Contemplation

Under Tan Hao's hopeful gaze, Qin Sang examined Tan Jie thoroughly. Unfortunately, he knew little about the Dao of Alchemy and could not think of any way to cure Tan Jie. After pondering a moment, Qin Sang suddenly remembered something. His eyes lit up, and he hurriedly rummaged through his mustard seed bag, eventually retrieving a crystal coffin. This crystal coffin was a relic left behind after the deaths of Senior Sister Qingting and Senior Brother Jiang. Qin Sang had later discovered that the crystal coffin was actually a peculiar magic tool. It was thanks to this coffin that Senior Brother Jiang's body had remained vital without the aid of spirit medicines, and the rate at which his origin soul dispersed had slowed considerably. He did not know where Senior Sister Qingting had obtained the crystal coffin, but it had surely not come easily. It was of no use to Qin Sang himself, but seeing its unusual function, he had kept it. He had not expected it to come in handy now. Placing Tan Jie inside would remove any worry over his physical body, and his origin soul's dispersal would slow as well, taking a heavy burden off Tan Hao's shoulders. Hearing Qin Sang explain the crystal coffin's abilities, Tan Hao was overjoyed, yet still somewhat skeptical. Confident, Qin Sang had Tan Hao lift Tan Jie's body from the spiritual liquid and place him into the crystal coffin. Tan Hao stared wide-eyed, watching Tan Jie with an expectant gaze. After waiting a short while, he indeed saw a strange energy well up from the crystal coffin, turning into a light mist that enveloped Tan Jie and nourished his body. Moreover, while it still could not stop his origin soul from dispersing, the rate truly slowed by a good deal, allowing the medicinal power of the Spirit-Calming Pill to last much longer. Though this borrowed time was not vast, to Tan Hao it was exceptionally precious! "I know a friend who has experience treating soul injuries," Qin Sang said. "Wait here in your cave dwelling. I'll return to Yinshan Pass now and send him a letter to see if he can think of a way." The person Qin Sang referred to was Yunyouzi. As the saying went, a prolonged illness makes a good physician. Among those Qin Sang knew, if anyone could come up with a cure for Tan Jie, it was only Yunyouzi. Yunyouzi was refining medicinal power and cultivating in his cave dwelling right now, where he would not mind being contacted. Still, Tan Jie's soul was not simply injured—it had nearly dispersed. Yunyouzi might well be powerless as well, but Qin Sang had been moved by Tan Hao's words and had to give it a try regardless. Tan Jie's condition was extremely grave, and even a single day's delay could bring unforeseen complications. Without delay, Qin Sang wrote down Tan Jie's symptoms in a letter, bade Tan Hao farewell at once, and activated the Nether Silk Cloud to travel back to the Spirit Elixir Pavilion in Yinshan Pass. When he asked the Spirit Elixir Pavilion to send the letter back to Xuanlu Pass through the Taiyi Elixir Pavilion's channels, however, he learned to his surprise that Yunyouzi had already exited seclusion and was currently heading toward Yinshan Pass, due to arrive in just a few days. What was Yunyouzi coming to Yinshan Pass for right now? Qin Sang was quite taken aback by this. After giving it some thought, he returned to Tan Hao's cave dwelling and told him the truth, withholding only Yunyouzi's identity. "...It would be best if my friend could examine him in person. But you must mind what you say. Do not mention our past experiences; act as though they never happened." Having cooperated with Yunyouzi several times, they shared a friendship that bridged their generations, and he trusted Yunyouzi would not harm him without cause. Even so, fewer complications were always better than more. Tan Hao did not pry, nodding without hesitation. "Set your mind at ease, I understand." There was poorly concealed excitement and hope in his voice, along with a faint thread of worry. Right away, they brought the slumbering Tan Jie to the outskirts of Yinshan Pass, where Qin Sang spent spirit stones to rent two rather secluded cave dwellings to await Yunyouzi. After settling the Tan brothers in, Qin Sang returned to his own cave dwelling. The dwelling was located in the marshland outside Yinshan Pass, inside an ancient hollowed-out tree. It was Qin Sang's first time staying in such a cave dwelling, and he found it quite novel. The spirit vein likely ran deep within the marsh; the spiritual energy inside this dwelling was exceedingly dense, well worth the price. However, Qin Sang did not rush into meditation. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, reflecting on his experiences and the shift in his mindset over the short time since running into Tan Hao. He had helped Tan Hao and Shi Hong without hesitation. On the one hand, it stemmed from the sincere warning Tan Hao had given him back when he was purchasing cultivation manuals in the Youshan Cultivation Market; Qin Sang had always remembered that kindness. On the other hand, it was inseparable from their shared history in the Kuiyin Sect. Of the few who had entered the sect together all those years ago, only the four of them remained, and Tan Jie had even become a living corpse. Shi Hong and Tan Hao's fortunes had also been fraught with twists and turns, stirring in Qin Sang a sorrow born of shared plight. He had assumed they had perished in that great upheaval. Now that he knew they were alive, Qin Sang naturally would not be stingy with his help—all the more so since it was barely any trouble for him. The change in mindset had come afterward. Seeing the bonds of kinship between the Tan brothers, recalling the love between Senior Sister Qingting and Senior Brother Jiang, and even remembering Yu Daiyue, who had been driven mad by his pursuit of immortality, Qin Sang seemed to have gained some sudden insight. About himself, about worldly sentiments, about the Dao... "Kinship, romance..." Qin Sang murmured to himself, his gaze unfocused as if looking through time and space. Love and romance had long been cast behind him in this life. Yet familial affection still remained at the bottom of his heart, only deliberately ignored. If not for coming to a new world, utterly severing any chance of reunion... If his parents had suddenly appeared before him before he set out on the immortal path... Would he still have had the resolve to sever his mortal ties? His Dao heart seemed to have grown a bit clearer, though what effect this change would have or how much it would aid his future cultivation, Qin Sang did not know. "Hoo..." Coming back to his senses, Qin Sang exhaled a mouthful of foul air. He took out a jade box containing soul-attracting grass from his mustard seed bag, and then brought out the cultivation manual as well. Yunyouzi would still need a few days to arrive, which gave him the perfect opportunity to study how to craft Heavenly Corpse Talismans. Out of prudence, Qin Sang read the manual through from beginning to end once more, pondering word by word the chapter on refining living corpses in particular. Crafting a Heavenly Corpse Talisman was extraordinarily difficult and demanded much of the refiner, especially in controlling spiritual power and spiritual sense; Qin Sang could not guarantee success every time either. The first step was to use the secret technique from the tome to refine the soul-attracting grass into 'talisman paper.' This step did not appear too difficult. Having committed the entire process to memory and rehearsed it over a dozen times in his mind, Qin Sang finally began his attempt. Removing the restrictions on the box, he gently lifted out the soul-attracting grass and extended his spiritual sense into it to observe and analyze every vein within. These veins were like the meridians of the soul-attracting grass—vital to the success rate of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman. When separating the leaves, he could under no circumstances damage them. Before long, Qin Sang had fully grasped the layout of this stalk of soul-attracting grass. After a brief pause, his spiritual sense coalesced into an invisible blade that traced lightly across the stem. The stroke was utterly effortless, completely free of harshness. The soul-attracting grass suddenly parted of its own accord, and a single leaf drifted down. It worked! Qin Sang caught the leaf, delight showing on his face.