Chapter 545: Choosing the Heterodox Path

Compared to the immense gains, these minor side effects were completely acceptable.

Qin Sang summoned his Ebony Sword, which enveloped him in sword light as he flew away.

He arrived at the Earth Sinking Cavern.

Qin Sang subconsciously concealed his presence and submerged himself deep into the Earth Sinking Cavern. His divine sense extended, confirming that the living corpse was still obediently in its original spot, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He waved his hand, undoing the sealing restrictions he had left before departing.

A whooshing sound arose as the Earth Fiend energy churned unsteadily.

A ghostly figure slowly emerged from the abyss.

Qin Sang intently examined the Flying Yaksha; its outward appearance revealed nothing.

After several days apart, it felt subtly unfamiliar, yet the soul imprint remained very stable. Qin Sang commanded the Flying Yaksha to float before him and extended his divine sense into its dantian.

The corpse core was still riddled with cracks and appeared very dry, but its condition was better than when he left, indicating that the nourishment in the Earth Sinking Cavern was indeed effective.

Qin Sang secretly nodded, sat down cross-legged, and ordered the Flying Yaksha to do the same before him. Then, he fully unleashed his divine sense, enveloping the corpse core and carefully examining it.

At the edge of the fiendish energy, darkness enveloped everything.

One person and one corpse sat facing each other. The Flying Yaksha's eyes were pitch black and hollow.

Before long, Qin Sang withdrew his divine sense and fell into contemplation.

He recalled every subtle change during the process of refining the corpse core, as well as his understanding of it while controlling it during his fight with Wu Youdao.

Gradually, Qin Sang indeed began to grasp some clues.

He couldn't directly heal the Flying Yaksha; even unsealing the corpse core wouldn't yield better results. However, he could guide it by leveraging the situation, helping the Flying Yaksha pinpoint the core issue and accelerate its absorption of the Earth Fiend energy, which would significantly speed up its recovery.

Without further ado, Qin Sang glanced around, then waved his hand to set up a circle of restrictions. He then activated the soul imprint within the Flying Yaksha, forcibly seizing control.

Inside the dantian, the corpse core's rotation was extremely slow, almost stagnant.

Countless streams of Earth Fiend energy surrounded the corpse core, yet they could only permeate its crevices at an extremely slow pace, making its recovery rate predictably sluggish.

At this point, under Qin Sang's will, he forcibly drove the corpse core to slowly rotate, risking its complete shattering.

This ripple effect caused the fiendish energy in the dantian to immediately churn non-stop.

Qin Sang's expression was serious, more so than when he was dealing with himself, fearing that a moment of carelessness would lead to the core shattering and the corpse dying.

Unexpectedly, the healing process went much more smoothly than Qin Sang had anticipated.

Qin Sang cautiously guided a wisp of Earth Fiend energy to slowly enter. Perhaps due to years of previous nourishment, the corpse core remained quite stable throughout this process.

Three days later, Qin Sang withdrew his divine sense, a hint of weariness in his eyes.

Though merely assisting, his divine sense had been considerably depleted. Fortunately, the results were good.

With a wave of his hand, the Flying Yaksha turned and leaped into the Earth Fiend energy. From now on, he would only need to return every few days to help the Flying Yaksha correct its absorption, so there was no need to stay here constantly.

“It seems that in about three months, its injuries should largely recover. Then, I can fill the Minor Yin Magnetic Bottle with Earth Fiend energy and take it to Xuanlu Pass to completely heal it. There’s still over a year until the Ziwei Palace opens; I don't know if anything unexpected will happen, so it's better to travel there early using the ancient teleportation array…”

As Qin Sang pondered these thoughts, he stood up and quietly left the Earth Sinking Cavern.

On his way back to Shaohua Mountain, Qin Sang also visited the markets around the mountain gate to inquire about recent changes in the situation.

Although the Minor Cold Domain and the Sky-Go Alliance had not yet withdrawn their troops from the Chaotic Isles, there had been no major battles for over two months. The atmosphere in the Minor Cold Domain was now much more relaxed, almost returning to how it was before the war began.

Several major markets had resumed normal operations, and cultivators who had been in hiding could finally emerge and move about freely, creating a scene of prosperity.

Qin Sang visited several merchant guilds and made extensive purchases.

Although Daoist Jiupao was a defeated dog, even a dying camel is larger than a horse. After unsealing the restrictions in the iron ring and acquiring Daoist Jiupao's relics, Qin Sang now had considerable wealth. Besides an excessive amount of healing elixirs, he bought various spirit herbs and magic artifacts to handle different situations.

Of course, those four high-grade spirit stones were not to be touched.

The iron ring had ample space, so he wasn't worried about it getting full.

After spending a full day and placing several deposits, Qin Sang contentedly flew towards Shaohua Mountain.

The Sword Gate Pass was wide open.

Within the mountains, peach blossoms bloomed like brocade, and the forests were painted with vibrant colors. Many young female disciples were enjoying the flowers and playing in the woods, a sight that reminded Qin Sang of his own entry into the sect years ago.

The beautiful scenery remained, but many old acquaintances were no longer there.

Senior Brother Wen, with no hope of forming a Core, was nearing the end of his lifespan and had returned to his hometown to retire.

Zhuang Yan was busy cultivating with his Dao companion.

Senior Brother Qi was in secluded cultivation and not receiving visitors.

His other old friends were probably not in the sect either.

Qin Sang thought back but found no one he wished to see. He shook his head and flew alone towards the cave abode Zhuang Yan had lent him.

There was a rule within Shaohua Mountain Sect: after a disciple formed a Core, they could amend the Jade Scroll, just as they did upon reaching Foundation Establishment. Their status, spirit stones, and other benefits would naturally increase.

Even more enticing was that the sect would not only hold a Golden Core Grand Ceremony for them but also fund the construction of an extremely luxurious cave abode in a location of their choosing, either within or outside the mountain gate.

Of course, the responsibilities that came with it could not be shirked.

Qin Sang didn't care for empty titles or grand ceremonies, but he was quite drawn to the idea of a cave abode.

Although his Spirit Spring Cave Abode had abundant spiritual energy, it paled in comparison to a true Golden Core Cave Abode.

However, Qin Sang was unsure if he would be recognized by the sect, as he currently only possessed an outer core.

Since there wasn't much time left anyway, he decided it would be better to wait until he returned from the Ziwei Palace and formed a true Golden Core before informing the sect.

For now, it was best not to let others know that he possessed an outer core while still in the Pseudo-Core realm.

Qin Sang decided to keep his accomplishments hidden.

Upon entering the cave abode, Qin Sang's cultivation could no longer advance, nor did he need to worry about forming a Core. He finally stopped the relentless, life-draining cultivation and could now dedicate his attention to other aspects.

He decided to gain some understanding of the myriad arts of cultivation.

Ultimately, Qin Sang chose two main areas to focus on.

One was the path of spirit formations and restrictions.

These two were actually interconnected. Qin Sang already had some proficiency in the path of restrictions, and he had obtained an ancient formation manual from the Yuan Shen Sect disciple. He could now study them in conjunction, gaining mutual insights.

The second was the path of beast taming.

He had acquired the Golden Core insights of the Spirit Control Sect from the Earth Deficient Elder's relics. Although Qin Sang often perused them for cultivating his Blood-Winged Ghost-Head Bees, he had never truly delved into them. Now, he could thoroughly explore them.

After forming his core, his cultivation speed was no longer a hindrance. It was appropriate to choose one or more secondary paths to enhance his strength.

From then on, Qin Sang's life became very regular.

Every few days, he would visit the Earth Sinking Cavern. Other than that, he remained secluded in his cave abode, rarely interacting with others.