Chapter 995: A Major Event

The two of them continued working to dispel the Fire Curse. In the end, they failed to completely eliminate it. Bai refined and perfected the Fire Curse seal and left a sealing imprint within Qin Sang’s body, preparing to craft a Fire Curse Seed.

"Give me the spiritual herbs first. Having overdrawn my strength several times has taken quite a toll on me. I must first stabilize my origin vitality before I can begin refining the Fire Curse Seed," Bai said after sensing his internal state, his face shifting slightly.

Qin Sang immediately handed over the Mustard Seed Pouch filled with spiritual herbs. These herbs had been collected by Manager Liu of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild. When they looted the guild, the pouch was taken along as well.

To avoid arousing Qin Sang’s suspicion, Manager Liu had gone to great lengths, managing to gather nearly thirty percent of the items listed on the prescription.

"There aren’t enough spiritual herbs. Once we leave this place, I’ll make sure to purchase the rest for you." Qin Sang promised.

His relationship with the Qiongyu Merchant Guild had already turned hostile, so he could no longer rely on them. He would have to buy the materials himself. Fortunately, after slaying Vice Commissioner Zuo and the other five Golden Core cultivators, he had gained ample spoils. Spirit stones were the least of his worries.

Bai accepted the herbs with a nod. "As a temporary measure, these will suffice."

After Bai returned to his cave dwelling, Qin Sang sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion, lost in thought. The remnants of the Fire Curse within him were nearly gone, and with Bai’s seal in place, the danger was mostly resolved.

Still, having suffered once, he had no desire to take chances again. To be safe, he decided to remain in the storm belt for now. The hidden realm seemed stable enough, and it was better to wait until Bai finished refining the Fire Curse Seed before leaving.

At long last, he could rest properly. He ordered the Sky-Eyed Butterfly to stand guard, then lay down and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

There was no day or night within the hidden realm. He had no idea how long he slept, but when he awoke, his mind felt refreshed. Sitting cross-legged, he entered meditation, activating his cultivation art to purify his true essence and refine away the lingering impurities in his body.

Ten days later, Qin Sang had fully recovered. The absence of his incarnation and the Two-Headed Hou made him feel somewhat unaccustomed.

Thinking of Old Devil Mou, his expression darkened. He began to review everything that had happened over the past few days.

Old Devil Mou had an obsession with spiritual fires. After subduing Saint Dongming’s legacy flame, the Dongming Cold Flame, he then grew greedy for the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, and that was why he had targeted Qin Sang.

"Possessing a treasure is a crime in itself!" Qin Sang sighed softly.

The two had no past grievances, yet he had become a thorn in Old Devil Mou’s side. In the end, it all came down to his own weakness. The strong preyed on the weak, and he could only be at another’s mercy.

After feeding the Sky-Eyed Butterfly and the fat silkworm, Qin Sang stepped out of the cave dwelling. Seeing that Bai had made no movement, he guessed that the latter would need some time to recover, and refining the Fire Curse Seed would also take considerable effort.

Qin Sang flew up and spent an entire day carefully repairing the ancient barrier that protected the hidden realm before returning to his cave dwelling.

With a flicker of light, the Thousand-Jin Ring shone as he summoned out a withered piece of Soul-Nourishing Wood, faintly glowing with soul light.

Since he could not leave for the time being, Qin Sang decided to take the opportunity to refine his ebony sword, raise his cultivation, and strive to break through to the late stage of the Core Formation Realm. If he were to face another powerful enemy, at least he would not be so helpless again.

The last time he had refined the ebony sword was back during the Foundation Building Realm. Back then, a single thin piece of Infinite Blood Mulberry Wood had taken him nearly twenty years to refine.

This time, the Soul-Nourishing Wood was much larger, yet his cultivation and mastery of artifact refinement were far superior to before. It definitely would not take that long now.

He was eager to see what transformation the Soul-Nourishing Wood would bring to the ebony sword.

He cut off a segment of the Soul-Nourishing Wood, summoned the ebony sword, and recalled the process of merging spiritual wood from before.

"Rise!" Pointing a finger, Qin Sang sent the ebony sword flying toward the Soul-Nourishing Wood. The sword hummed melodiously, its sword light wrapping gently around the wood.

Then Qin Sang closed his eyes and urged the sword to begin melting the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

Silence filled the cave dwelling as time slowly passed. Suddenly, Qin Sang’s eyes snapped open, fixed on the sword before him. The Soul-Nourishing Wood had begun to dissolve, and the ebony sword was about to absorb its purest origin wood essence.

Last time, it was at this exact moment that the Infinite Blood Mulberry Wood had caused an anomaly, corrupting the essence of the spiritual wood and stripping it of all spiritual intelligence.

Hum...

The ebony sword quivered lightly as the Soul-Nourishing Wood merged into it.

Just then, a streak of strange blood-colored light abruptly appeared.

It’s here!

Qin Sang thought to himself.

As the blood-colored light lunged toward the Soul-Nourishing Wood, the latter suddenly flared with radiant soul light. The blood-colored light struck the barrier of light as if hitting an unyielding wall and was firmly repelled, unable to invade even a fraction.

Throughout the process, the blood-colored light lingered restlessly but remained helpless against the Soul-Nourishing Wood.

In the end, the ebony sword devoured the Soul-Nourishing Wood completely, turning into a transparent sword embryo that hovered before Qin Sang.

Seeing this, Qin Sang’s face lit up with joy. He then retrieved the ebony sword and placed it within his primordial spirit to nourish it, while continuing his dual focus of refining the sword and comprehending the killing symbol.

***

One year later, Qin Sang’s figure appeared once again within the storm belt. He summoned the Moon-Gazing Rhinoceros horn to determine direction, then, while flying, took out a dull gray bead.

"Didn’t think it would take this long..." he murmured, rolling the bead between his fingers.

After stabilizing his vitality, Bai had failed more than ten times before finally refining this Fire Curse seed.

Unknowingly, they had remained trapped within the storm belt for an entire year. Drifting through the storms for quite some time, Qin Sang reached the outer edge near Yuan Zhu’s cave dwelling and activated the barrier sealed within the scale.

Back then, the situation had been dire, and Yuan Zhu had spoken vaguely. Qin Sang had originally planned to seek him out for a proper conversation, but after waiting a long time, there was no response from inside.

"Not in the cave dwelling? Seems like I’ll have to come back at the appointed time," he muttered, rubbing his chin. Without lingering, he flew straight out of the storm belt.

When he returned to Canglang Sea, it felt as though a lifetime had passed. Glancing around and finding no one nearby, he activated his evasion light and flew westward.

"You’re not heading to the Heavenly Dao Sect to find that person?" Bai asked.

Qin Sang looked in the direction of the Heavenly Dao Sect and sighed. "It’s already been delayed this long, so there’s no need to rush now. Let’s head to Tianshing Island first. I’ll gather the rest of the spiritual herbs you need and stabilize your vitality."

He began pondering what identity to use. His real name, as well as the aliases Ming Yue and Qingfeng, had all drawn unwanted attention. The thought left him quietly rueful.

***

Tianshing Island...

Disguised under a false identity, Qin Sang entered the city and made his way directly to various shops and auction houses.

In just a few days, he had managed to gather nearly all the spiritual herbs Bai required. Only a few extremely rare ones were still missing, which he could only hope to find by chance in the future.

While on Tianshing Island, Qin Sang had also intended to secretly inquire about Old Devil Mou’s background. One must know both oneself and one’s enemy to emerge undefeated.

Unexpectedly, it didn’t take much effort before he heard of a recent event involving Old Devil Mou, one that left him utterly astonished.

Just a few months earlier, Old Devil Mou’s Tianfeng Island had been suddenly attacked. And the assailants were none other than the righteous and devilish factions, two of the strongest powers among the human race.

It was said that both Lingzhuzi and the Devil Lord themselves had personally taken action. From that moment onward, Tianfeng Island was completely erased from the Canglang Sea.

Old Devil Mou had long been infamous across the devilish path and even the entire human world. Rumor had it that the Devil Lord himself had once emerged to recruit him. He was even listed among those with the greatest potential to break through to the late stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm.

The news of his downfall spread like wildfire, shaking the four seas. Though months had passed since then, the uproar had yet to fade.