Chapter 1900: Fingerprint

The Mortal Realm

Qin Sang's spiritual sense entered his Qi Sea, where he saw the fragments of the Earth Slaughter Sword, unchanged from a century ago. A hundred years was but a fleeting moment for the sword spirit; the time it required to recover was unimaginable for ordinary cultivators.

Sitting within the Thunder Ancestor Altar could conceal the Earth Slaughter Sword's aura. According to the First Sword Servant, even if confronted directly, very few in the world could discern his true nature.

"Phew..." Qin Sang let out a long breath. His biggest hidden danger was finally resolved. Looking inward, Qin Sang observed that his injuries had largely recovered during this period, concurrent with the stabilization of the Thunder Ancestor's phantom.

"It's time to leave Misty Water Temple," Qin Sang thought, "and find a place rich in spiritual energy to establish a cultivation cave and continue seclusion to solidify my foundation..."

Qin Sang pondered his next steps. He knew that although he had entered the Void Refinement stage, he still couldn't compare to true Void Refinement cultivators. He was like someone who had just entered the late Nascent Soul stage, but was then directly elevated to Void Refinement. He needed to first stabilize his somewhat volatile Dao foundation before continuing his cultivation; rushing for success would undoubtedly lead to numerous hidden dangers later on.

Although solidifying his Dao foundation didn't require extremely high spiritual energy, Misty Water Temple's cultivation ground was no longer sufficient.

Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly as his gaze turned to the stone bed beside him, where he saw the Five Elements Crown's artifact spirit and the Vermilion Bird. The Vermilion Bird could awaken at any time. After the Five Elements Crown's artifact spirit was created by the sword spirit, it had remained dormant. Qin Sang kept it by his side, occasionally checking its condition, and felt that the demonic energy within it was merely suppressed and had not diminished significantly over the past century.

As for the Roaming Cloud Sword within his Nascent Soul, Qin Sang vaguely sensed a spirit embryo inside the sword body, breathing in and out like an infant, subtly rising and falling. He wondered when it would finally emerge.

Suddenly, a seven-colored glow appeared inside the cave dwelling. Qin Sang smiled, raised his palm, and the Sky-Eye Butterfly gently landed on it. Connected by blood, Qin Sang sensed an urgent thought from the Sky-Eye Butterfly, which seemed to be asking for something.

Qin Sang gently stroked the butterfly's wings and softly said, "You've eaten all the Yinghua Pills. Once I leave, I'll find a grand alchemist to refine more for you..."

When he was in the Talisman Realm, Qin Sang never had to worry about Yinghua Pills. Every time he returned from Ju Mountain Altar, Master Lingxu would send the pills in advance, and Qin Sang only needed to provide some pill recipes in return. He had initially thought it was mere good fortune to encounter an eccentric like Master Lingxu, but now he realized there was a hidden agenda.

The Yinghua Pills had long been exhausted. With his focus on healing and stabilizing the Altar Guardian, the Sky-Eye Butterfly's cultivation had noticeably slowed, remaining in the mid-Fifth Transformation. If he were still in the Talisman Realm, it would certainly have broken through to the late Fifth Transformation by now. This was the drawback of forcefully elevating one's realm: magical treasures, divine abilities, spirit insects, and even physical cultivation all lagged far behind and needed to be gradually compensated for.

"Asking other alchemists to refine pills probably won't be as straightforward as dealing with Master Lingxu..."

Qin Sang wasn't worried; having confiscated a demon king's treasures, he was now quite wealthy. With this thought, Qin Sang took out the demon Roc's coral treasure bead, emptied its contents, and finally had the leisure to carefully examine them. He couldn't recognize all the treasures, but he could generally distinguish between spiritual materials and spiritual herbs. Among them, Qin Sang also found spirit treasures, including the lightning mirror the demon Roc had once used to attack him.

Picking up the lightning mirror to examine it, Qin Sang couldn't help but shake his head. As expected, this treasure had no Universal Treasure Incantation and did not recognize him. Qin Sang was not surprised by this. Due to the restrictions of the Universal Treasure Incantation, wielding spirit treasures was extremely demanding. In the battles after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, Qin Sang increasingly felt that most of the spirit treasures obtained from killing opponents were unusable, despite these being precisely the most valuable spoils of war. Opponents capable of cultivating to such a realm invariably possessed strange divine abilities and numerous treasures. If one only gained spiritual materials, herbs, and rare treasures, the benefits and risks were clearly unequal, making it not worth the effort. Unless there was deep-seated hatred or significant interests involved, it was best to avoid a clash between two formidable opponents.

Qin Sang found three spirit treasures among the demon Roc's belongings; both the lightning mirror and a piece of red silk lacked the Universal Treasure Incantation. When he picked up the last spirit treasure, Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly—this treasure actually had the Universal Treasure Incantation inscribed within it! An unexpected pleasant surprise!

The treasure was pointed at both ends and dull gray on the surface, resembling a wooden boat. Upon seeing it, Qin Sang immediately understood why he had never seen the demon Roc use it. It was called the Earth-Traveling Boat, a spirit treasure specialized in earth escape. For Qin Sang, while its escape speed was far inferior to his lightning escape, it could produce miraculous effects in certain environments, so he put it away. Besides that, there were also many treasures suitable for body refinement, which Qin Sang needed. As for the demon Roc's treasured cultivation techniques and demon arts, none were suitable for human cultivation.

After categorizing and organizing all the treasures, Qin Sang kept the spiritual materials.

Next, Qin Sang flicked his finger, and with a sword hum, the Gray Oriole Sword leaped out of his Thousand-Pound Ring. Since the Roaming Cloud Sword had recovered, this sword had lost its purpose, but unexpectedly, he was picking it up again now. Qin Sang had obtained the Killing Sword legacy from the Shadow Bearing Sword, received meticulous guidance from Senior Tianyue, and had diligently studied swordsmanship for many years, so he had no intention of abandoning the path of the sword. He simply couldn't easily use the Seven Souls Killing Array and the Roaming Cloud Sword, but he could employ other sword techniques. To some extent, the potential of swordsmanship was the greatest. The Seven Souls Killing Array and Senior Tianyue's 'sword light' had opened the door to the Sword Domain for him, pointing out a path: to manifest the Sword Domain through sword formations! If he could comprehend a true Sword Domain in the Void Refinement stage, it would undoubtedly be a tremendous boost to his strength. Of course, when comprehending the Sword Domain, he should try his best to erase the shadow of the Seven Souls Killing Array. It would be ideal to draw inspiration from it, then deduce the Sword Domain using other sword formations.

Qin Sang couldn't help but think of the Seven Constellations Divided Field Sword Array, the most powerful and exquisite sword array he currently commanded. However, using this array alone to evolve the Sword Domain would seem a bit thin. Qin Sang's thoughts raced. It took him a while to collect himself, and he looked at the Gray Oriole Sword. Reforging it as a spirit sword, using it as a base to help it advance to a spirit treasure, should not be difficult.

Just then, Qin Sang took another item from his Thousand-Pound Ring. Instantly, a crimson glow filled the cave dwelling. The item he took out was precisely the Sun Divine Tree; its shape was unchanged, but the Sun Divine Bird was no longer on its branches. The tree still emitted the aura of Vermilion Bird True Fire. Qin Sang remembered that when he refined the divine tree back then, he had incorporated treasures such as the green copper block, mysterious white copper, and the Nine-Lives Mystic Tortoise shell. Looking at it again, Qin Sang was surprised to find that the Nine-Lives Mystic Tortoise shell had completely fused with the mysterious white copper, and even the green copper block had almost integrated into them. They had lost their original appearances, becoming indistinguishable, and had fused with the Vermilion Bird True Fire.

"Is it because it has been tempered by Vermilion Bird True Fire for so long?" he wondered. "Did I accidentally create something new?" Qin Sang was quite surprised; he might have inadvertently refined a spiritual material never before seen in the world.

"Was the green copper block originally a fragment of a true treasure?" he mused. "Perhaps it can be used to refine something." Qin Sang pondered, but having no immediate ideas, he put it away for now.

As he organized each item and matter, Qin Sang realized there were too many things waiting for him to do.

"And there's also..." Qin Sang's mind stirred slightly, and two streams of Yin-Yang energy immediately appeared between his brows. A black and a white stream of energy flew out from his glabella. Within the swirling vortex, two chess pieces rotated around each other. The black chess piece had previously been sealed within the Crude Jade; after the Crude Jade was shattered by the Nether River Ferryman, it was attracted to the white chess piece. Qin Sang had also wanted to investigate the origin of the Yin-Yang chess pieces and the Nether River Ferryman's intentions, but he found no clues.

"If there's some connection between the Nether Sea Ferryman and the chess pieces," Qin Sang wondered, "why didn't he keep them or give me instructions? Or did the pieces merely pique his interest but were not high enough in quality to truly impress him?" Qin Sang remained puzzled, and his attempts to investigate the black and white chess pieces made no progress. Previously, Qin Sang had tried circulating the "Yin-Yang Heavenly Struggle Secret Art" to comprehend the black and white chess pieces. Perhaps because the "Yin-Yang Heavenly Struggle Secret Art" was incomplete, the black and white chess pieces showed no obvious reaction. Qin Sang stored the black and white chess pieces in his Violet Palace, placing them close to his Yin-Yang Armor, but the armor gained no enhancement. Clearly, he had not yet found the right method. He held the black and white chess pieces in his palm, feeling a sensation that was both warm and cool. Comprehending this treasure was certainly not a task for a single day.

Fortunately, after entering the Void Refinement stage, his lifespan was virtually endless, and with the Six-Nine Heavenly Tribulation descending only once every three thousand years, he had ample time. The transformation from Nascent Soul to Void Refinement was truly earth-shattering; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it defying destiny. Despite being manipulated, Qin Sang had also gained astonishing benefits. At least for now, Qin Sang held no ill will towards Senior Tianyue and the First Sword Servant.

An hour later, Qin Sang stood up, tucked the Vermilion Bird into his sleeve, then activated the Five Elements Crown, sending out a five-colored ray of light towards its artifact spirit, recalling it to its main body. He pushed open the door and stepped out.

Outside, Marquis Gui and Marquis Luo each occupied half of the cave dwelling, looking rather constrained. But without Qin Sang's order, they dared not leave.

"Greetings, Master!" they cried. Seeing Qin Sang, the two demons immediately knelt and kowtowed. They had originally called Qin Sang "Master," but later, for some unknown reason, changed to "Old Master." Qin Sang didn't mind such minor details, so he let them be. Marquis Luo still existed as a spirit essence, while Marquis Gui had fully recovered and even made further progress.

Qin Sang looked at the two demons and said, "You've probably figured out where this place is, haven't you?"

The two demons exchanged glances. Marquis Gui's eyes widened, and he asked excitedly, "Did Master really ascend with us?"

When the Divine Court Rebellion occurred, they were stored in the talisman altar, completely unaware of the changes outside. The familiar Six Heavens Ancient Qi had vanished. This was previously impossible, even for the Great Sage's Manor. There was only one possibility: they had left that realm! There was a legend about "one person attaining the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven," and they hadn't expected it to come true for them! How could the two demons not be excited? No longer troubled by the Six Heavens Ancient Qi, the future held infinite possibilities, which was undoubtedly a great blessing. Moreover, the master they followed was not a malicious individual. If their peers in the Guifang Kingdom knew, they would surely be green with envy, the two demons thought to themselves, delighted.

"Though not quite right, you're not far off," Qin Sang said calmly. "Having just entered the Great Thousand Worlds, the path ahead is unpredictable. Even I, this humble Daoist, am treading carefully. You should also understand the importance of being cautious in your words and actions. By following me, you will certainly not be ill-treated. However, some secrets are better forgotten."

The two intelligent demons understood implicitly, realizing they had no power to resist. They could only open their minds and prostrate themselves, saying, "We are at Master's disposal."

It was early morning. Misty Water Temple was bustling with pilgrims. No one noticed that a peculiar pilgrim offered incense in the Three Purity Hall, gazed at the statues for a while with his hands behind his back, then moved towards the back mountain. He seemed quite familiar with the place, passing through the back door and slowly walking along the mountain path. The further he went, the quieter and more secluded it became. Dew dampened the stone steps, and no one else was seen passing by. As he was about to enter the back mountain, the man suddenly stopped.

A young Daoist priest soon emerged from ahead. Seeing the man, he was startled and quickly bowed. "Greetings, lay practitioner," he began, "the back mountain is the cultivation ground of our temple's eminent True Immortal, no..." Mid-sentence, the young Daoist priest realized that the man was also wearing a Daoist robe.

The newcomer was Qin Sang. He glanced at the Daoist temple in the back mountain and said with a faint smile, "Would you trouble yourself to inform? This humble Daoist has traveled a long way, wandering to this place, and has specially come to visit your esteemed temple master." Noticing Qin Sang's gaze, the young Daoist priest's expression became serious. The Daoist temple in the back mountain was concealed by a grand formation; being able to see it meant the other party was also a cultivator, and their cultivation level was far higher than his.

Soon after Qin Sang was led into the temple, the tranquility of the courtyard where the master of Misty Water Temple cultivated in seclusion was broken by hurried footsteps. Qin Sang sat comfortably in the guest hall. When a refined, young Daoist priest with a remarkably steady demeanor entered, Qin Sang, knowing he was the temple master, stood up and bowed. "This humble Daoist Qingfeng greets Master Yu," he said. "I apologize for my presumptuous visit and for disturbing your quiet cultivation."

Temple Master Yu was a straightforward person. He ordered someone to bring out his prized spiritual tea, exchanged a few pleasantries with Qin Sang, and then asked about his purpose. "May I ask where Daoist friend Qingfeng hails from? Are you perhaps seeking to stay at our temple? That is easily arranged..."

Qin Sang shook his head, fabricated a background, and said, "Forgive this humble Daoist for saying so, but I was ill-prepared and have somewhat lost my bearings. I don't know what region this is. Visiting fellow cultivators is one reason, asking for directions is another, and seeking immortals and sages is the third. May I ask if there are any immortal cities or markets nearby, or where I might find eminent cultivators?"

Temple Master Yu showed surprise and was deeply impressed by Qin Sang. The aura Qin Sang displayed was comparable to his own, yet he himself would never dare to wander too far alone or rashly enter unfamiliar territories. "Daoist friend, your courage is remarkable to have traveled so far!" he exclaimed. As he spoke, he pointed south. "This is Li Lake, and our Misty Water Temple is located within the Chen Kingdom. As Daoist friend might have noticed, the nearby areas are all mortal kingdoms. There are markets, and cultivators are not uncommon, but it's difficult to find the eminent cultivators you speak of..." At this moment, Temple Master Yu noticed that Qin Sang was dipping his finger in tea and drawing on the table, so he spoke in more detail.

"North from here, some famous mountains and great rivers might have Nascent Soul stage seniors in secluded cultivation," he explained. "If you wish to seek immortals and sages, you must continuously travel east. It is said there are immortal blessed lands and grand immortal sects there. This humble Daoist has long admired them but has never been able to travel there, so I cannot give you more specific directions. Also..." Temple Master Yu suddenly remembered something else, and his tone became serious. "If Daoist friend intends to travel west, be extremely careful," he warned. "Remember to turn back the moment you see desolate mountains!"

The Daoist sects of the Great Thousand Worlds also referred to the Nascent Soul stage, and the Dao Court's system was not even recognized by its own cultivators.

Qin Sang pondered, then stood up and cupped his hands in a salute. "Thank you for your hospitality, Daoist friend," he said. "This humble Daoist will not trouble you further."

Temple Master Yu personally escorted Qin Sang out of the temple, watching him descend the mountain. His mind felt slightly relieved; the visitor's origins were unknown, and it was best to politely see him off. The cultivation world had seemed somewhat restless lately. Was this person truly a wandering cultivator?

Temple Master Yu pondered. As he passed through the guest hall, about to return to his meditation room, he inadvertently glanced at the finger marks on the table. He suddenly froze, as if struck by lightning. This was no mere water stain; it was a misty, rainy scene, containing hidden mountains and water, imbued with countless profound mysteries. An incense stick's time later, the temple disciples witnessed their master lose composure for the first time. Temple Master Yu disregarded the surging true essence within him. Rushing out of the mountain with a face full of urgency, he found no sign of the other party. He could only bow deeply towards the empty air and loudly exclaimed, "Senior's enlightenment, this junior will never forget!"