Ever since he began cultivating the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*, all Qin Sang had done was gather as much spirit wood as possible, content as long as the ebony sword did not hold back the technique's progress.
Whenever Yunyouzi spoke of these secrets, Qin Sang had listened as though to legends, never daring to harbor such extravagant hopes.
Indeed, the Ten Great Divine Woods existed only in myth—or at least, they were not something a minor Foundation Establishment cultivator like him had any right to covet.
Perhaps only after forming a golden core would he dare entertain such a notion.
Yet the world was unpredictable, and right now, a piece of one of the Ten Great Divine Woods lay right before him!
Qin Sang stared entranced at this piece of blood-red wood. Feeling the potent aura radiating from the Boundless Blood Mulberry, only four words echoed in his mind: truly worthy of reputation!
This piece of Boundless Blood Mulberry was clearly unrefined.
If the ebony sword could devour it, there was no doubt that it would undergo a complete metamorphosis, ascending into the ranks of magic treasures in one leap, and even granting a formidable divine ability.
Suppressing the urgency in his heart, Qin Sang tore his gaze away from the Boundless Blood Mulberry with great difficulty and turned toward the other half of the jade pool.
There, in the midst of the crimson "pool water" that resembled molten lava, grew a pale root. Slender and white as jade, it was undeniably extraordinary.
Yet the stem and leaves above the root had vanished, leaving only a single section of taproot standing solitary above the pool, its broken end bearing clear marks of gnawing!
Seeing this, Qin Sang's eyes narrowed. After a moment's contemplation, he suddenly stepped forward, but then sensed something and snapped his head up toward the orb of thunder.
Just then, lightning surged wildly within the orb, and several slender arcs actually broke through its confinement!
Once freed from the orb, those hair-thin bolts swelled in an instant to the thickness of an arm, crashing down toward where Qin Sang was hiding amid deafening thunderclaps.
The cave dwelling shook, the lightning blinding.
As though already alerted, Qin Sang pushed off the ground hard and retreated at explosive speed.
Yet the moment he moved, a fierce gust whipped up to his right. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a round, silver blur darting toward him like a streak of lightning—a sight that felt eerily familiar.
Lightning Escape!
Qin Sang instantly recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier: the thunder-devouring falcon employing Lightning Escape, using sheer physical force to slam the black-robed man out from the shadows.
*Just as I thought!* Qin Sang told himself.
When he saw the jade pool, the orb of thunder, and the white fragments inside it, he had felt that this arrangement was exceedingly strange, resembling some sort of nest nurturing something.
Combined with that gnawed, unknown spirit herb...
Qin Sang was virtually certain that a thunder-devouring falcon chick was hidden in this cave dwelling!
A thunder-devouring falcon's thunder eyes could see through concealment—Qin Sang had known this earlier.
No wonder the adult thunder-devouring falcon had risked its life to hold off two Nascent Soul experts; it was nurturing its young. Since fragments still remained in the thunder orb, the chick had likely hatched not long ago, so Qin Sang had felt no fear.
What Qin Sang hadn't expected, however, was that the chick could actually manipulate the lightning within the thunder orb, and its strength far exceeded his anticipation!
"Rise!"
At this moment, Qin Sang had just dodged the strike unleashed by the thunder orb, and his momentum was spent. Unable to dodge any further, he could only face it head-on.
With a loud roar, Qin Sang raised the Ten Directions Yanluo Array he had prepared long beforehand.
Facing the thunder-devouring falcon's Lightning Escape, he dared not show the slightest carelessness. The black-robed man's plight was vivid in his memory—even a Nascent Soul cultivation base had failed to withstand the might of the falcon's Lightning Escape, plunging him into peril.
The array had just deployed, its banners shielding Qin Sang within, when the falcon crashed into it via Lightning Escape, held back in the nick of time.
*Boom!*
The yin energy of the Ten Directions Yanluo Array collided with the Lightning Escape. Yin qi and lightning devoured each other, and the array showed faint signs of collapsing.
Within the array, the ghost banners trembled violently, their cloth snapping loudly in the wind.
The main soul roared, its bellow shaking the cave dwelling as it resisted the impact of the Lightning Escape with all its might.
Inside the array, Qin Sang let out a muffled groan. His blood churned, and he was thrown back several paces before barely steadying himself. He hurriedly stabilized the array, secretly appalled.
When the shockwaves subsided, Qin Sang remained hidden within the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, not daring to show his face. Peering through the gaps in the yin qi, he saw that a falcon had appeared at some point, standing on one leg along the edge of the jade pool.
This falcon was hardly majestic; it looked more like a fat chick.
Its feathers lacked any bright sheen, consisting entirely of tufts of pale yellow down. Even its pointed little beak was a tender yellow, and in its mouth was clamped a small piece of white eggshell.
Its down puffed up, the fat chick's fluffy body resembled a yellow sphere. It did not look the least bit terrifying—in fact, it was rather adorable.
*Crunch, crunch...*
The little pointed beak worked away.
Crisp crunching sounds echoed in the cave dwelling. The eggshell that had remained pristine within the orb of thunder proved utterly fragile in the fat chick's mouth, easily crushed to bits.
*Chirp, chirp...*
Chewing on the eggshell, the fat chick suddenly widened its eyes, gripped the jade pool tightly with both talons, and let out an urgent shriek.
Qin Sang's expression changed slightly, and he put his guard up. Suddenly, he saw it turn its head to take a sip from the spirit spring behind it, then crane its neck high, hopping in place while flapping its disproportionately tiny, fleshy wings up and down with all its might.
Then its throat convulsed, washing down the eggshell with the spring water, and its chirping grew distinctly cheerful.
Qin Sang stared dumbfounded. *Was it choking?*
Washing down food with spirit spring water—wasn't that a bit too extravagant?
Having swallowed the eggshell, the fat chick felt comfortable again. It tilted its little head contentedly, its round, beady eyes filled with innocence and curiosity as it unabashedly examined Qin Sang.
Qin Sang had a feeling it considered him an amusing toy.
Looking at its comical, endearing appearance, who could have imagined that it would eventually grow into a majestic thunder-devouring falcon, capable of battling two Nascent Soul cultivators and unleashing divine might?
The corner of Qin Sang's mouth twitched. To think the hatchling of a thunder-devouring falcon looked like this!
From its looks, it had clearly only just hatched.
Anyone else might have had their heart melted by the fat chick's adorably derpy eyes, but Qin Sang didn't find this plump thing cute in the slightest. On the contrary, he found it terrifying.
Though it had only just hatched, this fat chick possessed a cultivation base at the peak of the Demon Spirit stage—not a whit inferior to Yu Hua!
This was only natural. Demon beasts with powerful bloodlines were uniquely blessed by heaven, born with terrifying strength.
Furthermore, any spirit herb planted in the cave dwelling by the thunder-devouring falcon was certainly extraordinary, likely prepared meticulously for its chick. Having eaten the herb, it was no surprise that the chick had broken through to the peak of the Demon Spirit stage in one stroke.
The peak of the Demon Spirit stage was not what made it terrifying. The fat chick was obviously very immature; in actual combat, that did not mean it could bring its full power to bear.
What was truly terrifying was that it could manipulate the power of the thunder orb!
The thunder orb had definitely been left behind by the adult thunder-devouring falcon to incubate and protect the hatchling. With the fat chick wielding the orb, even a Core Formation cultivator would have to tread carefully before it.
Qin Sang's gaze bypassed the fat chick and settled on the Boundless Blood Mulberry lying in the spirit spring.
He clenched his hand. The demon fire within the crimson pellet had burned nearly halfway through. There was not much time left for him; he had to leave before the demon fire was extinguished, or he would remain trapped in this cave dwelling forever.
There was no telling what the adult thunder-devouring falcon would do to him once it returned and found him here.
Whether becoming food for the fat chick or being reduced to its plaything, neither was an outcome Qin Sang was willing to accept.
Chapter 404