Chapter 1786: Breaking Through

The Mortal Realm

The cloud path was actually a rather solid mass of cloud.

After the colorful auspicious clouds condensed, they returned to their original white state, like white ribbons drifting in a sea of clouds.

Qin Sang and the other three waited for some time. When no new tremors occurred and the cloud path seemed stable, they no longer hesitated.

True Master Zhijian knew this place best. His exquisite swordsmanship allowed him to handle any sudden situation, so he led the way.

Qin Sang was in the middle, with the two True Masters bringing up the rear.

The purpose was to allow Qin Sang to quickly understand and familiarize himself with the environment inside the auspicious clouds.

Aware of the three True Masters' good intentions, Qin Sang no longer diverted his attention to comprehending the Buddhist seals, his gaze constantly sweeping his surroundings.

When they had just passed through the plains, the Skyeye Butterfly had been awakened by Qin Sang, but now it was drowsy again.

After devouring the tribulation lightning from Qin Sang's ascension tribulation, the Skyeye Butterfly began to sleep for entire days.

At this time, the Skyeye Butterfly could still be awakened, but its reactions were very slow, giving Qin Sang a lazy response. After completing Qin Sang's command, it would quickly fall back into a deep sleep.

This state was peculiar. Qin Sang couldn't quite tell if the Skyeye Butterfly was merely digesting the tribulation lightning or undergoing some kind of transformation.

Normally, before each metamorphosis, spirit insects usually underwent a period of cocoooning and deep sleep, during which they could not be awakened. The cocooning period was also the most vulnerable stage for spirit insects.

Qin Sang could feel the benefits brought by the tribulation lightning's baptism. For the Skyeye Butterfly, it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing. As for how much the Skyeye Butterfly would benefit, Qin Sang didn't know.

During this time, Qin Sang silently observed the Skyeye Butterfly, but couldn't discern any obvious changes.

"Now that I've obtained the qualification for promotion, I must visit Grandmaster Lingxu and refine the Azure Frost Pill as soon as possible..."

Qin Sang thought to himself, the Skyeye Butterfly's metamorphosis shouldn't be too far off; he couldn't let the pill delay its cultivation.

As his thoughts churned, the four had already walked on the cloud path for an hour, and could no longer see the scenery outside the auspicious clouds.

The cloud path was surrounded by auspicious clouds on all sides. For safety, the four walked steadily, neither fast nor slow.

Not long after they started walking, Qin Sang felt an invisible pressure descend upon them.

He furrowed his brow slightly, looking at the still calm auspicious clouds. The pressure seemed to originate from deep within the clouds, though he couldn't pinpoint its source.

Given the strength of his physical body, this slight pressure was nothing.

However, as they delved deeper, the pressure intensified. The four of them showed no unusual signs, but for a Nascent Soul cultivator, they might need to circulate their True Essence to resist it.

Few Nascent Soul cultivators dared to explore this place; this invisible pressure was one of the obstacles. Upon entering the deepest part of the auspicious clouds, the pressure would inexplicably vanish, only to be replaced by other, more terrifying dangers.

"Be careful!"

True Master Zhijian's warning came.

Qin Sang's heart tightened. He fixed his gaze forward and saw auspicious clouds drifting towards them along the cloud path.

The auspicious clouds moved precisely along the cloud path, like a gaping maw, devouring sections of the path piece by piece as they floated towards them.

Generally, walking along the cloud path only required resisting the invisible pressure and being mindful of sudden abnormal fluctuations within the auspicious clouds.

This situation was uncommon and one of the most dangerous phenomena, which they unfortunately encountered.

Qin Sang and the others showed no haste, looking at True Master Zhijian, waiting for him to decide whether to retreat.

As the auspicious clouds drew near, True Master Zhijian calmly performed a quick divination. He stated in a deep voice, "The end of the cloud path isn't far ahead. We'll push straight through!"

The others agreed and immediately activated their magic treasures and divine abilities.

Golden light flowed around Qin Sang's body as he silently activated the Vajra Heavenly Armor Seal. He then saw True Master Zhijian sweep his conjoined fingers across the void, a sword light slashing at the auspicious clouds, cleaving open a clear path.

The three immediately followed.

"Rumble..."

The sound of surging waves echoed in his ears, and waves of fluctuations crashed into Qin Sang.

The golden light flickered continuously, emitting "clang, clang, clang" sounds, as if crashing against a bronze bell.

Protected by the Heavenly Armor, Qin Sang walked as if clad in golden armor, completely unharmed, appearing to be the most relaxed of the four.

"Fellow Daoist, the capabilities of this seal art are truly comprehensive."

True Master Guyun's envious voice came from behind.

Throughout their journey, Qin Sang repeatedly demonstrated the 'Seven Masters Buddhist Seal', which True Master Guyun had observed.

Hearing this, Qin Sang secretly nodded. The 'Seven Masters Buddhist Seal' was indeed very comprehensive, encompassing qi regulation, movement techniques, suppression, enemy slaying, calming the mind, and protection. The final seal further enhanced overall combat power.

Such a divine ability was rare; even without the potential for fusion seals, it was still incredibly precious, no wonder True Master Guyun was envious.

"Whoosh!"

Another sword light cleaved open the auspicious clouds, and the scenery ahead shifted. Palaces appeared in their sight.

Seeing this, everyone was overjoyed and immediately accelerated, finally passing through the outer auspicious clouds completely unharmed.

"Thump!"

Their feet landed firmly on the ground. Unexpectedly, beneath them were stone slab steps, and before them lay a collapsed ruin, with only broken walls and remnants remaining.

The sky was still enveloped by auspicious clouds.

Thick clouds obscured the sky. It should still be daytime outside, but they couldn't see the sun.

Because it was brighter here than the outside world.

Walking to a higher point, they gazed far into the distance, seeing golden palaces bathed in light.

It was clear that most of the golden palaces were damaged, but one could still feel an atmosphere of solemn majesty, instilling a sense of awe.

The golden palaces varied in form, arrayed in a dense, countless sprawl. Strange lights flickered between them, indicating restrictive barriers that affected visibility, preventing Qin Sang from seeing the end of the palaces or knowing the true extent of this complex.

It was hard to imagine what it looked like when it was intact.

"This place seems..."

Qin Sang immediately felt a sense of familiarity, thinking of the Baishi Altar, the headquarters of the Arctic Exorcism Institute.

The two places gave him very similar feelings, and this place, when intact, seemed even more magnificent than the Baishi Altar.

"That's right, it's said this was once the Jushan Altar..." True Master Zhijian answered Qin Sang's question.

After all, he was not a member of the Daoist Court and did not explain in detail.

Finally, True Master Zhijian pointed to the depths of the golden palaces, "Everyone, look at that Nine-Bend Star River. Do not cross it easily."

Qin Sang also noticed the even more mysterious scenery behind the golden palaces.

True Master Zhijian was referring to the blue light band stretching across the sky. The band had nine bends, with countless light points floating within it, like stars in the sky or the lights of a myriad homes, clearly visible even from beyond the golden palaces.

Qin Sang also saw a piece of land, lush and vibrant. However, this land was tilted, with one side uplifted, and the entire land mass was inverted, with plants growing upside down.

Beside the land was a ten-thousand-zhang sword peak, as if fallen from the sky, inverted and suspended in the sky, its peak piercing directly into the Nine-Bend Star River.

On the other side, countless gigantic, python-like vines were intertwined into masses, like a sea of vines, floating in the void, but their roots were nowhere to be seen.

Periodically, peculiar phantoms would appear within them: dragons and phoenixes dancing, auspicious beasts appearing.

All these bizarre sights combined, like a disordered space, haphazardly assembled yet maintaining long-term stability, were truly astonishing.

Qin Sang knew in his heart that this was the core area mentioned by the three True Masters. Even with their strength, crossing the Nine-Bend Star River required caution.

True Master Youhuang pointed behind the Nine-Bend Star River, briefly recounting her past experiences there.

"Many sights are manifestations of mighty cultivators' divine abilities, but you'd be gravely mistaken if you thought they were illusions. I once entered a continent there, where ancient towering trees grew, and there were also some spirit flowers. I picked a few, refined them on the spot, and felt their real effects. However, when I tried to take the spirit flowers out of the Jushan Altar to refine pills, I found that they turned into illusory objects... It's a world where illusion and reality coexist, difficult to distinguish."

The Jushan Altar reminded Qin Sang of the Immortal Palace in the Storm Realm.

The scenery of the Immortal Palace seemed less mysterious than here, but at that time, he didn't have the ability to venture into such areas.

At this moment, True Master Zhijian, holding a token and seemingly sensing something, spoke up.

He pointed to a corner far behind the golden palaces, "The Daoist Court has no new information, so they probably haven't discovered any demonic traces yet. Last time, the Demon Marquis first created some disturbance there, and fortunately, a Daoist Court Immortal Official was nearby to discover them. We should approach that area first."

The others had no objections. After identifying the direction, they immediately set off, but unexpectedly encountered an obstacle not long after they started moving.

A golden light barrier blocked their path. The golden palaces behind it were clearly visible, but they couldn't pass through.

They tested it and found it wouldn't be difficult to break through the light barrier, but the vibrations from breaking it might be seen from afar.

However, their purpose this time was to ambush the Demon Marquis, so they needed to conceal their tracks as much as possible. After discussion, they decided to take a detour.

This happened repeatedly.

Along the way, such encounters were innumerable. Sometimes they even had to retrace their steps, and it took them three full days to get close to their target.

They had originally intended to lie low and investigate quietly, but their subsequent discovery made them change their minds.

Before long, the four appeared beside a giant deep pit.

"It must have been destroyed not long ago. What exactly did those demons do? The golden palaces that have survived until now are incredibly sturdy, yet they were flattened," True Master Youhuang said in surprise.

"All traces have been erased," True Master Zhijian shook his head. "The Daoist Court also recorded a few other places where the Demon Marquis failed, so they deduce they will return. We will use these as our targets and search along this path. The demons haven't crossed the Nine-Bend Star River yet, otherwise, the Daoist Court's stationed personnel would surely have discovered them."

"Alright!"

The group didn't linger for long and continued their journey.

Observing their route, they mainly moved along the rear of the golden palaces, occasionally cutting through to the front.

More than ten days passed, yet they still found no trace of the Demon Marquis, nor did they see any unusual phenomena.

At this moment, the four were walking behind several golden palaces, searching aimlessly.

Just then, Qin Sang suddenly stopped, an odd expression on his face.

The three noticed his unusual behavior and also stopped. "Fellow Daoist Qingfeng, have you discovered something?"

Qin Sang shook his head and sighed, "It's unfortunate, but a spirit insect I've been raising has suddenly broken through. It might have to undergo its tribulation here."

He hadn't expected the Skyeye Butterfly to digest the power of the tribulation lightning at this moment.

Furthermore, after completely digesting the tribulation lightning's power, it began to assault its bottleneck without the slightest warning.

During its fourth transformation, the Skyeye Butterfly had absorbed the near-dragon saliva of the five-transformation spirit insect, the Immortal Fat Bee Dragon, laying a solid foundation. Combined with devouring the ascension tribulation lightning, a breakthrough was certainly within reason.

It was just that the timing was truly unfortunate. The Azure Frost Pill hadn't been refined yet, so it couldn't receive external aid, and the location was also unsuitable.

It was definitely too late to withdraw from the Jushan Altar now.

Interrupting the breakthrough was even less advisable.

As the saying goes, 'strike while the iron is hot, falter on the second try, and fail on the third.' The opportunity for a breakthrough is incredibly precious, especially for spirit insects, and is something that cannot be sought, only encountered.

Even if this mission failed, Qin Sang couldn't stop the Skyeye Butterfly.

Hearing this, the three couldn't help but be startled. True Master Youhuang and True Master Guyun exchanged glances, both somewhat envious. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist, it's just..."

For Qin Sang to be so serious, it was likely a spirit insect about to break through to its fifth transformation.

A five-transformation spirit insect, despite having only a single divine ability, was enough to become a powerful aid.

True Master Youhuang's tone shifted, and she furrowed her brow. "The spiritual energy here is chaotic; it's not a good place for tribulation. Moreover, Fellow Daoist has not yet been promoted, and forcing a breakthrough might harm the spirit insect. Perhaps..."

What she was most worried about was the spirit insect's tribulation leading to their exposure, making their mission fruitless.

The Skyeye Butterfly had already begun its breakthrough. Qin Sang had no time to explain to them. His gaze swept over the three, and he decisively said, "To avoid affecting you all, I choose to withdraw."

With that, Qin Sang cupped his hands and was about to retreat, but then heard True Master Zhijian say, "Wait a moment."

"Do you all remember that courtyard sealed by ancient restrictions on all four sides, which we passed on our way here? A spirit insect's heavenly tribulation is the weakest and fastest. If we make some arrangements, we should be able to suppress the celestial phenomenon within a certain range..."

The two True Masters remained silent.

True Master Zhijian paused, then added, "A tribulation now might not be a bad thing. We might as well set up an ambush nearby. If we can lure a demon, it would save us the trouble of searching everywhere."

Hearing this, the two True Masters finally showed some inclination. After days of fruitless searching, True Master Zhijian's suggestion was indeed a viable method.

Without waiting for their response, Qin Sang was already sprinting back the way they came; he remembered the courtyard True Master Zhijian had mentioned.

Before long, they arrived at the courtyard. Each used their abilities to help Qin Sang open a gap in the ancient restriction.

Qin Sang flashed into the courtyard. The three True Masters selected a golden palace nearby and jointly set up a killing formation.

The courtyard was dilapidated.

Qin Sang had no mind to appreciate it. He then used his remaining Star Essence Stones to set up a grand formation within the courtyard to block external prying eyes. With a slight thought, he summoned the Skyeye Butterfly.

At this moment, the Skyeye Butterfly's wings were tightly closed, and a faint halo surrounded its body, rising and falling like breath. The frequency of the halo's undulations became increasingly fast, and the Skyeye Butterfly's aura also fluctuated continuously as a result.

However, Qin Sang felt a peculiar energy within the Skyeye Butterfly's body, like a seed whose activity had been stimulated. When this energy broke through that membrane and burst forth, it would be the time for it to take root and sprout!

This moment did not make Qin Sang wait too long.

"Boom!"

A pair of magnificent phoenix-butterfly wings suddenly unfurled. The Skyeye Butterfly revealed its true form, transforming into a large phoenix-butterfly, fluttering above Qin Sang, its long tail feathers hanging down, lightly brushing Qin Sang's cheek.

"Crackle!"

Lightning coursed through its butterfly wings, displaying a sharp, formidable aura. After hundreds of years of growth, it had finally achieved some prominence!

Amidst the lightning, the Skyeye patterns rapidly shifted and reassembled, becoming more complex, more beautiful, and more captivating!

"Whoosh!"

The Skyeyes on its wings suddenly blinked, shooting out two strange, heart-palpitating beams of light.

In an instant, the sky above became overcast.

Tribulation clouds formed!