Sudden Change!

Steward Bai told Qin Sang about three more places where spirit insects were rumored to appear. This was intelligence he had gathered recently, but the locations were very far away, and there was no guarantee of accuracy. Although all three were exotic insects, either their natural talents were ill-suited, or the methods to nurture them remained unknown. They were far less preferable than choosing the Heavenly Eye Butterfly as his natal insect gu. Qin Sang sank into contemplative silence. Seeing this, Steward Bai said, "There is one other place where such spirit insects might exist—reared within the peerless great sects beyond the Western Frontier." Qin Sang let out a dry laugh. "Would they be willing to sell?" Steward Bai shook his head. "I am afraid not! The rankings on the Witch Insect Registry are actually meant only for small sects and rogue cultivators; they carry little meaning for great sects and formidable powers. To rogue cultivators and us, such spirit insects are as good as useless. Without knowing how to rear them, even completing their second metamorphosis is difficult. Yet for certain spirit insects, the great sects possess the complete rearing methods. These are their absolute secrets, virtually the foundational bedrock of their sects, and they will never sell them to outsiders lightly." Qin Sang had long anticipated this. The great sects of the Witch Clan were indeed formidable, with profound foundations in the art of insect rearing; none of them fell short of the Yuling Sect. Were it not for his possession of Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold and the Yuling Sect's heritage, Qin Sang would never have dared harbor extravagant hopes, and would have had to simply drift with the current and pick from the top of the Witch Insect Registry. Taking his leave of Steward Bai, Qin Sang visited several more merchant guilds before leaving Baizu Stockade that very night. None of the newly inquired intelligence had proved satisfactory, and Qin Sang was now inclined toward selecting the Heavenly Eye Butterfly as his natal insect gu. Once he had put some distance between himself and Baizu Stockade, Qin Sang dropped all concealment, flying on his sword to return to the Bear Mountain region. He traveled day and night without pause. Just as he was about to enter the Bear Mountain region, Qin Sang's sword light abruptly ground to a halt. Raising his right hand, he retrieved an object from the Qianjun Ring. Upon seeing the change in it, his expression shifted slightly. The mother Qingfu coin lay in his palm. Previously, because the child coin was absent, the center of the mother coin had been hollow. Yet just now, the moment Qin Sang arrived here, a child coin suddenly materialized in the center of the mother coin! The child coin had returned! Ever since he had teleported here, Qin Sang had given only one child coin to anyone—to Yagu. Yagu had crushed the child Qingfu coin! Gripping the Qingfu coin, Qin Sang looked up in the direction of the Five Insects Sect, his eyes flickering with shifting thoughts. Back then, Yagu had pleaded with him not to take back the Qingfu coin because she regarded it as the first gift he had ever given her, wishing to keep it as a keepsake. Qin Sang understood her feelings well, and he knew that unless she encountered an extraordinarily dire situation, she would never bear to crush the coin. What danger could Yagu possibly encounter in the Five Insects Sect? Qin Sang did not believe Cui Xuanzi would dare act against her. The man was shrewd; even if Yagu were to expose the Cold Metal sword and the Essence-Devouring Awl, killing her to seize her treasures would hardly be worth the risk of offending a Core Formation cultivator. The question now was: when had Yagu crushed the Qingfu coin? The Qingfu coin could only sense its counterpart within a certain range. After Qin Sang had left the Bear Mountain region, he had moved beyond the coin's sensing range. Only upon his return just now, when the child coin sensed the mother coin, could it return to him! He had not even fully entered the Bear Mountain region yet, standing at the very limit of the coin's range. This meant Yagu had not crushed it just now; it was very likely that she had done so some time ago, and he might already be too late! The Qingfu coin could not transmit messages, and Qin Sang had no way of knowing what had happened to Yagu. However, when the coin was crushed, the scent of the child blood would linger on the person who had broken it, allowing one to faintly perceive their approximate location through the mother coin. Yet to Qin Sang's surprise, the position sensed through the mother coin lay to the east of where he currently hovered, downstream along the Qingyi River. Meanwhile, the Five Insects Sect lay due north of him, upstream along the river. Why had Yagu left the Five Insects Sect? By his count, only half a year had passed since she had joined the sect. Qin Sang had given Yagu several medicinal pills to aid her cultivation, as well as the relics left behind by the priest of Yihui Stockade. Her cultivation resources were far more abundant than his own had been in his early days. Still, her aptitude was poor. In such a short time, Qin Sang estimated it would be impressive enough if she had cultivated to the peak of the third layer of the Qi Refinement stage. The fourth layer was a hurdle that could not be crossed merely by piling on medicinal pills. At the third layer of Qi Refinement, danger lurked everywhere even in the relatively safe Bear Mountain region. For Yagu to leave the Five Insects Sect at such a time was thoroughly perplexing. Tightening his grip on the Qingfu coin, Qin Sang cast a cold glance toward the Five Insects Sect. Knowing that saving her was paramount, he immediately redirected his sword light. Spurning any conservation of true essence and pills, he directly deployed Sword Qi Thunderclap and a Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, rushing forward at top speed. Yagu had saved his life, and now that she was in peril, he had to rescue her; he could only hope it was not too late. Moreover, there had to be a reason behind her sudden departure from the Five Insects Sect. If Cui Xuanzi harbored any ulterior motives, Qin Sang could only find out once he located Yagu. With Sword Qi Thunderclap, his evasion speed was astonishing. A resplendent arc of sword light tore through the expanse of the sky, dazzling like a falling meteor, sweeping across all directions with an unreserved, overpowering aura. Along the way, countless beasts and birds fled in terror. Mortals who heard the thunderous booms echoing beneath clear skies and beheld the dazzling sword light fell to their knees in worship, shouting in reverence to the gods. The Qingfu coin could only indicate a general direction, and Qin Sang faintly sensed that Yagu was on the move. As he passed a large stockade, Qin Sang felt a stir in his heart. Sweeping his spiritual sense downward, he discovered an elderly priest at the Foundation Establishment stage inside. Immediately channeling his true essence, Qin Sang formed an enormous hand and hauled the old priest straight out of his cave abode. "Ah! Aaargh!" The old priest shrieked in terror. He had been cultivating peacefully in his cave abode when the restrictive formations were suddenly shattered by brute force. Before he could react, he was snatched up like a chick by an enormous hand of true essence, utterly powerless to resist. Anxious to save Yagu, Qin Sang did not slow down in the slightest even as he seized the priest. Moving like lightning, he crossed several mountain ranges in the blink of an eye. "Tell me, what has happened in the Bear Mountain region recently?" Holding the old priest in his grip, Qin Sang interrogated him with ice-cold eyes. Feeling the terrifying pressure radiating from Qin Sang, the old priest was thoroughly appalled. However, as an experienced veteran of the cultivation world, seeing that Qin Sang bore no intent to kill, he quickly managed to steady his nerves and stammered, "Four months ago, a Core Formation expert suddenly joined the Five Insects Sect and subdued the surrounding lands. Using the Core Formation expert's name, they compelled us to venture out and search for a secret realm within a radius of a thousand li. Aside from that, nothing major has occurred." Qin Sang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Have there been any unusual movements from the Five Insects Sect these past few days?" "I do not know what Senior refers to. To my knowledge... there seem to have been none." The old priest watched Qin Sang warily. Qin Sang questioned him further, and seeing that he truly knew nothing, casually tossed him aside. Having narrowly escaped death, the old priest turned pale as a sheet, murmuring incessantly, "Disaster is brewing, disaster is brewing... The Bear Mountain region is bound for great turmoil! This old man had better take his leave first..." Leaving the old priest behind, Qin Sang's speed did not diminish in the least. Before long, the Qingyi River finally came into view, and Qin Sang spotted Qianhu Stockade not far ahead. Yet the Qingfu coin indicated that Yagu was even farther downstream.