Chapter 1222
The Golden Pagoda, Fragmented Map Fusion
I entered the cave several times before.
Song Qing mostly encountered special passages and restrictions such as puppet traps.
Seeing the appearance of this "spiritual incarnation" was truly unexpected; he never imagined he would encounter such a difficult situation.
It should be noted that Song Qingming not only cultivated several powerful divine abilities, but also refined many high-level magic treasures and imitation spiritual treasures.
Defeating an opponent whose cultivation level is almost identical to his own is by no means an easy task.
If things go wrong, it could end up with both sides suffering heavy losses.
Before Song Qingming could come up with a solution, the "spiritual avatar" in the distance cast a spell again and summoned a black iron plate, which was another imitation spiritual treasure on Song Qingming's body, the "Purple Sun Token".
This replica of a magical artifact not only possesses formidable defensive capabilities, but can also move and imprison space.
Sure enough, after the opponent unleashed this treasure, a sword light suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of Song Qingming.
Faced with this unexpected attack, Song Qingming could only activate the "Azure Lotus" in his hand again to forcibly block the attack, but was once again forced back several steps by the opponent.
Taking advantage of a gap in the opponent's attack, Song Qingming raised his hand and also summoned the "Purple Sun Token".
Before the opponent could launch another attack, the "Purple Sun Token" immediately imprisoned the space around him, leaving the magic weapon in his hand suspended in mid-air.
The next moment, white flames flew out from Song Qingming's hand again, directly enveloping his opponent.
Faced with the raging heat of the "Mysterious Yang Flame," the "spiritual avatar" showed no fear and, disregarding its injuries, directly swung its greatsword to sever the flame.
Next, the opponent unleashed "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword," "Purple Sun Token," "Illusion Heart Bell," and even "Accumulated Thunder Stone."
These high-level magic treasures are all extremely powerful, and ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators cannot easily deal with them.
Fortunately, Song Qingming was very familiar with the supernatural powers of his magic weapon, which allowed him to prepare in advance and avoid being easily defeated.
However, the person before him was a "spiritual incarnation," who was not afraid of life or death when fighting, and whose magical power was also inexhaustible.
As the battle continued, Song Qingming, feeling his mana being increasingly depleted, found himself losing the upper hand to his opponent.
Instead, they found themselves in a passive position, only able to parry and defend, powerless to counterattack.
Moreover, just as the two of them were fighting, the cave entrance they had entered through behind them disappeared without them noticing.
Even if I wanted to retreat, it seemed like it was no longer possible.
"No, this guy's magic power is endless. Dragging this out will be disadvantageous for me. I must find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible."
The opponent possesses most of the magical treasures, techniques, and other supernatural abilities commonly used in combat, and their power is in no way inferior to one's own.
Even with a few high-level spirit talismans on his body, it would be difficult to play a significant role against an opponent who possessed numerous powerful defensive magic treasures.
To break this deadlock as soon as possible, we need to resort to other methods.
With his mind racing, Song Qingming quickly made up his mind, cast a spell to step aside, and took out several golden array flags from his person.
Faced with the opponent launching another attack with their magic weapon, Song Qingming simply put the magic weapon away.
With a wave of his hand, several array flags transformed into six golden rays, each shooting into a flat area behind him.
Then Song Qingming took out a golden array plate from his body again. With the help of a spell, six golden rays shot out from above and entered the array flags below.
In just a short while, a semi-transparent shield appeared in front of him.
It was before that Song Qingming had successfully refined the "Six Yang Star Array" using the book in the Immortal Mansion after advancing to the fourth-level superior array master.
As the only high-grade level four magic array he possessed, Song Qingming had practiced it for many years.
Although the magic array was hastily set up, its power is still considerable.
Facing the three sword lights slashing from the front, the protective shield formed by countless stars in the "Six Yang Star Formation" steadily blocked the opponent's powerful attack.
The attack failed, and the "spiritual avatar" once again unleashed a crimson lightning bolt, which transformed into two large hands that slammed down from mid-air.
Seeing this, Song Qingming also spun the array plate in his hand rapidly. The power of stars in the "Six Yang Stars Array" gathered on the shield, lifting up the giant crimson hand.
Once the opponent's attack was blocked, the star power within the formation, under Song Qingming's control, quickly shifted from defense to offense, transforming into countless golden rays that shot directly at the opponent.
The "Six Yang Stars Formation" is not just a defensive formation. It contains powerful stellar energy that can be unleashed continuously, posing a threat to Nascent Soul cultivators no less than that of high-level magic treasures.
Countless golden lights fell on the opponent in the blink of an eye, like raindrops, shining brightly on his protective shield.
Seeing that the protective shield was not in any danger from the golden light attack, the "spiritual avatar" sensed that the power of the attack was average.
He didn't pay too much attention to this and immediately cast a spell to unleash his supernatural powers, wanting to retaliate against Song Qingming who was not far away.
Unexpectedly, the golden light gathered from these "star powers," though individually not very powerful, flowed endlessly like a stream.
In just a short while, the power of the golden light had increased more than tenfold, and it continued to increase exponentially, far exceeding its expectations.
The "spiritual avatar" sensed something was wrong and tried to stop casting the spell and activate its magical artifact to defend itself.
But it was clearly too late. Before the opponent could react, the golden light had already broken through the protective barrier and landed on them.
With a "bang!", the "spiritual avatar" in mid-air was directly blasted away.
The "Seven-Colored Green Lotus" magic weapon, which he hadn't yet had time to activate, was released from his hand and landed in mid-air.
Seeing that he had easily repelled his opponent with a single strike, a look of joy immediately appeared on Song Qingming's face.
As expected, this guy was just a spirit. Although he knew various fighting techniques, he had little understanding of the more profound principles of formations.
Having discovered his opponent's weakness, Song Qingming gave him no more chances and immediately pressed his advantage, casting the "Purple Sun Token" to imprison the magical artifact that his opponent had just thrown into mid-air.
Having lost the powerful defensive magic treasure, the Seven-Colored Azure Lotus, the "spiritual avatar" could only use its natal magic treasure, the Golden Bronze Mirror, to defend itself against the onslaught of golden light.
Although the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" is also a very powerful defensive technique, it was still forced to retreat uncontrollably in the face of countless incoming and continuous golden lights.
Since the two began their battle, Song Qingming had been on the defensive, and this was the first time he had gained the upper hand.
Seeing that he had finally managed to suppress his opponent, Song Qingming immediately stopped hesitating and directly controlled the "Golden Palace Cloud Light Sword" in front of him to soar into the sky.
Soon, a circular array pattern appeared above the opponent's head, and a powerful pressure covered the entire cave.
"Seven Star Sword Light".
"fall!"
As the seven sword beams fell in succession, the defensive shield on the "spiritual avatar" could no longer withstand such a fierce attack, and cracks quickly appeared on its surface.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
A series of crisp cracking sounds rang out, and the protective shield of the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" shattered instantly.
Seeing the protective shield of his natal magic weapon shatter, the "spiritual avatar" still tried to forcefully activate the ice ball in his hand, attempting to freeze the space in front of him to reach the sword light.
The "Ice Scale Pearl" is merely a special ice-attribute level four superior defensive magic weapon, and its defensive power is far inferior to that of the natal magic weapon "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror".
Even with its powerful urging, it still couldn't help the "spiritual avatar" withstand the last two sword beams above its head.
In just a short while, the magical artifact shattered in mid-air.
At this moment, the "spiritual avatar" had its chest pierced by the sword light and was pinned to the ground by the "Golden Cloud Light Sword" controlled by Song Qingming. Its aura was no longer as strong as before.
Looking at the figure that was almost identical to himself, Song Qingming did not hesitate for a moment.
As the sword slid down, the head of that ordinary-looking, fine man was severed.
The next moment, the "spirit avatar" suddenly emitted a burst of golden light, and the whole person exploded on the spot.
When the light faded, Song Qingming opened his eyes and looked ahead.
The figure of the "spiritual incarnation" was no longer on the ground; instead, a golden ball of light the size of a bowl remained, still emitting bursts of golden light.
After carefully scanning the surface with his divine sense and finding nothing unusual, Song Qingming then stepped forward and approached the "golden ball of light".
Just as he raised his hand, he touched the spiritual light emanating from above.
The "golden ball of light" seemed to be touched by something, and immediately flew away to avoid it, quickly flying towards the hole that had just appeared on Song Qingming's body.
Seeing this, Song Qingming had anticipated it, and five golden bronze mirrors flew out quickly to block the opponent's path.
Before the "golden ball of light" could turn around and run away again, several chains shot out from the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," trapping it in mid-air.
Seeing that he was suddenly trapped in the "golden ball of light", he still refused to give in and struggled to pull on the chains in front of him, trying to break free from the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" that had sealed him off.
"Hmph! Still not behaving yourself."
Seeing this, Song Qingming, who had just arrived nearby, flashed a crimson light in his hand, and countless bolts of lightning enveloped the ball of light under his control.
Despite its desperate struggle, the "golden ball of light" was powerless to escape its predicament under the onslaught of lightning.
After being thoroughly educated by the "Crimson Sun Divine Thunder," the "golden ball of light" was ultimately defeated and quickly went silent.
Before long, the golden light dissipated, and Song Qingming had a golden pagoda about an inch in size in his hand.
This "golden pagoda" has nine stories, and the top is carved with all kinds of birds and beasts such as dragons, phoenixes, lions, and tigers, which are lifelike.
At the top of the tower, there are a few tiny characters that emit a faint spiritual light.
"Nine-Layer Golden Pagoda"
"It is truly a magical artifact that has come to possess sentience."
Seeing the "golden pagoda" that suddenly appeared in his hand, Song Qingming had a look of doubt on his face.
I had clearly sensed the aura of the incomplete map inside this stone chamber.
He thought the contents of the golden orb would be related to him, but it turned out to be a magical artifact, and he couldn't see any connection to the fragment of the map on his body.
Although this magical artifact appears to be of high quality and has developed its own sentience, its power is certainly no less than that of a counterfeit artifact. However, compared to obtaining other treasures, Song Qingming is actually more concerned about the secret of the incomplete map he possesses.
He cast a spell to cover the fragmented image on his body again, but he still quickly noticed the reaction it caused. Song Qingming paused for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the pagoda in his hand.
Once his divine sense covered it, that familiar feeling instantly became much clearer.
Seeing this, Song Qingming's expression softened, and a smile slowly appeared on his lips.
After sitting cross-legged, a relatively gentle magical power quickly entered the "Nine-Layer Golden Pagoda" in front of him.
The pagoda, which had originally only emitted a faint spiritual light, suddenly came to life and began to vibrate continuously, seemingly resisting Song Qingming's control over it.
However, his supernatural powers were now firmly suppressed by Song Qingming, and this little bit of resistance was obviously not enough to stop the other party.
By probing it with his own magical power, Song Qingming quickly found a familiar aura within the magical artifact.
After Song Qingming cast a spell, a burst of spiritual light gradually emerged from the "Nine-Layer Golden Pagoda," and then a square fragment of a map was pulled out directly from it.
"It was hidden here after all!"
Looking at the familiar fragmented scroll in his hand, Song Qingming's face immediately lit up with joy, revealing a look of excitement.
But before he could examine the object in his hand closely, a white light suddenly enveloped him, and soon a familiar feeling of dizziness appeared in his mind.
"They really don't give us any extra time."
".
When the white light dissipated and Song Qingming reappeared, he had already been teleported back to the pitch-black main hall.
Almost exactly as before, at the same moment he obtains the fragment of the map, he will be forcibly sent out by the teleportation barrier.
After checking himself and finding nothing amiss, Song Qingming slowly exhaled and took out the fragment of the map he had just obtained.
Since finding the first fragment of a map that changed his fate in "Cloud and Mist Mountain", this is the fourth fragment he has found.
It looks similar to the three fragments obtained earlier, and it also depicts some landscapes.
They look simple and unadorned, with not much difference between them.
Moreover, apart from the first picture he obtained, which could help him restore his mana, the other three pictures did not have this special function.
Like a fragment of a high-level magic weapon, apart from the extremely tough material, it seems to have almost no use.
Song Qingming took out all four fragments of the map from his body and carefully pieced them together.
Although some parts match, it is still impossible to piece them together neatly, and it is impossible to see what these fragments originally looked like.
I've been studying it for a long time, but I still have no clue.
This caused Song Qingming, who had been excited, to show a hint of disappointment on his face.
He thought that finding this fourth picture might unlock the secret of the fragmented picture on his body, but things were not as simple as he thought.
"It seems there are more than just these four pictures. Could there be other pictures hidden somewhere else?"
Seeing that he still couldn't piece together the fragmented image in his hand, Song Qingming had no choice but to put it away for the time being and get up to go back to the entrance of the mural.
Upon arriving at this place, Song Qingming looked at the wall in front of him, and his expression changed slightly.
The original landscape painting with three runes had long since disappeared from the wall, replaced by a black scroll floating in mid-air.
With a simple wave of his hand, Song Qingming sent the "black scroll" flying into his hand.
Simply by touching the other party, Song Qingming felt an indescribable strange sensation emanating from the object in his hand, as if he had seen the other party before.
The moment his magical power covered it, the "black scroll" opened on its own in front of Song Qingming and quickly appeared before his eyes.
"Huh! It's empty."
The portrait was completely blank, with nothing on it at all, which surprised Song Qingming.
Looking at the portrait in front of him, Song Qingming pondered for a moment before suddenly having a flash of inspiration. He used magic to retrieve all the fragments of the portrait that he had just stored on his body.
Just as Song Qingming was about to cast a spell to control a fragment of a painting to approach the portrait, the previously calm portrait suddenly emitted a burst of golden light, which shone on the fragment of the painting in front of him.
Before Song Qingming could react, the other three fragments of the map floating in mid-air all reacted at the same time.
The three images then spontaneously lit up with spiritual light, connecting with the portrait in front of them.
The two intertwined and quickly merged together, bursting out with a dazzling light.
A moment later, the light dissipated, and all four fragments of the image that had been in mid-air disappeared.
The portrait that was originally floating in mid-air was still exactly the same as before, except that it had some patterns that Song Qingming was very familiar with.
"this!"
Seeing the fragmented map that had been with him for many years suddenly swallowed up by the portrait in front of him, he realized that the map was completely destroyed.
Song Qingming, caught off guard and unable to stop it in time, was also very surprised. He quickly stepped forward and used magic to retrieve the image back into his hand.
After retrieving the portrait, I looked at the design and found that there were still quite a few missing parts.
He tried to activate the object by casting a spell, but found that his magic power was like a clay ox sinking into the sea, and the image in front of him did not react at all.
Seeing this, Song Qingming placed it on his chest, closed his eyes, and began to cast a spell to absorb the spiritual energy of the surrounding world.
At this moment, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth rapidly surged into Song Qingming's body, and an incomparably familiar feeling returned.
He immediately cast a spell to try to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The familiar feeling reappeared, and the surrounding spiritual energy quickly surged into Song Qingming's body, even faster than before.
I sensed that the portrait in my hand was still recovering at the same speed, and it seemed to be much more powerful than when it was a single fragment.
Song Qingming, who had been looking somewhat tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the object in his hand again.
If I'm not mistaken, those four fragments were originally things that were separated from this portrait.
Now that these fragments of the painting have been put together, their effect is several times stronger than before. It seems that the portrait in my hand must also be a rare treasure.
Aside from helping him restore his magical power, Song Qingming tried several times to activate the portrait, but it did not change anything else.
It seems that it is still impossible to control it or refine it.
"It seems that this picture has not been fully restored yet, and I am not yet able to control it."
Although he couldn't tell the quality of the treasure in his hand, Song Qingming could instinctively sense that the portrait in his hand was of extraordinary origin.
Having cultivated for so many years, Song Qingming already possesses several high-level spiritual artifacts, even replicas of spiritual treasures.
But the feeling he got from the portrait in his hand was still far more than that.
It is estimated that this item may be a special spiritual treasure, or even something beyond the level of a spiritual treasure.
Besides helping cultivators restore their magical power, it must have other uses as well.
However, his current cultivation level is still too shallow to explore its mysteries. He wants to figure out the origin and true purpose of this picture.
It is estimated that he will have to find other fragments of the map that have been scattered and completely restore them before the secret can be fully unlocked.
Although he couldn't unravel the mystery of the treasure map in his hand, after careful examination, Song Qingming still managed to glean some insights from the landscape depicted in the painting.
When he first opened the image, it was completely blank, with no pattern whatsoever.
Now that it has devoured four fragments of the image, most of the image has been covered with new patterns, and there is not much left to control.
Based on normal estimates, there should still be about two fragments of the map still missing.
Once I can collect them all, I can restore the entire picture, and then I might be able to uncover its secrets.
From a lowly Qi Refining cultivator to where he is now, the help that the fragmented map provided to Song Qingming along the way has been absolutely crucial.
Regardless of whether this item is a special spiritual treasure or some other kind of treasure.
As long as the special effect of this picture restoring mana remains, it is a rare and precious treasure for Song Qingming, and its importance is no less than that of the other treasures he possesses.
Moreover, now that he has found the portrait, the effect has been greatly improved after the fragments were merged.
The help I can give to Song Qingming can be even greater than before.
Although the exploration of the cave was not perfect, it still helped him unravel many secrets of the incomplete map, so it did not disappoint Song Qingming too much.
However, there are currently no clues regarding the few remaining fragments of the portrait.
Song Qingming still didn't know how to search for it next, or whether he could restore it.
there's always a solution to any problem.
Having cultivated for so many years, Song Qingming no longer clings to temporary gains and losses.
Everything should be left to its natural course. As long as you keep this matter in mind, what is meant to come will come.
After putting the portrait away, Song Qingming found a rope and hung it around his neck.
After carefully examining the wall in front of him and finding nothing amiss, Song Qingming sat down cross-legged and took out several mid-grade spirit stones from his person.
After the fragments were merged, the speed at which mana was restored was visibly increased.
Soon, Song Qingming recovered to almost full strength, and the injuries he had sustained in the battle were no longer noticeable.
He glanced around at what was in front of him again, then turned and left the cave, returning to the entrance.
Although the murals in the cave had completely disappeared, Song Qingming still did not want to reveal the secret of this place to outsiders.
Before leaving, he reinforced the outer defenses again before departing with peace of mind.
As a streak of light sped away, the once turbulent riverbank returned to its calm, as if no one had ever been there. (End of Chapter)