Gateway of Immortality

This Soul Search Technique had undoubtedly originated from the demonic sects; it was vicious and sinister. Qin Sang had no idea where Wandering Man had acquired it.

Once cast, the soul shattered instantly.

Even if Yi Tianye had never cultivated techniques of the ghost path, his soul would no longer have any chance of entering reincarnation.

This devil had caused Qin Sang immense suffering in the past, making him live in constant fear. Naturally, Qin Sang felt no trace of pity. He coldly watched as Yi Tianye's fragmented soul writhed in his palm, displaying extreme agony, as if enduring the tortures of the eighteen levels of hell.

Qin Sang remained utterly unmoved.

Wandering Man emerged from the blood seal left by the demon king. His strength had recovered somewhat and he no longer appeared so frail.

The stone hall had returned to silence.

The Demonic Flames of Nine Hells had returned to the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, which Qin Sang stored away.

From the bottom of the lake came the sound of trickling water. The underground river flowed unceasingly, quickly replenishing the dried lake with a thin layer. It would not take long before it was full once again.

However, all sounds were drowned by repeated, blood-curdling screams.

In all his years within the immortal cultivation world, Qin Sang had never heard such harrowing cries. One could only imagine the horrifying torment Yi Tianye was enduring.

Wandering Man glanced at Qin Sang, whose gaze was as hard as iron, and suddenly let out a soft sigh. "Brother Qin, rest assured. I swear upon my heart demons that today's events will never reach a third person. I shall not question your past either. I only hope that even if you walk in darkness from now on, a lamp will still remain lit within your heart. Don't let yourself be consumed."

Qin Sang raised his head, his expression blank, as if only now realizing what had been said. After a brief hesitation, he nodded solemnly and said, "I shall remember your words, Senior."

Just then, Yi Tianye's screams abruptly stopped. The resentment vanished from his face, replaced by a look of release. With a final boom, his lingering soul shattered.

Wandering Man suddenly extended his finger, pointing at the remnants of Yi Tianye's soul. He gathered the fragmented spirit, using his palm as a furnace, and refined it into a sphere of the purest soul essence, which he handed to Qin Sang.

"Don't waste it. Let your flying yaksha consume it. It might allow it to transcend."

Qin Sang took the soul essence, half skeptical. "Senior, the method I used to refine this flying yaksha differs from other corpse refinement techniques in sects which cultivated the corpse path. Once the refinement is complete, its strength can no longer improve. I'm afraid this won't be effective."

Wandering Man smiled faintly.

"I've known for a while that your corpse refinement technique is unique.

"But this time is different. Anyone else wouldn't work but Yi Tianye is not just anyone.

"Have you noticed? Yi Tianye most likely intended to fully seize that corpse, using some ghost path secret art to actively merge his own soul with the primordial spirit of the flying yaksha. The two were already deeply linked.

"This kind of opportunity is rare. It might just break the limits.

"With Yi Tianye's consciousness already erased, you need not fear him reclaiming your refined corpse.

"This is the most original essence of a late-stage Core Formation Realm expert. If your refined corpse consumes it, the benefits will be tremendous. It might even undergo a true metamorphosis into a genuine flying yaksha."

Qin Sang's eyes lit up. After hearing Wandering Man's explanation, it did seem plausible.

No one else would willingly fuse with a refined corpse. Yi Tianye had brought this upon himself. That was why Qin Sang had never considered this path before.

But it was worth a try.

Without delay, Qin Sang summoned the flying yaksha and carefully examined it over a dozen times to be sure. Only then did he allow it to devour the essence of Yi Tianye's soul.

At first, the flying yaksha appeared unchanged and calm.

But within moments, its aura turned chaotic. It clutched its head and let out a frenzied roar. Qin Sang poured all his efforts into soothing it before it finally quieted down.

Even so, its primordial spirit remained unstable. Violent changes were clearly taking place within it, and it would not settle anytime soon.

During this period, the yaksha's combat strength would be completely lost.

"It's a good sign! It's very likely undergoing metamorphosis!"

Wandering Man spoke with certainty. Then, as if recalling something, he glanced at Qin Sang with a trace of concern and asked, "Brother Qin, why did you use corpse path techniques on yourself? Did it leave any hidden dangers?"

"Senior, I possess five-elemental spiritual roots."

Qin Sang said it with apparent calm, but a bitter smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

For cultivators with five-elemental spiritual roots, even Foundation Building was a distant dream, let alone Core Formation.

If he hadn't been forced into a dead end, who would willingly turn to the corpse path? Not even the Snow Spirit Lotus or the Iris Flower had helped him. With no other options left, Qin Sang had no choice but to embrace this path.

"I was fortunate. By sheer luck, I found an opportunity to form a core through the corpse path. As for hidden dangers, they're not hard to resolve..." Qin Sang said.

Wandering Man nodded. "That's good to hear. Oh, right, the Purple Cloud Fruit is yours."

Qin Sang accepted the Purple Cloud Fruit, his heart stirring with excitement and deep emotion. So many complications had arisen because of this fruit, but the reward had proven more than worthwhile.

Through the soul search just now, Qin Sang had confirmed that the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances truly existed in Ziwei Palace, and he had even learned its exact location.

Beyond that, Qin Sang had taken the opportunity to extract more information, especially regarding the usage and refinement method of the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions.

If he could obtain the full refinement method and complete the set with ten banners, it could rival even top-grade astras. How could Qin Sang not be tempted?

This had been Founder Kuiyin's proudest creation. After his death, he had likely passed down the method of forging it. Yet despite thoroughly searching Daoist Jiupao's belongings, Qin Sang hadn't found it.

He once believed that, with the fall of Kuiyin Sect's three Golden Core cultivators, the secret art had perished with them. Unexpectedly, due to a twist of fate, he obtained it from Yi Tianye.

Now, Qin Sang finally understood the full structure of the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

The banner was made up of three main components.

The first was the banner pole, which appeared deceptively simple in composition.

Qin Sang had guessed correctly at the time. It was that mysterious black iron column from Daoist Jiupao's belongings, a material that resembled neither true iron nor true stone.

However, refining the black iron column into a banner pole was no easy task.

This black iron column was a strange material, extremely hard and infused with peculiar restrictions. One needed a specific spiritual array and had to use high-grade spirit stones as power sources just to barely refine it.

No wonder Daoist Jiupao had never parted with those four high-grade spirit stones, even up to his death.

He had hoped to recover from his injuries and reforge his life-bound astra using the black iron column as the core material. Without high-grade spirit stones, it would have been impossible.

High-grade spirit stones were exceedingly rare. While selling them might be easy, finding new ones afterward was not, especially after the fall of Kuiyin Sect. Daoist Jiupao had become a vagabond, no different from a rogue cultivator.

The second component was the banner cloth, which was not crafted from spiritual materials but woven by binding countless living souls, refining their most purified soul essence, and spinning it into threads using a ghost path secret technique!

Utterly malicious and cruel.

To forge this astra, Founder Kuiyin had likely killed countless people back then.

No wonder Qin Sang had never been able to repair the tattered banner, no matter how he tried.

To restore it, one needed living souls.

Fortunately, the damage on the two astras he possessed wasn't too severe. The living souls sealed within the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions artifacts he held would be just enough to repair them.

These artifacts had limited power and had become useless after Core Formation, so they were perfect for use in repairing the astras.