Qin Sang stared intently at the Soul-Nurturing Wood.
The Soul-Nurturing Wood was pitch-black throughout, riddled with pits and hollows like a piece of decayed wood eaten by insects.
This matched the descriptions Qin Sang had seen in ancient records.
Over the surface of the wood shimmered a faint layer of azure light. Merely laying eyes upon it seemed to soothe one's very soul—the distinct soul-light unique to the Soul-Nurturing Wood.
"So large!"
Qin Sang's heart jolted, filled with immense joy.
The Boundless Blood Mulberry he had obtained from the thunder-devouring falcon's demon nest had been just a thin sliver, yet it had elevated his magic tool to the grade of a magic treasure. If he could refine this chunk of Soul-Nurturing Wood, to what heights could his ebony sword advance?
Could it advance directly into a spirit treasure?
A piece of Soul-Nurturing Wood this large would surely be able to counter the corrosion of the Boundless Blood Mulberry.
On second thought, it made sense. If the Soul-Nurturing Wood had been too small, its soul-light would not have been potent enough, and Bai's remnant soul likely could not have endured for so long.
Qin Sang glanced at Bai, wondering if he would really be honest enough to produce all of the Soul-Nurturing Wood.
However, even if Bai had secretly kept some of the spiritual wood, Qin Sang had no desire to press further.
As the saying went, one should know when to stop and not be insatiably greedy.
This much Soul-Nurturing Wood was already enough for him to elevate the ebony sword to an unimaginable level and roam the current cultivation world unimpeded. More importantly, his cultivation would no longer be restricted—which was already a tremendous, pleasant surprise.
There was no need to push harder.
If he backed Bai into a corner and drove him to desperately destroy the Soul-Nurturing Wood in a mutual downfall, the outcome would hardly be favorable.
Bai had been covertly observing Qin Sang's expression. Meeting Qin Sang's gaze, his heart tightened, but he saw that Qin Sang looked calm and showed no sign of pressing further.
Giving Qin Sang a deep look, Bai held up the Soul-Nurturing Wood and said, "Fellow Daoist can see that the soul-light of this treasure cannot be faked. Of course, I cannot give this entire piece of Soul-Nurturing Wood to you. I must also keep a portion to aid my own cultivation."
With that, Bai hesitated briefly, then tapped his finger along the middle of the wood, indicating an equal split.
After some bargaining, Bai claimed his bottom line was to keep at least a quarter.
After pondering for a moment, Qin Sang slowly nodded. "Very well, as you say! However, I have heard that Soul-Nurturing Wood is more unusual than other spiritual woods. It cannot be severed by brute force and must be handled with utmost care, or its potency will be damaged..."
Bai replied with confidence, "Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I have lived with this Soul-Nurturing Wood day and night and know it inside out. Besides, it is only fragile compared to the other Ten Great Divine Woods. As long as one is careful enough, it definitely will not be harmed. Since you agree, I shall divide the spiritual wood right now..."
Saying this, Bai placed his other palm over the Soul-Nurturing Wood. Corpse qi surged from both hands, turning into countless intricate runes that twisted and coalesced into a blade of corpse qi as thin as a cicada's wing.
The corpse-qi blade trembled faintly, descending to the mark Bai had indicated earlier, and sliced slowly downward.
The blade seemed fluid, silently 'flowing' along the grain of the Soul-Nurturing Wood, gradually paring the spiritual wood apart bit by bit.
Bai moved with extreme caution, and Qin Sang could not help but feel a little tense as he watched.
After quite some time, the Soul-Nurturing Wood was successfully divided in two.
The moment it succeeded, both of them let out a breath in unison.
"Once we leave the ghost land, this piece of Soul-Nurturing Wood will be yours. If you do not trust me, you are welcome to place restrictions on it beforehand," Bai said with a faint smile.
Qin Sang showed no hesitation, casting several restrictions onto the Soul-Nurturing Wood to seal the treasure.
Bai paid it no mind. Putting away the Soul-Nurturing Wood, he said with some urgency, "We wasted quite a bit of time negotiating terms. Since this secret realm is open for a limited time, let us make haste! I do not wish to stay here for another moment!"
"I do not think it was a waste at all. Only by doing so can we trust each other and work together in earnest."
Qin Sang chuckled, flipped his palm to produce the pole of a demonic banner, and said to Bai, "Go lure the trapped souls over. I will begin refining the refined soul silk right away. Once the demonic banners are forged, we can go collect the demonic fire."
"Very well, I will wake the souls. I leave the rest to you."
Bai's figure flickered, vanishing into the ghost mist.
Before long, a low wailing of ghosts echoed from deep within the ghost mist. The mist churned, and countless shadowy apparitions surfaced within it—a rather terrifying sight.
Qin Sang sat cross-legged atop the mountain of bones, holding a banner pole and shaking it gently.
When Bai lured the souls near, the two exchanged a look. Bai then waved his hand, manipulating the ghost mist to restrain the souls so Qin Sang could concentrate on absorbing their soul qi.
Qin Sang silently activated his secret art, flicking his fingers to release runic seals that settled onto the front row of souls.
A commotion stirred among the souls.
Bai's face darkened, and he let out a low bark. The ghost mist suddenly bore down upon the souls with crushing weight, forcing every single one to stand obediently in place while Qin Sang worked his magic.
The moment the secret art was completed, wisps of pure soul qi drifted from the souls and gathered toward Qin Sang.
After having this soul qi drawn out, the souls appeared somewhat listless, but it was still far better than the fate of being completely refined away.
Qin Sang gathered the soul qi and poured his full effort into refining refined soul silk.
The two-headed hou and his avatar stood guard to his left and right.
Bai glanced at Qin Sang, then retreated into the ghost mist to lure another batch of souls.
Though this method was far more tedious than before, Qin Sang did not need to divide his attention to suppress the souls, so his progress was not slow. Soon, a long strand of refined soul silk appeared in his hand.
He signaled for Bai to pause, then picked up a banner pole and set about crafting the demonic banner.
It was, after all, his first time crafting one, so Qin Sang was still somewhat unpracticed. After a few failures, things went much more smoothly. The refined soul silk wound around the pole, fusing into it, and gradually the nascent form of a demonic banner emerged.
For the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner, the hardest part was actually splitting the dark iron pillar and refining the banner pole.
Furthermore, Qin Sang's artifact-refining attainment was far greater now than in the past, so crafting the banner face was much easier than the pole had been. In the end, he successfully refined one demonic banner.
Qin Sang gave it a firm wave; the demonic banner fluttered, but no strange phenomenon occurred.
Only once it absorbed the Nine Nether Demonic Fire would it become a complete magic treasure.
Standing at the perimeter, Bai curiously eyed the demonic banner in Qin Sang's hand. Seeing Qin Sang take out another banner pole, he set off without pause to lure more souls.
Bai went back and forth an unknown number of times until eight black banners rested across Qin Sang's knees.
"Fellow Daoist, just how many demonic banners do you plan to craft?"
Bai asked, panting for breath.
Manipulating the ghost mist and restraining the souls was no easy feat. It took a heavy toll on him, and he grew increasingly fatigued; fortunately, this was a ghost land, allowing him to endure.
Qin Sang looked up, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. "Just seven more to go. That should be plenty to help you break the demonic restriction, shouldn't it?"
"More than enough!"
Bai gritted his teeth, then added with surprise, "Fifteen banners, plus the three you already had—wouldn't that make eighteen demonic banners in total? There is a faint connection between these banners, allowing them to form an array. The more banners there are, the stronger the array becomes. With eighteen demonic banners in hand, you would have the strength to fight even a Nascent Soul cultivator, wouldn't you?"
Chapter 940