One of the Tan brothers was severely injured, while the other was struggling on the immortal path.
Both had been brought to this by the Kuiyin Sect.
"Do you know where Liang Yan's cave dwelling is? Is he cultivating alone, or together with the remnants of the Kuiyin Sect? Can you contact Senior Sister Shi Hong right now?"
Qin Sang asked in a low voice after a moment of thought, firing off a series of questions.
Liang Yan might have already broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, but Qin Sang had no fear. In his hands were not only six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, but also a talisman treasure; few cultivators in the same realm could contend with him.
Even if Liang Yan also possessed Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, the Yin soul silk could not harm Qin Sang's origin soul, greatly diminishing its might.
If they could find Liang Yan, taking him by surprise would make killing him and rescuing Senior Sister Shi Hong well within reach.
"Liang Yan killed Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Kuiyin Sect. Terrified of exposure, he dared not contact the Kuiyin Sect remnants again, nor did he want to be rooted out by the Yuanzhao Sect. So he has always remained in hiding, cultivating in secret and rarely showing himself. His whereabouts are erratic, his cave dwelling is exceptionally secluded, and he changes locations frequently.
"Later, as Liang Yan's cultivation advanced and he felt the vigilance around him had cooled, he gradually let down his guard and slowly began to move about Yinshan Pass and the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.
"A few years ago, when I met Senior Sister Shi Hong, it was in the Fengcang Cultivation Market within the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.
"Over these years, although Senior Sister Shi Hong managed to gain a bit of his trust, that trust is very limited. Liang Yan is treacherous by nature. Fearing he might notice, Senior Sister has contacted me very few times.
"Actually, I've always wanted to lure people from the Yuanzhao Sect to execute Liang Yan and save Senior Sister Shi Hong, but I could never find an opportunity. Doing that would surely get Senior Sister killed alongside him, even though she..."
Tan Hao's voice trailed off, ending in a long sigh.
A cold glint flashed in Qin Sang's eyes. He sneered, "As long as we can find him, that's enough! Did Senior Sister Shi Hong ever mention what magic tools and methods he usually relies on?"
"She did."
Tan Hao nodded. "Liang Yan has two very formidable top-grade magic tools. One is called the Black Dragon Stone. It can grow and shrink at will and is heavy as a thousand jun. Most cultivators have fragile physical bodies, and a single slip could result in being crushed into minced meat by the Black Dragon Stone. The other is the Spirit-Binding Cord, which can bind opponents and seal their spiritual power and sea of qi. The two magic tools complement each other perfectly. Were it not for his fear of the Yuanzhao Sect forcing him to keep a low profile, he surely would have made quite a name for himself in Yinshan Pass."
No Yanluo Banner.
Qin Sang gave a quiet nod. With this, his certainty of executing Liang Yan was even greater.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Despite the Yin Baleful Abyss swallowing countless lives, refining a Ten Directions Yanluo Banner was no easy feat.
One had to wait for the sacrifices to slowly cultivate to the tenth layer of the Qi Refinement stage. Setting aside the vast amount of time required, the backlash of the Yanwang became increasingly severe, and those who could withstand it to the end were extraordinarily few.
Sun De's father was a direct grand-disciple of Patriarch Kuiyin, yet he had only managed to help Sun De gather six banners to barely form a formation; everything after that had to be resolved by Sun De himself.
Yue Wu was not Sect Master Yi's direct disciple, and his status was certainly inferior to Sun De's father.
Although Liang Yan had obtained the legacy of two Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators, he might not necessarily have managed to assemble six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners.
Along the way, Qin Sang had Tan Hao recount everything he knew about Liang Yan in detail.
Killing Liang Yan was a certainty, but since his tracks were unpredictable, how and where to do it required careful consideration. It would be best to first establish contact with Shi Hong and coordinate from inside and out.
Seeing Qin Sang agree to help and display his true strength, Tan Hao was also overjoyed. In high spirits, he recounted everything he knew about Yinshan Pass to Qin Sang in painstaking detail to deepen Qin Sang's understanding.
The two discussed the matter as they returned to Yinshan Pass.
Then they exited Yinshan Pass again, heading southwest until they reached the edge of the swamp. Entering the Ten Thousand Mountains, they arrived at a remote and desolate snow-capped mountain.
Two figures landed quietly in a secluded valley at the foot of the mountain.
Tan Hao looked around vigilantly, then moved aside an inconspicuous boulder deep within the valley to reveal a narrow cave entrance. He explained to Qin Sang with an embarrassed look on his face.
"The land beyond the swamp is outside Yinshan Pass's jurisdiction. It has always been chaotic, and murders for treasure happen all the time.
"The cave dwellings controlled by Yinshan Pass are safe, but the rent is too steep—I couldn't afford it.
"Later, I was fortunate enough to discover a small spirit vein here, so I carved out a cave dwelling. Although the spiritual energy is somewhat thin, it makes up for it by being well hidden..."
Qin Sang nodded in understanding. Most rogue cultivators were as impoverished as Tan Hao, living an austere life and constantly running about for cultivation resources.
Once inside, Tan Hao shifted the boulder back into place, carefully wiping away any traces outside. He had not set up any restrictions outside the cave dwelling; weak restrictions were redundant and only made it easier for other cultivators to discover the place.
The cave was deep and winding, their footsteps echoing through the passage.
Qin Sang followed behind. After walking for a distance, he suddenly heard the sound of flowing water ahead, followed by a faint warmth.
At the same time, the spiritual energy grew richer. Densely packed shade-dwelling plants sprouted from the stone crevices, joining together in a vibrant green that became thicker the deeper they went, like a lush carpet, exuding a touch of spring vitality.
There was likely a hot spring inside the cave dwelling, making the environment fairly pleasant. Still, the spiritual energy was indeed rather thin; given Tan Hao's cultivation, it was barely sufficient.
At the end of the passage, a protective spiritual formation appeared. Once Tan Hao opened it, a neatly squared-off cavern came into Qin Sang's view.
The cavern was quite spacious, its vaulted ceiling embedded with over a dozen night-luminescent pearls. The interior was clean and tidy. An underground river flowing with warm spring water emerged from the heart of the mountain, a section of it cutting directly across the cavern.
Flowers and grasses grew along both banks of the subterranean stream. Aside from a simple stone bed—presumably where Tan Hao cultivated—there were no other furnishings.
Qin Sang did not see Tan Jie. Instead, he saw a jade coffin floating motionless in the center of the underground stream.
Seeing this, Qin Sang's heart sank abruptly. He turned his head to look at Tan Hao.
Tan Hao softened his steps, walked over to the jade coffin, and ran his palm over its edges. He gave a self-deprecating smile. "Brother Qin, to be honest, I'm not afraid of death. If I die, Tan Jie won't be far behind me. Down in the underworld, we brothers can reunite again. By then, his condition will definitely be far, far better than it is now... If there is a next life, I will surely urge him never to pursue immortal cultivation."
The jade coffin was filled with a certain spiritual liquid. Lying quietly and motionless in the liquid was a person—Tan Jie!
Qin Sang gazed intently at Tan Jie. He still looked very young, matching Qin Sang's memories perfectly, yet he lacked the vitality of the past. His face was deathly pale without a trace of color, unlike a living person.
However, Qin Sang could indeed sense a faint aura within Tan Jie's body, proving he was not yet dead. Still, he seemed barely better off than a corpse; his aura was frail, like a candle guttering in the wind, liable to be snuffed out at any moment.
The present Tan Jie was a living dead man!
"All these years..."
Qin Sang's voice was a bit dry. "Brother Tan Jie has been like this the entire time?"
Tan Hao nodded, speaking in a hollow voice, "Yes, for over forty years."
Chapter 336