Seeing Qin Sang's skepticism, Tong Lingyu explained, "Regarding the sea chart, there are indeed rumors in the North Sea. It is said the journey is exceedingly far, but a late Nascent Soul cultivator could traverse the storm belt by relying on the sea chart to reach Zhongzhou. Fellow Daoist, your strength is profound, and your horizons are no longer confined to the four realms of the North Sea; viewing the storm belt as a cage, you have begun searching for the sea chart in hopes of seeking the Great Dao in the outside world. Our Palace Master's devotion to the Dao is not a whit inferior to yours. Had he possessed the sea chart, he would have departed long ago."
With that, she gave a light smile. "If Xuantian Palace possessed the chart, there would be no reason to conceal it. Should top powerhouses like you come knocking, we would grant your request without fail—provided you swore an oath not to lure powerhouses from outside realms back to wreak havoc in the North Sea. You are unwilling to remain content in a secluded corner and choose to leave the North Sea of your own accord; for Xuantian Palace, how could that be anything but good?"
This was indeed true.
Xuantian Palace was a behemoth dominating an entire realm, the foremost power across the four realms of the North Sea.
If all the demon Great Sages in the late Transformation stage and the human great cultivators departed the North Sea to travel abroad, removing those volatile elements, no person or faction would be left to threaten Xuantian Palace.
Qin Sang naturally understood this reasoning.
He had suspected earlier that Ghost Mother's infiltration of Xuantian Palace might not have been for the chart, or at least not purely for it.
"Where did the rumors originate?" Qin Sang countered.
Wind did not blow through an empty cave without reason; there had to be a cause.
Both Xuantian Palace's master and Grand Elder had heard the rumors. Coupled with the chart Ghost Mother obtained at Jinghai Sect, it was evident that people had once traveled between Zhongzhou and the North Sea.
"That is lost to history," Tong Lingyu said, shaking her head. "If Fellow Daoist Qin receives any good news in the future, I sincerely hope you will not forget Xuantian Palace. You will be handsomely rewarded. Should I be fortunate enough to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, I, too, would like to travel abroad and see the sights beyond the North Sea."
Qin Sang let out a soft chuckle.
Even Xuantian Palace couldn't find it; as an outsider, what better methods could he have?
At least in the Beichen Realm, there were no rumors of a sea chart.
Could he only start from the Jinghai Sect?
Qin Sang pondered silently, but because it involved Ghost Mother, he did not mention the Jinghai Sect to Tong Lingyu, intending to investigate on his own once he had the time.
Having only recently broken through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he still had plenty of time and was in no rush.
Seeing Qin Sang lost in thought, Tong Lingyu probed, "Fellow Daoist Qin, we have already demonstrated our sincerity. I wonder..."
Qin Sang looked up, brushed his hand against his waist, and an ice chest appeared in his palm.
Tong Lingyu's beautiful eyes brightened. She gazed at the ice chest for a long while and secretly breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the seal was intact.
Earlier, when Liuli drew upon the power of the ice demon crystal, she had not damaged the seal; no change could be detected from the outside without opening the chest.
"Fellow Daoist Tong treats me with courtesy, and Qin cannot press his luck," Qin Sang said, holding the ice chest aloft and allowing Tong Lingyu to inspect it thoroughly. "Once we emerge from your sect's treasury, I shall present this item with both hands! However, Qin has one more presumptuous request..."
A smile had already begun to grace Tong Lingyu's face, but hearing Qin Sang's tone shift as if he intended to add further conditions, her expression darkened slightly.
Qin Sang said calmly, "Qin has long admired Xuantian Palace and Fellow Daoist Tong. Today presents a rare opportunity, and I would like to seek your guidance and witness the legendary spirit treasure. I wonder what Fellow Daoist Tong thinks?"
His true intention was to experience the genuine power of a spirit treasure.
Whether the Demon Suppressing Stele in the Hall of Seven Kills was a spirit treasure remained uncertain.
Excluding the stele, this was Qin Sang's first opportunity since embarking on cultivation to face a spirit treasure directly.
While at the Xuling Sect, Qin Sang had read descriptions in ancient texts—such as how spirit treasures lacked grade distinctions, and how their might could vary vastly between different treasures, and so forth.
Yet none of that compared to the intuitive understanding gained from firsthand experience.
He had already laid preparations on the island, allowing him to escape at any moment even if Tong Lingyu harbored malicious intent. As for his own methods, having already revealed the demonic fire, he could fight with abandon.
Tong Lingyu was somewhat astonished.
Powerhouses of their caliber did not provoke needless clashes without a motive, and she realized his aim was indeed the spirit treasure.
That Xuantian Palace possessed an inherited spirit treasure was no secret among top figures.
After a brief contemplation, Tong Lingyu said, "Fellow Daoist Qin slew the traitor of Xuantian Palace and helped recover our sacred relic; you are a friend of Xuantian Palace. Blades have no eyes, and should either of us fail to pull our strikes in time during a spar, it would inevitably sour our goodwill. How about limiting ourselves to three exchanges and stopping upon touching?"
Qin Sang caught her underlying meaning, and a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
The Grand Elder was worried she might strike too heavily and injure him!
Was the might of a spirit treasure truly that formidable?
Had he not demonstrated transcendent escape arts surpassing even great cultivators, Tong Lingyu likely would not have agreed to these terms so readily.
Understanding this, Qin Sang gave Tong Lingyu a deep look. His curiosity regarding spirit treasures grew even stronger. Flipping his hand, he stowed the ice chest and said, "Very well! We shall do as Fellow Daoist Tong suggests!"
Tong Lingyu nodded with a smile and turned to Liuli. "Liuli, hold the line for Fellow Daoist Qin and me."
"Yes!"
Liuli took flight, soaring to the perimeter before turning back to watch.
A spar between two top masters that might involve a spirit treasure was no small fortune for her to witness.
Qin Sang and Tong Lingyu exchanged a glance, flew out from the islet in unison, and hovered in midair.
Making no attempt to conceal his means, Qin Sang waved his hand and summoned his demonic banners.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Monstrous demonic flames surged.
A black fire dragon coiled high in the sky before swooping down to circle around Qin Sang, exuding awe-inspiring majesty.
Standing amidst the demonic fire, Qin Sang looked calm and composed, ready for battle.
Tong Lingyu's gaze was drawn to the demonic fire. Sensing the awe-inspiring might radiating from it, the surprise in her expression deepened, and she could not help but take another look at Qin Sang.
After a brief hesitation, she did not retrieve a magic treasure or spirit treasure as Qin Sang had hoped.
Clasping her hands, she fixed her eyes on Qin Sang and chanted incantations under her breath.
With her movements, Qin Sang suddenly felt a chill arise from somewhere unknown, rushing toward him. In the blink of an eye, it surrounded him from every direction.
*Not a magic treasure, but some Daoist art...*
Qin Sang recognized Tong Lingyu's technique and felt a tinge of disappointment, yet he did not lower his guard, remaining focused.
With a three-move limit, Tong Lingyu's choice to use this Daoist art for the first exchange meant she was undoubtedly confident in its power.
Drawing upon past experience, Qin Sang quietly channeled the demonic fire, condensing an armor of flames over his body while commanding the fire dragon to coil inward, transforming himself into a fireball as he watched and waited.
Tong Lingyu paid no heed to Qin Sang's countermeasures, continuing her incantations as her hand seals shifted in rapid succession.
At that moment, the heavens over the battlefield transformed.
Chilling winds howled, and bitter frost descended.
Qin Sang instinctively looked up. Above him, a patch of dark light had appeared at some point, resembling a black cloud. Within the dark light, streams of frigid qi swam about, forming a bizarre prohibition diagram.
The prohibition diagram formed in an instant, yet the Daoist art continued.
Diagram after diagram rapidly condensed, each bearing a distinct image, yet without exception depicting scenes of ice and snow. In an instant, nine diagrams coalesced.
In the distance, Liuli watched the Grand Elder's movements unblinkingly, muttering, "The Nine Nether Cold Prohibitions!"
"Fall!"
Tong Lingyu uttered a low cry.
The nine prohibition diagrams overlapped. A terrifying chill capable of freezing the void descended toward Qin Sang along with the diagrams!
At the same time, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire had already transformed into a fire dragon, roaring into the heavens.
Qin Sang naturally would not sit idly by as Tong Lingyu attacked. Discerning the crux of this Daoist art, he struck without hesitation.
*Boom!*
Since it was a spar, neither made any attempt to evade. With no trickery, the demonic fire and prohibition diagrams collided head-on under the gaze of all three.
To his surprise, Qin Sang found that the diagrams shattered at the mere touch of the demonic fire.
Immediately afterward, however, he sensed something amiss. Reacting swiftly, his incantation shifted sharply; contrary to his usual tactics, he forcefully recalled the demonic fire to circle around him.
In the next instant, the cold qi around Qin Sang flared dramatically as ice and snow engulfed him.
The images within the prohibition diagrams materialized into reality around Qin Sang. With nine diagrams stacked upon one another, phantasms of blizzards, icebergs, and other phenomena surfaced in succession. Yet under Tong Lingyu's control, they encompassed an area less than a hundred feet wide.
Inside the prohibition diagrams, Qin Sang showed no reaction, seemingly shorn of the ability to retaliate.
"Congeal!"
Tong Lingyu gave another low cry.
The power of the prohibition diagrams swept madly inward.
Right at that moment, an astonishing fluctuation erupted from within.
*Boom!*
A torrent of black flames burst forcefully through the prohibition phantasms, lunging toward Tong Lingyu.
The prohibition diagrams reassembled, kicking up residual shockwaves to strike back, but they failed to contain the demonic fire and scarcely affected Qin Sang.
Tong Lingyu's face turned slightly pale. She retreated swiftly to evade the strike, looking at Qin Sang emerging astride the demonic fire, and sighed softly, "I heard that Tingxue Tower's Bitter Winter Talisman and Elder Lan's Sun-Enveloping Ring were both countered by Fellow Daoist Qin. So it was because of this spiritual fire. To think this flame was so extraordinary that even the Nine Nether Cold Prohibitions could not trap you."
Qin Sang goaded her, "If Fellow Daoist Tong continues using such methods, I shall be the victor of this spar."
Tong Lingyu responded with a smile. "It is merely a spar; what does it matter who wins or loses?"
Even so, a touch more solemnity appeared in Tong Lingyu's eyes. Extending her jade-like hand, she lightly patted the mustard seed bag at her waist, and a beam of white light flew out.
Within the white light was a small seal.
The seal seemed carved from white jade, its base bearing no characters, while four lifelike ancient divine beasts—Tengshe serpents—were carved upon its knob, each biting the tail of the next to form an unbroken circle.
Seeing this seal, Qin Sang's gaze turned extraordinarily grave.
Tong Lingyu had made no attempt to conceal its aura, and Qin Sang could naturally tell that this seal was beyond the comparison of any magic treasure!
*So this is a spirit treasure...*
Qin Sang's heart stirred as he stared intently at the small seal.
The small seal spun smoothly, floating in the void before Tong Lingyu.
Tong Lingyu glanced at Qin Sang and said gravely, "This is the spirit treasure, the Fourfold Tengshe Seal. Take care, Fellow Daoist Qin!"
Before her words completely faded, Tong Lingyu looked back toward the seal and silently chanted an incantation.
*Whoosh!*
The Fourfold Tengshe Seal trembled restlessly, releasing invisible ripples that shook the void and repeatedly flashed with cold gleams resembling transparent flames as pure as mystic ice.
Legends held that the Tengshe was a divine beast of flame, yet the serpents upon the seal were now bathed in cold flame, seeming poised to come alive at any moment.
Unlike when he faced the Nine Nether Cold Prohibitions, there was no sensation of creeping cold, yet warning bells blared in Qin Sang's heart as an inexplicable sense of danger welled up, far sharper than before!
Not daring to hesitate, Qin Sang immediately stimulated his fire lotus, sending the demonic fire away from his body to reconvene before him as a fiery dragon.
At the same time, he noticed that the physical form of the Fourfold Tengshe Seal had vanished. The cold light in the void had transformed into endless cold flames, hanging high above like a frigid sun.
Suddenly, a bizarre hiss resonated across the firmament.
The sound seemed to ring right beside Qin Sang's ear, like the shriek of an ancient divine beast echoing across vast stretches of time into the present day.
Before Qin Sang could react, the cold flames within that frigid sun surged violently, and a massive silhouette shot forth—a Tengshe serpent!
Bathed in fire, eyes composed of flame gleaming with sheer ferocity, it glared straight at Qin Sang. Its cold flames spread into fiery wings, and with a flick of its slender body, it lunged directly for him.
In that instant, Qin Sang felt as if he were being hunted by a genuine ancient ferocious beast, and his mind tightened abruptly.
The Tengshe's speed was astonishing as it traversed the void, hurtling forward.
Without a moment's hesitation, Qin Sang stimulated his fire lotus and drove the demonic fire dragon to meet it head-on.
The two flame beasts collided squarely. In an instant, heaven and earth darkened, and the forms of both beasts crumbled piece by piece almost simultaneously!
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
The sky turned somber as monstrous waves churned across the sea.
The two fiery beasts fought fiercely, churning the waters and perishing together, reverting to their most primal energy.
In the void, demonic flames and cold flames intertwined beyond distinction in a chaotic spectacle, the two forces clashing ceaselessly as the shockwaves lingered.
Only after a long while did daylight pierce back into this domain.
Qin Sang and Tong Lingyu had long since dodged back to avoid the shockwaves. Both breathed a little rapidly as they stared at the center of the battlefield with differing expressions.
While Qin Sang frowned slightly, Tong Lingyu's eyes held unmistakable astonishment.
Though the Fourfold Tengshe Seal was powerful, its might was not as overwhelming as Qin Sang had imagined; it had actually been blocked just like that!
Qin Sang knew that while wielding the demonic fire through the eighteen demonic banners surpassed a top-grade magic treasure, it should not have matched a spirit treasure. A spirit treasure shouldn't have been limited to this level of power.
As the shockwaves gradually dissipated, Qin Sang couldn't help but look up at Tong Lingyu.
He saw that Tong Lingyu had recalled the Fourfold Tengshe Seal at some point, holding it between her fingertips. With an expression full of admiration, she praised, "Fellow Daoist Qin's demonic banners are truly remarkable, managing to easily block ten percent of the Fourfold Tengshe Seal's might!"
"Ten percent?"
Qin Sang froze.
Tong Lingyu nodded and sighed softly. "Do not think ten percent is little. Ordinary top-grade magic treasures struggle tremendously against even ten percent of the Fourfold Tengshe Seal's might."
Qin Sang found this almost unbelievable. Staring fixedly at the spirit treasure at her fingertips, he thought: if ten percent of its might was already at this level, what if Tong Lingyu had struck with all her strength earlier...?
As if reading Qin Sang's thoughts, Tong Lingyu shook her head. "Fellow Daoist Qin might be mistaken. How could the might of a spirit treasure be fully commanded by a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
Without holding anything back, she took the initiative to explain, "There are two paths to wielding a spirit treasure. The first is when one's nature is in supreme harmony with the spirit treasure's spirituality, gaining its acknowledgment effortlessly, though such cases are exceedingly rare. The second is to forcefully tame the spirit treasure: either possessing cultivating prowess high enough to make the treasure submit, or practicing a Treasure Mastery Formula to control it. The Treasure Mastery Formula for each spirit treasure is unique, created by the person who forged the treasure. If that creator did not inscribe the Treasure Mastery Formula within the spirit treasure during its forging, outsiders would never be able to use it without knowing the formula, even if they obtained it. Yet no matter the method, there are cultivation requirements placed on the wielder. With my current cultivation, I can only bring out less than twenty percent of the Fourfold Tengshe Seal's might."
Chapter 1461