A Casual Stroke

In truth, none of the four had ever seen Daoist Jiupao in person. This was the first time the Demon Flame Sect's master had ever appeared before everyone. Qin Sang gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping over the four one by one. He had already gained a thorough understanding of their temperaments. Daoist Jiupao had lain dormant here without ever revealing his true demonic nature. Though the Demon Flame Sect called itself a demonic sect, the disciples had not been corrupted; they were hardly different from those in ordinary cultivation sects. Among these four, Meigu had the gentlest disposition and commanded the highest prestige in the Demon Flame Sect. "Rise." Qin Sang did not wish to linger here for too long, getting straight to the point: "This old man came here to gather your Senior Brother Luo and the others to descend the mountain and handle an important matter. I am not certain when we will return. The four of you will remain to guard the sect. In my absence, Meigu will act as sect master, with the other three assisting her..." The four had never expected to hear such news from the sect master and were filled with immense astonishment. Regardless of their thoughts, Qin Sang issued his orders indisputably, setting everything in place. The foundation left behind by Daoist Jiupao was quite solid. Be it the spirit vein in the mountain or the mountain-protecting grand formation, both were prime choices that required no further tampering. "After this old man departs, your priorities must be elevating yourselves and strengthening the sect. Continue everything as you did in the past without change. Relying on the mountain-protecting grand formation will be sufficient to guarantee your safety. Remember, when traveling abroad, commit no perverse acts to provoke enemies for our sect, or this old man will surely execute you..." Qin Sang let out a cold snort. A flash of lightning suddenly flared between his brows, and accompanied by earth-shaking thunder, sword qi poured down upon the four like a torrential waterfall! The sword qi was chillingly lethal, shaking their very souls. The aura of a magic treasure erupted in full force. Terrified by the ebony sword, the four sank into sheer panic. They had no idea that beneath the black robe was merely a False Core cultivator borrowing the might of his life spirit sword to put on an imposing show. This strike left an indelible impression etched deep into their bones. When Qin Sang retrieved the ebony sword and the sword qi dispersed, all four were drenched in cold sweat as if pulled from water, Lu Xing and the others trembling violently. "This disciple would not dare!" *** Seeing the four trembling in fear, Qin Sang softened his tone slightly. Qin Sang had no intention of genuinely acting as a sect master. With his mediocre talent, he could barely protect himself, and he would never divert his focus to other matters; thus, he would not expend extra energy on the Demon Flame Sect. This was merely a casual stroke Qin Sang was leaving behind. Perhaps it would prove useful, perhaps not. The foundation Daoist Jiupao had painstakingly built had begun to take shape. Since no hidden dangers remained, there was no harm in leaving it behind; it would be a pity to destroy it completely. The Demon Flame Sect was still very weak right now. How much it could develop in the future was entirely up to them. Naturally, since Qin Sang had intervened, he certainly had to leave his mark before departing, lest the day come when he actually needed them, only to find the disciples knew only the acting sect master and not the true one. "Go summon all disciples in the sect under the age of fifty who have broken through to the tenth level of the Qi Refinement stage..." Qin Sang said to Meigu. "Disciple obeys!" Meigu carried herself much more calmly than the other three, accepting the order and departing. Before long, all the qualified disciples were gathered. Qin Sang took out a portion of the spoils he had just obtained and personally bestowed a high-grade magic tool upon each of them as an incentive. Meigu and the other three received top-grade magic tools as rewards. Although they were only ordinary top-grade magic tools, it still left Meigu and the others thrilled. Finally, Qin Sang dismissed the others, spoke with Meigu alone for a short while, left a few items with her, and swept away. Descending Earth Fire Mountain, Qin Sang put the Demon Flame Sect out of his mind. He had not lingered long at the Demon Flame Sect, leaving him more time to make preparations; infiltrating the Qingyang Demonic Sect was his true priority. After coming down the mountain, Qin Sang returned to the cavern once more. Finding a boulder to sit on, Qin Sang opened his corpse puppet pouch. Fourteen corpses were laid out in a row before him. Soul-attracting grass was difficult to find, and Qin Sang only had two Heavenly Corpse Talismans left on him. Unwilling to waste them on these people, he had killed them all. Among them, he planned to turn the two late Foundation Establishment cultivators into baleful corpses for his own use. As for the other twelve, he would turn most of them into zombies and a small portion into baleful corpses. Qin Sang's plan to infiltrate the Qingyang Demonic Sect was intimately tied to these zombies: he intended to bring them to the Qingyang Market and sell them to disciples of the Qingyang Demonic Sect! Baleful corpses were too conspicuous and could not be numerous. Zombies posed no problem; their strength was equivalent to cultivators in the Qi Refinement stage. The Heavenly Corpse Sect's methods for refining zombies differed little from other corpse-refining sects, but they could be rapidly refined with a wisp of earth fiend qi. Although the Qingyang Demonic Sect was not bloodthirsty and unrestrained like other demonic sects, within demonic territory, prolonged exposure made such things commonplace. Corpse refining arts were not rare among demonic sects, and keeping or trading refined corpses was a standard practice. The Qingyang Demonic Sect would not strictly restrict its disciples from purchasing zombies for self-defense. However, with the current situation still unsettled, the Qingyang Demonic Sect was extremely cautious. Qin Sang was not certain whether disciples would be permitted to bring refined corpses of unknown origin into the sect's mountain gate. These refined corpses were Qin Sang's stepping stones. As long as they could enter the Qingyang Demonic Sect, Qin Sang could easily slip in as well! When he obtained the *Heavenly Yin Corpse Art*, Qin Sang had already been a Foundation Establishment cultivator and had never refined a zombie, but since he was already thoroughly adept at refining baleful corpses, zombies were child's play. Qin Sang picked out a cultivator, destroyed his dantian, erased all traces of him being a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and then channeled yin baleful qi to carve corpse-refining restrictions onto the body. The restrictions were completed smoothly in a single breath. Next, Qin Sang took out the demon beast souls and earth fiend qi he had prepared. This step required some caution, but it posed no difficulty for Qin Sang either. Following each step methodically, the first zombie was finally refined. *Thump!* Qin Sang caught the punch thrown by the zombie with one hand and gauged its power. This zombie's strength was comparable to a cultivator at the eleventh level of the Qi Refinement stage. A zombie refined from the corpse of a Foundation Establishment cultivator would have at least the strength of the tenth level of Qi Refinement. Qin Sang deliberately introduced slight variations to avoid making all the zombies identical in strength and arousing suspicion. Next, Qin Sang drove corpse qi to circulate through the zombie's entire body, thoroughly destroying its former features and turning it into a true zombie with a green face and fangs. Qin Sang remained in the cavern for two days, refining all the zombies and baleful corpses, stored them in his corpse puppet pouch, and rushed to Qingyang City. *** With the spirit tide in full surge, Qingyang City and Tianyou City had closed their gates. Many cultivators gathered outside the two great passes, waiting for the spirit tide to end so they could enter the Ancient Immortal Battlefield to hunt for treasures at the first possible moment; inquiring for information here was convenient as well. With so many cultivators gathered at the two strongholds right now, auctions were being held continuously and supreme treasures appeared frequently. Surely the sect master of the Qingyang Demonic Sect could not ignore such temptations? Qin Sang took the alias of Daoist Qingfeng and mingled among the crowds here, only to learn that there was no news of the Qingyang Demonic Sect master appearing in either Tianyou City or Qingyang City. It seemed the Qingyang Demonic Sect master possessed immense patience. Qin Sang frowned secretly. He had no choice but to bide his time. After rendezvousing with Yunyouzi, each took post at one of the great barrier cities to watch and wait for an opportunity.