Only one person was recorded to have done so and successfully formed a core.
Qingzhu!
"...You must have heard of him. His name is Qingzhu. He was quite renowned in Shaohua Mountain, and some even called him the Sword Demon," Granny Jing said.
*It really was him!*
The moment Granny Jing mentioned someone who had created their own cultivation method, Qin Sang thought of Senior Qingzhu.
Back in the Le sisters' cave dwelling, Qin Sang had discovered the sword mark Senior Qingzhu left behind.
Even then, he had guessed that Senior Qingzhu had persisted along the path of slaughter—either finding the latter half of the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* or creating a continuation of the technique himself.
Whether within the sect, at Xuanlu Pass, in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, or even throughout the past three years in the Luandao Waters, Qin Sang had never ceased investigating Senior Qingzhu's whereabouts.
Yet he had found nothing from start to finish.
"After Senior Qingzhu went missing, the sect lost all word of him as well. There was only a single dubious rumor in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. I have searched for him for many years, but failed to find the slightest trace... Did you meet Senior Qingzhu, Senior?" Qin Sang asked Granny Jing, carefully measuring his words.
"Of course you couldn't find him."
With an unreadable expression, Granny Jing said flatly, "Because he died in Ziwei Palace."
*He died?*
Qin Sang froze.
A legend of Shaohua Mountain, a peerless talent whose example had inspired countless disciples, whose tale was still told across the sect to this day—dead, just like that?
He had fallen silently in Ziwei Palace.
And aside from Granny Jing, no one knew.
Qin Sang had never met Senior Qingzhu, but he had long felt a deep spiritual kinship with him.
Hearing this news, he could not help but feel a twinge of sorrow.
Only someone who had cultivated the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* could truly understand how great Senior Qingzhu was.
Without the protection of the jade Buddha, Qin Sang knew he would never have lasted this long.
Yet Senior Qingzhu had split his origin soul in an astonishing feat, relying purely on his formidable willpower to withstand the sword qi devouring his soul and the corrosion of killing intent. It was an unprecedented, singular achievement.
How could anyone not admire him?
In Qin Sang's eyes, Senior Qingzhu ought to have been one of the cultivators most qualified to step into the Nascent Soul stage.
For such a figure to die just like that...
Ziwei Palace!
If it was Ziwei Palace, it made sense.
Legends spoke of many Nascent Soul experts perishing within Ziwei Palace. That Qingzhu had died there was not surprising in itself, but it was an immense pity!
"Do you know where Senior Qingzhu's remains are buried, Senior?" Qin Sang asked, intending to find time to pay his respects.
Granny Jing shook her head. "His corpse is still inside Ziwei Palace, in a place heavily guarded by restrictions that others cannot reach."
Surprised, Qin Sang asked, "If you didn't bring out Senior Qingzhu's corpse, Senior, how did you obtain the continuation of the technique? Could it be that you and Senior Qingzhu were old acquaintances, and he once gifted it to you?"
Granny Jing did not answer his second question, instead saying, "I never obtained the continuation. I only know Qingzhu left it at the place where he died. That place can only be entered by someone who has cultivated the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*. If you want the continuation, you will have to retrieve it yourself."
"Retrieve it from Ziwei Palace myself..."
Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. Realizing something, he asked in shock, "Only someone who has cultivated the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* can enter... Does this technique have something to do with Ziwei Palace?"
Granny Jing countered, "Did you really not know? The *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* was brought out of Ziwei Palace by an ancestor of your Shaohua Mountain in the first place."
Qin Sang truly had not known.
There was no record on Pagoda Peak regarding the origins of the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*. Even his acquaintances, including Qi Yuanshou, knew nothing of this secret.
There were quite a few incomplete techniques like the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* stored on Pagoda Peak, with all manner of bizarre origins, and scarcely any could be cultivated successfully.
To think the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* was actually connected to Ziwei Palace, an immortal palace of the ancient era! No wonder its divine abilities were so formidable. If it had not been reduced to an incomplete, uncultivable fragment, cultivators across the entire Lesser Cold Domain would likely have fought tooth and nail for it, and Shaohua Mountain would never have been able to keep it.
Qin Sang lowered his head to steady his thoughts. After a moment's consideration, he said in a solemn voice, "Senior, you wouldn't tell me about Senior Qingzhu and the continuation for no reason, would you? I have also heard of Ziwei Palace. It is fraught with countless perils, places where even Nascent Soul and Core Formation cultivators must tread with utmost caution. It is hardly a place for Foundation Establishment cultivators like me to venture."
By the looks of it, Granny Jing had known all along that he cultivated the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*.
Qin Sang even suspected she had seen right through him during their very first meeting at Wenyue Cultivation Market.
Back then, Granny Jing had admitted him to her secret market without any investigation. Qin Sang had assumed it was out of respect for Shaohua Mountain, but now it seemed it had everything to do with the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter*.
Since she had known back then, yet only brought it up now, Qin Sang could think of only one reason for her change of heart.
The ebony sword.
The Blood Filth Divine Light!
Granny Jing nodded and admitted frankly, "You are the second person I know who has managed to cultivate the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* to this stage, though it is a pity you have yet to form a core. You guessed correctly: I do need your life spirit sword to do me a favor. A divine ability like the Blood Filth Divine Light is quite rare."
Just as expected. Qin Sang hesitated, letting out a dry laugh as he asked tentatively, "Senior, you don't intend for me to use my life spirit sword against Sect Master Leng Yuntian of the Yuanshen Sect, do you?"
He had heard clearly that Granny Jing had originally come for Leng Yuntian, but only one Grand Elder had shown up instead.
Seeing Granny Jing actually nod, Qin Sang could no longer smile at all.
He could not see through Granny Jing's true strength, but it was likely not much greater than Leng Yuntian's; otherwise, she would not have needed to scheme so meticulously.
The Blood Filth Divine Light was indeed formidable, capable of stripping a magic treasure of its power for a short time, but it only worked on magic treasures, having no effect on the cultivator himself.
A Nascent Soul expert would hardly rely on just a single magic treasure, would he?
He was not arrogant enough to face a Nascent Soul powerhouse directly.
In a clash between Nascent Soul experts, even being brushed by the aftershocks would spell certain death, grinding him to dust.
"Rumor has it that Leng Yuntian is a Nascent Soul expert..."
Granny Jing sneered, mocking, "Nothing more than a pseudo-Nascent Soul! While in the late Core Formation stage, Leng Yuntian was gravely wounded in Ziwei Palace, which left behind a fatal vulnerability. Later, his master, Leng Qian, risked his old life to barely help Leng Yuntian break through the bottleneck before passing away. But because that vulnerability was never resolved, his cultivation can never rival a true Nascent Soul. At most, he is a cut above a peak late Core Formation cultivator, relying entirely on an ancestral magic treasure. Otherwise, he wouldn't have holed up in the Yuanshen Sect all this time, not even daring to come in person to steal the Star Element Stones. If Ziwei Palace hadn't opened, he would have kept playing the coward!"
Leng Qian had been the previous sect master of the Yuanshen Sect.
A figure of renowned glory, a true, established Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Ziwei Palace is divided into an Inner Palace and an Outer Palace. Qingzhu died in the Inner Palace. Below the Core Formation stage, one can hardly take a single step in the Outer Palace. Once inside the Inner Palace, however, it is actually safer, provided you don't recklessly barge into the ancient halls. If you agree, I can take you to the entrance of the Inner Palace and guide you on how to reach that place..." Granny Jing said.
Chapter 474