Chapter 628: One Spirit Uncorrupted, Returning to Samsara

When did the gray energy invade his body without him noticing at all? Qin Sang felt a shiver down his spine.

Could it have been during the time he was unconscious after being teleported? He couldn't remember how long he had been in that state. Was it possible he had inadvertently encountered something strange during that period? Was it because of this gray energy that he wasn't at the other end of the teleportation array, but instead found himself floating on the river?

Another possibility was that Qin Sang was awake when the gray energy invaded but simply failed to perceive it.

Two locations were most suspicious: the bronze hall in Ziwei Palace and the ancient teleportation array. Both were constructed by ancient cultivators and held their own mysteries.

While in the bronze hall, Qin Sang's life was in the hands of others, and he was entirely focused on escaping, leaving him no time to thoroughly examine the hall's layout. However, he still remembered elements of the bronze hall: the altar, the demonic cave, and the blood bead held by Chen Yan. He knew at a glance that these were not benign objects.

Then there was the ancient teleportation array. Even modern cultivators couldn't decipher its secrets, let alone this particular one, which required two high-grade spirit stones and could teleport across immense distances. During the teleportation, Qin Sang felt a terrifying force acting upon him, nearly tearing him apart.

Both of these places could be the source of the gray energy. But Qin Sang was utterly bewildered; what exactly was this gray energy, and why did it target him?

Qin Sang began to channel a wisp of true essence to touch the gray energy, but whether it was true essence from his Corpse Pill or his Golden Core, it was swallowed the moment it entered the gray energy, like a stone sinking into the sea, eliciting no reaction whatsoever. The same happened with his spiritual consciousness; once it entered, that wisp of consciousness was immediately severed, and Qin Sang couldn't perceive anything within the gray energy.

Later, Qin Sang boldly channeled more true essence and spiritual consciousness to assail the gray energy, but the result was still the same. It seemed to have made Qin Sang's qi sea its home, proving even more stubborn than the forbidden talisman fragments!

The only good news was that this mass of gray energy remained docilely in his dantian, nestled motionlessly beside his Golden Core, not obstructing his cultivation or combat in the slightest. Despite his discomfort, Qin Sang had no way to deal with it.

Helpless, he could only allow the gray energy to occupy his dantian. Fortunately, for now, it seemed harmless, so he decided to figure out a solution once his cultivation improved.

Out of sight, out of mind. Qin Sang's 'gaze' left his dantian, and he focused on his physical body and nascent soul. Golden Core formation brought a comprehensive leap forward; the persistent corpse qi in his body was completely purged the moment spiritual energy infused him. From now on, he wouldn't have to worry about becoming a zombie.

Recalling the scene where he was rescued by the mute girl by Qingyi River, Qin Sang let out a wry smile. At that time, he was floating among broken wood and withered branches, with one arm severed and corpse qi erupting from him. Not only was his body devoid of any color, but it had also turned a bluish-black, making him look almost like a green-faced, fanged fiend. The mute girl, washing clothes by the river, was startled by the one-armed corpse and nearly kicked him back into the river. Fortunately, Qin Sang woke up and cried for help, only then was he rescued and taken home by her. Otherwise, he didn't know how much longer he would have drifted, and if he had drifted into the barbaric wilderness, it would have been even more dangerous.

"First, I'll go back to Qianhu Village to settle my karmic debt with the mute girl, then I'll search for spirit insects and forbidden areas," Qin Sang thought to himself.

The Five-Insect Gate's geomantic map was not detailed regarding the outside world, especially the barbaric wilderness. It only listed the habitats of nearly twenty types of spirit insects, none of which were what Qin Sang was looking for. It wouldn't be too late to search for his destiny insect after the Five-Insect Gate gathered more information.

As for the ancient teleportation array, he would have to search slowly. Qin Sang planned to first travel along the river he had drifted on, to see if he could find anything.

Pondering these thoughts, Qin Sang opened his Qianjun Ring and took out the three Ten-Directions Yama Banners. One banner was intact, while two were damaged, though only their flags were affected. According to Patriarch Kuiyin's refining method, he only needed to condense the purest essence of souls into threads to repair these two magic treasures. The three Ten-Directions Yama Banners could form the simplest array, yet possess power comparable to mid-grade magic treasures, and would temporarily be Qin Sang's strongest artifacts. The Ebony Sword and the Primordial Concentric Rings were both low-grade magic treasures.

Now that Qin Sang had formed his Golden Core, he could begin the repairs. He placed the two damaged magic treasures on his lap, then took out all the Ten-Directions Yama Banner artifacts. Besides the ten he used himself, there were fourteen confiscated from the Kuiyin Sect remnants, totaling more than two sets. These two sets of ghost banners were even more powerful than talisman treasures, arguably the strongest among artifacts below true magic treasures. Having formed his Golden Core, Qin Sang no longer needed them, but if put up for auction, they would undoubtedly cause a stir, with countless Foundation Establishment cultivators vying for them and fetching a high price.

However, repairing the magic treasures required an immense amount of pure soul energy, and even these twenty-four banners might not be enough. Qin Sang could not leave Western Xinjiang for now. Western Xinjiang was so barren that there were probably not many soul-refining artifacts available, making it impossible to gather enough pure soul energy. Therefore, he had no choice but to extract the essence from the ghost banners to repair the magic treasures. Whether searching for insects or secret realms and forbidden lands, he would have to venture deep into the barbaric wilderness. Qin Sang needed to improve his strength as quickly as possible and could not afford to wait any longer.

*Swish, swish, swish...* The twenty-four small ghost banners flew from Qin Sang's hand, embedding themselves in three rows on the ground. Qin Sang recalled the refining method several times, then picked up the least damaged magic treasure, simultaneously summoning a ghost banner from the ground.

*Whoosh, whoosh...* Suddenly, a chilling wind howled, making the cave extremely cold, and countless ghostly figures appeared indistinctly.

*Crack!* The ghost banner suddenly shattered. Qin Sang didn't care at all. He discarded the destroyed banner, then abruptly clenched his hand forward. His profound true essence instantly enveloped the yin wind, condensing it into a ball that floated towards him.

Hair-raising ghostly wails rose and fell. Qin Sang remained unperturbed. His hand seals changed one after another, and complex restrictions flew from his fingertips, falling into the yin wind.

A moment later, a grayish-white wisp of smoke slowly emerged from the yin wind, extremely thin, like a thread. This was the purest soul essence, condensed into a soul thread, which could be directly used to weave the banner face of the Ten-Directions Yama Banners. As the soul thread was extracted, the commotion from the yin wind gradually subsided.

Soon, the soul thread broke, measuring less than a foot long. Destroying one ghost banner yielded only such a short section of soul thread. It was hard to imagine how Patriarch Kuiyin managed to gather enough for ten magic treasures back then.

Qin Sang hooked his finger, and the soul thread floated to his fingertip. It seemed to possess vitality, automatically wrapping around his finger, sending a cool sensation through him. He wasn't in a hurry to repair the magic treasures, his gaze returning to the mass of yin wind.

He could no longer hear ghostly wails, but some ghosts had not completely dissipated. Many green phosphorescent lights floated within the yin wind, representing the last vestiges of spiritual essence remaining in the ghosts. In the cultivation world, it was believed that if a spirit retained even a shred of its essence, it still had a chance of reincarnation.

The Ten-Directions Yama Banner magic treasures were, surprisingly, less malicious than their artifact counterparts. Repairing the magic treasures only required the purest soul energy, without needing to continue imprisoning the ghosts.

"Does reincarnation truly exist in this world?" Qin Sang murmured to himself. He finally waved his hand, releasing the yin wind. The phosphorescent lights drifted in all directions, gradually disappearing.