Chapter 1693: Birds Seizing the Nest

"I just happen to have a question for you, Immortal Maiden."

After entering Manzhou and traveling for a while, Qin Sang remembered something. He took out the ice disk and handed it to Liuli, asking, "Immortal Maiden, can you sense anything special about this treasure's energy?"

In terms of mastery of the path of ice, Qin Sang couldn't compare to Liuli.

Upon learning the origin and function of the ice disk, Liuli examined it from top to bottom, then focused her mind to sense the chilling energy within it.

Qin Sang quietly watched Liuli. Once she withdrew her consciousness, he said, "My avatar cultivated the Ice Soul Divine Light by comprehending these chilling energies, and it also gained an opportunity for breakthrough from them."

Liuli suddenly understood. No wonder the divine light used by his avatar was so unusual.

"It doesn't seem to be pure ice energy, but it's naturally formed, not like something deliberately fused. It can even weaken heavenly tribulations, which shows my limited knowledge..." Liuli mused. Then she shook her head, "It doesn't align with my Dao foundation, but it can serve as a reference."

Afterward, Liuli pondered the ice disk while traveling, and Qin Sang accompanied her in silence.

They traversed countless mountains and rivers.

Finally, the two arrived at the shore of a large lake.

This lake was a thousand li in circumference, which wasn't the largest in Manzhou. However, its most unique feature was its indigo-blue water. Cultivators familiar with the geography of the Southern Barbarian and Two Provinces would know at a glance that it contained potent toxins.

The lakeside was lush with aquatic plants, all of which were poisonous.

Apart from a few naturally toxic creatures, no other life forms could survive here. Most of Manzhou, except for the northern areas bordering the Central Plains, was like this – devoid of human habitation, and even living creatures were rarely seen.

"The entrance is right here!"

Qin Sang flew to the center of the lake, scanned the surface, then flew a hundred li west. He nodded to Liuli and plunged into the lake.

Liuli followed.

Protecting themselves with true essence, they rapidly descended to the lake bottom. The deeper they went, the darker the blue of the water became, and with dimming light, their surroundings soon plunged into complete darkness.

It was unclear how deep they had sunk, but the surface of their protective true essence began to hiss. The lake's toxins were now corrosive enough to erode true essence.

However, with their profound cultivation, they had no fear.

Nearing the lake bottom, they encountered some strange-looking creatures swimming in the lower depths. These creatures, which fed on corrosive toxins, were highly venomous beings that caused fear in the outside world.

These poisonous creatures were deliberately left by the Crying Spirit Cave Master. While they couldn't stop top experts, they could deter cultivators with slightly weaker cultivation, preventing accidental intrusion.

The Crying Spirit Cave Master's caution didn't end there.

The lake bottom contained countless holes of various sizes, connecting to subterranean rivers, forming a complex network of waterways that extended in all directions.

Qin Sang fumbled for a while, found a seemingly ordinary hole, sank into the subterranean river, and continued downwards, diving deep into the earth. Only then did he sense a special fluctuation.

"We've arrived..." Qin Sang transmitted a reminder, then abruptly accelerated.

Liuli caught up and, guided by Qin Sang, deciphered the protective formation of the abode. Then, as if passing through an invisible barrier, she suddenly felt a refreshing sensation, with the lake water blocked behind them.

What lay before them was a cavern filled with drifting blood-red and gray mist. Upon entering, they immediately felt a chilling sensation that penetrated their bones. The sound of the mist flowing resembled the soft wailing of countless resentful souls.

Seeing the scene within the mist, Qin Sang and Liuli fell silent.

It was less a medicine garden and more a sacrificial ground.

Tall mounds constructed from white bones stood in the garden, resembling the jingguan (pyramids of skulls) used by mortal generals to display their military prowess. Surrounding these bone mounds were meandering canals, but instead of water, fresh crimson blood flowed within them.

The blood rivers were connected, forming a blood array.

These blood waters carried no scent of blood. Instead, they emitted a strong, unusual fragrance.

The exotic fragrance emanated from the tops of the bone mounds.

A few bone mounds had empty tops, but most glowed with a red light.

Inside the red light were spirit herbs of various forms: some resembled lingzhi mushrooms, others were blood flowers or ghost vines, and even more bizarrely, some bore fruit resembling blood infants, with realistic facial features.

It was difficult to find corresponding spirit herbs in reality; these were all "blood herbs" cultivated by the Crying Spirit Cave Master using secret techniques and nurtured with refined souls, having long since deviated from their original forms.

Liuli glanced at Qin Sang.

Qin Sang understood Liuli's unspoken question: Were these medicines truly safe to consume?

If the information obtained through soul-searching was accurate, the blood herbs were cultivated by the Crying Spirit Cave Master with immense effort. Their cultivation process was analogous to alchemy, a unique and unconventional method.

Unless one intended to cultivate the path of corpses and ghosts, consuming them would have some degree of effect, but these effects could be resolved by diligently refining the herbs.

While their appearance was strange, their medicinal efficacy was genuine. Compared to the benefits, this small price was completely acceptable.

The blood herbs remaining in the bone mounds were not yet mature, and their efficacy was greatly reduced. However, Qin Sang urgently needed spirit herbs to heal his injuries and didn't intend to use the soul-refining method to nourish them, deciding instead to harvest them directly.

The information from the soul-search was incomplete, and Qin Sang didn't recognize some of the blood herbs. Liuli went out to capture demonic beasts and poisonous creatures to test their medicinal properties and categorize them.

After clearing out the white bones and blood water from the "medicine garden," it began to resemble a proper cave dwelling.

In the silent cave dwelling, Qin Sang took medicine to heal his injuries. Liuli, meanwhile, contemplated the ice disk.

With his condition slightly improved, Qin Sang focused on the toxins within his body, which were the main cause of his worsening injuries. These toxins had to be removed first.

Activating the power of the poison bead, combined with elixirs, he gradually expelled the toxins from his body, bit by bit. Qin Sang's face also slowly regained some color.

Time slowly passed.

Qin Sang's condition improved day by day, but since his foundation had been damaged, it wouldn't heal in a short time.

While his main body recuperated in Manzhou, guarded by Liuli, his avatar confidently journeyed north into the Northern Wilderness.

The snow disaster had just ended, and the weather had cleared.

The ground was covered in white snow. Deep snow completely covered the land and mountains. Strong winds whipped up fine snow, swirling it across the sky in a vast expanse of white.

The avatar, having changed his appearance, flew swiftly over the deep snow. After traveling for a long time, he stopped above a snowdrift, stared down for a moment, then formed a hand seal and sent it into the snow layer below.

"Who's there!"

The snow suddenly cracked open, revealing a mountain-shaped shadow below, and a figure flew up.

"Senior, it's me," the avatar whispered, seeing that Ghost Mother and Mute Maiden were unharmed, finally feeling relieved.

The person who appeared was none other than Ghost Mother, who said with a half-smile, "So, it's Lord Fire Demon, who recently turned the Central Plains upside down! Killing a Soul Transformation foster son, destroying a Saint King's illusionary body—what a fearsome reputation! Tsk, tsk, I really underestimated you."

"Senior, please don't tease me. I've been targeted by powerful enemies; I'm a dog without a home now," the avatar said with a wry smile.

Currently, rumors about the Immaterial Immortal Sect were rampant in the Central Plains. The capture of the Ancient Fiend and the demise of Purple Lightning were significant events, but none were as vividly described as the rumors about Qin Sang.

He was seemingly portrayed as an unparalleled fiend, rarely seen in ten thousand years. The rumors grew increasingly exaggerated. Just by listening to those descriptions, Qin Sang felt he didn't need to escape; he could easily defeat two Soul Transformation cultivators and then single-handedly suppress the Ancient Fiend.

A few more people emerged from the cave dwelling. The others, alerted by the commotion above, came out of the dwelling to check. The avatar glanced down and saw three people.

One was his nominal disciple, Shen Chen. Another was a boy leading a girl. The girl, sculpted like jade, looked six or seven years old and secretly peered at the avatar with a mix of curiosity and fear. The boy appeared older, probably twelve or thirteen, and carried himself steadily.

"You dared to provoke even Soul Transformation cultivators, implicating the Xie family and Loft View Sect, whose fates are now uncertain. Too many people would easily expose their whereabouts, so I could only bring these few out. Additionally, both families selected a few promising disciples and secretly sent them away. The rest were difficult to relocate, so we arranged for their entire families to rent a Dharma boat from Dragon Dwelling Immortal Abode and publicly go to the Sweet Dew Zen Monastery to 'cry at the gate' [protest/appeal]. As for these three, you'll have to figure out how to arrange them yourself."

Ghost Mother, being experienced, received the warning and handled Qin Sang's rear affairs. With such arrangements, even in the worst-case scenario, the legacy of the Xie family and Loft View Sect could be preserved.

The boy's name was Xie Yi, and Qin Sang had an impression of him, having heard he was a rare genius on whom the Xie family placed high hopes.

The avatar landed. Shen Chen stepped forward to salute, and Xie Yi also pulled the girl to kowtow. All of them now knew the avatar's true identity.

Examining the girl's features, they seemed somewhat familiar.

"Are you Zhou Jin and Ruan Yu's daughter?"

When the couple Zhou and Ruan had met him, they mentioned their concern about being unable to break through to Nascent Soul and their plan to first leave behind descendants. They had used secret techniques to regulate their bodies for many years, deliberately bringing it up to Qin Sang to see if there was a possibility of their child becoming his disciple. However, since Qin Sang didn't express an opinion, they dared not bring it up again.

"My name is Zhou Li. My parents told me to follow Ancestor from now on and be obedient," the girl said clearly, then diligently kowtowed to Qin Sang.

The avatar pointed at Zhou Li and Xie Yi, telling Shen Chen, "From now on, they are your disciples."

The Demon-Sealing Stake had already been given away, but the Meteorite Iron Divine Whip was still there, and Qin Sang couldn't just abandon his responsibilities. Fortunately, this disciple still had some use.

"This... Disciple obeys!" Shen Chen was dumbfounded. Looking at his two unexpected disciples, he felt a huge headache; he had to take care of children first.

But with his master's command, he dared not disobey. Especially after learning about Qin Sang's deeds in Nanzhou from Ghost Mother, Shen Chen felt both reverence and fear for his master.

Waving his hand, he dismissed his disciples.

The avatar and Ghost Mother entered the quiet room, seeing Mute Maiden sleeping soundly on an ice bed. Her breathing was steady, and her aura seemed to have gained a thickness it hadn't possessed before.

"I hear you gained a lot this time?" Ghost Mother raised an eyebrow, asking without hesitation.

The avatar thanked her, "I must also thank senior for informing me in time, or I would have missed this opportunity! Through the ancient witch tribe's mark left by senior, I found the remains of that Soul Transformation witch tribe cultivator in the ancestral dwelling. It seems they, like the experts of the Immaterial Immortal Sect, were tainted by demonic energy during the Devil Tribulation, sealed themselves at Emperor Conferral Mountain, and met with misfortune..."

How difficult it was to cultivate to the Soul Transformation stage in this world! That witch tribe Soul Transformation cultivator was on the verge of breaking free from their shackles, yet met with calamity and died in a foreign land.

Ghost Mother simply said, "It's fate and fortune."

"Among that senior's relics was a sea chart of the Canglang Sea. Is senior interested in going there to meet the descendants of the witch tribe?" Qin Sang later found the sea chart among the miscellaneous items. The Canglang Sea was actually located southeast of the Central Plains, even further away than the Northern Sea. Since Qin Sang didn't know the exact location of Gui Xu (Return to Emptiness), he didn't know if Canglang Sea corresponded to Gui Xu or in what direction it was.

"With Mute Maiden here, what would be the point of going? My own path forward is unclear; how could I have the energy to help others? People of the same race aren't necessarily of the same lineage. Would you look at the human race of the Central Plains differently?" Ghost Mother's expression was cold. She paused, then added, "Mute Maiden's condition is better than expected; her progress has been very smooth during this time! I am already preparing to cross the void. Once everything is ready, I will choose a day to ascend."

"So soon?" The avatar frowned.

Ghost Mother shook her head, muttering, "I have waited too long."

Crossing the void used secret witch tribe techniques, so the avatar couldn't interject. Looking outside the cave dwelling, he said, "If there's anything I can do, senior, please just ask. My only request is that Mute Maiden remains safe. However, before that, we should find a stable place to settle down."

As he spoke, the avatar flicked his sleeve, and two masses of faint light flew out. One mass of light enveloped a tattered banner, and the other contained Su Zinan's crippled Nascent Soul. Both had been brought by the avatar.

The crippled Nascent Soul's eyes were tightly closed, and its consciousness was unclear. Su Zinan had first been poisoned, then burned by fire. After being confined by Qin Sang, he nearly died from the toxins. Fortunately, the avatar discovered him in time, suppressed the poison, and saved his life.

Qin Sang had only intended to keep the crippled Nascent Soul for soul-searching. However, after finding the cultivation method he practiced among Su Zinan's belongings and inspecting the state of the Three Corpse Vanquishing God Banner, he changed his mind.

The Three Corpse Vanquishing God Banner, once it gathered and completely subdued three demonic souls at the late Nascent Soul stage, could use these three souls as a foundation to assist in breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage. The problem was that this breakthrough with three souls required cooperation with a specific cultivation method to achieve this effect.

These were products of Old Demon Lu's experiments, created by combining the Blood Dao, the Three Corpse Vanquishing God Banner, and Old Demon Lu's own cultivation method.

The two demonic souls collected by Su Zinan had been destroyed by the Solar Divine Bird, leaving the demonic banner broken. The third soul survived, but it was still in the form of a faceless human head, not having merged with a Nascent Soul.

Qin Sang planned to reserve this position for Su Zinan. He had no intention of changing his cultivation method. In his hands, the Three Corpse Vanquishing God Banner could only serve as a deadly weapon, and repairing this treasure was extremely difficult.

Su Zinan, relying on the legacy of a Soul Transformation cultivator and having Elder Wu and the Underworld Moon Guards under his command, still found it extremely difficult to gather the necessary spiritual materials.

However, if he could simply repair it and integrate Su Zinan into the demonic soul, he would not only gain a powerful combatant but also easily obtain the secrets known to Su Zinan.

On the way north, the avatar pondered the demonic banner, gradually gaining some insight, but then encountered a new problem. Su Zinan's cultivation level was one stage higher than the avatar's, making the chance of failure extremely high. He needed to ask Ghost Mother for assistance.

Ghost Mother learned the details, took the demonic banner and the crippled Nascent Soul, and immediately spoke with sarcasm, "A dignified Soul Transformation foster son reduced to this state—even if Old Demon Lu knew, he would only feel a loss of face and probably wouldn't have the nerve to seek revenge on you."

"Oh?" Ghost Mother held the Three Corpse Vanquishing God Banner, examining it carefully, seeming quite interested. "This tattered banner is rather interesting."

The avatar remembered that the Heavenly Corpse Talisman was made by Ghost Mother, and his gaze became strange. One confined living Nascent Souls, the other controlled living corpses. Did Ghost Mother have some special fetish?

Over ten days later, everyone left the snow peak and headed east, aiming for Luye!

With the demonic banner confining the crippled Nascent Soul, they learned the origin of Luye Plain from Su Zinan.

Luye Plain was an ancient cave dwelling accidentally discovered by Old Demon Lu during his travels in the Northern Sea.

Because Luye Plain constantly moved between the Northern Wilderness and the Northern Sea with no clear pattern, and the Luye Grand Formation was very secretive, this secret dwelling only reappeared after Old Demon Lu occupied it, becoming his cultivation ground.

Without its master's guidance, no one knew where Luye was located. There was no better hiding place than Luye.

Su Zinan had left Luye on the shore of the Eastern Sea, and it was now masterless.