Qin Sang seized the Yellow-Armored Man and landed on the ground. His skin looked quite pale from excessive blood loss, but he had prepared medicinal pills long in advance; after taking one, his recovery would be much faster.
The black flames dispersed.
Beneath the sea of fire, four dark figures had unexpectedly been lying in wait—all of them top-tier baleful corpses refined from late Foundation Establishment corpses.
This was one of Qin Sang's contingency plans. If his magic treasure had accidentally failed, he wouldn't hesitate to expend not just a few baleful corpses, but even the Xutian Thunder, rather than let the Yellow-Armored Man escape.
Qin Sang set the Yellow-Armored Man on the ground and found that his origin soul had been severely wounded by the Nine Nether Demon Flame. With no time for anything else, Qin Sang could only quickly treat his injuries, then seal the man's origin soul with a Heavenly Corpse Talisman before placing him into a corpse puppet pouch.
Qin Sang would not be reckless this time; he would definitely wait until he broke through to the False Core stage before attempting it.
Counting Yu Hua, that made two living corpses. Even if luck was against him, he should be able to succeed with at least one.
Because Qin Sang had reined in his attack in time, the Yellow-Armored Man's mustard seed bag had survived. While there were no treasures like the Xutian Thunder to pleasantly surprise Qin Sang, it was still an astounding fortune.
Then there was the pouch containing the Star Element Stones. Inside was only a shallow layer of stones, roughly estimated at around a hundred.
Qin Sang held the pouch, lost in thought.
The Yellow-Armored Man's strength ranked among the very top of the sixty-six people who had entered Heaven-Pointing Peak, yet conscientiously collecting Star Element Stones with his Spirit-Locking Bracelet had yielded only this modest amount.
Qin Sang already had over three hundred stones in his pouch, and adding these brought his total to roughly four people's share.
Heaven-Pointing Peak was vast, and everyone was scattered all over.
Those people didn't possess Granny Jing's immense strength to easily see through the weaknesses of restrictions and freely come and go through perilous formations. Even with the best luck, encountering two people was about the limit, and victory wasn't guaranteed.
*These should be enough. Any more would be overdoing it,*
Qin Sang thought to himself.
With that settled, Qin Sang was no longer in a hurry. He moved forward cautiously and stealthily, merely picking up a few Star Element Stones along the way to bring his total to around five hundred. By the time he left the canyon, time was almost up.
Qin Sang looked around, moved far away from the canyon, and found an open clearing. Looking up, he stared into the sky above, where the omnipresent chaotic suction raged like violent gales overhead.
Before long, these howling winds came to an eerie halt, as if time itself had stopped at this moment.
Now!
This window of change was exceedingly brief; once missed, one would never be able to leave Heaven-Pointing Peak.
Qin Sang immediately summoned the Cold Metal sword, merging man and sword as he flew toward the sky at maximum speed.
At this moment, dozens of escape lights in various colors erupted across Heaven-Pointing Peak like fireworks, from the summit down to the base, all scrambling toward the heavens.
The wild winds began to reverse, turning into suction pulling from above.
Having experienced it when entering, Qin Sang maneuvered skillfully through the chaotic suction, keeping his sword light intact. Before long, he saw an endless white light flooding ahead, as if a large piece of the sky had broken open here to form an enormous heavenly cavity.
*Whoosh!*
Surging into the white light, all the chaos dissipated at once.
Blinding white light instantly filled his vision, and then his sight returned as boundless lake waters came into view.
The gentle sound of lapping waves reached his ears, gradually calming Qin Sang's taut nerves.
Before Qin Sang could even find his footing, he suddenly sensed a strong gust rushing at him from behind. He hastily sidestepped to dodge, and narrowing his eyes, he saw that it was an expert from the Yuling Sect who had flown out of Heaven-Pointing Peak almost at the same time as him.
The two nodded to each other and flew shoulder to shoulder toward their camp.
Snake Granny and Vice Island Master Xiao were still waiting where they had been.
Nearly twenty people had already emerged ahead of them, standing respectfully behind the two island masters. Senior Brother Rong was among them, his brow deeply furrowed and expression grave, seemingly troubled by something.
Upon seeing Qin Sang, a faint smile appeared on Senior Brother Rong's face, and he gave a nod of acknowledgment.
Qin Sang swept his gaze around as he walked, surprised to find that so many had survived.
On second thought, it was only natural. Everyone who had entered Heaven-Pointing Peak was a top expert; unless exceptionally unlucky, staying alive should not have been too difficult.
Just then, Qin Sang felt his waist lighten as the pouch holding the Star Element Stones was retrieved by Snake Granny.
"Huh?"
Snake Granny weighed the pouch in her hand, gave Qin Sang a surprised look, and nodded slightly. "I recall you're a Shaohua Mountain disciple, aren't you? Well done!"
*Swish!*
Instantly, everyone's eyes locked onto Qin Sang. Out of so many people, Qin Sang was the only one to receive Snake Granny's praise.
Snake Granny tossed the pouch into the air and tapped the void; the pouch opened on its own, and the Star Element Stones poured out with a clatter.
One hundred, two hundred...
Like crystals beneath the sunlight, the Star Element Stones reflected dazzling light. The pouch seemed bottomless, with even more stones continuing to pour out.
At this, not only the Lesser Cold Domain side, but even the Heaven-Traversing Alliance cultivators had their attention drawn over.
The cultivators present showed varying expressions, their gazes shifting back and forth between Qin Sang and the pouch—shock, envy, wariness...
Qin Sang stood with head bowed before Snake Granny, his expression calm and devoid of joy or sorrow.
At this moment, however, his thoughts were on something else entirely.
Among these twenty people, Ji Wu wasn't there!
If Ji Wu failed to make it out and perished in Heaven-Pointing Peak, that would be a fine outcome.
Still, it was too early to draw conclusions; more cultivators were still emerging from Heaven-Pointing Peak.
Finally, the pouch was empty.
Over five hundred Star Element Stones were piled into a small mound, possessing an immense allure that made it impossible to look away.
The Heaven-Traversing Alliance's Gold-Armored General's gaze turned exceptionally somber, and he glared at Qin Sang. Qin Sang felt as though struck by a heavy blow; his face grew even paler, and his heart skipped half a beat.
What terrifying eyes! What a terrifying aura!
Qin Sang was secretly appalled. Fortunately, Snake Granny stepped in, waving her snake staff with a smile to help Qin Sang block that gaze.
"What? Are you Heaven-Traversing Alliance scoundrels incapable of accepting defeat when you gamble, resorting to bullying the weak instead?"
Snake Granny barked with no small amount of mockery.
"It's not decided yet who wins or loses!"
the Gold-Armored General replied coldly. Ignoring Snake Granny's taunt, he turned his head to watch the exit of Heaven-Pointing Peak.
The wait continued.
Snake Granny looked at Qin Sang and said in a gentle tone, "Among those who have emerged so far, you have obtained the most Star Element Stones. In fact, throughout past wagers, few have ever matched you. You truly live up to being a distinguished disciple of Shaohua Mountain."
Qin Sang cupped his hands in salute and offered his prepared excuse. "Senior flatters me. Junior was simply lucky enough to stumble upon a large cluster of stray Star Element Stones..."
Whether Snake Granny believed him or not, she did not pry further, shifting her gaze to the entrance of Heaven-Pointing Peak to wait quietly.
As time went on, the beam of light began to shrink, narrowing thinner and thinner, while the mirror surface at its end shifted accordingly.
Once the beam vanished completely, Heaven-Pointing Peak would close and conceal itself once more.
Qin Sang cast his gaze around and found that on the Lesser Cold Domain's side, counting himself, twenty-eight people had emerged, with only five failing to make it out. The Heaven-Traversing Alliance, on the other hand, had twenty-seven people.
Chapter 479