Chapter 627: Forbidden Talisman Fragment

Putting away the three jade slips, he turned his attention inward.

Inside his dantian, a five-colored Golden Core floated majestically at the center, rotating slowly.

The Golden Core radiated the profound beauty of the Great Dao, captivating and beyond description.

In stark contrast, the sealed greenish-black Corpse Core next to it appeared far less impressive.

At present, however, the power difference between the Golden Core and the Corpse Core was not significant; in fact, the Corpse Core held a slight advantage. While his own Golden Core embodied his entire essence, qi, and spirit, the Corpse Core was formed by refining another's Golden Core and fusing it with baleful energies.

A clear disparity would only become apparent once Qin Sang advanced to the mid-Core Formation stage.

Contrary to Qin Sang's expectations, his Golden Core was predominantly wood-green. The true essence within his body had also been replaced by wood-element spiritual power during the moment of spiritual energy infusion when his core formed.

The *Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter* itself did not inherently belong to any of the five elements.

Qin Sang had initially laid his foundation with the water-element *Netherworld Scripture*, and later, even after cultivating the *Profound Female Jade Cauldron True Scripture* and the *Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter*, his spiritual energy remained predominantly water-element, which had never negatively impacted his cultivation.

He had not anticipated it would spontaneously change after forming his core.

This must be due to his Ebony Sword.

When he first began cultivating the *Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter* and chose his spiritual sword, he could only select one of the five elemental spiritual materials: metal, wood, water, fire, or earth. Since he only possessed the Ebony Sword's sword embryo, he naturally chose to refine spiritual wood.

Now, after core formation, his cultivation method had altered itself because of the Ebony Sword.

This indicated that the life-bound spiritual sword's role in relation to the *Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter* and cultivators in the future was more significant than Qin Sang had anticipated.

He wondered what the complete *Primordial Spirit Sword Nurturing Chapter* would entail at higher cultivation realms.

Qin Sang yearned for it, but had no inkling of the complete cultivation method. He could only follow the path Senior Qingzhu had forged, taking one step at a time.

He would only consider such matters if he managed to form a Nascent Soul.

If only Senior Qingzhu were still alive, perhaps he would have already devised the cultivation method for realms beyond the Nascent Soul stage.

Qin Sang offered a silent prayer for Senior Qingzhu, then shifted his gaze from the Golden Core to other parts of his body.

At that moment, his Sea of Qi could only be described as utter chaos!

Besides his Golden Core and the Corpse Core, there was also a mass of gray mist and several fragments of golden runes!

Earlier, during his Core Formation, Qin Sang had sensed Cuixuanzi's arrival. His delay in going out was precisely because he was examining these two peculiar elements.

The rune fragments were remnants of the forbidden talismans Earl Dongyang had placed on him.

During the spiritual energy infusion, true to Qin Sang's hopes, the forbidden talismans were indeed shattered. However, they weren't completely expelled; some fragments still lingered in his dantian.

The successful formation of his core, which should have brought unadulterated joy, was somewhat overshadowed by the stubborn remnants of the talismans.

Was this the power of a Nascent Soul Grandmaster? Even a casually applied forbidden talisman was so formidable?

He attempted to circulate his Golden Core and activate his true essence, discovering an almost imperceptible delay caused by the talismans. Under normal circumstances, this lag would be negligible.

However, in a life-or-death battle against a powerful adversary, even a fraction of a second's delay in casting a spell or activating a magic treasure could give the enemy a decisive advantage.

Qin Sang tried to dispel them himself, but found that although the talismans were broken, their fragments remained incredibly resilient. With his current strength, he couldn't forcibly remove them; he would likely need to reach the late Core Formation stage to succeed.

A complete forbidden talisman would likely pose a challenge even for a Nascent Soul cultivator!

At the time, if the Jade Buddha hadn't protected his primordial spirit, preventing him from completely losing his combat ability, even if Chenyan had rescued him from Earl Dongyang, the talismans wouldn't have been dispelled quickly, and he wouldn't have been able to escape on his own.

Qin Sang had to admit that Earl Dongyang's actions were indeed meticulous and flawless, only failing to account for the Jade Buddha.

After trying numerous methods to no avail, Qin Sang finally gave up, deciding to leave them be for the time being.

The impact of the talisman fragments was neither minor nor major; at least, he wouldn't have to worry about them during the early Core Formation stage.

Qin Sang attempted to cultivate his method and found that during the process, cultivation cycles had to be completed one by one, without rushing. The true essence delay caused by the talisman fragments would not hinder this steady progress.

This significantly alleviated much of his concern.

As for their impact during combat, it could potentially be mitigated by his Outer Core.

The Golden Core was the most vital possession of any Core Formation cultivator. Generally, they dared not allow it to leave their body, as an enemy's attack could lead to severe damage to the core or, worse, a drastic drop in cultivation.

The Outer Core, however, offered more flexibility. In a truly critical situation, Qin Sang could move his Outer Core out of his Sea of Qi, thus circumventing the limitations imposed by the talisman fragments.

The only problem was that Qin Sang still didn't know how to enhance his Outer Core.

Once Qin Sang's cultivation advanced to the mid-Core Formation stage, his Outer Core would become less effective, offering significant help only during the early Core Formation stage.

The hidden danger posed by the talisman fragments would need to be resolved sooner or later.

Seeking help to break the talismans would require him to lower his defenses and open his Sea of Qi, essentially entrusting his life to another. This was an option Qin Sang would never consider.

After much deliberation, Qin Sang could only think of two potential solutions before reaching the late Core Formation stage.

The first was to delve into the Way of Talismans himself to find a way to break them.

The second was to leverage another instance of spiritual energy infusion.

Qin Sang only knew how to use spiritual talismans, possessing no foundational knowledge in the Way of Talismans. Furthermore, he lacked any true inheritance related to it, meaning he would first need to find one and start learning from the very beginning.

This path presented an immense challenge.

Both artifact refining and talisman crafting demanded vast resources.

He had long decided to pursue the path of artifact refining, and Qin Sang doubted he possessed the necessary time and energy to concurrently cultivate the Way of Talismans.

While his cultivation speed had indeed improved due to his method, he could not afford to be reckless.

He understood that his cultivation was always paramount, and Qin Sang would never put the cart before the horse.

The art of insect manipulation, however, was a different matter. Qin Sang possessed the true inheritance of the Spirit Controlling Sect and found himself in the territory of the Witch Tribe, renowned for their mastery of insect manipulation. Combined with divine medicine like the Vermilion Fire Gilt, this path was considerably easier than pursuing talisman crafting.

If he could learn from the Witch Tribe and refine a life-bound insect Gu for himself.

Then, when his life-bound insect Gu completed its third metamorphosis and drew in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he could house it in his Sea of Qi and seize the opportunity to completely eradicate the forbidden talismans.

The heaven-and-earth spiritual energy drawn by the insect Gu's metamorphosis wouldn't recognize Qin Sang, and its impact on his Sea of Qi could potentially injure him. However, with proper control, the danger would be minimal.

Opting for the path of the life-bound insect Gu traditionally meant abandoning the concept of a life-bound magic treasure, as one could not have both.

However, Qin Sang was different; this choice was not difficult for him.

He already possessed the Ebony Sword.

He could have both a life-bound magic treasure and a life-bound insect Gu!

After some deliberation, Qin Sang made up his mind and decided to go out and meet Cuixuanzi.

Now that he had acquired the Witch Tribe's life-bound insect Gu technique, Qin Sang realized he could indeed cultivate it. The numerous advantages it offered further solidified his resolve to refine a life-bound insect Gu.

The talisman fragments were merely a minor affliction.

What truly worried Qin Sang the most was the mass of gray mist.

He was certain that everything in his Sea of Qi had been normal before Earl Dongyang inflicted the forbidden talismans upon him.

This gray mist had appeared after he was bound by the forbidden talismans and lost control of his Sea of Qi. It was only when Qin Sang formed his core and broke through the talismans that he discovered its presence!