Secret glow stone was a precious spiritual material used in refining magic treasures. Mining it was exceedingly difficult; the slightest carelessness would cause its spiritual power to dissipate, turning it into useless scrap. It required Core Formation cultivators, or at least Foundation Establishment cultivators, to carefully peel it away with the aid of secret techniques.
Deep within the mineral vein, inside a quiet meditation chamber.
A figure sat in quiet meditation. The man had a tuft of a goatee and was somewhat shorter than an ordinary person, yet he wore a loose, billowing black robe.
His aura was exceptionally concealed, as though he did not exist at all.
This man was the Sin Abyss Nascent Soul cultivator stationed to guard the mineral vein.
He was hideous in appearance, his face pitted and scarred all over as though covered in pockmarks. Daoists of equal standing who were close to him called him Hu Mazi.
Hu Mazi had once been dashing and elegant, but during an expedition into a secret realm in the Abyss Ruins, an accident had left him afflicted with a bizarre poison. Although he had barely managed to cling to life, he discovered that the lingering venom had seeped into his very marrow, warping his appearance into something grotesquely hideous.
After trying several secret techniques to no avail, Hu Mazi came to terms with it and stopped wasting his effort.
A sudden, shrill whistle sounded outside the meditation chamber, startling Hu Mazi from his reverie. Immediately afterward, panicked cries echoed from above: "This is bad! Enemies are invading! Watch out, everyone!"
Hu Mazi's expression darkened. Pondering for a fleeting moment, he flashed out of the meditation chamber.
He was well aware of the current situation and had anticipated that the Two Domains Alliance would send people to seize these spirit mines, but he had not expected them to arrive so quickly.
Over years of continuous mining, a great rift valley had been artificially excavated above the secret glow stone mine.
The defensive restrictions of the great rift valley had already been activated.
Hu Mazi's figure flashed repeatedly as he emerged into the rift valley. Looking up past the restrictions, he found the protective barrier violently shaking. The attackers had only just made their move, yet the defenses were already teetering on the brink of collapse.
"Four Nascent Souls!"
Catching sight of four silhouettes, Hu Mazi was alarmed. Then he noticed that one among the four stood out so conspicuously that it was impossible to ignore him.
The figure's silhouette was indistinct, surrounded by monstrous demonic flames of terrifying might that treated the defensive restrictions as nothing.
Hu Mazi suddenly recalled someone. In haste, he pushed his spirit eyes to their limit and finally saw the man's features clearly. His face changed drastically, and he cried out in shock, "Old Demon Qin!"
Immediately afterward, Hu Mazi threw up an escape light and fled into the depths of the mineral vein without a second word. The surrounding cultivators, who had been waiting for Hu Mazi's orders, were completely dumbfounded by the sight.
Hearing Hu Mazi's startled cry, Qin Sang's face darkened on the spot.
Ever since the Battle of Mount Shuangjing, the moniker "Old Demon Qin" had spread like wildfire. At first, it circulated among the low-level cultivators of Sin Abyss, but now almost everyone knew of it.
*Boom!*
Qin Sang and Jingyu joined forces to shatter the defensive restrictions. Paying no heed to the low-level cultivators fleeing in panic, they activated the Thunder Escape art and transformed into two streaks of lightning, giving chase to Hu Mazi.
Sensing the rapidly approaching auras behind him, Hu Mazi was seized with sheer terror. Knowing there was nowhere left to run, he ground to a halt and turned to face his pursuers.
Qin Sang and Jingyu did not slow in the slightest. Moving with tacit coordination, they split left and right, pouncing upon Hu Mazi in unison.
Hu Mazi only had the cultivation of the early Nascent Soul stage. He was no match for Qin Sang alone, let alone the two of them together.
To avoid any complications, Qin Sang directly summoned the Eighteen Demon Banners. Jingyu brandished a treasure seized during this period—a thunder fork, which happened to align perfectly with her divine abilities.
*Whoosh!*
*Crack!*
Demonic fire roared, and wild thunder erupted.
Hu Mazi's breath caught in his throat. He summoned an ancient black cauldron to hover above his head, only to be swallowed whole by demonic fire and lightning the next instant, quickly falling silent.
"Huh?"
Qin Sang felt something was amiss. Hu Mazi had died far too easily.
When he withdrew the demonic fire, he found nothing inside. Hu Mazi seemed to have been annihilated into slag, leaving behind only an ancient cauldron floating there alone.
Qin Sang and Jingyu exchanged a glance. Just as they were about to examine the ancient cauldron, it unexpectedly detonated!
Meanwhile.
Several hundred li away from the mineral vein, deep underground in a cramped secret chamber containing nothing but an ominous altar, a ghostly light suddenly flashed across its surface. A silhouette materialized from illusory to solid—none other than Hu Mazi.
Upon appearing, Hu Mazi staggered a step before finding his footing, though his face looked rather pale.
"Fortunately, this old man made preparations in advance. Who would have thought Old Demon Qin would come in person? That demonic fire is truly fearsome—the rumors didn't exaggerate in the slightest. Had I been a moment slower, I would have been wounded. I had intended to use the Douxuan Fiend Bead inside the ancient cauldron to launch a sneak attack even if I couldn't defeat them. But such tricks would hardly scratch Old Demon Qin. Best for me to slip away now; the others will just have to fend for themselves!"
Still shaken by the close call, Hu Mazi's eyes darted around, and he darted out of the secret chamber.
Before long, Qin Sang and Jingyu tracked their way to the secret chamber, but unfortunately, Hu Mazi was nowhere to be found.
"These old ghosts are slippery as eels," Qin Sang remarked helplessly.
Jingyu chuckled lightly. "Those who weren't cunning enough lost their lives long ago; how could they have survived until now? That Dongyang Bo is cautious to the extreme as well. He never travels alone and always keeps other Nascent Souls by his side, leaving not the slightest flaw to exploit. What do you plan to do, Fellow Daoist? I have nearly settled my cultivation. In a little while, I will return to my cave dwelling for seclusion to refine the Corpse Flower Blood Amber."
"If you sense an opportunity for a breakthrough, by all means return to the mountain for quiet cultivation. Transcending the tribulation is what matters most," Qin Sang waved a hand. "Dongyang Bo is no longer a pressing mortal threat. Unless there are astonishing benefits at stake, the Fellow Daoists of the Two Domains Alliance would hardly be swayed by him. I only need to guard against Dongyang Bo colluding with external enemies and borrowing a blade to kill. If he truly courts his own ruin, I wouldn't mind sending him on his way myself."
Jingyu nodded. "As long as you are on your guard, that will suffice."
Next, the four split up to seize all the spiritual mines in the area, giving Sin Abyss no time to sabotage them. The process went smoothly, as Sin Abyss seemed to have no bandwidth left to spare for these places.
Elder Ji stayed behind to guard the area.
Other cultivators sent to take over the mineral veins were already on their way.
Qin Sang and the other two began their return journey. Naturally, they had not come for nothing; Sin Abyss had not yet had the chance to transport away the previous yields, which the four of them tacitly divided amongst themselves.
Having completed their mission smoothly, the three encountered a small-scale skirmish on their way back: over a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators led by two Core Formation cultivators were locked in combat.
Zangqing raised a hand, shooting a thumb-sized black spike from his sleeve. In a flash, it appeared right before the face of the Sin Abyss Core Formation cultivator.
Only then did the man notice the three silhouettes in the sky. Gripped by terror, he frantically tried to flee, but it was already too late. The spike drilled into the center of his forehead, killing him on the spot.
Seeing this, the cultivators of the Two Domains Alliance were overjoyed. They swiftly dispatched the remaining foes and flew up to pay their respects.
Upon inquiry, they learned that two opposing armies had clashed ahead, sparking a major battle. Sin Abyss had been well-prepared, whereas the Two Domains Alliance had rushed into the fight and found themselves locked in a bitter struggle.
The three set off immediately to provide reinforcement.
Ahead, fires of war raged across the sky, and shouts of slaughter echoed incessantly.
Flying forward some distance, Qin Sang swept his gaze across the battlefield. As he surveyed the situation, he inadvertently caught sight of a vaguely familiar silhouette, and a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Chapter 1291