Dongyang Bo, Daoist Chongyi, and Tie Guanzi flew off the jade ruyi to greet the Red-Haired Ancestor and the others.
The jade ruyi carried the rest of the group into the peak shrouded in red clouds on its own. After setting everyone down, it shrank back to its original size, tore through the air, and was retrieved by Daoist Chongyi.
Rough stone platforms of various sizes had been carved into the mountain peak, most of which were already occupied.
Everyone picked a stone platform to wait quietly. Seeing that Yunyouzi was not far away, Qin Sang leaped over to his platform and asked in a low voice about the identities of the three individuals who had been accompanying the Red-Haired Ancestor just now.
Unsurprisingly, all three were Nascent Soul patriarchs from the Eight Righteous Sects.
The only woman among the three, dressed in palace robes, was the patriarch of the Xuling Sect, named Bing Han. It was said that she was not only profoundly powerful in her cultivation, but her artifact-refining skills were also second to none in the Lesser Cold Domain.
Although Daoist Chongyi was the Taiyi Dan Sect's sole Nascent Soul patriarch, his alchemy attainments were inferior to those of the elders in his sect who were devoted to the Dao of Alchemy. Bing Han, on the other hand, had mastered the true teachings of her sect—a woman who rivaled any man.
Another was a remarkably youthful-looking man with a face like polished jade and an elegant bearing, resembling a noble young master; he was Leng Yuntian, the current sect master of the Yuanshen Sect.
*So this is what Leng Yuntian looks like,*
Qin Sang thought to himself, unable to help glancing at Granny Jing in the distance.
Granny Jing occupied a stone platform by herself, sitting quietly with closed eyes, paying no heed to external matters.
He was going to join forces with Granny Jing in Ziwei Palace to deal with Leng Yuntian. Qin Sang certainly did not want her to fail; otherwise, if he was implicated, his future would be bleak.
He wished to learn more about Leng Yuntian, but unfortunately, Yunyouzi also knew very little about him. The one Yunyouzi knew best was instead Leng Qian, the previous sect master of the Yuanshen Sect.
Leng Yuntian was said to be Leng Qian's adopted son, and their relationship was also that of master and disciple.
In life, Leng Qian had also been an illustrious figure whose cultivation rivaled that of the Red-Haired Ancestor, yet over a century ago news of his death had suddenly broken out, stirring quite a storm in the cultivation world of the Lesser Cold Domain.
Fortunately, Leng Yuntian had lived up to expectations, ensuring Leng Qian had a worthy successor, allowing the Yuanshen Sect to firmly maintain its position among the Eight Righteous Sects.
Back then, the Yuanshen Sect's First Elder, Old Man Star-Grasper, and Yu Shanting, a Core Formation cultivator of the sect, had died at Heaven-Pointing Peak.
Later on, Qin Sang had been busy forming his core and had only paid attention to the Yuanshen Sect's movements a few times. No rumors had circulated in the cultivation world about Leng Yuntian conducting a massive manhunt for the killer to avenge the First Elder.
Having suffered such a massive loss for no apparent reason, Leng Yuntian certainly would not let the matter rest. But since he had schemed against Heaven-Pointing Peak in the first place, he likely did not dare make it public and could only investigate in secret.
The last person, a stern-faced middle-aged man with an imposing presence dressed in tight black martial robes, was the Wuji Sect Master.
Seeing the Wuji Sect Master again, Qin Sang couldn't help recalling that mysterious Nascent Soul cultivator who wielded the black tortoise shell and had accompanied him in Boundless Valley years ago.
The two had concealed their identities and slipped into Boundless Valley together, searching for something unknown. Later, they had even provoked a thunder-devouring falcon, and though they joined forces to battle it, they failed to suppress the beast.
"Senior, over the years, have you heard of any Nascent Soul cultivator whose magic treasure is a black tortoise shell?" Qin Sang asked via voice transmission.
Yunyouzi clearly remembered the incident as well. Although he had not witnessed the two Nascent Soul cultivators battling the thunder-devouring falcon, recalling the Shadowless Sword technique used to slay the star venom frog, his expression shifted slightly as he looked at Qin Sang in surprise.
"You suspect..."
Qin Sang gave a gentle nod.
Yunyouzi pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "It certainly wasn't any of our righteous sect patriarchs! The rogue cultivators of Yinshan Pass, as well as the Nascent Soul patriarchs among the demonic cultivators, have some very mysterious figures among them. It was likely one of them. Nascent Soul patriarchs aren't bound by the so-called divide between righteous and demonic. It's not strange for them to have ties with each other—even this old Daoist has a few friends in the demonic path."
Qin Sang had only been curious. Seeing that Yunyouzi had no clues either, he did not pursue the matter further.
Just then, he suddenly realized that even counting Tie Guanzi, Palace Master of Shangyuan Qingjing Palace, only seven Nascent Soul patriarchs of the Eight Righteous Sects had shown themselves—the Sect Master of the Yuling Sect was still missing.
When Qin Sang asked about this, Yunyouzi replied with deep meaning, "During my trip to Heavenly Demon Mound, I picked up on some signs suggesting the relationship between the Yuling Sect and Heavenly Demon Mound is quite intriguing. Ever since its founding, this sect has never fallen from the ranks of the top righteous sects. What secrets lie within are probably known only to Nascent Soul cultivators."
...
The red clouds kept the spirit tide at bay.
After speaking with Yunyouzi for a while, Qin Sang returned to his stone platform to wait. Bored, he began quietly taking inventory of the treasures in his iron thumb ring.
Under the watchful eyes of his sect's patriarch, Qin Sang prepared to use the Cold Metal sword and the two talisman treasures from Daoist Dove Robe's relics to keep up appearances. For a False Core cultivator, such assets were by no means shabby.
Among his trump cards, he was least afraid of exposing the Xutian Thunder and the ebony sword. After all, now that his cultivation had improved, acquiring treasures of this level through fortuitous encounters could be plausibly explained.
Moreover, Dongyang Bo, an esteemed Nascent Soul powerhouse, would look down on such things anyway.
As for the other items, it was best to conceal them if possible.
The Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman implicated Daoist Xuan Yu, who had gone missing from Shangyuan Qingjing Palace.
The Ten Directions Yanluo Banner carried immense implications.
The Flying Yaksha and the corpse core were both tied to the corpse dao secret art, the Heavenly Yin Corpse Art. Even though Dongyang Bo condoned Chenyan using the evil art of plucking and replenishing to form her Nascent Soul and was likely not someone who hated evil like poison, Qin Sang still felt that fewer complications were better than more.
As Qin Sang mentally went through his upcoming trip to Ziwei Palace, he realized there were so many tasks waiting for him, none of which tolerated the slightest mistake. He could not help but feel immense pressure weighing on his shoulders.
After waiting there for several whole hours, the Nascent Soul patriarchs had still not announced their departure.
Just as everyone was growing somewhat restless,
a powerful aura suddenly appeared to the west. Sensing it, everyone rose to look into the distance, only to see a mass of iridescent mist drifting toward them at astonishing speed.
Within the mist, demonic qi soared to the heavens!
"The demon cultivators of Heavenly Demon Mound have arrived!" someone cried out.
The mist roiled, concealing how many demon cultivators were inside, but one could vaguely make out numerous shadows that were clearly not humanoid, gigantic in stature.
It seemed that not only had Shapeshifting stage great demons mobilized, but there were also quite a few Demon Core stage beasts.
In the Lesser Cold Domain, great demons were rarely seen.
Most cultivators present found it quite novel; it was their first time seeing so many demon cultivators mobilize together. Having surely received enlightenment from the Emperor Flowing Dew, they could not be regarded as ordinary beasts, possessing intelligence and divine abilities on par with human cultivators.
While everyone was buzzing with discussion, the Red-Haired Ancestor's voice sounded in everyone's ears simultaneously: "Fellow Daoists of Heavenly Demon Mound have arrived. We set off now."
Next, the red clouds suddenly pressed downward.
Everyone felt a sudden constriction around their bodies, and when they recovered their senses, they found themselves already inside the red clouds.
At the edge of the red clouds, several figures had appeared at some unknown moment—the Red-Haired Ancestor and his peers.
At the same time, the iridescent demon mist, black demonic energy, and golden palace drew close against the red clouds. Among them, the red clouds covered the largest expanse, followed by the demonic energy, while the golden palace was the most inconspicuous.
Differing in color, they pressed tightly against one another, barely forming a four-colored cloud cluster, and shot like lightning toward the inner layer of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.
Chapter 558