Chapter 319: Earthfire Phoenix

He sat down on the sand, remaining motionless for a long time. Qin Sang brushed the dust from his clothes and stood up. The melancholy in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a profound calmness.

The young man in combat attire lay sprawled on the ground. Qin Sang had given him a healing elixir; his wounds were now healed, but his Qi Sea and meridians remained sealed by a restriction. Qin Sang roused him and continued to cast the "Soul Seizing Spell." Learning that these two were rogue cultivators who operated in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, and merely had a casual acquaintance with Yu Daiyue without any deep background, Qin Sang's reservations disappeared.

Unlike Yu Daiyue, the young man in combat attire was not so resolute; he wept profusely, begging for mercy repeatedly. Qin Sang paid him no heed. Under the young man's terrified gaze, Qin Sang followed the secret methods outlined in the "Heavenly Yin Corpse Art." He first sealed the young man's primordial spirit, then cast innumerable corpse-refining restrictions, transforming him into a living corpse base. Finally, he stored him in his corpse puppet bag. Once he acquired the Soul Guiding Grass, he could use this individual for his experiment to refine his first living corpse.

Next, Qin Sang retrieved the scarred man's body. After some effort, he refined it into a Fiend Corpse, storing it away to slowly nurture.

After completing his tasks, Qin Sang noticed that over the years, the Earth Fiend Qi and Five-Element Yin materials he had brought had been almost entirely consumed. Refining living corpses was several times more difficult and resource-intensive than refining Fiend Corpses; he wasn't sure if his remaining materials would suffice. Five-Element Yin materials were relatively easy to acquire at Xuanlu Pass, but Earth Fiend Qi was exceptionally rare. It seemed he would need to find time to return to his sect. He had been away for many years; it was time to visit and check on the Nine Illusion Sky Orchid.

As various thoughts filled his mind, Qin Sang opened all three of Yu Daiyue and his companions' spatial bags. To his surprise, the scarred man's spatial bag truly contained a fresh section of the main root of the Earth Fire Coiled Phoenix Tree, appearing to have been dug out recently. It was clear that the trap had been meticulously set by Yu Daiyue and his companions. A lie woven with ninety percent truth is the most effective and hardest to detect. At that time, he was only in the early Foundation Establishment stage. If not for his good fortune, having already agreed to Yun Youzi's request and thus being forced to decline Yu Daiyue's invitation, his venture into that trap would likely have ended in disaster.

Qin Sang smiled wryly to himself as he picked up the gnarled, rough root. Only the main root was present; the Earth Fire Coiled Phoenix Tree spiritual liquid was missing. He wondered if they had sold it or refined it for their own use. He channeled his spiritual power into a blade, removing impurities from the main root. He then extracted the purest spiritual wood essence and fed it directly to his Ebony Sword. Two killing talismans were inscribed on the Ebony Sword, aiding his breakthrough to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

However, inscribing two killing talismans had pushed the Ebony Sword close to its limits. Without further enhancement, it would be unable to withstand the pressure of a third killing talisman. Although Qin Sang possessed the Blood-dripping Ghost Mushroom, which could directly boost his cultivation upon refinement, unless he increased the Ebony Sword's durability and fully comprehended the killing talismans, even potent spiritual herbs would not enable him to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage. For Qin Sang, his natal spiritual sword and the killing talismans represented his bottleneck, though this particular bottleneck was tangible and clear.

After refining the Earth Fire Coiled Phoenix Tree, Qin Sang sorted and stored all these spoils of war, then destroyed the spatial bags. What struck Qin Sang most was Yu Daiyue's spatial bag, which held a bewildering variety of jade slips and secret manuals, all purporting to contain "secret methods" for cultivation breakthroughs. In Qin Sang's view, the vast majority of these were groundless and utterly ridiculous. For instance, one secret method involved silver needle acupuncture, clearly derived from mortal martial arts. Yet, Yu Daiyue had carefully treasured it as if it were precious, possibly even attempting each technique himself.

After healing and recuperating, Qin Sang exited the sand cave and departed for the Heavenly Crystal Secret Realm. Upon seeing Qin Sang again, Teng Nan offered congratulations. Subsequently, Qin Sang remained in the Heavenly Crystal Secret Realm, gaining experience and cultivating in the vicinity. Ten months later, Qin Sang left the Cloud Beast Lair and returned to the Heavenly Crystal Secret Realm. With less than two months remaining until the Yin Mountain Pass auction, Qin Sang decided to first organize his gains from his recent training in the Heavenly Crystal Secret Realm before departing for Yin Mountain Pass in the coming days.

The cave dwelling was quiet, and Qin Sang entered a state of meditation. Having broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, the "Primordial Spirit Nurturing Sword Chapter" had brought about new developments that Qin Sang had now fully grasped. The most noticeable change was his cultivation speed. With an additional killing talisman, Qin Sang not only comprehended the subsequent talismans more quickly but also saw his overall cultivation speed advance significantly. By his own estimation, he was now definitely cultivating faster than a four-spirit root cultivator. Even if he was currently slightly inferior to a three-spirit root cultivator, he would surpass them once the third killing talisman was fully inscribed. Based on his current cultivation speed, coupled with the aid of the Blood-dripping Ghost Mushroom, Qin Sang estimated that he would need at most twenty more years to break through to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Although his trip to Qiuhong Market did not resolve the underlying issue with his foundation, Qin Sang acquired three millennium-old spiritual herbs, a significant gain that made the journey undeniably worthwhile. The cultivation time saved by these spiritual herbs provided him with more opportunities to seek the serendipitous chances for Core Formation and methods to repair his foundation. This speed was considered above average among his fellow disciples from Shaohua Mountain. Of course, this was contingent on successfully upgrading the Ebony Sword and not being delayed by other extraneous matters. Had Qin Sang's natural talent been greater, his current cultivation speed would have been even more astounding, which explained why Senior Qingzhu was able to achieve Core Formation in merely forty years. Alas, such innate talent was not something one could envy.

Three days later, Qin Sang emerged from seclusion, bid farewell to Teng Nan, and flew towards Changyang Market. He decided to travel directly to Yin Mountain Pass along the border of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. To prepare, he entered a branch of the Taiyi Pill Pavilion in Changyang Market, intending to sell some miscellaneous items and purchase a few spiritual elixirs.

The manager of the shop was an elderly man in the early Foundation Establishment stage, surnamed Liu. Manager Liu recognized Qin Sang. Upon his entry, the manager hastily rose and bowed, saying, "Fellow Daoist Qin, I recently received news from Junior Brother Yun Youzi. He has emerged from seclusion and intends to remain in his original cave dwelling for a period of cultivation. Learning that you sought him out, he sent word that if you have urgent matters, you may proceed directly to his cave dwelling."

Qin Sang had indeed intended to consult Yun Youzi about the issues with his foundation, hoping he could suggest a solution. That was why, before heading to the Heavenly Crystal Secret Realm, he had asked Manager Liu to keep him informed about Yun Youzi. He hadn't anticipated that Yun Youzi would have already emerged from seclusion and proactively sent a message.

"Senior Liu," Qin Sang inquired, "I wonder if Senior Yun Youzi gained anything from his seclusion? Could he be breaking through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage?"

"This old man wouldn't know," Manager Liu replied. He gently shook his head, then added with a tone of admiration, "However, Junior Brother Yun Youzi often creates miracles; perhaps, as Fellow Daoist Qin suggests, he truly is advancing further!"

After leaving Changyang Market, Qin Sang pondered for a moment. Instead of returning to Xuanlu Pass, he flew directly eastward. Yun Youzi would undoubtedly remain in his cave dwelling for cultivation for another year or two, so it would be better to seek him out after the auction concludes.