Chapter 1440: Azure Luan Dharma Lakshana

Then Qin Sang's eyes flashed.

He held nothing back, releasing his spiritual consciousness in full. The astral wind grew more violent still, and within it, white currents of air stood clearly apart from the rest. This was the power of his spiritual consciousness made outwardly visible: spiritual consciousness manifestation!

Only a spiritual consciousness both immensely powerful and thoroughly condensed could achieve it, and it was regarded as one of the marks of a great cultivator.

Precious few could manage it at the middle stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm, and every one of them stood among the very strongest figures in the world of immortal cultivation.

Still no way to draw directly upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth. They say that's a means reserved for the Divine Transformation Realm, fundamentally different from the Spiritual Infant Realm. I'm getting ahead of myself.

Thoughts flickering one after another, Qin Sang brought himself back to what lay in front of him.

Mhmm, the benefits of spiritual consciousness manifestation are obvious enough. Beyond the ones I'd expect, the speed at which I cast Dao Techniques and my grasp of timing have both taken a leap in quality, and my disguises are far harder to see through. And my spiritual perception is sharper too! For instance, the premonition of danger or the moment someone's spying on me. Both are easier to catch than before.

Only now did Qin Sang understand why, after the Chaotic Devil Elder had followed him for so long, the Sky-Eyed Butterfly had not noticed until the very last moment. He cast his mind back over anything unusual the butterfly had done before they entered Pure Sea Sect, and remembered that one inexplicable beat of its wings.

In all likelihood, the Chaotic Devil Elder had been the cause.

It was not that the Sky-Eyed Butterfly's life-bound supernatural ability was too weak to uncover the old devil's movements. It was that the Chaotic Devil Elder's spiritual perception was so keen that the instant he was on the verge of exposure, he sensed something amiss and responded in time.

There was the incident in the Buddhist hall, too. The Chaotic Devil Elder had reacted faster than Qin Sang had anticipated, and the devilish light he released in that scramble had been enough to scatter the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells.

"No wonder!"

With the doubts that had nagged at him finally resolved, Qin Sang nodded slightly, wondering whether the Sky-Eyed Butterfly, once spirit elevation carried it to the middle stage of the fourth metamorphosis, might be able to slip past a great cultivator's senses.

His analysis done, Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual consciousness, and the fire lotus seed flew out from his brow. He let it hover before him and studied it closely.

Four months of refining the Hidden Fragrance Pill and single-minded cultivation had carried him smoothly through to the second stage of the Fire Seed Golden Lotus! The fire lotus seed looked much as it had before, except that faint flames now wreathed its surface. Looking closely, he could make out the vague beginnings of a bud taking shape.

Qin Sang searched his memory. Old Devil Mou's fire lotus seed seemed to have shown the same signs back then, and the budding form on its surface had been rather fuller than this. From that he could infer that Old Devil Mou had also been at the second stage of the Fire Seed Golden Lotus, though his attainment had run deeper than Qin Sang's did now.

Looking at the still-unopened seed, Qin Sang recalled the secret technique's description and murmured, "Only by condensing a complete lotus blossom can one advance to the third stage and evolve the spiritual fire lotus platform. At this rate, refining every last bit of the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells wouldn't be enough, and it would take a long time. To break through to the third stage, one would have to be at the Divine Transformation Realm, or even... higher?"

Just what grade of secret technique was the Fire Seed Golden Lotus?

Qin Sang told himself he would have to reassess it entirely.

The third stage was out of reach for now, so he set the thought aside and turned instead to how his refinement of the devilish flames would proceed from here. With his spiritual consciousness manifested and growing ever more condensed, the pace of refinement would naturally quicken.

He cast out the devilish banner and worked the devilish flames. Sure enough, they answered him far more readily than before, and he no longer had to worry about an opponent finding an opening in his control and slipping away. He tried his Dao Techniques next, the Lightning Control Technique among them, and every one came more easily and more swiftly than it had.

Having confirmed from every angle the metamorphosis that spiritual consciousness manifestation had brought, Qin Sang was about to return to his cave dwelling when something occurred to him. He did a hand seal, and his form shifted.

Whoosh! Phoenix wings spread wide at his back as he called up the Heavenly Demon Transformation, demonic qi billowing around him.

He was about to attempt the Lightning Evasion Technique, to see how the wings had changed, when a feeling stirred in his heart and he called out in a low voice, "Azure Luan Dharma Lakshana!"

The Azure Luan Dharma Lakshana surfaced, as insubstantial as ever. Qin Sang knew the reason; his Heavenly Demon Transformation had made no real progress in a long while. Even so, summoning it this time felt entirely different.

After a long moment of thought, a notion moved in him. The Azure Luan Dharma Lakshana flickered faintly, and Qin Sang felt the power of lightning within his phoenix wings turn violent all at once.

Crack! A bolt of lightning tore open the void, and only afterward did the thunderclap arrive. Before the peal had faded, a second bolt came back along the same path, revealing Qin Sang's faintly exhilarated grin.

For a while, wind, rain, thunder and lightning took turns across that stretch of sea. The creatures below recoiled on instinct and fled in all directions.

I didn't expect this. The benefits of spiritual consciousness manifestation don't stop there. I can draw on the power of the Azure Luan Dharma Lakshana now, at least in a rudimentary way, and it strengthens the Lightning Evasion Technique. My evasion speed has risen again!

On reflection, it was hardly surprising. Every sign pointed to the same conclusion: essence, qi and spirit all mattered enormously to an immortal cultivator.

Recalling how the Chaotic Devil Elder had performed at the Pure Sea Sect, Qin Sang weighed it up. "If he wasn't holding back, then with both of my evasion techniques going at once I'd already have the edge on him for speed. Then again, he'd never let rage cost him his reason, and he had to guard against traps in the passage, so that may not have been his full strength. It still needs testing. But as I am now, even if I run into that old devil again, I can hold my own."

The improvement to his evasion technique was an unlooked-for windfall, and it lifted his confidence considerably.

"My speed is much greater and my spiritual perception is keen. That's enough backing to attend the Myriad Devil Assembly, even if there really is a trap waiting. The Chaotic Devil Elder could never have guessed I'd break through to spiritual consciousness manifestation in such a short time. Still, I can't let it go to my head. The old devil is a great cultivator, when all is said and done. I'll get back and contact Tan Hao, see how much he's managed to learn, and whether the emergence of Huang Longshi's residence is fact or rumor."

The Seven-Master Buddha Seal rose in Qin Sang's mind. A chance to obtain a Spiritual Infant Realm martial supernatural ability was not one he wanted to miss.

His earlier plan had been to have Sage Yinquan make the purchase on his behalf. But that would mean handing the spiritual herbs and the pill formula over to Sage Yinquan first, and Qin Sang could not accept laying his hand bare to an outsider, even bound by a heart-devil oath.

Besides, if something better than the Seven-Master Buddha Seal turned up at the trade fair, he would miss it entirely.

Those old monsters would never put ordinary top-tier arts or secret techniques for breaking through on the block.

But something with a fatal flaw, like the Sutra of Profound Jade Cauldron, the corpse core, or the Heavenly Demon Transformation, flaws he happened to be able to circumvent through the Jade Buddha, he could pick up cheap.

Best of all would be a supernatural ability tied to spiritual consciousness. His own application of it was still at a rudimentary stage.

Turning all this over, Qin Sang flew unhurriedly back toward his cave dwelling.

Tan Hao had left no message, and there was no telling where he had gone. Qin Sang was considering whether to make a trip out himself. With the Myriad Devil Assembly drawing near, word must be flying everywhere by now, and it would not be hard to learn something.

Just then he remembered that there was still one more thing inside the Thousand-Jin Ring. The mysterious ice box from Mystic Heaven Palace!

A powerful spiritual consciousness was inherently useful for unraveling barriers and seals. Perhaps he could open the box now.