Facing the Trial Once More

After finding the teleportation formation on the fifth floor and entering the sixth floor, Qin Sang noticeably grew much more cautious. The puppets on the sixth floor were the strongest, but they could no longer serve to temper his swordsmanship. After slaughtering his way through them, Qin Sang finally located that solitary drifting teleportation formation. In the darkness, a dead silence enveloped the surroundings of the teleportation formation. Qin Sang approached with care and stepped onto the formation. Light flashed before his eyes, and he appeared in the space of the seventh floor, beholding that battered and shattered mountain peak. Once he took in his surroundings, Qin Sang's heart eased. Just like the six floors before it, there was not a soul in sight. "Did those Nascent Soul cultivators really not come to the Heaven Tower?" Qin Sang muttered to himself, looked toward the corpse puppet bag, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you recalled anything?" "No," Bai's voice came from the corpse puppet bag. Qin Sang felt disappointed. If Bai remembered any secrets concerning the Heaven Tower, it might help him locate the ancient teleportation formation and cultivation methods. Yet since Bai remembered nothing, he could hardly demand more. Looking around, Qin Sang pondered briefly, then flickered and vanished into thin air. Having activated a concealment Daoist art, he swept upward in utter silence. Along the way, Qin Sang noticed an abnormal fluctuation in a restriction, suspecting someone might have triggered it, but he did not invite unnecessary complications. Before long, Qin Sang reached halfway up the mountain. Just as he was about to continue ascending, his ears twitched at an odd sound. His expression shifting slightly, he sped up, flitting past dozens of mountain fragments one after another until he spotted the colossal fragment where that valley was located. Glancing left and right, he slipped into a rocky thicket and looked up, fixing his gaze on the valley. On the seventh floor of the Heaven Tower, there was no longer a teleportation formation leading further up. The space inside the Heaven Tower was a mustard seed realm forged with marvelous restrictions. Everyone speculated that these seven floors were merely part of the Heaven Tower, yet no matter how many cultivators had come and gone over the years, none could find the entrance to the eighth floor. Many turned their attention to the anomalies, the valley most of all. The black-thread restriction inside the valley was exceedingly dangerous; even late Nascent Soul great cultivators had to keep a respectful distance, and no one knew what lay behind it. People suspected that the teleportation formation was situated right there. The clash between the Grand Shaman and the Demon Master last time was said to have been over an ancient treasure, likely obtained from inside this valley. At this moment, Qin Sang was astonished to find several figures hovering outside the valley, craning their necks and peering inside. Meanwhile, powerful waves of energy pulsed from within the valley from time to time. *Could those Nascent Soul cultivators really be breaking the black-thread restriction?* Qin Sang speculated inwardly, glanced at the figures outside the valley, and a cold sneer touched the corner of his lips. *These people truly have reckless gall, trying to snatch scraps right under the noses of the two races' Nascent Souls. Courting death!* He had no intention of joining the fray. Seeing that the valley would not yield any immediate results, he adjusted his course slightly, and before long arrived at the entrance to the Sword Path. No one would be interested in a thoroughly decayed and collapsed ancient palace. Qin Sang ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to keep watch. After ensuring that no one was spying from nearby, he first set up a concealing restriction, then summoned the ebony sword and channeled his sword qi to open the entrance. *Whoosh!* Qin Sang darted into the Sword Path. Paved with blue bricks, the Sword Path had not changed in the slightest since his last visit. Last time, before leaving the Sword Path, he had made a copy of the contents of the jade slip left behind by Senior Qingzhu and placed the original back where it had been. Now, the jade slip still lay there undisturbed. The calligraphy left by Senior Qingzhu recounted his unwillingness to yield. "The ways of the world are unpredictable... Who would have thought this would turn out to be Senior Qingzhu's final words." Qin Sang gazed quietly at the words, a wistful look coming over his face. He had heard countless legends about Senior Qingzhu, yet to his regret, fate had never granted them a meeting. When he finally found Senior Qingzhu's sanctuary, he learned instead that the senior had been besieged by his foes, with little hope of survival. Reining in his thoughts, Qin Sang walked to the front of the Sword Path, his expression solemn. Whether the external incarnation refined from the sword soul would be recognized by the Sword Path—success or failure hinged on this single attempt. *Thud!* The incarnation emerged from the Heavenly Corpse Coffin and stood beside Qin Sang. Qin Sang had also stowed away the magic treasures on the incarnation, guessing they could not be used inside the Sword Path anyway. "When I enter the Sword Path in a moment, the corpse puppet bag might be sealed. Don't worry..." Qin Sang informed Bai of the Sword Path's situation. Bai's voice came from the corpse puppet bag. "This Sword Path, combined with the puppets on the first six floors, does indeed look like a place a sect used to temper its disciples. If the restrictions within the Sword Path are truly as wondrous as you say, Fellow Daoist, then that faction was anything but simple. Alas, I remember nothing..." After chatting with Bai for a few moments, Qin Sang signaled his external incarnation and stepped into the bounds of the Sword Path. Ten feet in, an anomaly appeared. The passage abruptly flared with brilliant light as a large mass of cyan light appeared at the ceiling and descended from above without brooking argument. Qin Sang felt intensely nervous, ready to rescue his incarnation at any second. He had expended so much effort to cultivate an incarnation at the peak of the Core Formation stage; he did not want it ruined here. *Whoosh!* Bearing terrifying pressure, the cyan light was just about to fall upon them when, as though sensing something, it abruptly dissipated without a sound. The familiar scene unfolded once more: the remaining streaks of cyan light rushed toward Qin Sang, sealing all the treasures on his person, leaving behind only the ebony sword. To Qin Sang's utter delight, his external incarnation remained standing beside him safe and sound! *Senior Qingzhu truly had a reason for leaving behind the Seed-Origin Demon Fetus! This demonic incarnation technique was left for successors so that even before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, they could pass the Sword Path's trial. Otherwise, unless one practiced dual cultivation of dharma and body like me, one would probably have to comprehend sword momentum and manifest a sword formation to withstand the siege of two top-tier swordsmen...* Qin Sang was overjoyed, his heart set completely at ease. Just then, the blue bricks on both sides of the corridor lit up, and two phantom silhouettes pounced forward. They were none other than the two familiar swordsmen, who bowed deeply to Qin Sang before brandishing their swords to attack. In high spirits, Qin Sang returned the bow before ordering his incarnation to engage. Though the incarnation held no magic treasures, its cultivation alone was more than enough to easily suppress the swordsmen. After a few exchanges, the swordsmen were backed into a corner by the incarnation, sheathed their swords, and conceded defeat. "Protect me!" Qin Sang took a deep breath, gave the command to his incarnation, summoned his ebony sword, and strode forward. Just like last time, he intended to immerse himself in combat with the swordsmen, continuing to comprehend and perfect his swordsmanship and advance his attainment in the sword dao. With the incarnation guarding him, even if he began to show signs of defeat, the incarnation could rescue him in time, allowing him to focus even more fully without holding back. Who knew if he would ever return here in the future? He could not afford to squander such a precious opportunity. Passing the Sword Path's trial would surely be of immense benefit to him. Even if he could not comprehend sword momentum, it would at least enhance the power of his sword wheel by a few notches. *Bang! Bang!* The moment two swordsmen appeared, Qin Sang ran them through the chest with a single thrust, sending them back into the blue bricks. With his strength having increased tremendously, he no longer paid any mind to these early swordsmen. Clearing the stages at rapid speed, he crossed nearly half of the Sword Path with effortless ease. Soon, Qin Sang arrived at the place where he had been forced to stop last time. A touch of the relaxed ease faded from his face, and suppressing a portion of his cultivation, he took a step forward.