Two hours later.
Qin Sang was startled out of his meditative trance—his identity token was glowing again!
A summons from Stargazing Island!
*So soon? What happened now?*
Alarmed, his thoughts raced, but his movements did not falter. He hastily gathered his belongings, pushed open the door, and stepped outside, only to realize that this time was different from the night before.
Mu Yifeng and the others were nowhere to be seen, and everything appeared completely normal across the neighboring islands.
That meant Stargazing Island had summoned only him.
Looking left and right, he surveyed the surroundings for a moment. Everything remained peaceful, leaving him somewhat apprehensive.
Not daring to delay, Qin Sang mounted his Nether Silk Cloud and flew toward Stargazing Island alone.
As he drew near, he spotted a familiar rainbow streak of light cutting through the sky, heading in the exact same direction.
Heartened, Qin Sang quickly slowed his flight speed and waited for the streak of light to catch up.
The other cultivator evidently noticed him as well, veering over and landing beside Qin Sang. It turned out to be Senior Brother Rong.
"Senior Brother Rong..."
Qin Sang cupped his hands and asked in a low voice, "Did you receive orders from Stargazing Island as well?"
Senior Brother Rong nodded. "Indeed! Seeing that you received them too, Junior Brother Qin, puts my mind at ease. I thought I was the only one and was wracking my brain trying to figure out if I had inadvertently made some mistake and was about to be punished."
Qin Sang chuckled, shaking his head. "To tell you the truth, Senior Brother, I was thinking the exact same thing just now..."
"I wonder if Martial Uncle Che is the one summoning us..."
Chatting as they traveled, they soon saw Stargazing Island. They discovered that they were not the only ones; quite a few streaks of escape light were converging upon the island, hailing from both the righteous and demonic factions.
Stargazing Island had been artificially forged by fusing dozens of islets together, yet it formed a seamless whole. The ground was smooth as a mirror, polished enough to reflect a person's image. Several grand halls stood neatly arranged upon the island, though Qin Sang had only ever entered the outermost one.
Touching down on Stargazing Island, he realized that over twenty cultivators had arrived before them. They stood before the grand hall, scattered about in groups of two and three.
A casual glance revealed only familiar faces.
Without exception, every single one was a renowned figure who had distinguished themselves during the standoff between the Lesser Cold Domain and the Heaven-Traversing Alliance. The vast majority were False Core experts.
Only a handful had yet to attain the False Core stage, like Qin Sang, but had nonetheless carved out prominent reputations of their own.
Seeing these people, a faint understanding dawned in Qin Sang's heart.
Noticing the arrival of Qin Sang and Senior Brother Rong, everyone turned to look at them in unison. Some gazes held vigilance, others veiled hostility, and some goodwill.
A man in a white robe strode forward to greet them, cupping his hands with a smile. "I knew the two of you wouldn't be left out."
This man hailed from the Taiyi Dan Sect and went by the name Shang Yi.
The magic tool that made him famous was an alchemy cauldron. Qin Sang did not know whether he was good at concocting pills, but he knew without doubt that Shang Yi was adept at refining men. Not a few Heaven-Traversing Alliance cultivators had been swallowed by that cauldron of his, every one of them reduced to nothing, leaving neither hide nor hair behind.
"Fellow Daoist Shang..."
Qin Sang and Senior Brother Rong returned the courtesy.
Senior Brother Rong glanced around and asked quizzically, "Are you the only one from your sect who received the order?"
Shang Yi pointed subtly behind him. "Look at the people behind us—is a single one of them ordinary? Which of them isn't a veteran of the battlefield? In our sect, scraping together someone like me just to make up the numbers is already pushing it. We don't have fierce talents on par with the famous Shadowless Sword."
"Fellow Daoist Shang, you're teasing me again."
Qin Sang was well acquainted with Shang Yi. He shook his head with a laugh, retorting, "If nothing else, I have witnessed Fellow Daoist Yunyouzi's strength with my own eyes, and I admire him to no end. I've asked you about him several times without any news. Who knows how many experts your Taiyi Dan Sect is hiding away—are you keeping them under wraps for fear of disrupting their path to Core Formation?"
"Haha, you could say the same about your own sect!"
Shang Yi gave a hearty laugh.
"Senior Brother Yunyouzi achieved Foundation Establishment at the ripe age of a hundred, and then broke through to the False Core stage in rapid succession at a startling pace. With such talent and willpower, who in the entire Lesser Cold Domain could compare to him?
"I've actually asked around for you several times. Senior Brother Yunyouzi vanished to parts unknown and hasn't shown himself since. If there's any news, I will certainly let you know right away.
"Besides, his personal disciple, Li Yufu, is in your squad. If he returns, could he really ignore his own disciple?"
Qin Sang nodded slightly.
Not long after the True Water Thousand Illusions Formation was laid, Li Yufu had also been conscripted to the Luandao Waters. Qin Sang had overstepped his bounds, finding an excuse to transfer Li Yufu into his own squad so he could watch over him on Yunyouzi's behalf.
Because of Qin Sang's cautious conduct, their squad suffered very few casualties. Li Yufu had remained completely unharmed and had made considerable progress over the past three years.
What puzzled Qin Sang was that ever since Li Yufu had gone to Qingyang Market to pass along the message that Yunyouzi was searching for heavenly materials and earthly treasures, several years had passed without a single word from him.
Even during this major battle, there had been no sign of Yunyouzi.
Yunyouzi's master had passed away early on. Like Qin Sang, he had no solid backing within his sect, so Qin Sang had no idea what method he had used to evade the conscription from Stargazing Island.
The three of them conversed a while longer as several more streaks of light landed one after another.
Right then, a piercing shriek echoed from the east. A surge of demonic energy swept forward with blinding speed, circled above Stargazing Island, and descended upon an unoccupied spot.
The demonic energy dissipated to reveal a pale face belonging to a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.
Yet his cultivation was, without question, at the False Core stage!
The instant this person touched down, Qin Sang's eyes flickered slightly. His expression, however, showed not the slightest change as he continued talking and laughing with Shang Yi.
At that moment, a senior sister from the Shangyuan Qingjing Palace walked over.
As Qin Sang turned sideways, his gaze unobtrusively flicked toward the pale young man.
The pale youth's name was Ji Wu.
Ji Wu was his real name, but he held another identity: White Flame, one of the Four Demon Flame Emissaries of the Demon Flame Sect!
After the destruction of the Kuiyin Sect, he had been taken on as the final closed-door disciple of Daoist Jiupao!
In reality, this man was less than a hundred years old and had likely cultivated for a shorter time than anyone present. Yet not only had he broken through to the False Core stage, but his mastery of demonic fire was also superb, said to be scarcely inferior to the Qingyang Demonic Fire of the Qingyang Demonic Sect.
Qin Sang paid close attention to him, knowing full well that Ji Wu certainly possessed no shortage of formidable magic tools and talisman treasures!
This could not be explained by sheer talent alone.
Evidently, Daoist Jiupao had poured an immense amount of blood and sweat into this man!
Unlike the other remnants of the Kuiyin Sect, Ji Wu had a clean background; the Yuanzhao Sect was entirely unaware of his ties to Daoist Jiupao.
With no fear of being hunted down by the Yuanzhao Sect, he had acted in an extremely high-profile manner, making quite a name for himself in Qingyang City. Less than two years after being reassigned from Qingyang City to the Luandao Waters, his fame already rivaled that of Senior Brother Rong and the others.
Qin Sang naturally knew Ji Wu's true identity, and his covert inquiries had revealed that Ji Wu was continually gathering high-grade healing pills—clearly on Daoist Jiupao's behalf.
Qin Sang had been plotting to capture Ji Wu all along, but despite Ji Wu's flamboyant public conduct, the man was actually exceedingly cautious.
Furthermore, his cultivation was truly formidable, having inherited Daoist Jiupao's authentic teachings. As a result, Qin Sang had never found an opportunity to make a move.
Chapter 454