Chapter 1092: Sword Spirit

Cultivating True Essence, the Physical Body, and Divine Consciousness simultaneously would certainly yield immense benefits. However, the resources and effort required, as well as the cultivation difficulty, would be far more than triple. Moreover, with heavenly tribulation hanging like a sword, leading to death if one doesn't advance, who would dare to be distracted? This might have been possible in the ancient cultivation world, but in later eras, with lost secret arts and depleted resources, it became nearly impossible for anyone to succeed. Therefore, most cultivators chose the easiest path, spirit cultivation, making spiritual roots the sole criterion for judging a cultivator's talent.

Qingzhu offered his insights.

"When I was teleported to Canglang Sea, I was just one step away from forming my Nascent Soul. However, due to the fragmentation of my murderous intent and severe damage to my primordial spirit, it took me over a century to find ways to heal before I could painstakingly achieve Nascent Soul formation. This shows that any damage to one's essence, qi, or spirit will have an impact, and vice versa. This is also why the Soul Cleansing Fluid has such miraculous effects."

Qin Sang pondered this thoughtfully.

The Nine Illusory Heavenly Orchid and Soul Cleansing Fluid were external aids.

The Heavenly Eye Butterfly, once it reached the peak of its third transformation, could also help in breaking through bottlenecks.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already gathered so many resources to aid in Nascent Soul formation.

If Qingzhu's words were true, it seemed he would need to equally value the "Heavenly Demon Body Forging Art" and the "Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter" in the future.

Qin Sang mused.

Once he cultivated the "Heavenly Demon Body Forging Art" to the peak of the third level, he might be able to directly break through to the fourth level with the aid of Star Essence Infusion.

By then, his physical body alone would be no weaker than a Nascent Soul cultivator's, providing even greater assistance.

The two bottlenecks of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core had caused Qin Sang immense hardship, making him acutely aware of the difficulty of cultivating with a five-element spiritual root.

There was only one Nine Illusory Heavenly Orchid, and unlike the Soul Cleansing Fluid which had continuous effects after consumption, it would certainly have to wait until he was absolutely certain before he could take it.

After offering a few pointers to Qin Sang, Qingzhu returned to the main topic.

"Do you know that the 'Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter' is hidden in Ziwei Palace, in a place similar to Netherworld Valley? When our Shaohua Mountain ancestor first acquired the 'Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter,' he also discovered a spiritual sword shard. Only someone who has mastered this cultivation technique can gain the shard's recognition. Even Marquis Dongyang couldn't control this treasure, which is why the spiritual sword shard eventually fell into my hands."

"Senior, do you mean..."

Qin Sang almost held his breath.

"Precisely!"

Qingzhu didn't keep him in suspense. "Unless something unforeseen happened, another part of the 'Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter' should be hidden in Netherworld Valley. Whether it's the second volume, we'll only know once we acquire it. Back then, I had exhausted all my efforts trying to deduce the cultivation technique further and was ecstatic when I discovered Netherworld Valley. However, there were extremely dangerous ancient restrictions within Netherworld Valley that only a Nascent Soul Grandmaster would have the power to break..."

As they spoke, they arrived at the Sword Qi Hall outside Netherworld Valley.

"I entered a treasure mountain but returned empty-handed."

Qingzhu's face was filled with regret. "To make matters worse, I self-mutilated my primordial spirit to forcibly cultivate the technique, which caused my murderous intent to accumulate, giving birth to a demon soul. After this severe injury, the demon soul finally found its opportunity. Stimulated by the sword qi in this hall, the demon soul retaliated and almost spiraled out of control. In the end, I was forced to use the spiritual sword shard to barely seal the demon soul within this hall. I had thought this place was rarely visited, but unexpectedly, an ancient demonic beast was sealed below the mountain. The demon soul was enticed by the ancient demonic beast, leading to numerous incidents and leaving a lingering disaster to this day..."

Qin Sang carefully protected Qingzhu, listening to his detailed account.

"After sealing the demon soul, I barely escaped the Seven Kills Hall, only to find myself in an unfamiliar cultivation world. I traveled extensively and eventually settled on Spirit Turtle Island, rarely interacting with other powers. I remained in seclusion there, healing my injuries while attempting to form my Nascent Soul."

"For over a century thereafter, since I couldn't enter the inner hall to retrieve the demon soul, I could only try various methods, including imparting knowledge and meditating to gain insights. By sheer luck, I managed to force a breakthrough despite my damaged primordial spirit, but this also sowed seeds of future trouble. I had to retrieve the demon soul, otherwise, my cultivation path would become incredibly difficult."

"Decades later, the Seven Kills Hall reappeared for the second time. I had originally intended to subdue the demon soul, retrieve the spiritual sword shard and the cultivation technique, and then return to the Minor Cold Domain for revenge and to reunite with my family and friends. However, fate had other plans."

Qingzhu let out a long sigh.

Qin Sang knew they had reached the most crucial part.

Why had he appeared on the Wushen Continent?

What had Qingzhu encountered?

All would be revealed.

Qingzhu looked at Qin Sang with an unreadable expression. "After the Seven Kills Hall emerged, I first entered the trial realm left by the Four Sages, then successfully arrived at Netherworld Valley. Just as I was about to subdue the demon soul, I discovered it was gone! Unexpectedly, you were then teleported here from Ziwei Palace. All my plans were disrupted by you and the sword spirit within you."

"Sword spirit?"

Qin Sang paused, then realized Qingzhu was likely referring to the gray mist within him.

"It's the spiritual sword shard's sword spirit? Wasn't it placed in my body by you, Senior, after I arrived at the Seven Kills Hall?"

Qin Sang was astonished.

This was completely different from what he had guessed.

Qingzhu was taken aback, then shook his head. "Why would I bring trouble upon myself? The sword spirit within you, upon arriving at the Seven Kills Hall, sensed the spiritual sword shard and attempted to draw it back. This caused an anomaly in the spiritual sword shard within the demon soul. At that time, the demon soul had already been released by the ancient demonic beast and had taken over a new physical body. Furthermore, its cultivation had far surpassed my original self. Fortunately, the seal on the spiritual sword shard had not yet been broken, and its memories hadn't recovered. When the sword spirit agitated the spiritual sword shard inside the demon soul, it followed the trail and almost uncovered the restrictions in the Sword Qi Hall, thereby discovering Netherworld Valley..."

Qingzhu reached out and gently pressed a spot on the wall of the Sword Qi Hall, revealing an illusory door.

The two passed through the restriction and entered Netherworld Valley.

Qingzhu glanced back and said, "I originally wanted to forcibly subdue the sword spirit, but unexpectedly, it possessed extremely high intelligence and had already recovered some of its strength. After it discovered me, it hid within you, moving you around to evade me. If the demon soul had found Netherworld Valley and the ancient teleportation array, recovered its memories, and unleashed its murderous intent, the situation would have become irreversible. In desperation, I had no choice but to use a Minor Teleportation Talisman to forcibly send you out of the Seven Kills Hall, thereby severing the connection between the sword spirit and the spiritual sword shard."

"When I woke up, I found myself on the Wushen Continent. Was it Senior who sent me away with a Minor Teleportation Talisman? And why has the sword spirit in my body remained in the form of gray mist, never making any move for a century?"

Hearing Qingzhu recount these events, Qin Sang felt as if he were listening to a fantastical tale.

He had been severely injured and unconscious, yet the sword spirit had apparently taken over his body, leading to so many occurrences.

"Yes, the Minor Teleportation Talisman is an ancient spiritual talisman with an extraordinary origin that I unexpectedly discovered within the immortal restriction above. Once activated, it can instantly transport one to another location, escaping danger. It's a life-saving treasure, though the direction and precise location of the teleportation cannot be controlled. From here, you would most likely have been sent deep into the storm zone, with little chance of survival. However, at the time, I saw you surrounded by corpse qi and believed you were already dead."

Qingzhu speculated, "Now, it seems the Minor Teleportation Talisman was likely influenced by the sword spirit, sending you to the relatively safe Wushen Continent. For this, the sword spirit must have paid a considerable price and fallen into a deep slumber. Otherwise, when the Witch Tribe first opened the Seven Kills Hall later, both the demon soul and I were present. If the sword spirit had agitated the spiritual sword shard, you would have been exposed to the demon soul."