District Jia.
Having frightened off the tail, Qin Sang returned to his rented cave dwelling. Opening the jade casket to examine it closely, he was astonished to discover that the down feather had grown somewhat darker than before, and its shape had shifted as well.
The feather seemed alive, constantly writhing, though only ever so slightly—it was noticeable only after some time had passed.
Qin Sang pondered for a moment, deciding against rashly breaking the seal. Channeling his divine sense, he probed slightly into the jade casket, sensing a wisp of danger from the down feather. As expected, it was no ordinary thing.
"How much of a threat can this really pose to the strange-faced man?"
Qin Sang fell into contemplation.
He had no doubts about the power of a Myriad Poison Mountain sect treasure, but so much time had passed, introducing too many variables; the strange-faced man might well possess the means to suppress the residual poison.
Furthermore, the most dangerous thing about the strange-faced man was the jade beetle.
Pinning his hopes entirely on a single item was unwise.
Qin Sang stowed the jade casket away and took out the Dream-Parting Powder. The pills and medicinal powders required for the gu-rearing technique were now fully assembled; he could begin preparing for the Fire Jade Centipede's metamorphosis.
Next, Qin Sang needed to forcibly elevate the Crimson Wild Origin Insect to the late third transformation. Using pills with severe lingering side effects would not be an issue, as they would not impair the ultimate gu-refining result.
Then, over the course of a year, he would continuously feed spirit medicine to the Fire Jade Centipede.
With all preparations complete, he only needed to proceed step by step.
Qin Sang partitioned three separate zones within the quiet room and released the Fire Jade Centipede, the Blazing Fire Silkworm, and the Crimson Wild Origin Insect. With a flash of light in his palm, a pill bottle appeared. Pouring out three pills, he flicked one in front of each spirit insect.
Enticed by the medicinal fragrance, they swallowed the pills in one gulp and scurried excitedly within their restrictions.
He did not need to keep his eyes on them constantly while they digested the pills.
Qin Sang sat cross-legged and sank into meditation, cultivating on his own.
A wisp of black light flashed between his brows.
A fiery lotus drifted out, having bloomed slightly more than before. Layers of petals nestled together were now visible—a lotus blossom on the verge of full bloom.
A demonic banner flew out from Qin Sang's sleeve, drawing out wisps of demonic fire. Qin Sang slowly refined them and merged them into the fiery lotus.
As his mastery of the Fire-Planted Golden Lotus deepened, this process should have grown faster.
Yet his current speed was noticeably slower than it had been twenty years ago.
The reason was not merely that he was nearing a bottleneck, but because Qin Sang was on the verge of touching the purest core essence of the demonic fire.
When his cultivation had been low, Qin Sang had not known the Fire-Planted Golden Lotus. When wielding the demonic banners, he had only driven the outward aura of the demonic fire, similar to how the solar divine bird condensed from the aura of the Nanming Primordial Fire.
As his realm advanced and he cultivated the Fire-Planted Golden Lotus, he became able to directly command the demonic fire in battle, yet he had still never touched the core essence sealed by the dark iron pillars.
What was certain was that the Nine Nether Demonic Fire was a technique belonging to devils of the Deity Transformation stage or even higher. As for the demonic fire he had subdued with the demonic banners, he would surely be able to refine all of it once he broke through to the Deity Transformation stage.
Now, within most of the eighteen demonic banners, only a single wisp of demonic fire essence remained.
Qin Sang's cultivation was insufficient; attempting to refine the demonic fire essence exerted a sudden surge of pressure and yielded agonizingly slow progress, which was also one of the sources of his bottleneck. If he could fully refine the essence of the demonic fire, it would signify complete mastery over the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, and his divine sense would surely achieve a leap forward.
Achieving this step, however, was extraordinarily difficult!
After arriving at Feiyun Ferry, Qin Sang remained in constant contact with Jiang Mu, keeping a close eye on movements from all sides while waiting for high-profile treasure exchanges and auctions.
Over the following year, Qin Sang fed the three spirit insects according to his plan.
By the eleventh month, the Crimson Wild Origin Insect predictably advanced to the late third transformation. Due to the violent nature of the pills it had ingested, its temperament was the most ferocious among the three, and it could only barely stabilize at this stage.
Trapped within the restrictions, they were placed right next to each other, able to see one another clearly day and night. They longed to devour one another, separated only by an invisible barrier.
The most mild-mannered was the Fire Jade Centipede, which curled lazily into a ball, not even bothering to glance at its two companions.
Whoosh!
Pills were shot into the restrictions.
Accustomed to being fed, the three spirit insects leaped up and gulped down the pills, their beady eyes glaring greedily at one another, itching to snatch more.
"The time is about ripe..."
Qin Sang muttered to himself. After a moment's thought, he recalled the three spirit insects into the spirit beast pouch, rose, and stepped out of his cave dwelling. Boarding his beast carriage, he parked it at a post station on the north bank of Feiyun Ferry, then darted off toward the wilderness.
Finding a relatively spacious valley, Qin Sang tapped his fingers repeatedly, sending out streams of flowing light that laid down a spirit array in the open clearing. Once activated, a hemispherical crimson barrier emerged.
Next, he summoned the three spirit insects and cast them into the spirit array, still separating them with restrictions.
The Qianjun Ring flashed, and more than a dozen jade bottles flew out. With several pops, the jade bottles opened on their own, and spirit medicines scattered across the air like celestial petals, their varied fragrances mingling together.
There were pills, powders, and spirit liquids.
All of these were essential ingredients recorded in the Gu Classic.
Qin Sang gestured with his fingers, sorting the medicines into categories and casting them one by one into the spirit array according to the prescribed steps. Knowing little about alchemy, he felt this process closely resembled pill refining—the spirit array served as the furnace, and what would ultimately be refined was a spirit insect.
The medicines blended inside the array, forming a visible stream of medicinal power that swirled into a ring above the formation.
Catching the exotic fragrance, the three spirit insects grew agitated, emitting shrill hisses as they were pinned firmly to the ground by the restrictions.
Qin Sang brought out the bottle of medium-grade Dream-Parting Powder and flicked it before the Fire Jade Centipede. After ingesting it, the centipede regained a sliver of lucidity.
At that moment, Qin Sang suddenly lifted the suppression.
The Blazing Fire Silkworm and the Crimson Wild Origin Insect instantly transformed into streaks of crimson light, plunging into the stream of medicine. The Fire Jade Centipede shook its head in a daze, but seeing the two spirit insects greedily gorging on the spirit medicine, it grew anxious and dived in as well.
At first, with spirit medicine in abundance, the three spirit insects gorged themselves recklessly, caring little about fighting. Soon, however, they were forced into conflict.
The spirit medicines possessed the power to stimulate the insects' ferocity.
Having taken the Dream-Parting Powder, the Fire Jade Centipede fared slightly better, while the Blazing Fire Silkworm and the Crimson Wild Origin Insect were already rabid with fury. The moment they drew near, they snapped viciously at each other.
Before long, the Fire Jade Centipede was forced to join the fray.
The three spirit insects clashed in a chaotic brawl.
The Blazing Fire Silkworm spewed magma from its mouth.
The Crimson Wild Origin Insect emanated a crimson aura that formed the shape of a fire spirit, convincing enough to pass for the real thing.
The Fire Jade Centipede was not adept at direct combat, but its innate talents granted it high resistance against such attacks. Moreover, with the highest cultivation and lingering wisps of intellect, its instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm remained intact, leaving it with the lightest injuries.
As time wore on, the battle within the spirit array grew increasingly brutal. Broken carapaces and severed limbs flew, punctuated from time to time by grating crunching sounds. What little clarity remained in the Fire Jade Centipede's mind was soon ground away.
Seizing the right moment, Qin Sang fed it another dose of Dream-Parting Powder.
Finally, the Crimson Wild Origin Insect was the first to fall. Bitten at both ends by the Fire Jade Centipede and the Blazing Fire Silkworm, its plump body was ripped clean in half.
Crunch! Crunch!
Munching on their enemy's remains, the Blazing Fire Silkworm and the Fire Jade Centipede grew even more ferocious. Glaring savagely at one another, they lunged forward in unison.
Qin Sang flicked in the final batch of pills. As the two spirit insects fought to the death, they absorbed the medicinal power, making the clash ever more horrific.
In the end, the Fire Jade Centipede used its remaining legs—most of which were broken—to tightly coil around the Blazing Fire Silkworm. Ignoring the torrents of magma the silkworm spewed, it bit through the silkworm's belly and burrowed inside.
The Blazing Fire Silkworm convulsed violently, letting out a shrill shriek. The more it struggled, the greater its agony, until its entire body abruptly stiffened, its life force draining rapidly away.
Squelch!
The Fire Jade Centipede bit through the Blazing Fire Silkworm and swallowed the mangled remains raw.
Holding the final bottle of Dream-Parting Powder in his hand, Qin Sang watched with a grave expression as the centipede went from frenziedly devouring the flesh to slowly savoring it bite by bite.
At the same time, the color of the Fire Jade Centipede's carapace began to change, emitting a faint golden radiance.
Having consumed the entire corpse, the Fire Jade Centipede seemed still unsatisfied. It dropped to the ground, searching for fragments of severed limbs and leaving not a scrap to waste, before finally sprawling on the earth, its body contorting.
The golden radiance grew increasingly vivid.
Starting from its dorsal carapace, the Fire Jade Centipede's entire body was dyed a reddish gold.
During this transformation, its aura climbed steadily, surging faster and faster. Flames swirled around its body as it began to spin a cocoon.
"It finally succeeded!"
Qin Sang's face lit up with joy, and without hesitation, he fed it the final dose of Dream-Parting Powder. The Fire Jade Centipede's aura gradually settled as it fell into a deep slumber within the fiery cocoon.
He did not know what laws governed the metamorphosis of spirit insects.
The Fire Jade Centipede's slumber this time was exceptionally short; in less than half a year, Qin Sang sensed movement within the fiery cocoon. Returning to the same spot, he laid down a formation.
Riiip!
The fiery cocoon tore open, and the Fire Jade Centipede crawled out. Sensing heavenly might, it raised its head, letting out series of hisses, then buried its head to devour the fiery cocoon.
It was entirely reddish-gold, gleaming with a metallic luster.
Rumble!
Tribulation clouds gathered, darkening the sky with thunder and lightning.
Qin Sang shifted his hand seals at once, and mirrors manifested on the surface of the spirit array. This formation incorporated the Profound Mirror Array to aid the Fire Jade Centipede in crossing its tribulation.
The tribulation clouds drew inward as lightning danced across them.
Suddenly, Qin Sang's expression shifted, and in a flash, he flew out of the valley.
The Central Plains were densely populated, especially the Six Jiangzuo Prefectures.
Though Qin Sang had chosen a wilderness location for the centipede's tribulation, numerous factions existed in the surrounding area, including sects with Nascent Soul cultivators.
The heavenly tribulation was a magnificent and thunderous spectacle.
A Nascent Soul patriarch who was quietly meditating was jolted from his seclusion. Flying into midair, he cast a glance toward the horizon and shot through the void. Exhaling a puff of white vapor, he melded into it and vanished into thin air.
Before long, catching sight of the tribulation clouds from afar, the Nascent Soul patriarch paused slightly, an expression of astonishment appearing on his face. "Eh? What a strange tribulation cloud... Could it be..."
Remembering something he had read in an ancient text, the Nascent Soul elder was overjoyed. Suddenly noticing an approaching light streak from the north, he gave a cold snort and sped forward.
Yet before he could draw near the tribulation clouds, the Nascent Soul patriarch heard two strange sounds—"Heng! Ha!"—and felt a sharp jolt of pain pierce his nascent soul. His body swayed, and to his astonishment, he found that his old rival had been struck just the same, his light streak jerking to a halt with noticeably erratic fluctuations in his aura.
"Take one step further, and die!"
A thunderous roar rang out clearly amid the rolling peals of thunder.
At the same time, a bolt of silver-white lightning tore through the firmament, striking straight down into the valley. In an instant, it illuminated half the sky, revealing the faint silhouette of a man.
The two Nascent Soul cultivators halted in terror, not daring to cross the line by half a step.
No wonder a fourth-metamorphosis spirit insect had appeared here.
With the Ullambana Festival drawing near, many old eccentrics who had been in seclusion for years were emerging into the world. Rumors had been swirling around Feiyun Ferry lately, and this person was likely one of them.
Boom!
The mountains shook, and the valley turned a blinding silver-white.
After a single strike of tribulation lightning, the tribulation clouds dispersed.
Qin Sang swept a glance over his surroundings, flashed down into the valley, and released the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to absorb the threads of lightning. Confirming that the Fire Jade Centipede was unharmed, he recalled the spirit insect and sped away.
Only long after he had departed did the two Nascent Soul cultivators dare approach.
Over the days that followed, others circled the vicinity one after another, but all came away empty-handed.
Taking a wide detour, Qin Sang returned to his cave dwelling at Feiyun Ferry and released the Fire Jade Centipede to inspect it.
Thanks to thorough preparation, the Fire Jade Centipede had left behind no severe complications after its metamorphosis. Much of its savage malice had been dissolved by the Dream-Parting Powder, and its mind remained relatively clear. It still recognized Qin Sang as its master, coiling obediently in Qin Sang's palm and tinting his skin reddish-gold.
It would need to recuperate quietly for some time before it could fully recover.
Carefully reaching into the Fire Jade Centipede's consciousness, Qin Sang could still sense a trace of residual ferocity. After patiently soothing it for a while, he began to probe its condition in detail.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Qin Sang opened his eyes, looking pensive.
"This metamorphosis undoubtedly enhanced its perception. Then there is the reddish-gold carapace on its body, which is remarkably hard and seems to possess other powers, allowing it to withstand harsh environments and increasing its survivability. A treasure hunter must first survive to find treasure, so that makes sense..."
What Qin Sang valued most was the Fire Jade Centipede's treasure-hunting ability; he had no great expectations for its combat prowess, so this outcome was completely acceptable.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
He had always assumed the Fire Jade Centipede had not comprehended any divine abilities during its third transformation, but perhaps it had simply gained increased resistance to fire, which was why there had been no obvious change.
What gave Qin Sang a headache was that after its breakthrough, Fire Melting Pills no longer offered much benefit to it, meaning he would have to search for other spirit medicines.
While he had some leads regarding the fat silkworm, it required devouring high-tier gu insects, and the cost of rearing gu was making Qin Sang cry out in dismay.
"Raising three fourth-metamorphosis spirit insects... I really can't afford it..."
Qin Sang sighed, sent the Fire Jade Centipede back to sleep, and turned his hand to produce an invitation.
Jiang Mu had personally delivered this a month ago, inviting him to an auction two months later.
The auction was to be held in a commandery city a thousand li south of Feiyun Ferry. It was advertised that treasures capable of driving Core Formation cultivators wild might appear.
Yet Jiang Mu had delivered the invitation to Qin Sang's residence with great solemnity. Qin Sang naturally understood: the top-tier treasure exchange gathering he had been anticipating was finally about to begin!
Taking advantage of the remaining time, Qin Sang first paid a visit to Mount Pu.
Halting outside the cave dwelling, the original body did not enter. After a brief hesitation, he turned and left.
While the original body had been active around Feiyun Ferry, his avatar had remained in seclusion within the Pure Emptiness Illusionary Realm, focusing intently on comprehending the Ice Soul Divine Light.
The ice disc provided an ample supply of cold fiend energy.
The avatar's divine ability had progressed by leaps and bounds. Had it not been necessary to refine the cold fiend energy while modifying the divine ability to suit himself, he would likely have already perfected it by now!
Unfortunately, the avatar was currently at a crucial juncture of breakthrough and could not exit seclusion, leaving the original body to attend the treasure exchange gathering alone.
Returning once more to Feiyun Ferry, Qin Sang sorted through the items in his Qianjun Ring, picking out those that could be used for trading alongside various miscellaneous goods.
At a top-tier treasure exchange gathering, transactions were basically conducted through bartering; spirit stones held little significance.
One had to weigh the gains and losses for oneself.
When the time arrived, Qin Sang departed Feiyun Ferry early, traveling southward by boat. Following the winding waters, he disembarked on the west bank of Feiyun Ferry at a commandery city named Tianzhong Commandery.
Six Prefectures Hall's choice of Tianzhong Commandery was intriguing; it was said to sit precisely at the center of the Six Jiangzuo Prefectures, the very heart of the five great sects.
Chapter 1589