Paths

His true essence circulated. After completing a heavenly circuit, Qin Sang woke from his meditation. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly fluttered onto Qin Sang's shoulder, her wings slowly opening and closing, casting a faint, clear glow in the dim cave dwelling. After devouring Qin Sang's tribulation lightning, the patterns upon her wings had subtly changed once more—not only becoming more exquisite, but also taking on an added edge of sharpness. Qin Sang glanced sideways at her. He, however, could not be as carefree as the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Reaching Deity Transformation should have heralded a smooth and unhindered path. Just as Ghost Mother had once said, upon breaking through to the corresponding realm, Qin Sang had developed a sense for the Gate of the Dao Marker in this world, pointing far to the east. Following that inexplicable resonance, even without a sea chart, he would not have to worry about losing his way in the storm belt. Barring any mishaps, like the predecessors before him, Qin Sang would continue cultivating in this realm for a period of time. Once fully prepared, he would journey east across Guixu and ascend through the Dao marker into an entirely new world. Yet the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao had thrown everything into chaos! His natal spirit insect, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, had already reached the peak of the late fourth metamorphosis. After reaching Deity Transformation, even if Qin Sang could not concoct a Qingshuang Pill while nurturing her with the Spirit Rearing Method, there was still hope for her to break through to the fifth metamorphosis. Now, however, he had to proceed with utmost caution. Because spirit insects lacked awakened sapience, the influence of the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao on them was likely far more severe than on human cultivators and demons. "I can only start with myself... But how can I swiftly raise my strength?" Qin Sang fell into deep thought. If push came to shove and he was forced to cross Guixu by brute force, only with sufficient strength would there be any hope of survival. Turning his mind inward, he silently circulated his cultivation art. The contents of the eleventh tier of the scripture surfaced in his mind. While comprehending the Nascent Soul portion, Qin Sang had already sensed that the bloodlust of this killing dao cultivation technique seemed to be waning. Throughout his entire time in the Nascent Soul stage, he had never deliberately leaned into slaughter or embarked on indiscriminate killing sprees. The insights gained from repeatedly challenging powerful foes across realms had been enough to sustain his comprehension of the technique. Obtaining the subsequent layers of the technique had confirmed this. The eleventh tier of the cultivation technique was precisely the process of condensing sword souls—shifting from continuously slaying to form killing talismans and sword spirits, toward integrating the Dao of Killing into oneself and dividing out sword souls! "Rather than saying its killing intent has weakened, it is more accurate to say that the creator of the scripture no longer used—nor needed—'killing' as a mere means. They had stepped into a more profound realm, standing at a higher plane! There is no need for wanton slaughter, no need to chase external things like killing talismans or sword spirits. The Dao of Killing is one's own Dao!" Having thought through this, Qin Sang faintly grasped the pulse of the technique, perceiving the journey of its creator during its conception, and what followed immediately was sheer awe. Prior to the tenth tier, the sword talismans, sword spirits, and the like were akin to trial after trial made by the creator. Enlightenment sought through slaughter, yet in the beginning obtaining only external manifestations, treading forward with immense difficulty—until breaking through to Deity Transformation, that senior had finally found their own Dao! Qin Sang could even feel the arduous process of that search. "Could it be that senior created the technique entirely from scratch right from the beginning, advancing step by grueling step?" Qin Sang could not help but be astonished. Creating a cultivation technique was something he too could do now. Before the Golden Core stage, it would not be difficult, but once reaching the Nascent Soul stage, it would require painstaking contemplation and an enormous amount of mental effort to deduce. That was only because his cultivation realm was high enough, supported by several centuries of profound accumulation that allowed him to view things from a vantage point of mastery. Beyond Deity Transformation, exceeding his own realm, Qin Sang would find it difficult to control the direction. If he took a wrong turn, several centuries of painstaking cultivation could easily be undone, leaving him with endless regret. Qin Sang knew his own limitations. Creating his own technique might not suit him; following an established path was far safer. Back in the Foundation Establishment or even Qi Refining stages, living hand to mouth in ignorance, not even understanding what the Dao was, unable to see the road ahead and lacking other techniques to cross-reference—how could anyone possess the ability to create their own technique back then? Qin Sang knew well that cultivators in this world were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. How many stunningly brilliant figures existed? Prodigies were as common as carp crossing a river. The senior who had created the *Essence Soul Sword Cultivation Chapter*, if truly as Qin Sang surmised, must have been a peerless genius standing head and shoulders above the crowd even in the Great Thousand Worlds. What became of such a person? Did they ascend and become an immortal, or...? Qin Sang could not help but think of the pieced-together Earth Killing Sword inside his dantian. He hoped it had not ended with a broken sword and a fallen master! Having broken through to Deity Transformation, Qin Sang had hoped the sword spirit would respond to him again. Unfortunately, the sword spirit showed no reaction whatsoever. Qin Sang recalled the thought the sword spirit had conveyed to him back then, telling him to seek more fragments. Obtaining two fragments of the Earth Killing Sword in the Sacred Ground of the Profound Sky Palace had allowed the pieces to assemble themselves into the Earth Killing Sword, but that was still not enough to awaken the sword spirit. "Can the sword spirit hear the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao?" Qin Sang suddenly wondered. The physical body of the Earth Killing Sword had only recently been restored, and he still did not know whether a hilt was lost out there. The sword spirit was likely still in a weakened state, and its current strength was unknown. "The sword spirit must know many secrets. Once it awakens, I might be able to fully command this peerless divine sword and pry out the secret behind the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao." Qin Sang realized that there were actually many paths before him. Guixu in the East Sea, the Ascension Platform, the sword spirit, or returning to the Canglang Ocean to see whether the Hall of Seven Kills had ascended—succeeding in any of these could resolve his predicament. Speaking of sword spirits, he had one too! With a slight thought, the Wandering Sword drifted out from between his brows. Qin Sang silently circulated his arts and executed the secret technique. The result far surpassed what he could achieve in the Nascent Soul stage, filling him with joy. Once the Scorched Wood true spirit finished gestating, he would be able to deploy his natal spirit sword. From his comprehension of the cultivation art, he knew that once the sword souls manifested and merged into the killing array, the power of the Seven Soul Killing Array would surge drastically, granting him an extra measure of protection in Guixu. Yet without his natal spirit sword anchoring it, the array's might would always fall short by a notch. Both the Earth Killing Sword's spirit and the Wandering Sword's true spirit required patient waiting. Tapping his fingers lightly on his knee, Qin Sang recalled another sword array, one he had obtained in the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. After acquiring that sword array, though Qin Sang had never practiced it, he had contemplated it enough to understand its essential workings. One only had to consider what they had encountered within the Five Elements Divine Restriction on Dishou Mountain to know this sword array was extraordinary. Had Zhu Wudao not used a scheme to shake the sword array's foundation, they might still have been trapped inside the Five Elements Divine Restriction until the Deity Transformation experts arrived. Unless an enemy was overwhelmingly powerful and broke the mechanism by brute force, or managed to locate the master star—the sword star where the array's controller hid—they would be forced to endure the relentless assault of the sword array. The division of the seven mansions corresponded to the Seven Mansions of the White Tiger. The positions of the seven mansions could all serve as array cores. When manned by a single person, though formidable, it was not the complete sword array. Only when seven top sword cultivators gathered to each command one of the seven mansions could the sword array unlock boundless variations. It was a foundational, core legacy of the Metal Phase lineage of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. The *Essence Soul Sword Cultivation Chapter* happened to allow the division of seven sword souls. When the time came, the sword soul clones could each oversee one of the seven mansions while his true self commanded the overall situation, shifting between substance and illusion, impossible to tell apart. Qin Sang alone would be able to deploy this magnificent sword array! And it did not even require his natal spirit sword. Aside from this, the most immediate method was naturally to continue advancing in the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*. As long as he obtained suitable spiritual fires, he could continuously elevate his divine sense; this secret art would not be constrained by the lack of spiritual energy in this realm. After stepping into Deity Transformation, Qin Sang felt he was nearing the limit of this world. Even in the early Deity Transformation stage, his cultivation was subtly constrained. Affected by the external environment, the damaged Four Sages Spirit Gathering Array was far less effective for a Deity Transformation cultivator than it had been during his Nascent Soul days. Moreover, the array could not be maintained for much longer. Qin Sang estimated that breaking through to the mid-Deity Transformation stage in this world was exceedingly difficult for cultivators. Even if one managed to force a breakthrough, entering the upper realm would still bring the pressure of heavenly tribulations and remaining lifespan, making the gains not worth the losses. He surmised that the Deity Transformation cultivators of this realm had all crossed the sea eastward to ascend while still in early Deity Transformation, with exceptions being only the rare few who had obtained heaven-defying opportunities. Now, ordinary spiritual fires could no longer meet the requirements of the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*. Qin Sang once again turned his thoughts to the Nanming Primordial Fire, hoping for a turnaround. In a flash, Qin Sang put away the Wandering Sword and began circulating the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* once more. The fire lotus and the Sun God Tree both floated before him. The fire lotus was completely under his control. Commanding the Sun God Tree was also far easier than before. Qin Sang first used the fire lotus to draw upon the Nanming Primordial Fire. Black and crimson wisps of flame danced within the cave dwelling, flickering across Qin Sang's face, casting it alternately into shadow and vivid light. The fire lotus hovered above the Sun God Tree. Regrettably, despite trying everything he could, Qin Sang still could not make the fire lotus devour even a single trace of the Nanming Primordial Fire. From this, it was evident that the rank of this flame was far beyond the Deity Transformation stage. No wonder fire birds condensed merely from the aura of this demon fire possessed such terrifying power. Sighing inwardly, Qin Sang abandoned the attempt. He held the Sun God Tree in his palm, gazed at it for a moment, then slightly closed his eyes, urging his divine sense to summon the Sun God Birds. Upon the branches, the fiery glow across all nine Sun God Birds flared in sequence. He was actually trying to unleash all nine divine birds at once! In the next instant, Qin Sang shuddered, his complexion changing slightly, and he hurriedly reined in his power. "I can't bite off more than I can chew!" Qin Sang shook his head. His current goal should be to control six divine birds with ease, which would be sufficient to handle most situations in this world. "It seems a trip to the Canglang Ocean is inevitable. Hopefully the Nine Phoenix King's damaged feather is still there..." Qin Sang was deep in thought, but he had no intention of departing right away—at least not until matters in Zhongzhou reached a conclusion. As for how to deal with Saint Huiguang and the Azure Fox Saint King going forward, Qin Sang had not yet made up his mind. Personal grudges, the path of ascension, the wider affairs of the world—too many things were entwined. After the *Essence Soul Sword Cultivation Chapter* and *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* came the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form*. These three cultivation arts and secret techniques were the ones Qin Sang had meticulously selected from countless ancient manuals over several centuries. They suited him perfectly, maximizing the utility of the jade Buddha, averting danger, and achieving the concurrent cultivation of essence, qi, and spirit. Though the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form* lagged behind for now, it should not be difficult to catch up. During his tribulation transcendence, Qin Sang had used the yin fire tribulation to temper his body, with remarkable results. He took out the Astral Platform and sat cross-legged upon it. Circulating the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form* slightly, Qin Sang immediately felt the difference. His physical body had been broken down and rebuilt anew, advancing at an astonishing pace. He estimated he would soon reach the middle of the fourth tier. If he could also elevate his physical body to the Deity Transformation level before ascending, without question, his chances of surviving Guixu would increase immensely. A figure surfaced in Qin Sang's mind. Back on Dishou Mountain of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect, that Daoist nun had laid a trap within the Five Elements Divine Restriction, luring them into the Nine Earths Geocentric Magnetism to fight over treasures. The first to be ambushed had been Master Huaiyin. Master Huaiyin had been grievously injured in what seemed a certain death trap, yet by invoking some unknown secret technique, his wounds had healed in an instant and his full combat strength was restored, causing the Daoist nun's plot to fail. Qin Sang had been present, and Master Huaiyin had left a deep impression on him. He suspected that was a world-rare body refinement secret art. "That secret art can reverse life and death! Once I break through to the late fourth tier and find the time, using the Grade Seven Emerald Bamboo as a medium to cultivate the *Acquired Wooden Monument* and gain a Spirit Wood Body—combined with that secret art and my full Thunder Evasion—my repertoire as a body cultivator will not be lacking! In the future, I must make a trip to the Western Land to pay Master Huaiyin a visit..." Qin Sang refused to overlook any means that could preserve his life. Furthermore, Qin Sang was curious: did the Western Land have an Immortal Hall? The Canglang Ocean had the Hall of Seven Kills, the North Sea had Ziwei Palace, and Zhongzhou had Tiantong and Tianxiang—this was surely no coincidence. Each Immortal Hall harbored a fragment of the Killing Sword. Qin Sang had always suspected that the Earth Killing Sword still had a hilt lost in the world, possibly retrieved by cultivators of the Western Land just like what had happened in Zhongzhou. Obtaining a complete Earth Killing Sword would help the sword spirit recover as quickly as possible. A journey to the Western Land was imperative! "Right, there's also the Poison Bead." Qin Sang sank his mind into his dantian and summoned the Poison Bead. Visibly, within the Poison Bead lay a cluster of white light shaped like a cocoon, vaguely revealing the silhouette of a jade beetle. Over the past century or more, the Poison Bead had subtly and continuously devoured it, draining the Gu King's power without notice. Compared to before, the transformation was now very pronounced. Now that Qin Sang had reached Deity Transformation, he could effortlessly suppress the Gu King himself without relying on the Wandering Sword. There was no longer any need for such caution—it was time for the Poison Bead to bare its fangs and forcefully consume the Gu King! Yet simply devouring the Gu King did not satisfy Qin Sang. The Gu King's poison had merged with the poison of Myriad Poison Mountain's sacred relic, becoming exceptionally lethal. Recalling the scar-faced man's final fate, Qin Sang felt that without the Poison Bead, even he in his present state would have to treat such virulent venom with the utmost caution. Cultivating a great divine ability of the Poison Dao with this venom could even threaten ferocious beasts at the Deity Transformation stage. Besides his true body, there was also his incarnation. Because the second essence soul was tainted by the Buddhist glow of the jade Buddha, it too possessed some resistance against the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao. Qin Sang began to consider how to help his incarnation break through. ... Qin Sang combed through his path of cultivation in meticulous detail. The road ahead had become very clear. With essence, qi, and spirit advancing side by side, coupled with his various divine abilities, secret arts, and treasures, he would possess formidable strength without even needing to break through to the mid-Deity Transformation stage. Apart from his core cultivation, there were virtually no bottlenecks to speak of; all he needed was to travel from Myriad Poison Mountain to the Western Land, then to the Canglang Ocean, journeying across the world while dedicating time to diligent cultivation. The question was, did he have that much time? Over these past days, Qin Sang had grown accustomed to the demonic voice, finding it merely noisy and grating. He did not know whether the demonic voice had been like this from the start, or if it would gradually intensify with the passage of time. If it was only the demonic voice, he naturally had nothing to fear and could patiently focus on expanding his own strength. Yet what if one day the world underwent another mutation, no longer confined merely to the soul? What should he do then? ... The external incarnation entered Zhongzhou and arrived once again at Ganlu Monastery. The monks of Ganlu Monastery had long grown accustomed to Daoist Qingfeng's visits. The guest receptionist monk did not even notify the monastery's upper echelon, greeting him warmly and familiarly, letting him come and go as he pleased. His cave dwelling had been preserved. Moving with seasoned familiarity through courtyards and corridors toward the back mountain, the incarnation crossed paths with several eminent monks. Having interacted with them more or less before, they exchanged a few words with ease. Some had even given him pointers. Unfortunately, his mindset had completely changed. Before this, he had genuinely wanted to foster good relations with the Buddhist sect. Parting from a familiar monk, the incarnation put away his smile. His gaze swept over the ancient monastery veiled in mountain mist, and with a soft sigh in his heart, he walked up to his cave dwelling and looked toward Mount Xiao Fangcun, gazing in that direction for a long time.