Chapter 908: Star Platform

The rest were miscellaneous items.

Qin Sang stared at the cluttered ground, his gaze finally settling on a stone platform. This was the only object that caught his eye; despite its dilapidated appearance, it exuded an unusual aura, clearly an ancient artifact.

Could this be what Black Snake Mountain had gone to such lengths to steal?

The Celestial Eye Butterfly had been watching constantly, so the black-robed man couldn't have transferred it to anyone else, unless he had failed.

Out of caution, Qin Sang first picked up the other items one by one, simultaneously probing them with his spiritual sense and true essence to confirm they were ordinary. Only the stone platform remained.

He held up the stone platform in his palm and released his true essence, which the platform absorbed completely.

The platform was like a bottomless pit, accepting everything. As the true essence continuously poured in, a faint glow emanated from the platform, illuminating Qin Sang's surprised face.

"This is the power of the Great Heavenly Stars..."

Qin Sang looked astonished. "This item can actually connect with the stars on its own!"

Then, he suddenly realized something. His eyes flashed, and he abruptly increased the flow of true essence, continuously channeling it into the platform. Although the platform's faint glow only brightened slightly and its physical form showed no other changes, the power of the Great Heavenly Stars became increasingly concentrated.

Snap!

Qin Sang's true essence was almost depleted, so he stopped the infusion and placed the platform on the ground. He gazed at it with a look of pleasant surprise, realizing this item might solve his biggest current problem.

Afterward, Qin Sang neglected to rest, meticulously inspecting every corner countless times. He even tried attacking the platform with Daoist spells and magical treasures, but to no avail.

He found no runes within the stone platform. It seemed like a pure stone, with no other peculiarities besides its ability to resonate with the Great Heavenly Stars.

Qin Sang exhausted all his methods and finally stopped, deep in thought.

"The Lan Dou Gate stored the stone platform in the Dongming Island grotto. Either this item is so crucial that moving it would cause an explosion like yesterday's, or they were unaware of its true value and treated it merely as an aid for cultivating the Thunder Control Art.

"However, the Black Snake Mountain Old Ancestor sent out all his disciples, so he must know its true nature. The lengths he went to obtain the stone platform indicate it's far more significant than it appears.

"Could it be some ancient treasure of the Witch Tribe, one that humans cannot elicit a response from?

"It seems the Witch Tribe also has similar secret arts! In ancient times, not only was spiritual energy extraordinarily rich and natural treasures abundant, but talented and extraordinary individuals also emerged endlessly. Who knows how many astonishing and brilliant cultivators were born among various races. It's nothing like today, where cultivation realms are confined to small corners, like cages."

Qin Sang shook his head, looking at the stone platform.

He then summoned the Celestial Eye Butterfly, but repeated attempts yielded no results. Besides their natal worm-gu and bloodline, Witch Tribe cultivators possessed something humans did not: divine runes.

"If Mute Girl were to wake up, it would be great; I could ask her to try..."

Qin Sang murmured to himself, then suddenly thought of Mute Girl and sighed. The joy of discovering the platform's function diminished somewhat.

"I'll find another opportunity later. Anyway, the Witch Tribe's Divine Rune Dao is almost entirely ruined, so I could just capture a low-level Witch Tribe cultivator. For other human cultivators, if they don't cultivate star power, the platform's use is indeed limited, but it's of great use to me. From now on, I'll call it the Star Platform!"

Qin Sang collected his thoughts, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

He found that the more true essence he infused, the more concentrated the Great Heavenly Stars' power drawn by the platform became. As long as his true essence was abundant enough, it might meet the requirements for Star Essence Infusion.

"With myself, the Twin-Headed Ferret, the Celestial Eye Butterfly, and the Fat Silkworm, that's four Golden Core stage cultivators. If we all act simultaneously, it should barely meet the requirements. It's a shame the Flying Yaksha was left behind in the Seven Kills Hall. However, if that's still not enough, I can try to refine a few more Flying Yakshas; Soul Guiding Grass is always easier to obtain than Scorpion Venom Grass..."

Qin Sang pondered inwardly.

After all, it was only needed for breaking through the third layer of the 'Heavenly Demon Refinement Art,' so the requirements shouldn't be too stringent.

The stone platform was of immense importance. With the Black Snake Mountain Old Ancestor already involved, and now the Nascent Soul cultivators of Lan Dou Gate surely aware of its value, any leak would bring mortal danger. He couldn't ask for help from others.

Fortunately, he had learned many unorthodox methods during his cultivation journey, allowing him to gather so many helpers on his own.

"I never expected to find a solution from a stone, when I couldn't find one in the cultivation techniques themselves."

Qin Sang meticulously examined the Star Platform, feeling that even its mottled scars seemed more pleasing to the eye. His lips curved slightly, and a faint smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

From then on, his cultivation would face no obstacles.

A great weight was finally lifted from Qin Sang's mind.

He quickly calmed down again, contemplating his situation.

"This is no place to linger. I should quickly recover my true essence and find a secluded spot to lie low.

"Since I have a direction for Star Essence Infusion, I don't need to wander aimlessly anymore.

"With Lan Dou Gate and Black Snake Mountain after me, I definitely can't go to large cities like Tianxing City. I need to choose a remote or chaotic place where I won't easily be exposed. It also needs to be a small island with abundant spiritual energy, not occupied by any sect.

"In the Demonic Sea, such a place wouldn't be hard to find.

"Within the Inner Sea, most places with excellent spiritual veins are already claimed. Forcibly taking one would only expose me faster. Only the Northern Sea's Rain Desert and the Rifting Wind Archipelago are most suitable.

"The Rain Desert is in the far north of the Northern Sea, too distant, and travel would take a long time. Furthermore, it's extremely desolate; if I encountered any trouble along the way, it would be difficult to buy spiritual materials or herbs, or even find help. It seems I can only go to the Rifting Wind Archipelago.

"The Rifting Wind Archipelago is extremely chaotic, with slaughter rampant everywhere. Neither the righteous nor demonic paths can extend their influence there.

"If others don't offend me, I won't offend them. With my current strength, it shouldn't be difficult to establish a foothold there. After a few decades, once the commotion subsides, I can resume my activities.

"Additionally, Senior Azure Bamboo's cave abode is also there; perhaps I can uncover some things I didn't know before."

Qin Sang's thoughts raced, and he quickly determined his destination.

At the same time, Qin Sang secretly mused that Senior Azure Bamboo must have been in a similar predicament back then, which forced him to flee to the Rifting Wind Archipelago and live anonymously for two centuries.

Through a series of coincidences, he found himself embarking on a path similar to Senior Azure Bamboo's.

Two individuals who had never met were inexplicably entangled in various ways.

Qin Sang put away the stone platform, then burned the other valueless miscellaneous items, destroying two storage bags. He then took out spirit stones, activated his cultivation technique, and entered a meditative state to recover.

An hour later, Qin Sang's condition was fully restored, and he embarked on his westward journey under the moonlight.

Along the way, he and the Twin-Headed Ferret traveled day and night, taking turns to press on.

Besides cultivating the 'Heavenly Demon Refinement Art,' he focused entirely on improving his external incarnation.

By the time he arrived in the sea region of the Rifting Wind Archipelago, the 'Heavenly Demon Refinement Art' had already entered its late second layer, and his physical strength had greatly increased.

His external incarnation had also successfully broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, with Golden Core formation just around the corner.