Snake Granny

As he approached the position of the large disc, Qin Sang shuddered violently. A terrifying chill radiated from ahead, second only to the Mystic Frost Baleful Wind! The closer he drew, the more Qin Sang felt the spiritual power within his body turn sluggish, as though his entire body was on the verge of freezing stiff. Finally, he spotted Teng Zhaogang's figure. Teng Zhaogang was caked in a thick layer of white frost from head to toe, looking at first glance just like a snowman. The disc rested upon his knees, still continuously spewing frigid air. Sitting opposite Teng Zhaogang was a senior martial brother from the Taiyi Dan Sect, looking just as miserable. Both channeled their discs to support the large disc suspended above, assisting the Core Formation master surnamed Di in deploying the formation. Even upon reaching this spot, however, Qin Sang still could not see the large disc with his naked eyes. Above Teng Zhaogang's head, the cold vapor coalesced into clouds, like a massive snow hollow suspended in midair, from which an extreme chill poured forth. "Help me dispel the chill..." Teng Zhaogang's teeth chattered. His voice was faint, yet he continued to channel the disc with grim perseverance, not daring to slacken for a second. Qin Sang and Zhan Yi landed on either side of Teng Zhaogang. After a moment's thought, Qin Sang retrieved a teapot-shaped magic tool from his mustard seed bag. This magic tool was something Qin Sang had refined himself. It had been forged by fusing the not-entirely-destroyed Myriad Crows Pot with another magic tool, and Qin Sang called it the Myriad Flames Pot. The smoke within the Myriad Crows Pot was inherently of the fire element, and the conjured ravens were a variety of fire crow laden with dense fire elemental power. The magic tool he had fused with it shared a similar nature. At the time, Qin Sang had felt it a pity to lose such a fine magic tool as the Myriad Crows Pot and wished to hone his own artifact crafting skills, so he had attempted the fusion. To his surprise, it had succeeded on the very first try. Although the resulting Myriad Flames Pot had not advanced in grade, its fire elemental power was far more abundant. What it spewed was no longer smoke, but a form of spiritual fire. Its efficacy had also shifted, leaning toward offense rather than defense. Cradling the Myriad Flames Pot, Qin Sang released billowing flames that settled around the three of them, driving away the biting cold. Zhan Yi drew a fire-attribute flying sword, driving it to unleash arcs of flame-like sword qi, achieving a passable result. ... Not long after Qin Sang entered the formation, several more streaks of light flew in from the horizon. The Core Formation master surnamed Di let out a long breath and said, as if relieved of a heavy burden, "Fellow Daoists, you have returned just in time! Quickly, help me stabilize the formation implements so we can lay out this formation together!" No one knew how much time had passed, but just as Qin Sang was nearing the brink of exhaustion, Teng Zhaogang was finally able to disengage. Upon returning below, they discovered that the Luandao Waters had undergone a startling transformation. In every direction, as well as the skies above, an endless sea of mist blanketed everything. The spiritual formation's coverage was even vaster than Qin Sang had imagined. Only when he flew close to the mist layer and gazed into the distance could he barely make out the boundary of the enclosed space. The white mist condensed without dispersing, blanketing the skies over the Luandao Waters and cordoning off this vast expanse. Beneath the mist, within a height of less than thirty feet, the vapor was thin enough that it did not obstruct one's line of sight. Yet although the mist was thin down here, the weather within the Luandao Waters constantly shifted: at times a torrential blizzard, at times heavy goose-feather snowfall, at times silken drizzle, and at times howling, frigid winds... No wonder it was called the True Water Thousand Illusions Formation; it truly held a thousand transformations. The entire Luandao Waters seemed to have turned into a sanctuary composed of mist, though the excessively low ceiling of vapor brought an oppressive sensation. Even so, staying within it felt much more reassuring than before. After all, with the protection of a grand formation, one would not abruptly be dragged into a chaotic melee. Qin Sang swept his gaze around and found the Core Formation master surnamed Di meditating on the largest island at the center of the Luandao Waters. Seated beside him were several equally powerful cultivators, all Core Formation experts. The grand formation did not seem completely finished, and they were still hard at work. Even with Qin Sang's cultivation, he could sense a touch of weakness in their auras, showing just how difficult deploying the True Water Thousand Illusions Formation was. Vice Island Master Xiao was not among them. Could fierce fighting still be going on up ahead? Just as Qin Sang was pondering to himself, Senior Di seemed to sense something. He abruptly opened his eyes, gazed south, and barked, "Open!" Immediately after, a faint white light lit up within the thick mist and shot beyond its boundaries. As the mist churned, a narrow passage was revealed. *Whoosh, whoosh...* Several streaks of light flew in through the passage. Along with them came Vice Island Master Xiao's urgent shout: "Quickly seal the formation!" Qin Sang looked closely. At some point, more than a dozen figures had appeared on the island. Most of their robes were torn, and their magic tools had not even been stowed away. Some bore shocking wounds on their bodies, looking utterly battered and disheveled. Vice Island Master Xiao and Che Yutao were among them. However, at the very center was an old crone holding a snake staff. Seeing Senior Di and the others treating the old crone with utmost deference, Qin Sang was secretly astonished: the Island Master of Stargazing Island was actually this old woman. Beside the old woman stood a bizarre figure pressed close to her. His upper half was that of a handsome man, but his lower half was a serpent's body, and darting from his mouth was not a tongue, but a scarlet serpent's fork. His pupils were vertical slits like a snake's, holding a chilling, terrifying coldness. Qin Sang had asked Zhan Yi before; this woman was known as Snake Granny, the Vice Sect Master of the Yuling Sect. This half-man, half-snake eccentric was nominally the old crone's spirit beast, but in reality was a demon beast from Heavenly Demon Mound. Having been enlightened early on by Emperor Flowing Dew, his spiritual wisdom had awakened early, and he had been sent to the Yuling Sect to form a covenant with Snake Granny. It was said that the half-man's identity in Heavenly Demon Mound was far from simple, and his strength was no less than Snake Granny's. The Yuling Sect's grounds lay northwest of the Yuanshen Sect. Among both righteous and demonic paths of the Lesser Cold Domain, it was the sect closest to Heavenly Demon Mound, maintaining countless intertwined ties with it. Like the Shangyuan Qingjing Palace and a select few other sects, the Yuling Sect was an ancient lineage with a long heritage. No matter how the tides turned, it consistently held a place on the stage of the Lesser Cold Domain. Its foundation was far beyond what a flash-in-the-pan demonic sect like the Kuiyin Sect could compare to. What the Yuling Sect relied on was precisely this intimate relationship with Heavenly Demon Mound; even without a Nascent Soul cultivator overseeing them, other sects were reluctant to provoke them. Rumor had it that true Nascent Soul mighty figures in the Lesser Cold Domain were exceedingly few. In this generation, a true Sect Master of the Yuling Sect did not exist, for there were no Nascent Soul cultivators in the sect, making Snake Granny the de facto master. Even among the Eight Righteous Sects and famed demonic sects, several were similar to the Yuling Sect—possessing no Nascent Soul cultivator in residence, yet wielding means that even Nascent Soul experts feared. This did not match what Qin Sang had believed back during the Qi Refinement stage, which was only natural. He still lacked the qualifications to probe secrets of such caliber and could only take them as lore. Even the rumors he heard now might not be entirely true. Seeing Snake Granny and the snake-bodied man looking about, Qin Sang felt an inexplicable pang of guilt and hurriedly looked away. In his mustard seed bag were relics of a fallen Yuling Sect Core Formation cultivator; he could afford no slip-up. As they were all Core Formation masters, Qin Sang could not discern their cultivation arts, but from their magic tools he could glean a bit: the Lesser Cold Domain's righteous, demon, demonic, and rogue cultivators were all present. Protected in their midst were two figures: precisely Senior Fang and Senior Shentu, the ones who had been ambushed first.