Bathed in the understated moonlight, Qin Sang stood dazed.
How could such a woman exist in the mortal realm?
Having witnessed the shifting winds and surging tides of the world yet remaining utterly detached, keeping solitary vigil by a faint lamp within the Moon Palace—that alone seemed her true dwelling.
Facing this woman, Qin Sang felt an involuntary pang of shame at his own unworthiness.
He was, after all, a creature of the turbid world.
Having seen the qingluan take physical form from a wood carving and then transform back into wood, Qin Sang wondered whether this woman was also a puppet crafted by Granny Jing.
Yet once he beheld her in the flesh, his suspicion faltered.
How formidable would one's puppetry art have to be to fashion a being so lifelike, so immaculate?
"It is I."
The woman nodded gently, admitting that she was indeed Granny Jing.
Her voice had changed as well. While not as aloof as her presence, it was relatively soft, yet carried an undertone of cool loneliness, like the faint, cold luminescence cast down by a solitary moon in the night sky.
"It really is you?" Qin Sang exclaimed in astonishment. "Could it be that everything before was Senior's disguise, and this is your true appearance?"
Granny Jing offered no explanation. Instead, she countered in an indifferent tone, "It is nothing more than a mortal vessel. What difference is there between who I was before and who I am now?"
*Fine, I suppose I am just a common mortal.*
Qin Sang offered a silent, wry smile and pressed no further. He watched as Granny Jing stepped out from beneath the jade pillars, tilting her head slightly to gaze at the cloud-piercing Heaven-Pointing Peak.
"Would you like to go outside your grandmaster's cave dwelling and take a look?"
Startled by her words, Qin Sang raised his head. Following Granny Jing's gaze, he could see only swirling white clouds.
In the next instant, Qin Sang's entire body tightened. Swept along by Granny Jing, he flew straight up into the sky. Wind whistled past his ears, and in his vision, Shaohua Mountain plummeted rapidly beneath them.
In the blink of an eye, the white clouds were within arm's reach.
The cloud layer reached only halfway up Shaohua Mountain. Beyond it rose a snow-capped precipitous peak whose pinnacle pierced straight into the nine-heavens astral winds.
With Qin Sang's eyesight, standing there allowed him to faintly discern a stone gate set into the cliff face at the summit.
Intricate runes were carved upon the stone gate, shimmering with an enigmatic glow—none of which Qin Sang could decipher.
Howling cold winds and swirling snow raged all around, yet none could breach the space within ten zhang of the gate.
"Have you seen enough?"
Granny Jing turned her head to cast a glance at Qin Sang.
*If I said it wasn't enough, would you actually push open the gate and walk inside?*
Qin Sang forced one wry smile after another. For the first time, he realized just how fragile his heart was—it truly could not withstand such frights. "Enough! More than enough! Junior already believes you..."
***
Luandao Waters.
Qin Sang sat blankly inside his cave dwelling, clutching a spool of thread in one hand and turning over the wood carving Granny Jing had given him with the other.
Everything that had just occurred felt like a dream, entirely unreal. He had made a round trip to his sect, been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Nascent Soul Patriarch's cave dwelling, and only now that he was back in his own dwelling did his senses truly return.
Upon returning to the Luandao Waters, Granny Jing had departed, leaving him only the Star Spirit Net and this carving.
Before, Qin Sang had thought the carving was so lifelike, so immaculate.
Only after seeing the real person did he realize it did not capture even a fraction of her true grace.
Qin Sang's mind was in turmoil, turning over a single question again and again.
Just what level of strength did Granny Jing possess?
Even someone as formidable as Snake Granny couldn't possibly come and go freely from Shaohua Mountain without fear of being discovered by Dongyang Bo, could she?
The gap between Foundation Establishment and Core Formation was already vast.
The divide between Core Formation and Nascent Soul was bound to be an insurmountable chasm. The Lesser Cold Domain had many Core Formation experts, but how many Nascent Soul luminaries were there?
Could Granny Jing be an incognito Nascent Soul luminary?
Qin Sang startled himself with his own thought, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
If he could form a favorable connection with a Nascent Soul luminary, he would gladly do so even without receiving any benefit. What was more, Granny Jing had promised to help him obtain the most Star Element Stones, allowing him to exchange them for the snow spirit lotus and the iris flower.
Even so, Qin Sang understood that this arrangement made it a transaction. Once the matter concluded, neither would owe the other anything.
A lasting bond of goodwill was not so easily forged.
With his current cultivation, he held no real value to an expert of Granny Jing's caliber.
Cool, aloof, and keeping others at a distance was Granny Jing's true nature. The elderly woman in Wenyue Cultivation Market had merely been a disguise adopted while traveling the mortal world.
As for why Granny Jing had secluded herself in Wenyue Cultivation Market, Qin Sang dared not ask.
"Heaven-Pointing Peak..."
Qin Sang silently glanced toward the southeast, gathered his scattered thoughts, and entered meditative cultivation.
***
He was jolted awake once more by the token.
Qin Sang rose abruptly, drew the spirit stone into his palm, and was about to stride outside when he suddenly paused. He pressed a hand against his chest, where the wood carving was hidden.
Granny Jing had instructed that the carving could not be placed into a mustard seed bag and had to be kept on his person.
Fortunately, no matter how one looked at it, this was an ordinary, unremarkable peach wood carving. Even if someone questioned him about it, Qin Sang could easily explain it away.
Cultivation was not about severing all ties to the mortal realm or purging every emotion and desire. Cultivators were merely mortals who wielded immense power—at least for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Who didn't have something to anchor their spirit?
After witnessing how Granny Jing utilized her wood carvings, Qin Sang recalled how years ago, during his trade with the Yue sisters, he had purchased a peach wood sword from her shop as part of her remuneration.
Just like the carvings of the qingluan and Granny Jing's transformed figure, Qin Sang had been unable to detect the slightest anomaly in that peach wood sword.
Could it also possess immense power?
A grand luminary traveling the mortal world, encountering a destined individual, acting on a whim to bestow a fortuitous encounter...
And when that destined individual fell into dire peril, they would discover the true purpose of the gift, not only saving their own life but soaring to great heights from that moment on.
Such tales were widely popular in the cultivation world.
Alas, Qin Sang had overthought the matter. Granny Jing had made it clear that everything in her shop was an ordinary wood carving, and the sword Qin Sang had bought was no exception.
The only distinction was that these carvings were crafted using Granny Jing's unique technique; their sole conceivable function was perhaps allowing a mortal master craftsman to greatly improve their own skills upon seeing them.
Having concealed the wood carving, Qin Sang took a deep breath, stepped out of his cave dwelling, and flew toward Stargazing Island on a cloud.
On the way, he encountered Senior Brother Rong once again.
Senior Brother Rong wore a solemn expression, showing little inclination to chat.
After exchanging brief greetings, the two flew silently toward Stargazing Island.
When they arrived at Stargazing Island and waited a short while, the thirty-three experts gathered one after another. Utter silence reigned over the island. Each person occupied a separate spot, none in the mood for idle conversation.
After waiting a moment longer, light suddenly flared deep within Stargazing Island, followed by five streaks of escape light flying over in succession.
The foremost among them was Snake Granny.
Beside Snake Granny stood Vice Island Master Xiao, while the remaining three were also late Core Formation stage experts.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao and this old woman will proceed ahead. The rest of you gather our fellow daoists and follow behind," Snake Granny's voice rang out.
"Understood!"
The other three dispersed in an instant, flying toward the righteous, demonic, and rogue cultivators.
"Get on!"
With a wave of Snake Granny's hand, the snake bracelet slipped off her wrist and transformed into a giant python. Its slitted pupils radiated a cold, sinister gleam as its gaze swept over Qin Sang and the others.
Secretly unnerved, the cultivators summoned their escape lights and landed gingerly upon the giant python's back.
Chapter 460