Success

Before long, Shi Ying pulled herself together and sliced off another wisp of Qingyang Divine Astral Qi, guiding it into Qin Sang's sea of qi. This time, Qin Sang altered his countermeasure. He attempted to channel spiritual power to mask the presence of the earth fiend qi. Although it still ended in failure, the situation was far better than before. Neither Qin Sang nor Shi Ying was quite so tense anymore. Calmly accepting the failure, they adjusted their breathing and continued to try. Soon, the Qingyang Divine Astral Qi that Shi Ying had captured was exhausted. An entire night passed. Shi Ying made two more trips to Divine Astral Peak, yet up until now, she had not managed to attempt a single astral-fiend core clash. To clash astral and fiend against the core, one first had to make the Qingyang Divine Astral Qi and earth fiend qi coexist within the sea of qi, and only then drive them together to strike the golden core. After meditating to recover, Shi Ying rose, left the cave dwelling, and returned to Divine Astral Peak. Once she departed, Qin Sang opened his eyes. Throughout the night, besides testing the secret art and making repeated adjustments, he had spent the time listening to Shi Ying recount her past. Shi Ying's birth name was properly Lan Ying. Her parents had been rogue cultivators with respectable cultivation. Because her father hailed from an immortal cultivation clan—which, though declined, still left him far wealthier than ordinary cultivators—both husband and wife had successfully achieved Foundation Establishment. When Shi Ying was born, she had an innate deficiency of origin qi. An examination revealed a hidden ailment within her body, one whose effects would only grow more severe with age. Learning that a spirit herb on the second layer of Wuya Valley could treat her condition, not long after her birth, her parents entrusted her to a friend's care and teamed up with others to enter Wuya Valley in search of it. Unexpectedly, neither ever returned; both perished in Wuya Valley. Her parents' friend realized something was amiss, immediately taking Shi Ying far away, concealing their names and identities, and adopting Shi Ying as a foster daughter, changing her surname to Shi. Shi Ying's adoptive mother treated her as her own flesh and blood, even braving immense danger to venture into Wuya Valley and gather the spirit herb needed to cure her illness. She also uncovered the identity of the murderer: Wen Yanjie, the very man who had accompanied her parents into Wuya Valley. Coveting the Lan family's ancestral magic tool, he had plotted and murdered the couple. Although the Qingyang Demonic Sect bore the name of a demonic sect, its disciples did not act perverse or erratic, so the Lan couple had harbored little suspicion toward Wen Yanjie and ended up meeting their doom. Once the truth came to light, Shi Ying's adoptive mother attempted to avenge her friends, but due to a botched assassination, she too fell at Wen Yanjie's hands. The parental vengeance Shi Ying spoke of encompassed not only her birth parents, but also the adoptive mother who had painstakingly raised her. By that time, her adoptive mother had already exhausted every means to place Shi Ying into the Qingyang Demonic Sect. Just twelve years old, from the moment she entered the sect, only one thing remained in her heart: revenge. Yet she could only watch helplessly as her enemy, riding on the treasures plundered through murder, advanced smoothly with ever-increasing cultivation. As the saying went, murder and arson brought a golden belt. The gap between the two grew wider and wider, as vast as clouds and mud! Shi Ying felt utter despair and agony with no outlet. When she went to sweep the graves of her parents and adoptive mother this time, she had wept bitterly before them. Had it not been for these tragedies, Shi Ying would have been a rather talkative person; her true nature was merely suppressed by this ocean of blood debt. *** The stone door was pushed open from the outside, and Shi Ying returned. She was much faster than the first time; in less than a quarter of an hour, she had successfully captured a wisp of Qingyang Divine Astral Qi. "Four trips to Divine Astral Peak in less than a single day... if Martial Uncle notices, he will definitely become suspicious of me..." Shi Ying's expression held some anxiety. Cultivating Qingyang Demonic Fire did not require such frequent trips to the mountain. The reason she took the risk was that she noticed each attempt lasted longer than the previous one, and the situation was gradually improving—perhaps this very time, she might succeed. However, if she failed again this time, she would have to endure waiting two days before trying again. Hearing this, Qin Sang felt no anxiety, for he already had a grasp on things. This time he was confident he could make the two coexist; all that remained was to see whether the concept of the astral-fiend core clash was viable. One human and one corpse sat opposite each other. The Qingyang Divine Astral Qi entered the body. The moment Shi Ying withdrew the Qingyang Demonic Fire, Qin Sang sealed off the earth fiend qi's aura with all his might, while simultaneously releasing a wisp of earth fiend qi of comparable size, guiding it toward the golden core. This was not Qin Sang acting alone; it also aligned with Shi Ying's intentions. The reason it had been dragged out until now was that Qin Sang had been guiding things according to the flow of events, patiently showing subtle signs of improvement to discreetly steer Shi Ying onto the correct path. Before confirming the outcome, he did not want to expose himself, so he could not let Shi Ying sense the slightest dissonance. In Shi Ying's eyes, she was the one in control, whereas everything was actually within Qin Sang's grasp. The moment the earth fiend qi emerged, the Qingyang Divine Astral Qi sensed it. Like an agile serpent, the Qingyang Divine Astral Qi whipped around and gave chase toward the earth fiend qi. The two drew closer and closer to the golden core, arriving before it almost simultaneously, on the verge of colliding and exploding. At that moment, Qin Sang abruptly mobilized his spiritual power with everything he had, encasing both auras. Whoosh! The clash between the two auras did not cease, but by sparing no expense of his spiritual power, Qin Sang actually delayed their detonation. Then, without hesitation, he drove them enveloped in spiritual power right into the golden core. Teaming the earth fiend qi with the Qingyang Divine Astral Qi yielded destructive power far greater than earth fiend qi alone. Though the golden core was formidable, it was merely an unowned object after all. With their power condensed to the extreme by Qin Sang, it pierced right through the energy on the golden core's surface and made contact with the core itself. Boom! Divine light radiated from the golden core. The sea of qi violently shuddered! Shi Ying turned deathly pale as she found her spiritual sense instantly shattered by the colossal turbulence. Not daring to hesitate, she hurriedly reasserted control over the refined corpse, but could only do her utmost to soothe its sea of qi, anxiously awaiting the result. Shi Ying was completely oblivious to the fact that, at this very moment, a translucent spirit sword had quietly surfaced above the golden core. Sword qi bundled into a stream, enveloping the golden core. Qin Sang had learned his lesson from refining the Flying Yaksha last time; whether the ebony sword would truly work or not, he still summoned it forth to add a layer of protection. Earth fiend qi, Qingyang Divine Astral Qi, golden core... Three mighty forces collided with the golden core as their battlefield, unleashing astonishing shockwaves. Yet these shockwaves came quickly and receded just as fast. Because both the earth fiend qi and Qingyang Divine Astral Qi were far too minute, they were entirely no match for the golden core and soon dissipated together. In the blink of an eye, the turbulence subsided, and both the golden core and sea of qi returned to their former calm. Gasping for breath and seeing Qin Sang's sea of qi stabilize, Shi Ying finally set down her lingering worry. She closely examined the golden core, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she couldn't help feeling a wave of disappointment. After adjusting her breathing, she rallied her spirits to try again. A third time... A fourth time... The Qingyang Divine Astral Qi was exhausted once more. Shi Ying gave a long sigh and entered meditative cultivation. Right then, Qin Sang suddenly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed in his dark pupils, and he vanished from the spot. The next moment, Qin Sang soundlessly appeared behind Shi Ying, reaching out to tap her body and strike her with a restriction. Shi Ying's body went limp and she slumped to the ground, only to be caught and helped onto the bed by Qin Sang. Qin Sang straightened up and looked toward the direction of Divine Astral Peak. A faint smile emerged on his face—he had finally seen signs of success!