A Warning and a Deal

"Su Nü?" A flicker of surprise crossed Qin Sang's eyes. He had saved Su Nü once on the Mystic Ice Plain, so he was quite familiar with her voice. This earth spirit was actually a puppet under her control. "Who might you be, Fellow Daoist?" Qin Sang narrowed his eyes slightly, giving nothing away. As the other earth spirits charged aggressively forward, Qin Sang swung his arm, and the ebony sword split into several beams of sword radiance to clash with the horde of earth spirits. The earth spirit controlled by Su Nü put on a show of attacking him as well. Mingwei was right beside Qin Sang. Noticing the earth spirit's unusual behavior, she was secretly astonished, glancing at the creature and then back at Qin Sang, wondering who he was communicating with. "You saved my life not long ago, Fellow Daoist; have you forgotten me so quickly?" A charming phantom of a woman's face flickered briefly across the earth spirit's face before vanishing—it was indeed Su Nü. "You must have mistaken me for someone else, Fellow Daoist," Qin Sang replied, refusing to admit it. When he had stepped in to save Su Nü, he wore a mask to conceal his identity and had channeled the Heavenly Demon Transformation, making his appearance and aura vastly different from how they were now. Yet Su Nü had actually seen through his disguise! This was something Qin Sang had not anticipated. "There is no need to deny it. My cultivation art is peculiar, granting me exceptionally keen perception. Outside the Cave of Bewildered Souls, I noticed your aura was identical to that of my savior—one and the same person. I simply had not found an opportunity to approach you." Su Nü quickly explained the reason. Qin Sang sighed inwardly. The cultivation arts of ancient demons were truly bizarre and sinister—even with a disguise like his, she had seen right through it. After a moment of silence, Qin Sang gave up on denying it. "Fellow Daoist, what is your purpose in possessing an earth spirit to seek me out?" "My divided soul cannot sustain this for long, so let us make this brief." Su Nü spoke rapidly, a hint of urgency in her voice. "I shall never forget the debt of you saving my life. I have come to tell you that a great disaster is about to strike this place. Whatever you do, do not participate in the fight for the Soul-Washing Liquid. Take my advice and leave the secret chamber at once!" Qin Sang was taken aback, suspicion rising within him. His intervention back then had been prompted by Bai's warning and had not been done purely to save her; he never expected Su Nü to repay any kindness. "I wonder what great disaster you speak of? Asking me to abandon a supreme treasure right before my eyes based solely on your word—isn't that taking things a bit too lightly? If your East Pole Alliance wishes to use such tactics to clear away obstacles, you might as well go find Blood Bat and Daoist Xiao Yun. I am merely one person of meager strength; I pose no threat to you." Su Nü said urgently, "I witnessed it with my own eyes, so I know your strength. But this time, you truly cannot fight for the Soul-Washing Liquid! Have you noticed the masked man mingling among us? Do you know his true identity? He is Venerable Ye of the East Pole Alliance—a Nascent Soul Patriarch!" "What did you say?" Su Nü's news was earth-shattering. Qin Sang's heart skipped a beat, his entire body tensing up. He jerked his head up, looking toward the seal at the center of the secret chamber. Not only were the cultivators near the barrier attacking it, but even those farther away were driving their magic treasures or Daoist arts against the seal, causing the light barrier it formed to tremble slightly. Among them was none other than the masked man—the Venerable Ye she spoke of. "This is a Trial Realm for the Core Formation stage. How could a Nascent Soul Patriarch appear here? There has never been such a precedent in all of history. That is utterly preposterous!" Qin Sang sneered, refusing to believe Su Nü's absurd claim. "Before entering the Hall of Seven Kills, did you ever see someone like that beside me?" Su Nü countered with a sigh. "Were I in your shoes, I too would think such claims were nonsense. But this is something I witnessed with my own eyes. The celestial phenomenon that appeared in the Trial Realm not long ago was caused precisely by him smuggling his way in..." Su Nü recounted the entire sequence of events. Her account was thorough and held up to scrutiny. Qin Sang recalled carefully. He still remembered the scene in the square; there truly had been no such person by Su Nü's side. Could that person really be Venerable Ye? Combined with the celestial phenomenon from earlier, Qin Sang felt a wave of uncertainty and shock. "Venerable Ye smuggled himself in here just to fight for the Soul-Washing Liquid?" Qin Sang still found it hard to believe. According to Su Nü, Venerable Ye had paid an immense price to smuggle himself here. A mere few bottles of Soul-Washing Liquid could never justify the East Pole Alliance going to such tremendous lengths. "He has another purpose; taking the Soul-Washing Liquid is merely done in passing." Su Nü sighed softly. "Before Venerable Ye makes his move, there is indeed nothing I can do to prove it. Once the seal is on the verge of breaking, you will know whether I am trustworthy. I have said all I can. Whether you believe me or not is beyond my control; I only hope you will not blame me in the end." Su Nü's words were sincere and earnest, leaving Qin Sang genuinely uncertain. Yet how could he resign himself to giving up on the Soul-Washing Liquid and missing an opportunity for Nascent Soul breakthrough on the strength of a few words alone? Just as Qin Sang hesitated, Su Nü murmured thoughtfully, "If you are unwilling to give up on the Soul-Washing Liquid, you need not necessarily take such risks. Perhaps I can make a deal with you." Qin Sang's eyes flashed. "I am all ears." "Venerable Ye has already promised to give me one bottle of the Soul-Washing Liquid in the end. I am willing to give it to you," Su Nü said resolutely, seeming not to care about the Soul-Washing Liquid in the slightest. Qin Sang was tempted, but he believed no more than twenty percent of her claims. "Do you not know the value of the Soul-Washing Liquid? I doubt I possess any treasure that can compare to it." "Of course I know—it merely assists in forming the Nascent Soul! But if I lose my very life, forming a Nascent Soul is nothing more than the moon reflected in water. What good would having the Soul-Washing Liquid do me?" Su Nü said mournfully. This piqued Qin Sang's curiosity. Su Nü's tone did not seem feigned. "I do not understand what you mean. Given your status in the East Pole Alliance, could someone actually take your life?" "What if I told you the ones who want my life are the East Pole Alliance themselves?" A strange light flickered in the earth spirit's hollow eye sockets. Qin Sang frowned. Others might not know, but he was well aware that Immortal Aunt Yue had spared no expense, spending more than half her wealth to rescue Su Nü from the demon island back then. Afterward, Su Nü took only several decades to surge from the Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the late Core Formation stage; the East Pole Alliance had certainly poured vast resources into her. To nurture a disciple with such extraordinary talent only to kill her—why go to such trouble? Unaware of Qin Sang's inner thoughts, Su Nü continued, "Outsiders would never believe what I have been through. Years ago, when I was still a young girl in the blossoming of youth, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon an immortal encounter and catch the eye of a senior who took me in as a disciple. I met many fellow disciples and thought I had embarked on the immortal path to achieve great things. Little did I expect that heart of a viper! She treated all of us fellow apprentices as sacrificial offerings, using true demonic qi to set up a demonic array in hopes of refining a Five Yin Exquisite Body among us. In the end, I was the sole survivor! And believing that being reshaped by the demonic array would cause me to lose my memories, she continued her hypocritical charade, eventually presenting me to the East Pole Alliance Master..." Su Nü revealed a horrifying piece of history. Qin Sang was thoroughly shocked. The senior she referred to was Immortal Aunt Yue. Qin Sang had never imagined that behind a senior who appeared so widely respected lay such appalling atrocities. At last, he understood. No wonder Su Nü had acted so strangely back then—she was trying to escape Immortal Aunt Yue's clutches.