Chapter 802: Devil Seed

On Baogu Mountain, Qin Sang remained in his cave dwelling for several days without stepping outside.

One of the greatest challenges in the

Seeded Devil Embryo

was refining the devil seed. Qin Sang possessed a sword soul, and by using it to nurture the devil seed, the difficulty was greatly reduced.

Even so, this devilish art was still obscure and hard to comprehend. His first task was to capture the presence of the split soul within his sword light.

The fusion of sword light and split soul was something unheard of in the entire immortal cultivation world.

Originally, Qin Sang had intended to proceed slowly, but during the process of sensing it, he discovered that his swordsmanship was subtly improving. He decided to shut himself away entirely, studying both Sword Dao and the devilish art at the same time.

Unknowingly, more than ten days passed.

Inside the cave dwelling, the ebony sword hovered before him.

On either side of it floated two streaks of sword light.

His gaze was fixed on the sword light born from the art. With Senior Qingzhu’s notes and his own comprehension of Sword Light Division, after days of experimentation he finally detected something different about this sword light.

It was exceptionally stable, with a closer connection to its master.

"Shatter!"

After a brief pause, Qin Sang formed an incantation gesture and uttered the word softly.

With a crisp

snap

, the sword light cracked like glass, fractures spreading until it shattered into countless fragments.

Qin Sang suddenly clutched his head and let out a pained groan.

The sword soul had broken apart, sending a needle-like pain through him. However, this pain was far less than that of the original

Seeded Devil Embryo

, and he could endure it.

Soon, he adapted to the stabbing sensation. Lifting his reddened eyes, he clenched his teeth and focused entirely on completing the devilish art.

As he moved, the sword soul fragments began to merge.

Gradually, as though a drop of ink had spread from its center, the sword soul was entirely dyed black.

The sword soul vanished, replaced by a devil seed, shaped like a droplet of black water. Although not fully cultivated through pure devilish means, it still radiated a thick, sinister aura.

Qin Sang examined it for a moment, then stored the devil seed in the primordial spirit space to let it gestate. He then opened the insect basket.

While refining the devil seed earlier, he had heard movement inside. The silkworm had awakened.

After devouring the poisonous mist, the silkworm had fallen into a deep sleep. Upon waking, apart from a slightly stronger aura, no other changes were apparent.

Qin Sang was already used to this and found it unsurprising. Even if the silkworm only had the ability to resist poison, it was already enough. If it continued to grow, perhaps it could resist all poisons under heaven.

Thinking this, Qin Sang retrieved a piece of Purple Crystal from the Thousand-Jin Ring.

The moment the silkworm saw the Purple Crystal, its tiny eyes lit up with greed. It seemed to never know fullness, wriggling eagerly in Qin Sang’s palm, demanding the delicacy.

Without teasing it, Qin Sang held the Purple Crystal before it. The silkworm broke open the barrier it had formed around itself and bit into the crystal with a sharp crack, taking off a small piece.

Its direct and forceful action startled Qin Sang, who watched it anxiously.

The silkworm’s throat wriggled as it swallowed the entire piece, after which sleepiness overcame it, and it sank into slumber again.

"One small piece at a time is enough. Sleeping this deeply, it likely won’t wake for a while. It seems this supply of Purple Crystals will last for quite some time..." Qin Sang quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

The silkworm was picky, and finding food it liked was not easy. He had searched through the hook-nosed man’s belongings for a long time yet had found no clue as to the origin of the poisonous smoke.

Next, he summoned the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, feeding it spiritual herb in the hope that it would break through soon.

After feeding both the silkworm and the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, Qin Sang meditated on Sword Dao for a while, then left the cave dwelling and headed down the mountain.

***

He changed his appearance, first purchasing a mortal residence at the foot of Baogu Mountain to use as a base.

After that, he headed alone toward the market.

Tianxing City's market was vast in scale. Every day, countless cultivators from both inside and outside the city traded there, making it one of the most prosperous places in the entire Canglang Sea immortal cultivation world.

"Linglong Pavilion..."

After wandering the marketplace for a long while, Qin Sang finally stopped before a small shop.

The name sounded refined[1], yet the shop itself had nothing remarkable about it. Like many others, it sold talismans, artifacts, medicinal pills, and other common items found in the immortal cultivation world.

There was not a single customer inside.

Linglong Pavilion was the meeting place he had arranged with Madam Liu. Qin Sang observed it from the outside for a moment before stepping in.

The shop owner was a white-haired elder, his cultivation only at the Foundation Building Realm. At his age, it was clearly impossible for him to form a core. When he saw Qin Sang enter, he was about to stand and salute when the sound of a bell suddenly rang out. His expression shifted slightly.

The shopkeeper glanced at Qin Sang’s sleeve, then immediately led him to the back hall.

"Senior, may I ask who you are?" the shopkeeper asked cautiously.

"I am Qingfeng. Madam Liu should have mentioned me to you," replied Qin Sang.

Qin Sang revealed a copper bell. "Madam Liu instructed me to find Linglong Pavilion in Tianxing City. If there were matters of secrecy, they were to be relayed through Linglong Pavilion. Did she happen to mention this to you?"

The shopkeeper nodded quickly. "The mistress has just given her instructions, and I have been waiting for your arrival... Forgive my poor eyesight, Senior. I had thought you were a wandering ascetic and failed to recognise you."

Qin Sang nodded indifferently and went straight to the point. "I have rented a small courtyard in the city. Here is the address. There is a barrier I left inside. Tell Madam Liu she can go there directly to contact me."

Leaving the address behind, Qin Sang wasted no words and departed immediately.

Afterward, he resumed his original appearance and began strolling leisurely through the market.

He bought some cultivation supplies from several shops and, both intentionally and casually, asked around about Linggui Island.

As expected, Linggui Island had no reputation to speak of. Senior Qingzhu had indeed been extremely low-key. After making several inquiries, Qin Sang found no one who knew the name of Linggui Island Master.

Only one person claimed that there was a small island called Linggui Island in his hometown, but it was inhabited by mortals. The spiritual qi there was thin, making it impossible for any immortal cultivator to reside there, and it had no island master.

Once outside that sea region, no one knew of the island’s existence.

Canglang Sea contained countless islands, so identical names were unsurprising.

Qin Sang wandered through the market the entire day, finally arriving at a place called Xiangan[2] Auction House. The name sounded modest, almost as if it sought only peace and safety, but the auction house itself was jointly built by the three major merchant guild alliances and was the largest in Tianxing City.

Upon entering, his level of cultivation naturally prevented any instance of snobbery, and he was warmly received.

After being led by an attendant into a quiet chamber, Qin Sang handed her a jade slip.

"I wish to purchase a certain spiritual fruit, but I do not know its name. This jade slip contains illustrations of the fruit and its plant."

Having found no one in the marketplace who could identify the spiritual fruit he had obtained in the Seven-Kill Hall, Qin Sang had come to the auction house, making up a reason to request its procurement.

The auction house employed renowned alchemists, some of the most knowledgeable individuals in the field. If even they could not recognise it, the chances of finding the answer elsewhere would be slim.

"Please wait a moment, Senior." The attendant looked over the jade slip, then bowed and left.

An alchemist pushed the door open and entered.

1. "Linglong" also translates to "exquisite, refined". ☜

2. "Xiangan" also translates to "peaceful, calm, serene." ☜