A Route of Retreat

Before planning for victory, one must first consider defeat. When facing a Nascent Soul Patriarch, there was no room for the slightest carelessness. What Qin Sang had to consider first was how to safely withdraw and evade pursuit if he failed to seize the treasure and provoked Venerable Ye's wrath. Mingwei and the Life Talisman in her grasp were his safest route of retreat. Yet even a Life Talisman might not guarantee their complete safety; he still had to consider carefully how best to employ it. "What do you mean, Fellow Daoist...?" Mingwei hesitated, indecisive. She did not fully believe Qin Sang's words. A Nascent Soul Patriarch breaching immortal restrictions and traversing the Trial Realm sounded far too fantastical—utterly unprecedented. Yet Qin Sang's cautious demeanor forced her to consider the possibility. Inside the cavern, the factions were tangled and complex. There was no lack of top experts like Blood Bat and Daoist Xiaoyun, every one of whom posed a greater threat than she did. Deceiving her offered Qin Sang no benefit; instead, it would be akin to severing one of his own arms. Qin Sang turned to glance at the tunnel entrance at the edge of the cavern. "Once Venerable Ye strikes, everyone else will be awestruck and unable to react in time. Our only opponent will be him. As long as we can shake off Venerable Ye, we will be safe. You stay hidden with the Life Talisman, Fellow Daoist. As soon as I succeed and return, activate it immediately..." Mingwei fell silent. She understood in her heart that doing so meant Qin Sang would bear the greatest risk of facing a Nascent Soul's wrath, while she would merely need to watch from the rear. If things took a turn for the worse, she could easily pull out; for her, the danger was truly minimal. However, this placed her too far from the Soul-Washing Liquid. She would have no choice but to trust Qin Sang's strength and pin all her hopes on him. Mingwei raised her head, staring into Qin Sang's eyes. "When the time comes, you won't just look out for yourself, Fellow Daoist, taking your own bottle of Soul-Washing Liquid and calling it a day?" "Since I've chosen to offend Venerable Ye, what difference does one bottle or two make? The Life Talisman is in your hands, Fellow Daoist, so of course I will snatch a bottle for you. Otherwise, if you tear up our promise in a fit of rage and leave me with no escape route, wouldn't I be left weeping without tears? If you are still uneasy, I can swear an oath on my inner demons." The Soul-Washing Liquid was their shared interest, and also the reason Qin Sang could place his trust in Mingwei. In the face of a formidable foe, they had no choice but to bind themselves tightly together. "Very well! I only hope you keep your promise, Fellow Daoist!" Mingwei knew full well that circumstances were stronger than people. With so many wolves and so little meat, her chances had been slim to begin with. Having secured Qin Sang's promise, she tapped her foot and retreated from the cavern, only to see Qin Sang following her out. Noticing Mingwei's puzzled look, Qin Sang said, "Venerable Ye certainly knows how the Life Talisman works. We cannot use it right under his nose. If he guards the area without moving, we won't be able to escape even with wings. We need to make some preparations to throw him off the scent..." The stone walls around the cavern were riddled with dense tunnel openings. After searching for a bit, they found the entrance with the most intricate paths, which branched into several corridors inside. Setting up a diversion, Qin Sang patted his corpse puppet bag. Several baleful corpses leaped out and entered the corridors separately, lying low and remaining motionless at Qin Sang's command. Next, with a flick of his sleeve, petite demonic banners whirled out—a full nine of them! For more than a decade, Qin Sang had been trying to master the nine demonic banner formation, and he had already achieved considerable success. Watching the demonic banners, Mingwei was inwardly astonished. She could vaguely sense that these seemingly unremarkable black banners were extraordinary. Having stayed by her patriarch's side, her breadth of knowledge far surpassed that of other cultivators of the same rank, yet for a moment, she could not see through the true nature of these black banners. They looked like formation flags, yet also like magic treasures. It was very peculiar. Mingwei knew this treasure had to be Qin Sang's secret, so she suppressed her curiosity and refrained from asking. Whoosh! Whoosh! The nine demonic banners fluttered swiftly, forming an intricate array before Qin Sang in the blink of an eye. Across the banners' surface, black demonic flames seemed poised to leap forth. Qin Sang appraised the demonic banner formation, sensed its power, and pressed his palm down toward the empty air. Puff! Puff! Puff! The nine demonic banners sank into the ground, completely submerging into the earth. Qin Sang nodded to Mingwei, turned around, and returned to the cavern. Mingwei had already vaguely guessed the purpose of Qin Sang's preparations. Seeing Qin Sang's figure disappear into the army of earth spirits, she pondered for a moment, retrieved a puppet from her mustard seed pouch, and ordered it deep into one of the corridors. Holding the Life Talisman, she then fixed her gaze firmly on the sealing barrier at the center of the cavern. Her fists clenched tightly, her nerves strung taut. Back in the cavern. Qin Sang rode his sword into the army of earth spirits, charging rapidly forward. The cultivators were besieging the sealing barrier; who would claim the Soul-Washing Liquid would soon be decided. Along the way, Bai emerged from the corpse puppet bag. After exchanging a few words, he separated from Qin Sang. The situation in the cavern was exceptionally chaotic, and no one noticed Bai's identity as a refined corpse. Bang! With one slash of his sword, Qin Sang sent an earth spirit flying and broke out of the encirclement. Then, more earth spirits closed in from all sides. The closer one drew to the sealing barrier, the stronger the earth spirits became. One man and one sword, Qin Sang drew closer and closer to the sealing barrier until he could barely make out the full view within. A raised platform stood at the center of the barrier. Strange decorative patterns, resembling runes, were carved across its surface. The platform was massive, yet only four bottles of Soul-Washing Liquid rested atop it, making it look quite bare. Qin Sang observed closely and found no mechanisms on the platform, leaving him wondering how these bottles of Soul-Washing Liquid had appeared here or where they had come from. The seal was not yet broken; it was not yet time for the all-out battle. Even so, the cultivators harbored their own hidden motives. Everyone's positioning was carefully calculated, undercurrents surging beneath the surface. No one knew who had formed secret alliances with whom. If not for Venerable Ye, events unfolding normally would surely have staged a splendid drama of trust and betrayal. Qin Sang swept his gaze across the crowd, brushing past Venerable Ye. Just like Blood Bat and the others, Venerable Ye was diligently attacking the seal without drawing any attention to himself. No one would have imagined a Nascent Soul Patriarch had infiltrated their ranks. Qin Sang did not have the Heavenly Eye Butterfly spy on Venerable Ye, fearing it would be detected. However, as Qin Sang observed Venerable Ye's actions, he did spot several peculiarities. Confronted by the army of earth spirits, Venerable Ye consistently gave an impression of effortless ease. Though he had disguised his actions, the inadvertent displays of exquisitely precise control over his true essence made the hairs on Qin Sang's neck stand on end. Behind Venerable Ye, Su Nü and the others formed a battle array, tangling with the army of earth spirits. There was no excitement in Su Nü's eyes, only deep concern. She did not know how much confidence Qin Sang had in pulling this off. If Qin Sang perished at Venerable Ye's hands, she too would have no hope left to struggle and could only wait for death with tied hands. The long-bearded old man and the other two had already begun exchanging voice transmissions, daydreaming about the future with relaxed tones, brimming with confidence in Venerable Ye. Hearing their transmissions, Su Nü forced a smile and brushed them off. Boom! Boom! Sword qi, saber rays, Daoist arts, magic treasures— Attacks fell upon the sealing light barrier in a relentless barrage. The barrier quivered incessantly, its radiance gradually dimming and growing increasingly thin. The cultivators fixed their gazes upon the Soul-Washing Liquid inside the seal, poised to strike. Qin Sang chose not to draw too close to the seal. Staying along the perimeter, he fended off the earth spirits while driving his ebony sword, sending streaks of sword qi and sword radiance slamming into the seal. His mind was entirely focused on Venerable Ye.