Chapter 275: Senior Brother’s Invitation

The herb garden, untouched by others, might not contain the spiritual herbs needed to restore one's foundation, but it could still have other valuable items. In any case, it was bound to offer something worthwhile.

Qin Sang’s malevolent corpse had been utterly destroyed, leaving only a few zombies behind.

However, after weighing his options, Qin Sang decided to focus on nurturing the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman. He hoped to restore it before setting out.

On one hand, the corpses of Foundation Building cultivators weren’t easy to acquire. His past efforts to fish for them had been long and unsuccessful. On the other hand, in terms of self-preservation, the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman was far more valuable than a malevolent corpse.

Qin Sang couldn’t yet fully understand the true power of the talisman, but he could guess that once it was restored, activating it would allow him to match the speed of a late-stage Foundation Building cultivator at the very least.

Such speed would be invaluable in many dangerous situations, enabling him to respond calmly.

Holding the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman in his palm, Qin Sang communicated with the Jiao spirit inside the talisman. He learned that its spirit had first been severely wounded by the golden bell and had later suffered even greater depletion in its efforts to resist being consumed by magma. It would need a long time to recover.

If the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman could be restored, the recovery speed of the Jiao spirit would also accelerate.

Since the Jiao spirit was now under his control, Qin Sang no longer feared it would turn on him once it fully recovered. Moreover, the Jiao spirit wasn’t a true dragon but more like an artifact spirit. Its primary function was to trigger the talisman’s speed-boosting ability. It lacked the power to aid in combat.

After this communication, Qin Sang gained a deeper understanding of the talisman. He stored it back in his dantian and concentrated, channeling his spiritual power into the talisman.

As the spiritual power flowed into the talisman, it began to glow brightly, and the distant roar of a Jiao dragon could be heard. The two halves of the talisman, which had once been torn apart, slowly drew together, and the seam glowed with a soft, milky light.

Qin Sang could clearly feel the restoration process accelerating. He nodded to himself, momentarily halting the process to shift his focus to the bone fragment.

The

Xuyuan Seal

and

Spirit Seizing Spell

were essential for him to master. In addition, there were a few other useful spells from the

Dutian Demonic Sound

, which he also planned to cultivate.

With his spiritual consciousness, Qin Sang probed the bone fragment, closing his eyes as his cave dwelling fell into complete silence.

One month later.

Qin Sang suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with divine light. He murmured, "Condense!"

Before him, a phantom seal materialized, square in shape, with no characters but mysterious seal script. As Qin Sang focused his will, the seal shrank and flew into his forehead.

Inside his primordial spirit space, a golden light appeared around the Jade Buddha, while the Heart-Devouring Insect remained still outside the light.

At that moment, the

Xuyuan Seal

flew toward the insect, landing squarely on it. The seal suppressed the insect’s fluctuations, bringing them to a near halt.

Finally, a significant part of the heart’s torment had been alleviated.

Qin Sang felt a great weight lift from his chest, and a sense of lightness spread throughout his body. A smile appeared on his face as he immediately set to mastering the

Spirit Seizing Spell

and other spells, all while continuing to nurture the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman and waiting for the arrival of the Wandering Man.

Time passed unnoticed, and nearly two years had gone by.

The barrier of his cave dwelling was suddenly triggered.

Qin Sang awoke from his meditation. The talisman rotated slowly in his Qihai, and the crack in its center had become noticeably smaller, now only a fine line invisible to the naked eye. The Jiao spirit had also recovered significantly and no longer appeared as weak.

The talisman could now be used, though still fragile. It should provide the speed of a middle-stage Foundation Building cultivator, but caution was necessary.

Qin Sang pondered this, then opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings with his spiritual consciousness. He was surprised to find that the person outside wasn’t the Wandering Man but Yu Dayue.

What is he here for?

Qin Sang’s curiosity grew, but he couldn’t turn him away. He removed the barrier and stood to greet him.

"Senior Brother Yu, what brings you to my humble cave dwelling? Please, come in!"

Qin Sang greeted with a smile, warmly inviting Yu Dayue inside.

"I heard that Junior Brother Qin has been in seclusion, diligently refining himself. I hesitated for quite some time before deciding to visit, fearing I might disrupt your cultivation," Yu Dayue said with a bow, stepping into the dwelling with a smile.

"Your visit is an honor, Senior Brother! I'm delighted to have you here!"

Qin Sang waved his hand, conjuring ice to form a seat. He then prepared some tea, gesturing for Yu Dayue to sit. "Please take a seat, Senior Brother. My cave is modest; I hope you don't mind."

Yu Dayue glanced around the cave, noting the single ice bed, and shook his head with a sigh. "Junior Brother Qin, you don't indulge in comfort, unaffected by external distractions. This is the heart of a true cultivator. No wonder your cultivation has advanced so rapidly, surpassing me."

Qin Sang couldn’t help but feel a little helpless upon hearing this.

Ever since their encounter in the trial space, Yu Dayue had insisted that his power had increased exponentially. Despite Qin Sang’s explanations, Yu Dayue had remained unconvinced. In the end, Qin Sang decided not to waste further breath on the matter.

After sitting down, Yu Dayue got straight to the point. "Junior Brother Qin, in order not to disturb your cultivation, I’ll get to the matter directly. I’m wondering if your life-bound spiritual sword still requires spiritual wood to consume?"

Qin Sang’s mind stirred. During their time at the Heavenly Corpse Sect, Yu Dayue had mentioned keeping an eye out for spiritual wood, but he hadn’t expected that Yu Dayue would still remember.

"Thank you for remembering, Senior Brother. My life-bound spiritual sword has quite an appetite, so the more spiritual wood, the better. If you have any high-quality spiritual wood, I’d be willing to buy it at a premium, and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed," Qin Sang said.

He secretly relied on the over ten thousand spirit stones in his possession, which should be enough to buy most types of spiritual wood. For better quality spiritual wood, however, he guessed that Yu Dayue might not be willing to part with it.

To his surprise, Yu Dayue shook his head. "Junior Brother Qin, you misunderstood. I don’t have any spiritual wood on hand, but I know of a piece in the ancient cultivator’s estate—an Earth Fire Tung[1] Wood. That’s why I wanted to invite you back to the estate."

Seeing Qin Sang’s surprise, Yu Dayue explained, "Junior Brother Qin, you have been cultivating diligently, so you might not have known..."

After they left, Che Yutao and the others invited several Core Formation cultivators to help clear the ancient estate, including the man they met at the Shangyuan Tranquility Palace.

Qin Sang was now learning that the person he had met at the Shangyuan Tranquility Palace was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, just one step from the Spiritual Infant Realm. No wonder Che Yutao had shown such deference to him.

Qin Sang asked, "Did Senior Uncle Che and the others manage to rescue Di Que and Daoist Master Xuanyu?"

Unfortunately, Yu Dayue didn’t know the details either. He only knew that after the chaotic events at the ancient estate, things had settled down. Most of the Fire Spirit Beasts had been eradicated, and the remaining ones no longer posed a serious threat.

Of course, to Foundation Building cultivators, those Fire Spirit Beasts remained dangerous, but with a group of cultivators entering together and exercising caution, they could still handle them.

It was also said that some of the barriers on the peaks had been damaged, making them easier to break through. Many cultivators, like Yu Dayue, had gathered their companions and entered the ancient estate to search for treasures.

"I discovered the Earth Fire Tung Wood, but my strength wasn’t enough to break through the barriers alone. Then the estate experienced an unexpected change, and I had to set it aside for the time being," said Yu Dayue.

1. Vernicia fordii (usually known as the tung tree and also as the tung-oil or tungoil tree, the kalo nut tree, and the China wood-oil tree) is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family Euphorbiaceae. ☜