Chapter 576: Disclosure

Bear in mind that every stage of the Outer Hall is fraught with danger. In places akin to immortal tombs, even Marquis Dongyang and Chen Yan had to slow down and proceed cautiously.

Vagrant Cloud's aura hadn't changed much from before; it was clearly still at the Pseudo-Core realm!

Qin Sang gave Vagrant Cloud a deep look.

Previously, Vagrant Cloud had always been shrouded in many mysteries, but they weren't too outlandish. Moreover, Qin Sang himself had secrets, so he never delved too deeply into them.

Everyone has their secrets and taboos; prying indiscriminately could easily turn friends into enemies.

Vagrant Cloud had never harmed him; on the contrary, he had helped him immensely. Naturally, Qin Sang wouldn't repay kindness with malice. While it was true he was ruthless, he only targeted his enemies.

Now, Qin Sang found Vagrant Cloud increasingly unfathomable.

To pass through the Outer Hall's stages and enter the Inner Hall so quickly was absolutely impossible for a normal Pseudo-Core realm cultivator. Even Golden Core masters probably couldn't do it!

Could it be that Vagrant Cloud had concealed his true strength?

Could his cultivation rival that of a Nascent Soul cultivator?

Qin Sang was startled by this thought. He scoffed at himself, deeming the idea utterly baseless.

Vagrant Cloud's background was very clear. His mortal experiences during the Great Sui era were corroborated by Daoist Jixin, and after he joined the Taiyi Dan Sect, his cultivation path became even clearer.

From Qi Refining initiation, to Foundation Establishment, and then to the Pseudo-Core realm.

He had progressed step by step, which was incredibly arduous and widely known.

Qin Sang himself had been involved in many of those events.

If Vagrant Cloud had truly been hiding his strength, such a long period of disguise would have been pointless.

Perhaps he had discovered a shortcut to the Inner Hall.

“I traveled at full speed and only just arrived,” Vagrant Cloud said with a sigh of relief, “so at least I didn't delay your important matter, brother.”

“Let's head straight to gather the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit now,” he continued. “Since we arrived quickly enough, other competitors might not have gotten here yet.”

With that, Vagrant Cloud activated his movement technique and sped towards the ancient herb garden.

Qin Sang had a question on the tip of his tongue. He had intended to probe subtly, but on second thought, decided against it. Whatever Vagrant Cloud's secrets were, as long as he harbored no ill will towards him, it was fine.

He suppressed these distracting thoughts and silently followed.

Noticing Qin Sang's gaze lingering on the ruins of the ancient city, Vagrant Cloud spoke up voluntarily, “Brother Qin, you also find this palm print's presence here strange, don't you?”

Qin Sang nodded, sighing with emotion. “Who could have left such a terrifying palm print?” he wondered. “Do the legendary giant spirits and titans, said to be able to tear dragons and phoenixes apart, truly exist?”

This palm print didn't seem to be caused by spiritual power.

The finger and palm lines were clearly visible, making it look more like an imprint left by a physical hand.

This was the reason for Qin Sang's shock.

What kind of powerful physical body could destroy an immortal city with a single palm strike?

To cultivate one's physical body to such a realm was simply astounding.

Qin Sang suspected that even with his full power, he wouldn't be able to pierce the defense of such a body's skin; it would be like merely tickling them.

It wasn't that there were no body-refining techniques in the cultivation world, but most of these techniques required a tremendous amount of resources. This included, but was not limited to, various precious spirit herbs and heavenly treasures.

Those unorthodox secret arts all had significant limitations, and their cultivation difficulty was no less.

In the current cultivation world, resources are scarce. It's extremely difficult to succeed on this path, far more challenging than orthodox cultivation.

Even cultivators who attempt body-refining only consider cultivating body-refining secret arts as a secondary practice after achieving some success in their main cultivation. With powerful strength as a backing, collecting resources becomes much easier.

However, while cultivating both magical arts and the physical body simultaneously might lead to rapid increases in combat power in the short term, in the long run, dividing one's attention disperses a cultivator's energy, and the outcome is usually not very good.

“It might not be a giant spirit,” Vagrant Cloud said, shaking his head. “In the ancient cultivation world, when one cultivated their physical body to the extreme, they could achieve the great divine ability of Heaven-Earth Manifestation. Powerful beings who mastered this ability could transform into heaven and earth, overturning mountains and seas. It's not surprising for them to leave such a palm print.”

The great divine ability of Heaven-Earth Manifestation?

Qin Sang fell silent. The more he saw, the more ignorant and insignificant he felt.

This world had unveiled a new layer of its mysteries to him in the Ziwei Palace.

The mysterious barrier at the edge of the ancient immortal battlefield, the immortal tombs in the Outer Hall of Ziwei Palace, and the palm print in the Inner Hall – each one was an existence beyond Qin Sang's imagination.

Who left behind these sacred remnants that still endure and awe the world to this day?

Mahayana cultivators?

Or even... immortals?

“This single palm strike utterly destroyed the immortal city,” Vagrant Cloud said, his voice filled with awe and yearning. “Once, a Nascent Soul cultivator turned the city inside out and indeed found some surviving magic treasures. However, without exception, they had all lost their power. It's said that this wasn't due to the passage of time, but rather a terrifying force that directly annihilated the treasures' essences. This force likely originated from the palm print.”

Both men were profoundly moved and fell silent.

After a while, Vagrant Cloud broke the silence.

“Brother Qin,” Vagrant Cloud began, “these matters are far beyond our current scope. What we need to consider now is healing our hidden injuries. Although the possibility of encountering competitors is low, we still need to be prepared.

“My Flawless Pearl, if fully activated, can seal a Demon Core realm demon cultivator for a period, the duration depending on the demon cultivator's cultivation level.

“I also have some knowledge of ancient restrictions. If we encounter enemies, I can try to use ancient restrictions to trap them, to buy you as much time as possible.”

Qin Sang looked at Vagrant Cloud in surprise. The Flawless Pearl actually possessed such formidable power that it could even seal a Demon Core realm demon cultivator. Had it perhaps transformed into a magic treasure?

Vagrant Cloud's tone was very confident. He had never boasted before, so he was likely trustworthy.

Since Vagrant Cloud was actively helping him gather the herbs and had brought it up himself, Qin Sang decided to reveal some of his own cards to him. “Senior, I possess a Void Sky Thunder,” he said. “If absolutely necessary, I'm willing to trade the Void Sky Thunder for the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit. I also control a Flying Yaksha-level refined corpse. With it leading the way and breaking restrictions, our speed will definitely increase significantly.”

After this journey, he would be able to form his Golden Core.

Cultivating the Corpse Dao concurrently, as long as he didn't commit evil deeds or massacre mortals and cultivators, wasn't a major issue for a Golden Core cultivator. Even his sect would turn a blind eye if they knew.

There was no longer any need to conceal it.

“Void Sky Thunder! Flying Yaksha!”

Vagrant Cloud was startled by Qin Sang, staring at him in astonishment. “I've seen so many Pseudo-Core realm cultivators, but never one who concealed so much as you do,” he exclaimed. “Even a Golden Core cultivator who dared to underestimate you would suffer a great loss! Did you obtain the secret art for refining Flying Yakshas in the ice cave?”

Qin Sang knew he couldn't hide it from Vagrant Cloud. He replied vaguely, “You could say that. It's thanks to your guidance, Senior.”

Vagrant Cloud chuckled.

“I noticed long ago that you possessed corpse-refining techniques, and that your Flying Yaksha shared the same origin,” Vagrant Cloud said.

“Are you perhaps surprised that I never questioned you about it?

“In my opinion, techniques aren't inherently good or evil; it's the person who wields them that matters.

“Don't blame me for investigating you, brother. I know you're not a person of great evil.

“To employ decisive means to kill those who deserve to die, while upholding one's true nature and never losing one's bottom line — this is how cultivators of our generation should be!”