Chapter 1929: The Third Thunder Altar

**The Human World**

A forest in Twilight Mountain.

Several streaks of light approached from the west, circled briefly overhead, and landed on the ground, revealing several figures in red robes.

“Junior Brother Tu’s aura should have vanished somewhere nearby,” a charming female voice spoke from the middle of the group.

Her palm was as translucent as jade, unlike normal human flesh, and she held a blood-red jade tablet. Inside the jade tablet, a wisp of grayish-white aura, the thickness of a pinky finger, was sealed. At this moment, the jade tablet was covered in cracks, and the grayish-white aura was dissipating.

The woman and a red-robed figure beside her stood in place, using the jade tablet to sense something. The others spontaneously fanned out, quickly searching an area of a thousand li in radius. They reported back one after another, “There are no signs of pursuit or struggle.”

The woman hummed, “So, Junior Brother Tu was captured alive and brought here to be silenced. Ling Shi’s cave dwelling and the Eight Corrosive Miasma Array have been completely destroyed, but it's unclear whether Junior Brother Tu encountered trouble after subduing Ling Shi, or if Ling Shi harbored some formidable techniques.”

“If Junior Brother Tu could mess up dealing with a mere old poisoner like Ling Shi, then he’s truly useless!” the red-robed figure beside her scoffed dismissively. “No matter how incompetent Junior Brother Tu is, he was still trained by Master. Ling Shi at most only has the ability to preserve his own life; it’s absolutely impossible for him to capture Junior Brother Tu alive! Ling Shi is a reclusive individual who never deliberately associates with powerful figures. It’s possible that another faction took advantage of the chaos, perhaps our enemies, deliberately targeting our Soulfall Abyss.”

“Another faction?” The woman frowned in thought. In the entire Twilight Mountain, there were few who could decisively defeat Tu Yuan and dared to offend Soulfall Abyss.

Just then, a piercing sound of rushing air suddenly came from a distance, and a red-robed cultivator shouted urgently. “This is bad! Something happened at the Azure Sand mine! All the Azure Sand has been dug out!”

'Snap!' The woman clenched her jade hand, crushing a soul tablet, and said coldly, “Ling Shi might still be alive!”

The person beside her, however, remained quite calm. “If I were Ling Shi, I would have long since fled to another land, impossible to find easily. Right now, completing the mission Master assigned before his seclusion is the top priority. Fortunately, Junior Brother Tu doesn’t know many secrets and won’t be able to divulge much, but we must be careful in our subsequent actions to avoid repeating the same mistake.”

The group, unwilling to give up, searched meticulously for a long time but indeed found no clues, so they had no choice but to leave.

***

At this moment.

Qin Sang was already on his way back. During the interrogation of Tu Yuan earlier, he had learned some information about Soulfall Abyss. The Old Ancestor of Soulfall Abyss, who was Tu Yuan's master, was known as Old Ancestor Ming Gu, the sole Void Refinement cultivator in Soulfall Abyss.

Qin Sang was very curious about Old Ancestor Ming Gu's cultivation, wondering if he had reached the mid-stage of Void Refinement, or even higher. Void Refinement powerful cultivators were elusive; outside, there were only vague and ambiguous rumors about them. Unfortunately, Tu Yuan's status wasn't high enough; in his eyes, he only knew that his master's cultivation was unfathomable, and his master constantly remained in seclusion deep within Soulfall Abyss. He had never seen his master unleash his full power. From this, it could also be inferred that Cloud Capital Heaven was extremely wary of Old Ancestor Ming Gu, and neither side interfered with the other.

Subduing Ling Shi was indeed a command issued by Old Ancestor Ming Gu, but it was relayed by other senior brothers. Tu Yuan was merely the executor and unaware of the purpose behind subduing Ling Shi. Ling Shi himself was also completely bewildered.

Qin Sang had no intention of delving deeper; this trip could be considered a complete success. Not only did he find the main target, but he also brought the person back with him. Ling Shi followed Qin Sang to his cultivation ground located in the Fire Domain, marveling inwardly. He wondered what the cultivators of Soulfall Abyss and Cloud Capital Heaven would think if they learned that a mysterious powerful cultivator was hidden here.

“Master, you’ve returned.” Gui Hou respectfully greeted Qin Sang, then looked at Ling Shi with wary eyes.

“This is Fellow Daoist Ling Shi. Arrange a cave dwelling for him; he will cultivate here in the future,” Qin Sang said, turning to Ling Shi, “How long will it take to temper the Azure Sand?”

Azure Sand itself is a special spiritual material. When tempered with Ling Shi’s poison cultivation, it can produce a potent venom, and it can also be combined with other spiritual materials to enhance its toxicity. First, let Ling Shi try tempering it. If direct tempering meets the requirements, then there's no need for further trouble. He had already emptied an entire mine vein, so there was certainly enough Azure Sand.

“This junior hasn’t dealt with Azure Sand for many years. After a brief period of adjustment, I will immediately begin tempering it,” Ling Shi said, now convinced by Qin Sang’s formidable strength and referring to himself as "this junior".

Qin Sang nodded and gracefully flew towards his cave dwelling.

“Fellow Daoist Ling Shi, I am Gui Hou. There’s plenty of space in the mountain; please choose a comfortable spot for yourself, but it’s best not to be too close to the mountain peak, so as not to disturb Master’s cultivation. Please follow me,” Gui Hou said, making a gestural invitation with his hand, and flew towards the base of the mountain.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Gui,” Ling Shi cupped his hands and followed.

Regardless of how Gui Hou settled Ling Shi, Qin Sang returned to his cave dwelling and resumed his seclusion. He continued to comprehend the sword formations, sword domain, and Azure Luan Dharma Idol according to his established plan.

Creating his own sword formations and comprehending the sword domain were immense challenges for Qin Sang. Especially the sword domain, which was not typically an area for Void Refinement cultivators to dabble in. Qin Sang only had a chance to glimpse it by relying on the 'Purple Micro Sword Scripture' and the Sky-Overcoming Sword Light. Comparatively, comprehending the Azure Luan Dharma Idol was much easier, and his progress was the most significant.

***

After settling into the cultivation ground, Ling Shi had been in seclusion, refining medicine, until three months later when he emerged for the first time. He came to the mountain peak and carefully activated the cave dwelling's restrictive spell.

“Come in.” The stone door opened a crack.

Ling Shi straightened his attire, entered the cave dwelling, and presented a jade bottle to Qin Sang, “This is the Azure Powder that this junior refined. Please take a look, Daoist.”

Inside the jade bottle was half a bottle of green powder. Azure Sand was the main ingredient, so it retained the name Azure.

“This junior has always been fond of Azure Sand, and over the years, I've accumulated some spiritual materials, adding a portion of them into the Azure Powder…” Ling Shi carefully explained the medicinal properties to Qin Sang, then watched as Qin Sang opened the seal, poured out half a bottle of Azure Powder, lightly sniffed it, and then, without any protection, swallowed it directly. This scene left Ling Shi somewhat stunned. Even with his profound poison cultivation, he wouldn't dare to swallow Azure Powder like that.

Qin Sang swallowed the Azure Powder and sat motionless, his internal qi and blood beginning to churn violently. Without the Poison Pearl, suppressing the toxins was indeed much more troublesome. However, Qin Sang's cultivation was now far superior, allowing him to suppress the toxins within his body with powerful true essence. Firstly, the Azure Powder's toxicity was insufficient. Secondly, the 'Poison God Scripture' Qin Sang obtained only contained parts up to before the Void Refinement stage, so its effect on enhancing true essence was negligible. However, for body tempering alone, it was still much faster than normal cultivation.

Because his understanding of the Azure Luan Dharma Idol surpassed the progress of his cultivation technique, Qin Sang's cultivation proceeded very smoothly, without any bottlenecks. After a moment, Qin Sang gently exhaled a turbid breath and praised, “Good!” The toxicity of the Azure Powder was sufficient to support his cultivation for a period.

Qin Sang estimated that Azure Powder alone would not be enough to cultivate the 'Heavenly Demon Transformation' to its fifth-layer peak. He instructed Ling Shi not to slack off and assured him that he would collect other spiritual materials in the future to help Ling Shi enhance the Azure Powder's toxicity. Ling Shi readily agreed, immediately took his leave, and continued tempering the Azure Sand.

In the following days, Qin Sang periodically received Azure Powder from Ling Shi, and his true body entered a new round of cultivation.

***

In the Fire Domain.

A certain lava river.

Three individuals were walking on the riverbed. They trod upon the riverbed, moving through the lava, their steps incredibly swift, faster than galloping horses, their speed no less than if they were flying through the air. These three figures all wore red cloaks. They were the very people Qin Sang had sensed when he first activated the copper pillar years ago. The leader among them was known as Lord Feiluo.

Two hundred years had passed, and they were still in the Fire Domain, relentlessly searching. For some unknown reason, what was originally a group of four had now become three, with only Lord Feiluo, the alluring woman, and the tall figure remaining. As always, they moved silently through the lava.

“Wait!” As they were proceeding, the alluring woman suddenly spoke.

Lord Feiluo, who was at the forefront, stopped and looked back. The alluring woman said, “Lord Feiluo, another six hundred li forward and we’ll reach Abandoned Smoke Lake. There are some cultivation families near Abandoned Smoke Lake, reportedly closely connected to the Six Harmony Sect, one of the three major sects in the Fire Domain.”

“So, the Six Harmony Sect’s territory isn’t far ahead?” the tall figure interjected, asking.

“Yes,” the alluring woman nodded. Two hundred years had passed, and the tall figure had become much more composed. He mused, “In these two hundred years, we’ve found three ruins, but none of them caused the Blazing Heart Jade to react in that way, indicating that at least a fourth ruin remains hidden, undiscovered by us. For these years, we’ve tried to avoid the influence of the three major sects of the Fire Domain as much as possible, but as the search area shrinks, it’s inevitable we’ll encounter them. Even if it’s a dragon’s den or a tiger’s lair, we must venture in!”

The alluring woman looked at Lord Feiluo and said, “I’m not suggesting we give up; otherwise, wouldn't these two hundred years have been wasted? I’m concerned that the ruin might be controlled by the three major sects of the Fire Domain. Although the three of us are not easily detected, we are weak in numbers. What if we have to confront the three major sects… should we send a message back to our sect for reinforcements first?”

While the two spoke, Lord Feiluo remained silent. Hearing their words, he neither affirmed nor denied, simply saying, “Go!” The two exchanged a glance and had no choice but to follow.

***

While Qin Sang’s true body was cultivating diligently, his avatar had already found the second repairable thunder altar, guided by Tai Yi’s notes. This thunder altar was hidden deep beneath a lake. According to Tai Yi’s description, most thunder altars were built on mountains, situated at high elevations. Thunder altars built at the bottom of a lake were rare. This place might have originally been a mountaintop, later buried by lake water and mud due to the vicissitudes of time, turning high ground into deep valleys. Because of this, this thunder altar was very well preserved, even better than the one at Thundercloud Sect.

With the previous experience, Qin Sang became more adept, repairing the thunder altar in just two months. He did not remove the mud from the thunder altar's surface, merely using a restrictive spell to conceal it. Sitting cross-legged on the thunder altar, Qin Sang activated his true essence, attempting to sense other thunder altars. To his delight, this time it wasn’t like a stone sinking into the sea; there was a response, coming from the Thundercloud Sect's thunder altar. Indeed, there was a connection between the thunder altars, even across thousands of li. From their very construction, these thunder altars were meant to form altar arrays.

However, when Qin Sang tried to draw upon the power of the two thunder altars for his own use, he ultimately failed. He still couldn't determine the location of the main altar.

“It seems I still need to repair a third thunder altar,” Qin Sang murmured, Tai Yi’s notes flashing through his mind. This was already the fifth thunder altar they had searched for, and they had finally found a usable one. He hoped that among the remaining thunder altars, there would still be some that could be repaired.

'Splash!' Qin Sang burst out of the water.

Xiao Wu and Vermilion Bird were playing by the lake, while Luo Hou lay stretched out on the grass, adapting to his new body. Only Tai Yi diligently guarded him. Seeing Qin Sang emerge, Vermilion Bird chirped, turned its head as if to run, but was caught by Qin Sang from a distance and obediently became his mount. Priorities were clear; the most important thing now was to find the main altar. They flew on Vermilion Bird, almost continuously, searching one by one.

They first went northwest, reaching the border of Twilight Mountain and the Fire Domain. According to the information Tai Yi had gathered, this was likely the boundary of the thunder altars. Then, they searched south along the border of Twilight Mountain, eventually reaching the water system where Li Lake was located. Further south, there were no more thunder altars. Qin Sang thus deduced that the area where the thunder altars were located likely roughly coincided with the mortal realm. He wondered if this was a coincidence or if there was a deeper mystery.

Unable to repair these thunder altars for now, Qin Sang simply noted them down one by one and continued his search eastward.

“That’s the sixteenth one ahead. If the thunder altars truly extend across the entire mortal realm, these might not even be a quarter of the total. What an immense scale! Simply for performing spells, there wouldn't be a need for such extensive effort. It seems the owner of these thunder altars genuinely intended to establish a vast system of cultivation and influence…” Qin Sang sighed inwardly, gently patted Vermilion Bird, concealed his aura, and headed towards a mountain ahead.

This mountain was majestic, standing out like a lone crane among chickens in its surroundings. From halfway up, the mountain face was straight up and down, too sheer for monkeys to climb or birds to fly over. A few ancient pines and cypresses stubbornly grew on the sheer cliffs, serving as decoration.

They landed on the mountaintop. Qin Sang unbound Vermilion Bird, and it immediately transformed back to its true form, muttering something under its breath.

“My Lord, no one has touched my restrictive spell.” The thunder altar was built in a hidden rock crevice. Tai Yi checked it and respectfully reported.

Qin Sang stepped forward, examining the thunder altar before him, his eyes gradually brightening. This thunder altar appeared to be severely damaged, even more so than the previous ones. However, Qin Sang could see that its main framework was still intact, offering great hope for its restoration.

“This is it!” Qin Sang immediately made his decision. “Tai Yi, go look around and see if there are any sect forces nearby.”

“Yes, sir!” Tai Yi took the order and departed.

Vermilion Bird, not having received permission, was even more displeased. However, being no match for Qin Sang, it could only hop around Xiao Wu, grumbling to express its resentment.

It was sunrise. The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the rising sun dyed the eastern sky with fiery red dawn clouds. Qin Sang was busy by the thunder altar. Xiao Wu sat on the edge of the cliff, her small hands pressing against the sharp edges of the rock, gazing dreamily at the sunrise and the vast world, her pale, tender legs dangling over the cliff. Vermilion Bird was also enchanted by the beautiful scenery, resting beside Xiao Wu, uncharacteristically quiet, quietly admiring the view.

The sun fully emerged. Vermilion Bird yawned, turned its head, and its gaze swept over the forest below, suddenly stopping. It seemed attracted by something, tilting its head and watching for a while. Then it prodded Xiao Wu with its wing, pointing down the mountain, “Look! Look!”