The Grand Dao Is Ruthless

Leaving aside how Old Demon Ye and the others breached the gates... After reuniting with Si Di, Qin Sang first followed him a short distance to the left, where they ran into another person. It was the very demonic Nascent Soul cultivator who, together with Qingjun and Jiugu, had brought him to Pointing Sky Peak to refine astral essence. This man was Demon Monarch Tongyou's trusted confidant. His Dharma name was Zangqing, which hardly sounded like that of a demonic cultivator. It was said he wielded a pair of curved Wu hooks with peerless mastery. Back when Qin Sang had gone to Pointing Sky Peak, Zangqing had not made things difficult for him, leaving Qin Sang with a favorable impression of the man. As it turned out, although Qingjun and the others had their formation shattered by the blood souls, they were far from helpless. To keep anyone from being isolated and endangered, they had scattered in small groups of two or three, staying together as much as possible. Si Di and Zangqing had been closest to each other, so they had fled in the same direction. The blood souls were too troublesome, and they had split up once more only to shake them off completely. Si Di had been on his way to rejoin Zangqing when he ran into Qin Sang. The righteous and demonic factions of the Xiaohan Realm had feuded incessantly, but over the years, sharing a common enemy in Sin Abyss and joining hands against it had substantially diminished their animosity. They were far more united than before—a blessing in disguise. The three picked up their pace, rushing to meet up with the others. "I was delayed for a while by an unexpected incident, and only learned you had already set out when I saw the message on the summit. I imagine the other Daoists are mostly assembled by now...?" Qin Sang asked as they walked. Zangqing shook his head. "Master Dongyang was slow to arrive. Fellow Daoist Tongyou intended to wait for him a bit longer, but upon spotting abnormal signs, we had no choice but to depart first." "Master Dongyang?" Qin Sang feigned surprise. "He never showed up to regroup?" At the same time, he pondered inwardly. Master Dongyang had only suffered a temporary setback; he could not possibly be scared to the point of not daring to show his face. No matter how brazen Qin Sang might be, he would never strike Master Dongyang in front of Qingjun, Demon Monarch Tongyou, and the others. Although Master Dongyang's scheming against Gongliang Yu was despicable and Qin Sang had witnessed it, the Nascent Soul talisman puppet was now in Qin Sang's hands. If an argument broke out, the truth would be hard to untangle. Unless Qin Sang could resist the temptation of a Nascent Soul-tier puppet and publicly return it to Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, his best option was to keep silent. When Master Dongyang fled, he had split into eight quasi-real, quasi-illusory figures that even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could not see through, using some unknown secret art or treasure. Could it be that doing so came at a hefty price, forcing him to find a secluded spot to recuperate, leaving him unable to attend to business here? That was good news. Qin Sang had originally been fretting over that divine ability of Master Dongyang's. Now it seemed the cost was so steep that Master Dongyang could not use it at will. Si Di snorted. "Up until the moment we were scattered by the blood souls, there was still no trace of that old ghost. While restricted grounds lie everywhere outside, with Master Dongyang's cultivation, he should not have been delayed for so long. Unless he forgot the importance of the grand task, or knew something and deliberately barged into some restricted ground, only to get trapped there." Beside them, Zangqing chuckled. "That is only human nature. Is Master Dongyang the only one harboring such thoughts? Even if an accident occurred, it would not hold him for long. Perhaps he has already arrived by now." Qin Sang offered an agreeable smile, though thoughts churned quietly in his mind. Blood souls wandered along the way, but all were slain by the trio. After an unknown distance, they finally arrived at the agreed rendezvous point. "Fellow Daoist Mingyue has arrived!" As Qin Sang stepped into view behind Zangqing and Si Di, Demon Monarch Tongyou's voice rang out, full of pleasant surprise. The others looked delighted as well. Qin Sang cupped his hands in greeting and swept his gaze across the gathering. Seeing that his Senior Sister, Chongyi, Xiang Qing, and the others were all present—with Master Dongyang alone missing—he understood why they were so pleased to see him. "Were this king not adept in escape arts, I would have nearly lost my life at Old Demon Ye's hands. I will definitely settle this score with him... Fortunately, I am not late," Qin Sang said off the cuff. Hearing this, everyone was overjoyed and repeatedly assured him that he was not late at all. Qin Sang greeted everyone one by one, then walked over to Qingjun's side, noticing her questioning gaze. Before entering, he had mentioned Fat Chick's search for its kin to Qingjun. "Not yet. If the Thunder-Devouring Falcon Demon King is still alive, it is most likely trapped somewhere in the basin. Once this matter is settled, I will still need to take it around to search..." Qin Sang replied via voice transmission, then mentioned a few words about his earlier clash with Master Dongyang and their fierce battle. Qingjun's face filled with astonishment. She could not help looking Qin Sang up and down for a good while, making him somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze. "I didn't expect to fight him here either," Qin Sang sighed. "It is a pity we have lost a helper. I wonder if this will cause complications when dealing with Sin Abyss." "I knew your divine abilities were extraordinary, but I never imagined you could force Master Dongyang back on your own, and even come close to making him stay behind permanently. We know very little about Old Demon Ye's schemes; having investigated for years without obtaining precise information, this endeavor was already a matter of doing our best and resigning the rest to fate. Had Tongyou not kept everyone in check, many of our fellow Daoists would probably have scattered to search for the Boundless Blood Mulberry. If things fail because of this, it is simply the will of heaven, and you are not to blame..." Qingjun consoled him. Looking at Qin Sang, Qingjun continued, "I focus on the art of puppets and once collected puppet secret methods everywhere, so I know a bit about Nascent Soul talisman puppets. That talisman puppet is a ferocious puppet that cannot be subdued. Master Dongyang's ruthless strike against Gongliang Yu to seize that puppet might not have been for himself. He cares deeply about Shaohua Mountain, yet not a single one of his disciples has reached the Nascent Soul stage. He likely wanted to leave the talisman puppet to Shaohua Mountain to bolster its foundation. That way, even if no disciple forms a Nascent Soul in the future, the mountain will still have a Nascent Soul talisman puppet to protect it." Qingjun possessed immense intellect; piecing together the various clues, she deduced Master Dongyang's schemes almost down to the details in the blink of an eye. Qin Sang was taken aback. "What does Senior Sister mean?" "I have long felt that Master Dongyang was acting strangely. Back then, not long after leaving Ziwei Palace, he suddenly broke through to the mid-stage, his cultivation soaring in that brief span as he forcefully weathered his heavenly tribulation. But ever since, his cultivation has been virtually stagnant, with only his natal magic treasure improving by leaps and bounds. I thought he had put the cart before the horse by pouring most of his energy into refining his treasure at the expense of his cultivation. Now it seems there was another reason—his next heavenly tribulation will likely..." Qingjun spoke with deep significance. Seeing Qin Sang staring blankly in thought, Qingjun said sternly, "Below the Nascent Soul stage, mortals and cultivators alike are trapped by their lifespans. After the Nascent Soul stage, there is the Four-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, and in our era, the severance of the Dao path. These tribulations press upon us step by step—advance, or perish! The Grand Dao is ruthless. You are already walking this path with us—do you still not understand?" The Grand Dao is ruthless! The Grand Dao is ruthless! Her words struck like a great bronze bell, deafening and awakening the mind. If it was truly as Qingjun said, Master Dongyang had used a secret art back then to force a breakthrough, causing his cultivation to stall, and knowing he could not survive his next heavenly tribulation, he was planning for what would come after his death. In just over a century, his enemy would perish beneath the heavenly tribulation, his Dao undone and body gone. The Grand Dao was ruthless. Compared to the heavenly tribulation, what did this petty grudge amount to? Ever since he had been schemed against by Master Dongyang and forced into exile in the Canglang Ocean, Qin Sang had never spoken of it, yet the grudge had weighed upon his heart like a great boulder, impossible to let go. Even after forming his Nascent Soul, he had plotted deliberately and concealed his identity, his heart set on revenge. Seeking vengeance was fine, but it should never blind the mind or derail the Dao path!