"It's him!"
Qin Sang realized who the "old acquaintance" was: the eldest disciple of Old Man Hunmo.
He had inquired about it later and learned that this disciple was indeed among those who had escaped from the stele space.
Tong Lingyu had personally sent Old Man Hunmo back into the stele space, yet his divine soul had somehow ended up out here.
With Qin Sang's intellect, he could guess most of the story: a touching drama of master-disciple "devotion" must have unfolded.
As expected of someone trained by Old Man Hunmo, the eldest disciple had proved the craftier of the two.
Heaven knew what the eldest disciple had done to Old Man Hunmo, but the old demon's current state could only be described as wretched.
The eldest disciple's intention in delivering Old Man Hunmo's divine soul was obvious.
Qin Sang nodded inwardly, accepting the favor. Had Old Man Hunmo managed to escape with his life, once Qin Sang left the North Sea, the old devil would surely have vented his wrath upon Qingyang Temple in mad retaliation.
He had originally planned to seek out that eldest disciple for a conversation.
Back at the Jinghai Sect, Qin Sang had noticed that Old Man Hunmo seemed quite familiar with the sect and might have known something.
Now that Old Man Hunmo's divine soul was right here, there was no need to seek out his disciple.
Qin Sang picked up the teardrop, feeling a chilling cold seep into his bones.
After observing it closely for a moment, he found that Old Man Hunmo's consciousness was teetering on the verge of collapse; there was likely no choice but to conduct a soul search immediately.
Qin Sang saw off his distinguished guest, sealed his cave dwelling, and made numerous preparations to support the casting of the soul search technique.
Even with such thorough preparations, Qin Sang obtained only scattered fragments of memory; the higher the target's cultivation, the harder it was for a soul search to bear fruit.
Amid agonizing torment, Old Man Hunmo's divine soul dispersed and shattered. A towering titan of the demonic path had fallen just like that!
Qin Sang looked down at the soul mist dissipating from his fingertips, recalling how imposing Old Man Hunmo had been at the Jinghai Sect, and comparing it to his pathetic end now—he could only sigh with profound emotion.
The soul search revealed that Old Man Hunmo's knowledge of the Jinghai Sect was ordinary information.
Although the Jinghai Sect was a secluded Buddhist sect, it had not been entirely cut off from the outside world.
The one who truly had a connection to the Jinghai Sect was the island master of Nine Precepts Island, Daoist Chijie!
This man had actually obtained the heritage of the Jinghai Sect and might be its sole living successor in the world.
Qin Sang recalled what had transpired in the Sacred Ground. He seemed to have caught sight of Daoist Chijie in the stele space; barring any surprises, the man had already been suppressed beneath the pagoda.
Pondering for a moment, Qin Sang rose, walked over to the other side of the cave dwelling, and triggered the restriction.
A moment later, the stone door opened soundlessly. Chen Yan stood there gracefully in plain robes, slender and poised, though her demeanor was icy, keeping others thousands of miles away.
Under such a gaze from Chen Yan, ordinary people would succumb to the illusion of plunging straight into winter.
Accustomed to her temperament, Qin Sang walked in on his own and said, "I plan to head to the Boundless Sea to search for an island suitable for our mountain gate, and make a trip back to the Beichen Realm while I'm at it. I'd like to borrow the Ten Directions Earth-Cleaving Divine Shuttle again to bring some disciples over."
Without a word, Chen Yan opened her jade-like palm. A burst of azure light flashed, and the divine shuttle darted out, caught firmly in Qin Sang's hand.
After a brief thought, Chen Yan said, "As for that path, Xuantian Palace still has records, but only the initial stretch remains."
Qin Sang gave an acknowledging murmur. "I have already requested the relevant ancient records from Palace Master Tong. Borrowing Fairy's divine shuttle is precisely so I can search thoroughly."
The path leading to the Beichen Realm began where Venerable Tianyue had planted his sword.
Qin Sang intended to find the route and connect the two realms, but he did not plan to make it public knowledge.
Chen Yan nodded and said nothing more.
After a slight hesitation, Qin Sang asked, "When do you plan to assault your bottleneck, Fairy?"
Chen Yan did not answer, merely frowning as she looked at him.
Qin Sang took out a jade slip and handed it to her. "Take a look at the contents within, Fairy. It was left behind by Senior Xiaoxiangzi."
As Chen Yan scanned the jade slip, Qin Sang continued, "Given Senior Xiaoxiangzi's discernment, he would hardly be mistaken. After one person comprehends the Buddha-bone relic, its power will not dissipate immediately; a second person can still reap considerable benefits from it. Moreover, Zhongzhou is the true nexus where the spiritual fortune of this world converges. It should help us unravel many mysteries—such as what lies beyond the storm belt, the origin of the Ziwei Palace, and... where the ascendants have gone!"
Withdrawing her divine sense from the jade slip, a rare ripple of emotion crossed Chen Yan's face, her eyes mingled with urgency and hope. "You want to..."
"My purpose in returning this time is precisely to sever lingering karma so that I can set out as soon as possible." Qin Sang looked down at the divine shuttle in his palm. "The journey to Zhongzhou is unimaginably vast and fraught with peril; I will need to rely heavily on Fairy's divine shuttle. However, I doubt you would be willing to trade away such a treasure, Fairy. Therefore, Qin has no choice but to invite you to travel together."
He had previously made a point of borrowing the shuttle to confirm that it would provide immense assistance.
Chen Yan hesitated hardly at all, tightly grasping the jade slip. "Give me eight years!"
"Eight years?"
Qin Sang calculated silently. That was precisely when Chen Yan's first heavenly tribulation would arrive. It seemed she intended to break through after the tribulation, and from her tone, she was quite confident.
Come to think of it, had she not been trapped by the branding of the evil art, she would surely have broken through successfully last time.
The Spirit-Calming Incense could stabilize the mind and suppress inner demons, and with the Eight-Winged Golden Cicada molt, her chances were high.
Eight years was well worth the wait. Heavenly tribulations were no trifling matter; if she triggered a tribulation within the storm belt, Qin Sang would suffer along with her.
Moreover, settling his affairs and establishing Qingyang Temple would also take time.
"It's a deal, then!"
Qin Sang smiled and was about to take his leave.
Remembering something, Chen Yan took out two pouches and handed them to Qin Sang.
The pouches were crafted from a special spiritual beast and specifically designed to store Kanchen Pearls.
Qin Sang was surprised. "Two?"
As far as he knew, the Xuantian Palace Sacred Ground only produced three pearls at a time.
Having already decided to have his incarnation cultivate a different art, the Kanchen Pearls were no longer as vital to him.
Chen Yan said, "Martial Uncle Jiang heard that you needed Kanchen Pearls, so he specially exchanged for one and sent it over."
That Hall Master Jiang had been able to claim the seat of Grand Elder had Qin Sang's backing behind it.
"There was really no need for that."
Qin Sang chuckled and shook his head, though he did not refuse. Stowing them into his Qianjun Ring, he rose and took his leave.
Leaving the Snow Listening Tower, Qin Sang flew southwest, intending to travel through the Boundless Sea thoroughly. However, his primary objective now was Nine Precepts Island; along the way, he would pass by one of the locations he had preselected for the sect.
Flying continuously, the Boundless Sea came into view.
Before departing the Yinri Realm, Qin Sang instinctively glanced back toward Lingxiao Peak.
Not long ago, he and Tong Lingyu had breached Yin Changsheng's cave dwelling together.
Yin Changsheng's divine abilities had been peerless, and his relics were bound to hold immense value. Yet what Qin Sang and Tong Lingyu valued most were his secret techniques for warding off tribulations and achieving breakthroughs.
Anything pertaining to Deity Transformation and heavenly tribulations, even evil arts, held reference value.
Unfortunately, neither of those two secret techniques had been found.
Based on what limited information was available, after conferring with Tong Lingyu, Qin Sang increasingly felt that the ice coffin was of paramount importance—it was likely the key to how Yin Changsheng had managed to delay his heavenly tribulation.
However, that artifact was severely damaged and completely stripped of its power. For now, Qin Sang lacked the time to dedicate himself to studying and restoring it.
*Whoosh!*
A beam of azure light shot out of the Yinri Realm—it was Qin Sang steering the Ten Directions Earth-Cleaving Divine Shuttle.
The shuttle was shielded by an outer barrier of wind while remaining exceptionally smooth and stable inside, and its true essence consumption was considerably lower than similar magic treasures.
Qin Sang sped leisurely across the sea, only coming to a halt upon reaching his first destination.
Looking down from above, he surveyed the island shaped like a giant turtle below.
The island possessed abundant spiritual energy, and its master had perished in the Sacred Ground; claiming it would take virtually no effort.
The problem was that while there were many surrounding islands large and small, their spiritual energy was pitifully sparse, and it was not far from Xuantian Palace.
Should Qingyang Temple truly flourish one day, being too close to Xuantian Palace might not be a blessing.
Promptly ruling out this site, Qin Sang pressed on without pause.
Traveling along the way, Qin Sang found that the Boundless Sea was even more chaotic than before, with bloodshed and slaughter everywhere.
The status of Golden Core cultivators had risen far beyond what it had been, as they became the main force in conflicts; even late Golden Core cultivators now dared to style themselves as grand ancestors.
Qin Sang's activation of the Linglong Treasure Pagoda had completely overturned the landscape of the Boundless Sea, ushering in a thorough reshuffling of power.
It was not merely internal strife among the factions of the Boundless Sea.
The newly reorganized Xuantian Palace, along with the demon race of the north and the powers of the Crescent Moon Realm, had all extended their tentacles into the region.
The clandestine clashes were even more perilous.
Perhaps the chaotic sight of fiends running rampant across the Boundless Sea would soon become history.
The Myriad Demons Assembly would likely lose its meaning in truth.
Qin Sang was glad to see such a transformation; the last thing he wanted was for Qingyang Temple to be surrounded by fiends and demons on all sides.
...
Nine Precepts Island.
Through years of management by Daoist Chijie and his disciples, Nine Precepts Island had gathered a multitude of cultivators and had been extraordinarily bustling.
At this moment, however, the island was engulfed in turmoil.
In particular, the core forbidden area of Nine Precepts Island—the location of Daoist Chijie's cave dwelling—was shrouded in clouds and mist, its great formation fully activated.
Countless fiends and demons had perished in the Sacred Ground.
However, it was difficult for outsiders to obtain an accurate roster, so they dared not launch direct assaults on the territories of those fiends right away.
They could only gather information as best they could and judge from various signs.
With Daoist Chijie failing to make an appearance, the surrounding factions, large and small, grew restless. Initially, they only conducted tentative probes, but once they confirmed the news, they resolved to join forces and seize the blessed land of Nine Precepts Island!
The fact that Daoist Chijie's disciples had raised the grand formation and barricaded themselves inside only deepened their suspicions.
Outside the forbidden area, heavily armed forces bore down upon the gates.
Cultivators called out challenges to battle.
Yet within the forbidden area, dead silence reigned, without the slightest response.
The curses from the allied forces grew increasingly vitriolic until their patience finally ran out.
Little did they know that inside the forbidden area, a gaunt old man sat leisurely in an armchair, sipping spiritual tea while gazing outside with complete nonchalance.
Standing in attendance behind the old man was a man in brocade robes. Though his brow carried a natural air of authority, behind this gaunt elder he dared only keep his head bowed in silence, awaiting orders at any moment.
This man was originally a nominal disciple of Daoist Chijie. Seeing that he possessed some talent for management, Daoist Chijie had put him in charge of mundane affairs in the city.
Now, he was the sole disciple left in the forbidden area; Daoist Chijie's personal disciples were nowhere to be found.
"You need not heed the invitations of other factions. I have my ways to keep you safe. Once I subdue this rabble, our guild will dispatch experts to oversee Nine Precepts Island. You have managed Nine Precepts Island well, which gives me some appreciation for your talents; there will still be plenty of use for you in the future..."
The gaunt old man gave instructions in an unhurried manner, having seized Nine Precepts Island and employing Daoist Chijie's former subordinate without the slightest worry of betrayal.
The man in brocade robes smiled bitterly inwardly. He had never imagined that being judged by Daoist Chijie as lacking the potential to achieve greatness in cultivation and tossed aside to handle mundane affairs would turn out to be a blessing in disguise, saving his life.
"Junior obeys Senior's instructions!"
Before the words had finished leaving his mouth, the man in brocade robes suddenly saw the previously composed elder bolt to his feet, his complexion drastically changing as if some unforeseen catastrophe had struck.
The gaunt old man rushed out of the hall and looked up into midair. After a moment, he muttered, "Thunder Escape? Has Jianglei Manor grown impatient as well? Wait, there's more... It can't be..."
In the next breath, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, arriving in the blink of an eye.
The allied forces attacking the forbidden area ground to a halt one after another, staring in horror at the figure hovering in midair.
The lightning was blinding, obscuring his features, but the newcomer did not conceal his aura in the least—he was unmistakably a mid-Nascent Soul old monster!
Behind his back, a pair of magnificent phoenix wings unfurled, breathtakingly resplendent.
At present, two individuals in the North Sea were in the limelight, renowned to the point where practically nobody was ignorant of their names.
Combining various rumors with the signature Thunder Escape and phoenix wings, the sharp-witted among the crowd immediately thought of one of them.
"The Twin Fiends of Xuantian!"
"No, the Twin Fiends of Beichen!"
...
Exclamations rose and fell in waves, setting off an uproar.
For a time, some shouted "Twin Fiends of Xuantian" while others cried "Twin Fiends of Beichen."
The newcomer was indeed Qin Sang, who had found the Ten Directions Earth-Cleaving Divine Shuttle too slow and had spurred on his phoenix wings to hasten his journey.
Hearing the shouts below, Qin Sang was caught between tears and laughter.
Ever since the news spread, he and Chen Yan had been saddled with the moniker "Twin Fiends of Xuantian," which had gained universal consensus among North Sea cultivators and spread like wildfire.
Later, Qin Sang simply arranged for word to be spread that he and Chen Yan hailed from the legendary fourth realm of the North Sea, the Beichen Realm. Thus, it evolved into the "Twin Fiends of Beichen."
Poor Chen Yan was even depicted as a venomous, ruthless fiend.
It was no exaggeration to say that in the North Sea, the names of Qin Sang and Chen Yan had the power to silence crying children in their tracks.
Since both Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng had fallen by their hands, wouldn't that make them even more earth-shattering, peerless monsters?
The Beichen Realm had also been dragged down by Qin Sang's reputation, becoming widely recognized as a fountainhead of demonic evil, the most terrifying devil's den in the world.
Being feared was not necessarily a bad thing.
Qin Sang swept his gaze across the allied forces, and his eyes settled on the forbidden area. Piercing through the grand formation, he saw what was taking place inside.
The gaunt old man was exceptionally shrewd. The moment he laid eyes on Qin Sang, he abandoned everything without hesitation and turned to flee.
Just as he stepped out of the secret passage, a mild voice reached his ears.
"Fellow Daoist, please hold your steps."
The gaunt old man froze on the spot, his smile uglier than weeping.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Qin. I am Fengguzi, unworthily serving as an elder of Star Mountain. Daoist Yinquan is an intimate friend of mine. I never imagined Fellow Daoist Qin had taken an interest in Nine Precepts Island. Having been blind to offend you, I shall take my leave immediately. Please take no offense..."
Many factions in the Crescent Moon Realm had planted hidden agents in the Boundless Sea. Inferior in strength to the native fiends, they could only watch over and assist one another.
Now, these hidden agents had come to play a major role.
Qin Sang looked Fengguzi up and down, nodding slightly. "Seeing that Daoist Chijie's disciples are nowhere to be found, you must have reaped quite a harvest, Fellow Daoist?"
Fengguzi breathed a long sigh of relief. He immediately took out his mustard seed pouch and poured out everything he had reaped on the island, including the cultivation methods and secret arts obtained from soul-searching Daoist Chijie's disciples.
Sweeping his gaze over the pile, Qin Sang's eyes landed on the various jade slips. With a wave of his sleeve, he swept them up and expressed his thanks.
The elder repeatedly stammered that he dared not accept thanks and hurried away.
Flashing into the forbidden area, Qin Sang examined the jade slips one by one, discovering that they contained not only Buddhist heritages but also many esoteric secrets that might prove helpful once he reached Zhongzhou.
Storing away the useful jade slips, Qin Sang turned to look at the numb-faced man in brocade robes.
Fengguzi had spared only this man; it seemed he was not deeply entangled with Daoist Chijie and could be put to use.
Qin Sang tossed him a token inscribed with the character "Qin" and bearing his own unique mark.
"If anyone else comes, present this token... Someone will contact you in the future."
"Junior obeys!"
The man in brocade robes received the token with both hands, feeling as though a crushing weight had been lifted from his chest.
Now that it was him, perhaps... things would finally settle down.
Chapter 1516