After taking two more Water Dew Pills, Qin Sang allowed his body to gradually recover. He couldn't wait any longer and opened the Mustard Seed Pouch, pouring its contents onto the ground.

On his way here, he had already refined the Bewitching Mirror, making it his own.

The Bewitching Mirror wasn't actually a single mirror but a set of eight copper mirrors stacked together—one primary and seven auxiliary mirrors.

These eight copper mirrors could form a mirror array, which was exceptionally sturdy and could trap opponents. The mist emitted by the array had a bewitching effect.

However, setting up the mirror array wasn't easy. It required some time to prepare and was even harder to use than the ebony sword. The array couldn’t be moved once set up, so it could only trap opponents if they entered it of their own accord; otherwise, it was useless.

Additionally, the bewitching effect of the mist was short-lived. One had to seize the moment when the array was first activated, before the opponent could break free from the mist, to achieve the best results.

While inside the mirror array, Qin Sang had not felt any confusion, and after some thought, he realized it must have been due to the Jade Buddha.

The power of the Bewitching Mirror was undeniable, but it was difficult to unleash its full potential in the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground. He couldn't tell whether Shen Jing’s luck had been good or bad.

Compared to the Bewitching Mirror, what excited Qin Sang the most were the Chi Dragon Sword and Empty Wind.

With these two artifacts alone, Yang Yuanzang would have been guaranteed a place in the competition if he hadn’t fallen at the hands of Qin Sang and Shen Jing.

The power of the Chi Dragon Sword was unquestionable. It was a top-grade spiritual sword, far superior to the Blood Saber and Emerald Wave Sword.

While Qin Sang’s ebony sword was sharp, it consumed a great deal of energy and required preparation before use. The Chi Dragon Sword, on the other hand, could be used directly in battle, with comparable power.

Empty Wind was a high-grade artifact, resembling a wisp of gray-white wind that felt smooth like silk when held in the palm.

This was Qin Sang’s first time seeing such an artifact, and he couldn’t help but marvel at it.

Once refined, Empty Wind would allow its wielder to ride the wind and fly a short distance off the ground. The speed was impressive, and it consumed little spiritual power. Though it could only carry one a couple of zhang above the ground, it was enough to cross mountains and escape danger.

For cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm, this was an extraordinary treasure.

Qin Sang immediately used his spiritual consciousness to refine Empty Wind. It was easily absorbed, and with a single breath, he swallowed it into his body, hiding it within his Qihai. With just a thought, a gust of wind would rise beneath his feet.

Fully armed, Qin Sang felt incredibly satisfied, though he regretted not having a good defensive artifact. Unfortunately, the Golden Ring had been destroyed in its clash with the ebony sword.

Yang Yuanzang had been quite loaded. Besides Empty Wind, he also had a few low-grade artifacts and some spirit stones. Shen Jing’s Mustard Seed Pouch, on the other hand, was filled with worthless items—fabrics, cosmetics, and jewelry.

The only thing that surprised Qin Sang was finding a middle-grade spirit stone in Yang Yuanzang’s pouch!

In terms of value, one middle-grade spirit stone was equivalent to a hundred low-grade spirit stones, though the exact trade value could vary depending on negotiations.

The spiritual power contained within a middle-grade spirit stone was not only more abundant than that in low-grade stones, but also purer. This meant that it could be absorbed and refined much faster.

However, for Qin Sang, the middle-grade spirit stone held even greater significance.

According to the

Song Family Sword Art’s

explanation of the swordsmanship realms, Qin Sang had now reached the point where he could control his sword with spiritual consciousness, making it move according to his will. He had begun to grasp the fundamentals, but his low cultivation limited how far his flying sword could be sent.

Once he advanced further in swordsmanship, he would be able to generate sword qi, eventually reaching the realm where sword qi would arc like a rainbow across the sky.

The

Song Family Sword Art

stated that, once sword qi was mastered, the ebony sword would be imbued with it, doubling its power and dramatically increasing its speed—swift as lightning, streaking across the sky like a white rainbow piercing the sun.

But with this increase in power came a significantly higher consumption of spiritual power, several times greater than before.

Cultivators above the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm could no longer rely solely on low-grade spirit stones to sustain their cultivation. They would need to use middle-grade spirit stones just to barely activate sword qi.

Although Qin Sang hadn't reached the sword qi realm yet, he carefully stored the middle-grade spirit stone away.

Originally, Qin Sang hadn't expected to obtain a middle-grade spirit stone. He had planned to focus on advancing his cultivation after reaching the stage where he could control his sword with his spiritual consciousness. Now, it seemed like the time to prioritize it had come.

Being a spy in an immortal sect was undoubtedly dangerous. Qin Sang had no idea what the Kuiyin Sect was planning, nor did he care to know. The only thing he could do was wait for the right moment to escape. If escape proved impossible, he would need to increase his strength as much as possible to face any dangers ahead.

With this thought in mind, Qin Sang continued searching and picked up a jade bottle from Yang Yuanzang’s Mustard Seed Pouch. The thumb-sized bottle contained a few drops of milky white liquid, thick like ointment. As he opened the lid, a fragrant aroma wafted into his nose, instantly reducing some of his pain.

This must be the Stone Milk that Yang Yuanzang and Shen Jing had mentioned, possibly found in the mountain crocodile’s nest.

Although the treasures of the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground had been almost entirely looted by the Yuanzhao Sect, it wasn't unusual to find overlooked remnants. Besides, the Yuanzhao Sect might not have considered this small amount of Stone Milk to be valuable.

Yang Yuanzang had already reached the peak of the sixth stage. By refining the Stone Milk, he would have had a high chance of breaking through to the seventh stage. However, the medicinal energy of the Qi-Gathering Pill was still building up in Qin Sang’s body, and he was far from breaking through. For now, the Stone Milk held little value for him, so he stored it alongside the middle-grade spirit stone.

In front of him, ten jade tokens were neatly laid out.

Four from Yang Yuanzang, two from Shen Jing, and four from Qin Sang himself.

Qin Sang thought to himself that there shouldn’t be many others in the Forbidden Ground who had collected tokens faster than him. Despite all the struggles, it hadn't been in vain.

When the ten jade tokens were brought together, they formed a jade booklet. The tokens were crystal clear, and a layer of mist appeared out of thin air on them. Beneath the mist, mountains, rivers, and lakes seemed to be faintly visible, but the mist obscured everything, making it impossible to see clearly. The only visible feature was a bright arrow, which remained pointed in the same direction no matter how Qin Sang moved the jade tokens.

The more tokens one gathered, the thinner the mist on the jade booklet became, and the clearer the guidance. With ten tokens, all Qin Sang could see was the arrow. He had no idea what the terrain ahead looked like or whether the path was navigable.

Qin Sang had long known about this, so he wasn't surprised. After confirming the direction, he placed the jade tokens and other useful items into his Mustard Seed Pouch. He checked his internal injuries and, feeling that they weren't too serious, strapped the Chi Dragon Sword to his back, activated Empty Wind, and flew out of the cave.

Flying on the wind felt exhilarating, though it made him an obvious target.

The direction indicated by the jade tokens led deep into the plains, and luckily, he wouldn’t need to return to the poisonous swamp.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Sang flew out of the mountains and onto the plains. He lowered himself into the grass to race across the land.

The wide expanse of the plain gave him a clear view, and with the speed of Empty Wind and three top-grade artifacts at his disposal, Qin Sang felt confident that no one would dare provoke him. Even if they did, he was sure he could escape if necessary.

He had hoped to collect a few more jade tokens while flying across the plain, but to his surprise, after traveling for quite some time, he hadn't encountered a single opponent. It was truly strange.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Less than two hours later, Qin Sang had crossed the plain, and before him appeared numerous ravines and cliffs.