Earth Fire Coiling Tung

Dropping heavily onto the sand, Qin Sang sat dazed for a long time. He patted the dust from his robes and stood up. The melancholy in his eyes had vanished, replaced by calm. The young man in martial attire lay sprawled on the ground. Qin Sang had fed him a healing elixir; his wounds had already closed, though his sea of qi and meridians remained sealed by restrictions. Qin Sang woke him and continued casting the Soul-Snatching Incantation. Upon learning that these two were merely rogue cultivators drifting through the Ancient Immortal Battlefield with some casual acquaintance with Yu Daiyue, bearing no deep backgrounds, Qin Sang had no further misgivings. The young man in martial attire was far less stubborn than Yu Daiyue. With tears and snot streaming down his face, he begged incessantly for mercy. Qin Sang paid him no mind. Under the young man's terrified gaze, Qin Sang followed the secret arts in the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art, first sealing his origin soul, then casting countless corpse-refining restrictions into him, turning him into a base for a living corpse before stowing him into the corpse puppet pouch. Once he bought the soul-attracting grass at the auction, he could use this man as an experiment to refine his first living corpse. Next, Qin Sang took out the scar-faced man's corpse. Spending considerable effort, he refined him into a baleful corpse as well and stored him away to nourish slowly. When he finished, Qin Sang realized that over the years, the earth fiend qi and Five Elements yin materials he had brought along were nearly exhausted. Refining a living corpse was several times more difficult and demanding in every respect than refining a baleful corpse; he was not sure whether the remaining materials would be enough. The Five Elements yin materials were easy enough to handle, as they could be bought at Xuanlu Pass, but earth fiend qi was exceedingly rare. It seemed he would have to find time to return to his sect. Having been away for so many years, it was time to check back. He wondered how the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid was doing. His thoughts wandering, Qin Sang opened all three mustard seed bags belonging to Yu Daiyue and his companions. To his surprise, inside the scar-faced man's mustard seed bag, there truly was a section of the main root of an Earth Fire Coiling Tung. Moreover, it appeared fresh, dug up not long ago. It seemed the trap had indeed been meticulously laid by Yu Daiyue and the others. A lie that was nine-tenths truth made for the best deception and the hardest trap to spot. Back then, he had only been in the early Foundation Establishment stage. Had he not been lucky enough to have already promised Yunyouzi, leaving him no choice but to decline Yu Daiyue's invitation, that trip would likely have ended in disaster. Qin Sang smiled bitterly to himself and picked up the rugged, thick root. There was only the main root and no Earth Fire Coiling Tung spiritual fluid. He did not know whether they had sold it or refined it themselves. Condensing his spiritual power into a blade, he scraped away the impurities from the main root, extracted the purest spiritual wood essence, and had the ebony sword devour it directly. Two killing talismans were inscribed upon the ebony sword, aiding his breakthrough into the middle Foundation Establishment stage. However, bearing two killing talismans had pushed the ebony sword close to its limit. Without further enhancement, it could not withstand the pressure of a third killing talisman. Although Qin Sang possessed the Blood-Dripping Ghost Mushroom, which could directly boost his cultivation once refined, without increasing the strength of the ebony sword and comprehending the killing talisman, no spiritual herb could help him break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage. For Qin Sang, his life spirit sword and the killing talismans were his bottlenecks—except that these bottlenecks were tangible and visible. After refining the Earth Fire Coiling Tung, Qin Sang sorted and stowed away the spoils, then destroyed the mustard seed bags. What stirred the deepest sigh from Qin Sang was Yu Daiyue's mustard seed bag. The bulk of its contents consisted of various jade slips and secret manuals—all claiming to be 'secret arts' that aided in breakthroughs. In Qin Sang's eyes, the vast majority were utterly groundless and absurdly laughable. For instance, one secret art detailed a method of acupoint-piercing with silver needles, clearly originating from mortal martial arts. Yet Yu Daiyue had treasured it like a precious heirloom, and likely had tried every single one of them. After healing his injuries and regulating his breath, Qin Sang unsealed the sand cave and set off for the Tianjing Secret Realm. When Teng Nan saw Qin Sang again, he offered warm congratulations. Afterwards, Qin Sang remained in the Tianjing Secret Realm to temper himself in the surrounding area. Ten months later, Qin Sang emerged from a cloud beast lair and returned to the Tianjing Secret Realm. With less than two months until the start of the Yinshan Pass auction, Qin Sang decided to spend some time in the Tianjing Secret Realm sorting through the gains from his training, intending to depart for Yinshan Pass in the coming days. Inside his quiet cave dwelling, Qin Sang entered meditation. Breaking through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage had brought new changes via the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter, all of which Qin Sang had come to thoroughly understand during this period. The most prominent change was his cultivation speed. With an additional killing talisman, Qin Sang not only comprehended the next talisman faster, but his cultivation speed also rose to a new level. By his own estimate, it definitely surpassed that of a cultivator with four spiritual roots. Even if it was still slightly inferior to three spiritual roots for now, once the third killing talisman was inscribed, he would surpass them as well. At his current cultivation speed, combined with the Blood-Dripping Ghost Mushroom, Qin Sang estimated that within twenty years at most, he could break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage. His trip to Qiuhong Market, while failing to resolve the hidden flaw in his foundation, had yielded three millennium-grade spiritual herbs—an immense gain that made the journey more than worthwhile. The cultivation time saved by these spiritual herbs would grant him more opportunities to seek the chance for Core Formation and a method to repair his foundation. Such progress could be considered above average even among his fellow disciples at Shaohua Mountain. Of course, that was provided he could upgrade his ebony sword and avoided being delayed by other trivial matters. If only Qin Sang's natural talent were slightly better, his current cultivation speed would be even more astonishing. It was no wonder Senior Qingzhu had managed to form his core in forty years. Alas, innate talent was set at birth; envy changed nothing. Three days later. Qin Sang ended his secluded cultivation, bid farewell to Teng Nan, and flew toward the Changyang Cultivation Market. He had decided to head directly along the border of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield toward Yinshan Pass, so he visited the branch of the Taiyi Elixir Pavilion in the Changyang Cultivation Market to sell off miscellaneous goods and purchase some medicinal elixirs. The manager of the shop was an elderly man in the early Foundation Establishment stage, surnamed Liu. Manager Liu recognized Qin Sang. Seeing him enter, he hurried to his feet and bowed in greeting. "Fellow Daoist Qin, not long ago I received word from Junior Brother Yunyouzi. He has emerged from seclusion and decided to stay in his original cave dwelling to cultivate for a time. Learning that you had once come looking for him, he sent a message. If you have pressing matters, you may go directly to his cave dwelling." Qin Sang indeed intended to consult Yunyouzi regarding the issue with his foundation to see if he could help devise a solution. That was why, before heading to the Tianjing Secret Realm, he had asked Manager Liu to keep an eye out for news of Yunyouzi. He hadn't expected Yunyouzi to have already exited seclusion and proactively sent word. "Senior Liu, do you know if Senior Yunyouzi gained anything from his seclusion? Could he be breaking through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage?" For Yunyouzi to succeed in Foundation Establishment at such an advanced age, his talent was certainly not as abysmal as Qin Sang's own; he had merely been hindered by hidden injuries sustained during his breakthrough, which had slowed his cultivation progress afterward. If the Nine Splendors Azure Frost Grass was effective and resolved his hidden injuries, breaking through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage should not pose much of a problem. "That is beyond this old man's knowledge." Manager Liu shook his head gently, speaking with admiration, "However, Junior Brother Yunyouzi often works miracles. Perhaps things truly are as you say, Fellow Daoist Qin, and he has taken another step forward!" ... Leaving the Changyang Cultivation Market, Qin Sang pondered for a moment. Instead of returning to Xuanlu Pass, he flew straight east. Since Yunyouzi was staying in his cave dwelling to cultivate, he certainly would not leave within a year or two. It would do no harm to visit him after the auction concluded.