As Easy as Reaching into a Pocket

"Brother Qin, look..." As he spoke, Yunyouzi grasped the bone flute and placed it into the mustard seed bag at his waist. Unexpectedly, the moment it went in, light flashed within the mustard seed bag, and the bone flute hopped back out on its own. Yunyouzi nodded. "It is indeed so. This object truly shares a marvelous connection with the heavenly circuit stars! However, I suspect this segment of bone flute might be incomplete, and all of its parts must be gathered before the treasure's true form can be revealed. Keep it safe, Brother Qin. If you are fortunate enough to collect all the bone flutes in the future, it should not disappoint you." Qin Sang was tempted by Yunyouzi's words, but he also understood that the fragments of such a treasure would certainly not be easy to gather. Some parts might have already been destroyed, no longer existing in this world. If that were the case, this treasure would remain an unattainable dream, never to reappear. Moreover, if the bone flute could not be placed in a mustard seed bag, would he have to wear it around his neck like a collar, just as the leopard had? Qin Sang muttered silently to himself, then attempted without much hope to store the bone flute in the Thousand Jun Ring. To his surprise, once placed into the Thousand Jun Ring, the bone flute stayed inside peacefully without leaping out again. "Hmm?" Qin Sang was exceedingly astonished and caught off guard. He raised his hand and turned the ring over to inspect it. Earlier, Yi Tiannie had claimed that the iron thumb ring was named the Thousand Jun Ring, though whether that was a pseudonym or its actual name remained unknown. Qin Sang had originally assumed it was an ordinary storage magic tool, similar to a mustard seed bag but with a larger space. Looking at it now, the Thousand Jun Ring was likely not so simple. Yet no matter how Qin Sang examined it, the Thousand Jun Ring showed no function other than storage, so he had no choice but to drop the matter for now. By this time, Qin Sang and Yunyouzi had already flown out of the stone hall and arrived outside the waterfall. They were extremely cautious, only stepping out after confirming there was no ambush outside and that the demon cultivators had not yet arrived. "Demon cultivators have untamed natures and rarely get along with one another. Even under the command of the same demon king, they often fight among themselves," Yunyouzi said. "With the Shadow-devouring Leopard heavily wounded, it might not dare contact its kin; doing so would be no different from throwing itself into a tiger's jaws. Even so, just to be safe, we cannot take the path we used when coming in. I know a few side trails; we can detour to avoid them as much as possible." Following Yunyouzi's directions, Qin Sang stepped across the water and skimmed straight toward the top of the waterfall. His corpse core was still unsealed, and he needed to break the restrictions and leave the ancient medicinal garden as quickly as possible. Along the way, Qin Sang answered every question without reserve, recounting to Yunyouzi the information he had obtained from the soul search. With some hesitation, he said, "Senior, the Three Light Jade Liquid is hidden inside an ancient ruin. According to Yi Tiannie's memories, the exterior of that ruin is guarded by the remnants of an ancient spirit array that won't be easy to breach. Before my wooden bracelet shatters, it will be very difficult for me to break through the array alone; I will still need Senior's help." Qin Sang's greatest fear was that the two of them combined would still fail to breach the remnant array. If that happened, he would have to wait until he finished the task for Dongyang Bo and Chenyan to see if there was a chance to escape. If he could not get away, he would have no choice but to wait for Ziwei Palace to open again before returning to retrieve the Three Light Jade Liquid to nourish the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid. He could afford to wait until the next opening of Ziwei Palace, but he feared that a long delay would bring unexpected trouble. Until the treasure was safely in his hands, he could never feel at ease. "Wait..." Yunyouzi asked in an urgent tone, "Did you just say that the ancient ruin is a hall in ruins, and inside there is an ancient character? What kind of character is it?" Qin Sang waved his hand in the air to trace out the shape of the ancient character. The character was extremely ancient, yet Yunyouzi recognized it at a glance. He said in pleasant surprise, "It truly is the character for 'gathering'! Do you remember what I said earlier about the origin of the Three Light Jade Liquid? That place is very likely the Spirit-Gathering Hall where the Spirit-Gathering Alms Bowl was kept. I never expected that, beyond Xuanpu Palace, even the ruins of the Spirit-Gathering Hall would be preserved to this day. No wonder the Three Light Jade Liquid still survives in this world. If it is the Spirit-Gathering Hall, you need not worry, Brother—I know how to break the remnant array!" Qin Sang cast an astonished glance at Yunyouzi. Yunyouzi's erudition had far exceeded his imagination. Controlling the demon king blood restriction could still be explained by his mastery of restriction arts. But now, regarding the remnant array of an ancient ruin he had never laid eyes on, he was certain he possessed a way to break it without even seeing it. That was likely something mastery of array formations alone could not explain. "If this old Daoist can make it out alive this time, I will give you an explanation, Brother," Yunyouzi said solemnly. "Brother Qin, this old Daoist has an impudent request. "Your Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid has reached its final transformation. If nourished now, it only requires five drops to metamorphose. If you can patiently wait until you reach the late Core Formation stage—which will take two hundred years at the quickest—three drops will suffice. "If we obtain enough Three Light Jade Liquid, could you grant me three drops? "I intend to seek life through death to grasp a slim chance of survival. Originally, my hope of success was merely ten percent, but with the aid of three drops of Three Light Jade Liquid, it can be raised to at least forty percent. "To save my own life, I have no choice but to swallow my pride and beg you this once." Since it concerned Yunyouzi's life, Qin Sang's expression grew solemn immediately upon hearing this. Without hesitation, he said, "Senior, you have helped me so much throughout our journey. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to obtain any of these treasures, including the Three Light Jade Liquid. They should be considered spoils belonging to both of us. Even if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have offered it to you. Take as much as you need, Senior; your healing and breakthrough take precedence. As for the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid, if there is Three Light Jade Liquid, there can be ten lights, a hundred lights, or a thousand lights. I refuse to believe that with four hundred years of lifespan after Core Formation, I won't be able to find a solution!" Since the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid had already been revealed, Qin Sang said directly, "When the time comes to refine the Du'e Pill, I will still need Senior's help." Consuming the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid directly was useless; it had to be refined into a Du'e Pill. Yet Qin Sang knew nothing of the Dao of alchemy, and it would be difficult for him to practice alchemy alongside his cultivation in the future. He had long been pondering whom to ask to refine the pill when the time came. The Du'e Pill was so precious that it was hard to trust a stranger with it. Yunyouzi hailed from the Taiyi Dan Sect, had displayed consummate alchemy skills when refining the Xuanwen Heyun Pill back then, and had shared life and death with him multiple times, forging a deep friendship. He was the perfect candidate. Yunyouzi patted Qin Sang's shoulder, remained silent for a moment, and said in a heavy voice, "I will engrave your kindness on my heart, Brother. Three drops are enough for me; more would be useless. Rest assured, when the time comes to refine the pill, I will give it my all! However, after the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid metamorphoses into the Heavenly Illusion Orchid, refining the Du'e Pill will be even more difficult. To ensure absolute safety, it might have to wait until this old Daoist achieves Nascent Soul formation." Even with Yunyouzi's alchemy skills, he dared not attempt it until after achieving Nascent Soul formation, which showed just how difficult refining the Du'e Pill was. Qin Sang certainly could not refine it himself. He had great confidence in Yunyouzi's talent. Once his hidden injuries were repaired, he would undoubtedly soar like a dragon riding the wind and clouds; barring unforeseen accidents, he would surely form a Nascent Soul earlier than Qin Sang. "After the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid metamorphoses into the Heavenly Illusion Orchid, how many Du'e Pills can be refined?" Qin Sang asked curiously. "Naturally, only one, to ensure the best medicinal efficacy." Yunyouzi said proudly, "Rest assured, Brother. In my entire life, I have only two great tribulations; other than those, nothing else is worth worrying about. Forming a Nascent Soul, to this old Daoist, is as easy as reaching into a pocket!"