Chapter 1905: Closing Meditation

The Mortal Realm

Magma churned, and muffled thunder rumbled from underground.

Magma surged upwards from the center of the lake. Qin Sang lifted the entire incomplete array, using it to support the stone peak that had fallen into the magma lake.

After Qin Sang's modifications, the incomplete array was no longer entirely the same as before; it could now connect more effectively with the mountain-protecting grand array.

A portion of the stone peak rested beneath the magma, connected to the incomplete array, standing as a solitary peak in the center of the magma lake. This would henceforth be Qin Sang's cultivation grounds.

Qin Sang looked around, refined some minor details, and then retrieved various spiritual materials from his Thousand-Catties Ring.

Using his palm as a furnace, he directly refined the spiritual materials. Before long, he forged a triangular treasure banner, and then proceeded to craft a total of nineteen banners.

These banners could form a spiritual array called the "Blazing Fire Array," a formation recorded in the *Profound Reversal Tome*. It could connect to the underground fire veins, gather fire to forge a furnace, and also serve as a mountain-protecting grand array. It was perfectly suited for this location.

Among the nineteen banners, one was the main flag. With a flick of Qin Sang's hand, the main flag's surface fluttered, emitting radiant treasure light, like a blazing fire, casting its glow upon the stone peak in the center of the lake.

The main flag was planted atop the stone peak. Its treasure light receded, disappearing from view.

The remaining eighteen treasure banners also flew up one after another, following specific patterns, descending to various points in the lake.

For a time, roaring flames filled the sky.

Intense chaos continued to spread in all directions, shaking the earth and mountains. During this process, rivers and mountains shifted, and unknown subterranean changes constantly occurred.

At this moment, Qin Sang activated the Four-Coil Teng Snake Seal, ordering the Teng Snake to stop spewing cold air.

The obstructing ice mountain finally melted, and the long-accumulated magma burst through its confines, like a wild horse unleashed, surging mightily to scour the land and converge into the magma lake.

This continued for several hours before the magma showed signs of receding and returning to its river channels.

This entire region seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.

On the surface, countless magma rivers crisscrossed, resembling a vast fiery net spreading outwards from the magma lake.

Even more profound changes had occurred underground.

As the treasure banners submerged into the magma, the Blazing Fire Array was perfected, and the towering waves on the lake surface abruptly calmed.

The stone peak in the center of the lake vanished into thin air, along with all traces of aura fluctuations.

Outsiders arriving here would only assume it was a natural eruption of fire veins colliding, creating this scenery. Even if they entered the magma lake, they would detect no abnormality.

Qin Sang recalled the Four-Coil Teng Snake Seal and the Gray Oriole Sword.

The surrounding light returned to normal, the restrictive forces on the fire spirits disappeared, and they regained consciousness, looking bewildered at the unfamiliar world.

Those with low intelligence quickly forgot their worries and began to explore.

Fire spirits with sufficient intelligence were gathered by Qin Sang into the magma lake, permitted to reside there, adding a touch of vitality to his cave dwelling.

Qin Sang gazed at the cultivation grounds he had personally crafted, a look of satisfaction on his face, and stepped into the lake.

Subtle fluctuations appeared in the void, and Qin Sang's figure vanished in a flash.

Only towering flames and the sound of surging magma remained.

Qin Sang landed on the mountaintop, summoned his Talisman Altar. The altar's door opened, and three streaks of light flew out.

The two demons, Marquis Gui and Marquis Luo, landed and knelt before Qin Sang.

Qin Sang pointed down the mountain and said, "You two may choose a place in the mountains to cultivate from now on."

The two demons were astute; they immediately understood that Qin Sang had found his true cultivation grounds.

They had a clear understanding of their place and respectfully declared, "We shall certainly fulfill our duties, ensuring no outsiders trespass into these mountains and disturb Master's secluded cultivation."

Qin Sang nodded, "Go."

The two demons immediately accepted their orders and departed, arriving at the base of the mountain where they each opened a cave dwelling on the east and west sides.

*Whoosh!*

A red thread continuously circled Qin Sang.

Qin Sang raised his hand, letting the Fire Jade Centipede land on his palm, and said, "You go too."

The Fire Jade Centipede rubbed against Qin Sang's finger, transformed into a streak of crimson lightning, and vanished into the magma lake.

He still remembered that he first encountered this Fire Jade Centipede within magma.

Currently, the Fire Jade Centipede's cultivation remained stagnant at the peak of its fourth transformation.

If he were to force it, Qin Sang was not without methods to help it break through. However, burning its potential in such a way was inferior to letting it break through naturally, which might offer a glimmer of hope.

The Fire Jade Centipede's cultivation lagged too far behind; whether it was at the fourth or fifth transformation made little difference to Qin Sang.

He did not restrict the Fire Jade Centipede's movements; it could also enter the bronze pillar space to cultivate. Its destiny was up to it.

A red thread circled the stone peak once, then gradually sank.

Qin Sang's prepared cave dwelling was on the mountaintop, merely a simple, even crude, stone chamber, nameless and unadorned.

He first went to the incomplete array at the bottom and placed the Vermilion Bird on the bronze pillar.

The Vermilion Bird's two small wings twitched. In its sleep, it showed a contented expression, wiggled its tiny head, burrowed into its wings, and curled into a ball.

Qin Sang did not wake it and returned to his own cave dwelling.

There were two stone beds inside the cave dwelling.

Qin Sang summoned the Five Elements Crown artifact spirit, placing it opposite him. He then took out an Essence Flower Pill and fed it to the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, before sitting down cross-legged.

His aura gradually calmed, and the cave dwelling fell silent.

After circulating his cultivation for several cycles, the cultivation technique appeared in his mind. Qin Sang silently comprehended it, starting from the late Spirit Transformation stage to compensate for his previous deficiencies.

"Quick! Catch it!"

A clear shout came from upstream of a magma river.

Then, a bright fiery glow shone upstream. Within the light, a small deer, entirely crimson, was galloping wildly across the magma.

*Pat! Pat! Pat!*

The small deer's four hooves pounded the magma like raindrops, yet the scorching magma could not harm it in the slightest.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that the small deer's body was not solid; it was a fire spirit born from a fire vein.

The small deer fled in desperation, its eyes filled with panic. Behind it, a powerful enemy seemed to be giving chase.

Before it could escape much further, a crimson rainbow shot from the horizon behind it.

The crimson rainbow was like lightning. Within its light was a large golden-backed centipede, its thousand legs swaying, moving by controlling fire, looking incredibly fierce.

Standing on the golden-backed centipede's back, however, was a small red-feathered bird resembling a fire crow, its wings pointing forward.

The red-feathered bird appeared unremarkable, yet it could command the golden-backed centipede with imperious gestures.

The distance between the two sides quickly closed.

The golden-backed centipede opened its mouth, about to spew a ball of fierce flames.

"Pat!"

The red-feathered bird slapped the golden-backed centipede with a wing, angrily scolding, "You idiot! Have you forgotten how this Vermilion Bird taught you?"

The flames in the golden-backed centipede's mouth were instantly dispersed by the slap, and it almost fell into the magma.

It quickly stabilized its body. If it were to shake off the bird on its back, it would certainly be beaten even more severely.

With a whimper, the golden-backed centipede swayed its thousand legs. The tip of each leg glowed crimson, sending out thin threads of fire towards the small deer.

Fire threads covered the sky.

The small deer tried desperately to dodge, but was unable to escape the range of the fire threads and was finally entangled by one.

*Snap!*

The entangled deer leg immediately disintegrated into fire, returning to its origin.

The small deer thought it had escaped the fire thread, but unexpectedly, when the spiritual fire reformed its leg, the fire thread was still tightly wrapped around it. With a strong tug, it nearly stumbled.

In an instant, the small deer was in a state of chaos, and the remaining fire threads had already shot fiercely towards it.

These fire threads did not directly entangle the small deer but interconnected and interwoven around it, forming an intricate fire cage.

Every side, every opening, every corner of the fire cage had to be perfectly consistent.

The fire light on the golden-backed centipede flickered erratically; it seemed to be struggling greatly. When it made a mistake, it was slapped with a wing again.

The fire cage was also broken apart, and the small deer regained its chance to escape.

The golden-backed centipede dared not resist, only continuing its pursuit. It grew through repeated beatings, finally satisfying the red-feathered bird's demands and trapping the small deer in a fire cage.

The small deer dashed wildly within the fire cage.

The red-feathered bird flapped its wings and flew above the fire cage. The small deer seemed to sense something, suddenly stopped struggling, and lay down, trembling.

"This fire spirit isn't bad. Take it back and raise it, then let those two fellows train it..."

The red-feathered bird muttered to itself, raised a claw, and made a grabbing motion in the air.

The small deer was reverted to its original form, transforming into a ball of fire. A crimson bead flew out from the fire and was caught by the red-feathered bird.

The golden-backed centipede also flew over, eagerly looking at the crimson bead, but without the red-feathered bird's permission, it dared not act rashly.

"Not bad! Not bad! Your treasure-hunting ability is somewhat useful after all. Here, you get a share of the credit!"

The red-feathered bird scraped a tiny bit of dross from the jade bead. It swallowed the rest and then let out a satisfied burp.

The golden-backed centipede only received a tiny bit of dregs, still craving more. It was always like this; most of the treasures it found went into the red-feathered bird's stomach. It dared not be angry or speak out.

Next, the red-feathered bird, like a human, calculated with its claws, "Hmm, it's time to go back. If we're any later, those two annoying fellows will start nagging again."

Saying this, the red-feathered bird landed on the golden-backed centipede's back and closed its eyes, feigning sleep.

The golden-backed centipede, carrying the small deer, flew back tirelessly.

It flew for an unknown distance.

A large magma lake appeared ahead.

Such a large magma lake was uncommon in this area.

As the golden-backed centipede flew to the shore, a faint voice suddenly came from above its head, "Out treasure hunting again?"

A green light flashed in the void, revealing a person: Qin Sang.

The golden-backed centipede and the red-feathered bird were the Fire Jade Centipede and the Vermilion Bird, respectively.

Upon seeing its master, the golden-backed centipede was exceptionally joyful, as if it had finally escaped a sea of suffering.

A figure suddenly leaped out from the magma river behind it—it was Marquis Gui, who hastily knelt before Qin Sang.

"This lowly demon failed to oversee things properly. Please punish me, Master."

Qin Sang said, "You secretly protected them. What crime have you committed? Go on."

"Yes!" Marquis Gui grabbed the small deer and flew back to the cultivation grounds.

At this moment, the red-feathered bird's feathers trembled, and it leisurely awoke.

"You're out of seclusion."

In front of Qin Sang, the Vermilion Bird was just as casual, giving a boisterous greeting, then fiercely slapped the Fire Jade Centipede, "This idiot! This Vermilion Bird has taught it so much, and it still can't break through!"

The Fire Jade Centipede dejectedly flew to Qin Sang's side, its head bowed, looking dispirited.

"And haven't *you* also been unable to break through to the Spirit Transformation stage? Come to my cave dwelling, I have something to ask you..."

Having said that, Qin Sang vanished into thin air.

"Still trying to tell on me! I'll deal with you later!"

The Vermilion Bird glared at the Fire Jade Centipede, kicked it into the lake, and then flew into the Blazing Fire Array, where it saw many fire spirits arrayed in front of the mountain, being drilled by Marquis Luo.

With nothing else to do, the two demons had selected some promising fire spirits and trained them as demon soldiers.

They had both once been regional marquises, commanding countless demon soldiers, skilled in this path. Now, they were already a considerable force.

Upon seeing the Vermilion Bird, Marquis Luo bowed from a distance.

Although they did not know the Vermilion Bird's origins, seeing its attitude towards their Master, they could guess it was not simple. Every time the Vermilion Bird went out, Marquis Gui would secretly escort it, fearing any mishaps.

The Vermilion Bird held its head high, openly accepting the bow, with no thought of returning the courtesy, and brazenly flew towards the mountaintop.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Qin Sang slowly opened his eyes, his gaze piercing through the stone door to survey the vast world.

"Two hundred years have passed..."

Qin Sang let out a faint sigh.

Two hundred years, plus a hundred years at Mistywater Temple, it had been over three hundred years since he entered the Great Thousand World.

A mortal kingdom might not even last three hundred years.

But in this fire domain, time seemed to have frozen. This monotonous scenery would not change even after a thousand or ten thousand years.

For these two hundred years, apart from going to Cloud Cauldron City to retrieve the Essence Flower Pills, Qin Sang had barely left his dwelling, immersing himself in cultivation. However, he kept a close watch on everything happening both inside and outside his cultivation grounds.

During these two hundred years, many cultivators had passed by the magma lake, but none could have imagined that a Void Refinement stage expert was cultivating there.

The two demons had turned the cultivation grounds into a training ground for soldiers.

The Vermilion Bird also awoke after its long slumber.

It 'grew' during its slumber, and upon waking, it already possessed cultivation at the peak of the Form Transformation stage, equivalent to the peak Nascent Soul stage for humans.

Unexpectedly, the Vermilion Bird then stagnated, just like the Fire Jade Centipede, getting stuck before the Spirit Transformation stage.

To sculpt the Vermilion Bird's spirit required two spiritual feathers: a true Vermilion Bird feather and a true Heavenly Phoenix feather.

If someone could fully refine either of these spiritual feathers, the power gained would surely exceed that of the Spirit Transformation stage.

There could only be one explanation: all this energy was consumed in the spirit-sculpting process itself.

With Qin Sang's current realm, he could not comprehend the true difficulty of sculpting a spirit, especially since what was sculpted was a Vermilion Bird.

Of course, it was also possible that the Vermilion Bird was up to something, doing it intentionally. That creature was full of schemes, always thinking itself clever.

Qin Sang always felt that the Vermilion Bird's potential was surely not limited to this.

He had asked the Vermilion Bird, but it showed no worry.

It did not continue to slumber and recuperate, nor did it enter seclusion or seek help from Qin Sang. Instead, it often took the Fire Jade Centipede treasure hunting, acting completely carefree, so Qin Sang stopped bothering with it.

As for the Fire Jade Centipede, entering the Great Thousand World and being in such an environment, it had also changed considerably over the past two hundred years.

Although it was severely bullied, it also received personal guidance from the Vermilion Bird, which was a rare opportunity.

Its delayed breakthrough was also partly due to the Vermilion Bird intentionally suppressing it, which was beneficial for it.

As for Qin Sang, his changes were even greater.

Qin Sang inwardly sensed himself.

Two hundred years was not a long time for a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

If not for that accident, he would have spent decades raising his cultivation to the peak of Spirit Transformation, then harmonizing the Five Elements, comprehending the unity of heaven and man through the Dao of Five Elements, refining himself bit by bit, and searching for the opportunity to break through.

This process might have taken longer than his entire Spirit Transformation stage cultivation, and two hundred years might not have been enough.

Having taken this step first, looking back and reversing the process was much easier.

If it were merely comprehending techniques, organizing his cultivation, and perfecting his path, it wouldn't have taken this long. However, his foundation had been severely damaged by the forced elevation of his realm, and repairing his Dao foundation was a painstaking, gradual process.

Qin Sang harbored ambitions of becoming an immortal and possessed ample patience, refusing to leave any hidden dangers for himself.

For these two hundred years, Qin Sang had endured, not cultivating the twelfth layer of the *Primordial Spirit Sword Cultivation Art*.

Now, his Dao foundation still required some time to be nourished, but Qin Sang was confident that it was foolproof and began to consider his future cultivation.

In a flash of thought, Qin Sang sensed the Vermilion Bird approaching and opened the stone door.

"Come in."