Chapter 2268: Revisiting True Thunder

For nearly a hundred years, time had left no further trace on the second stone pavilion. This was because Qin Sang had placed a restriction on it when he left, protecting it from the elements. Qin Sang's "sight" paused on this century-old pavilion before continuing to receive other images, until yet another stone pavilion appeared in his vision.

He exhaled sharply. Qin Sang trembled, breathing heavily. Even though his cultivation was now far greater than before, and he had the experience of the previous two times, he still found it difficult to bear.

"Liu Li has reincarnated again..." Qin Sang successfully found another stone pavilion, but the scenery around it gave him an ominous premonition. Suppressing the backlash from his divine ability, Qin Sang walked out of his cave dwelling. This time, he didn't alarm anyone.

Pausing briefly at the entrance of his cave dwelling, he could see the shimmering light and shadow of restrictions floating around the surrounding mountains. There were many more residential caves now, indicating that Yuanjingshan had developed well over the past few decades. After all, before his last seclusion, Qin Sang had handed over a Soul Transformation stage spirit beast to his Senior Sister, significantly boosting Yuanjingshan's strength. At the time, he had openly broken through to the Soul Transformation stage, so it could be barely explained away as him fortunately capturing a demonic cultivator of the same level. However, within the sphere of influence of Yongtu Immortal City, Yuanjingshan was still an insignificant small sect, let alone in comparison to the entire human race and the descendants of the gods.

Unless Liu Li happened to reincarnate nearby, relying on Yuanjingshan disciples to find a tiny stone pavilion would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. For example, the third stone pavilion Qin Sang saw was located deep in the desert, far to the west of Yongtu Immortal City. As expected, it appeared to be in an oasis within the desert. Regarding Yuanjingshan, Qin Sang adopted a hands-off approach; it was enough if it could provide him a secure place for seclusion.

It proved that the stone pavilion had become Liu Li's most important anchor point in each life; as long as Liu Li remembered the pavilion, Qin Sang could use the power of the mysterious Azure Luan to find her. Qin Sang was the true master of the Yuji Mountain formation; he could enter and exit at will without being detected.

Leaving the mountain gate, Qin Sang traveled west. The green vegetation on the land gradually became sparse, and gobi deserts became common sights, eventually turning into endless yellow sand, a landscape of utter desolation. If the illusion reflected actual historical events, then in ancient times, when humanity was driven to desolate lands and faced the danger of extinction, it was hard to imagine how their ancestors endured such hardship, emerged from the barren lands, became rulers of the world, and forged such a poignant and epic history.

Qin Sang flew west, passing countless oases. The further west he went, the sparser the oases became. Finally, he stopped above an oasis. This was an oasis cluster, where the distance between oases was not great. Several small oases surrounded a larger one, forming a pattern like stars revolving around the moon.

The oasis beneath Qin Sang was located southwest of the cluster. At its center was a spring, around which several mortal villages were built. To the west of the oasis was a crescent-shaped mountain range, protecting it from sandstorms. Within the mountains was a Buddhist temple.

Dong! Dong!

The bell tolls awakened the mortals below the mountain, while the monks in the temple had long since risen for their morning lessons. Buddhist and Taoist traditions had already begun to circulate in ancient times. Qin Sang hadn't had the chance to deeply explore them, but he was sure they differed greatly from later eras. This was a mortal Buddhist temple, filled with ordinary people and no cultivators.

Qin Sang slowly descended. The temple was divided into eastern and western courtyards, sharing one complex but having two separate gates. The eastern courtyard housed bhikshus (monks), covered a larger area, had more residents, and its architecture was grander and more refined than the western courtyard, which housed bhikshunis (nuns).

The temple gates were already open, and two young nuns were sweeping fallen leaves in front of them, not noticing Qin Sang descending from the sky. Qin Sang entered the temple as if unobserved, and there he saw the stone pavilion.

"Oh? Benefactor, have you perhaps come to the wrong place? Male benefactors offering incense should go to the East Temple."

A soft gasp came from behind him. A nun, startled by Qin Sang's sudden appearance, was taken aback and mumbled, "How could Jingxin and Jingsi be guarding the gate? Are they slacking off again?"

Qin Sang turned, saw a young nun, and smiled faintly, clasping his hands in a respectful gesture. "Indeed, I've come to the wrong place. I should have left immediately, but seeing this pavilion, I was unexpectedly drawn to it, lost in admiration without realizing I was being presumptuous."

The young nun's expression softened. She scrutinized Qin Sang, noting his extraordinary demeanor that didn't suggest he was a bad person. She tilted her head slightly and asked curiously, "Do you know my master? No, you're so young, you shouldn't know my master."

"Was this pavilion built by your esteemed master?" Qin Sang asked.

"Yes, it was!"

The young nun saw that Qin Sang's expression was genuine, and she was secretly pleased that someone appreciated her master's work. "My master started building it as soon as she joined the temple. All the patterns on it were carved by her, stroke by stroke. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Master said that she often dreamt of this pavilion when she was a child, and she recreated the scene from her dreams after she grew up..."

"Master also said that deep down, she always felt this pavilion held an extraordinary meaning for her, as if there was someone else in it, but she could never find him, nor did she know where to look..."

"Master also mentioned that before she became a nun, she had reached marrying age, but she had a strong premonition that if she married someone else, she might regret it for the rest of her life. So, she came up the mountain to seek answers from the Buddha."

"After the pavilion was built, Master often sat in it, sometimes for an entire day."

"Do you think that person might have been Master's lover from a past life? In their previous life, they promised to be together for all eternity, and their true love moved heaven and earth, which is why Master retained memories after reincarnation!"

"If that's the case, no love story in any book could be more mystical than Master's. It's just a pity for Master; the person she waited for never appeared, even until her death..."

The young nun's cheeks flushed slightly, her expression a mix of longing and sorrow for her master. Suddenly, she gasped and covered her mouth, realizing she had inadvertently revealed so many secrets to a stranger! What if these secrets got out and people questioned her master's character? Her face was filled with panic. She quickly scanned her surroundings, relieved that no one else had noticed them, and urged, "Benefactor, you must leave quickly, or it will be bad if the Senior Nun sees us! I told you so much because I saw your genuine appreciation for Master's work, but please, Benefactor, you must keep it a secret!"

Pushed out of the temple gate, Qin Sang appeared in the sky in an instant.

"It's like this again! Our fate is to miss each other, separated by life and death!"

Qin Sang's brows furrowed deeply. He had woken up this time without any delay, yet he still missed the chance to meet her. And just like last time, he was only a few years too late! He wondered if Liu Li would reincarnate immediately after this life. If she lived seventy or eighty years in each life, and Qin Sang's waking intervals were also within that range, would they never have a chance to meet? Qin Sang knew in his heart that it couldn't always be like this, but he couldn't help feeling that fate was playing tricks on them.

Due to the anomalies in the illusion, most of the methods he and True Man Ning had prepared in advance were rendered useless. Unexpectedly, he hadn't even found the person yet. He was searching for Liu Li, and Liu Li, in her reincarnation, was also searching for the person in the pavilion. When would they finally meet? Qin Sang sighed inwardly and turned to leave.

His previous accumulation was ample, so Qin Sang didn't need to rush further. He found a cave dwelling and immediately entered seclusion for cultivation. Currently, Qin Sang primarily relied on external objects for his advancement, with the Azure Luan tribe's sacred object being the most important. As the Azure Luan tribe's sacred object was continuously consumed, Qin Sang's progress was rapid, and he encountered almost no significant bottlenecks.

Of course, with so many treasures at hand and guidance from the mysterious Azure Luan from afar, even if he encountered difficulties, they were quickly resolved. Upon this awakening, he pushed through in one go, reaching the threshold where one more step would allow him to break through to the middle stage of the Void Refinement realm!

At this moment, Qin Sang awoke from his meditation, feeling utterly invigorated. Before, it had felt more like recovering his original cultivation. This time, however, he was venturing into a new realm, a completely different experience. This feeling was something he had only experienced before when cultivating the "Poison God Scripture" in the flower fields of the Talisman Realm!

Learning of Qin Sang's progress, the mysterious Azure Luan was greatly pleased. "The Heavenly Change is approaching. Can you take advantage of the momentum and break through before it occurs?"

"So soon?" Qin Sang mentally calculated. They could now determine the time of the supreme treasure's appearance based on the changes in the heavenly signs. Sure enough, the intervals between his awakenings were shortening, and the duration of the heavenly signs was also decreasing! This indicated that after the supreme treasure was shattered, the time it took to reform was getting shorter each time. Eventually, even if he forcefully shattered the treasure, it wouldn't delay things for long.

"This junior will do my best!" Qin Sang gazed at the last cluster of azure light in his hand. This was the main body of the Azure Luan tribe's sacred object. Qin Sang had already consumed most of it, with only this much remaining. Qin Sang estimated that by the time "Heavenly Demon Forging" broke through to the mid-sixth layer, the sacred object would be almost entirely depleted. After that, if Qin Sang still desired such a rapid cultivation speed, he would have to steal more sacred objects.

Qin Sang had raised this issue before, and when he proposed the idea, he was met with a cold snort from the mysterious Azure Luan. "What do you take the sacred object for?" The sacred object was the sacred treasure of the entire Azure Luan tribe, kept in their holy land and heavily guarded. Even the clan leader was not authorized to use it alone. Only in a few special secret realms, such as Qingxiao Bixu, where the entire tribe benefited, could a portion of the sacred object's power be utilized and transformed into a grand formation. And only powerful figures like the mysterious Azure Luan possessed the ability to extract it. Now that Qingxiao Bixu had been stolen from, if the Azure Luan tribe was sufficiently vigilant, they would surely have already moved sacred objects from other locations back to their holy land. Unless Qin Sang attacked the Azure Luan tribe's holy land and forcibly seized it, the mysterious Azure Luan would be unable to help him. Given the Azure Luan tribe's heritage and the power of their holy land's grand formation, even if Qin Sang had the cultivation of the Integration stage, his chances would likely be slim.

Thinking of this, Qin Sang inwardly lamented. He had to temporarily suppress this thought and instead consider how to acquire the True Azure Luan Lightning. Immediately after, the cave dwelling fell silent again. Qin Sang interlocked his hands, palms facing upwards, and placed them on his knees.

The Azure Luan tribe's sacred object floated above his palms, slowly rotating. With each rotation, the azure light flickered. Once it completed a hundred rotations, a trace of its power would be drawn away, causing it to shrink slightly. Time flowed slowly. The Azure Luan tribe's sacred object continuously shrank, but Qin Sang's cultivation stagnated.

This state continued for nearly a year, until ninety percent more of the sacred object in Qin Sang's hand was consumed. After this suppression, it finally ushered in an explosion!

Whoosh!

The Azure Luan Dharma Idol suddenly spread its wings, and a captivating light burst forth from its eyes. With a "boom," the mountain where his cave dwelling was located exploded. An Azure Luan burst out of the mountain, and the world's elemental energy completely rioted, creating a heaven-shaking phenomenon. Fortunately, Qin Sang had already set up a grand formation around the area. Spirit flags emerged from the earth, and invisible fluctuations spread out, containing the phenomenon within this region.

A long cry! The Azure Luan let out a long cry, soaring high with outstretched wings, as if it would ascend straight to the ninth heaven to pluck stars and seize the moon! This overwhelming might did not last long, eventually transforming into a streak of azure light that returned to the earth.

Once the world's elemental energy calmed down and the dust dispersed, Qin Sang emerged from the ruins, his aura having undergone a fundamental transformation.

"Back to the middle stage of Void Refinement!" Qin Sang inwardly observed himself, filled with emotion. The cost was the almost complete depletion of the Azure Luan tribe's sacred object. Qin Sang glanced at the faint trace of azure light remaining in his hand and put it away. Unfortunately, his other abilities had not yet returned. Relying solely on the "Heavenly Demon Forging" cultivation method and the Azure Luan tribe's heritage, his strength might rank among the top of his peer group, but to challenge those at higher stages, he would need another treasure—the True Azure Luan Lightning! Qin Sang had a deep understanding of the True Azure Luan Lightning's power; compared to the Azure Luan Demonic Lightning, it was a world apart.

"Senior..." Qin Sang called out to the mysterious Azure Luan, "This junior has not failed your trust and has successfully broken through!"

"Good!" The mysterious Azure Luan was extremely pleased, recalling that Qin Sang, this anomaly, was trained by its own hand. It urged, "You... still have time... return to the tribal land quickly..."

Qin Sang left immediately, not even taking the time to regulate his breath. He could only stabilize his cultivation while on his way. Traveling day and night, he arrived at the Azure Luan tribe's territory.

Upon entering, Qin Sang immediately sensed a pervasive tension. This was partly due to the increasingly fierce war, which had also drawn the Phoenix tribe into the conflict. On the other hand, Qin Sang's theft of the sacred object had left a profound and lasting impact on the Azure Luan tribe that had not dissipated for over a hundred years.

He moved discreetly, maintaining a low profile, and quickly locked onto his target. "Senior, I've found the family you mentioned," Qin Sang communicated secretly with the mysterious Azure Luan.

"Have you... seen... a lightning forest...?"

"Yes, I have. It's not far ahead of me."

Qin Sang gazed forward, seeing silver-white light filling the world. Countless lightning arcs leaped in the void, and thunderous cracks echoed continuously. The lightning originated from a forest on the ground, where only one type of tree grew: a peculiar lightning tree. Its leaves and bark were pure silver-white, identical to the lightning, resembling a sea of thunder. Deep within this lightning forest, Qin Sang also sensed the presence of numerous Azure Luan demon cultivators, estimating that this lightning forest was the family's base.

After hearing Qin Sang's description, the mysterious Azure Luan confirmed, "This is the place! The lightning forest was... formed by... a True Lightning strike that fell here. Over the years, it underwent continuous mutations... becoming completely unrecognizable... and is little known. Even this family is unaware... of the true nature..."

Qin Sang's face showed surprise. The mysterious Azure Luan actually wanted him to extract the True Lightning from the lightning forest. Once the True Lightning was removed, this lightning forest would also turn to dust. This wasn't merely stealing treasure; it was clearly removing the entire foundation of the family!