"I’m fine. Mute Girl’s condition is stable," Bai replied through voice transmission. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

As Qin Sang walked out, he said, "Ziwei Palace and Seven-Kill Hall have completely different weather. Later, I’ll take a look at the heavenly mountain. Daoist, you may also try and see if it stirs up any memories for you..."

Passing through the hall of the sword path once again, Qin Sang unexpectedly gained a new insight!

Amid his joy, he couldn’t help mocking himself inwardly. Back then, his cultivation had been too low, his vision too shallow, and he had underestimated this sword path.

The sword will within the hall was vast and boundless, embracing all rivers as if it had no end.

When combined with the Qingzhu Sword Scripture, it offered a completely new realm of comprehension.

It was Qin Sang’s third entry into Seven-Kill Hall. He had first fought the puppet sword array alone in the trial realm, then obtained the Qingzhu Sword Scripture. With his previous accumulation, he now felt that he was not far from grasping the essence of sword force and sword array.

However, he no longer forced himself to comprehend the array purely on his own.

The cultivation art he had acquired in Nether Valley was precisely the latter five stages of the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment, allowing cultivation from the middle stage of Golden Core Realm all the way to the late stage of Spiritual Infant Realm!

And within this art, the supernatural ability gained after forming the Spiritual Infant was a sword array known as the Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array!

Upon seeing this sword array, Qin Sang immediately understood why, after forming his core, the sword light that split from his art contained traces of soul aura.

It was related to this array! As its name implied, the Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array was not merely a killing array but carried other profound supernatural powers.

Leaving the ancient hall of the sword path, Qin Sang stood before a cliff. Waves of forest rustled below him, life surging in vibrant abundance.

"It really is different from Seven-Kill Hall," Bai remarked in surprise as he appeared beside Qin Sang, glancing around curiously.

When his gaze caught the shadow of the heavenly mountain, he asked, "Is that the heavenly mountain you mentioned? Its presence seems even grander than Yitian Peak’s. Don’t tell me another Devil Monarch is sealed beneath it?"

The mention of the Devil Monarch’s power still made Qin Sang uneasy.

"If a Devil Monarch truly were sealed here, there would be nothing capable of stopping its unsealing. Before I left, the strongest cultivator, the red-haired grandmaster, had yet to surpass the late stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm. His strength was comparable only to that of the three major alliance leaders at most..."

Qin Sang looked toward the heavenly mountain, but he saw no abnormal movement. He still did not know whether the being summoned by Sin Abyss was really a Devil Monarch.

He thought the possibility was low. Even if it had truly been an ancient devil, its strength should be limited. Otherwise, Sin Abyss would not have resorted to such elaborate schemes against the Small Cold Domain and Tianxing Alliance; it could have crushed them outright.

After pondering briefly, Qin Sang glanced at the clouds rippling in the sky and said, "We still have some time. Let’s go straight to the heavenly mountain."

"Alright!"

The two immediately set off, streaking swiftly toward the heavenly mountain. Qin Sang’s goal was to see whether the small stone array by the lake, where Dongyang Bo had once led them into the heavenly mountain, still existed.

The sword spirit was part of the Killing Sword. Since the sword spirit was sealed within the black tower of the heavenly mountain, could there also be a cultivation art hidden there?

Even Chenyan’s master had been trapped in that black tower. Though Qin Sang lacked the strength to enter it now, he wanted to scout the surroundings first, so he could prepare for a future exploration when his cultivation improved.

The area was vast and empty. After flying for quite some time without spotting anyone, Qin Sang and Bai exchanged a glance, then slipped into the forests to hide their presence.

On the mountaintop, brilliant lights flickered with fluctuating auras. It was clear that Spiritual Infant grandmasters were fighting inside.

After agreeing on a meeting point, Qin Sang silently glided toward the small lake within the mountain, while Bai went elsewhere. The lake was halfway up the heavenly mountain.

Recalling the route Dongyang Bo had once taken, Qin Sang quickly found it without trouble.

He hid at a distance and used the Sky Eyes to observe for a while. Seeing no abnormalities within the lake, he quietly approached and discovered that the stone array at the lakebed was gone.

"As expected, the entrance isn’t here anymore!" Qin Sang frowned and looked up at the mountain’s summit.

If he had already formed his Spiritual Infant, he might have had the power to break through the ancient barrier directly. But to uncover the secrets of the black tower and the bronze hall, he would likely have to deal again with both Shaohua Mountain and Dongyang Bo.

"Dongyang Bo, Chenyan... I wonder whether they’ve turned against each other since I left."

When Qin Sang withdrew from the heavenly mountain, Bai was already waiting at their rendezvous point.

Bai stood on the ground, gazing at the mountain’s peak, his expression slightly dazed.

Only when Qin Sang approached did he come back to himself. After exchanging a few simple words, Bai re-entered the Corpse Puppet Pouch.

"The sword-scarred mountain!" Qin Sang turned toward another direction, his expression solemn.

"If I fail, light a stick of incense for me the next time you enter Ziwei Palace. That alone will suffice!" Those had been the final parting words of Wandering Man before Qin Sang’s departure. Until now, Qin Sang had not forgotten a single word!

To form his core, Wandering Man had willingly thrown himself into the Southern Sun Fire, using demon fire to temper his soul and be reborn through fire.

Although Qin Sang had helped him acquire the piece of green copper that restrained those flames, Wandering Man’s attempt had still been no different from a moth plunging into fire, his survival odds almost nonexistent.

Qin Sang had come this time to fulfill that promise. If Wandering Man had succeeded, they would meet again someday, supporting each other on the immortal path.

But if Wandering Man had perished within the Southern Sun Fire, Qin Sang would light that single stick of incense to bid farewell to his old friend!

Qin Sang sped through the mountain forest. Though his heart was as firm as iron, he could not help feeling uneasy.

Both Qingzhu and Wandering Man had been his teachers as well as his friends. In comparison, he had interacted with Wandering Man far more often, and their bond ran deeper.

He had just witnessed the end of Senior Qingzhu’s legend and did not wish to send off another old friend!

Arriving at the foot of the sword-scarred mountain, Qin Sang took a deep breath and, following Wandering Man’s earlier instructions, passed through the ancient array.

This time was far easier than the last. Before long, Qin Sang smoothly reached the stone hall.

He looked around. Everything in the hall appeared normal, with no trace of other cultivators.

Qin Sang found the stone brick and pressed his hand against it. A ripple spread out, the passageway opened, and a wave of scorching heat rushed toward him. The Southern Sun Fire still burned!

He hurried deep into the hidden tunnel and soon saw a mass of dark-red flames.

Unable to contain himself, Qin Sang stepped forward quickly. His gaze swept across the Southern Sun Fire, and the heavy weight in his heart suddenly lifted. A look of joy appeared on his face.

The green copper piece was no longer there! That at least meant Wandering Man had not perished here, and most likely had succeeded.

Just then, a soft exclamation came from within the Corpse Puppet Pouch. Bai said, "This is the Southern Sun Fire!"

Hearing that, Qin Sang quickly asked, "Daoist, you recognize this flame?"

Bai appeared, nodded, and pointed toward the divine bird phantom within the Southern Sun Fire, exclaiming in awe, "This is the Vermilion Bird’s[1] true life-bound fire! If I’m not mistaken, the reason this Southern Sun Fire still hasn’t extinguished is likely because of a True Vermilion Bird Feather! Its power is absolutely no weaker than the long feather in the hands of the Nine Phoenix King. If this were a complete true feather, it would be even stronger!"

"The True Vermilion Bird Feather!" Qin Sang was astonished as well.

The long feather of the Nine Phoenix King had already left him with an unforgettable impression, and the True Vermilion Bird Feather was said to surpass even that!

Bai glanced at Qin Sang and chuckled. "To subdue the True Vermilion Bird Feather is no easy task. Without the bloodline of the Vermilion Bird, one cannot gain its recognition. Even the descendants of the Vermilion Bird in this era possess such diluted blood that it’s impossible for them to succeed."

1. The Vermilion Bird is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. According to Wu Xing, the Taoist five elemental system, it represents the Fire element, the direction south, and the season of summer correspondingly. ☜