"Many thanks, Benefactor, for your righteous aid."
Daoist Xuan Yu bowed toward the air above. His voice sounded ethereal and faint. Knowing his time was short, he spoke in a hurried tone: "May I know how to address you, Benefactor? Would you permit this humble one to see you once before I die? Even in the Netherworld, I will etch it into my heart and never forget."
After waiting for a moment, not a single ripple stirred within the flock of firebirds. The person inside showed no intention of appearing.
Daoist Xuan Yu shook his head in disappointment. He opened his mouth and spat out a cluster of azure light, which enveloped a talisman. The talisman's material resembled green jade, carved in the center with an extraordinarily complex seal script character and ringed by twining golden patterns, bearing a completely different shape from both the Tiangang Saber Talisman and the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman.
Even more peculiar was that within the talisman itself lay a miniature celestial palace, veiled in drifting clouds, appearing and vanishing in a deeply mysterious manner.
*Could it be the Neijing Origin Talisman?*
Qin Sang's heart stirred.
Sure enough, Daoist Xuan Yu went on to say, "Benefactor, you must have heard earlier. This talisman is precisely the Neijing Origin Talisman that old ghost Dique stopped at nothing to obtain. This poor Daoist is willing to offer it as a reward for your kindness. Having lived nearly four hundred years, now that my body will perish and my Dao will cease, I can face death with composure. This Neijing Origin Talisman may be considered the only trace I leave behind in this world. My only wish is that you put it to good use, Benefactor."
This talisman was indeed miraculous. From what Old Man Dique had said, it could actually aid in Nascent Soul formation—an incomparable temptation to any cultivator.
Yet Qin Sang remained motionless, concealed within the flock of firebirds.
It was as if he had not seen the Neijing Origin Talisman at all.
Daoist Xuan Yu waited for a while. Seeing no movement, he let out a bitter laugh. His origin soul grew dimmer and dimmer until it finally vanished, and the Neijing Origin Talisman in his hand gently drifted downward.
Seeing that this supreme treasure was about to be swallowed by the surging lava,
a flurry of commotion stirred among the flock of firebirds, and a figure suddenly flashed out, making a posture to dive. Unexpectedly, the moment the figure appeared, chains shot out from the empty air, binding the silhouette and trapping it firmly in place.
At the same time, the Neijing Origin Talisman about to drop into the lava shattered without a sound, like flowers in a mirror or the moon on the water's surface. That secret talisman had never existed in the first place.
Daoist Xuan Yu's origin soul reappeared, lunging toward that figure without hesitation.
In the next instant, that figure also shattered just like the Neijing Origin Talisman.
It, too, was merely an illusion.
Daoist Xuan Yu looked completely stunned. After a long while, understanding dawned on him, and he let out three booming bursts of laughter.
"Good! Good! Good!"
With that, he passed away forever.
Hidden within the flock of firebirds, Qin Sang broke into a cold sweat. The Neijing Origin Talisman had been a piece of bait radiating immense temptation, and behind that bait lay a fatal trap.
Daoist Xuan Yu might have been an honorable gentleman, but faced with the threat of death, how many people could uphold their principles?
Qin Sang did not dare to gamble.
Furthermore, when he ambushed Old Man Dique, his strength had already been exposed.
Daoist Xuan Yu must have noticed that the one hiding in the dark was merely a petty Foundation Establishment stage cultivator. Moreover, from Old Man Dique's final reaction, it was evident that Qin Sang shared an extraordinary relationship with him.
Daoist Xuan Yu repeatedly called him "Benefactor," but had Qin Sang truly shown him any great kindness?
If his goal had simply been to save the man, he would have called out a warning long ago.
In Daoist Xuan Yu's eyes, Qin Sang and Old Man Dique were birds of a feather, plotting against him in league, both harborers of ill intent. Qin Sang's ambushing of Old Man Dique was nothing more than infighting between conspirators.
Had Qin Sang not hidden himself so thoroughly, Daoist Xuan Yu would not have gone to such great lengths; he could have simply captured him alive.
Examining his own conscience, Qin Sang had to admit that he was an opportunist hoping to profit from their clash.
Therefore, Qin Sang never believed Daoist Xuan Yu felt genuine gratitude.
Admittedly, Qin Sang was not afraid of being possessed by Daoist Xuan Yu, but failing at possession did not mean Daoist Xuan Yu lacked other ways to torment him. Even reduced to a mere origin soul, a Core Formation stage cultivator possessed unfathomable methods.
Fortunately, Daoist Xuan Yu had been on the verge of death and desperately impatient to carry out a possession. In his haste, he had failed to notice that the figure was merely an illusion cast by Qin Sang, expending what little power he had left.
An hour later.
Only then did Qin Sang cautiously emerge from the flock of firebirds. Looking out at the dead, silent space, an emotional sigh surfaced on his face.
Two great Core Formation stage cultivators had died here, yet Qin Sang had only managed to scavenge a single mustard seed bag; the Tianyin Conch was nowhere to be found.
When Daoist Xuan Yu burned his Golden Core, he had already abandoned his physical body, which Old Man Dique subsequently destroyed. Even if any relics had survived, they had long since fallen into the lava.
And right up until Daoist Xuan Yu's origin soul dispersed, Qin Sang had never seen the real Neijing Origin Talisman. Could it be that he never possessed that secret talisman in the first place?
Pondering with doubt, Qin Sang shifted his gaze down toward the stone hall below.
With his feet firmly on solid ground, Qin Sang's constantly taut nerves finally relaxed. He felt pain coursing through every inch of his body; describing himself as battered and riddled with wounds was by no means an exaggeration.
Swallowing two more spirit pills, his condition improved slightly.
Qin Sang fixed his eyes on the bluestone at the entrance of the stone hall. Daoist Xuan Yu seemed to have broken part of its restriction, and its luster was noticeably dimmer than before. Pressing his palm against the restriction, Qin Sang mobilized his spiritual power, only to find he could not shake the stone hall in the slightest.
After several attempts, Qin Sang shook his head and abandoned the thought entirely.
To have escaped danger and even scavenged a Core Formation cultivator's mustard seed bag was already an unexpected windfall. The treasures inside the stone hall were not something he could covet.
With this thought, Qin Sang withdrew his arm. Just as he was about to leave and wait for rescue at the crater, his peripheral vision caught sight of an object. His interest piqued, he walked over, bent down, and picked it up.
It was one half of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman. The other half had fallen into the lava and was likely destroyed by now. The remaining half had lost all its spiritual luster, its dragon spirit souls extinguished, resembling an inconspicuous, pale jade fragment.
Unexpectedly, the moment Qin Sang's fingers brushed against the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, the mournful cry of a dragon suddenly echoed from it.
The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman quivered slightly, still capable of struggling.
"Hm?"
Qin Sang uttered a soft gasp. Spiritual power flashed in his palm as he restrained the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, sending his spiritual sense into the secret talisman. He discovered that a dying dragon spirit soul still remained within, retaining only half its body, yet miraculously clinging to life.
Sensing Qin Sang's spiritual sense, a ferocious gleam flashed in the dragon spirit soul's eyes, and it lunged forward savagely!
"Vile beast, still daring to run rampant!"
Qin Sang snorted coldly and immediately drove his spiritual sense without reservation, striking into the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman.
The dragon spirit soul had previously possessed the strength of the peak Demon Spirit stage; back then, Qin Sang would certainly have been no match for it.
Now, however, the dragon spirit soul was severely wounded, making it easy to subdue.
The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman shook violently as the dragon spirit soul struggled frantically, but its counterattacks grew weaker and weaker until Qin Sang finally suppressed and subdued it.
At this moment, understanding dawned in Qin Sang's heart.
No wonder Old Man Dique had said secret talismans did not recognize masters. Now that he had subdued the dragon spirit soul, with just a bit of refining, he could draw the secret talisman into his body to nourish it.
However, should someone else snatch the talisman away in the future, it would be impossible to retrieve.
The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman was truly a secret talisman meant for fleeing with one's life.
Once the secret talisman was forged, it could bind nine spirit souls. These spirit souls had to come from demon beasts carrying flood dragon bloodlines, and they had to be extracted just before death in order to be accepted by the secret talisman.
Chapter 263