Qin Sang was shaken by Yunyouzi's earth-shattering words. Even among the blessed darlings gifted with heavenly spiritual roots, who would dare treat Nascent Soul formation as something as easy as reaching into one's pocket?
Look at Chenyan—even she had to resort to wicked demonic arts to break through.
Yet Yunyouzi dared!
After a while, Qin Sang finally collected his thoughts, realizing that of the two tribulations Yunyouzi mentioned, the first was likely the tribulation of soul damage, but he had no idea what the second tribulation was.
As they spoke, they finally broke through layers of restrictions and left the ancient medicinal garden.
With Yunyouzi leading the way and Qin Sang remaining highly vigilant, they successfully avoided the demon cultivators from the Heavenly Demon Mound and made it safely out of the ancient medicinal garden. After determining their bearings, they set off immediately.
Yunyouzi had also largely recovered; he no longer needed Qin Sang to carry him and could move on his own, which made their pace considerably faster.
Qin Sang raised his wrist to inspect the wooden bracelet.
There was no obvious change to the wooden bracelet, save that the luster on its surface seemed slightly dimmed. The good news was that no cracks had appeared on it yet, so there was no immediate worry of it shattering.
Qin Sang mentally calculated the distances between the places he planned to visit, turned his head, and said, "Senior, I need to go somewhere to look for something. It happens to be on the way to the Spirit-Gathering Hall, so I intend to head there first to take a look. It shouldn't take too much time..."
The original plan had been to escort Yunyouzi to heal after leaving the ancient medicinal garden, after which Qin Sang would go alone to the place where Senior Qingzhu had vanished to search for his relics.
That was because the place Yunyouzi needed to go was not far from the ancient medicinal garden.
Now, however, they had to go to the Spirit-Gathering Hall first to find the Three Light Jade Liquid, turning their route into a detour.
The site of Senior Qingzhu's disappearance and the Spirit-Gathering Hall lay in the same general direction, just slightly off to the side, so fortunately it would not require too much of an extra loop. To save time, Qin Sang had no choice but to adjust his plan.
Ziwei Palace covered a vast expanse with few people around.
Unless their luck was terrible, they were unlikely to run into Dongyang Bo and Chenyan so easily. While Qin Sang and Yunyouzi did not dare fly blatantly high in the sky, neither did they have to tread with extreme caution, maintaining a brisk pace as they traversed the mountains and ridges.
Before long, they finally found the mountain pointed out by Granny Jing.
"It is in the mountain. Please wait here for a moment, Senior."
Qin Sang raised his hand and pointed toward a peak ahead.
Only now did Qin Sang understand why, when Granny Jing told him the route, she had said that once he drew near this mountain, he would easily find the location of that ancient hall without needing anyone to guide him.
Around this mountain lay a ring of lakes, large and small, their waters crystal clear and connected by a network of streams. Ancient trees of untold age grew abundantly along the shores and upon the mountain.
In the deep, ancient forest, foliage grew lush and dense, with vines thick as pythons.
Drifting through the sea of trees and curling out from between the leaves were wisps of mist that did not seem like ordinary vapor. Tainted with a faint grayish-white hue, Qin Sang guessed it was likely miasma formed from accumulating decay, locked within the forest over time and growing ever thicker.
Most miasmas of this sort were poisonous and not to be taken lightly.
Still, its toxicity was likely not as fierce as the Peach Blossom Miasma he had encountered before; handled with care, it shouldn't pose a serious threat.
The mountain stood amid the lakes, in full view from base to crest, covered like the land below in towering ancient trees—a scene of deep, verdant tranquility.
There was no wondrous, miraculous light, nor any mysterious ancient hall.
Nor were there any anomalous phenomena produced by remnant formations or ancient restrictions.
Everything appeared entirely normal.
Yet the moment Qin Sang arrived here, before even reaching the mountain's foot, merely standing at the edge of the lakes, he already sensed a very noticeable anomaly.
The anomaly came from the ebony sword!
There seemed to be something in the mountain forming an elusive connection with the ebony sword.
To be precise, with the killing talisman upon the blade.
The killing talisman emitted strange fluctuations, as if responding to a call from within the mountain.
Qin Sang exchanged a word with Yunyouzi, then leapt into the sea of trees. Channeling the corpse core to keep out the miasma, he held onto that faint connection and sped toward the mountain.
When Granny Jing gave him directions, she had been quite vague, only pointing out the mountain's location without mentioning any dangers within, as though she herself did not know the inner details.
Although there were no living creatures in Ziwei Palace, there were many bizarre restrictions and dangerous remnant formations. Qin Sang did not dare seal the corpse core, taking out the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner in cautious vigilance as he approached the peak.
The closer he got to the foot of the mountain, the clearer this connection became.
Finally, Qin Sang raised his head, fixing his gaze on a spot near the mountain summit.
There was nothing special about it; like everywhere else, it was overgrown with ancient trees, each canopy colossal and stacked together like pagodas, blotting out the sky and sun, completely concealing the scenery beneath.
He sped directly toward it, treading upon the canopies.
*Hua...*
The mountain wind rustled through the leaves with loud clatter.
Beneath the trees, however, it was stiflingly humid, the toxic miasma having permeated even here. A haze of grayish-white mist hung before him, and beneath his feet lay a thick layer of humus accumulated over countless years, like a swamp exuding a foul stench.
Treading upon tree branches, Qin Sang made several leaps and bounds, finally finding the true source.
At this moment, Qin Sang stood upon a protruding tree root. Before him was a towering cliff, yet the surrounding trees were so immense that they had blocked it from view.
From the outside, one could not tell at all that there was such a sheer vertical drop here.
The cliff was covered with python-like vines, and only through the gaps could one glimpse the white rock beneath.
This cliff looked ordinary as well; its rock was uneven, bearing no trace of any restriction. Had the connection sensed by the killing talisman not originated from within the cliff, Qin Sang could easily have overlooked it.
That inexplicable sensation was unmistakable.
With the cliff obstructed by vines, Qin Sang waved his hand. His spiritual power morphed into countless sharp blades, slicing away the vines and exposing the entire cliff face.
Only then could a hint of wonder be seen: the cliff was actually circular, resembling a great sun embedded in the mountain.
The cliff faced due east.
One could imagine that back in the day, without these towering ancient trees and dense vines blocking the way, whenever the sun rose and purple qi drifted from the east, the bright morning sunlight would shine directly upon this cliff!
In those times, with two great suns reflecting each other's radiance, what a magnificent sight it must have been!
Alas, with the passage of time and the decline of Ziwei Palace, the magnificent spectacle of the past was no more, buried beneath wild growth.
Qin Sang shook his head, brushing aside his fancy to return to reality.
Aside from the scene that might have once existed in his imagination, this appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary cliff with no other anomalies. Qin Sang flew to the top of the cliff and inspected it thoroughly from top to bottom, yet found no carvings left behind by predecessors.
That this place was related to the *Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter* was beyond doubt, yet not only were there no carvings, there wasn't even a single sword mark.
Qin Sang stared intently at the cliff, then suddenly tapped the center of his brow.
*Swoosh!*
The ebony sword flew out from his body, circled briefly before him, and then flared with dazzling sword light as an ethereal arc of sword qi slashed out!
*Puff!*
The sword qi struck the cliff with tremendous force. Qin Sang had held nothing back, unleashing his strongest sword qi as he normally would.
Unexpectedly, the anticipated sound of impact never came.
The sword qi vanished into thin air, leaving not even the faintest sword mark behind, as though it had been swallowed whole by the cliff.
Chapter 591