The Swastika Seal

The heat was unbearable. It felt as though he had stepped straight into a furnace. This was Qin Sang's most visceral sensation upon entering the Pure Sea Sect. Even with his middle Nascent Soul stage cultivation, he could not shut out the scorching intrusion of the outside environment. It was hard to imagine just how much crimson fire aura had accumulated within the Pure Sea Sect. All of it was suppressed here; what had leaked into the spirit formation was merely the tip of the iceberg. Qin Sang even suspected that the Pure Sea Sect might explode at any moment, blowing the entire sect along with any intruders to ash. He watched vigilantly for a good while, confirming that there was indeed no one else within the Pure Sea Sect yet. "Thanks to the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's ability—and the Fire Jade Centipede guiding the way—I managed to stay a step ahead of Old Man Hunmo and break through the formation into this place..." Qin Sang roughly understood why, but this brought him no relief. "Old Man Hunmo knows the Pure Sea Sect intimately, his cultivation surpasses mine, and he has helpers. They certainly won't lag too far behind me. The golden roof, the pagoda... These places are presumably crucial grounds of the Pure Sea Sect and highly likely house Buddhist treasures, yet they are sealed by powerful restrictions as well. At most, I will probably only have time to crack one location before Old Man Hunmo breaks in." With these thoughts turning over in his mind, Qin Sang descended rapidly while carefully surveying his surroundings. His vision was obscured by the drifting purple fire, but he could still make out the rough silhouette of the Pure Sea Sect. Next, Qin Sang looked up toward the sky. Peering through the purple flames, he caught faint glimpses of a golden canopy blanketing the Pure Sea Sect from above. One could easily tell that this golden barrier was the manifestation of the sect-protecting grand formation. Just as he had anticipated earlier, the grounds of the Pure Sea Sect were not particularly vast, and neither was the spirit formation. Over the course of five whole days, he had actually been circling within a small pocket of space; the seemingly boundless expanse within the spirit formation had been nothing more than an illusion. This was by no means good news. The narrower the space, the higher the chance Qin Sang would be discovered, and the less room he would have to maneuver against his adversaries. Forcibly breaking through unfamiliar Buddhist restrictions would inevitably produce anomalous disturbances. Any major move he made would never escape Old Man Hunmo's senses. Qin Sang's expression grew solemn. Isolated and without aid, he felt his hands were tied. With Valley Master Mu and the others still nowhere to be seen, Qin Sang suspected they had already met with misfortune. When a great cultivator launched a deliberate ambush, emerging unscathed was already a stroke of immense good fortune. The enemy was strong while he was weak. Furthermore, the enemy had helpers. "Five days have passed. That should have been enough time to draw in a few more Nascent Soul cultivators. Hopefully, they haven't banded together. The messier the situation, the better—best if some mortal enemy of Old Man Hunmo arrives and starts a battle over the treasures, allowing me to fish in troubled waters..." Qin Sang mused, feeling a pang of regret. He was a newcomer who knew little of the tangled web of relationships among the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Boundless Sea; otherwise, he could have exploited their grudges to actively engineer an opportunity. Mulling over countermeasures, Qin Sang pierced through the drifting purple fire and landed atop a mountain peak. The rocks were scorching hot. This place had once been lush and verdant, filled with the singing of birds and fragrance of flowers; now it had turned to scorched earth, desolate and lifeless. "No use overthinking it for now. I should secure at least one treasure first, then adapt as things develop." Standing firmly on solid ground, Qin Sang swept his gaze around. He could overlook ordinary, third-rate Buddhist sects, but having finally reached the ruins of a powerful Buddhist sect, the jade Buddha showed no reaction whatsoever and offered no guidance, which left him somewhat disappointed. Ultimately, Qin Sang's attention locked onto the two most prominent landmarks. The first was the center where two mountain ranges intersected. Crimson fire aura surged violently from that spot, and the golden roof was built right beside it, atop the peak of an adjacent mountain that also happened to be the highest summit in the entire Pure Sea Sect. The second was a thirteen-story Buddhist pagoda. The pagoda stood further off on a hillside; its Buddhist glow was somewhat dimmer, lacking the splendor of the golden roof, yet it remained remarkable. The golden roof and the pagoda were clearly vital locations of the Pure Sea Sect, practically indistinguishable in importance in Qin Sang's eyes. Yet Qin Sang did not move toward either, because the Fire Jade Centipede pointed in an entirely different direction! Neither the pagoda nor the golden roof, but behind him, toward a valley nearly at the very end of the mountain range! Qin Sang strained his eyes into the distance, seeing only drifting purple fire. His heart stirred. *The Myriad Spirit Fruit is over there—likely a Myriad Spirit Fruit Tree! If the Pure Sea Sect's herb garden survived, there are probably more than just Myriad Spirit Fruit Trees. Securing a few spirit herbs would make this trip worthwhile. The golden roof and the pagoda are tempting, but their restrictions are formidable. I might not be able to breach them before Old Man Hunmo enters, and even if I do, the treasures inside might not suit me. Spirit herbs are different, and the Myriad Spirit Fruit is crucial for the advancement of my spirit insects...* Without hesitation, Qin Sang immediately resolved to head to the herb garden first! Just as he was about to set off, he noticed something. Whirling his head around, he stared hard at the place where the crimson fire aura erupted, then raised his gaze to the sky, eyes flickering. Only then did he realize. At the crater where the crimson fire aura erupted, a faint golden gleam flickered, outlining a swastika that bore a striking resemblance to a seal. The swastika seal, the restrictions on the golden roof and the pagoda, and even the sect-protecting grand formation... These forces seemed to be part of a single, unified whole! *Could the entire Pure Sea Sect be one colossal seal? What is sealed beneath that crimson fire aura? And what will happen if the seal is broken?* The thought suddenly crossed Qin Sang's mind, his eyes narrowing slightly. He noticed further details: while the golden roof seemed stable, the pagoda gave off a precarious, crumbling feel. Though thoughts flashed through his mind, his movements did not falter for a moment. He sped past peak after peak, keeping a constant eye on the shifts in the spirit formation above. The Fire Jade Centipede grew increasingly agitated, signaling that he was drawing closer to the Myriad Spirit Fruit. Before long, Qin Sang arrived near the valley. Gazing down from above, he found it shrouded in mist. Though corrupted purple by the drifting fire and damaged, the restrictions here had still survived. A flicker of joy lit Qin Sang's eyes. Scanning his surroundings, he stationed the Nascent Soul talisman puppet in hiding to keep watch, then flashed forward, diving into the mist. *Whoosh...* The mist churned. The restrictions here had indeed been affected as well, and they were far less grand than the sect-protecting grand formation. Qin Sang quickly found a flaw and slipped inside, the first thing greeting his eyes being a square plot of land. "It really is an herb garden!" This plot had also turned to scorched earth, the spirit herbs within long reduced to ashes. Following the guidance of the Fire Jade Centipede, Qin Sang pressed deeper into the mist. Plot after plot of scorched earth—a lamentable sight. At last, Qin Sang came to a halt. In his grasp, the Fire Jade Centipede thrashed in agitation, desperate to burst forth. The Myriad Spirit Fruit lay just ahead, yet within Qin Sang's line of sight, there was no Myriad Spirit Fruit Tree to be seen—only dense, unremarkable purple mist. *An illusion?* Qin Sang thought. Compared to the other herb plots, the Pure Sea Sect had clearly placed far greater value on the Myriad Spirit Fruit Tree. *Could the Pure Sea Sect truly possess the recipe for refining Spirit Calming Incense?* Pondering this, Qin Sang summoned the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, employing Witch Clan secret arts to assist it in channeling its divine ability. After observing meticulously for a long time, he finally detected a clue. "Go!" Qin Sang barked in a low voice, driving his flying sword to lunge fiercely into an empty patch of purple mist. *Boom!* The mist shuddered, and the sword-light vanished into thin air. At that exact moment, a point of golden light suddenly burst forth within the mist, only to flash and instantly dissipate into nothingness. Rather than alarmed, Qin Sang was overjoyed. Recalling the anomaly just now, after a brief moment, he drove his sword to strike once more.