Within the Qingxu Illusory Realm.
The external incarnation returned, stepped into the cave dwelling, and sat cross-legged before the true body.
Before long, the true body completed a full circulation of his cultivation technique and awakened from meditation. The second Nascent Soul flew out from the crown of the incarnation's head, slipping into the true body in a flash to be nourished.
Everything experienced during the excursion was now fully known to the true body.
Scenes and observations flashed through his mind like revolving lantern slides.
"The South Sea immortal palace... the Gu God Cult..."
This was the information Qin Sang cared about most; at the very least, it provided a lead.
He did not intend to return to the two southern barbarian prefectures right away to seek out the Gu God Cult.
Lurking in the shadows and stirring with restless ambition, the Gu God Cult was plainly not on the same path as the overt Buddhist and Daoist factions. Approaching them now would likely drag him into an incomprehensible storm, leaving him caught in the middle and unsure whether to advance or retreat.
As long as the Gu God Cult had schemes, they would eventually expose their hand.
His purpose in seeking the immortal palace was to obtain cultivation techniques, not the supreme treasures that everyone fought over. So long as the palace remained, there was no rush. It would not be too late to observe the world's shifting tides and wait for an opportune moment to act.
Until then, he might as well devote his full attention to cultivating and breaking through as early as possible.
Having made his decision, Qin Sang beckoned with his hand, drawing the chunk of ice from the incarnation's grasp into his palm. The five-colored poison spider was sealed within the ice, still alive and clinging to life with remarkable tenacity.
Crack!
Qin Sang pinched the ice open.
The five-colored poison spider had curled its eight legs tightly into a ball. Sensing the constraints vanish, its legs twitched slightly. It whirled around, all eight legs dancing in a frantic bid to flee.
The next instant, the spider and its toxic web froze in place. It found several invisible walls boxing it in, trapping it within a cramped space where it could see nothing, and it let out an uneasy hiss.
Qin Sang erected the invisible cage, closed his eyes slightly to sense it closely, and muttered to himself, "It doesn't seem like a naturally born spirit insect. The venom it spews feels like a fusion of various toxins—there is a jarring dissonance to it, and its temperament is exceptionally ferocious. I've heard that in the cultivation world, there is a method of raising evil insects by having them devour other spirit insects, or confining several specific spirit insects together in a deathmatch to winnow out the single fiercest evil insect, known as a 'gu.' That is distinctly different from the Witch Clan's natal insect gu techniques... Could this have been artificially bred?"
Having raised spirit insects for so long, Qin Sang had heard of various insect-controlling techniques.
The Witch Clan's natal insect gu was unsuited to being upgraded through such methods.
A natal insect gu already carried the risk of backlash. A 'gu' raised in this manner possessed an extremely savage nature, which would only make matters worse; used on a natal insect gu, it would likely turn on its master on the spot.
Furthermore, a natal insect gu was tied to a cultivator's very life and cultivation, meaning others could not seize it. This five-colored spider did not have such an intimate bond with its master; the imprint the gray-robed man had left inside it had already been wiped away by Qin Sang, severing all connection to its former owner.
After a moment's thought, Qin Sang awakened the fat silkworm.
The fat silkworm blinked with bleary, half-asleep eyes, not yet having rested enough, only for Qin Sang to grab it by the nape of its neck and drop it before the five-colored poison spider.
The five-colored poison spider had been scurrying about blindly like a headless fly. Suddenly spotting an uninvited guest, it tensed as though confronting a mortal enemy, glaring fixedly at the fat silkworm and hissing a shrill warning.
The fat silkworm barely lifted its eyelids, cast a glance at the spider, and stretched lazily.
Enraged by this attitude, the spider swelled its abdomen and pointed its rear at the fat silkworm, brewing a globule of five-colored venom—brilliant yet lethal.
Rather than shooting from the spider's body, the venom faded and vanished from sight.
The next instant, a transparent web materialized around the fat silkworm, shifting in an eyeblink into a five-colored poison web that snapped open with a pop, sweeping down to envelop the fat silkworm from above.
Danger closed in.
The fat silkworm's eyelids twitched. The sluggishness in its eyes vanished, replaced by a look of intrigue, followed by an excited chirp.
Snap!
The edges of the web adhered to the fat silkworm's body and cinched tight immediately, biting into its flesh so deeply that rolls of fat bulged out.
The venom sought to seep through the welts.
A look of sheer disdain crossed the fat silkworm's face. It snorted, opened its mouth, and spat out the poison-dispelling halo familiar to Qin Sang—only this one was far more solid than any Qin Sang had seen before.
In the core of the halo, the outline of a round bead had even condensed.
Qin Sang let out a soft exclamation. He had assumed the fat silkworm was still as useless as ever after its advancement, but it turned out there really had been a change!
The halo expanded outward. Upon contacting the spider's silk, the bead inside abruptly unleashed an immense suction, vacuuming up every trace of silk in the blink of an eye.
The entire web was reduced to a single strand, forced to reveal itself where it connected to the spider's rear.
The spider's meager intellect could not fathom what was happening. Its eyes filled with disbelief as it frantically pumped its abdomen, shooting out even more venom.
Yet no matter how much venom came, the fat silkworm refused none of it. Everything was swallowed by the bead. The more it ate, the more spirited it became, wagging its head and tail in smug triumph.
Hiss, hiss...
The five-colored poison spider began to feel terror. Its hisses turned panicked as a glazed sheen spread across its body, and its entire form melted into a pool of liquid.
This was a sight Qin Sang had witnessed before—it meant the spider was preparing to flee.
With a thought, Qin Sang decided to test the fat silkworm's capabilities and removed the invisible cage surrounding the spider.
Through the eyes of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, the transparent thread in the void was laid completely bare. The liquid venom rolled along the invisible thread, attempting to escape the fat silkworm's clutches.
What the fat silkworm did next took Qin Sang by surprise.
The poison-dispelling halo flared dramatically and appeared ahead of time right where the five-colored poison spider was about to manifest. Before the spider could even resume its true form, the halo swallowed it whole.
Qin Sang hesitated for a moment but did not step in to stop it.
Having been swallowed, the five-colored spider vanished. The halo flickered intermittently, the bead inside pulsating as though digesting its newly acquired meal before gradually settling into calm.
In the end, only a pristine spider carapace was spat out, its abdomen utterly shriveled.
The fat silkworm opened its mouth wide, swallowed the halo back into its belly, and let out a thoroughly satisfied burp.
Watching the entire battle between the two spirit insects, Qin Sang saw the fat silkworm in a new light.
Before this, the fat silkworm had eaten many things—demon cores, purple crystals, toxic algae seeds, frog-fish poison sacs, and the like—yet none of them had been pure poison, and all had required a long time to digest.
Evidently, the fat silkworm had previously been unable to absorb toxins directly.
In this fight against the five-colored poison spider, it had sucked its enemy bone-dry right to its face. This ability to directly devour venom was definitely a newly awakened power from its metamorphosis.
Whether devouring the five-colored poison spider would bring the fat silkworm any notable benefits remained to be seen.
Looking the fat silkworm up and down, Qin Sang mused that he would have to reevaluate the little creature.
Had this ability been comprehended purely through metamorphosis? Qin Sang's eyes flickered as he glanced at the spider's carcass, lost in thought.
Three possibilities came to mind.
The first, naturally, was the bloodline of the fat silkworm's own species—perhaps all of its kind gained such an ability after the fourth metamorphosis.
The second possibility was that the five-colored poison spider itself was special.
It was an artificially bred evil insect.
This was the first time Qin Sang had encountered such a creature; perhaps it possessed unique traits that happened to be countered by the fat silkworm, making it the fat silkworm's favored food.
The third possibility was an association Qin Sang drew from another incident.
Upon first arriving in Zhongzhou, they had encountered a swarm of rotphosphor fireflies in the Northern Wilderness's Sky Rift Valley, where the fat silkworm had struck a trade with the insect king and obtained an amber insect crystal.
The scene from that day remained vivid in his memory.
Wherever the swarm of rotphosphor fireflies passed, the vitality of all living beings was plundered, leaving behind only barren desolation.
After refining the amber insect crystal, could the fat silkworm have acquired that 'plundering' ability, fusing it with its own innate gifts to awaken a new divine ability?
The more Qin Sang thought about it, the more the third possibility seemed the most likely, as it had traceable precedent.
Even so, the metamorphosis of spirit insects defied straightforward logic. What mortals understood of it was only the surface; without an abundance of specimens to examine, drawing a definite conclusion was nearly impossible.
Unconcerned with Qin Sang's musings, the fat silkworm wanted only to sleep now that its belly was full. It turned and slipped into Yagu's glabella.
"This fellow is getting lazier by the day," Qin Sang thought.
The fat silkworm growing stronger was worth celebrating, but not enough to send him over the moon. After all, it was still confined to the narrow path of poisons.
Qin Sang closed his eyes and returned to his meditation.
After the second Nascent Soul had been nourished inside the true body for several days, Xie An came to report that a visitor from Mount Bunian had arrived.
Lu Zhang had sent the treasures!
With the Nascent Soul returning, the incarnation rose and walked out of the cave dwelling. The visitor was a young Daoist with the appearance of a youth, yet he was an early Nascent Soul cultivator.
The young man bowed with great courtesy. "Fu Han greets Daoist Priest Qingfeng."
"Are you Sect Master Situ's esteemed disciple?"
Qin Sang had heard of this person.
The current Sect Master of Mount Bunian was named Situ Yu, and Fu Han was his prized disciple—reputed to be the foremost genius among Mount Bunian's younger generation and the undisputed candidate to become the next sect master.
Fu Han demurred modestly. Following Qin Sang into the main hall, he did not even take a seat, instead producing two jade boxes and opening them one by one. "Master and Martial Uncle Lu had intended to come in person to offer their thanks. Due to some inconveniences, they instructed me to deliver these two treasures instead... We hope the Daoist Priest will not take offense."
Seeing that Fu Han seemed rather pressed for time, Qin Sang dispensed with formalities and looked toward the jade boxes. Inside one lay a piece of white crystal.
Its texture resembled chilled jade, exuding wisps of white vapor that were sealed in by the box's restrictions. It was indeed a cold crystal.
The other jade box held a medicinal pill.
Qin Sang accepted the cold crystal without hesitation, but left the pill untouched. "Fellow Daoist Lu is a man of utmost integrity, but he and I had an agreement beforehand; a single cold crystal is more than enough."
Fu Han shook his head repeatedly. "I am merely the bearer of these gifts. Martial Uncle Lu entrusted me to thank you on his behalf for your chivalrous assistance. You must accept this Shouzhen Pill, Daoist Priest; otherwise, I will not be able to answer to my martial uncle when I return to the mountain."
In times of peril, a Shouzhen Pill could save a life.
Qin Sang had not expected Lu Zhang to be so generous.
After a round of polite refusals, Qin Sang accepted the Shouzhen Pill.
Relieved, Fu Han immediately took his leave.
Qin Sang could not persuade him to stay.
Fu Han explained, "To be frank with you, Daoist Priest, the Sitting Contemplation Bell is of utmost importance to Martial Uncle Lu. He must re-refine this treasure before his cultivation can advance any further. To assist him, Master and another martial uncle have entered seclusion alongside Martial Uncle Lu. The mountain is burdened with numerous affairs, so we of the younger generation must share our elders' burdens. We have already dispatched people to covertly investigate that grotesque-faced man. The moment there is news, it will be delivered to Mount Pu as well..."
Fu Han departed as swiftly as he had arrived.
Carrying the two treasures, Qin Sang returned to the Qingxu Illusory Realm.
The true body cultivated in quiet.
The incarnation ceased wandering about as well, attempting to refine the cold crystal to aid in cultivating the Ice Soul Divine Light.
This was partly because of the grotesque-faced man. Lu Zhang held high status and authority, so it would not be hard for the grotesque-faced man to identify him; tracking Mount Bunian could lead back to Qin Sang, posing a potential threat.
Furthermore, upon his return, Qin Sang had discovered that his true body's cultivation was already nearing the peak of the mid Nascent Soul stage, and he would soon begin attempting to break through the late-stage bottleneck.
During a breakthrough, no outside disturbances could be tolerated; the incarnation had to remain at Mount Pu at all times to shoulder the duty of protecting him.
Spring gave way to autumn.
Over a decade passed.
Xie An and the others suddenly received an order from the Ancestor: the Qingxu Illusory Realm was to be closed, and no one was permitted to enter without permission.
Within the secret realm, the cave dwelling was completely sealed off as well.
The external incarnation sat cross-legged inside a wooden building outside, guarding the true body.
By this point, the true body had been in seclusion within the Qingxu Illusory Realm for nearly ninety years, finally reaching consummation. His cultivation had attained the peak of the mid Nascent Soul stage, touching the bottleneck.
This breakthrough would not be accomplished overnight.
Qin Sang could not say for sure how long it would take.
The only good news was that the effects of the buddha bone relic still lingered, giving him great confidence!
He had not anticipated that this seclusion would last for twenty years.
During those years, many major events transpired across Zhongzhou, but none concerned Qin Sang; no matter how momentous an affair, it could not disturb the true body.
In fact, the incarnation had barely left the Qingxu Illusory Realm either.
The Xie clan held sway over Fudu Commandery, living in peace alongside the Liuxu Sect.
Under Qin Sang's discipline, the Xie clan's disciples did not dare act domineering. As for the commandery's affairs, Xie An and the others, along with Zhou Jin and his wife, were fully capable of handling them without needing to disturb Qin Sang.
Lu Zhang had remained in seclusion all this while as well.
After re-refining the Sitting Contemplation Bell, he still had to refine the stone toad and cultivate divine abilities—none of which could be accomplished in a short time. It would likely be a very long time before anyone saw him again.
During that period, Mount Bunian had sent word several times, but they had been unable to pinpoint the grotesque-faced man's whereabouts. Moreover, the adversary was a Great Cultivator, making vengeance no simple matter.
On this day, Xie An was demonstrating an incantation to the younger generation.
Suddenly sensing something, he looked up and saw a streak of light flying from the horizon, heading straight for Mount Pu. Outside the mountain, it transformed into a startling rainbow, its crimson glow illuminating the peak of Mount Pu.
"A warning sword talisman from Mount Bunian!"
Xie An froze, his face shifting drastically. Ordering all disciples back to their abodes, he leaped into the air, caught the sword talisman, and hurried back into the mountain.
Inside the Qingxu Illusory Realm, Qin Sang's incarnation received the report and instructed Xie An to bring the sword talisman inside.
Having read its contents, Qin Sang crushed the sword talisman and murmured, "Things are growing more chaotic by the day!"
He rose to his feet and spoke to Xie An beside him, "Starting today, Mount Pu is sealed. No disciples of the Xie clan may leave the mountain without good reason. Inform Zhou Jin to have the Loutai Temple stay on guard as well."
Restless and perturbed, Xie An asked softly, "Ancestor, has some disaster befallen Mount Bunian?"
Qin Sang shook his head. "For now, no one dares provoke Mount Bunian itself, but the same cannot be said for other places. The clan of a deceased Mount Bunian elder was attacked by unidentified assailants, and they sent a message pleading for help. The attackers came prepared, and Mount Bunian cannot send aid in time. Fortunately, the location is not far from Fudu Commandery, so they have asked me to intervene."
"Devils from the Northern Wilderness again? They dare infiltrate Zhuo Prefecture!" Xie An gasped.
He had long heard of the frequent turmoil in Zhaoyao Prefecture to the north.
Being closest to the Northern Wilderness, Zhaoyao Prefecture had often suffered harassment from devils in the past. These fiends came and went without a trace, fleeing back into the Northern Wilderness after striking, and their methods were brutal, frequently slaughtering entire families.
In recent years, such incidents had grown increasingly frequent, leaving everyone in Zhaoyao Prefecture in a state of constant dread. He had never imagined the devils would become so brazen as to stretch their demonic claws into Zhuo Prefecture!
Chapter 1563