Chapter 1325: Ten Years of Study
Chapter 1325: Ten Years of Study
When the fire spirit sensed the aura of the spiritual fires, it instinctively felt fear.
Both the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells and the Ancestral Sacred Flame were existences of a higher order than the flames that had birthed it.
Especially the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, whose suppression by rank was the most obvious. The fire spirit trembled violently, terrified to the extreme, not daring to resist.
Bing Han seized the opportunity and quickened her pace. At the same time, she lightly tapped her Mustard Seed Pouch, and dozens of streams of light shot skyward. Within each stream of light was a spiritual material.
To refine a spiritual treasure, a mere fire spirit alone was far from enough. Beginning with the founding grandmaster, Xuling Sect had plotted for generations, with successive cultivators pouring in unimaginable effort before finally gathering all the necessary spiritual materials.
Having reached this stage, Bing Han had only one chance. Failure was not an option.
Her expression remained calm, but her spiritual consciousness guided each spiritual material into the square cauldron, refining them one by one, removing impurities, preserving only their purest essence, and fusing them into the fire jade.
With the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells and the Ancestral Sacred Flame working together through the array, the suppression of the fire spirit was remarkably effective.
The fire jade began changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Originally pure blue, after absorbing the various spiritual materials, it gradually gained a streak of vivid crimson. At the same time, its shape began to transform, stretching outward at both ends, slowly taking on the outline of a saber.
Everything proceeded smoothly. The vigilance in Qin Sang’s and Xiang Qing’s hearts eased somewhat, and both were drawn in by Bing Han’s artifact refinement technique, carefully observing every detail.
Bing Han’s expression also grew more relaxed. The spiritual embryo was just about to be shaped. Once the final runes were engraved, it would be complete.
Then, without warning, a sudden change occurred!
Rumble! The mountain within the mountain shook violently.
The power of the underground fire veins surged with overwhelming ferocity, crashing toward them like a flood. The fire spirit sensed death closing in, and its instinct for survival overcame its fear as it launched a desperate final struggle!
Within Xuling Sect, the grand array had already been activated by Bing Han, and all disciples had been ordered to remain within the sect grounds, forbidden from leaving.
As the forbidden ground changed, the entire sect shook violently, like an earthquake.
The disciples of Xuling Sect rushed out of their cave dwellings, faces filled with shock. Tremors had occurred from time to time during this period, but never with such terrifying intensity.
The source was the forbidden ground.
Several Golden Core cultivators, including Yun Lan, had been ordered to guard the mountain below. Seeing disciples gathering toward the forbidden ground, they loudly stopped them.
Worry was written across their faces as well, but they knew nothing of the cause. They only knew that their sect leader had invited two Spiritual Infant experts. Whatever was happening was certainly important!
Meanwhile, within the forbidden ground, the three reacted instantly.
The moment they sensed the fire spirit’s upheaval, Qin Sang and Xiang Qing did not hesitate. They fully drove their spiritual fires, forcibly stabilizing the cauldron while taking upon themselves the violent impact of the fire veins in Bing Han’s place.
Boom! Qin Sang’s face turned pale as fire poison invaded his body.
Yet he paid it no heed. His eyes remained locked on the cauldron, and he discovered that the fluctuation was too violent. Even Bing Han had not escaped unscathed.
Dong! Dong! The fire jade slammed wildly against the cauldron.
Qin Sang’s gaze darkened. With his spiritual consciousness, he activated the Corpse Puppet Pouch. The seal on the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet was released, and in a flash, it appeared behind him, shielding him from the incoming force.
An extra figure had appeared out of nowhere, startling both Xiang Qing and Bing Han. Then they realized it was actually a Spiritual Infant Realm puppet, and their shock deepened even further.
Qin Sang, at only the early stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm, had already shone brilliantly on the battlefield.
Who could have imagined that he had secretly hidden a Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet all this time, unknown to anyone?
Xiang Qing was inwardly shaken. He gave Qin Sang a deep look, silently grateful that he had never become enemies with such a man.
Qin Sang ignored their thoughts. Now that he had released the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet, the pressure on him eased considerably. He immediately employed the artifact refinement secret techniques he had just learned, helping Bing Han stabilize the cauldron as they joined forces to refine the fire jade.
He had willingly exposed the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet because he had his own calculations.
Shaping the spiritual embryo was the most crucial step. Only by personally participating could he understand its mysteries. Unless absolutely necessary, Bing Han would never have allowed him to interfere before. Now, she had no reason to refuse.
Sure enough, Bing Han merely glanced at Qin Sang, said nothing, and silently accepted his assistance.
With the two working together, the fire spirit’s final resistance was crushed. The square cauldron gradually returned to stillness.
The fire jade’s shape shifted uncertainly at first, then slowly stabilized, finally becoming a jade saber three cun long.
The spiritual embryo was complete!
The three of them let out breaths of relief at the same time.
Qin Sang felt pain throughout his entire body. Fire poison had invaded deep into him, and it would likely take some time to purge it completely. Even the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet had suffered damage.
But every price paid had been worth it! Thinking of what he had just gained, Qin Sang’s eyes shone brilliantly.
It was equivalent to personally forging the embryo of a spiritual treasure. Such an experience could never be obtained from books!
Xiang Qing’s complexion was somewhat haggard. He had only just recovered, only to be injured again.
Yet Xiang Qing paid little attention to his own condition. His gaze remained fixed on the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet behind Qin Sang. The talismanic seal had already been transformed into a puppet seal. No matter how hard Xiang Qing thought, he would never connect it to the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace.
"Daoist Qin, you hid your strength too well," Xiang Qing said with heartfelt admiration.
Within the fiery spring, the jade saber quietly floated inside the cauldron. Bing Han extended a finger and gently stroked the jade saber.
Gradually, the jade saber was swallowed by flames, forming a cocoon of fire.
If this treasure were completed now, it would undoubtedly become another top-grade astra, no weaker than Qingjun’s Fivefold Tower. Yet Bing Han did not choose that path. Instead, she left it here to continue gestating until it gave birth to spiritual essence.
Wrapped in the fiery cocoon, the jade saber slowly sank into the fiery spring.
"Daoists, thank you for your full support," Bing Han said as she descended beside them. Her beautiful eyes turned slightly toward Qin Sang. "Daoist Qin, I thought I had already held you in the highest regard, yet you continue to surprise us again and again."
"This puppet still lacks some refinement. The situation was urgent just now, so I had no choice but to release it and make a fool of myself before you. I have many enemies, so I ask that you two keep this secret for me," Qin Sang said with a faint smile as he put away the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet and gazed at the jade saber.
This jade saber would very likely become the first spiritual treasure he had personally helped refine. He wondered whether, in the future, he would have the chance to witness its might with his own eyes.
The two tactfully asked no further questions.
Bing Han said, "You two have worked hard. I have already prepared pills for you. Quickly leave and suppress the fire poison within your bodies, lest hidden troubles remain in the future."
Qin Sang asked, "Then I may now go study your sect’s records?"
"Of course!" Bing Han nodded and activated the spiritual array, sealing the fiery spring once more.
***
Time flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, Qin Sang had remained in Xuling Sect for a full ten years. Much had happened during those ten years.
Two years ago, Jingyu successfully broke through to the middle stage of the Transformation Realm, and soon afterward faced heavenly tribulation, a perilous ordeal.
In the end, Jingyu safely overcame the heavenly tribulation, though not without danger.
Overjoyed, Qin Sang personally insisted on holding a grand celebration for Jingyu in Thousand-Mountain Bamboo Sea, inviting demons from all directions, and he himself appeared at the ceremony.
Seeing Jingyu’s attitude toward Qin Sang, the various demon kings all understood the deeper meaning behind the gesture.
The Snake King raised a cup of wine with Qin Sang.
As for Qin Sang himself, he immersed himself hungrily in all kinds of records, studying the inherited secret techniques of Xuling Sect. During this time, Li Yufu continuously sent him spiritual materials for practice, allowing his progress in the Dao of artifact refinement to advance by leaps and bounds each day.
The astras he refined were all handed over to Li Yufu, either kept as rewards for disciples or sold outside.
Li Yufu and the others frequently interacted with disciples of Xuling Sect, and over time, both sides became thoroughly familiar with one another.