The Yue Sisters

What excited Qin Sang most was that battling human cultivators allowed him to comprehend the killing talisman far faster than before. Especially when taking part in those massive clashes involving thousands of cultivators, situated in horrifying battlefields amidst ubiquitous slaughter and the constant peril of death... His combat experience and understanding of the killing Dao had improved at an astonishing pace. This was also one of the reasons Qin Sang spared no expense in his cultivation; the killing talisman was no longer a shackle. "A blessing in disguise, I suppose," Qin Sang mocked himself. ... There was only a single prayer mat in the cave abode. Sitting cross-legged upon it, Qin Sang waited until his breath returned to its peak before opening his eyes and reaching for his mustard seed bag and corpse puppet pouch. Spiritual materials, magic tools, and other items flew out from the mustard seed bag. Magic tools were the most numerous, though the majority were damaged and few remained intact. Their quality, however, was quite decent. Qin Sang laid out his stone-core fire and picked out the magic tools that were easy to mend, repairing them thoroughly; otherwise, unscrupulous merchants would drive down the price when he went to sell them. Those that were severely damaged he simply abandoned, as fixing them took too much time. After mending the magic tools, Qin Sang turned his gaze to the three corpses on the ground. During his outing, he naturally hadn't fought only that single battle. Dispatched on patrol this time, Qin Sang had been through several skirmishes, but he had only managed to kill three Heaven-Traversing Alliance cultivators, and even that was thanks to his ebony sword. At the beginning, both sides had indeed suffered grievous casualties. But after weathering countless battles, the cultivators on both sides had grown exceedingly vigilant, rich in combat experience, and tight in their formations, making it harder and harder to succeed. Capturing anyone alive was even more out of the question. Early on, Qin Sang had often operated alone, but now he no longer dared. Not everyone was as wealthy and well-resourced as Qin Sang, possessing ample spirit stones. Many weaker cultivators suffered miserably, able only to cultivate relying on the thin spiritual energy in the air and living precarious lives from one day to the next. They endured continuously, hoping for the day the great war would end. What Qin Sang relied upon was merely the generous foundation he had built up over the previous two years. Some time ago, he had found an opportunity to return to his sect; the earth fiend qi in his Shaoyin Magnetic Bottle was more than sufficient. Qin Sang refined all three corpses into baleful corpses. After examining his cultivation with his inner vision, he rose to his feet, collected the spirit stones that were now less than half depleted, and walked out of the cave abode. Torrential rain poured down. The cold wind bit to the bone. The view was murky, yet numerous escaping lights could be seen streaking and crisscrossing through the sky. Qin Sang tightened his robes, circulated his spiritual power to protect his body, and then rose into the air as an escaping light, sweeping off toward the northeast. He had returned early from this patrol mission because he had some business to attend to. The rest of the squad, led by Mu Yifeng, would only return after finishing the task. He flew past more than a hundred islands in succession. Qin Sang maintained a contemplative look until he suddenly sensed something and looked ahead. Directly in front of him, three streaks of light were flying toward him head-on. The heavy rain obscured his vision, nor did Qin Sang use his spiritual sense to check their identities. Inside the True Water Thousand Illusions Formation, even the most eccentric demonic villains would not dare act recklessly. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* As their lights crossed paths, an exclamation of surprise suddenly rang out. All four streaks of light halted in unison. Qin Sang turned to face the three people opposite him: two men and one woman. The two men were of similar age, dressed in similar green robes. One had a scholarly appearance and held a folding fan, while the other looked stern and carried a sword at his waist. The woman was an attractive lady in her forties. While not extraordinarily gorgeous, she possessed a distinctive grace. She stood very close to the sword-bearing man, clearly on intimate terms with him. "Rou'er, do you know this fellow Daoist?" the sword-bearing man asked, finding it odd when he noticed her looking at Qin Sang with surprise written across her face. The woman murmured an affirmative, hesitated slightly, and was just about to speak. Hearing the sword-bearing man's address, Qin Sang spoke up first. "Are you Yue Rou?" This woman was none other than Yue Rou, the younger of the Yue sisters who had sold him the spirit spring object. Thinking back, it had already been sixty or seventy years ago. After helping the Yue sisters open the restriction on their cave abode, they had parted ways and never met again. Back then, the Yue sisters had both been in the Qi Refinement stage, but now Yue Rou was already an expert in the middle Foundation Establishment stage. Time had left only faint traces on Yue Rou's face. Qin Sang had found her familiar at first glance, though he couldn't be certain whether she was the elder or younger sister. "Senior Qin, it really is you! I am Yue Rou!" Not only had Yue Rou's cultivation grown profound, but her demeanor had also become far steadier than Qin Sang remembered. Yet traces of her former self remained, and she was overwhelmed with uncontrollable delight. "Lady Yue, you are already an expert in the middle Foundation Establishment stage; we can simply address each other as fellow Daoists." Qin Sang smiled and shook his head. "Back then, I took your tree root and promised to open the cave abode for you. It was only right, nothing to thank me for. And who might these two fellow Daoists be?" "He is my husband, surnamed Luo." Yue Rou pointed to the sword-bearing man, then looked up at him. "I often speak of Senior Qin to you. Do you remember?" The sword-bearing man, whose cultivation was comparable to Yue Rou's, nodded repeatedly and cupped his hands in gratitude toward Qin Sang. "This is Fellow Daoist Du, a friend of ours." After exchanging greetings, Qin Sang asked, "Is your elder sister, Yue Xing, here as well?" Yue Rou still called him Senior. "My sister failed to break through to Foundation Establishment and has started a family. I settled her and her household on an island at the edge of the Yuncang Great Marsh. Four generations now live under her roof, in peace and comfort... It was only because Senior Qin opened the cave abode for us back then that I am where I am today. I have always wanted to thank you properly, but you vanished without a trace, Senior. Even Granny Jing couldn't find you..." Qin Sang gave an understanding murmur and briefly recounted his journey to the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. "I never imagined I would be gone for decades either. Later, when I returned to my cave abode and saw the voice transmission talisman Granny Jing had left behind, I went to offer my apologies, but she was no longer there." Yue Rou nodded repeatedly. "Ever since Granny Jing invited us to help her with a matter back then, she told us she would be leaving for a while, but I didn't expect it would be for this long. I was just conscripted here recently, and when I passed by Wenyue Cultivation Market, I checked Granny Jing's shop. It was still closed. I have no idea where she has gone..." A look of worry showed on Yue Rou's face; she clearly shared a deep bond with Granny Jing. Qin Sang asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Yue was invited by Granny Jing as well? I only saw the talisman after I returned, but unfortunately it was already too late. Might I ask what Granny Jing needed help with, and whether it was successfully accomplished?" Looking apologetic, Yue Rou said, "Please forgive me, Senior. I swore an oath to Granny Jing that I would not reveal even the slightest detail to outsiders." Qin Sang expressed his understanding. He was not overly curious to begin with; it was merely an offhand question. After some pleasantries, Qin Sang told them the location of his cave abode, declined the couple's invitation to a banquet, and sped off. The cultivator surnamed Du watched Qin Sang's light until it vanished from sight, wearing a rather strange expression. Yue Rou glanced at him in surprise. "Fellow Daoist Du, what are you looking at?" As if waking from a dream, the cultivator surnamed Du said with deep envy, "I never expected you two to know the famous Shadowless Sword of Shaohua Mountain! He's a fierce character who has slain a False Core stage expert single-handedly!"