Chapter 976: Sorting Through

"Three bone flutes. One came from the Small Cold Domain and originally belonged to a panther demon. One was in the hands of a human cultivator from Canglang Sea, though it was purchased unexpectedly in the Demonic Sea.

"The last one originally belonged to the Jade Pigeon of the Demonic Sea, yet by twist of fate, it ended up in Canglang Sea." Qin Sang toyed with the bone flute, recalling the hooked-nose man’s identity and the circumstances under which he obtained the

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement.

He could not help but laugh bitterly.

A bone flute split into three, appearing in three immortal cultivation worlds far apart from each other. The thought itself stirred boundless imaginings.

The Spirit Beast Pouch stirred again. When it had earlier sensed the aura of the Nine Phoenix King, the fat silkworm had lain quietly without daring to make a sound. Now that Qin Sang had escaped safely, its courage swelled, and it began clamoring for food.

Qin Sang pulled the fat silkworm out. It had been over a hundred years since he caught the creature. Its cultivation had advanced considerably, yet outwardly it looked exactly the same as before. All it ever did was eat and sleep.

Fortunately, the creature could forage on its own and had proved invaluable several times. The investment Qin Sang made in it long ago had already paid off.

When the silkworm saw the poisonous algae fruit in Qin Sang’s other hand, its eyes lit up and it struggled frantically toward it.

"Seems I don’t need to refine it into pills after all..." Qin Sang murmured with relief, tossing the fruit to it.

The silkworm wasted no time, swallowing it whole. Its mouth bulged out grotesquely before it finally forced the fruit into its belly. Then, with a round, bloated stomach, it lay content in Qin Sang’s palm and promptly fell asleep.

Qin Sang envied such a carefree existence. He prodded the silkworm with true essence. It startled awake, squeaking angrily in protest at his cruelty, before promptly falling back to sleep again.

"It seems these fruits must be digested slowly. At least it doesn’t sleep as deeply as before. That’s a good sign." Qin Sang nodded and carefully stored away the remaining poisonous algae fruits.

Since he did not fully understand their properties, he applied every barrier he knew to preserve their medicinal potency. But the poisonous algae fruits were not his greatest harvest.

With a flash of the Thousand-Jin Ring, several items appeared before him: the eighteen devilish banners and the Soul-Nourishing Wood. Qin Sang’s eyes glimmered with heat at the sight of the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

He picked it up, and after thinking for a while, he activated his true essence and split off several thin plaques according to Bai's instructions. One he placed on the Mute Girl, the rest he set aside for later need.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

To escape the Nine Phoenix King, he had been forced to swallow a drop of the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances. Though he escaped more easily than expected, remnants of that power still lingered within him. Since it could not raise his cultivation or strengthen his body, he channeled a portion of the vitality into the Mute Girl.

She remained unconscious, and though the Soul-Nourishing Wood now rested upon her, no visible change appeared for the time being.

The block of Soul-Nourishing Wood was more than enough to elevate the ebony sword into a top-grade astra. Whether it could metamorphose into a spiritual treasure, Qin Sang was uncertain.

He had never dealt with spiritual treasures before, nor had he even heard of a Spiritual Infant grandmaster wielding one. When Founder Kuiyin commanded ten devilish banners, their power already rivaled a top-grade astra, allowing him to dominate the Small Cold Domain.

From old texts Qin Sang had glimpsed vague references suggesting that an astra’s metamorphosis into a spiritual treasure was not as simple as piling on rare materials; other factors were required.

True records about spiritual treasures would never be stored in Shaohua Mountain’s Treasure Tower Peak. Unfortunately, he never had the chance to see them. To learn the truth, he would need access to great sects with deep foundations.

He remembered refining a piece of Infinite Blood Mulberry Wood, which had taken him twenty years. Though his cultivation had advanced since then, refining the Soul-Nourishing Wood would still take time. During that period, the ebony sword would remain fragile and unfit for battle.

Now was hardly a time of stability. He would wait until safety returned before attempting the reforging.

For the moment, he would refine only a portion to temporarily raise the ebony sword to a high-grade astra. This way he could continue cultivating the

Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment

. Once he broke through to the late stage of the Core Formation Realm, he would resume refining the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

Having calculated his plans, Qin Sang split the Soul-Nourishing Wood in two. Putting it away, his gaze shifted to the eighteen devilish banners.

"I wonder if unleashing all eighteen would rival a spiritual treasure?" he muttered, feeling the possibility was high. The banners defied common logic, for their true strength lay in the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells.

Even wielding six at once still strained him. He resolved to spend the coming days mastering them until he could truly control their might.

At last, Qin Sang picked up Elder Zhou’s relics and let out a quiet sigh. "A sword cultivator surnamed Ning, Heavenly Dao Sect..."

Though clutching a devilish banner, he did not settle into meditation. His eyes grew distant as he contemplated the path ahead once he left the storm belt.

Breaking through in seclusion was inevitable. Though his cultivation had stalled, he had continued studying the killing symbol. With the Soul-Nourishing Wood refined, his cultivation would soon surge, and a late-stage Core Formation breakthrough was within reach.

Before that, however, he needed to meet the sword cultivator surnamed Ning. Since Senior Qingzhu had instructed him to find this man, he must have been close to him, perhaps even his true disciple, surely one who knew many secrets.

Asking him about the ancient teleportation array was likely a way of passing along a message for Senior Qingzhu. It was a pity that Qingzhu, trapped by the devilish soul, had failed to condense the crystal pearl or leave clues behind. Otherwise, there might still have been a chance to rescue him.

In the Canglang Sea, Senior Qingzhu had been second only to the great cultivators. In the Small Cold Domain, the disparity was even starker, as the Cunyang Sect's leader himself was only at the middle stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm.

"To think Granny Jing was Senior Qingzhu’s daughter. Her true name was Qingjun..." A thought flickered through Qin Sang’s mind, and he remembered Granny Jing again.

More than a century has passed. Has she slain Leng Yuntian? What realm has she reached? Looking back, Granny Jing has always been odd. As Qingzhu’s daughter, it seems natural she would want to avenge him by killing Leng Yuntian. Yet whenever she mentioned Qingzhu, her attitude was strangely indifferent.

When they entered Ziwei Palace, she even asked Qin Sang to bring Qingzhu’s corpse back. Two contrasting faces she showed to the world: a woman of peerless beauty, disguising herself as a lowly cultivator, wandering the mortal realm in the guise of an old woman.

Her cultivation also seemed inconsistent. It was sometimes high and sometimes low. She had infiltrated Shaohua Mountain and wandered before Dongyang Bo’s cave dwelling, yet when assassinating Leng Yuntian, she had required his aid.

She must excel in evasion techniques. Her strength should lie somewhere between Leng Yuntian and Dongyang Bo, most likely at the early stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm. But after all this time, her cultivation must have changed beyond recognition...

Qin Sang thought.

When he returned to the Small Cold Domain, he would certainly seek Granny Jing out once more.

First, to deliver Senior Qingzhu’s message, perhaps gaining a powerful ally against Dongyang Bo. Second, to ask where she had seen the image of the Azure Luan. If possible, he longed to witness the true Azure Luan himself.

Through contemplating the Azure Luan puppet Granny Jing had shown, Qin Sang had managed to barely cultivate the

Heavenly Demon Body Refinement.

But the puppet’s aura could never compare to the true body.