The Fire Jade Centipede was born in flames, unafraid of intense fire, and highly sensitive to spiritual objects rich in fire elemental energy. The stronger the fire energy, the more excited the Fire Jade Centipede would become.

According to the compendium, this rare bug was extremely uncommon in the current immortal cultivation world and even thought to be extinct. How Yin Xingge came across it was unknown; perhaps it was a gift from that Golden Core adept.

Learning the Fire Jade Centipede’s unique characteristics, Qin Sang realized that Yin Xingge had intended to use it to search for Qianyang Crystals. But instead, he had unearthed a demon and lost his life in the process.

Breeding the Fire Jade Centipede wasn’t difficult, but it was costly, requiring materials with high fire spiritual qi, like Qianyang Quartz, each of which was quite expensive.

Fortunately, the Fire Jade Centipede had a small appetite. Qin Sang saved some Qianyang Quartz, enough to sustain it for a long time.

Qin Sang held the Fire Jade Centipede in his palm, cutting off a small piece of Qianyang Quartz and tossing it to the creature. The Fire Jade Centipede quickly coiled around it, gnawing away with a crackling sound.

Finding the Fire Jade Centipede’s abilities intriguing, Qin Sang decided to keep it for potential future use.

After it had its fill, Qin Sang returned it to the Spirit Beast Pouch, opened his cave dwelling, greeted the guards, and left the Tianjing Hidden Realm, intending to survey the area personally.

…

In the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, there was no sense of the four seasons; sometimes even day and night were indistinguishable.

Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, twenty years had gone by.

On a nameless mountain, countless Cloud Beasts roosted.

Upon seeing such a sight, most cultivators’ first instinct would be to turn and leave. However, a lone figure lay concealed among the scattered rocks, staring intently at a shadowy cave entrance at the mountain’s base, unmoving.

Hundreds of Cloud Beasts circled above the cave, their screeching filling the air with an almost maddening noise. Time slipped by, and a full incense stick’s worth of time passed with the dark figure remaining motionless.

Finally, about a dozen Cloud Beasts, seeming tired from flying, retracted their wings and landed on the ground.

At that moment, the dark figure silently rose and retreated. As it stood up, its form became clearer—humanoid in shape, but with a terrifying appearance: a ghastly cyan face and sharp fangs.

It was a zombie!

Concealed among the rocks, the zombie’s movements went unnoticed by the circling Cloud Beasts above. However, the Cloud Beasts on the ground did notice this moving object.

Yet, as it lacked the life essence they loathed, the Cloud Beasts did not attack. Instead, they observed it curiously, perhaps mistaking it for a moving stone.

Crack!

Seeing the Cloud Beasts unbaited, the zombie deliberately stomped on a rock, causing it to crack audibly.

Instantly, the Cloud Beasts became alert. Two flew over to investigate, and soon after, a dozen others followed.

Having achieved its goal, the zombie picked up its pace. It appeared to be highly familiar with the area, skillfully retreating under the cover of rocks, remaining unseen by the Cloud Beasts above.

Once it had put some distance between itself and the mountain base, the zombie no longer hid but turned and sprinted away openly. Enraged, the Cloud Beasts let out furious cries, flapping their wings as they gave chase.

The wilderness stretched on endlessly, offering no place to hide. The zombie ran at full speed, but the Cloud Beasts were faster, quickly closing the distance.

Soon, the Cloud Beasts caught up to the zombie. With furious shrieks, they dove down, ready to tear apart this pest with their claws and beaks.

But just as they swooped down, about to seize the zombie, dense demonic qi suddenly surged across the once-barren wasteland. Six enormous flags emerged from the ground, perfectly enclosing the Cloud Beasts within their array.

On closer inspection, one could see that the six flags were not identical. Four of them were particularly large and thick, their poles covered with intricate, sinister patterns emitting an eerie glow. The flags bore images of countless fierce evil spirits, crowded together, looking hideously vivid, exuding a disturbing aura. ℞𝒶ꞐꝊＢƐš

It was as if they had come from the depths of the underworld, ready to break free from the flags at any moment.

Compared to these four sturdy flags, the other two appeared weak and frail.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the pitch-black demonic qi enveloped the entire area, rendering it so dark that even outstretched hands were invisible. Countless evil spirits roared within the demonic qi, lunging at the Cloud Beasts trapped inside.

Beside the flag array, a figure materialized from shadow to solidity—it was Qin Sang.

He gestured for the zombie he’d used as bait to return to his side, watching the battle within the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions with a calm gaze.

Over the past twenty years, apart from the three Shadow Guard missions, he had mostly stayed in the Tianjing Hidden Realm and nearby areas, hunting Cloud Beasts to comprehend the killing symbol while refining his cultivation.

He had lured and slain Cloud Beasts countless times by now and had become exceedingly adept at it.

Though twenty years had passed, it hardly left any visible marks on him. The biggest change was that his aura had become more composed and profound.

Although he had not yet broken through to the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm, Qin Sang was close to fully comprehending the second killing symbol. Once he understood it fully and accumulated enough spiritual power, reaching the middle stage of the Foundation Building Realm would be only a matter of time.

Observing the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions annihilate the Cloud Beasts, Qin Sang nodded to himself.

He had been entrusting the Black Market to source soul refinement demonic artifacts for him. The spoils he’d gained over the years, including evil spirit-bound items from hunting Cloud Beasts, were primarily exchanged for such artifacts.

Life was tight, but he managed. He had successfully elevated four of the Yan Luo Banners to an advanced level.

Even with only four upgraded banners, the power of the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions had surged a tier. Among the dozen Cloud Beasts, two were comparable in strength to cultivators in the early Foundation Building Realm, yet they could only struggle in vain against the array’s slaughter.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

With the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions in place, combined with other tactics, Qin Sang was confident that even a middle-stage Foundation Building opponent would find no advantage against him.

As the Cloud Beasts were on the verge of extermination, Qin Sang dismissed his thoughts. With a mental command, his ebony sword pierced the array, slaying the remaining Cloud Beasts while he calmly contemplated the essence of the killing symbol.

Soon, all the Cloud Beasts were eliminated. Qin Sang repeated his technique, sending the zombie to lure more Cloud Beasts.

By midnight, the Cloud Beasts circling the cave entrance were finally wiped out. Taking advantage of the lull, Qin Sang ventured into the cave.

Inside, he discovered a small vein of Fire Elemental Stones, which had been located with the help of the Fire Jade Centipede.

Fire Elemental Stones, when refined, could be used to aid alchemy. While they weren’t as valuable as Qianyang Quartz, they were still rare. The presence of this vein had helped Qin Sang sustain the demands of his cultivation.

After filling his Mustard Seed Pouch with Fire Elemental Stones and evil spirit-bound items, Qin Sang set off overnight, heading straight for Changyang Market.

…

After leaving a small courtyard, Qin Sang sighed inwardly. The Black Market had been yielding fewer and fewer demonic artifacts; this time, there was only one. If he wished to upgrade all six Yan Luo Banners, he might have to wait a long time.

Shaking his head, he walked to the entrance of a branch of the Taiyi Core Pavilion, intending to sell the Fire Elemental Stones. Just as he was about to enter, an elderly man with silver-white hair emerged from the shop.

Upon seeing the old man’s face, Qin Sang felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Immediately, a long-buried memory surfaced.

Qin Sang’s heart suddenly skipped a beat!