This soul-searching technique was undoubtedly created by demonic sects, thoroughly sinister and vicious. Where Yunyouzi had obtained it was anyone's guess.
Once cast, the target's divine soul shattered immediately.
Even if Yi Tiannie had not practiced evil ghost dao arts, it would have been impossible for him to enter the cycle of reincarnation now.
Back then, this demon had caused Qin Sang untold misery, leaving him to live each day in constant terror. Naturally, Qin Sang harbored not the slightest shred of pity. He looked on with cold detachment as Yi Tiannie's remnant soul writhed in his palm, contorting in agonizing spasms as though enduring the tortures of the eighteen levels of hell.
Not a single ripple stirred in Qin Sang's heart.
Around this time, Yunyouzi emerged from the demon king blood restriction. Having regained some of his strength, he appeared far less frail than before.
By now, the stone hall had returned to calm.
The Nine Nether Demonic Fire retreated into the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner, which Qin Sang then stowed away.
From the lakebed arose the gurgle of running water. Streams from the subterranean river flowed ceaselessly, soon coating the dried lakebed with a fresh layer; before long, the small lake would be completely filled.
Yet the sound of running water was drowned out by piercing screams.
In all his years in the cultivation world, Qin Sang had never heard shrieks so harrowing. It showed just what terrifying torture Yi Tiannie was undergoing.
Yunyouzi glanced at Qin Sang, whose eyes were as hard as iron, and suddenly let out a soft sigh. "Brother Qin, you may set your heart at ease. I swear upon my inner demons that no third person shall ever learn of what happened today. Nor will I ask about what you have been through in the past. I only hope that even if you walk through darkness in the days ahead, a lamp remains burning bright in your heart. Do not lose yourself to the depths."
Qin Sang, his thoughts veiled, raised his head blankly, only then seeming to register the words. After a momentary hesitation, he nodded and said solemnly, "Junior accepts your guidance."
Just then, Yi Tiannie's screams cut off abruptly. The venomous rancor on his face vanished, replaced by an expression of release, and his remnant soul shattered with a muffled boom.
Yunyouzi suddenly reached out and tapped toward Yi Tiannie's remnant soul, gathering the dispersed soul. Using his palm as a furnace, he refined it into a mass of the purest soul power and passed it to Qin Sang.
"Do not let it go to waste. Feed it to your Flying Yaksha; perhaps it can aid it in undergoing a metamorphosis."
Taking the soul power, Qin Sang said dubiously, "Senior, the method used to refine my Flying Yaksha differs from the corpse refining arts of typical corpse dao sects. Once refined, its strength cannot advance any further. I'm afraid this might not have any effect."
Yunyouzi smiled faintly.
"I have long known that your corpse refining art is unusual.
"However, this time is different. In anyone else's case, it certainly wouldn't work, but Yi Tiannie is an exception.
"Have you noticed? Yi Tiannie must have aimed to thoroughly occupy this physical body. Using some secret ghost dao art, he took the initiative to merge his divine soul with the Flying Yaksha's origin soul, forging a deep bond between them.
"Such an opportunity can only be stumbled upon by pure chance; it might well break through the restriction.
"Yi Tiannie's consciousness no longer exists, so you needn't worry about having the refined corpse wrested away again.
"This is, after all, the most fundamental soul essence power of a late Core Formation stage expert. If your refined corpse can devour it, it will undoubtedly reap immense benefits—perhaps even metamorphosing into a true Flying Yaksha."
Qin Sang's eyes lit up. Put that way by Yunyouzi, it truly seemed plausible.
Aside from Yi Tiannie bringing this doom upon himself, no one would ever actively fuse with a refined corpse, which was why Qin Sang had never considered this possibility before.
It was worth a try.
Without delay, Qin Sang summoned the Flying Yaksha back over and inspected it thoroughly a dozen times. Only when completely reassured did he let the Flying Yaksha devour Yi Tiannie's soul essence.
At first, the Flying Yaksha showed no abnormalities, remaining perfectly tranquil.
Yet after a few breaths, its aura suddenly spiraled into chaos. Clasping its head with both hands, it let out frantic, unending roars. Qin Sang exerted all his efforts to soothe it before the Flying Yaksha finally quieted down.
Even so, its origin soul remained far from stable, seemingly undergoing intense transformations within; it would hardly find peace anytime soon.
For the foreseeable future, the Flying Yaksha's combat strength would also be lost.
"That is a good thing! It is very likely undergoing a metamorphosis!" Yunyouzi affirmed. Then, recalling something, he asked Qin Sang with a trace of heartache, "Brother Qin, why did you apply evil corpse dao arts to your own body? Has it left behind any hidden perils?"
"Senior, I possess a five-element spiritual root."
Qin Sang spoke these words with apparent calm, accompanied by a bitter smile.
For a cultivator with a five-element spiritual root, Foundation Establishment was an extravagant hope, let alone Core Formation.
Had he not reached the end of his rope, who would ever want to entrust themselves to the corpse dao? When even the snow spirit lotus and iris flower had proved useless, Qin Sang had known of no other path forward.
"Junior was fortunate enough to stumble upon a chance at Core Formation through the corpse dao, and the hidden perils are quite easy to resolve..."
Yunyouzi nodded. "That is well, then! Oh, right—here is the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit."
Taking the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit, Qin Sang could not help feeling a surge of excitement, alongside deep sentimentality. Though it had sparked so many twists and turns, the harvest was fortunately astonishing.
Through the soul search earlier, Qin Sang had confirmed that the Three Light Jade Liquid did indeed exist in Ziwei Palace, and he had pinpointed its exact location. He could go and retrieve it right now.
Aside from that, Qin Sang had taken the chance to search for several other matters, principally concerning the usage of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner magic treasure set and the secret technique for crafting it.
If he could obtain the crafting method and complete the set of ten Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, it would possess the might to contend against top-grade magic treasures. How could Qin Sang not be tempted?
This was Patriarch Kuiyin's proudest magic treasure. Upon his passing, he would certainly have handed down its crafting method, yet Qin Sang had searched Daoist Jiupao's relics thoroughly without finding it.
He had thought that with the demise of all three Golden Core cultivators of the Kuiyin Sect, this secret technique would be lost to history. To his surprise, through an ironic twist of fate, he had obtained it from Yi Tiannie.
Only now did Qin Sang truly understand the inner workings of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner.
The Ten Directions Yanluo Banner consisted of three parts in total.
First was the banner pole, which used a remarkably simple material.
Qin Sang had guessed correctly at the time: it was precisely that dark iron pillar among Daoist Jiupao's relics, which resembled neither iron nor stone.
Yet refining the dark iron pillar into a banner pole was by no means simple.
The dark iron pillar was an extraordinary object—immensely hard and containing strange restrictions. It required the aid of a spirit array and had to be powered by top-grade spirit stones to be barely refined.
No wonder Daoist Jiupao had never parted with those four top-grade spirit stones right up to his death.
He had hoped to use the dark iron pillar as spiritual material to re-refine his life magic treasure once his injuries healed, and that strictly required top-grade spirit stones.
Top-grade spirit stones were exceedingly rare. Selling them was easy, but finding more was nearly impossible, especially since the Kuiyin Sect was destroyed and Daoist Jiupao had been reduced to a stray dog, no different from a rogue cultivator.
The second part was the banner surface. It was not forged from spiritual materials at all, but formed by imprisoning tens of thousands of living souls, extracting their purest soul qi, and using a ghost dao secret art to refine it into threads before weaving it together!
Utterly vicious.
For this magic treasure, Patriarch Kuiyin had slaughtered who knew how many lives in his day.
No wonder Qin Sang had failed no matter how hard he tried to repair the damaged banner face.
To repair it, living souls were indispensable.
Fortunately, the damage to those two magic treasures was not severe; the living souls within the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner magic tools in his possession were more than enough.
Those magic tools possessed limited power, becoming little more than useless trifles after he reached Core Formation. They were well suited to be sacrificed for repairing the magic treasures.
Chapter 587