"Three spirit eyes, yet not a single spirit spring?" Qin Sang murmured, unable to conceal his disappointment.
The restricted grounds of the Heavenly Corpse Sect branch altar were vast, and the treasury used to store treasures was also built here. What was astonishing was that three spirit eyes coexisted within the restricted area.
The spirit vein occupied by the Heavenly Corpse Sect was far smaller than the one at Shaohua Mountain's sect gate. It was normal to have one spirit eye, but having three, and situated so close together, could well be called a heaven-sent cave dwelling.
Yet to Qin Sang's disappointment, even though three spirit eyes existed here and the density of spiritual power faintly surpassed his own cave dwelling, no spirit spring had formed.
If there had been a spirit spring, he would have moved it back no matter what.
Having broken through to the second layer, the difficulty of comprehending the killing talisman had spiked dramatically; grasping a single stroke was harder than comprehending the entire first killing talisman. The sooner he went to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, the better.
Hearing Qin Sang's grumbling, Yu Daiyue, who was studying the formation device nearby, looked up and chuckled at his wishful thinking. "Junior Brother Qin, you're overthinking it. For a spirit eye to take shape along a spirit vein is already a blessing from Heaven and Earth. How could a spirit spring be born so easily? Since the founding of our sect, only six spirit springs have ever been tapped. It isn't just a matter of rich spiritual power or a massive spirit vein; it must harmonize with the veins of mountains and rivers, gather the spiritual grace of all eight directions, and, amid all kinds of coincidences, yield that tiny sliver of possibility."
"Senior Brother Yu has studied spirit springs closely? Could you tell me more about it?"
Qin Sang asked curiously. He had been to Pagoda Peak and found very few relevant records, but from Yu Daiyue's tone, it sounded as though he had researched the subject in depth.
"Is Junior Brother Qin truly interested in this?"
Yu Daiyue was a bit surprised. Hearing Qin Sang mention Pagoda Peak, he said, "Junior Brother Qin, if you're looking for these records on Pagoda Peak, you've come to the wrong place. The records touching most upon spirit veins, spirit eyes, and spirit springs aren't on Pagoda Peak, but on Daomen Peak."
"Daomen Peak?" Qin Sang was astonished.
"Indeed," Yu Daiyue nodded. "Daomen Peak has an archive housing many classics passed down in the mortal world, as well as writings by cultivators that held little practical value. Since they are of virtually no use to us cultivators, not many people know about them. Before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, I was a handyman on Daomen Peak organizing the texts. I found many mortal classics fascinating and became engrossed. I wasted a great deal of time on them and didn't break through to Foundation Establishment until I was nearly fifty, almost ruining my prospects. Some jade slips in the archive preserve writings by cultivators who studied feng shui and eclectic lore, and they touch upon spirit springs. You can go look for them, Junior Brother Qin. Wealth, companionship, method, and domain—all are essentials for a cultivator. It is said that a craze for seeking spirit springs once swept the cultivation world. Later, cultivators realized that while spirit veins were easy to find, the formation of spirit springs followed no pattern at all, and they were simply too rare for their theories to be verified. Once the trend died down, those works gradually fell into neglect and were discarded on Daomen Peak."
Hearing Yu Daiyue's remarks on mortal classics, Qin Sang nodded in deep agreement. Though mortals lived brief lives like mayflies, clever minds among them were as countless as the sands of the Ganges; they simply lacked spiritual roots or immortal affinity, forever shut out from the Immortal Dao.
What he had obtained from Daoist Priest Jixin was the scripture book of an ordinary mortal Daoist, which had not only helped him enter meditative focus for cultivation, but was something he still recited and savored from time to time.
Qin Sang made a mental note of the archive's location, deciding to check whether anyone had researched methods to accelerate the maturation of spirit springs once he returned to the sect.
The Heavenly Corpse Sect's formation device was a block of white jade as tall as a man, exquisitely translucent without a single impurity. There was some damage on its surface, but as the two took joint control of it, golden patterns lit up from the center of the jade; the restriction was still functional.
Once the golden patterns covered the white jade, a tremendous suction force abruptly erupted, turning it almost into a black hole that swallowed the spiritual qi in the restricted grounds at startling speed.
It devoured qi so rapidly that a visible vortex formed right above the white jade.
Immediately afterward, the golden patterns spread like spiderwebs beyond the restricted grounds and swiftly diffused outward. The cave dwelling glowed with resplendent gold, the yin chill swept away and replaced by a pleasant warmth.
Clearly, the restriction's function was indeed to keep out the earth fiend qi. It was under the protection of this restriction that the disciples of the Heavenly Corpse Sect had been able to cultivate in such a place.
Having activated the restriction, the anxiety hanging over Qin Sang and Yu Daiyue finally settled. All they needed to do now was wait for the earth fiend qi to recede, and they could leave this dangerous place.
With nothing better to do, the two rummaged through the vast expanse of ruins. To their surprise, they actually managed to find some treasures.
A palm-sized piece of cold iron, several grains of star sand, some remnant demon beast bones, a small bottle of yin spirit water, and a segment of golden-thread snow cedar wood—all top-grade spiritual materials for artifact crafting. Aside from those, there were two damaged magic tools.
The two laid the items on the ground. Yu Daiyue gestured politely. "Junior Brother Qin slew the baleful corpse blocking the way, which undoubtedly earns the top credit. I contributed nothing, so please go ahead and pick first, Junior Brother."
Qin Sang was not one to stand on ceremony and picked up the most valuable item, the golden-thread snow cedar wood. Seeing Yu Daiyue's expression stiffen slightly, he said, "Senior Brother Yu, I am refining a life spirit sword and happen to need the purest spirit wood, so I will take this without modesty. However, the golden-thread snow cedar wood is exceedingly precious, and I dare not be too greedy. I will only take this bottle of yin spirit water alongside it, and leave the rest to you, Senior Brother. What do you say?"
Even combined, the golden-thread snow cedar wood and the yin spirit water were worth somewhat less than the remaining items together, but these two spiritual items were precisely what Qin Sang urgently needed.
The golden-thread snow cedar wood spoke for itself. After breaking through to the second layer, Qin Sang found that the killing talisman's power was far greater than he had imagined; the ebony sword would very likely fail to bear the second killing talisman. Preparing spirit wood in advance was just planning ahead.
The yin spirit water was an indispensable component for refining a baleful corpse.
Guiding earth fiend qi to refine a baleful corpse required not only a unique secret technique, but also specific spiritual items—namely, the five Five Elements yin materials: nine-aperture stone, blue nether metal, moon locust heartwood of over five hundred years, ghost eagle feather, and yin spirit water.
Gathering all five Five Elements yin materials would take considerable effort. Finding a bottle of yin spirit water here was an unexpected boon, and Qin Sang certainly would not pass it up.
Hearing Qin Sang's offer, Yu Daiyue naturally had no further objections. He gladly accepted the remaining spiritual items and said, "Junior Brother Qin, since you plan to refine your life spirit sword yourself and require the purest spirit wood, its power will surely be extraordinary. I can keep an eye out for you in the future as well."
Qin Sang cupped his hands. "Then I thank you in advance, Senior Brother Yu."
Having divided the spoils, the two waited patiently within the restricted grounds. Thinking that other companions might still have survived, they did not completely seal the area.
Unexpectedly, as time passed, the rumbling grew louder and louder. Soon, a wisp of black qi surged into the grand hall, bitterly cold, yet Li Zai was nowhere to be seen.
Yu Daiyue sighed deeply and said, "Junior Brother Qin, I'm afraid Junior Brother Li and the others have met with ill fortune. It is time to close the restrictions, or we will be too late."
Chapter 175