In addition, the Dutian Demonic Sound included an incantation that excited Qin Sang even more than the Soul-Snatching Incantation.
It was called the Void Origin Seal.
This seal was not cast on others, but upon oneself—a life-saving incantation of sorts.
If one were branded with a soul imprint, a curse, a poisonous gu, or something similar, this seal could be used to deceive the caster's perception, suppress the flare-up of the curse or gu, and maximize one's chances of self-preservation.
Qin Sang recalled that back in the cavern, Old Man Dique had claimed to possess a means of concealing insect gu and deceiving others' senses. He had likely been referring to this very incantation, the Void Origin Seal.
Since Qin Sang did not cultivate the Dutian Demonic Sound and could only simulate demonic sounds with spiritual power, he would not be able to unleash the full power of the Void Origin Seal or completely mask the fluctuations of the Heart-Devouring Insect. Even so, it could suppress them.
As things stood, entering the range of a Kuiyin Sect cultivator's spiritual sense meant being detected instantly.
Once he planted the Void Origin Seal on the Heart-Devouring Insect, they would only be able to sense its presence face-to-face, or if their spiritual sense was extraordinarily powerful.
The Void Origin Seal resolved the greater part of this hidden danger, filling Qin Sang with immense joy. He firmly resolved that once he escaped, he would master the Void Origin Seal before attending to anything else.
Although the Kuiyin Sect was on the verge of destruction and its fortunes had run out, the Heart-Devouring Insect had always weighed upon his heart like a giant boulder. Getting rid of it was for the best.
After stripping everything of value from Old Man Dique's mustard seed bag, he tossed the bag into the magma.
Old Man Dique was merely a rogue cultivator; there was no need to fear anyone seeking vengeance on his behalf.
Though this ordeal had been fraught with mortal danger, the harvest could only be described as astonishing.
A Core Formation cultivator's wealth opened Qin Sang's eyes. Setting aside the jade slips, the spiritual materials Old Man Dique had gathered to refine the Primordial Concentric Rings alone caused Qin Sang's net worth to soar.
While none of them were spiritual wood, in a pinch, he could trade the other spiritual materials outside. Obtaining black flame camphor wood would be enough to support his breakthrough to the middle Foundation Establishment stage and solve his immediate crisis.
It was a pity he had not managed to obtain Daoist Xuan Yu's belongings; an established elder's heritage would surely have been far deeper than Old Man Dique's.
"Treasures are grand, but life matters more. I cannot be too greedy," Qin Sang murmured to himself.
He had intervened in the clash between Core Formation cultivators and ambushed Old Man Dique not out of greed for treasures, but to save his own skin, which was why he had succeeded. Had it been the other way around, blinded by riches, he might well have met the fate of a man dying for wealth.
Taking stock of his own assets, Qin Sang found the picture far bleaker.
Nearly all his spirit stones had been spent on soul-refining demonic tools, leaving him with less than a thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Detonating the Profound Yin Thunder to escape had cost him his best trump card.
All three baleful corpses were destroyed, leaving only a few ordinary zombies in his corpse puppet pouch—fit to handle minor chores, but little else.
The painstakingly nurtured Fire Jade Centipede had been reclaimed by Old Man Dique, and it had likely perished alongside the other rare insects in the spirit beast bag under the blade qi of the Tiangang Saber Talisman.
The various formidable magic tools he had collected over the years had all been thrown out in one desperate bid to block Old Man Dique's dying counterattack, every single one reduced to scrap. Now only a few auxiliary magic tools remained in his mustard seed bag.
The Ten Directions Yanluo Banners had also suffered heavy shockwaves from the battle and were severely damaged. They would need a period of nourishing to recover. Fortunately, none were destroyed; had fewer than six survived, he would no longer have been able to form the great array.
Twenty years of painstakingly amassed wealth had been wiped out in a single stroke, taking him right back to square one.
Had Old Man Dique's legacy not made up for the losses, he would have had to start from scratch all over again, enduring another grueling uphill struggle.
Having sorted through his gains and losses, Qin Sang calmed his thoughts. Reaching out with his spiritual sense to communicate with the flood dragon spirit soul, he learned that he was already very close to the other half of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman.
Before long, his field of view opened wide. Ahead lay another vast magma lake, and the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman was just in front of him, having remained stationary for some time.
Qin Sang swept his gaze across the expanse and spotted a magma vortex at the lake's center. Countless undercurrents flowing in from every direction converged there, clashing violently. The dark-red magma churned together into a rapidly spinning maelstrom.
Peering closely, he saw a speck of white light bobbing amid the dark currents in the center of the vortex. It was the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman. The flood dragon spirit soul was struggling desperately, clearly at the end of its strength. Its white light was terribly dim, unable to pull free of the whirlpool, and would soon be swallowed whole.
Seeing this, Qin Sang did not hesitate to swallow a handful of spirit pills. His figure flickered, and he leapt into the vortex without a second thought.
The undercurrents tore at him, and the vortex's suction was immense, dragging Qin Sang into its spinning depths. Yet his gaze remained fixed on the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman at its center.
The medicinal power transformed into spiritual power, which Qin Sang unleashed without holding back. Wrapping it around himself to withstand the magma's heat and the vortex's pull, he drew closer to the talisman and finally caught the secret talisman in his grasp.
The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman trembled slightly. Just as the flood dragon spirit soul was about to resist, it sensed the other half of the soul upon Qin Sang and instantly grew docile.
A dazzling burst of spiritual power erupted from Qin Sang. With a loud roar, he tore through the undercurrents and broke free of the vortex.
In his palm rested two jade tablets, each housing a cluster of flood dragon spirit soul—one large, one small.
Qin Sang released his spiritual power, and the two jade tablets snapped together on their own. The two soul clusters merged into one, growing considerably stronger than before, though still quite weak compared to their peak state.
The cracks on the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman were conspicuous.
For a Core Formation cultivator, nourishing it with core fire would quickly mend those fractures.
With no time to examine it closely, Qin Sang stowed the secret talisman away, immediately channeled his movement technique, and turned into a streak of escape light to retrace his path.
Halfway back, Qin Sang abruptly pulled out of his flight and looked at the stone walls flanking the magma, his brow furrowing slightly.
Ever since he had jumped into the lava river, the magma had been surging tempestuously. At first, Qin Sang had assumed it was merely turbulent currents, but now he realized matters were not so simple.
The earth itself was shaking!
Crash!
Towering waves rose, churning with fury.
Qin Sang moved swiftly, darting between several cresting waves as his frown deepened and an ominous premonition seized him. He suddenly recalled the abrupt earthquake that had struck the Heavenly Peaks while they were scaling the mountain.
The tremors were clearly far more frequent now, striking every dozen breaths, and their intensity was far greater than before.
Had something gone wrong within the ancient cultivator's abandoned abode?
Qin Sang's expression changed. Golden Core Masters were holding down the fort inside the abode; even if a mishap occurred, they would be able to rescue people.
He, on the other hand, was trapped in the lava river. No one would come to save him. If the ancient abode collapsed, he would have no way back and would be forced to drift with the currents, who knew where.
At that thought, Qin Sang dared not delay any further. At the very least, he had to go up and see what had happened to the abode before deciding which way to go.
Yet before long, Qin Sang fled back in panic, his face looking utterly dreadful.
Behind him, the magma roared as furious waves surged to the ceiling.
Red silhouettes danced joyfully amid the lava.
Flame flying monkeys, firebirds, humanoid wraiths...
Chapter 266