Chapter 1462: Forty Years

Time flew by; forty years passed in an instant.

On an unnamed deserted island in the Buried Immortal Sea.

A blue palace, over ten zhang tall, stood on the deserted island. Its plaque was inscribed with the three large characters: "Profound Water Palace."

The wind was calm, the waves still, and the sky cloudless for miles.

Inside the Profound Water Palace, in the artifact refining room.

Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a light cyan futon, his face slightly pale. A large pile of artifact refining materials lay scattered around him. In a corner, a gleaming golden Gold-Devouring Ant Queen was nestled.

Before Wang Changsheng stood a three-legged giant cauldron, as tall as a person. The cauldron was entirely blue, its body engraved with several blue lotus flowers, and a sheet of blue flames burned at its base.

After a while, Wang Changsheng changed his hand seals and cast a spell into the blue giant cauldron. Its lid flew open, and chilling winds erupted. Eighteen small, shimmering dark banners flew out, emitting an astonishing surge of Yin energy and glowing with a dark luster.

Over the years, Wang Changsheng had refined many magical artifacts. This set of banners was crafted from ten-thousand-year-old Ghost Yin Wood and the hides of Fourth-tier Yin beasts.

These were Heavenly Ghost Banners. Ye Haitang did not yet have a life-bound artifact, so Wang Changsheng had specifically refined this set of artifacts for her.

The Heavenly Ghost Banners required absorbing a large number of ghosts and spirits to unleash their power. The more ghosts and spirits absorbed, the greater the banners' might. Many artifacts used by ghost cultivators functioned in a similar manner.

"So many years have passed," Wang Changsheng murmured, "I wonder if Haitang has formed her Nascent Soul."

Wang Changsheng said to himself. For the past forty years, he had been continuously refining artifacts, and his artifact refining skills had improved significantly.

If he hadn't been trapped here, he wouldn't have spent so much time on artifact refining.

Wang Changsheng withdrew his hand seals, and the eighteen Heavenly Ghost Banners flew into his sleeve and vanished.

He stood up and walked toward the outside. The palace door was tightly shut.

He changed his hand seals and cast several spells onto the palace door. The door immediately glowed intensely blue, and a misty vapor arose. After a brief blur, the door transformed into a light blue water screen. The water screen was smooth as a mirror, allowing a clear view of the outside.

He had gradually mastered the functions of the Profound Water Palace. This artifact was indeed extraordinary, an excellent tool for treasure hunting and exploration.

Wang Changsheng flicked his wrist, and hundreds of Gold-Devouring Ants flew out. They easily passed through the blue water screen and flew outside.

The Gold-Devouring Ants flitted about outside, seemingly unaffected.

Wang Changsheng's face showed joy. He had experimented many times, and if there were still Spirit-Severing Qi present, the Gold-Devouring Ants would immediately fall to the ground.

He then released two more Gold-Devouring Ants, separating two strands of his divine sense to attach to them. The two ants flew out and covered the entire island. While they couldn't fly far due to the magnetic field's influence, they didn't fall to the ground, which was enough to confirm that the deserted island itself was free of Spirit-Severing Qi. As for other areas, it remained unclear.

Wang Changsheng pondered for a moment, then released the Sea-Suppressing Ape, and together they walked out.

Thousands of Gold-Devouring Ants, long dead, lay scattered at the entrance of the Profound Water Palace. They had all encountered the Spirit-Severing Qi, which had turned them into mortal flesh and caused them to starve to death.

Wang Changsheng collected the dead Gold-Devouring Ants, intending to feed them to the other Gold-Devouring Ants.

He withdrew his hand seals, and the Profound Water Palace suddenly burst with blue light, transforming into a blue token that flew into Wang Changsheng's hand.

"Let's go!" Wang Changsheng said. "It's time for us to leave here. Hopefully, we won't encounter Spirit-Severing Qi."

Wang Changsheng put away the Gold-Devouring Ants and jumped into the sea with the Sea-Suppressing Ape.

If Spirit-Severing Qi were to erupt, the Sea-Suppressing Ape could carry him forward underwater.

Enveloped by a blue water screen, the man and the beast moved forward rapidly.

Two days later, Wang Changsheng surfaced. The magnetic force beneath the water was too strong; the natural magnetic field here was immense. Even as a body cultivator, he found it somewhat unbearable, as the powerful magnetic force could forcibly crush his physical body. The Buried Immortal Sea was indeed one of the Seven Great Perilous Lands of the South Sea.

He flew out of the water, gazing at the unfamiliar surroundings with a furrowed brow.

Affected by the natural magnetic field, his divine sense could only extend a hundred zhang. He didn't know where he was or which direction led out.

He had a sea map of the Buried Immortal Sea, but it was only a partial one. With his divine sense restricted and no detailed map, he could only wander aimlessly.

He released the Qilin Turtle, jumped onto its back, and the Qilin Turtle let out a joyful cry as it moved forward.

A day later, Wang Changsheng appeared in a golden sea region. The seawater was golden, and within a hundred li radius, there were over a dozen deserted islands.

The Qilin Turtle suddenly let out an excited cry, and its speed more than doubled.

After a while, the Qilin Turtle stopped on the beach of a deserted island.

The deserted island was a hundred li in circumference, with three towering peaks and sparse vegetation.

On the beach not far away, a white ape lay motionless and lifeless. A gleaming golden long staff was scattered nearby.

"Stone Roar!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed. "It's him."

Wang Changsheng said in surprise. The golden long staff was Stone Roar's artifact, and Stone Roar was already lifeless.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion. Stone Roar had at least a mid-Nascent Soul cultivation; if he hadn't encountered Spirit-Severing Qi, he wouldn't have perished.

He suddenly remembered something. He darted to the corpse, pulled two storage rings from Stone Roar's hand, and after a quick glance, gasped in surprise.

One storage ring contained a large amount of ice-attribute artifact refining materials, clearly belonging to Stone Roar. The other storage ring held a considerable number of cultivation resources, evidently belonging to Ao Qing.

Wang Changsheng had been somewhat disappointed when the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure fell into Qian Tianming's hands, but now, things were different.

The two storage rings contained a plethora of cultivation resources. The most valuable was the corpse of a Fourth-tier high-grade Flood Dragon, naturally Ao Qing's, with its inner core and spirit still intact.

Wang Changsheng suddenly thought of something. He used a knife to cut open Stone Roar's abdomen and retrieved a ball of snowy white flame, which emitted a strange, chilling power.

The Ice Ape clan could cultivate an ice-attribute flame, and it was common knowledge in the cultivation world that their corpses would not decay even after death.

Wang Changsheng smiled broadly. He took out a white jade bottle and put away the white flame, knowing he could refine it to enhance his own spirit flame.

Besides Ao Qing's corpse, Stone Roar's corpse was also excellent material for artifact refining.

A strange roar echoed, faintly accompanied by a deafening clap of thunder.

Wang Changsheng turned his head to look and saw the Qilin Turtle clinging to a steep rock face.

He put away Stone Roar's corpse and walked over to the Qilin Turtle.

The Qilin Turtle opened its mouth and spat out streaks of blue lightning, striking the uneven rock face and dislodging chunks of broken rock.

It had clearly discovered something; otherwise, it wouldn't have actively attacked the rock face.

Wang Changsheng took out the Taihao Spirit-Slaying Blade and struck towards the rock face.

Rumble!

After an earth-shattering roar, the rock face split into two, revealing a dark cave entrance from which the faint sound of flowing water could be heard.

Wang Changsheng swept his divine sense. After confirming there were no issues, he strode inside.

After a while, Wang Changsheng emerged, a wide smile on his face.

"It's Primordial True Water!" he exclaimed. "There are over five thousand jin of it! Combined with the Jade Lotus True Water given by the Myriad Sword Sect, that's enough for me to cultivate to the late Nascent Soul stage!"

Wang Changsheng said to himself, his expression filled with excitement.

Primordial True Water is a relatively rare heavenly spirit water. The Qilin Turtle had clearly discovered it, which was why it had come to this deserted island; the discovery of Stone Roar's corpse was merely a coincidence.

With over ten thousand jin of Fourth-tier heavenly spirit water, Wang Changsheng wouldn't need to worry about spirit water before cultivating to the Soul Transformation stage.

"My painstaking efforts to cultivate you were not in vain," Wang Changsheng promised generously. "Once we return to Qinglian Island, I will surely reward you handsomely."

Wang Changsheng promised generously. The Qilin Turtle was sensitive to water-attribute objects, but he hadn't expected it to help him find over five thousand jin of Primordial True Water.

He jumped onto the Qilin Turtle's back, and the Qilin Turtle carried Wang Changsheng rapidly across the sea, disappearing from view not long after.