Wait

"What is it you are looking for?" Old Man Hunmo drew back his gaze and let it settle on Realized Master Chijie. Realized Master Chijie was startled for a moment before realizing that Old Man Hunmo was referring to the treasures within the Jinghai Sect. Old Man Hunmo's gaze was cloudy and placid. Yet for some reason, a chill rose along Realized Master Chijie's spine. He tightened his fist, feeling the gentle coolness emanating from the Nine Precepts thumb ring, and chose his words carefully: "Junior's greatest wish is to fulfill my master's dying wish—to obtain the complete heritage of the Jinghai Sect and revitalize the Buddhist path. In addition, due to the nature of my cultivation method, Junior has never possessed a satisfactory magic treasure, and hopes to find one or two protective Buddhist treasures..." The implication was clear: apart from these two requests, everything else could be offered to Old Man Hunmo. Having spoken, Realized Master Chijie bowed his head slightly. The moment he decided to use the Hunmo Token, he had already prepared himself for this. Inviting other fellow Daoists might not have carried such demanding conditions, but they likely would be no match for Valley Master Mu and his companions, leaving the outcome uncertain. It was better to invite Old Man Hunmo directly to ensure that nothing went awry. Even if he walked away with fewer treasures, that was far better than drawing water with a wicker basket and ending up with nothing. As long as he stayed honest and obedient, with the old ties of his master's relationship still standing, Old Man Hunmo would not turn hostile over such minor things. A moment later, sensing Old Man Hunmo's gaze shift away from him, Realized Master Chijie felt his tension ease slightly, and heard Old Man Hunmo ask, "How many of them are there, and what are their backgrounds?" Realized Master Chijie was secretly delighted at these words, knowing Old Man Hunmo had agreed. He hurriedly said, "One is Qi Huanyu, who cultivates on Guiling Island in the southern Kongling Sea; Junior has a past feud with him. Another is a female cultivator surnamed Wang, his paramour, who has only recently broken through to the Nascent Soul stage and poses no concern. There is also a helper they brought in from outside, who is at the middle Nascent Soul stage with strange and wondrous skills, adept at controlling insects. According to what Junior has learned, he is likely the current Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley from the Crescent Moon Realm." "Only three people?" Old Man Hunmo said dismissively, "Two early Nascent Soul cultivators and one at the middle stage. The enemy is in the open while you are in the shadows. Finding any helper, combined with your knowledge of the Jinghai Sect, shouldn't make it difficult to pull a few strings in secret, right?" Realized Master Chijie acknowledged this with a "Yes" and respectfully replied, "If there were only the three of them, Junior would not have dared disturb Senior's quiet cultivation. But unexpectedly, after struggling to break the formation, they refused to give up and somehow found another middle Nascent Soul helper. This person has a mysterious origin and quite a few tricks up his sleeve; not long after his arrival, they seem to have made progress." "Oh? Two middle Nascent Soul cultivators..." Old Man Hunmo grew interested. After questioning him in detail about Qin Sang's appearance, Old Man Hunmo pondered for a moment. "It isn't any of those troublesome old fogeys! Take this old man over to see." Hunmo Island's name resonated throughout the Boundless Sea, but Old Man Hunmo had always come and gone alone, more like an otherworldly rogue cultivator, without a single Nascent Soul subordinate serving under him. Still, by virtue of Hunmo Island's standing alone, every faction in the Boundless Sea would grant him face; had Old Man Hunmo wished to look for helpers, it would have been effortless. Seeing that he appeared ready to venture forth alone, Realized Master Chijie hesitated briefly but did not ask further, assuming Old Man Hunmo possessed ample confidence in dealing with two middle Nascent Soul cultivators. Before long, the two entered the Kongling Sea. Concealing their flight auras, they skimmed low over the surface of the sea, flying quietly until they arrived at the spot where Realized Master Chijie had previously hidden. Realized Master Chijie produced the yellow orb to peer through it. At the edge of the formation, an altar suspended in the seawater was already seventy to eighty percent complete, close to taking final shape. "Such speed!" Realized Master Chijie exclaimed softly. These people would probably make their move soon; calling for helpers now would likely be too late anyway. The altar was square, narrower at the top and broader at the base. Carved across the entire altar were countless markings resembling ghostly scribbles. Looking closely, one could see they were various spirit insects, some of which neither Realized Master Chijie nor Old Man Hunmo had ever heard of. The image within the orb was blurred. Old Man Hunmo glanced at it, lost interest, and darted forward, closing in on the formation. After flying only a short distance, Old Man Hunmo suddenly let out a soft exclamation of surprise and actually came to a stop. A sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes. Old Man Hunmo instructed Chijie to hand over the orb. His gaze swept over Qin Sang and the other three, and he nodded with a faint, enigmatic smile. "Quite interesting." Pausing, Old Man Hunmo tapped his black bamboo staff lightly. "The other side must possess an exquisite investigative secret technique. Had this old man not always been vigilant, with spiritual sense far surpassing yours, I might have been exposed just now." Hearing this, Realized Master Chijie was startled, inwardly grateful that he had been sufficiently cautious. "What do we do now?" "Wait!" Old Man Hunmo said indifferently, "Do they really think the Jinghai Sect is so easy to breach? Since they are helping us open the formation, why not let them? We can also take this chance to see what they are capable of." Realized Master Chijie was secretly astonished. Master and disciple cultivated a method from the Jinghai Sect, yet their knowledge of the sect was very limited. Old Man Hunmo, on the other hand, seemed to know the Jinghai Sect remarkably well. ... On the other side, Qin Sang and Valley Master Mu were refining the final portion of the altar. Amidst the busy work, Qin Sang sensed the Heavenly Eye Butterfly in his qi sea flutter its wings lightly before settling down once more. Qin Sang diverted his senses to check around, but found nothing unusual, so he soothed it. Until he uncovered the secrets behind Hundred Flowers Valley, he could not expose the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. In the early dawn of the third day. The eastern horizon over the Kongling Sea had yet to brighten. A bright moon still hung high, casting cool, clear moonlight over the sea surface. The altar was finally complete! As the final rune was inscribed, green light flared across the altar, swiftly coursing through its entire form. The altar's aura underwent a drastic transformation, fusing into a seamless whole like a platform cast of bronze. On the surface of the altar, the carved patterns of spirit insects appeared even more lifelike, giving the impression that they could come to life and crawl out from the altar at any moment. Qin Sang and Valley Master Mu exchanged a smile, then sat cross-legged to adjust their breathing and recover. An hour later, the two awoke one after the other. After discussing the matter, they decided to set up the insect formation immediately to prevent any unexpected complications. Qin Sang summoned the Fire Jade Centipede. Over the past few days, Qin Sang had fed it a Fire Melting Pill, and Valley Master Mu had not been stingy either, gifting several bottles of spirit medicine beneficial to spirit insects to boost the Fire Jade Centipede as much as possible. Valley Master Mu also summoned his own spirit insects. One was his natal spirit insect, a fourth-metamorphosis early-stage Tide-Guiding Horseshoe Crab. The other was a third-metamorphosis late-stage Black Demon Ant. The Tide-Guiding Horseshoe Crab had a crab-like body about the size of Valley Master Mu's palm. It was an oceanic blue throughout, so translucent that one could even see the blue blood flowing within its body. From its tail end extended a long sword-tail, vibrating constantly with a subtle, wondrous rhythm. Qin Sang knew very little about the Tide-Guiding Horseshoe Crab, but no fourth-metamorphosis spirit insect was simple. As for the Black Demon Ant, it appeared like an ordinary black ant, except that it possessed a pair of miniature, bat-like wings; its innate divine ability was said to have a certain restraining effect against demonic cultivators. With all three spirit insects prepared, Qin Sang glanced down at the Fire Jade Centipede, stroked its back with a finger, and placed it gently onto the altar. Valley Master Mu placed his own spirit insects upon it as well, then flashed over to sit cross-legged in the very center between the three spirit insects. He nodded to Qin Sang and closed his eyes tightly.