Chapter 1094: Return

In Ziwei Palace, within the Ancient Sword Path Hall.

The teleportation array, dormant for a century, suddenly began to glow faintly. The light flickered. Soon after, a figure materialized on the array, stumbling for a moment before steadying himself by gripping a stone pillar at its edge.

Qin Sang's face was pale. He shook his head, then looked at the familiar surroundings with a sense of emotion. The ancient hall, the altar, the spirit array. After more than a hundred years, he had finally returned. This time, he had experienced the teleportation process while fully conscious, making the sensation far more vivid. Even with his current cultivation level, he still felt dizzy, and there was even a fleeting illusion that his body was being torn apart. The spatial shock and compression he endured during the teleportation were incomparable to those of the ancient teleportation array at the Shangyuan Pure Serenity Palace. He quietly circulated his cultivation art, and only then did he gradually begin to recover.

His breathing stabilized. Qin Sang looked down and saw that the stone pillar he was leaning on was precisely the one Senior Qingzhu had left behind years ago. Seeing the two incomplete 'Killing' talismans on it, Qin Sang couldn't help but feel a pang of melancholy. Back then, Senior Qingzhu was still alive, yet by a twist of fate, they had missed their chance to meet. When they finally did meet, it was only to bid a final farewell. Qin Sang gently caressed the Qianjun Ring on his finger. Senior Qingzhu's remains were currently inside the Qianjun Ring. In the Nether Valley, Qin Sang had discovered Senior Qingzhu had passed away while meditating under a peach tree. He had then followed Senior Qingzhu's dying wish, forming an ice coffin to bring the body back and take it to the place mentioned in Senior Qingzhu's farewell poem – Senior Qingzhu's hometown. That place was not within any immortal cultivation sect; like Shaohua Mountain, it was on the edge of the Cloud Cang Great Lake. After preparing the remains, Qin Sang had carefully set up protective restrictions in the Nether Valley to safeguard the peach tree, preventing it from being eroded by nether qi. His only wish was that the peach blossoms would never wither!

Furthermore, Senior Qingzhu had left a farewell poem on the cliff, which was also a top-tier sword scripture, encapsulating Senior Qingzhu's lifelong understanding of both the Way of the Sword and the Way of Killing. For someone like Qin Sang, who cultivated the same art as Qingzhu, it was undoubtedly a priceless treasure! Filled with gratitude, Qin Sang respectfully bowed to Qingzhu. He then meticulously memorized the sword scripture, also transcribing it into a jade slip, and took the Killing Sword fragment, careful not to disturb the characters on the cliff face at all. These were the last traces Senior Qingzhu had left in the world. But he would carry on Senior Qingzhu's legacy and continue his journey.

As he thought of this, Qin Sang's heart stirred, and the Killing Sword fragment appeared in his palm. Because the fragment bore a complete character for 'Killing,' Qin Sang referred to it as the Killing Sword. Looking down at the character 'Killing,' Qin Sang's gaze sharpened. Though the sword was damaged, he could still feel an inexplicable fluctuation of divine charm emanating from the character, making it difficult to maintain composure and affecting his mind. When intact, the Killing Sword must have been a supreme treasure beyond the imagination of cultivators of this era!

When Qin Sang had first obtained the Killing Sword fragment, the grey qi that was the sword spirit had swiftly entered the fragment with a whoosh. Remembering what Senior Qingzhu had once said, Qin Sang did not stop it. Of course, Qin Sang hadn't forgotten Senior Qingzhu's warning: before the sword spirit awakened, he didn't know if it was good or evil, so he needed to be prepared to prevent it from harming its master. Unexpectedly, after the sword spirit entered the Killing Sword fragment, Qin Sang regretted it. When Senior Qingzhu was in the Core Formation stage, they could barely wield the Killing Sword fragment, and it was this treasure that allowed them to severely wound Leng Yuntian after being discovered by Leng Qian. However, after the sword spirit integrated, when Qin Sang tried to activate the Killing Sword fragment, he found an additional layer of sluggishness. This was surely related to the sleeping sword spirit. He wasn't sure if the sword spirit was instinctively resisting, or if the Killing Sword's power was being used by the spirit to nourish itself. It would be difficult to force the sword spirit out again. After weighing the pros and cons, Qin Sang ultimately decided to let the sword spirit be, as he didn't lack trump cards at the moment. With the sword spirit integrated into the Killing Sword fragment, its recovery speed would be much faster than within his body. The sooner it awakened, the sooner it could help him search for other fragments and cultivation arts. Currently, the Killing Sword fragment was being nurtured in his qi sea.

Qin Sang was very curious about the origin of the Killing Sword. The Killing Sword shattered, and the 'Divine Soul Nurturing Sword Chapter' was also torn apart, with its fragments and incomplete sections hidden in the same place. Cultivators who successfully practiced the art could wield the Killing Sword fragments, showing how closely intertwined they were. What kind of scene would it be when he obtained the complete art and restored the Killing Sword's divine power?

"Ziwei Palace, Seven Kills Hall..." These two secret realms flashed through Qin Sang's mind. Qin Sang suspected that if the Seven Kills Hall was once an unparalleled immortal sect, then the 'Divine Soul Nurturing Sword Chapter' was very likely its true inheritance cultivation art. The Sky Tower, Mount Yitian, and the last remnant sword intent were all clear evidence. Ziwei Palace also had intricate connections with them. Both the first part of the cultivation art and the sword spirit were obtained in Ziwei Palace. Furthermore, Qin Sang suspected that these two secret realms might not be the complete set; there might be other fragments scattered in different cultivation worlds. If these cultivation worlds were all surrounded by endless storms, finding them one by one would be extremely difficult. The teleportation arrays in both locations were connected. Once he formed his Nascent Soul, he would definitely explore thoroughly to search for clues.

What captivated Qin Sang's attention the most was undoubtedly the ethereal image of the immortal palace within the Seven Kills Hall's immortal restriction. Unlike the chaotic and deathly silent Seven Kills Hall, the immortal palace appeared remarkably intact, imbued with an ethereal aura that made one yearn to explore it. Senior Qingzhu had only searched along the white jade corridor and discovered the Minor Teleportation Talisman, a top-tier divine talisman now extinct in the current era. It was easy to imagine how many treasures were hidden within those immortal palaces! He was the only cultivator who knew how to enter the immortal restriction, but the white jade corridor did not directly lead to the immortal palace, requiring further investigation to find a way in.

After preparing Qingzhu's remains, Qin Sang returned to the immortal restriction the same way he came, finding the path Senior Qingzhu had hidden on the white jade corridor. He used a talisman seal to open the way and located the ancient teleportation array within the immortal restriction. He had originally intended to search for other paths within the immortal restriction, but after experiencing the Trial Realm and several battles at Mount Yitian, time no longer permitted it. The immortal restriction was showing fluctuations. Before long, both the Seven Kills Hall and Ziwei Palace would close. Leaving Ziwei Palace did not require the Minor Polaris Yuan Array. When Ziwei Palace closed, the outer immortal array would momentarily pause, and the qi vortex would briefly calm, providing the only opportunity for cultivators to depart.

Before leaving, he still had a few things to do. "How are you all?" Qin Sang transmitted his voice to Bai. He adjusted his state. He didn't know what the situation in the Minor Cold Domain had become, so he needed to be extremely careful. If the ancient demon summoned by the Sinful Abyss was as terrifying as the Demon Lord suppressed beneath Mount Yitian, then the Minor Cold Domain and the Heavenly Alliance might have already suffered widespread devastation. He could only retrieve the Nine Illusion Sky Orchid, then go into hiding to cultivate, waiting for Ziwei Palace to open again to escape back to the Azure Waves Sea.

However, with the successive deaths of top experts from both the human and shaman tribes, the Azure Waves Sea was likely to be anything but peaceful. Qin Sang took out the token given to him by the Four Saints Palace successor, looking thoughtful. Fairy Nangui had once mentioned that there were Soul Transformation stage cultivators among the Four Saints. Since the Four Saints Palace was a Soul Transformation lineage, forming a connection with them was not a bad thing. If an opportunity arose in the future, he would definitely pay them a visit, as they might help him resolve many of his confusions.