The Fire Jade Centipede was born of raging flames and feared no fire. It was exceptionally sensitive to spirit items rich in the power of fire elements; the more abundant the fire-element power, the more excited it became.
According to the illustrated guide, this wondrous insect was extraordinarily rare in the modern cultivation world, with some even suspecting it had gone extinct. It was unknown where Yin Xingge had obtained it—perhaps a gift from that Golden Core Master.
Having learned the nature of the Fire Jade Centipede, Qin Sang finally realized that Yin Xingge had originally intended to use it to locate Qianyang crystals. He had never anticipated unearthing a devil instead, costing him his life in the process.
Rearing the Fire Jade Centipede was not difficult, though it was far from cheap. It required items rich in fire spirits akin to Qianyang quartz, and none of them came cheap.
Fortunately, the Fire Jade Centipede had a modest appetite. Qin Sang had skimmed off some Qianyang quartz for himself, which would be enough to feed it for a very long time.
Qin Sang held the Fire Jade Centipede bound in his palm, cut off a small piece of Qianyang quartz, and tossed it over. The centipede immediately coiled around the fragment and began gnawing on it with crunching sounds.
The Fire Jade Centipede's ability was peculiar and might prove useful in the future, so Qin Sang planned to keep it.
Once the insect had eaten its fill, Qin Sang returned it to his spirit beast bag, opened the door to his cave dwelling, greeted the guards of the secret realm, and departed the Tianjing Secret Realm, intending to survey the surroundings in person.
***
In the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, spring, summer, autumn, and winter were indistinguishable, and sometimes even day and night blurred together.
Time flowed like water.
In the blink of an eye, twenty years sped by.
On an unnamed mountain, countless cloud beasts had made their roost.
A cultivator encountering such a sight would instinctively turn and flee. Yet at this moment, a figure crouched among the scattered boulders, gazing unblinkingly at a deep cavern at the foot of the mountain.
Nearly a thousand cloud beasts circled above the cavern entrance, their endless screeches grating on the ears. Time trickled away, and even after an entire incense stick had burned, the dark figure remained motionless.
At last, a dozen or so cloud beasts seemed to grow weary of flying; they folded their wings and landed on the ground.
Right then, the dark figure suddenly stood up and retreated silently backward. Once it was upright, its appearance became clear: human in shape, but hideously terrifying, with green skin and sharp fangs.
It was actually a zombie!
Concealed by the scattered boulders, its movements went unnoticed by the cloud beasts wheeling overhead, but the ones resting on the ground spotted this "living creature."
Yet this "living creature" lacked the aura of living beings that they loathed most. The cloud beasts did not fly into a frenzy; instead, they watched it curiously, perhaps mistaking it for a stone that could move.
*Crack!*
Seeing that the cloud beasts were not taking the bait, the zombie stamped its foot firmly, snapping a stone fragment beneath it with a faint crack.
Instantly, the cloud beasts grew alert. Two could no longer restrain themselves and flew over to investigate, promptly followed by the remaining dozen.
Having achieved its objective, the zombie quickened its pace. It seemed intimately familiar with the terrain, retreating swiftly while keeping to the cover of the rocks, completely hidden from the cloud beasts in the sky.
Finally, after putting some distance between itself and the foot of the mountain, the zombie cast aside all concealment. It spun around and bolted, and its brazen display infuriated the dozen cloud beasts, which flapped their wings in furious pursuit.
The wasteland was boundless, offering no place to hide. The zombie fled with all its might, but the cloud beasts were faster, and the distance between them shrank rapidly.
Before long, the cloud beasts caught up with the zombie. Screaming with rage, they vied to dive from the sky, eager to tear this troublesome little pest to shreds with their sharp talons and beaks.
Yet just as they swooped low, poised to seize the zombie, rolling demonic energy abruptly erupted from the previously empty wasteland. Six giant ghost banners sprouted from the earth, ensnaring the cloud beasts within the formation's reach.
Upon closer inspection, the ghost banners were not all the same. Four of them were particularly thick and sturdy, their poles densely covered in fiendish runes that cast an eerie, spectral glow. Their cloth surfaces were painted with countless depictions of evil ghosts, packed tightly together in grotesque, lifelike postures, exuding an unnatural malice.
They looked as though they had emerged from the Nine Nether Underworld, ready to break free from the banners at any second.
Compared to these four ghost banners, the other two appeared considerably frail and flimsy.
*Whoosh!*
Pitch-black demonic energy instantly blanketed the area, plunging it into total darkness. Countless evil ghosts roared within the demonic energy, lunging at the trapped cloud beasts.
Beside the banner array, a figure coalesced from illusion into reality—it was Qin Sang.
With a wave of his hand, he summoned the zombie that had served as bait back to his side, his eyes calmly watching the battle unfold within the Ten Directions Yanluo Array.
Over the past twenty years, aside from undertaking three missions for the Shadow Guards, he had spent almost all his time in and around the Tianjing Secret Realm, cultivating while hunting cloud beasts to comprehend the killing talisman.
He had lured and slain cloud beasts in this manner hundreds, if not thousands, of times, and had grown thoroughly adept at it.
Twenty years seemed to have left no obvious mark on him; the greatest change was that his aura had grown far more composed and weighty than before.
Though he had not yet broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, Qin Sang had nearly unraveled the second killing talisman. Once he fully comprehended it, breaking through would only be a matter of time and gathering enough spiritual power.
Watching the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners slaughter the cloud beasts, Qin Sang nodded to himself in satisfaction.
He had constantly commissioned the black market to collect soul-refining demonic tools. Over the past twenty years, practically all his spoils from hunting cloud beasts—such as spirit-infused fiendish items—had been traded away for demonic tools.
His days had been tight, but manageable, and he had successfully brought four of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners to full mastery.
Even with only four upgraded, the power of the Ten Directions Yanluo Array had jumped by an entire tier. Among this dozen or so cloud beasts, two rivaled early Foundation Establishment cultivators in strength, yet against the array's grinding slaughter, they could do nothing more than struggle in vain.
With the Ten Directions Yanluo Array laid out and combined with his other measures, Qin Sang was confident that even an opponent at mid-Foundation Establishment would gain no advantage over him.
Seeing that the cloud beasts were nearly dead, Qin Sang reined in his thoughts. With a flick of his mind, the ebony sword plunged into the array to dispatch the remaining beasts, while Qin Sang quietly immersed himself in contemplating the true intent of the killing talisman.
Soon, the dozen cloud beasts were completely wiped out. Qin Sang repeated the trick, sending the zombie out once more to lure more cloud beasts.
It was not until late at night that the beasts circling the cave entrance were entirely eliminated. Seizing the opening, Qin Sang personally slipped into the cavern.
Inside lay a small vein of fire elemental stone, which he had discovered with the aid of the Fire Jade Centipede.
Refining fire essence from fire elemental stones could aid in pill refinement. Though not as valuable as Qianyang quartz, it was still exceptionally precious. It was thanks to this mineral vein that Qin Sang had been able to sustain the expenses of his cultivation.
With his mustard seed bag packed full of fire elemental stones and spirit-infused fiendish items, Qin Sang set off into the night, heading straight for the Changyang Cultivation Market.
***
Emerging from a small courtyard, Qin Sang sighed softly to himself. Demonic tools procurable through the black market were growing scarcer; this time, there had only been one. Upgrading all six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners would likely take a very long time.
Qin Sang shook his head and walked toward the Taiyi Elixir Pavilion branch. Just as he was about to step inside to sell the fire elemental stones, a white-haired old man walked out from within.
Taking in the old man's face, Qin Sang was struck by an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Immediately after, a long-buried memory surfaced abruptly.
Qin Sang's heart jolted violently!
Chapter 215