Guixu

Qin Sang was completely unaware of the unexpected turn of events unfolding behind him. Dragging the Thunder Turtle far away from the battlefield, he chose a secluded spot to stop. He detached his incarnation to guard the beast while his true self sat directly upon the turtle's back to regulate his breath. After replenishing his true essence, Qin Sang stood up and looked down at the Thunder Turtle with a contemplative expression. The Thunder Turtle remained unconscious, frozen into a colossal block of ice floating upon the sea. From their confrontation, Qin Sang had determined that normal communication with the creature was impossible; he could only forcibly search its soul, piecing together its experiences from its memory fragments. Yet soul-searching the Thunder Turtle was no simple feat. He had to guard vigilantly against the encroaching madness during the process. Back then, after the two Deity Transformation cultivators captured the manta ray alive, they had deduced and calculated for a long time, preparing diverse secret techniques and setting up a spirit array for assistance before daring to make their move. Qin Sang did not fear being tainted by madness, but his cultivation realm was lower than that of the Thunder Turtle, and attempting a soul search alone carried a high likelihood of failure. After deducing for a long time, Qin Sang flicked his fingers repeatedly. The black demonic fire ropes deformed, sprouting pitch-black spikes that pierced deep into the turtle's flesh. Even in its coma, the Thunder Turtle trembled violently; one could only imagine what agony it was enduring. Yet under Qin Sang's exquisite control, the Thunder Turtle did not awaken, growing weaker with every passing moment as its aura withered away. Not until the very end was the Thunder Turtle finally jolted awake, letting out bloodcurdling shrieks that made one's hair stand on end. By now, the creature possessed no strength to retaliate and lay entirely at Qin Sang's mercy. With a wave of his hand, sword threads fluttered around them as the Seven Po Killing Array materialized once more. This time, its purpose was not to slaughter the turtle, but to utilize the array's killing intent against the soul, working in concert with demonic fire to batter the beast's consciousness. Seeing the timing was right, Qin Sang's expression turned solemn. He pressed a hand onto the crown of the Thunder Turtle's head, closed his eyes, and began searching its soul! His external incarnation held a spirit treasure, standing guard along the perimeter. Crash! Waves churned and surged. The Thunder Turtle's massive frame struggled frantically, yet it could not break free from Qin Sang's palm. Its cries faded from piercing shrieks to feeble whimpers, until finally its entire body contorted in spasms and its aura vanished completely. "Huuu..." Qin Sang exhaled softly and withdrew his hand. Gazing down at the dead Thunder Turtle, his eyes flickered. The information gleaned from the soul search flowed through his mind. The vast majority was meaningless nonsense, as madness had thoroughly corrupted the Thunder Turtle's consciousness, leaving its memories chaotic and fragmented. The sole fragment that could be called clear was likely due to the profound impression it had left, and the fact that it had occurred not long ago. Within that memory fragment was a bloody maw bristling with fangs, atop a head resembling a fusion of a wolf and an alligator demon, attached to a long, slender body akin to a flood dragon. This was another fierce beast, responsible for the Thunder Turtle's wounds. With a single bite, it had shattered the turtle's thunder armor and ripped away a massive chunk of flesh, inflicting unforgettable agony upon the turtle. He did not know how the Thunder Turtle had managed to escape in the end. Through the memory fragment, Qin Sang could viscerally feel how terrifying that beast was, a chill creeping through his heart. If beasts of this caliber lurked throughout the depths of Guixu, no wonder the Road to Ascension was fraught with peril. That scene had taken place underwater. Since he was unfamiliar with the conditions in the depths of Guixu, Qin Sang could not tell whether the two beasts had fought inside Guixu or had both wandered out of their lairs and clashed while roaming outside. Aside from learning of an even more ferocious beast, Qin Sang had gained virtually no useful information. He sighed inwardly. Flicking his fingers, the demonic fire peeled away from the turtle's corpse, coalescing above into a fiery blade as the ice encasing the Thunder Turtle began to melt. Sizzle! The fire blade sliced through flesh, stripping the hide and dismembering the bones. This was Qin Sang's first time encountering a Thunder Turtle, so he could only rely on his past artifact-refining experience to appraise the value of each part while butchering the carcass. With the demonic fire's aid, the dissection proceeded swiftly until only the skeleton remained. Qin Sang beckoned, and a beam of light flew into his palm. Fierce beasts had demon cores inside them as well! Qin Sang held it in his hand and examined it. Calling it a demon core for now, it did not seem much different from those of ordinary demon beasts. It was similarly formed from the condensation of the Thunder Turtle's vital essence, equally dazzling, lustrous, and magnificent. Silver glints danced across the core's surface with flickering arcs of lightning, likely imbued with the Thunder Turtle's innate divine ability and possessing unique power. A demon core of the Deity Transformation tier! Pondering, Qin Sang sent out a wisp of divine sense to probe into the core, hoping to analyze its inner energy, only for his expression to shift abruptly. He had handled countless demon cores, but never one like this. The disparity was by no means due to cultivation level; the power inside was violently frenzied, exactly like the beast had been in life. Yet the Thunder Turtle was dead, and no remnant consciousness lingered inside the core. Qin Sang turned his gaze to the turtle's carcass, summoned a section of demon bone, and found it in the same condition. Despite trying various methods, he could not even pinpoint the source of the violent frenzy. If this violent agitation could not be calmed, it would be impossible to use them for artifact forging or pill refining! How could this be? Could this be an effect of the Heavenly Transformation? Did the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao not only strike at souls, but also thoroughly alter the creatures it affected? There was another possibility: the depths of Guixu possessed an unusual environment, and the fierce beasts were simply born this way! Qin Sang recalled that the sacred relic of the Dragon Whale Clan was called the Mad Whale. It was said that the Dragon Whale Clan had pooled the strength of their entire clan and nourished it with blood essence for ages before barely refining it, and back then, the Demonic Voice of the Heavenly Dao did not exist. The artifact-refining arts Qin Sang had learned were incapable of processing such spirit materials. He applied everything he had mastered throughout his life to refine the demon bones, but after ruining several pieces in succession, he gave up entirely. Such a colossal demon carcass was like chicken ribs to him—useless to consume, yet wasteful to discard. Nevertheless, given the Thunder Turtle's lofty cultivation, these materials were exceptionally rare and precious, whether they could be used now or not. Unable to refine them, and with limited space inside the Qianjun Ring, Qin Sang could only select the vital parts, seal them away, and keep them for future experimentation. After an intense battle, all he had obtained were materials he could not immediately put to use. Consequently, his interest in hunting fierce beasts waned, and he focused entirely on making haste. Ever since departing Zhongzhou, Qin Sang had been traveling east-southeast. His sense of the Gate of the Beacon's location placed it due east of Zhongzhou. The Gate of the Beacon was situated inside Guixu, but Guixu did not exist solely at the gate; it was a boundless chasm in the deep sea stretching beyond sight. Judging from the sea chart left by the Witch Clan's Deity Transformation cultivator, the Canglang Ocean could not be far from Guixu. On his journey to the Canglang Ocean, Qin Sang also wished to stop by for a glance at Guixu. *** Thump! Thump! Thump! Qin Sang's heart beat violently. He hovered in midair, gazing ahead with a grave countenance. The scenery deep within the tempest seemed no different from elsewhere, yet amidst the howling winds came a peculiar, muffled rumble, like the throbbing pulse of heaven and earth. Hearing it caused the blood throughout Qin Sang's body to surge uncontrollably, weighing upon him with an inexplicable oppression. Transforming into a bolt of lightning, he sped toward the source of the sound. Before long, his light came to an abrupt halt. Qin Sang revealed himself and looked ahead, rendered almost speechless! "In the Eastern Sea lies a great chasm, in truth a bottomless abyss. The waters of the eight cords and nine wilds, the streams of the Heavenly Han, all pour into it, yet it neither waxes nor wanes..." Every word recorded in the ancient texts surfaced in Qin Sang's mind, describing the exact sight before his eyes, yet words alone could not convey the staggering awe this primeval wonder of heaven and earth evoked in him. This was the easternmost extreme of the ocean, where the sea flowed and poured entirely into the great chasm. Rumble! Before him stretched an immense waterfall. Both ends of the waterfall extended into infinity with no end in sight. When the sea reached this point, it cascaded downward with a deafening roar that drowned out the tempest. Over countless millennia, the seawater had rushed boundlessly and ceaselessly. No one knew how much seawater had poured into the great chasm, yet the world's waters never diminished, nor could they ever fill the chasm. Looking down into the chasm, one could only see the waterfall plummeting into unknown territory—an abyss of bottomless depth! This was Guixu! The waterfall seemed to mark the end of the storm belt, resembling a dark-blue silk sash dividing heaven and earth into two worlds: one dark, one light. On the side where Qin Sang stood, howling gales raged in murky gloom, yet the sweeping winds could not penetrate Guixu. It was not due to some barrier or boundary, but because a power greater than the gales dwelt within the chasm, holding the tempest at bay. Inside Guixu was a boundless expanse of white. Steaming water vapor rose into thick mist, spreading out into an endless sea of clouds. Whenever a gale blew into the sea of clouds, it stirred the vapor into rolling waves. As the gale pressed deeper, its force visibly dwindled until swallowed whole by the mist. Unlike the dim, gloomy storm belt, light bathed the sky above Guixu. Its source was unknown, as though a blazing sun hung on the opposite side of the cloud sea, yet the chasm's depths remained plunged in utter darkness. Amidst the sea of clouds, ethereal immortal mist drifted, morphing through myriad shapes. Looking closely, pavilions, towers, soaring birds, and roaming beasts constantly flashed in and out of view—a mesmerizing spectacle. Beyond, there seemed to lie an unimaginably vast space of tiered immortal realms! Qin Sang stood frozen in midair, gazing into Guixu. His blood boiled and his thoughts surged, unable to settle for a long time. He was already a Deity Transformation cultivator standing at the pinnacle of this realm, yet before such monumental power of heaven and earth, all he felt was his own insignificance—and an even fiercer fighting spirit! Void Refining? Body Integration? Or perhaps Great Vehicle? He wished only that one day, having seen all the wonders of the world, he could view this place as nothing more than ordinary! He stopped before the waterfall and ventured no further. He had not forgotten the ancient records: beneath this breathtaking beauty lay perils capable of swallowing even Deity Transformation cultivators whole. Straining his vision, he peered deep into Guixu. Amidst the cloud sea lingered a gloomy, somber aura; he wondered if it was where the legendary Black Tide resided. Even without entering Guixu, Qin Sang could sense the chaotic turbulence ahead. With his level of cultivation, he dared not act rashly, let alone with fierce beasts lurking about. Sweeping his gaze across the sea of clouds, Qin Sang watched for a long time. He noticed colossal ripples occasionally stirring from the depths, evoking tremors of dread even from outside Guixu. Unfortunately, the distance was too great and obstacles too numerous; even his Heavenly Eye divine ability could not penetrate the haze to confirm if they were fierce beasts. That Guixu was easy to enter but difficult to leave was by no means an exaggeration! He was not yet prepared to attempt the Road to Ascension. He had only wished to see the legendary Guixu and had no intention of entering for now. Even if he were to enter, he would not do so here; he would head north to seek Daiyu Immortal Mountain first, then pursue the Gate of the Beacon. Not seeing a fierce beast inside Guixu with his own eyes left Qin Sang somewhat unsatisfied. He lingered along the periphery, reluctant to depart. Several months passed like this before Qin Sang finally got his wish. That day, ten thousand zhang of brilliant multicolored light burst from the sea of clouds, seven-hued clouds soaring toward the heavens as a shrill, piercing cry rang out. Qin Sang's instinctive reaction was to retreat and conceal his aura. He awakened the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, channeling his Heavenly Eye divine ability to peer into the glow from afar. To his surprise, the glow vanished in a flash; in that fleeting glimpse, Qin Sang caught sight of only half a wing. The plumage on the wing was resplendently colorful and radiant, no less magnificent than the phoenix of legends. Unfortunately, he could not glimpse its true appearance and did not know what manner of fierce beast it was. The reason he was certain it was a fierce beast was that he recognized that familiar frenzy in its cry. The cultivation of this colorful-feathered fierce bird was likely even higher than that of the Thunder Turtle, and it was equally tormented by the Demonic Voice. Evidently, though many beasts had fled their lairs, some still remained—creatures of formidable power that roamed above Guixu. Today's Guixu was far more dangerous than before! Having confirmed that fierce beasts still haunted Guixu, Qin Sang lingered no longer. If a beast happened to rush out and discover him, things would turn ugly. Casting one last glance at Guixu, Qin Sang turned back toward the west. *** Within the storm. Qin Sang's gaze swept back and forth, adjusting his direction continuously as he recalled the markings on the sea chart. An hour later, Qin Sang paused, sensing something, and darted forward and to the left. Flying for over a hundred li, Qin Sang glanced up at the sky, waved his wide sleeve, and sent a burst of true essence slamming into the void. The seemingly empty void rippled and churned before splitting open into a rift. Darkness filled the crack, but Qin Sang could see a coiled-dragon stone pillar inside. Atop the stone pillar rested a sculpted stone prayer mat. Slipping inside, the storm was sealed behind him. According to the sea chart, this was the first shelter after leaving the Canglang Ocean. Heading south from here, Qin Sang would soon enter the Canglang Ocean. This shelter had not been discovered by that Witch Clan Deity Transformation cultivator; it had been held by the Witch Clan since long ago. After so many years, the sanctuary remained intact, bearing no signs of disturbance. Since the rise of the human race, the Witch Clan had struggled to protect themselves; naturally, few of their experts had the leisure to travel so far afield. Qin Sang sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to regulate his breath. Bringing his condition to its peak, he set out once more. In his thirty-fifth year since entering the storm belt, he finally reached the Canglang Ocean! A scene starkly different from the tempest appeared ahead. Delighted, Qin Sang surged forward, crossing an invisible barrier to finally break free of the storm! Being close to the storm belt, this area was still affected, yet it was far calmer than inside the storm belt itself. Night was just falling. Torrential rain poured down, pattering incessantly as droplets struck the sea. Examining the surrounding sights, with the rain showing no sign of abating, Qin Sang pondered quietly, "This must be the Rain Desert, right?" The Rain Desert was the northernmost reaches of the Canglang Ocean. Influenced by the storm belt, downpours never ceased throughout the year, and the sun was never seen. Back then, Qin Sang had never traveled here. Turning his hand over, a token appeared in Qin Sang's palm. This was the token given to him by the successors of the Four Sages Palace after the battle at the Hall of Seven Kills. They had told him that if he activated the token at the northernmost point of the Rain Desert, they would detect its fluctuations and come out to receive him in person. Qin Sang still remembered that the young man and maiden were brother and sister; the elder brother was named Bao Zhengnan, and the younger sister was Bao Xi, likely descendants of Baogu, one of the Four Sages. "Several hundred years have passed. I wonder what the situation in the Canglang Ocean is now, and whether they are still alive." Qin Sang sought to unite the cultivators of an entire realm, and the Four Sages Palace would be his best ally. Using his divine sense, he activated the token, triggering the restriction within. With sleeves fluttering, Qin Sang flew steadily through the torrential rain. Before long, his expression shifted, and he halted in his tracks.