Chapter 2267: Dream Seed

Qin Sang lay hidden in the forest, gazing at a distant mountain.

The mountain soared into the clouds, enveloped by a halo of rainbow light, appearing ethereal and immortal.

Rainbow light shimmered in the void, never dispersing over the years; even at night, it constantly illuminated this part of the world.

If one stared for a while, the rainbow light would seem to flicker incessantly, threatening to draw the mind of the observer completely in. This was clearly a sophisticated restrictive formation.

Qin Sang was currently within the territory of the Yuanchu clan, guided there by the mysterious Azure Luan.

"Senior, this mountain seems to have no guardians."

Qin Sang had observed the vicinity for several days before contacting the mysterious Azure Luan to report his findings.

"This place... was once... an old fellow's... temporary residence..."

Listening to the mysterious Azure Luan's explanation, Qin Sang suddenly understood.

It turned out that this immortal mountain was the cave dwelling of a powerful Yuanchu being before they condensed their star soul.

This powerful being had a reclusive temperament and a distant relationship with their clan, cultivating alone outside the family for many years. Only after becoming a mighty cultivator did their relationship with the clan improve. However, clan members still dared not interfere with the powerful being's affairs, only occasionally visiting to help manage things.

Of course, even without guardians, no ignorant petty thief would be so audacious as to infiltrate the residence, because if they disturbed that powerful being, they would surely face a swift and decisive death.

However, times had changed. All the powerful beings of the Phoenix clan were now trapped, so as long as one could break the mountain protection formation, they could come and go freely without the owner raising any objections.

The mysterious Azure Luan had its eye on the spiritual herbs cultivated within the residence, all of which were rare treasures beneficial to Qin Sang's cultivation.

The mountain protection formation was personally set up by that powerful Yuanchu being. Even with the mysterious Azure Luan personally imparting divine abilities to help Qin Sang, there was no absolute certainty, so extreme caution was required. After succeeding, they had to leave immediately to prevent being surrounded by the powerful being's kin.

"You go ahead... and carefully describe... everything you see..."

The mysterious Azure Luan instructed Qin Sang to approach the residence.

Qin Sang activated the Heaven's Awareness Thunder Robe secret art and followed the instructions, reaching the mountain front. He carefully observed the mountain scenery and pondered the patterns of the formations and restrictions.

With the mysterious Azure Luan, an esteemed master, by his side, Qin Sang could directly ask about many things he didn't understand and receive answers.

For several days, Qin Sang dedicated himself to deciphering the grand formation, achieving significant results. However, to infiltrate the residence without alerting other Yuanchu clan experts, further planning was needed.

Qin Sang and the mysterious Azure Luan deliberated repeatedly and finally formulated a feasible plan.

That night, Qin Sang quietly appeared before the rainbow light. His entire body shimmered with colorful radiance, becoming vibrant and ethereal. Then, his body began to melt, transforming into a streak of rainbow light that blended indistinguishably with the existing one.

Qin Sang felt himself swimming in a sea of rainbow light. This was a divine ability imparted to him by the mysterious Azure Luan, and he had to infiltrate the interior of the residence before the ability's power was exhausted.

After waiting for a moment, there was no reaction from outside. Indeed, he had deceived the powerful being's kin. Qin Sang no longer hesitated and swam deeper into the rainbow light.

The rainbow light crashed against him like waves, one after another. For every ten steps Qin Sang advanced, he was forced back nine. He persevered, inching forward little by little, and finally passed through the expanse of rainbow light.

Upon reaching the other end of the rainbow light, Qin Sang felt an invisible barrier blocking his path. With a thought, a streak of azure light suddenly shot from behind him, transforming into a sharp claw of an Azure Luan, which fiercely clawed forward.

"Crack!"

With the sound of breaking pottery, the invisible barrier shattered. Simultaneously, the rainbow light outside stirred up a startling ripple.

Although Qin Sang had set up a grand formation beforehand, it was likely difficult to completely conceal the unusual phenomenon.

He dared not hesitate, flashing forward. The next moment, he saw a beautiful, serene, and ethereal mountain peak. He instantly located the medicinal garden, which was situated on the back side of the mountain.

The medicinal garden was also protected by restrictions, which Qin Sang and the mysterious Azure Luan had anticipated. They quickly deciphered the restrictions, and the spiritual herbs in the garden were then laid bare before Qin Sang, ready for the taking.

"A Silver Frost Ancient Tree, and such a large one!"

"This is a Sparrow Plume Tongue!"

"Hiss! The Nine Earth Divine Soul Flower, it's already grown seven blossoms!"

Qin Sang's gaze swept around, and he was almost dazzled by the exotic flowers and rare herbs in the garden. The powerful being's collection was indeed extraordinary, and this was merely their terrestrial residence.

To that powerful being, these spiritual herbs were slightly lacking in age and potency, which was why they were moved into the garden for cultivation. But for Qin Sang, they were more than sufficient.

Without time to marvel, Qin Sang busied himself, taking all the spiritual herbs from the garden, leaving not a single one behind!

He was well-prepared, and with the guidance of the mysterious Azure Luan, he properly handled all the spiritual herbs, losing none of their medicinal properties.

Soon, the medicinal garden was emptied. Qin Sang flew out, glanced at the residence on the front mountain, knowing full well there were certainly more treasures inside, but he dared not take them. He had to reluctantly leave.

Yuanchu clan experts had been alerted and were likely on their way. He was running out of time.

"Whoosh!"

Qin Sang burst out of the shimmering light, transforming into a streak of azure rainbow, and soared away through the air.

It wasn't until Qin Sang vanished into the horizon that several golden streaks of light, arriving late, began to circle hesitantly outside the mountain.

Confirming there were no pursuers, Qin Sang stopped to tally his gains, naturally filled with joy.

Subsequently, he redoubled his efforts, successively infiltrating multiple Phoenix clan secret realms. He wasn't always laden with treasures, but thanks to his caution, he managed to escape successfully every time.

With so many rare treasures falling into his hands, Qin Sang's reserves were greatly enriched.

During this process, heavenly omens frequently appeared, and Qin Sang's cultivation also improved rapidly, no less than it had in previous years. The mysterious Azure Luan believed this was due to the rare treasures. Little did it know, Qin Sang was collecting these external medicinal resources to prepare for his upcoming breakthrough.

The lake water was fiery red, like flames.

The sky was stained crimson, more vivid than a sunset.

Two figures flew from a distance; their feathers matched the color of the heavens and earth, belonging to the Crimson Phoenix clan.

The two Crimson Phoenixes flew above the lake and spat out two streams of flames from their mouths.

The flames fell into the lake, immediately causing the water to churn, and a layer of fire rapidly spread across the surface.

They stared at the lake surface, flapping their wings repeatedly, sending streaks of feathers like sharp arrows toward the center of the lake.

More and more flames accumulated in the center of the lake. Before long, a huge outline appeared in the heart of the flames, eventually transforming into two vermilion gates.

The vermilion gates slowly opened. The two Crimson Phoenixes exchanged a glance and entered through the doors, failing to notice that just as a crack had opened before they entered, a phantom figure had already slipped inside right under their noses.

Behind the gates was a peculiar space, where specks of purple luminescence floated in the void, resembling clusters of purple flames.

"Strange, why is there so little Qilin Horn Grass this time?" one Crimson Phoenix mumbled.

The purple luminescence turned out to be a spiritual herb called Qilin Horn Grass.

Its companion said, "A bad harvest is normal. Fortunately, there should be enough left in the clan's treasury for this time. It's probably due to insufficient nutrients; we should report back to the clan and have them send more Guiyu Fat."

They began to harvest the Qilin Horn Grass, busily unaware that the phantom figure had already quietly departed through the vermilion gates.

The treasure thief was none other than Qin Sang, who had stealthily stolen most of the Qilin Horn Grass without anyone noticing.

"Senior, the Qilin Horn Grass is in hand."

"Good! The spiritual herbs for... the Floating Satchel Immortal Ointment... are gathered. You... should stop now..."

Hearing the mysterious Azure Luan's admonition, Qin Sang readily complied.

In recent years, he had infiltrated various Phoenix clan territories, either seizing or stealing, even daring to trespass into the residences of powerful beings. This was no longer the act of an ordinary thief; he had long since alarmed the Phoenix clan's high-ranking members. If he didn't stop now, he would eventually fall into their trap.

All this hard work and running around had been worth it. The harvest was truly astonishing, accumulating a solid foundation for Qin Sang.

"This junior will now return to refine the Floating Satchel Immortal Ointment!"

The Floating Satchel Immortal Ointment was a paste meant to be applied to the body to aid in body refinement. It did not require high proficiency in alchemy from its refiner.

Qin Sang's preparations were complete; it was time to enter secluded cultivation.

Inside the cave dwelling.

Qin Sang sat cross-legged in meditation, his Azure Luan Dharmic Image hovering behind his head, circulating cultivation techniques.

Various spiritual herbs lay before him, emitting exotic fragrances, yet he didn't use any of them. His cultivation was still rapidly improving.

Suddenly, as if he had crossed a certain threshold, the speed of his cultivation improvement abruptly slowed down.

"Whoosh!"

Qin Sang opened his eyes, a sharp glint appearing within them.

"Just as expected!"

At that very moment, his realm in the *Heavenly Demon Body Refinement* technique had reached parity with his cultivation in reality. As anticipated, his cultivation speed immediately slowed down.

This was because his understanding of the cultivation technique only extended this far. Even with more spiritual herbs and star essence, he could no longer make rapid progress.

"However..."

Qin Sang observed his own body and discovered there were still distinct differences from his real-world self.

In reality, after breaking through the sixth layer of *Heavenly Demon Body Refinement*, he occasionally experienced a sense of stagnation during cultivation because he was unwilling to integrate his entire essence into his Dharmic Image and he was not of the demon race.

Now, cultivating this demon race technique, that sensation was surprisingly faint and rarely appeared. Furthermore, Qin Sang had a premonition that his subsequent cultivation speed would still far exceed that in reality.

"Could it be because I cultivated the Azure Luan Demonic Thunder?"

Qin Sang pondered in his heart, unsure of the reason. However, it was not a bad thing, so he settled his mind and continued cultivating.

At this point, Qin Sang began to utilize external resources.

The first item he took out was the sacred artifact of the Azure Luan clan.

When he acquired this treasure years ago, Qin Sang hadn't rushed to refine it. After regaining consciousness, he often meditated on it, and it had already shown results. The Azure Luan Demonic Thunder obtained from refining the Azure Firmament Thunder had brought him such significant changes, so the Azure Luan clan's sacred artifact should yield even greater surprises.

Thinking this, Qin Sang first used a jar of Floating Satchel Immortal Ointment, then began to refine the Azure Luan clan's sacred artifact.

Subsequently, rare treasures were consumed like flowing water. If Phoenix cultivators were to see this, they would be incredibly envious and condemn Qin Sang's extravagant actions.

These rare treasures caused Qin Sang's cultivation to rise rapidly, but the sacred artifact of the Azure Luan clan had the greatest effect. Experiencing the profound mysteries of the sacred artifact, Qin Sang couldn't help but marvel, thinking to himself that it was no wonder the mysterious Azure Luan had been so confident about this treasure before, never doubting his cultivation speed.

As the Azure Luan clan's sacred artifact was gradually consumed, the Azure Luan Demonic Thunder within Qin Sang's body became increasingly pure, and his cultivation grew day by day, progressing even faster than Qin Sang had anticipated.

The last time, from the initial appearance of the heavenly omen to the birth of the ultimate treasure, less than twenty years had passed.

In reality, Qin Sang's *Heavenly Demon Body Refinement* was still some distance from breaking through to the mid-sixth layer. He had originally thought he would need to repeatedly shatter ultimate treasures multiple times to have enough time for the breakthrough, but with the augmentation of the Azure Luan clan's sacred artifact and rare treasures, this time might be significantly shortened.

However, despite Qin Sang's incredibly fast cultivation, he still couldn't break through before the ultimate treasure appeared. His explanation to the mysterious Azure Luan was that he was affected by inner demons.

Just like last time, he returned early to Mount Yuji, announcing his secluded cultivation.

The ultimate treasure was born, and heavenly omens descended!

Just as before, the mysterious Azure Luan sent Qin Sang into that realm. Protected by the Heaven's Awareness Thunder Robe, Qin Sang rushed non-stop directly to the divine mountain. Without encountering any obstacles, he immediately shattered the ultimate treasure that was still in its nascent form.

Outside the mind lake.

Hong Tian was once again startled by the fluctuations caused by the ultimate treasure's emergence, but unexpectedly, the fluctuations disappeared immediately afterward.

"What exactly is going on?"

Hong Tian stared at the mind lake, filled with doubt.

It was clearly a sign that the dream seed was about to mature, yet, just like last time, it abruptly vanished, and even faster than before.

"Could something have happened within the dream realm?" Hong Tian's brows furrowed; he had a persistent feeling that something was amiss.

"Fellow Daoist Hong Tian, what are your thoughts on this?"

An ally's telepathic message sounded in his ear. Hong Tian mused, "It's still unclear whether it's a change within the dream realm itself or if someone is meddling. Perhaps it's a necessary process for the birth of the dream seed. This situation shouldn't last too long. Fellow Daoist, you might as well stay calm and continue to observe."

"That was precisely my intention! However, what if there's a specific reason for this, can we only sit and wait outside?" the ally asked.

"Fellow Daoist, do you intend to directly intervene? Even if we give it our all, I fear we might not succeed and could even get ourselves embroiled..."

Hong Tian said with hesitation.

"Naturally, just the two of us cannot do it. But if everyone could unite to resist the dream realm's invasion and one person seized an opportunity to act, perhaps a divine ability could be sent into the dream realm. At the very least, we should try to contact the younger generation within the dream realm to ask what exactly they have encountered," the ally said.

"Fellow Daoist makes a good point! But who will resist the illusion's invasion? Who will intervene? And how can we make others believe that the one who acts won't seize the dream seed for themselves?"

Hong Tian posed these questions, leaving his ally speechless.

They knew full well that everyone was determined to acquire the dream seed and was poised to act. Unless it was confirmed that a major change had occurred within the dream realm, it wouldn't be easy to unite them.

"The time is not yet ripe!"

Hong Tian replied finally, and his ally no longer pressed the matter.

Within the dream realm.

Qin Sang awoke in his cave dwelling on Mount Yuji and immediately contacted the mysterious Azure Luan, receiving a response only after a long while.

"Senior, how much time has passed this time?"

"Seventy-three years!" the mysterious Azure Luan replied.

"Seventy-three years, less time than last... Has there still been no decisive outcome in the battle with the otherworldly demon?"

The battle between the powerful beings was the greatest variable; if one side were to fall, all of Qin Sang's plans would come to naught.

"I suspect... the otherworldly demon is deliberately... maintaining this... situation... perhaps it's related to the ultimate treasure..."

The mysterious Azure Luan had been trapped in a dark cage by the otherworldly demon, isolated from inside and out, unable to receive information from its allies.

"You should... cultivate quickly..."

"Yes!" Qin Sang hesitated for a moment. "The current illusion persists. After I've recovered through meditation, this junior would like to ask senior to help me search for the stone pavilion again."

"Very well!"