Demonic Seed

At Mount Baogu, Qin Sang remained inside his cave dwelling, not stepping outside for days on end. One of the greatest difficulties of *Origin-Seeding Demonic Embryo* lay in refining the demonic seed. Qin Sang possessed a sword soul, and gestating a demonic seed through a sword soul made the task far easier. Even so, this wicked art of the demonic path remained obscure and difficult to comprehend. Moreover, the first thing Qin Sang had to do was capture the presence of the split soul within the sword light. Merging a split soul into sword light was unheard of across the entire cultivation world. Qin Sang had originally planned to take his time, but unexpectedly discovered that his swordsmanship was subtly improving as he sensed and probed the sword light. He decided to simply enter secluded cultivation and simultaneously comprehend both the way of the sword and the demonic art. Without him realizing it, more than ten days slipped by in a flash. Inside the cave dwelling. The ebony sword hovered before him. Flanking it to the left and right were two streaks of sword light. His eyes were fixed on the sword light born of the technique. Aided by Senior Qingzhu's message and having comprehended sword light differentiation on his own, after days of probing and contemplation, he finally perceived the uniqueness of this sword light. It was exceptionally stable, and its connection to its master was far closer. "Shatter!" After a moment's contemplation, Qin Sang formed an incantation seal and softly uttered a single word. With a sharp crack, the sword light fractured like glazed glass, webbed with cracks before shattering into countless shards. Qin Sang suddenly clutched his head with both hands, letting out a groan of agony. The shattering of the sword soul brought needle-sharp, piercing pain. Yet compared to the pain described in the original version of *Origin-Seeding Demonic Embryo*, it was far milder, and Qin Sang could endure it. Soon, Qin Sang adapted to the stinging pain. He raised his head, opened his bloodshot eyes, gritted his teeth, and focused all his energy on completing the demonic art. Following his movements, the fragments of the sword soul began to merge. Gradually, as if a drop of ink had diffused at the center of the sword soul, it was dyed completely black. The sword soul vanished, replaced by a demonic seed that looked like a droplet of black water. Though it had not been nurtured entirely through demonic means, it still emanated a thick, sinister aura. Qin Sang scrutinized it for a while, then withdrew the demonic seed into his origin soul space to let it gestate before opening the insect basket. While refining the demonic seed just now, he had heard rustling from inside—the fat silkworm had awakened. After swallowing the poisonous mist, the fat silkworm had fallen into a deep slumber. Upon waking, aside from its aura having grown slightly stronger, there was no other visible change. Qin Sang was long accustomed to this and found nothing strange about it. Even if the fat silkworm possessed only the ability to ward off poison, that alone was enough. If it continued to grow, perhaps it could withstand every poison under the heavens. With this thought, Qin Sang retrieved a piece of purple crystal from the Qianjun Ring. At the sight of the purple crystal, the fat silkworm's beady little eyes sparkled with greedy light. Seemingly never knowing what it meant to be full, it wriggled and nudged frantically against Qin Sang's palm, begging for food. Qin Sang did not tease its appetite, bringing the purple crystal right up to it. The fat silkworm broke through the barrier it had erected around itself and clamped down on the purple crystal with a crisp crunch, biting off a small piece. Its blunt, voracious manner startled even Qin Sang, and he watched its condition with concern. He saw the fat silkworm's throat ripple as it swallowed the entire piece into its belly. Drowsiness immediately overtook it, and it sank into deep sleep. "Taking a small piece each time is plenty. Sleeping so soundly, it probably won't wake up anytime soon. Looks like these purple crystals will be enough to last a very long time..." Qin Sang breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The fat silkworm was a picky eater, and finding food it liked was no easy task. He had searched through the hook-nosed man's belongings for a long time without finding where that poisonous smoke came from. Next, he summoned the Heavenly Eye Butterfly and fed it spirit herbs, hoping it would break through as soon as possible. After feeding both the fat silkworm and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang contemplated the way of the sword for a while longer before leaving the cave dwelling and descending the mountain. *** Disguising his appearance, he first bought a mortal residence at the foot of Mount Baogu to serve as a base. Then he walked alone toward the market. The cultivation market in Tianxing City was vast. Every day, countless cultivators from inside and outside the city traded there, making it arguably the most bustling place in the Canglang Sea cultivation world. "Linglong Pavilion..." After making a wide circuit around the market, Qin Sang finally stopped before a small shop. The name was delicate and refined, but the shop itself had nothing remarkable about it. Like any other shop, it sold talismans, magic tools, medicinal pills, and other common goods of the cultivation world. At the moment, there was not a single customer inside. Linglong Pavilion was precisely where Madam Liu had agreed to make contact. After observing it from the outside for a moment, Qin Sang stepped inside. The proprietor of the shop was a white-haired old man whose cultivation was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage. Given his age, reaching Core Formation was out of the question. Seeing Qin Sang enter, he was just about to rise and offer a greeting when he heard the chime of a bell, and his expression shifted slightly. The shopkeeper glanced at Qin Sang's sleeve and immediately ushered him into the back hall. "May I ask who Senior is?" the shopkeeper asked cautiously. "This poor Daoist is Qingfeng. Madam Liu should have mentioned me, yes?" Qin Sang showed the bronze bell. "Madam Liu told me to seek out Linglong Pavilion in Tianxing City. Should there be any confidential matters, we were to contact each other through here. Did she mention this to you?" The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. "The master only just sent word, and this junior has been waiting for Senior's arrival... Forgive this junior's clumsy eyes. I assumed the Daoist master would be wearing clerical robes, so I failed to recognize you." Qin Sang nodded unconcernedly and came straight to the point. "I rented a small courtyard in the city. Here is the address; I have placed restrictions inside. Tell Madam Liu she can reach me directly by going there..." Leaving the address behind, Qin Sang wasted no words and took his leave. Afterward, Qin Sang restored his original appearance and began strolling leisurely through the market. He purchased a few supplies needed for cultivation from several shops, casually inquiring about Spirit Tortoise Island. As expected, Spirit Tortoise Island was not well-known. Senior Qingzhu had indeed kept an exceedingly low profile; after asking around, Qin Sang found that not a single person had heard of the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island. Only one person mentioned that there was a small island called Spirit Tortoise Island near his hometown, but it was merely a mortal settlement where spiritual energy was thin. There could not possibly be any cultivators there, let alone an island master. Beyond that specific sea area, no one had even heard of the island. With countless islands in the Canglang Sea, sharing the same name was hardly surprising. Qin Sang wandered and browsed the market for an entire day, eventually arriving before an establishment called the Xiang'an Auction House. The name sounded rather modest, conveying a wish to remain undisturbed in a peaceful corner and seek only good fortune and safety. Yet this auction house had been jointly established by the Three Great Merchant Alliances and was the largest in Tianxing City. Upon entering, his cultivation level ensured that no snobbish behavior occurred, and he was received with warm courtesy. After an attendant escorted him into a quiet private chamber, Qin Sang handed her a jade slip. "I wish to purchase a type of spirit fruit, but I do not know its name. The jade slip contains illustrations of the fruit and the plant..." He had searched all around without finding any clues about the spirit fruit he had obtained in the Hall of Seven Kills, so he had come to the auction house, inventing an excuse to buy it. The auction house retained grand alchemists of enduring renown, who were among the most knowledgeable and well-traveled individuals. If even they could not identify it, Qin Sang doubted there would be much hope elsewhere. "Senior, please wait a moment..." The attendant examined the jade slip, bowed, and stepped outside. Before long, an alchemist pushed open the door and entered.