With its fleeting glimpse, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had caught a vague sight.
Yet it gave Qin Sang a feeling of extreme danger.
He could not explain this openly to Valley Master Mu and the others, so he could only offer an ambiguous warning.
If they did not heed it, Qin Sang would not insist.
At the very least, he himself would definitely wait until the pillar of light weakened before heading inside.
Fortunately, Valley Master Mu and the other two were shrewd and experienced; their intuition also told them that what lay within was anything but simple, sparing Qin Sang from having to waste his breath.
"We just don't know how long we'll have to wait..."
The cultivator surnamed Qi looked around with an expression of worry.
The Ethereal Sea was no longer as tranquil as before.
The aftershocks unleashed by the pillar of light generated a tempest of unparalleled fury, churning across the entire Ethereal Sea.
Everywhere the eye could see, towering waves surged toward the heavens.
Before them, the seawater had collapsed into a colossal oceanic sinkhole, laying bare the source of the light pillar and that shattered Buddhist lotus.
Apart from the four of them, no other figures or vessels were in sight for now.
Yet they all knew this was only temporary.
A disturbance of such magnitude was impossible to conceal. Low-level cultivators posed no concern, but if there were Nascent Soul cultivators nearby, they would inevitably be drawn to the scene.
"Let us watch and see how things unfold. Everyone, focus on recovering first so we can deal with whatever comes next. If this drags on too long, I fear it may turn into a bloody battle for treasure..."
Valley Master Mu could not help a bitter smile as he recalled the time and energy spent on breaking the formation.
Setting everything else aside.
To achieve this, his treasured Jade-Holding Bee had self-detonated. Laying out the Three Spirits Pan King Formation twice and refining two altars had also been an enormous drain.
And he had even made a transaction with Qin Sang.
He could only hope the forthcoming harvest would make up for his losses.
With the Buddhist lotus broken, there should be no further need for the Three Spirits Pan King Formation below. Once inside the Jinghai Sect, the Fire Jade Centipede's own cultivation stage would suffice to sense the Myriad Spirit Fruit.
Valley Master Mu deactivated the insect formation.
Qin Sang beckoned with his hand, and the Fire Jade Centipede flew back into his palm.
Its body, which had once resembled fiery jade, had grown extremely dim, devoid of luster.
Perched upon Qin Sang's hand, it did not even want to budge the legs along its flanks; its entire body was stiff, its aura thoroughly languid.
Had Qin Sang not still been able to perceive its consciousness, he might have thought it had turned into a sculpture.
*Snap!*
Qin Sang took out a jade vial.
Inside was spirit dew gifted by Valley Master Mu, which could ease the injuries of spirit insects.
After entering the Jinghai Sect, he would still need the Fire Jade Centipede to guide the way, so any bit of recovery helped.
A drop of the spirit dew fell before the Fire Jade Centipede, which lapped it up immediately. Looking slightly revitalized, its body gave a slight sway before it sank into a deep slumber.
Qin Sang took a glance and drew his hand back into his Daoist robe.
"Fellow Daoist Mu?"
Qin Sang reminded Valley Master Mu that it was time to fulfill their earlier transaction.
The Fire Jade Centipede had done its part and the entrance had been found; though they could not enter just yet, that was no fault of Qin Sang's.
Valley Master Mu sighed softly, tossing a jade slip to Qin Sang with palpable reluctance.
Qin Sang offered his thanks and hurriedly swept his spiritual sense into it.
Naturally, Valley Master Mu would not hand over his entire heritage; inside was only Hundred Flowers Valley's inherited art of the natal insect gu.
Qin Sang had anticipated this, yet seeing it still left him marveling—they truly shared the same origin.
Indeed, his deduction had been correct: Hundred Flowers Valley's natal insect gu technique was a modification of the Witch Clan's legacy, refined into a secret art suitable for humans to cultivate. What was more, the method of modification was exceptionally ingenious, broadening Qin Sang's horizons.
Even though Qin Sang cultivated the original natal insect gu technique, he could not have accomplished such a feat.
This made Qin Sang wonder whether there truly existed such a peerless genius in the world, someone who, upon obtaining an unprecedented secret art, could conjure such a method out of thin air.
However, this modification was not without flaws.
First, any disciple practicing the natal insect gu had to possess a water-attribute spiritual root and had to bond with a spirit insect attuned to water power as their natal insect gu, minimizing the risk of backlash against the master.
Qin Sang glanced at Valley Master Mu. No wonder the Hundred Flowers Valley disciples' natal spirit insects were all of this type, including Valley Master Mu himself.
Second, even after the modifications, the insect's bond with its master was not as intimate as that of a Witch Clan cultivator's natal insect gu.
The contents of the jade slip were limited strictly to matters below the Nascent Soul stage.
Even so, Qin Sang did not demand more; this alone was enough for him to glean a great deal.
Modifying a secret art grew increasingly difficult at higher cultivation realms.
Qin Sang surmised that Hundred Flowers Valley's heritage was limited, likely stopping at the mid or late Nascent Soul stage. He wondered if Valley Master Mu's relentless determination to breach the Jinghai Sect was to seek a path forward.
*Wait...*
Qin Sang suddenly realized something.
Hundred Flowers Valley's technique fell short of the original.
Their bond with their natal insect gu was not nearly as close as his connection with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.
His chances of success in performing the spirit ascension on the Heavenly Eye Butterfly should be even higher than those of Hundred Flowers Valley's cultivators!
This unexpected discovery filled Qin Sang with delight. If he could find the Myriad Spirit Fruit shortly, his confidence in performing the ascension would be even greater! Regrettably, the Fire Jade Centipede was not his natal insect gu; whether it could break through to the fourth metamorphosis in the future would depend entirely on its luck.
As for the fat silkworm...
Qin Sang had been hesitating over whether to use the Spirit Ascension Rite on it.
The fat silkworm was not his spirit insect, so the chance of success was bound to be pitifully slim. Wasting an opportunity on it hardly seemed worthwhile.
Moreover, the fat silkworm possessed only a single ability. Given that it could already easily withstand the virulent poison released by a Transformation-stage frog-fish, it was more than adequate for most situations, making an immediate breakthrough unnecessary.
With these thoughts flitting through his mind, Qin Sang destroyed the jade slip right before Valley Master Mu's eyes and said with a wry smile via voice transmission, "No wonder you were so agreeable, Fellow Daoist. Cultivating this natal insect gu requires occupying the place of a life-bound magic treasure. Even with this secret art in hand, it is impossible for this poor Daoist to practice it."
Valley Master Mu laughed heartily. "Our sect's heritage is peculiar and demands extraordinary innate talent. Even if the Daoist Priest possessed sufficient aptitude, you have already missed the window to cultivate it. Nevertheless, it was created through the painstaking efforts of our forebears, so it should offer some inspiration to the Daoist Priest."
"Fellow Daoist speaks true."
Qin Sang nodded perfunctorily.
As the two communicated via voice transmission, the strange phenomenon showed no signs of abating; if anything, its momentum grew ever more fierce.
It had expanded to twice its previous size.
Qin Sang and the others were forced to retreat another stretch.
Time slipped slowly by.
Soon, a night passed.
Morning of the second day arrived.
Tirelessly, Qin Sang and his companions monitored every minute shift in the phenomenon.
Far off in the distance, a boat drifted upon the sea, several figures standing on its deck.
Two of them were Core Formation stage cultivators passing through the Ethereal Sea. Upon spotting the phenomenon, they had assumed a supreme treasure had emerged. In their delight, they had rushed over to seek it, only to bump headlong into four Nascent Soul patriarchs, leaving them trembling from head to toe.
Fortunately, the four were not vicious murderers and did not slaughter them to silence witnesses.
Shortly after, another treasure ship belonging to cultivators drifted into view. It too was detained, pinned to the sea with a simple restriction, and none dared voice an objection.
The Ethereal Sea had always been considered safe, serving as an important maritime route.
More and more people and ships were drawn over, and every one of them was held in place.
As for people elsewhere, Qin Sang and the others could no longer manage them.
In the blink of an eye, another day and night went by.
The spectacle only grew more intense.
So far, no other Nascent Soul cultivators had appeared.
Just as their anxiety reached a fever pitch, the pillar of light finally ceased expanding, its cresting fury beginning to wane!
Chapter 1406