Chapter 1325: Is It Good?

Rain pattered on bluestone; time flew by.

Four years later.

Qin Sang replaced Qing Jun and guarded this place for another three years. Adding his own previous three years, he had been stationed there for a total of six years, hardly ever leaving Yuanxu.

During this period, he never slackened his stringent demands on himself.

When reforging the Gold-Subduing Sword, Qin Sang identified his shortcomings and still ordered Li Yufu to continue sending spiritual materials. His artifact refining skills improved significantly.

Concurrently, he began to seriously conceptualize an artifact for subduing the Southern Bright Flame. This time, there were no other artifacts for him to draw inspiration from; he had to start everything from scratch. Unable to enter the Ziwei Palace to carefully observe the Southern Bright Flame, Qin Sang could only make targeted preparations based on the information he had gathered previously.

Bai speculated that there might be a True Vermillion Bird Feather within the Southern Bright Flame, which enabled it to burn continuously until now. Qin Sang knew his knowledge was far inferior to Bai's, so he could only trust his judgment.

Among the spiritual objects Qin Sang possessed that could be used for artifact refining, the most precious was the green copper block. This item originated from the Ziwei Palace and was a fragment of a supreme treasure, still retaining a power that made the Southern Bright Flame fearful. The future artifact would be constructed with the green copper block as its core.

Next was the Nine-Lives Dark Tortoise's shell. This treasure, refined by a shapeshifting stage great demon with immense effort, was itself no less powerful than an artifact. It had repeatedly blocked attacks for Qin Sang and helped him escape danger. Qin Sang planned to combine these two treasures to capture the True Vermillion Bird Feather! The profound water power contained in both the green copper block and the tortoise shell had a restraining effect on flames. By leveraging the green copper block to suppress the True Vermillion Bird Feather within the tortoise shell, the probability of success was high.

However, Qin Sang also needed to consider, after acquiring the True Vermillion Bird Feather, how to suppress it, or what method to use to contain the extremely violent Southern Bright Flame. The power of the Southern Bright Flame was beyond doubt, even surpassing the Nine Nether Demon Flame. Qin Sang then turned his attention to the mysterious white copper.

At the Void Spirit Sect, Qin Sang had scoured through ancient texts but found no records resembling the mysterious white copper. Left with no other option, Qin Sang sought advice from Bing Han, but even she couldn't identify what the white copper was. After arriving in Sin Abyss, Qin Sang had contacted cultivators there and inquired whether Old Devil Ye and others had obtained any ancient texts after killing the evil spirit in the previous Yuanxu war. The result was still nothing, as Old Devil Ye had taken everything.

Qin Sang was certain of two things. Firstly, the evil spirit carried the mysterious white copper with it, indicating that it was no ordinary item even in ancient times. Secondly, the mysterious white copper shone like fierce flames, comparable to the scorching sun, which definitely made it a top-tier fire-attribute treasure, an excellent choice for containing the Southern Bright Flame.

These three treasures, along with various spiritual items compensated by Sin Abyss, were already far beyond supreme-grade artifacts in terms of material preciousness alone.

To be on the safe side, Qin Sang was not in a hurry to act. Lest any oversight trigger a conflict leading to the treasures' self-destruction, which he would regret immensely.

Over the four years, Qin Sang tried every possible method to analyze the characteristics of the mysterious white copper. The cultivation world was vast with countless treasures, and artifact refiners could not possibly recognize every spiritual object. Therefore, there were naturally methods for analyzing the characteristics of unfamiliar spiritual objects, which Qin Sang had learned at the Void Spirit Sect. Perhaps the mysterious white copper was of too high a grade, as secret techniques applied to it had less effect than expected. Qin Sang could only resort to a painstaking method: keeping the mysterious white copper constantly in hand, almost making it a part of his body. This proved effective, but he still couldn't draw a definitive conclusion.

This time, King Yu came to relieve him. Qin Sang handed the jade pendant to King Yu and was about to leave Yuanxu when he encountered Judge at the entrance.

"Fellow Daoist Qin," Judge said with great enthusiasm, handing over a Mustard Seed Pouch. "These are the spiritual items Fellow Daoist Qin specifically requested. Please take a look."

Qin Sang opened it and found that it only contained about sixty to seventy percent of the items on the list. He looked up at Judge.

Judge rubbed his palms together and gave a wry smile. "The Ziwei Palace is about to open, and I also wish to achieve something significant. However, I lost my second primary soul in the Battle of Yucheng, and I've been trying to re-refine it for years, but it hasn't been smooth. Recently, I discovered a spiritual item in a forbidden area that might help me. Could Fellow Daoist Qin please return the Dead Jade to me first? The remaining spiritual items are truly rare. I hope Fellow Daoist Qin can see my sincerity and grant me an extension!"

Under Judge's expectant gaze, Qin Sang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. The other party was also a Nascent Soul expert and cultivated the eerie Corpse Dao; there was no need to push him too hard. Qin Sang put away the Mustard Seed Pouch, then promptly took out the Dead Jade and returned it to Judge. Judge was overjoyed.

"Fellow Daoist, have you found anything in your investigation of the Heavenly Corpse Sect?"

Qin Sang had also instructed his juniors to keep an eye out, but they had found nothing. Tan Hao and the mysterious person seemed to have vanished completely, leaving no trace.

Judge said, "After I parted ways with you last time, I secretly began investigating. As Fellow Daoist Qin knows, although cultivators of our Corpse and Ghost Dao are not universally hunted in the cultivation world, our situation is very difficult. We are considered more evil than demonic cultivators, so we can only help each other. I can contact several masters of this Dao from various regions, but I still haven't found the person Fellow Daoist Qin mentioned, nor have I found anyone secretly subduing Corpse Dao cultivators."

Tan Hao had disappeared so completely; nothing bad could have happened to him, could it?

Qin Sang frowned slightly.

Mirage Sect.

Qin Sang entered the spiritual vein to inspect the Corpse Flower Blood Amber. According to estimates, purifying the Corpse Flower Blood Amber would take at least twenty years, which coincidentally aligned with the emergence of the Ziwei Palace. He wondered if it would be ready in time. Even if it were completed before the Ziwei Palace emerged, there probably wouldn't be enough time for refining it.

He removed the restrictions, and the spiritual plant appeared before Qin Sang. Compared to a decade ago, the spiritual plant remained vibrant green, but the Corpse Flower Blood Amber had changed dramatically! Originally a crimson blood amber, its internal blood-color had now faded significantly, revealing the true form of the spiritual flower. It would be completely purified once the blood-color vanished entirely.

After a careful inspection, Qin Sang restored the restrictions and exited the forbidden area, unexpectedly encountering Qing Jun.

"Senior Sister, you've emerged from seclusion?"

Sixteen years had passed since they last met. As a Nascent Soul cultivator, even though he was accustomed to such partings, seeing her familiar face again, Qin Sang couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.

Qing Jun nodded her delicate head and said, "I have something to show you. Junior Brother, come with me."

Qin Sang had guarded the immortal gate for her for three years, but Qing Jun did not explicitly offer thanks. Given their relationship, such formality was unnecessary.

The two slowed their pace, leisurely flying towards Peach Blossom Valley while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Cloud-Vast Marsh. Qin Sang spoke of the gains from his painstaking cultivation over the past decade or so. Qing Jun listened intently, occasionally offering her own insights. Although she was not skilled in artifact refining, her mastery of the Puppet Dao was unparalleled. Since all great Daos are interconnected, her suggestions were highly insightful for Qin Sang.

Finally, Qing Jun asked for the mysterious white copper and used her unique secret technique to help Qin Sang analyze it. Soon after, the two arrived before Peach Blossom Valley. Qing Jun put away her secret technique and noticed Qin Sang's appreciative gaze.

"Do I look good?"

Qing Jun tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Qin Sang waved his hand to open Peach Blossom Valley, his gaze falling upon the blooming peach blossoms. He feigned a careful inspection, then shook his head and sighed, "Though the peach blossoms are beautiful, at this moment, they are hard to truly see."

"Exaggerated!"

Qing Jun lightly chided him, a faint smile playing on her lips, but her eyes remained remarkably clear.

The two flashed and entered the valley.