Chapter 976: Sorting Through

Three bone flutes lay before him.

One had originated from the Minor Cold Domain and originally belonged to a demon leopard. Another was in the hands of a human cultivator in Canglang Sea, unexpectedly purchased in the Demon Sea. The last one had belonged to a demon beast, the Jade Pigeon, from the Demon Sea, but by a strange coincidence, it was obtained in Canglang Sea.

Qin Sang toyed with the bone flutes, recalling the hooked-nose man's identity and his own journey of obtaining the *Heavenly Demon Body Forging Art*. He felt a mix of amusement and frustration. The single bone flute had been split into three, each appearing in a different cultivation world, separated by unknown distances, sparking numerous conjectures.

At that moment, his spirit beast pouch stirred again. Earlier, sensing the aura of King Nine Phoenix, the fat silkworm had been exceptionally well-behaved, not daring to make a sound. Now that Qin Sang had safely escaped, the fat silkworm’s courage returned, and it loudly demanded food.

Qin Sang lifted the fat silkworm out. It had been over a hundred years since he captured this creature. Its cultivation had improved significantly, yet its appearance remained exactly the same, without a single change. All day long, it did nothing but sleep and eat. Fortunately, this creature could find its own food and had played important roles multiple times. His previous investments in it had long paid off.

Seeing the poisonous algae fruit clutched in Qin Sang's other hand, the fat silkworm's eyes lit up, and it struggled excitedly.

"It seems there's no need to refine it into a pill..." Qin Sang remarked with relief, tossing the fruit to the fat silkworm.

Without hesitation, the fat silkworm swallowed the fruit in one gulp. Its mouth instantly swelled up before it swallowed with difficulty. Finally, with a round, bulging belly, it lay contentedly in Qin Sang's palm, closing its eyes and falling asleep. Qin Sang envied such a carefree life.

He stimulated the fat silkworm with true essence. The fat silkworm woke up startled and, feeling indignant, squeaked loudly at Qin Sang, protesting his behavior, then promptly fell asleep again.

"It seems these fruits also need slow digestion. It's a good thing it's not sleeping as soundly as before."

Qin Sang nodded and carefully put away the remaining poisonous algae fruits. Since he didn't fully understand the medicinal properties of the poisonous algae fruit, Qin Sang applied all the restrictions he knew to prevent any loss of potency.

The poisonous algae fruit was not his greatest harvest. With a flash of the Thousand-Ton Ring, several items appeared before Qin Sang: the Eighteen Demon Banners and the Soul Nurturing Wood. Seeing the Soul Nurturing Wood, a glint of fervor flashed in Qin Sang's eyes.

He picked up the Soul Nurturing Wood, and after a moment of thought, activated his true essence. Following Bai's instructions, he first carved several wooden tokens from the Soul Nurturing Wood. He placed one on Dumb Girl and kept the rest for future needs. To escape King Nine Phoenix, Qin Sang had been forced to consume a drop of Three-Light Jade Liquid. He hadn't expected to escape so smoothly, and unrefined power still lingered within him. Since these substances couldn't increase his cultivation and had no significant effect on improving his physique, he transferred some vital energy into Dumb Girl's body. Dumb Girl remained unconscious; with the Soul Nurturing Wood on her, no immediate changes were apparent.

Such a large piece of Soul Nurturing Wood was more than enough to upgrade the Ebony Sword to a top-grade magical artifact. As for whether it could transform into a spirit treasure, Qin Sang was unsure. He had never come into contact with the spirit treasure level. He hadn't even heard of any Nascent Soul Ancestor possessing a spirit treasure. Previously, Patriarch Kuiyin, controlling ten demon banners, possessed power comparable to a top-grade magical artifact and could wield immense influence in the Minor Cold Domain.

He had previously seen some vague information in ancient texts, which stated that the transformation of a magical artifact into a spirit treasure seemed not to be achieved merely by piling up spiritual materials; there were other theories. Ancient texts truly detailing spirit treasures and other secrets would naturally not be kept in Baota Peak of Shaohua Mountain. Unfortunately, he had no chance to see them. To find out more, he would have to find a way to contact sects with deep foundations.

Qin Sang remembered it took him a full twenty years to refine a piece of Boundless Blood Mulberry previously. His cultivation was now greatly improved, but refining Soul Nurturing Wood would also take some time, during which the Ebony Sword would be very fragile and unusable in combat. He was not in a stable situation now, so he would only begin refining the Ebony Sword again once he was settled. He planned to first take a portion of the Soul Nurturing Wood to temporarily upgrade the Ebony Sword to a high-grade magical artifact, so as not to delay his cultivation of the *Soul Nurturing Sword Chapter*. He would then continue refining the Soul Nurturing Wood after breaking through to the late Core Formation stage.

Qin Sang made a mental calculation, then split the Soul Nurturing Wood in half. Putting away the Soul Nurturing Wood, Qin Sang's gaze fell upon the Eighteen Demon Banners.

"I wonder if all eighteen demon banners combined could rival a spirit treasure?" Qin Sang murmured, feeling there was great hope. The demon banners couldn't be regarded with common sense; the power of the demon banner formation depended on the power of the Nine Nether Demonic Flame. Activating six demon banners simultaneously was still very strenuous for him. Qin Sang decided to first familiarize himself with the demon banners during this period, striving to master them as soon as possible.

Finally, Qin Sang picked up Elder Zou's belongings, letting out a soft sigh.

"Sword cultivator surnamed Ning, Heavenly Dao Sect..."

Qin Sang held the demon banner, but he wasn't meditating. His eyes were unfocused as he planned what to do after leaving the storm belt. Cultivating in seclusion for a breakthrough was definite. Although his cultivation had stagnated before, he had never stopped comprehending the Killing Talisman. After refining the Soul Nurturing Wood, his cultivation would improve rapidly, and breaking through to the late Core Formation stage would be just around the corner.

Before that, he needed to meet the sword cultivator surnamed Ning. Senior Qingzhu had told him to find this person, which indicated this person was likely close to Senior Qingzhu, perhaps even his direct disciple, and would surely know something. Asking the sword cultivator surnamed Ning about the ancient teleportation array would also indirectly help Senior Qingzhu relay a message. Unfortunately, Senior Qingzhu was restricted by the demon soul avatar, failed to condense the crystal bead, and couldn't leave any clues. Otherwise, he could have tried to rescue Senior Qingzhu.

Senior Qingzhu was already second only to grand cultivators in Canglang Sea. The Minor Cold Domain was even worse; the Sect Master of Pure Yang Sect was only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

"I didn't expect Granny Jing to be Senior Qingzhu's daughter. So her real name was Qing Jun..." A thought flashed in Qin Sang's mind, and he remembered Granny Jing again.

Over a hundred years had passed since they last met. He wondered if Granny Jing had eliminated Leng Yuntian and what her cultivation stage was now. Recalling her, Granny Jing was very strange. She was Senior Qingzhu's daughter, and killing Leng Yuntian seemed to be for Senior Qingzhu's revenge, yet her attitude towards Senior Qingzhu was very cold. When entering the Ziwei Palace, she also told Qin Sang to bring back Senior Qingzhu's corpse. She showed two faces to people; her true appearance was peerless, yet she disguised herself as a low-level cultivator, walking in the mortal world with an aged appearance. Her cultivation seemed to fluctuate. She could infiltrate Shaohua Mountain and visit Marquis Dongyang's cave mansion, yet needed his help when ambushing Leng Yuntian.

"She must be skilled in escape techniques, and her strength might be between Leng Yuntian and Marquis Dongyang, most likely early Nascent Soul stage! But with so much time passed, Granny Jing's cultivation must have improved significantly..." Qin Sang thought to himself.

Upon returning to the Minor Cold Domain, he would definitely look for Granny Jing to meet her again. Firstly, to convey Senior Qingzhu's message, possibly gaining a powerful ally against Marquis Dongyang. Secondly, to ask Granny Jing where she saw the Azure Luan's spiritual projection; it would be best if he could observe the Azure Luan's form himself. Qin Sang had always felt uncertain cultivating the *Heavenly Demon Body Forging Art* by visualizing Granny Jing's Azure Luan puppet, as the puppet's essence was surely far inferior to the true entity.