Chapter 498: 服丹

The room was filled with a pleasant fragrance.

The Nine-Illusion Sky Orchid was vibrant and dewy.

Qin Sang sat by the jade pool, unconsciously stirring the spring water with his fingers, lost in thought as he recalled the conversation he had just had with Cloud Wanderer.

Restoring one's foundation was merely one of the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit's effects. For other cultivators, especially demon beasts, such a rare treasure was also a must-have.

Cloud Wanderer had received a vague piece of information from his sect. The Taiyi Pill Sect had always been very interested in various spirit herbs, collecting information on them regardless of veracity.

To confirm this, he first spent several years undercover in Immortal Demon City, which was controlled by the Spirit Control Sect.

Immortal Demon City was the largest cultivation city closest to Heavenly Demon Mound in the Minor Cold Domain. It was said to be supported by Heavenly Demon Mound and served as a gateway connecting Heavenly Demon Mound with the cultivation world of the Minor Cold Domain.

This showed how close the Spirit Control Sect and Heavenly Demon Mound were.

Finally, Cloud Wanderer even joined a merchant caravan and infiltrated Heavenly Demon Mound several times. Although he spoke of it lightly, Qin Sang could imagine how thrilling and dangerous that experience must have been.

Since ancient times, humans and demons have found it difficult to coexist, and this is not solely due to prejudice.

It was for this reason that Cloud Wanderer, after being missing for so many years, only recently confirmed the existence of the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit. However, he wouldn't know the exact situation until he saw it for himself.

Cloud Wanderer promised to accompany Qin Sang first before attending to his own matters.

Even with Cloud Wanderer's help, Qin Sang felt no real confidence.

The great demons of Heavenly Demon Mound who had reached the Demonic Core stage were not like the ignorant demon beasts living in treacherous mountains and waters. Demon beasts capable of receiving Imperial Flow Nectar and awakening their spiritual intelligence invariably had extraordinary origins and possessed the legacies of great demons. In terms of both strength and wisdom, they were comparable to human Core Formation stage cultivators and should not be underestimated.

Relying solely on the Flying Yaksha to deal with a Demonic Core stage great demon offered almost no chance of success, especially since the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit would likely attract more than one.

In such a situation, even if one wanted to fish in troubled waters, they would need sufficient strength.

The location of the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit was certainly extraordinary. Without Core Formation stage strength, it would be almost impossible to silently infiltrate under the noses of Demonic Core stage great demons.

For this very reason, Cloud Wanderer advised Qin Sang to remain calm. This trip into Ziwei Palace was primarily to ascertain the growth location of the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit and to find a way to break the restrictions.

Once he broke through to the Demonic Core stage in the future, gaining an additional three hundred years of lifespan, he would surely be able to wait for the next opening of Ziwei Palace. During that time, he could meticulously plan and prepare, significantly increasing his chances of success when he tried to seize it.

But who knew when Ziwei Palace would open next?

The opening times of Ziwei Palace were always uncertain, closely tied to the spiritual tides of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.

Sometimes it opened in just over a hundred years; at other times it could take over three hundred years. Such a long period meant he would have to spend his entire Core Formation stage with a damaged foundation.

Of course, if he could break through to the Core Formation stage before this opening of Ziwei Palace, everything would be different.

He himself, along with two magical treasures and the Flying Yaksha, would at least be qualified to fight.

"Whew..."

Qin Sang looked up at the dome of the cave dwelling, slowly exhaled, and then dismissed his chaotic thoughts, ensuring these distractions wouldn't affect his mind and become an impediment during Core Formation.

Due to the presence of the spiritual spring, the spiritual energy in the cave dwelling was extremely rich. Even though Qin Sang was now at the Core Formation stage, it was sufficient to support his cultivation.

There was no need to set up a Spirit Gathering Array.

Qin Sang sealed the restrictions on the Nine-Illusion Sky Orchid, then placed a meditation cushion by the jade pool and sat down cross-legged to enter meditative seclusion.

In recent years, whenever he had a chance to return to his sect, Qin Sang would make a trip to Treasure Pagoda Peak to diligently study all the treasured texts related to Core Formation.

If there was an opportunity to consult Qi Yuanshou, he wouldn't miss it either.

Unfortunately, he wasn't granted an audience with Qi Yuanshou every time he paid his respects, having only met him twice in recent years.

He learned from Gao Yang, Qi Yuanshou's disciple, that Qi Yuanshou also seemed to be preparing to enter Ziwei Palace and had not been personally involved in sect affairs recently.

Qin Sang had made ample preparations for Core Formation during this period, so after breaking through to the Pseudo-Core stage, there was no need to return to the sect; he could simply enter secluded cultivation directly.

After breaking through to the Pseudo-Core stage, Qin Sang had been traveling extensively and fought a major battle with Daoist Jiupao, which had greatly solidified his cultivation.

After three months of secluded cultivation, Qin Sang awoke from his meditative state.

He inspected his inner self. His Qi Sea was full, and his spiritual energy was calm and unperturbed. His spirit was complete, and his divine sense was vast.

The Pseudo-Core stage represented the pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment stage; reaching this realm meant no further progress was possible, only waiting for Core Formation.

This was indeed the case. After breaking through to the Pseudo-Core stage, no matter how hard Qin Sang tried, his cultivation could no longer increase by even a sliver. He was firmly stuck at the bottleneck, re-experiencing the hardship of being restricted by a bottleneck.

If he were a Heavenly Spiritual Root cultivator, he could easily form a Golden Core now, but Qin Sang could only envy them.

For these three months, he refined the spiritual energy in his Qi Sea to its utmost and calmed every trace of restlessness within his heart.

When he awoke, he calmly scanned the cave dwelling, then looked down at his dantian for a long while before closing his eyes again.

In his mind, he meticulously recalled the texts from Treasure Pagoda Peak several times and pondered over everything Qi Yuanshou had said, regardless of its perceived usefulness.

Then, Qin Sang began his attempt at Core Formation.

He did not choose to directly use auxiliary spiritual items but instead attempted to form his core using his own strength.

If he could succeed by chance, that would be ideal, but Qin Sang knew this possibility was almost non-existent. His goal was to accumulate as much experience as possible and integrate all he had seen and heard.

This might slightly increase his chances of success when refining spiritual items later.

He currently only possessed the Kanli Golden Core, the Snow Spirit Lotus, and the Iris flower, so he had to proceed cautiously.

Deep beneath the great swamp.In the depths of the silt.The cave dwelling saw no daylight, and the days passed uncounted.

In the quiet, secluded cave dwelling, Qin Sang sat as still as an ancient pine, motionless. His aura rarely fluctuated. For several months, it seemed as if nothing changed.

Finally, Qin Sang stirred slightly, awakening from his meditative state once more.

As expected.

During this period, Qin Sang cultivated his techniques ceaselessly, yet he felt no signs of spiritual energy condensing. He had to face the reality that, with his talent, attempting to form a core solely through his own abilities was nothing short of a fool's dream.

Success was simply impossible; he hadn't even gained the slightest bit of so-called experience.

Wasting several months could be said to have yielded absolutely no results.

Qin Sang had anticipated this, and his state of mind could not be disturbed, so he did not feel disappointed and was able to view everything calmly.

It seemed he would have to try consuming the Kanli Golden Core.

Instead of immediately entering seclusion, Qin Sang stood up, quietly left the cave dwelling, and returned to the small island. Finding no message left by Cloud Wanderer, he then returned to his cave dwelling.

He and Cloud Wanderer had an agreement: if Ziwei Palace suddenly opened at this time, Cloud Wanderer would leave a sound-transmitting talisman on the island to inform him.

At that point, regardless of whether he had formed his core or not, Qin Sang would have to put these matters aside and enter Ziwei Palace first.