A Golden Core cultivator!
The moment the blazing light vanished, Qin Sang rose swiftly from the tall grass. His eyes flickered with resolve, and without the slightest hesitation, he channeled his movement technique and slipped toward Divine Astral Peak.
The Qingyang Demonic Sect's Golden Core elder was the only person he truly feared. With that cultivator gone ahead, Qin Sang no longer had to worry about being easily exposed, so he began infiltrating the peak before anyone else could make a move.
He had to save as much time as possible!
Given the strength and speed of a Core Formation cultivator traveling at full tilt, making the journey from the Qingyang Demonic Sect to Wuya Valley and descending into its second tier would take at most two shichen.
The demonic fiends and vicious beasts roaming the valley's first tier would not slow him down in the least.
Before coming here, Qin Sang had agreed with Yunyouzi that as soon as Yunyouzi achieved his objective, he would retreat immediately rather than linger. Strong though Yunyouzi was, he could not take on an entire sect alone.
They had worked out every detail in advance.
Now that an unexpected beast tide had broken out, it might buy Qin Sang even more time.
Accounting for the round trip and the time spent rescuing the disciples midway...
Qin Sang set himself a strict limit of four shichen. He had to complete the secret technique and escape the Qingyang Demonic Sect within that window!
*Four shichen... as long as nothing unexpected happens, that should be plenty,* Qin Sang thought to himself.
As he drew closer to Divine Astral Peak, he suddenly froze, ducking behind a boulder. Several figures broke through the azure mist one after another and sped down the mountain.
One among them summoned a flying boat with upturned ends. Slender and elongated like a pea pod, it was wreathed in surging layers of green flame.
The vessel expanded on the wind, and the cultivators wasted no time boarding it.
A moment later, two more arrived in a hurry.
At once, flames erupted across the flying boat, which shuddered slightly before streaking toward the horizon like a bolt of light. Its speed was astonishing, only marginally slower than the evasion technique of that Core Formation cultivator.
Qin Sang surmised that the boat could reach such speeds because the cultivators aboard were channeling their power into it together.
These were turbulent times. With disciples deployed to Qingyang and the Luandao Waters, the sect had only a handful of experts remaining behind. These people were likely nearly all of them!
Watching them depart, Qin Sang cast aside his last lingering reservations.
***
At the mountain gate of the Qingyang Demonic Sect.
The flying boat swept up and came to an abrupt halt before the stone stele just as it was about to leave.
An unquestionable command came from within: "Senior Brothers, with our departure, the sect is left vulnerable. Seal the mountain gate immediately—no one is permitted to enter or leave!"
Seated around the stele were eight Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Hearing the order, an elder in black robes replied, "Rest assured, Junior Brother Li. Martial Uncle Wu gave us the same instruction before taking off. As soon as you depart, we will activate the grand formation so that no scoundrel can exploit this opening! Oh, right..."
Remembering something, the black-robed elder hurriedly retrieved a jade slip from his robes and tossed it toward the vessel. "A scout's report from Wuya Valley just came in confirming that a beast tide is indeed running rampant. Martial Uncle Wu wants you to proceed straight to the locations marked in the slip to rescue our people once you enter Wuya Valley, rather than waiting to rendezvous with him."
"Understood!"
The spectral outline of a hand reached out from the flying boat, snatched the jade slip, and pulled it inside.
With a slight shudder and a sharp whoosh, the vessel shot off toward the east.
Once they were gone, the black-robed elder looked around and said grimly, "Junior Brothers, raise the grand formation!"
"Activate the formation!"
"Activate the formation!"
Amid a chorus of fierce shouts, the eight cultivators formed a circle and pressed their palms against the stone stele in unison.
As their spiritual power poured in ceaselessly, the stone seemed cleansed of dust and grime, gradually transforming into a transparent jade stele. The characters "Qingyang" etched upon it blazed with dazzling brilliance.
Spurred by the stele's transformation, wind surged and clouds roiled over the flanking green peaks. A sea of clouds swept shut, sealing the Qingyang Demonic Sect tight in mere moments and swallowing the stone stele and the eight cultivators along with it.
To the rest of the disciples, the closure of the mountain gate had little impact beyond keeping them from coming and going. Seeing that no powerful enemy was invading, they relaxed and went about their cultivation as usual.
Meanwhile, Qin Sang slipped onto Divine Astral Peak!
Only upon stepping onto the mountain did he realize just how chaotic the origin qi here truly was. No wonder there were no restrictions or spiritual formations around it—maintaining them was simply impossible.
His figure silently emerged before a stone pillar that resembled a withered ancient tree, its crown branching outward in all directions.
Tilting his head slightly, Qin Sang examined the green 'lanterns' hanging from the branches.
What Shi Ying had brought back previously was already-refined Qingyang Divine Astral Qi. This was the first time Qin Sang had ever seen Qingyang astral essence in its raw state, and he found it deeply intriguing.
Though it appeared as light and wispy as a breath of air, it remained dense and cohesive, clinging firmly to the branches. Even standing this close, he could not detect the faintest spiritual ripple from it.
Not far away, a Qi Refinement disciple was absorbing the astral essence, entirely unaware that he was being watched. Qin Sang took several silent steps to position himself behind the disciple, observing his movements.
The disciple stirred the Qingyang Demonic Fire within his body, lightly touched a cluster of Qingyang astral essence, and produced dozens of hand seals in rapid succession. Immediately, his demonic fire expanded slightly, as though nourished by the astral essence.
However, the consequence was that the previously docile flame suddenly grew violent.
The disciple had evidently encountered this before and did not panic. Channelling the spiritual power in his palms, he managed to suppress the unruly flame before returning to his cave dwelling to cultivate.
Qin Sang watched him leave and shook his head faintly. Since he did not cultivate the Qingyang Demonic Fire, he could not harvest the purest Qingyang Divine Astral Qi directly like they did.
Glancing around, he located a well-concealed cluster of Qingyang astral essence.
Standing before it, Qin Sang slowly closed his eyes and gingerly reached out with his right hand, extending his spiritual sense to gauge every subtle change.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and stared at the astral essence with a furrowed brow.
No wonder the Qingyang astral essence at the foot of the mountain took this shape. The astral qi within it was far from pure; using it for cultivation would require refining away the impurities first to obtain pure astral qi.
Refining the impurities was not difficult—Qin Sang had already devised a method—but it would take time. Qingyang Divine Astral Qi was exceptionally unstable, and the slightest lapse would cause it to dissipate!
His time was limited; he could not afford to waste it here.
A thought struck him, bringing to mind bits of information he had uncovered in the past. Qingyang Divine Astral Qi took many forms, and different shapes of Qingyang astral essence might well hold varying purities of astral qi!
With that realization, Qin Sang hesitated no longer. Channeling his evasion technique, he darted straight toward the summit.
Sure enough, the higher he climbed, the more solid the Qingyang astral essence became, and the purer its astral qi grew. Qin Sang felt a surge of quiet delight and picked up his pace.
Chapter 525