A Major Event

The two continued to break the fire curse. In the end, they did not purge it completely. Bai refined the demonic fire curse seal and left a seal within Qin Sang's body, preparing to refine a fire curse seed. "Give me the spirit herbs first, Fellow Daoist. Having overextended myself several times has taken a considerable toll on me. I must first stabilize my primordial vitality before I will have the strength to refine the fire curse seed." Sensing the condition of his body, Bai spoke with a slight change in expression. Qin Sang hastily handed the mustard seed pouch containing the spirit herbs to Bai. These herbs had been gathered by Steward Liu of the Qiongyu Guild and brought out when they ransacked the guild. To avoid arousing Qin Sang's suspicion, Steward Liu had been quite diligent, managing to assemble thirty percent of the herbs on the list. "There are too few herbs here. Once we leave this place, I will certainly help you purchase the rest," Qin Sang promised. Now that he and the Qiongyu Guild had turned against each other, none of his previous connections could be used, leaving him no choice but to travel around and buy them himself. Fortunately, having slain six Core Formation cultivators, including Vice Envoy Zuo, he had reaped a bountiful harvest and possessed plenty of spirit stones. Taking the spirit herbs, Bai nodded. "As an expedient measure, this will suffice." Once Bai returned to his own cave dwelling, Qin Sang sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, lost in thought. Very little of the fire curse remained in his body, and with the seal Bai had placed, the latent danger was essentially resolved. Even so, once bitten, twice shy. Qin Sang felt it was safer to remain in the storm belt. This secret realm appeared very stable; he would wait until Bai finished refining the fire curse seed before heading out. At long last, he could finally get some proper rest. Qin Sang ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to keep watch, while he lay down fully dressed and fell into a deep, untroubled slumber. In the secret realm, day and night were indistinguishable. He had no idea how long he slept. When he awoke, refreshed and invigorated, Qin Sang sat cross-legged in meditation, circulating his cultivation technique to temper his true essence and purge the impurities that had accumulated in his body. Ten days later. Qin Sang was finally restored to his peak condition. Yet the absence of his incarnation and the two-headed hou made him feel rather unaccustomed. At the thought of Old Devil Mou, Qin Sang's expression darkened. He reviewed everything that had transpired over those few days. Old Devil Mou had a special fondness for spiritual fires. Having first subdued the Dongming Cold Flame left behind by Master Dongming, he had then grown covetous of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, which was why he had set his sights on Qin Sang. "A man's wealth is his ruin!" Qin Sang sighed. There had been no grievance or enmity between them. Yet he had become a thorn in Old Devil Mou's side. When all was said and done, his own strength was inferior, leaving him at the mercy of others. After feeding the Heavenly Eye Butterfly and the fat silkworm, Qin Sang stepped out of his cave dwelling. Seeing no movement from Bai, he figured it would take some time for Bai to recover, and refining the fire curse seed would require considerable effort as well. Qin Sang flew upward and spent an entire day meticulously repairing the ancient restriction of the secret realm before returning to his cave dwelling. With a flash from the Qianjun Ring, a piece of decayed wood flew out—none other than the Soul-Nurturing Wood, gleaming with a faint soul light. Unable to leave for now, Qin Sang prepared to re-refine the Ebony Sword to boost his cultivation as quickly as possible and break through to the late Core Formation stage. Should he run into a formidable enemy again, he would at least not be so hard-pressed. The last time he had re-refined the Ebony Sword was back during the Foundation Establishment stage. A thin shaving of Boundless Blood Mulberry had taken him around twenty years. This time, the Soul-Nurturing Wood was larger, but his cultivation and artifact-refining attainment were far beyond what they had been back then; it certainly would not take anywhere near as long. Qin Sang looked forward to seeing what kind of transformation the Soul-Nurturing Wood would bring to the Ebony Sword. He took out a segment of the Soul-Nurturing Wood, summoned the Ebony Sword, and recalled the previous process of melting and refining spiritual wood. "Rise!" Qin Sang pointed at the Ebony Sword. With a melodious hum, the Ebony Sword flashed over to the Soul-Nurturing Wood, its sword radiance wrapping gently around the wood. Immediately, Qin Sang closed his eyes and urged the Ebony Sword to melt and refine the Soul-Nurturing Wood. Silence filled the cave dwelling. Time trickled by. Qin Sang suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the Ebony Sword. The Soul-Nurturing Wood "dissolved," and the Ebony Sword was about to draw the exceedingly pure primordial wood spirit into its blade. Previously, this was the exact moment when the anomaly had occurred, when the wood's origin was tainted by the Boundless Blood Mulberry and lost all spirituality. Buzz... The Ebony Sword trembled softly. The Soul-Nurturing Wood merged into the blade. Right at that moment, an eerie flash of crimson abruptly emerged. Here it comes! Qin Sang exclaimed inwardly. Just as the crimson was about to pounce upon the Soul-Nurturing Wood, a dense soul light suddenly erupted from the wood. The crimson seemed to strike a solid wall, held firmly at bay by the soul light, unable to penetrate even a fraction of an inch. Throughout the process, the crimson hovered about, helpless against the Soul-Nurturing Wood. Ultimately, the Ebony Sword devoured the Soul-Nurturing Wood and transformed into a translucent sword embryo, hovering before Qin Sang. Seeing this, Qin Sang beamed with delight. He drew the Ebony Sword back into his essence soul to nourish it, and from then on divided his time between refining the Ebony Sword and comprehending the Killing Talisman. ... One year later. Qin Sang's figure appeared in the storm belt. He brought out the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros horn, identified his bearings, and as he flew, took out a dusty gray bead. "To think it would take this long..." Qin Sang murmured, rolling the bead between his fingers. After stabilizing his vitality, Bai had failed more than a dozen times before finally refining this fire curse seed. Without realizing it, they had been stranded in the storm belt for an entire year. After traveling through the storm for a long time, Qin Sang reached the outer perimeter near Yuan Zhu's cave dwelling and activated the restriction on the scale. Before, the situation had been dire, and Yuan Zhu had been vague. Qin Sang had wanted to seek out Yuan Zhu again to question him in detail, but unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, there was no response. "Is he not in his cave dwelling? It seems I can only return at our agreed time..." Qin Sang stroked his chin and lingered no further, flying straight out of the storm belt. Returning to the Canglang Sea felt like entering another lifetime. Qin Sang looked around and, seeing no one, set off westward on his escape light. "Weren't you going to the Tiandao Sect to look for someone?" Bai asked. Qin Sang glanced in the direction of the Tiandao Sect and sighed. "We've already been delayed for so long; there's no need to rush now. Let's head to Tianxing Island first to purchase the rest of your spirit herbs and stabilize your vitality, Fellow Daoist." He pondered what identity he should adopt. His true identity, as well as his two aliases—Mingyue and Qingfeng—had all drawn powerful enemies, leaving him filled with sighs of self-mockery. ... Tianxing Island. Disguising his identity, Qin Sang entered the city and headed straight for the shops and auction houses. In just a few days, the spirit herbs Yuan Zhu needed were nearly all assembled, leaving only a few exceedingly rare and precious ones that could only be left to luck in the future. While on Tianxing Island, Qin Sang had originally intended to secretly look into Old Devil Mou's background. Knowing oneself and one's enemy was the key to emerging victorious in every battle. To his surprise, without expending much effort, Qin Sang learned of a major event concerning Old Devil Mou that had taken place recently—one that left him utterly dumbfounded. Just a few months prior, Old Devil Mou's Tianfeng Island had suddenly come under siege. The ones who struck were none other than the Righteous and Demonic Dao—the two strongest factions of the human race in this era, joining hands. It was said that Lingzhuzi and the Demon Lord, the two Great Cultivators, had acted in person. From that moment on, Tianfeng Island was wiped completely off the map of the Canglang Sea! Old Devil Mou was renowned throughout the Demonic Dao and across the entire human race; rumor had it that the Demon Lord himself had once stepped forward to recruit him. Among the lists people compiled of cultivators most likely to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage, Old Devil Mou featured prominently. Once news of this spread, it immediately set off a tremendous uproar, shaking the four seas. Though several months had already passed, the fervor had not diminished in the slightest.