Inside the cave dwelling.
As soon as Qin Sang sat down, he asked, "May I ask what connection Fellow Daoist Ning has with Senior Qingzhu?"
Ning Wuhui had only reached the Core Formation stage, and Qin Sang surmised that he might be Senior Qingzhu's successor.
Seeming to guess Qin Sang's thoughts, Ning Wuhui said, "Senior never officially accepted a disciple. However, all cultivators who ever received favor on Spirit Tortoise Island treat him as their master. When and where did you meet him?"
Ning Wuhui leaned forward slightly, his tone urgent.
"The last time the Hall of Seven Kills opened, in Heaven Tower..."
Qin Sang concealed nothing, recounting in full the scene of his encounter with Senior Qingzhu.
"Senior Qingzhu was not in a good state. Another consciousness inside his body had taken dominance—bloodthirsty, cruel, and steeped in demonic malice, like a demonic soul."
Upon hearing this, the look of anticipation in Ning Wuhui's eyes gradually faded. His brow knitted tightly, and he fell into a long, silent contemplation. "Did he ask you to deliver any message, Fellow Daoist Qin?"
"None," Qin Sang replied, shaking his head. "At the time, Senior could only suppress that other consciousness with great difficulty. He originally intended to condense a crystal orb for me to bring back and give to you, but the other consciousness shattered it. Moreover, he could not speak of any true secrets, nor could his thoughts wander, lest the other consciousness detect them."
"I see. Many thanks for bringing back this news, Fellow Daoist."
Ning Wuhui took a deep breath and cupped his hands to Qin Sang. Then his tone shifted, and he asked, "Fellow Daoist Qin, for you to pay a visit in person, you must have other important matters, correct?"
Qin Sang still harbored many doubts, but seeing that Ning Wuhui had no intention of elaborating, he chose not to press further. He stated his purpose directly: "Fellow Daoist has keen eyes. I indeed have a matter I originally wished to consult Senior Qingzhu about, but since he could not resolve it in person, he bade me seek you out."
"Oh?" Ning Wuhui was somewhat surprised. "Please speak, Fellow Daoist. I will certainly tell you everything I know."
"Inside the Inner Hall of the Hall of Seven Kills, there is a teleportation formation that is of utmost importance to me. Only Senior Qingzhu knows the location of that ancient teleportation formation..."
Since he was asking a favor, Qin Sang could hardly afford to withhold anything and told the truth.
Since Ning Wuhui enjoyed Senior Qingzhu's trust, he ought to be reliable.
To Qin Sang's dismay, Ning Wuhui looked troubled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you may have misunderstood. I know very little about the Hall of Seven Kills, nor have I ever heard Senior mention a teleportation formation."
Qin Sang's heart sank.
Ning Wuhui's expression did not seem feigned.
Senior Qingzhu was trapped by the demonic soul, with no telling how long it would take him to break free.
And Ning Wuhui knew nothing about this.
If Senior Qingzhu could not suppress the demonic soul, would Qin Sang truly never be able to return?
The grudges and entanglements in the Xiaohan Realm were secondary. Now that he had reached the late Core Formation stage, neither his cultivation method nor his natal spirit sword posed any further issue; he was about to face the bottleneck of forming a Nascent Soul.
Everything was in place except for that crucial element: the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid was vital to him.
Ning Wuhui stood up and paced back and forth, seemingly weighing an important matter.
After a moment, he said to Qin Sang, "Senior bade you seek me out, so there must be deep intent behind it. In that case, there is no need for me to hide anything either. The next time the Hall of Seven Kills opens, I must make a personal trip to the Inner Hall. If I am not mistaken, he likely wanted you to enter the Hall of Seven Kills alongside me."
"That was Senior Qingzhu's intent?"
Qin Sang's eyes lit up, and realizing something, he asked in surprise, "Is there a way in the Inner Hall for Senior to suppress the demonic soul and resolve his hidden peril?"
Ning Wuhui shook his head. "I know little and am merely following orders. If you are willing to accompany me, Fellow Daoist Qin, we can agree upon a rendezvous point before the Hall of Seven Kills opens. However, the interval between its appearances has shortened drastically once again. Word has it that the next time it opens on its own could be in a little over ten years. Make your preparations early, Fellow Daoist. The Hall of Seven Kills is no benevolent place, especially the Inner Hall—a perilous realm where even Nascent Soul Patriarchs blanch at the mention..."
"A little over ten years? So soon?"
Qin Sang was startled; this far exceeded his expectations.
He had thought he would need to wait another fifty years, by which time his cultivation would be nearing the peak of the Core Formation stage, allowing him to begin preparations for his Nascent Soul breakthrough as soon as he returned to the Xiaohan Realm.
"I heard this from a Nascent Soul Patriarch of my sect, so it should not be false. The Hall of Seven Kills appears earlier and earlier each time; it is hard to say what it will become in the future," Ning Wuhui sighed.
Qin Sang unconsciously tapped his fingers on the table, narrowing his eyes in deep thought for a long while.
He truly had not expected the Hall of Seven Kills to emerge so early. All his plans were thrown into disarray in an instant.
In ten years, there was certainly not enough time to refine a new external incarnation.
He would also need to return to the Demon Sea to capture a spirit beast, and there likely would not be enough time to pick and choose carefully.
During this period, cultivation was no longer the primary concern.
Having only recently broken through in his cultivation and physical body, even ten years of bitter cultivation would not yield a leap in strength.
Instead, he could gather resources scarce in the Xiaohan Realm to make a fortune after returning, such as demon cores, demon bones, and fiend demon pills.
In particular, fiend demon pills possessed miraculous effects for increasing the chances of Core Formation, so they would command a hefty sum and offered great value. However, when selling them, he must never reveal his identity, or it would invite grave trouble.
These thoughts flashed through Qin Sang's mind before he suppressed them.
Whether he could return to the Xiaohan Realm remained an unknown.
Afterward, the two spoke in secret for a long while.
Two days later, Ning Wuhui personally saw Qin Sang down the mountain.
Taking his leave of Ning Wuhui, Qin Sang flew a certain distance, glanced around, and veered his escape light into a mountain range.
Soon, Qin Sang arrived before a dense forest.
As his escape light touched down, Bai's voice came from within. "Fellow Daoist, how did the trip go?"
Before the words faded, Bai darted out of the thick woods. He cast a glance behind Qin Sang, and seeing no pursuers, raised a hand toward the forest. Several dozen streaks of light flew out and vanished into his palm.
To be safe, Qin Sang and Bai had meticulously laid a spirit formation before setting out. In the event a Nascent Soul Patriarch gave chase, they could use the formation to trap the pursuer briefly. Now, it was no longer needed.
Qin Sang blurred forward several times and landed before Bai. "I met the right person and got a lead on the ancient teleportation formation. But there is news—whether good or bad, I cannot say. In a little over ten years, the Hall of Seven Kills may emerge..."
Bai had not anticipated it would be so soon either, his face filled with surprise. "So to say, you can return to the Xiaohan Realm in ten years?"
"I do not know what arrangements Senior Qingzhu made. Whether I can return depends on whether we can resolve the hidden peril inside him."
Qin Sang hesitated for a moment before asking, "Fellow Daoist Bai, what are your plans? Will you come with me to the Xiaohan Realm to seek a way to break the Heavenly Corpse Talisman, or remain in the Canglang Sea to search for your memories?"
The teleportation formation was located inside the Hall of Seven Kills. Only when the hall emerged on its own could one travel between the two realms. If an unforeseen anomaly occurred within the Hall of Seven Kills, this path might be severed.
Bai's origins were inextricably tied to the Hall of Seven Kills, which was near the Canglang Sea. His chances of recovering his memories in the Canglang Sea were bound to be far greater than anywhere else.
Chapter 1000