Putting away the three jade slips, he turned his vision inward.
Within his dantian, a five-colored golden core sat dead center, rotating slowly.
The golden core embodied the beauty of the Great Dao—mesmerizing and impossible to describe in words.
Compared to it, the greenish-black corpse core sealed off to one side appeared vastly inferior.
For now, however, the gap in power between the golden core and the corpse core was not large; in fact, the corpse core still held a slight edge. One gathered the concentrated essence, qi, and spirit of Qin Sang's entire body, while the other had refined another person's golden core and fused it with astral fiend energy.
Only when Qin Sang broke through to the middle stage of Core Formation would a marked disparity emerge.
Contrary to Qin Sang's expectations, the golden core was dominated by a vibrant wood-green hue. At the moment his core formed and spiritual energy poured into his body, the true essence within him had been converted to be predominantly wood-attribute spiritual power.
The Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter itself possessed no five-phase elemental affinity.
Qin Sang had laid his foundation with the water-attribute cultivation method Nether Scripture, followed by the Mysterious Female Jade Cauldron Sutra and the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter, and his power had consistently been dominated by water-attribute spiritual power without hindering his cultivation in the least.
He had not expected that upon forming his core, it would alter of its own accord.
It was undoubtedly because of the ebony sword.
Back when he first began practicing the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter and chose his spirit sword, among the five elemental materials—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—he could pick only one. Qin Sang possessed only the sword embryo of the ebony sword, so he had naturally chosen to smelt spirit wood.
Upon forming the core, the cultivation method had adapted on its own due to the ebony sword.
Seen this way, the role of a life spirit sword in the future of the Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter and its practitioner was even more vital than Qin Sang had imagined.
Yet who knew what kind of scenery the complete Origin Soul Sword-Nurturing Chapter would offer at higher realms?
Qin Sang felt a surge of yearning, but having not the slightest clue about the complete cultivation method, he could only follow the path blazed by Senior Qingzhu, taking things one step at a time.
If he could achieve Nascent Soul formation, he would consider such matters then.
If only Senior Qingzhu were still alive; perhaps he would have already created the post-Nascent Soul techniques.
Qin Sang prayed silently for Senior Qingzhu, then shifted his gaze away from the golden core to look elsewhere.
At this moment, the state of his sea of qi could only be described as chaotic!
Apart from the golden core and the corpse core, there was unexpectedly a cluster of gray qi, as well as some golden rune fragments!
Just moments ago during core formation, Qin Sang had sensed Cui Xuanzi coming to visit. The reason he had delayed stepping outside was precisely because he had been examining these two things.
Those rune fragments were none other than the restriction talisman Dongyang Bo had placed upon him.
During the spiritual energy infusion, true to Qin Sang's hopes, the restriction talisman had indeed been shattered; yet it had not been completely purged, leaving a portion of fragments behind in his dantian.
The stubborn restriction talisman slightly dampened the exhilaration Qin Sang felt at successfully forming his core.
Was this truly the handiwork of a Nascent Soul Patriarch—that a restriction talisman produced at whim could prove so intractable?
He attempted to circulate his golden core and mobilize his true essence, only to discover a faint, barely perceptible lag caused by the restriction talisman. Under normal circumstances, this lag had little impact.
However, when confronting a formidable enemy in a life-or-death clash, it could cause his casting of incantations or activation of magic treasures to be a fraction of a breath too slow, handing the enemy total initiative.
Qin Sang tried to unravel it himself, but discovered that although the talisman was shattered, its fragments remained exceedingly resilient. With his current strength, he could not break them through brute force; doing so would have to wait until he broke through to the late Core Formation stage.
An intact restriction talisman would likely prove troublesome even for a Nascent Soul cultivator!
Back then, had the jade Buddha not protected his origin soul, allowing him to retain his combat capability, even if Chenyan had snatched him from Dongyang Bo's clutches, he would never have broken the restriction talisman in short order, nor would he have had the ability to escape on his own.
Qin Sang had to admit that Dongyang Bo's actions were truly cautious and airtight; his only miscalculation had been the jade Buddha.
After testing numerous methods to no avail, Qin Sang could only stay his hand and temporarily leave it be.
The impact of the restriction talisman fragments was neither negligible nor catastrophic; at least during the early Core Formation stage, he had no need to worry.
Qin Sang tested cultivating his technique and found that in the process of practice, the cultivation method had to be completed heavenly circuit by heavenly circuit without haste. The lag in true essence caused by the talisman fragments would not hinder him.
This eased most of the anxiety in his heart.
As for the repercussions in battle, they could also be compensated for by the external core.
A golden core was the most vital possession of every Core Formation cultivator. Generally, one would not dare let the golden core leave the body; if struck by an enemy, light consequences meant damage to the core, while severe ones meant a steep plummet in cultivation.
An external core had far fewer reservations. If a truly dire crisis arose, Qin Sang could shift the external core out of his sea of qi, freeing himself from the constraints of the talisman fragments.
It was just that Qin Sang still did not know how to improve the external core.
Once Qin Sang's cultivation broke through to middle Core Formation, the external core would become inadequate; it was only helpful during the early Core Formation stage.
The latent danger of the restriction talisman fragments would have to be resolved sooner or later.
Asking someone else to dispel the restriction talisman would require letting down his guard and opening up his sea of qi—tantamount to placing his life in another's hands. Qin Sang would not even consider it.
Pondering it back and forth, Qin Sang could think of only two methods before reaching the late Core Formation stage.
Either he could delve into the Dao of spirit talismans himself to search for a way to break it...
Or he could make use of another infusion of spiritual energy!
Qin Sang only knew how to use spirit talismans; he had not the slightest foundation in the Dao of spirit talismans. Furthermore, he possessed no true inheritance regarding talismans, meaning he would first have to find a way to obtain one and start from scratch.
The difficulty was far too high.
Whether artifact crafting or talisman making, vast resources were required to support the endeavor.
He had long decided to follow the path of artifact crafting; Qin Sang did not believe he possessed enough time and energy to concurrently study the Dao of spirit talismans.
Thanks to his cultivation method, his cultivation speed had indeed increased, but he could hardly afford to squander his efforts.
At all times, one's own cultivation remained the root foundation; Qin Sang would not put the cart before the horse.
The insect-taming arts were different. Qin Sang possessed the true inheritance of the Yuling Sect, happened to find himself in the domain of the Witch Clan—who excelled most at taming insects—and had a divine medicine like Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold to boot. This was far easier than taking the path of spirit talismans.
If he could also emulate the Witch Clan and refine a natal insect gu...
Then, when the natal insect gu completed its Third Metamorphosis and drew down the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he could draw it into his sea of qi and seize the opportunity to sweep away the restriction talisman entirely.
When the natal insect gu metamorphosed, the heaven-and-earth spiritual energy it summoned would not recognize Qin Sang, and its impact on the sea of qi might injure him. However, as long as it was properly controlled, the danger was not severe.
Choosing the path of a natal insect gu meant giving up a life magic treasure; one could not have both.
Yet Qin Sang was different from others; this choice was not difficult.
He already had the ebony sword.
Life magic treasure, natal insect gu—he could have them both!
After some contemplation, Qin Sang made up his mind and decided to go out and meet Cui Xuanzi.
Now that he had obtained the Witch Clan's natal insect gu technique, Qin Sang found that he was fully capable of cultivating it. With so many benefits, his determination to refine a natal insect gu only grew stronger.
The restriction talisman fragments were nothing more than a superficial nuisance.
What worried Qin Sang most was that cluster of gray qi.
He was certain that before Dongyang Bo cast the restriction talisman upon him, everything in his sea of qi had been normal.
This gray qi had appeared after he was bound by the restriction talisman and lost control over his sea of qi. Only when Qin Sang formed his core and broke the talisman did he discover its presence!
Chapter 627