The moment he heard mention of earth fiend qi, Qin Sang knew Tan Hao had found the right person.
He had seen many corpse-refining arts, but drawing upon earth fiend qi to refine corpses was virtually unique to the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art—its most distinct hallmark.
Since he was an itinerant cultivator, it seems the Heavenly Corpse Sect's lineage in the Sin Abyss has likely died out as well. That person was probably like me, stumbling upon some ruins of the Heavenly Corpse Sect and obtaining its secret art... Qin Sang thought to himself.
This came as no surprise.
Through the channels of the Two Domains Alliance, he had gathered intelligence on the sects of the Sin Abyss, and not a single one had ever shown any connection to the Heavenly Corpse Sect.
Tan Hao had been quite lucky to encounter someone like that at all.
"What else did you discover?" Qin Sang pressed.
"The captive knew very little about him either, only that he went by the moniker Corpse Ghost Immortal, and that he was already a Core Formation expert when he frequented the vicinity of Mount Jinhen. As for where he came from, no one could say." Recalling the circumstances back then, Tong Jinshan added, "Fellow Daoist Tan took the Corpse Ghost Immortal's belongings. He must have continued investigating afterward, but he never mentioned it to us, so this junior has no idea what further information he found."
Corpse Ghost Immortal.
A mere Core Formation cultivator possessing such audacious conceit.
Qin Sang scoffed inwardly, then asked, "After Tan Hao left, did he ever send word back?"
"No," Tong Jinshan sighed softly. "When he bid me farewell back then, I guessed he might be heading to the Sin Abyss and tried earnestly to persuade him otherwise. But he was determined to go. Once he left, there was never any news..."
Tan Yi'en's expression darkened with sorrow.
He knew his father had only just formed his core back then. Though that counted as an expert in the cultivation world, the Sin Abyss was the enemy's stronghold; after all this time with no word, it was all too likely his father had met an untimely end.
After asking a few more questions and seeing that Tong Jinshan knew little else, Qin Sang bestowed some rewards and instructed Tan Yi'en to see Tong Jinshan out.
"Martial Uncle..." Tan Yi'en returned after seeing the guest out, hesitating as if struggling to speak.
Qin Sang glanced at him. "I will look into your father's matter. Your most urgent task right now is to prepare for Core Formation. Even with a fiend demon pill, a breakthrough is not guaranteed. For now, remain at Sandie Pass. Experiencing battle will temper you."
Ordering Fat Chicken and Tan Yi'en to withdraw, Qin Sang returned to his quiet room and pondered the matter.
The Corpse Ghost Immortal, Mount Jinhen... this is still far too little information! A Core Formation rogue cultivator should have had some modest reputation back then, but so much time has passed since his death. With the shifting tides of the world, how many people would still remember a Core Formation cultivator from a hundred years ago? Trying to uncover this man's identity or find Tan Hao is no different from searching for a needle in the vast ocean.
Sending juniors into the Sin Abyss would be sending them to their deaths. Qin Sang would have to investigate personally, yet even then, there was no guarantee of finding anything.
Every cultivator in the Sin Abyss had been mobilized for war, and they possessed uncanny weapons like the Nether Crystal Towers. If he crossed paths with a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Sin Abyss, his myriad abilities should ensure his personal safety, but once exposed, infiltrating again would become exceedingly difficult.
Qin Sang held little hope of finding Tan Hao. With no word for so long, the outcome was almost a foregone conclusion.
The brothers Tan Jie and Tan Hao.
One had willingly served as an experimental subject for demonic arts to buy his elder brother a glimmer of hope for survival.
The other had carried his living-dead younger brother across the lands, searching relentlessly through his entire life solely to revive him.
Tied by deep fraternal affection, each had died for the other; it could be considered a worthy end.
No matter how ruthless the cultivation world was, it was never devoid of the shining light of true devotion.
Qin Sang sighed softly, thought it over, and decided to seek advice from Senior Sister Qingjun.
A few days later.
After conferring with Senior Sister Qingjun, Qin Sang received a topographical map she had drawn by hand while traveling through the Sin Abyss, which recorded the routes she had taken and what she had observed.
Qingjun had warned him that back then, the Sin Abyss had not yet deployed its armies, and the situation was vastly different from today. Most of the information she had gathered was now obsolete.
Furthermore, Qin Sang lacked Qingjun's unique talent. Her disguise art stemmed from her profound insights into the Dao of Puppetry, applicable only to herself, leaving her unable to help Qin Sang in that regard.
Most of the Sin Abyss's top experts are concentrated here. Setting out now to infiltrate the Sin Abyss would lower the chances of being discovered. Still, the Ebony Sword will finish its absorption within a few months, so waiting a little longer won't hurt. By then, with the Ebony Sword and the Seven Po Killing Array, if I encounter a Nascent Soul cultivator, I might even be able to slay them outright and prevent any leak of my presence...
Qin Sang had already resolved to venture into the Sin Abyss personally.
The Heavenly Corpse Sect's corpse-refining arts were remarkably unique—a rapid shortcut from which Qin Sang had previously reaped great benefits. If he could find the sect's inheritance, he might achieve further progress along the corpse dao.
Bai's advancement remained far out of reach, and even if Bai gleaned any insights from the corpse soul bead, whether they could be applied to Yagu remained an unknown.
As for Qin Sang's agreement with the Two Domains Alliance, slaying a Nascent Soul cultivator of the Sin Abyss was more than enough to repay them for the Golden Sinking Wood; even if he departed now, they would have no grounds for complaint.
In the period that followed, Qin Sang spent his time comprehending the Seven Po Killing Array to prepare for the journey, while gathering as much information about the Sin Abyss as possible.
Two months slipped by unnoticed.
On this day, as Qin Sang was cultivating in his quiet room, a streak of light suddenly flew in.
Qin Sang caught the streak of light, and upon sensing its contents, he was somewhat surprised.
"A visit from the Snake King?"
After a moment's thought, Qin Sang personally went outside the grand array to greet him.
"We haven't seen each other in days. How have you been, in-law?" The Snake King smiled and cupped his hands to Qin Sang, a hint of teasing in his tone.
Qin Sang chuckled helplessly.
A month ago, Baihe and Yue'er had held their grand wedding in the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea. Although Qin Sang had not returned for it, he had maintained contact with the Snake King regarding the matter and sent Fat Chicken back with gifts.
According to Fat Chicken upon his return, Yue'er now followed Baihe like a shadow, keeping him thoroughly well-behaved.
"Please, come inside!" Qin Sang welcomed him warmly.
Returning to the quiet room and taking their seats opposite each other, the Snake King looked around at the downright austere furnishings and said with feeling, "Perhaps it is precisely this ascetic devotion that has enabled Fellow Daoist to achieve so much. Qianji was unwilling to admit defeat at the time, but now it is obvious you showed mercy. He exhausted all his divine abilities, yet you only deployed nine of your twelve demonic banners, and you hadn't even unleashed your innate divine ability..."
Qin Sang knew the demonic banners and the Thunder Command Art could not be hidden.
However, they had clearly misunderstood and assumed the Thunder Command Art was his innate divine ability.
Qin Sang simply went along with it without correcting him. After a few modest remarks, he inquired about the Snake King's purpose for visiting.
The Snake King adopted a serious expression. "This king will not beat around the bush with Fellow Daoist! The reason Qianji and I insisted on asking for your spirit insect was actually because we guessed it to be a Heavenly Eye Butterfly, and we hoped to borrow its power to unravel an ancient restriction and explore what appears to be the cave dwelling of an ancient archdemon. Since Qianji lost the wager, the matter of the spirit insect need not be mentioned again. Would Fellow Daoist have some free time in a few months to accompany us in person?"
The Snake King was direct and straightforward, laying out his purpose immediately.
"An ancient archdemon's cave dwelling?" Qin Sang was taken aback. "May I ask where this cave dwelling is located?"
It suddenly dawned on him: after advancing, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's ability to break restrictions had become even stronger than before. No wonder the Snake King had clung so stubbornly to demanding the spirit insect back then.
"The Sin Abyss!"
"The territory of the Sin Abyss is no smaller than the Heavenly Movement Plateau..."
The Snake King shook his head slightly and said in a low voice, "Not just anywhere, but at the very source of the name 'Sin Abyss'—that abyssal chasm cutting through most of the Sin Abyss. The cave dwelling lies in the depths of that abyss!"
Chapter 1194