Chapter 2230: Stone Embryo Fire

The Mortal Realm

The Mortal Realm

“I am not qualified to know the whereabouts of the Great One, but it is rumored that the Immortal City’s grand formation was built by the Great One. All fellow cultivators need to know is that we are protected by a Great One.”

The envoy’s tone was filled with pride.

All the cultivators deeply agreed. Elder Zhou sighed, “Fellow cultivator’s words are reasonable. It’s just, I wonder when we will be able to behold the Great One’s presence.”

“That is not easy. I have been stationed in Yongtu Immortal City for so many years, and I have never seen the Great One’s true face. Perhaps only when the foreign races invade will the Great One appear.”

The envoy pointed to the west, “It is rumored that the Great One is currently cultivating in Spirit Mountain.”

“Spirit Mountain?” Elder Zhou questioned.

Behind him, Qin Sang couldn’t help but perk up his ears.

Could it be the Spirit Mountain of the Buddhist sect?

In the current era, Spirit Mountain is located in the Western Lands, a holy site for the Buddhist sect. Master Liaochen once mentioned that he had never had the opportunity to pilgrimage to Spirit Mountain, which he deeply regretted.

“Precisely! Legend says that Spirit Mountain is the foremost divine mountain in the world. On its peak, one can directly converse with deities. There were once Ten Great Witch-Shamans who resided at Spirit Mountain, representing the deities and shepherding the common people…”

The envoy recounted a legend, some parts of which even Elder Zhou had never heard.

All the cultivators listened with great interest.

Qin Sang compared the legend with the current era. If the Spirit Mountain of the Buddhist sect was this mountain, it should be a holy site for the Witch Tribe or Variant Human race. He wondered why it had fallen into the hands of the Buddhist sect.

He had always wanted to deduce which place in the current era the illusion corresponded to.

If this mountain was indeed that mountain, they would be situated between the Western Lands and Great Zhou, where the most prosperous Great Zhou was currently still the territory of the demon race.

Upon entering Yongtu Immortal City, the envoy pointed to three mountain peaks. “These three mountains do not yet have owners. You may establish your cave dwellings in them.”

The cultivators expressed their thanks.

The envoy continued, “You cannot enjoy this protection for free. You must also assign personnel to take on the responsibility of daily patrols. Once the Immortal City faces danger, you must not retreat an inch!”

“That is as it should be!” the cultivators solemnly declared.

The envoy nodded with satisfaction, “Everyone need not worry too much. Compared to other immortal cities, our Yongtu Immortal City can be considered the safest one.”

“Oh? What do you mean by that, fellow cultivator?” Elder Zhou asked curiously.

The envoy pointed east. “Because our Yongtu Immortal City borders the Phoenix race. The Phoenix value the five virtues and are not as brutal as other races. Even if the foreign races are now rejecting our human race, if the Phoenix race truly intended to kill, with their strength, begging your pardon for my bluntness, none of you would likely have made it here alive.”

The cultivators instantly fell silent, cold sweat trickling down their backs.

Revered Tong Shen finally chose a hillside surrounded by bamboo groves, which the master and disciples found very satisfying.

The master and disciples busied themselves, setting up pavilions and enshrining their patriarch.

Revered Tong Shen called the four of them over and said, “Come, let’s go for a walk with your master.”

The four were naturally delighted.

The five, master and disciples, left the bamboo grove and flew slowly along the mountain, as if they had arrived in the mortal world, where crowds bustled and it was very lively.

The biggest difference was the presence of many strangely shaped Variant Humans, who coexisted harmoniously with humans, without racial barriers.

Revered Tong Shen led them to a place resembling a market, instructing, “Your master is going to buy some things. You can wander around nearby, but don’t go too far.”

Seeing Revered Tong Shen enter a wooden building, Qin Sang initially wanted to go off on his own, but Qing Hong pulled him back, so he could only stay with them.

Qing Hong would occasionally tease him and Miss Shuang. Qin Sang could remain composed, while Miss Shuang’s face would flush, but they were already familiar with each other, like siblings, so she no longer lost her composure.

“Will Patriarch Yuanxiang and his people be in the city?”

Qin Sang saw two Zhu Yan tribesmen walk out of a shop, summon fire clouds, and fly into the sky.

“Deep-Eyed Clan… that one seems to be from the Sheng Yu Clan… a Merfolk maiden, not in the sea, but ended up here…”

Qin Sang looked left and right. Whenever he saw a Variant Human, he wanted to find familiar items on them, but unfortunately, he returned empty-handed every time.

“What are you looking at? So engrossed?”

Qing Hong and Miss Shuang followed Qin Sang’s gaze and saw a group of captivating Merfolk maidens.

“The rumors are true, Merfolk women are indeed beautiful,” Senior Brother Qing Yan rubbed the back of his head, chuckling.

“You two perverts!”

Qing Hong scorned, and Miss Shuang pursed her lips, chuckling.

Qin Sang quickly walked into a shop, took a piece of plain black stone from a shelf in front of the door, bargained for it, and bought it. Then, he righteously said to the three, “What were you just talking about?”

Qing Hong paused. “Why did you buy that plain black stone?”

“Of course, it has its uses,” Qin Sang deliberately kept them in suspense.

In fact, this stone was not a particularly precious high-grade spiritual material. It was called the Void-calling Stone, one of the spiritual materials used in later generations to refine spatial artifacts.

Qin Sang was tired of small spatial artifacts and, as a grandmaster of artifact refining, intended to refine one himself.

Dusk fell.

The five, master and disciples, returned to the bamboo grove. Qin Sang had found no old acquaintances but had bought some medicinal herbs.

“You may all leave now.”

Revered Tong Shen dismissed Qing Yan and the others, leaving only Qin Sang.

“When I took you as my disciple back then, I never imagined that you would be able to form a Golden Core in just a few short years. I’m not afraid of you becoming arrogant, and I believe you have this confidence yourself. A talent like yours, I have never heard of before…”

In ancient times, there was also talk of the Golden Core, but it was not specifically categorized as a realm. Qin Sang also found through discussions with others that not all cultivation methods had a Golden Core stage; some cultivators maintained their sea of qi in a liquid state and directly formed a Nascent Soul.

On the way to Yongtu Immortal City, Revered Tong Shen specifically asked someone to build a fire chamber for Qin Sang on the dharma vessel and spared no effort to support his alchemy and cultivation.

Qin Sang advanced rapidly, surprisingly forming a Golden Core in one go. Looking back, he truly felt how much easier it was.

Revered Tong Shen specifically instructed Qing Hong and the others not to spread the news, otherwise, it would cause a huge uproar.

“You are about to advance further and will soon need to choose your path. With your talent, it won’t be long, I presume. I have been indecisive for these past years, but it’s time to make a decision. I have decided to let you cultivate the Water-Fire Harmonization Scripture!” Revered Tong Shen declared resolutely.

Qin Sang had long awaited this day, and he bowed, saying, “Your disciple will obey Master’s command!”

“However, before that, I have something to give you,” Revered Tong Shen’s tone changed. “You have also read the Water-Fire Harmonization Scripture, and you should remember that this secret art requires simultaneous cultivation of water and fire. Our sect only has water-attribute cultivation methods. Besides cultivating another fire-attribute method, there is a convenient technique in the secret art: absorbing external fire into the body and refining it into internal fire. At that time, you will be able to utilize both internal fire and external elixirs, not only cultivating both water and fire but also cultivating both internally and externally. However, this method is extremely dangerous…”

Qin Sang naturally remembered, which was one of the reasons he was so excited.

For absorbing external fire into the body, he actually had an even better secret art: “Fire Seed Golden Lotus.”

The two secret arts did not conflict. He could perfectly use “Fire Seed Golden Lotus” to subdue spirit fire, and then cultivate the Water-Fire Harmonization technique.

If not for still needing Revered Tong Shen’s support, Qin Sang would have already left the sect to cultivate on his own.

The only question was, where to find high-grade spirit fire?

From Revered Tong Shen’s tone, it seemed he knew where to find spirit fire.

“When I obtained the secret scroll, I also saw a type of spirit fire recorded by the cave dwelling’s owner. This fire is called Stone Embryo Fire, a wondrous natural fire, nurtured within a certain secret realm. When that senior discovered it, the Stone Embryo Fire had not yet matured. That senior did not forcibly take the Stone Embryo Fire but set up restrictions around it, not only protecting it from external interference but also subtly influencing the Stone Embryo Fire, reducing the backlash when subduing it in the future. If I were the first to obtain the secret scroll, the Stone Embryo Fire should still be there, and it should have matured…”

Revered Tong Shen glanced outside the mountain. “I will volunteer to join the Immortal City guard next, and seize the opportunity to take you to acquire the spirit fire.”

“Disciple would not dare!”

Qin Sang quickly said, “Master, refining that Stone Embryo Fire will surely help you break through your bottleneck! Master’s cultivation advancement is the most important. Your disciple will have other spirit fires in the future. Please reconsider your decision!”

Revered Tong Shen patted Qin Sang’s head, realizing that Qin Sang was no longer the young boy he once was, taller than himself. He couldn’t help but sigh, “My disciple has grown up! A wondrous natural fire like this is rare in a thousand years; using it on me would truly be a waste. Your disciple’s talent is exceptional, and his future is boundless; only he deserves this fire.”

“But…”

“What, my words are no longer effective?” Revered Tong Shen feigned anger.

Seeing Qin Sang speechless and hesitant, Revered Tong Shen waved his hand. “You may leave first! Since you understand my painstaking efforts, you must cultivate diligently and not disappoint my expectations.”

“Yes! Disciple bids farewell!”

Qin Sang exited the main hall.

Revered Tong Shen immediately opened a fire chamber for him. Qin Sang walked into the fire chamber, recalling his conversation with his master, stroking the warm Earthfire furnace, and softly muttered, “It’s a pity it’s an illusion.”

He shook his head, sat cross-legged in front of the furnace, took out the Void-calling Stone, cut off a portion, refined it into stone powder, then successively took out several other spiritual materials, purified them one by one, and then threw them all into the Earthfire.

Various spiritual materials tumbled in the fierce flames, the firelight illuminating Qin Sang’s cheeks.

Before long, the spiritual materials began to converge toward the center, gradually forming the shape of a bracelet, mimicking the black bracelet on Qin Sang’s hand.

With Qin Sang’s ability, refining such treasures didn’t require much effort at all. He even had the mental capacity to ponder other things.

Just as the black bracelet was about to form, Qin Sang suddenly let out a soft sound, his face showing surprise. “Failed?”

He summoned the black bracelet before him. The artifact’s shape was complete, but it was not a spatial artifact.

“What’s going on?”

Qin Sang was greatly surprised. To fail at refining such a simple artifact, was his lifelong reputation about to be ruined?

Fortunately, Qin Sang had prepared enough spiritual materials. He cut off another piece and continued refining. This time, he discarded all distractions and focused intently, yet he failed again!

Qin Sang realized something was amiss. He didn’t stop, continuing to open the furnace, but unexpectedly, he failed repeatedly.

His expression grew more serious. He realized something was wrong. Was it a problem with the spiritual materials, or a problem with the illusion?

Everything here was so real, yet the simplest artifact refining technique failed.

If he could find the reason, perhaps he could use it to see through the secret of the illusion.

What exactly was the problem?

Qin Sang grabbed the remaining spiritual materials, examining them repeatedly, sure that he hadn’t misjudged them.

“Could it be a problem with the refining method itself?”

A thought flashed through Qin Sang’s mind.

This refining method was widely used in later generations; even ordinary artifact refiners could learn it. For such a simple refining method, with so many powerful cultivators in ancient times, and even deities, could no one have comprehended it?

To think this way seemed a bit fantastical. From ancient times to the present, had not only various races successively become the protagonists of the Great Thousand World, but had the Great Thousand World itself also undergone drastic changes?

Qin Sang threw the last piece of Void-calling Stone into the furnace for refining. As expected, it failed again.

He couldn’t help but hesitate. If he continued to investigate in this direction, what if the truth had nothing to do with the illusion, and he would just waste time?

For the next period, Qin Sang tried various artifact refining methods from the current era, all of which failed. He always felt that something crucial was missing, something that could transform these spiritual materials.

What exactly was this thing?

Qin Sang realized he hadn’t deeply considered this question before, because it was a commonly accepted principle in the current era, and artifact refiners had long been accustomed to it.

The master and disciples settled down in Yongtu Immortal City.

Qin Sang often left his cave dwelling to wander around, searching for ‘old acquaintances’.

Revered Tong Shen, as he had said, joined the Immortal City Guard.

This was the price for them settling in the Immortal City. Revered Tong Shen alone was not enough; the sect had to send another person, and Senior Brother Qing Yan naturally stepped forward.

It was under the protection of the sect’s wings that Qin Sang was able to focus on cultivation.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Sang and the others had adapted to life in the Immortal City.

“Junior Brother, Junior Sister, Master and Senior Brother are back!”

Qin Sang heard Senior Sister Qing Hong’s joyful cry and walked out of his quiet room, seeing two streaks of light descending from the sky.

“Master!”

Qing Hong asked with concern, “You didn’t encounter any danger this time, did you?”

Revered Tong Shen joined the Immortal City Guard and quickly took on important responsibilities, tasked with moving ordinary mortals living outside the Immortal City to the rear of the city.

In the vast region between the Phoenix tribe’s territory and Yongtu Immortal City, countless mortals still resided.

Although it was assumed that the Phoenix tribe would not tolerate the slaughter of mortals, if a major war broke out in the cultivation world, they would certainly be affected. Although these mortals had no powerful strength, they were the embers for the continuation of the bloodline.

“This trip was very smooth,” Revered Tong Shen looked at Qin Sang. “Qing Feng, come with me.”

Qin Sang followed Revered Tong Shen into the main hall, already having a premonition. “Master, are we going to retrieve the Stone Embryo Fire?”

“Indeed, I have already scouted its location! The next time we have an opportunity during the transfer of mortals, I will take you to subdue it. How much of the Water-Fire Harmonization Scripture have you comprehended?” Revered Tong Shen asked.

“What Master taught, I have basically comprehended,” Qin Sang said.

Revered Tong Shen praised him and sighed, “It’s a pity that the restrictions left by the senior have merged with the Stone Embryo Fire and cannot be removed. It must be refined on the spot. Ideally, we should wait until your cultivation is higher, but I am worried that the Golden Eagle tribe might have also found clues to this fire while searching the senior’s cave dwelling, so it’s better sooner than later, even if it means you’ll face some risk.”

“Disciple will certainly not disappoint Master!”

Qin Sang had already studied the Water-Fire Harmonization Scripture countless times and had “Fire Seed Golden Lotus” as a backup, so he was naturally full of confidence.