Inquiry about immortality

Chapter 2527 Time waits for no one
"Master, this is a list of all cultivators who were injured or killed."

Bai Ying'er presented a jade slip.

Qin Sang scanned the jade slip with her divine sense, and the contents of the jade slip flowed through her mind.

"In the Battle of Crane Pool, a duel was arranged before the battle. Ten Nascent Soul cultivators fought, three of whom were seriously injured, and Shuang Wu of the Shuang Clan unfortunately perished."

"In the Battle of Floating Wave City, more than three thousand people were killed or wounded, including three Nascent Soul cultivators: the Water Cloud Island Master of Dongxiao River, and the Recluse Pinghong of Wuyuan Prefecture..."

"The Battle of Tianchi Lake..."

Qin Sang read through the list one by one. These were all the Horned Life Kingdom cultivators who had been injured or killed in the battle to subdue the Shadow God Kingdom. The most tragic one was the Battle of Yinming Lake, where they were ambushed and only the commander survived, while the rest of the army was wiped out.

Although the war between the two nations was carried out according to his will and secretly manipulated by Yuan Zuo, the Shadow God Kingdom suffered repeated defeats and offered no effective resistance. Most of the battles were duels and wagers, ending only when the point was reached. Even so, it was difficult to completely avoid casualties, and the accumulated casualties from battle to battle reached an astonishing number.

The list only lists the names of Nascent Soul cultivators; others are just a string of numbers with no names at all.

"Tell Yuanzuo that rewards and punishments must be clear and fair, and that his descendants must not be mistreated," Qin Sang said in a deep voice as he put away the jade slip.

"Yes!"

Bai Ying'er accepted the order; it was only right and proper.

Having led the Five Thunder Sect for many years and overseen the state for Qin Sang, she had long since become numb to these numbers. The people on the list were necessary sacrifices made for the greater good, and the Kingdom of Jiaosheng had not treated them unfairly.

She continued her report, "Qin Hou's old injuries have been healed by his master and he is preparing to break through to the next level. He earnestly requests his master's permission to come to the main altar for seclusion."

Qin Sang's cave dwelling has a cultivation platform. Bai Ying'er has been cultivating by Qin Sang's side for many years and knows the power of this treasure.

“Why not! I have recently gained some insights and am preparing to improve the formation. Every ten years thereafter, you may select five people to come here to cultivate.”

After Bai Ying'er left, Qin Sang slowly stood up, walked out of the cave, and looked out of the mountain with his hands behind his back.

The storm subsided, and the night was hazy. The darkness could not block Qin Sang's vision. He gazed into the far distance. This vast territory belonged to the Kingdom of Jiaosheng, and it also belonged to him, Qin Sang.

In this land, whether mortal or cultivator, even the ruler of the Horned Kingdom, all must obey his will; their life, death, honor, and disgrace are all in his hands.

These people were driven and misled by him...

Qin Sang's figure vanished into thin air, quietly leaving the Five Thunder Sect's headquarters.

……

"Brother Li, it's such a fine day and beautiful scenery, how about we play a game of chess?"

High in the sky, the two stood on the clouds, gazing at each other across the distance. A young man in blue pointed to a mountain peak below.

The other person had an unusual appearance, with large, round ears. Upon hearing this, he said "good" and took the lead in flying downwards.

"Wow..."

The rocks crumbled away, and the mountaintop transformed into a perfectly sculpted stone platform. The two landed on either side. The blue-clad youth cast a hand seal, and suddenly waves of earth surged from the surface of the platform, swirling with yellow mist. Strange yellow light spots appeared within, containing unknown changes.

"Fellow Daoist, please go first!" The blue-robed youth gestured, and the big-eared cultivator didn't stand on ceremony. With a flick of his finger, a blue light appeared.

They were engrossed in their chess game, with the bright moon overhead and the vast expanse of blue water below – truly a rare and beautiful sight.

On the other side of the mountain, however, the sounds of battle were deafening, as countless cultivators were fighting, their killing intent soaring to the heavens.

Separated by only one mountain, one side enjoys peace and tranquility, while the other is a living hell.

The two seemed oblivious to the shouts of battle nearby, focusing intently on the game. As time passed, the blue dots on the chessboard dwindled, and the large-eared cultivator spent more and more time pondering.

The young man in blue suddenly raised his head and said calmly, "Brother Li, you flatter me."

He turned around and smiled, saying, "It seems I'm going to win that round over there too."

The large-eared cultivator waved his hand, scattering the chessboard. "Brother, your skill is superior. I, Li, concede defeat. From now on, Shouming Mountain will submit to Jiaosheng Kingdom! Let's play another game!"

The two gave orders, and the sounds of fighting behind the mountain gradually faded away. The cultivators on both sides silently cleaned up the battlefield. The battle was short, but many were killed or wounded, and their loved ones wept in grief. The two who were playing chess could not hear them.

They were also unaware that above them, someone was hidden in the clouds, taking in the entire scene of the battlefield and the two people playing chess.

Seeing that the situation was settled, Qin Sang withdrew her gaze, left quietly without disturbing them, and headed to the next battlefield.

After leaving the Five Thunder Sect headquarters, Qin Sang traveled between various battlefields, and the cold numbers on those battle reports transformed into vivid lives before his eyes.

He was not an indecisive person, nor did he have a Bodhi heart. In order to cultivate himself, he did a lot of things that harmed others for his own benefit, but he could never get rid of his doubts about the so-called Mahayana path.

Upon closer examination, none of the three cultivation techniques he is currently practicing are ones that he genuinely endorses.

The Purple Star Sword Scripture is a killing technique, but he was never controlled by his killing instincts. When the Void Refining stage evolved into the Mahayana killing technique, the differences between him and the technique became even greater than before.

"Heavenly Demon Refining Form" is a demon race technique, and it is an ancient demon race technique that has been eliminated. The demon race believes that it has major hidden dangers, and the First Sword Servant specifically reminded him of this.

Needless to say, the Taiyi Lingshu Scripture was practiced out of sheer necessity.

In the past, none of these were problems, because Qin Sang had always regarded them as steps to immortality. As long as he could improve his cultivation and strength, the origin of the cultivation method was not the primary consideration. He had a feeling of passing through a garden of flowers without getting a single petal on him.

But times have changed. As Qin Sang's understanding of "merging with the Dao" deepens, he has realized that this path is nearing its end. After breaking through to the Integration Stage, one must merge with the Dao to choose a path, and abandoning or changing one's path is by no means easy.

Therefore, how to align with the Dao, and which Dao to align with, is of paramount importance!

It seems that the "Purple Star Sword Scripture" is the most promising option, and the Purple Star Child is within him; switching to another method would be difficult to explain. Moreover, given the current situation, he must do everything in his power to improve his cultivation in order to gain a sliver of hope. Although he has doubts in his heart, there is no turning back.

But if one were to embark on such a path, aligning with a "way" that one does not agree with...

Qin Sang pondered for a moment, and before he knew it, he had passed by several more battlefields. Finally, he ended his travels and returned to the headquarters of the Five Thunder Sect.

As the scenes she witnessed during her travels flowed through her mind, Qin Sang fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, a sword shadow appeared in front of him, and then the sword shadow transformed into a sword formation. This was not the Four Symbols and Nine Luminaries Sword Formation, but the long-lost Seven Souls Killing Formation!
The sword domain granted by the Ziwei Sword Scripture during the Refinement stage is based on the Seven Souls Killing Array, but Qin Sang did not continue to study the Seven Souls Killing Array. Instead, she chose to independently deduce the Four Symbols Nine Luminaries Sword Array.

The initial reason was that the Seven Souls Killing Array couldn't be exposed to the light of day, and Qin Sang didn't want to abandon her swordsmanship, so the Four Symbols Nine Luminaries Sword Array came into being. As Qin Sang's cultivation deepened, she increasingly felt that her initial choice was correct.

Previously, he could have relied on the Seven Souls Killing Array to comprehend the Sword Domain, but he didn't. Firstly, he wanted to hide his background and had no opportunity to use the Seven Souls Killing Array. Secondly, Qin Sang wanted to retain some things that belonged to him.

The sword domain he comprehends through his own deduction of the Four Symbols and Nine Luminaries Sword Formation is truly his own. In this way, even if he cannot fully integrate with the "Purple Star Sword Scripture," he may still leave a seed for himself, which he can use to forge his own path in the future.

Therefore, Qin Sang preferred to progress more slowly in order to deduce the Four Symbols and Nine Luminaries Sword Formation. However, it seemed that fate would not allow him to continue with his steady and methodical approach.

Five of the Nine Luminaries are now nearing completion, it's only a matter of time before they reach their full potential. The Sun and Moon, as the core of the formation, have endless potential for improvement, further supported by the black and white chess pieces. The most troublesome are the two hidden stars, Rahu and Ketu, for whom there's still no clue.

Before the chaos erupts in Dafeng Plain, he not only needs to master the "Purple Star Sword Scripture," but also deduce the two hidden stars. Furthermore, based on the Four Symbols and Nine Luminaries Sword Formation, he must comprehend his own true sword domain to prepare for breaking through to the Integration Stage. He fears that time will not wait for him.

Faced with the choice between the future and the present life-or-death situation, Qin Sang had no choice but to re-establish the Seven Souls Killing Array.

Go ahead to dangers!
The Seven Souls Killing Array is equivalent to the innate divine power of the Purple Star Sword Scripture. One's understanding of the sword array will increase with one's cultivation level, and one can achieve twice the result with half the effort by relying on the Seven Souls Killing Array to comprehend the sword domain.

When Qin Sang regained the Seven Souls Killing Array, the feeling was indeed completely different, and the power of the sword domain he had previously mastered immediately resonated with it.

……

Just as Qin Sang continued to focus on her cultivation, another storm arose, and the situation underwent a new change.

Yuan Zuo's surrender of the city, as expected, enraged the Chu Xu Royal Palace. The new Chu Xu King's envoy, who had come with great ambitions, received the bad news before even reaching the Shadow God Kingdom. He was immediately furious and sent a talisman to question Yuan Zuo, who naturally ignored it and continued to do as he pleased.

The annexation of the Shadow God Kingdom by the Horned Kingdom is not the end; the trouble has only just begun, and a myriad of problems are yet to come.

The surrender of the king does not mean that the entire Shadow God Kingdom is willing to be incorporated into the Horned Life Kingdom.

In order to make the performance more realistic, Yuan Zuo turned a blind eye to the forces that had sided with the special envoy of the King of Chu. Of course, these people would not surrender with Yuan Zuo; they would only curse him for betraying his country.

Some areas were only recently incorporated into the Shadow God Kingdom's territory, and many took the opportunity to cause trouble. Many others despised Yuan Zuo's weakness and angrily switched their allegiance to the Crimson Melt Kingdom, ashamed to associate with it.

However, Yuan Zuo had been in power for many years and controlled the Shadow God Kingdom, accumulating considerable prestige. As a result, many forces chose to continue following Yuan Zuo and the royal family.

In short, the current situation is extremely chaotic. Some are at a loss, some are taking advantage of the situation, and some are astute enough to see an opportunity and take the initiative to welcome the new special envoy of the King of Chu.

Both the Kingdom of Horned Life and the Kingdom of Crimson Fusion were making every effort to take over the legacy of the Kingdom of Shadow God, but the Kingdom of Crimson Fusion was ultimately a step too slow. Although it occupied a larger territory, most of the benefits were taken by the Kingdom of Horned Life.

This campaign was full of drama; its swift conclusion and abundant results were beyond anything the Zhilian Prince's Mansion had anticipated.

The Chu Xu Royal Palace was the biggest loser, the Jiao Sheng Kingdom was the biggest winner, and the Zhi Lian Royal Palace was not bad either, but the Zhi Lian Royal Envoy was in a terrible mood.

"Alas! Fellow Daoist Ning, if you hadn't insisted on fighting against the Shadow God Kingdom back then, the Northern Lu King and the others wouldn't have had the chance to reap the benefits," the Zhilian King's envoy said, looking at Ning Ye across from him, unable to help but complain.

Ning Ye sipped his spiritual tea, feigning ignorance: "Your words, Special Envoy, are rather unfair. If I hadn't stood up against all opposition, the Shadow God Kingdom wouldn't have been destroyed! Now that most of the Shadow God Kingdom's territory is in my hands, and the Chu Xu King's forces have been wiped out of here, isn't that a win-win situation?"

“Fellow Daoist Ning, can’t you see who’s behind the Kingdom of Jiaosheng? They drove away a tiger, but attracted three wolves,” the special envoy of King Zhilian shook his head and sighed. “Looking back now, everything is clear. That scoundrel Yuanzuo must have switched sides to the Three Kings after breaking with the Chuxu Royal Palace. This war of annihilation was nothing more than a grand show they put on! It’s also my fault for not thinking things through and overestimating that leader of the Five Thunder Sect. I didn’t expect that he had already been subdued by the Three Kings!”

Ning Ye opened his mouth, about to say something, when he suddenly heard a palace attendant report, "There is a person outside who claims to be a special envoy of the King of Chuxu and wants to see His Majesty."

"Is that the new special envoy? What brings him here!" Ning Ye turned to look at the special envoy of Prince Zhilian.

The special envoy of the Prince of Zhilian narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and suddenly revealed a charming smile, "I originally wanted to go to him, but he came to me first. Have someone bring him in!"

Ning Ye immediately did as instructed, then pondered, "This person came here alone, could it be that he intends to...?"

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Ning, on gaining another powerful ally!"

The special envoy of King Zhilian bowed slightly and said, “If I am not mistaken, King Chuxu is trying to bewitch Fellow Daoist Ning and turn against Jiaosheng Kingdom! Now that King Chuxu’s power here has been almost completely eradicated, if he wants to make any progress, he can only rely on His Majesty’s power.”

Ning Ye understood: "Breaking the agreement isn't difficult. The Chi Rong Kingdom and the Jiao Sheng Kingdom only have a secret alliance, no explicit oath. Although Yue'er has married into the Jiao Sheng Kingdom, she certainly won't be swayed by personal feelings and will understand my good intentions. This territory is sandwiched between the Chu Xu King and the Prince, beyond the reach of the three kings. If we join forces, even if the Jiao Sheng Kingdom gains power temporarily, we will surely be the victors in the future! However…"

He changed his tone and said in a low voice, "In case the King of Chu Xu's ambitions do not diminish... could we force the King of Chu Xu's mansion to swear that they will follow the King's lead in this territory in the future, so as to prevent the King of Chu Xu from taking advantage of the situation after driving away the three kings?"

These words were exactly what the special envoy of the Prince of Zhilian wanted to hear. If she could force the Prince of Chuxu to bow down to the Prince of Zhilian and then drive out the three princes, the Prince of Zhilian would become the only one in power in the future, and her mission would be perfectly accomplished!

The envoy from King Zhilian smiled even more charmingly, and at the same time understood Ning Ye's concerns. "Fellow Daoist Ning, rest assured, as long as you have no ulterior motives, the only winner in the future will be the Crimson Rong Kingdom, and it will be your Crimson Rong Kingdom! Let's wait for this person to come in and see what he has to say!"

Before the words were finished, the barrier trembled, and a man in white entered the hall, exuding an air of grandeur.

He first greeted the two men separately, then stared directly into the special envoy of the Prince of Zhilian with his fierce eyes and asked bluntly, "Does the Prince of Zhilian intend to fight against three opponents alone?"

……

Shortly after this meeting, before the new situation had stabilized, the Crimson Melt Kingdom brazenly broke the alliance and launched an attack on the Horned Kingdom, reigniting the conflict!