Chapter 1865: 鸣妖鼓

"What I have described is rather general and cannot fully encompass all the great truths of the world, but some principles are interconnected. The subtlety of their application lies in one's own understanding; fellow Daoist, you must experience it for yourself..."

Master Zuo concluded with these words, also serving as a warning to Qin Sang: to refer to them but not blindly imitate, lest he stray from his own path, which would be undesirable.

Qin Sang nodded, taking Master Zuo's advice to heart. At his level of cultivation, he naturally understood this principle.

Adjusting his robes, Qin Sang bowed deeply to Master Zuo, who calmly accepted the gesture.

Master Zuo's act was truly a transmission of the Dao.

For Qin Sang, its value lay not only in clarifying the direction of his future cultivation but also in deepening his understanding of the Great Dao, benefiting him for a lifetime.

The Dao explained by Master Zuo comprised both his personal insights and teachings passed down from the Daoist sect and scriptures. His exposition on the path of strength, in particular, originated from the demon cultivators of this realm, with its root in the Way of Talismans.

However, all great paths eventually lead to the same destination.

Qin Sang cultivated the "Heavenly Demon Refinement Art," which involved absorbing stellar energy to temper his body, completely unrelated to the Way of Talismans. Yet, like the demon cultivators of this realm, he could also manifest a Dharma Idol, which was clear proof.

Master Zuo nodded slightly, then slowly closed his eyes.

The golden-armored general also fell silent, quietly standing guard before Master Zuo. Its eyes were fixed on Qin Sang, but they held no luster.

Clearly, Master Zuo had withdrawn his splintered consciousness from within the golden-armored general, focusing on regulating his breath.

Seeing this, Qin Sang did not disturb Master Zuo. He slowly sat down, his face still bearing a thoughtful expression.

At this moment, he was contemplating the "Heavenly Demon Refinement Art." He had always considered this cultivation method remarkable, but he had evidently underestimated it.

According to Master Zuo, a Dharma Idol is the manifestation of an 'external scene.' For him to be able to form a Dharma Idol's ethereal shadow in the Nascent Soul stage was quite startling.

"It should also be related to the Azure Luan's essence blood..." Qin Sang mused.

The more he pondered Master Zuo's words, the more he perceived the profundity of the "Heavenly Demon Refinement Art."

This method followed the path of 'knowing what it is, then knowing why it is so.' It first allowed cultivators to manifest a Dharma Idol, and then comprehend the Dharma Idol and understand the Great Dao. This was clearly much easier than stumbling around aimlessly like a headless fly.

Whoever created such a cultivation method must have possessed exceptionally high cultivation and a profound understanding of the Great Dao, capable of offering a lofty perspective and handling difficult matters with ease.

This truly was a genuine art!

"It's not simple, but unfortunately, I am not a demon. This method isn't compatible with humans," Qin Sang secretly sighed.

If he were a demon cultivator, this single cultivation method would be sufficient!

For the rest of the time, Qin Sang was completely absorbed, not even glancing at the treasures before him.

The demon king's relics, rare treasures outside this realm, lay untouched on the ground.

"Five Elements Balance..."

Qin Sang introspected, his 'gaze' falling upon his dantian and qi sea, feeling the true essence circulating through his meridians.

How could one achieve a balance of the Five Elements without neglecting any?

He certainly wasn't balanced now.

The "Soul Sword Cultivation Chapter" had no specific attribute. At the beginning of his cultivation, Qin Sang had chosen the Ebony Sword, cultivating a body full of wood-elemental true essence.

"Since it requires all five elements, I'll have to simultaneously absorb five-elemental spiritual energy in the future and harmonize them within my body..." Qin Sang pondered, gently stroking his chin. "...It certainly won't be easy at first. I must start by understanding the creation and destruction cycles of the Five Elements. While I can't expect to truly achieve perpetual generation, at the very least, they must not conflict with each other, lest they damage my foundation. This will undoubtedly be a painstaking process..."

He definitely couldn't do this immediately. The top priority was to quickly improve his cultivation, at least waiting until he broke through to the late-stage Soul Transformation before attempting it. However, it couldn't be too late either, for fear that it would be too difficult to remedy once he reached the peak of the Soul Transformation stage. He needed to consider this carefully.

Qin Sang's thoughts continued to wander, "Can I use external objects, or even other cultivation methods and secret arts?"

He thought of the "Fire Seed Golden Lotus," the Four-Horse Tenghu Seal, the Five Elements Crown, and so on, but had no clear ideas.

Just then, the golden-armored general's eyes flickered with golden light, and it rumbled, "Fellow Daoist, have you made your selection?"

Qin Sang was startled awake, noticing that Master Zuo's complexion had become somewhat rosier, showing clear improvement. He likely intended to depart soon.

He quickly dismissed his stray thoughts and looked down, surveying the treasures on the ground.

A moment later, Qin Sang made his decision. With a wave of his sleeve, his true essence swept up all spiritual materials that could be used for artifact refining, or at least appeared to be.

He had figured it out: rather than taking treasures of unclear purpose or unknown value, it was better to choose spiritual materials for artifact refining.

He still wished to further his progress in the art of artifact refining, and these spiritual materials would certainly be useful.

In the future, even if they couldn't be used to repair the Taiyi Star Chariot, they could be exchanged for other spiritual materials.

Qin Sang couldn't identify all these spiritual materials, but since they were collected by a demon king, each one was undoubtedly valuable.

Among the spiritual materials he recognized, there were three extremely rare items: a withered vine, a crystal stone whose interior occasionally displayed various cloud patterns, and a very heavy golden-hued stone.

That crystal stone was called the Yama Chart Origin Crystal. Master Gu had once sighed that it was unobtainable, only great true masters might hope to acquire it.

"It seems fellow Daoist is still dedicated to the path of artifact refining. Unfortunately, I haven't delved much into it, only knowing a little..." As it spoke, the golden-armored general looked at the spiritual materials enveloped by true essence and pointed to a piece of curled cloud brocade. "This is Jade Divine Silk, not naturally formed, but woven from the silk spun by a rare jade silkworm combined with the essence of an Ice God Birch's heartwood. The refining method for it has been lost, and only a demon bird called Qihua in the Ghost Fang Kingdom can recreate it with its divine abilities. It is extremely precious. Not only is it exceptionally beautiful, but it also possesses extraordinary mystery, making it most suitable for refining protective Dharma robes. Many fellow Daoists desire a piece of Jade Divine Silk but cannot acquire it. That object, neither metal nor wood, is..."

The golden-armored general spoke rapidly, introducing some of the spiritual materials.

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior," Qin Sang thanked. Master Zuo's casual remarks saved him a lot of trouble.

Master Zuo smiled faintly, "Though these spiritual materials are precious, they cannot compare to four spirit treasures. Leave a few of those elixirs for me, and take the rest. Some are healing elixirs, but unfortunately, most are not suitable for me; you might find them useful later. There are also some that can temper the physique, but they may not be compatible with our human race, so use them cautiously."

Upon hearing this, Qin Sang looked at the small pile of jade vials on the ground. He had already eyed these elixirs, guessing that Master Zuo had no interest in them, so he hadn't rushed to take them first. Since Master Zuo had given his permission, he unhesitatingly stored them in his Qianjun Ring.

Neither of them was one to haggle over trifles, so the distribution proceeded quickly. Qin Sang later received some more treasures, some of whose origins even Master Zuo couldn't identify, making his gains quite substantial.

About fifteen minutes later.

Suddenly, the sound of golden chains clanging resonated. The golden-armored generals simultaneously raised their arms, and the golden chains wrapped around them with a whooshing sound.

The golden-armored generals glowed brightly. When the golden light dissipated, they had transformed into bean-sized golden pellets.

Master Zuo flicked his sleeve, collecting all the golden pellets. He stood up, patted his Daoist robe, his expression returning to normal, and nodded to Qin Sang. "Fellow Daoist Qingfeng, it's time to depart. Do you need any further preparations?"

"No need."

Qin Sang stood up, his strength recovered by eighty to ninety percent.

As for his injuries, he could only temporarily suppress them with elixirs, and he believed Master Zuo was in the same situation.

Just then, another tremor came from deep within the healing altar. The two stood side by side, gazed for a moment, then flew off, breaking through the air with their escape lights.

Master Zuo was worried about the battle situation, so his escape speed was swift, but Qin Sang could keep up.

Meanwhile, Master Liu, following Master Zuo's instructions, was anxiously waiting for his return. Suddenly, he felt two powerful auras whistle past, one of which was Master Zuo's. He hurriedly gave chase but only heard an order telling him to leave the healing altar.

Soon, the two had crossed the blue sea of light, but unfortunately, they did not encounter Marquis Dingxiang or other demons.

As they flew, Qin Sang and Master Zuo also secretly communicated. First, Master Zuo introduced the key points of battle formations and combat, as well as the divine abilities of the Great True Masters within the healing altar, to help Qin Sang integrate into the Daoist court.

Later, it was mostly Qin Sang consulting Master Zuo.

"May I ask, Senior..." Qin Sang hesitated. "This junior once read in ancient texts, with absolute certainty, that the heavens and earth are vast, encompassing both Great Thousand and Small Thousand Worlds. So, is this world a Small Thousand World or a Great Thousand World?"

This question had bothered him for a long time.

As he posed the question, Qin Sang sensed two gazes fall upon him.

"Hehe... Fellow Daoist Qingfeng also knows of the Great Thousand Worlds. I had the same question back then and asked the True Monarchs. They only replied with four words—'A world unto itself.'"

"A world unto itself?"

Qin Sang frowned. It sounded like a Small Thousand World, but there seemed to be a deeper meaning in the words.

Evidently, the Daoist court and the True Monarchs were aware of the existence of Great Thousand Worlds, but they seemed to have no interest in them.

Master Zuo also didn't seem to fully understand, offering no further explanation, leaving Qin Sang to ponder it himself.

Passing through layers of illusions, the further they went, the harder it became to proceed. Master Zuo, with his keen spiritual perception and profound abilities, could always quickly discern the critical points.

Later, they found markings left by Daoist True Masters, got back on the right path, and their speed increased.

Qin Sang was content to hide his abilities, so as not to reveal his previous deep exploration of the area, which would be difficult to explain.

However, they were too far behind; reaching the battlefield in a short time was impossible.

The tremors from deep within the healing altar became more frequent and intense, and Master Zuo's expression betrayed an increasing sense of urgency.

'Boom!''Crash!''Thump, thump, thump...'

Suddenly, a tremor spread out, affecting the entire healing altar. The illusion they were in instantly erupted into chaos.

This tremor was more violent than any before, comparable to when the golden light had burst forth.

Qin Sang secretly grew wary. Just as he was about to ask, he suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation.

The next moment, Qin Sang heard a drum beat.

'Thump!'

The drum sound came from deep within the healing altar. Despite layers of illusions, it was not muffled at all. The sound was majestic and contained a strange power, lingering in his ears and heart, refusing to fade.

In an instant, Qin Sang's heart gave a heavy leap, and his qi and blood surged throughout his body, as if threatening to burst through the top of his head.

This was an unprecedented feeling.

The drum sound brought immense shock!

"What is that?"

Their escape light abruptly halted. Qin Sang turned to Master Zuo, his face filled with solemnity.

To possess such power from such a distance, was it the Divine Court, or some supreme treasure?

Qin Sang noticed that Master Zuo had also stopped, staring intently at the source of the drum sound.

'Thump!'

The second drum beat was even more powerful than the first!

"Demon Summoning Drum!" Master Zuo suddenly exclaimed in a choked voice.

Outside the healing altar.

Since the Daoist court and the Ghost Fang Kingdom had stationed their troops here, there had been constant clashes within the healing altar, but the outside remained very restrained.

The soldiers' initial fervor gradually eroded during the standoff, and the atmosphere on the battlefield became oppressive.

Until the Divine Court emerged, its strange phenomena obscured by auspicious clouds, but the unique fluctuations could not escape the perception of the Great True Masters and Demon Kings.

Immediately, Great True Masters and Demon Kings appeared in the sky above the battlefield. Even as they tried to restrain their cultivation, they still caused continuous celestial phenomena.

Thunder rumbled through the mountains and fields.

Dark clouds flashed with lightning in the sky, while sand and stones flew across the ground.

Within the clouds, powerful figures could be vaguely seen, arrayed in two factions, just like the battle formations below, confronting each other across the distance.

However, their gaze was fixed on the direction of the healing altar, feeling the continuous tremors emanating from it, their expressions varied, their eyes gleaming with strange light.

'Thump! Thump! Thump!'

Battle drums pounded on the battlefield, their sound resounding.

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Soldiers from both sides roared ferociously, their morale instantly ignited, their eyes bloodshot, staring at their enemies, poised to charge.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, on the verge of eruption.

Just then, a drum sound, entirely different from the battle drums, reached the ears of all cultivators and demon cultivators.

The battle drums abruptly fell silent.

The cultivators' breaths hitched, and all sounds ceased.

Above the dark clouds, a Great True Master let out the same exclamation as Master Zuo: "It's the Demon Summoning Drum! These demons actually dared to bring the Demon Summoning Drum into the Niyuan!"

The expressions of the True Masters suddenly changed. They abruptly looked towards the demon kings opposite them, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The opposing demon kings were also startled upon hearing the drum sound. They exchanged glances, then, feeling the True Masters' gazes, they burst into wild laughter.

A slender demon king, clad in black robes, reined in his laughter and stared darkly at the True Masters, his voice hoarse but carrying a chilling, heart-pounding menace: "Listen to my command! Should the Daoist sect dare to make any move, kill them!"

The command spread across the battlefield, and all demon cultivators almost descended into madness.

While Qin Sang and Demon King Lingyou were entangled, the experts from the Daoist court and the Ghost Fang Kingdom were rushing towards the Southern Heavenly Gate at top speed.

Initially, they would seize opportunities to attack each other, but finding the effects to be poor, they later focused solely on flying away.

The True Masters of the Daoist court, with the old Daoist priest at their core, formed a battle array. Their aura coalesced into a single force, and the Great True Masters spared no expense in unleashing several rare spiritual talismans.

The True Masters transformed into long rainbows, breaking through all obstacles in their path in one swift move.

In contrast, the demon kings created a much grander display when they set out.

The selection of demon kings to enter the healing altar was deliberate; each demon king cultivated a different path, encompassing all aspects of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements.

Most illusions were connected to Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements. When traveling through them, a demon king could usually be found to activate the illusion's power through their Dharma Idol, greatly enhancing their strength and protecting everyone for swift passage.

Other demon kings would also activate their Dharma Idols to cooperate, their speed no slower than that of the Daoist True Masters.

As time passed, the Daoist sect consumed more and more spiritual talismans. Fortunately, they were well-prepared and could still persevere.

However, the old Daoist priest's expression was somewhat anxious. Keeping pace like this was clearly not a long-term solution. The further they went, the harder it would be for other fellow Daoists to catch up, ultimately leaving only them to face the enemy directly.

In this situation, he had no time for further contemplation.

Finally, after a rapid flight, the Imperial Decree emitted dazzling light, indicating they were getting closer to the Divine Court.

The Divine Court's fluctuations were still present; even without seeing the Southern Heavenly Gate, they could pinpoint the Divine Court's location through the Imperial Decree.

'Boom!'

Water connected with the sky, and demons came riding upon the water.

The currents receded rapidly, and the demons remained in place, staring excitedly ahead.

At the same time, a whistling sound came from behind. The white-robed demon king turned, let out a snort, and his eyes glinted with killing intent.