imagined!
*Hundred Flowers Valley must have gathered all the materials needed for the Spirit Ascension Rite; I just wonder how much they have left.*
Qin Sang cast a sideways glance at Valley Master Mu.
Yet he understood that these spirit materials were surely reserved for Hundred Flowers Valley's successors. Asking Valley Master Mu to give them away would likely be harder than getting him to transmit the Spirit Ascension Rite itself.
Remaining calm and composed, he suppressed the thought.
He decided to do his best to gather what he could on his own first, and only trade with Hundred Flowers Valley for whatever he truly could not find.
Reading further, Qin Sang roughly understood why Lan Jingsi had said that outsiders performing the Spirit Ascension Rite on spirit insects had a lower chance of success than Hundred Flowers Valley disciples.
It was because this was deeply intertwined with the secret art of natal insect gu!
Chapter 1401