Chapter 319: The Earth Fire Tung Tree

Sitting heavily on the sandy ground, Qin Sang remained in a daze for a long time.

After a while, he brushed the dust from his clothes and stood up. The trace of melancholy in his eyes had vanished, replaced by calm resolve.

The young man in black lay sprawled on the ground. Qin Sang fed him a healing pill, and though his wounds had closed, his Qihai and meridians remained sealed by barriers.

Qin Sang roused him and once again employed the

Spirit Seizing Spell

.

From the interrogation, Qin Sang learned that the two individuals were rogue cultivators who roamed the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. They had only a passing acquaintance with Yu Dayue and no significant background. With that reassurance, Qin Sang set aside his concerns.

The young man lacked Yu Dayue’s defiance. He wept bitterly and begged for mercy, but Qin Sang paid him no heed.

Under the young man’s terrified gaze, Qin Sang performed a secret art from the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art

, first sealing his primordial spirit. Then, with a series of corpse refinement barriers, he turned him into a living corpse embryo and stored him in the Corpse Puppet Pouch.

Once he acquired some Soul-Guiding Grass, Qin Sang intended to use the man as a test subject to refine his first living corpse.

Next, Qin Sang retrieved the scar-faced man’s corpse. After some effort, he refined it into a malevolent corpse and set it aside for nurturing.

When he finished his work, Qin Sang realized that over the years, most of the Earth Malevolent Qi and five-elemental yin objects he had brought with him had been nearly depleted.

Refining a living corpse required several times the resources and effort compared to a malevolent corpse, and he wasn’t sure if the remaining materials would suffice.

The five-elemental yin materials could still be purchased at Xuanlu Stronghold, but the Earth Malevolent Qi was exceptionally rare.

It seemed he would need to return to his sect.

After being away for so long, it was time to visit, and he was curious about the condition of the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid.

Lost in thought, Qin Sang opened the Mustard Seed Pouches of Yu Dayue and his companions.

To his surprise, the scar-faced man’s pouch contained a section of the Earth Fire Tung Tree’s main root. It looked fresh, as if it had been recently unearthed. This confirmed that the trap set by Yu Dayue and his group had been meticulously planned.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

After all, the best lies contain just enough truth to make them convincing and difficult to detect.

At that time, Qin Sang had only been in the early stage of Foundation Building Realm. If he did not accept Wandering Man’s offer and decline Yu Dayue’s invitation, he might have met a grim fate.

With a bitter smile, Qin Sang examined the coarse, ancient root in his hand.

It was only the main root, and the Earth Fire Tung Tree’s spiritual liquid was missing. It might have been sold or consumed by Yu Dayue’s group.

Using spiritual power to form a blade, Qin Sang meticulously removed the impurities from the main root. He then extracted its purest spiritual wood essence and fed it directly to the ebony sword.

The ebony sword, inscribed with two killing symbols, assisted Qin Sang in breaking through to the middle stage of Foundation Building Realm.

However, two killing symbols were near the sword’s limit. Without further enhancement, the sword could not withstand the pressure of a third killing symbol.

Though Qin Sang possessed a Blood Dripping Ghost Mushroom, which could directly boost his cultivation, without improving the ebony sword’s durability or fully comprehending the killing symbols, even the rarest spiritual herbs couldn’t help him reach the late stage of the Foundation Building Realm.

For Qin Sang, his life-bound spiritual sword and the killing symbols inscribed upon it represented his bottleneck—a tangible one, yet no less formidable.

After refining the Earth Fire Tung Tree's root, Qin Sang categorized the spoils of battle and stored them away. He destroyed the Mustard Seed Pouches to leave no traces.

Yu Dayue’s pouch left the deepest impression on Qin Sang. It contained a vast collection of jade slips filled with various secret arts, most claiming to aid in breaking through bottlenecks.

To Qin Sang, the majority of these were baseless and absurd.

One jade slip detailed a method involving acupuncture with silver needles, clearly derived from mundane martial arts. Yet, Yu Dayue had treasured it, carefully preserving and possibly even attempting its techniques.

After healing and adjusting his breath, Qin Sang exited the sand cave and set off for the Tianjing Hidden Realm.

When Teng Nan saw Qin Sang again, he greeted him warmly with congratulations. Qin Sang then stayed in the Tianjing Hidden Realm, training in the surrounding areas.

Ten months later, Qin Sang left the Cloud Beast’s lair and returned to the Tianjing Hidden Realm.

With less than two months remaining until the auction at Yinshan Stronghold, Qin Sang decided to organize the spoils of his training in the Tianjing Hidden Realm before setting out for Yinshan Stronghold.

The cave dwelling was quiet, and Qin Sang entered meditation.

Having recently broken through to the middle stage of Foundation Building Realm, Qin Sang was fully aware of the changes brought by the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

during this period.

The most significant improvement was his cultivation speed. With the addition of another killing symbol, not only had his comprehension of the next killing symbol accelerated, but his overall cultivation speed had also reached a higher level. Based on his calculations, he was now faster than cultivators with four-elemental spiritual roots.

Though he was still slightly inferior to those with three-elemental spiritual roots, he believed that once he inscribed the third killing symbol, he would surpass them as well.

At this pace, combined with the Blood Dripping Ghost Mushroom, Qin Sang estimated that he could break through to the late stage of Foundation Building Realm within twenty years.

The trip to Qiuhong Market, though it hadn’t resolved the damages in his foundation, had been fruitful nonetheless. Obtaining three thousand-year-old spiritual herbs was a significant boon and made the journey well worth it.

The time saved through these herbs would give him more opportunities to search for chances to form his Golden Core and repair his foundation.

Among his fellow disciples from Shaohua Mountain, this speed was considered above average.

Of course, this was assuming he could enhance the ebony sword and avoid being delayed by other trivial matters.

If Qin Sang had been blessed with better talent, his cultivation speed would have been even more remarkable. It was no wonder that Senior Qingzhu had managed to form his Golden Core in just forty years.

Unfortunately, one’s talent was determined at birth, and envy could not change that.

Three days later, Qin Sang emerged from seclusion, bid farewell to Teng Nan, and flew toward Changyang Market.

He planned to travel directly along the border of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to reach Yinshan Stronghold. At Changyang Market, he entered a branch of the Taiyi Core Pavilion to sell miscellaneous items and purchase some spirit pills.

The manager of the store was an elderly man in the early stage of Foundation Building Realm surnamed Liu.

Manager Liu recognized Qin Sang and quickly rose to his feet to greet him respectfully. "Daoist Qin, I recently received news from Junior Brother Wandering Man. He has concluded his seclusion and decided to remain in his original cave dwelling for further cultivation. He mentioned that you sought him out previously and instructed me to inform you. If you have urgent matters, you can visit him directly."

Qin Sang had indeed planned to consult Wandering Man about the issues with his foundation and seek his advice for solutions.

Before heading to the Tianjing Hidden Realm, Qin Sang had asked Manager Liu to keep an eye out for any updates on Wandering Man. He hadn’t expected the latter to emerge from seclusion and proactively send a message.

"Senior Liu, do you know if Senior Wandering Man made any progress during his seclusion? Could he have broken through to the middle stage of Foundation Building Realm?"

Given Wandering Man’s ability to successfully reach Foundation Building Realm at such an advanced age, his talent was certainly not as poor as Qin Sang’s. However, the hidden injuries left behind during his breakthrough had hindered his cultivation progress.

If the Ninefold Azure Frost Grass had been effective and healed his internal injuries, a breakthrough to the middle stage of Foundation Building Realm should have been achievable.

"That, I am unsure of," Manager Liu replied with a slight shake of his head, his tone tinged with admiration. "However, Junior Brother Wandering Man often performs miracles. Perhaps he truly has advanced, as you suggested!"

...

After leaving Changyang Market, Qin Sang pondered for a moment before deciding not to return to Xuanlu Stronghold. Instead, he flew directly eastward.

Since Wandering Man had chosen to remain in his cave dwelling for cultivation, he was unlikely to leave within the next year or two. Qin Sang resolved to wait until after the auction at Yinshan Stronghold to seek him out.