Chapter 1157: Beast King Banner
Upon reaching the eighth stage of the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment, one could comprehend the Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array.
Only after advancing to the Spiritual Infant Realm and revisiting the secrets of the cultivation art did Qin Sang truly begin to grasp its deeper mysteries.
He entered meditation and studied the art. His attention first fell on the combat method recorded within it, the Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array.
Having already comprehended sword force, Qin Sang possessed a strong foundation. It did not take much effort for him to understand part of the true intent of the Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array, and he soon managed to deploy it successfully.
However, the array resembled an empty framework and was closer to the sword array Qin Sang had previously devised on his own.
The Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array was extremely profound. The degree of fusion between the sword soul, the killing symbols, and the seven yin souls directly affected the power of the sword array.
From what he could see now, it would take time before he could fully unleash the array’s true might. For the moment, it could only serve as a regular combat method. His greatest trump card was still the devilish banner.
Setting the Seven-Yin-Soul Killing Array aside for the time being, Qin Sang began attempting to cultivate the art itself.
He had long memorized the scripture thoroughly, yet his previous cultivation had been insufficient, leaving many passages obscure and difficult to understand.
After reaching the Spiritual Infant Realm, he had finally gained the ability to enter its gateway.
After a long while, Qin Sang opened his eyes and fell into thought. "Killing symbols projecting the sword soul..."
A troubled expression appeared on his face. He felt he had no clear direction. After thinking for a moment, he summoned the ebony sword and one of its sword souls. With his mind, he connected to the first killing symbol.
He imagined the killing symbol as real and tangible, envisioning himself merging with it. He guided its power, condensed a phantom of the killing symbol, and attempted to merge it into the sword soul.
Crack! The sword soul suddenly shattered.
Qin Sang was startled awake. He quickly realized that the sword soul was not a physical entity. Like other sword lights, it was merely an illusion that carried a trace of his soul.
How could such sword light bear the power of a killing symbol and remain stable without dispersing? Unexpectedly, the very first step of this art turned out to be the most difficult.
Qin Sang steadied his mind. He did not grow discouraged. Instead, he re-condensed the sword soul and continued studying the scripture while repeatedly experimenting.
Suddenly, he sensed that the barrier of his cave dwelling had been disturbed by someone outside. His spiritual consciousness swept outward and discovered that it was Elder Xun, whom he had met before.
After a moment’s thought, Qin Sang rose and walked out of the cave dwelling.
"Daoist Qin!" Elder Xun greeted him with considerable courtesy.
This was not solely because of Qingjun. Although Qin Sang had no intention of exposing his Spiritual Infant identity, he also had no desire to keep an excessively low profile. The cultivation he revealed outwardly was clearly at the peak of the Golden Core Realm.
"Daoist Xun, please come in!" Qin Sang gave a fist-and-palm salute and invited him inside. "When I returned to the mountain with the sect leader last time, everything was too rushed. I did not have the chance to visit my fellow Daoists. I hope that you did not take offense."
"I would not dare." Elder Xun waved his hands repeatedly and did not mention Qin Sang’s background at all.
"I only learned of your return from my disciples. Before departing, the sect leader entrusted the sect’s affairs to me. If you have any needs, Daoist Qin, I can have the disciples prepare them in advance."
Qin Sang thanked him. "There is no need to trouble you. During my travels earlier, I gained some insights. I returned this time to cultivate in seclusion for a while. I may also browse through the ancient texts preserved by the sect..."
Truthfully, even now Qin Sang could not determine how Qingjun intended to arrange the future of Yuanshen Sect.
Yuanshen Sect had existed for generations and possessed a deep foundation. If Qingyang Temple could absorb Yuanshen Sect, it could easily establish the structure of a top-tier sect.
The thought passed through Qin Sang’s mind, but he soon suppressed it. There was no need to rush the establishment of Qingyang Temple. When the opportunity arose, he could ask Qingjun for her thoughts.
After exchanging pleasantries, Elder Xun brought Qin Sang to the place where the sect stored its ancient scriptures. Along the way they chatted pleasantly, and Qin Sang also learned some news from the front lines.
After seeing Elder Xun off, Qin Sang began reading the ancient texts with great eagerness. Among them were Yuanshen Sect’s most precious spiritual array manuals, from which he gained considerable insight.
From that point onward, he remained in Yuanshen Sect. Several months later, Qin Sang finally succeeded in projecting the phantom of the first killing symbol onto a sword soul.
Within the sword soul, the phantom of the killing symbol flickered faintly. Although it remained somewhat blurry, it no longer collapsed as it had before.
Qin Sang let out a long breath. The process had consumed an enormous amount of his mental energy, but he had finally succeeded.
After this, there was no need to rush. He only needed to continue refining sword souls and methodically project all seven killing symbols. Once that was complete, he could attempt to merge the seven yin souls.
Qin Sang withdrew the sword soul and turned his attention to other matters.
First, he took out the shell of the Nine-Life Black Tortoise. The best option for this tortoise shell would have been refining it into a defensive astra. But Qin Sang had another plan. At the same time, he also took out the green copper fragment.
There was a reason he had brought these two items together. The tortoise shell contained the power of black water, which naturally suppressed flames. It might be able to work with the green bronze fragment to subdue the Southern Sun Fire.
For now, this was only a preliminary idea. These two treasures alone were probably not enough.
However, before attempting such a plan, he certainly could not refine the tortoise shell recklessly.
After pondering for a moment, Qin Sang moved his fingers rapidly, casting several simple barriers that landed on the surface of the shell. Since the shell was already extremely sturdy, he would use it as a shield for the time being.
After dealing with the tortoise shell, Qin Sang took out the star turban.
After testing its power, he shook his head. This treasure had a limit to how much true essence it could absorb, and it could only release its power once in battle. At the Spiritual Infant Realm, its usefulness had greatly diminished.
The same was true for the Primordial Unity Ring and the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman.
These treasures, which had rendered great service during the Core Formation Realm, had now fallen behind.
On the other hand, the Lightning Control Technique could grow stronger along with his cultivation. It remained a formidable Dao technique.
"And these as well!" Qin Sang brought out several spiritual banners.
These were the Beast King Banners he had obtained after killing disciples of the witch race from Black Snake Mountain.
At full strength, the Beast King Banner Array consisted of eighty-one banners. If the full set could be assembled and each banner controlled by a Core Formation disciple, its power would be quite formidable. It could be passed down to Qingyang Temple as a true inheritance.
Even if Qingyang Temple lacked a Spiritual Infant cultivator in the future, it would not decline too quickly.
Unfortunately, the number of banners he possessed was insufficient. However, Qin Sang had obtained the method for refining them. Small Cold Domain lacked enough demonic beasts for him to harvest souls to forge new banners, but Ancient Immortal Battlefield contained countless Cloud Beasts.
During this time, he had also browsed Yuanshen Sect’s collection and gained some understanding of the Dao of arrays. When he found the time, he could attempt to modify the Beast King Banners.
***
Qin Sang sorted through the Thousand-Jin Ring, reviewing all the treasures he carried.
The last items remaining were the devilish banners. There were eighteen devilish banners in total.
After breaking through to the Spiritual Infant Realm, Qin Sang could control twelve devilish banners in battle without relying on pills. He had already tested it. Twelve was his limit. He could not control any more.
In the past, Founder Kuiyin had only possessed ten banners, yet he had established a tremendous reputation.
With twelve devilish banners forming an array, their power rivaled that of a top-grade astra. Qin Sang estimated that, combined with his other supernatural abilities, he could fight against a middle-stage Spiritual Infant cultivator. At the very least, he could still rely on his evasion techniques to escape.
However, every Spiritual Infant old monster was formidable. Unless absolutely necessary, Qin Sang would not provoke them.
Cultivation cannot be rushed. It would be better to focus my efforts on the Fire Seed Golden Lotus. If I can deepen my mastery of it, I might be able to control fifteen devilish banners... Qin Sang thought to himself.
