Chapter 653: Chapter 653

"Brother Qin, may you ascend to immortality..."

Mute Girl closed her eyes, her breath fading rapidly.

"Get a good rest. Everything will be fine."

Qin Sang whispered beside her ear. Without any more hesitation, he imprinted the Heavenly Corpse Talisman into Mute Girl’s primordial spirit space and then cast layer after layer of sealing barriers.

Mute Girl fell into a deep sleep. Yet a trace of a smile still lingered on her face. Her features did not deliberately shape that smile, but it remained, quiet and gentle, like a night sky clear after the rain.

Qin Sang gazed at her for a long while. Suddenly, he felt a heavy responsibility settle on his shoulders.

He had cultivated for a hundred years and encountered all sorts of people, including many remarkable women. But never once had he allowed himself to become emotionally attached.

It was not that the opportunity never presented itself. In truth, he had always been the one to let go first.

Some promises were not given lightly. Some burdens were not easy to bear.

Now that Mute Girl’s primordial spirit had been sealed by the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, Qin Sang had no certainty about undoing it. He had once become a corpse puppet himself and understood how sinister the talisman was. Without a miraculous item like the Jade Buddha, he would never have been able to break free.

Yet Mute Girl’s plight was closely tied to him. He could not stand by and watch her die in front of him. Since she had agreed, then regardless of the odds, he would do everything he could.

He thought of Wu Shang, who had already been completely turned into a corpse puppet in Endless Valley. A strong sense of urgency rose within him. Mute Girl’s cultivation was too low. He did not know how long she could hold out.

To his surprise, Qin Sang discovered that the vitality from the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances remained abundant. Inside Mute Girl’s body, it firmly suppressed the corpse qi, shielding her from the pain of physical corpse transformation.

Qin Sang’s eyes lit up. There were two major problems with corpse refinement talismans.

One was the prolonged imprisonment of the primordial spirit, which could erode the soul’s consciousness. The other was physical transformation. Once corpse qi invaded a person’s foundational origin, there would be no hope of reversal, and only body possession could offer escape.

The Jade Liquid of Three Radiances had helped resolve one of those major issues.

With that realization, Qin Sang quickly took action. He sealed the medicinal energy of the Jade Liquid inside Mute Girl’s body, reserving it solely to counteract corpse transformation. He took care not to let any of it go to waste, trying to extend the duration of its effects for as long as possible.

Then Qin Sang retrieved a piece of Spirit-Warming Jade from the Thousand-Jin Ring and placed it in Mute Girl’s mouth.

This piece of warm jade had been acquired from Yi Tianye. It could nourish the soul. Yi Tianye had managed to sustain her fragmented soul by hiding inside it. Though it was not as powerful as the Soul-Nourishing Wood, one of the Ten Divine Woods, it could still offer Mute Girl considerable aid. Follow current novels on noᴠelfire.net

With these two rare items combined, Qin Sang could buy himself ample time to study the corpse and ghost paths and search for a way to undo the Heavenly Corpse Talisman.

The witch race also specialized in corpse and ghost cultivation. They surely had their own unique methods.

If no solution could be found in the Canglang Sea region, then Qin Sang would have an even greater reason to return to the Small Cold Domain to seek out ruins of the Heavenly Corpse Sect and the latter half of the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art.

With that thought, Qin Sang rose to his feet and cast a cold glance in the direction of Five-Insect Sect.

Five-Insect Sect, Black Witch Palace...

He had a feeling that the mystery behind his teleportation was about to be unraveled.

Just then, he remembered the fat silkworm inside his insect basket. It had become restless earlier and was still gnawing away without pause. Yet it did not seem to be acting out of hunger.

Qin Sang had no idea what it was up to.

He opened the basket. The fat silkworm immediately wriggled out and darted straight toward the unconscious Mute Girl in his arms.

Seeing this, Qin Sang’s heart stirred. He did not stop it. The silkworm crawled onto Mute Girl’s hand and gently bit her fingertip.

Blood and essence connected. In that instant, a strange bond formed between the silkworm and Mute Girl.

"Is this... a spiritual insect willingly choosing its master?"

Qin Sang was quietly surprised. This was a rare occurrence that could not be forced. And it had happened to Mute Girl?

It was the silkworm’s first time meeting her. Why had it chosen her?

Then Qin Sang recalled that Mute Girl had spoken earlier, and only then had the silkworm become agitated. Could it have been her voice? Was her voice truly so beautiful that it could enchant a spiritual insect?

Qin Sang picked up the silkworm and sensed that it had indeed accepted Mute Girl as its master. It was similar to a life-bound insect gu, but still quite different.

"Could this little rascal be trying to escape from my grasp, going so far as to pledge itself to someone else?"

Qin Sang looked at the silkworm’s tiny eyes spinning in all directions. His expression turned odd. He thought, if it was really just because of her voice that it surrendered itself, that would be far too absurd.

Recently, the silkworm had been tormented thoroughly by his Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, and it had not eaten any Crimson Fire Gilded Gold. It had likely been planning to run for a while, but lacked the strength to do so and could only swallow its suffering in silence.

Unfortunately, Mute Girl was now sound asleep.

Qin Sang checked Mute Girl’s condition and confirmed that there were no further changes.

As for her spiritual insect, Qin Sang could only take it in on her behalf.

This little creature had outsmarted itself. Not only had it failed to escape, but it had also dragged itself into deeper trouble.

Qin Sang bound the fat silkworm with the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells and gave it another stern lesson.

The fat silkworm teared up, screeching in distress, begging its master for help, but received no response. In the end, its eyes went dull, utterly defeated, as if life no longer held meaning. Qin Sang tossed it back into the insect basket.

After confirming the location where Mute Girl had fought, Qin Sang learned it was just upstream from Thousand-Household Village. In truth, not much time had passed. Her injuries had been too severe, and she had been carried far by the rushing river current. It was fortunate that his Sword Qi Thunderclap had unparalleled speed. Otherwise, she would not have survived.

Following the river upstream, Qin Sang soon found the battlefield, which lay on a desolate ridge by the banks of Qingyi River.

The Essence-Devouring Spike had exploded, but its power had a limited range. The mountain ridge showed no major signs of destruction.

Qin Sang immediately saw two bodies lying on the ground, as well as torn limbs and chunks of flesh hanging from the surrounding vegetation.

The cultivator surnamed Tong had suffered the worst. His lower half was almost entirely blown away. Though he had avoided a fatal blow, he had failed to evade the poison needles. The venom had invaded his body, and he had long since died from its effects.

The other was indeed a stranger. With one sweep of his spiritual consciousness, Qin Sang detected a faint trace of breath still lingering.

He had been poisoned by the Black Jiao, yet somehow had not died immediately. Still, his condition was dire. His skin had turned a deep blackish purple. Without prompt detoxification, he would be dead before long.

Qin Sang landed beside him and shoved a detoxifying pill into his mouth.

Before long, the man’s poison subsided, and he gradually recovered. He slowly opened his eyes to find a stranger standing before him.

Qin Sang remained silent, his gaze cold, and placed his palm against the man’s forehead.

Soul Search Technique!

Fearing that the man’s heavily injured body would not withstand the agony of the technique, Qin Sang had first detoxified him before proceeding.

After a burst of blood-curdling screams that shook the heavens, the man fell completely silent.

Qin Sang withdrew his hand. His face showed both surprise and a flicker of killing intent.

Five-Insect Sect lay in utter ruin. Broken walls, shattered stones, and splintered wood covered the mountain. A great battle had clearly taken place.

The sect’s protective array had been activated, yet unexpectedly, it remained intact and unharmed.

Amid the debris, corpses of many disciples lay strewn across the ground. The air was thick with the stench of blood, and streams of fresh blood stained the earth. No one had come to collect the dead.