Chapter 265: Mixed Yuan United Heart Ring

There shouldn't be a significant disparity in strength between jiao-dragon souls; otherwise, the weaker soul will be unable to withstand the talisman's pressure and will shatter, perishing in the process. Each additional jiao-dragon soul further enhances the talisman's escape speed when wielded by a cultivator.

Daoist Master Xuanyu only collected six jiao-dragon souls, but all of them were peak-stage demon spirits, equivalent to cultivators in the False Core realm. Therefore, the talisman's escape speed was astonishing. Currently, only one jiao-dragon soul remains in the talisman. If the talisman hadn't been destroyed, once this jiao-dragon soul recovered, Qin Sang could have wielded it to achieve a speed comparable to a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator!

What a pity! Qin Sang sighed with a sense of regret. Just as he was about to withdraw his spiritual sense, he suddenly sensed a series of pleas emanating from the jiao-dragon soul.

A moment later, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face. Surprisingly, the other half of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman was still intact. The other half of this jiao-dragon soul's body was within that half of the talisman, desperately resisting the engulfing magma. The jiao-dragon soul could sense its other half. If Qin Sang entered the magma to retrieve it, he would only need to nurture it for a period to obtain a complete Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman!

Qin Sang was immediately tempted. He looked down at the ceaselessly flowing river of magma, but his expression showed some hesitation. The other half of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman was drifting with the magma and had already floated far away. Before long, even if the jiao-dragon soul's power didn't run out, it would lose its connection due to the immense distance.

The magma was terrifying and harbored hidden dangers. Furthermore, he couldn't be certain if he could find the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman before his spiritual energy was depleted. And if he delayed for too long, changes might occur at the volcano's mouth.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Sang finally made up his mind. Holding the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman in one hand, he channeled spiritual energy to protect himself and leaped into the magma river. Before leaving, Qin Sang channeled his spiritual energy to churn the magma, rinsing every corner of the entire space multiple times. He used the magma to erase all traces and auras.

A deafening roar filled his ears, and all he could see was churning magma. The magma river was grand and majestic, with countless branches crisscrossing, forming an exceptionally intricate magma 'water network'. Within it were 'lakes' even vaster than the magma pool in the underground cavern. Without the jiao-dragon soul to guide him, it would have been impossible for Qin Sang to find the other half of the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman in such complex terrain.

After he left the volcano's mouth, the circular restriction recovered completely. Qin Sang glided above the magma, with the restriction directly overhead. The magma was turbulent, comparable to the Ninefold Gorge of Wuling River, surging unpredictably. The space left for him was extremely narrow, and he had to be constantly vigilant to avoid the massive waves.

The intense heat, coupled with being occasionally engulfed by the magma, rapidly depleted Qin Sang's spiritual energy. The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman was still drifting with the current, forcing him to patiently pursue it and slowly close the distance. Fortunately, there were no fire spirit beasts in the magma, which confirmed Qin Sang's earlier conjecture that the birth of fire spirit beasts was related to the totem barrier.

With one hand, he held the talisman, sensing the direction, while with the other, he held the Earth Deficient Elder's mustard seed pouch, fully concentrating on deciphering the restrictions on it. Qin Sang had several bottles of spiritual pills that could restore spiritual energy, though he wasn't sure if they would be sufficient. If he could open the Earth Deficient Elder's mustard seed pouch, he certainly wouldn't need to worry about consuming his spiritual pills.

It was precisely because the Earth Deficient Elder had forced Qin Sang to control the power of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound, breaking restrictions and ascending the mountain, that Qin Sang became extremely familiar with it and gained considerable insight into restrictions. Otherwise, it might have been a long time before he had any hope of deciphering the restrictions on the mustard seed pouch. It was, undeniably, a great irony.

Swallowing three Green Spirit Pills to restore his spiritual energy, Qin Sang's gaze sharpened. He stared intently at a spot on the mustard seed pouch, his palm's spiritual energy suddenly surging, transforming into a flying needle that he thrust forcefully into it.

Buzz!

A ripple suddenly appeared on the mustard seed pouch, accompanied by a buzzing sound like that of a swarm of bees. Immediately after, the sound abruptly turned deafening, and an incredibly powerful sound wave shot out from the restriction without warning. Qin Sang had already anticipated this, and his figure flickered swiftly, easily dodging the sound wave.

Splash!

The sound wave plunged into the magma river, erupting into a 'splash' dozens of feet in diameter. The power unleashed by the sound wave's explosion secretly startled Qin Sang. Having emitted this sound wave, the restriction was essentially at the end of its tether. Qin Sang pressed on relentlessly, giving the restriction no chance to recover, and finally deciphered it.

Once the restriction's fluctuations dissipated, Qin Sang eagerly extended his spiritual sense into the pouch. He quickly found several bottles of spiritual pills similar to Green Spirit Pills, grasped them in his hand, and then began a more patient search. Miscellaneous common items held little interest for Qin Sang. There were many healing spiritual pills of various kinds, which Qin Sang had long known and found unsurprising. No magical artifacts or talismans remained. Qin Sang estimated that the Earth Deficient Elder had thrown them all out in a single go to resist the Heavenly Gang Blade Talisman before his death; otherwise, the pouch wouldn't have been so empty.

To Qin Sang's disappointment, the mustard seed pouch contained only around ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this would indeed be considered a substantial fortune, but the Earth Deficient Elder was a renowned Golden Core cultivator, making such an inheritance seem rather paltry.

However, Qin Sang soon discovered that the mustard seed pouch surprisingly held many valuable spiritual materials: Profound Yin Cold Iron, Three-Colored Nether Lotus, Wind-Thunder Origin Crystal... And three others that Qin Sang didn't recognize. Each spiritual material was no less valuable than Sun-Yang Crystal and was a precious, rarely seen material for refining magical treasures.

Was the Earth Deficient Elder preparing to refine a magical treasure? Qin Sang's gaze shifted, and he noticed a white, perfectly round golden ring, about the size of a bracelet, placed alongside these spiritual materials. The golden ring showed no spiritual light and was full of nicks. Its surface appeared to have mysterious patterns, but they were unclear due to severe wear and damage. However, the golden ring was, at least, not broken.

With a thought, Qin Sang took out the golden ring. He held it in his hand, but he couldn't use it, realizing that it was indeed a magical treasure. He wondered if the Earth Deficient Elder intended to repair this treasure or refine a new one.

His spiritual sense returned to the mustard seed pouch. Only one section remained, where several jade slips and a black iron piece were placed. The jade bottle containing Fiery Gilded Gold was also there, nestled closely beside one of the jade slips.

Perhaps these were his greatest gains, Qin Sang mused. He took out one of the jade slips and began to examine it.

Before long, Qin Sang opened his eyes, a thoughtful expression on his face. The contents of this jade slip were surprisingly the cultivation insights of a Golden Core cultivator from the Spirit-Taming Sect, including many unique inheritances of the sect! No wonder the Earth Deficient Elder was proficient in beast-taming and raised strange insects; all this knowledge came from the jade slip. This meant that the Earth Deficient Elder had previously killed a Golden Core cultivator from the Spirit-Taming Sect, yet dared to remain at Hanging Skull Pass, and now even ambushed Daoist Master Xuanyu. He was utterly audacious.

From this jade slip, Qin Sang learned the golden ring's name: the Primordial Twin Hearts Ring. As the name 'Twin Hearts' implied, the Primordial Twin Hearts Ring was a pair of Yin-Yang rings. It was the magical treasure of that Spirit-Taming Sect Golden Core cultivator, but now only one Yin ring remained, and it was severely damaged.