Hall of Seven Kills

Coincidentally, the severed arm of this ancient corpse was precisely the left arm! Qin Sang could not help but ponder this deeply. If this severed-arm ancient corpse was him, then where on earth was the Hall of Seven Kills? Why had he fallen from the sky when teleported here, only to ultimately appear in the Western Frontier, floating on the surface of a river? Their master was named Du Han. Although all three men whose souls Qin Sang had searched were Du Han's disciples, their relationships with Du Han were far from as close as Du Xian's. Du Xian was Du Han's eldest disciple. Possessing exceptional talent, he had hopes of reaching Core Formation. Du Han treated him like his own son and would confide certain secrets in him; searching for the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit this time was also meant to help Du Xian achieve a breakthrough. Du Xian's cultivation was precisely at the False Core stage. Having already decided to refine him into a corpse, Qin Sang had refrained from searching his soul to avoid shattering it entirely. Instead, after interrogating him, Qin Sang used the Soul-Snatching Incantation to verify his words. After questioning Du Xian about everything he knew, Qin Sang was even more astonished. Standing at the summit of the Five Insects Sect, he looked around in all directions, feeling somewhat bewildered. According to what Du Xian knew, the Hall of Seven Kills was actually a secret realm discovered by the human race. It was not on the Witch God Continent, but rather in a region under human control, opening only once every many years. In order to go to the Hall of Seven Kills, Du Han had set out two years ago, leaving the Witch God Continent and only returning not long ago. Now, Qin Sang was no longer certain. If the ancient corpse in the Hall of Seven Kills was indeed him, then given how far away it was from the Witch God Continent, why had it appeared in a river in the Western Frontier? Was there some bizarre restriction inside the Hall of Seven Kills, or had someone brought him out? And why was Du Han searching for the ancient corpse in the Western Frontier? Qin Sang could not figure it out. He had thought he could uncover the reason he was floating in the river, but unexpectedly, he had fallen into an even greater mystery. The Hall of Seven Kills, Ziwei Palace... What connection was there between these two places? As for what had transpired inside the Hall of Seven Kills, Du Xian was completely ignorant. After Du Han returned, he had brought them into the Western Frontier. Inquiring about news of the ancient corpse was only an incidental task, however; Du Han's primary goal seemed to be searching for a kind of spirit medicine, so he had gone ahead on his own. Du Xian, meanwhile, had led several junior martial brothers to the Five Insects Sect to seize the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit, the knowledge of which had also been told to them by Du Han. It seemed that to get to the bottom of the matter, he would need to find Du Han. Qin Sang mused in silence. He had learned from Du Xian and the others that after hearing the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit had been taken by a Core Formation cultivator, they had already dispatched a junior martial brother to summon Du Han, who would arrive in about half a month. Remaining at the Five Insects Sect, he had ample time to prepare an ambush to kill Du Han. However, ambushing and killing Du Han would not be so simple. Du Han had achieved Core Formation decades ago. Although he had not yet broken through to the mid-Core Formation stage, he had already touched upon the bottleneck, and his strength far surpassed that of an ordinary early Core Formation cultivator. Moreover, Witch Clan cultivators could not be treated the same as humans. Due to the presence of natal insect gu, fighting a Witch Clan cultivator meant one would very likely face a two-on-one situation. With Qin Sang's strength, dealing with an early Core Formation cultivator was effortless, and he did not fear mid-Core Formation experts either. But to ensure he could slay Du Han without any mishap, he would still need to plan meticulously. What was more, Qin Sang hoped to capture Du Han alive to uncover the truth. To this end, Qin Sang had scoured their memories very carefully for information on Du Han during the soul searches. Unexpectedly, Du Han was extremely cautious and kept his secrets buried deeply. Even his disciples did not know what spirit insect his natal insect gu was; they only knew he possessed a magic treasure bestowed by the Li Witch Palace, which was quite formidable. ... Black Wind Valley. Revisiting the familiar place, Qin Sang caught the scent of a faint, exotic fragrance as soon as he approached the poison spring. This exotic aroma was what lingered after the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit matured, still not entirely dissipated after all this time. When Qin Sang had come last time, there had not been the slightest scent. Reaching the edge of the poison spring, Qin Sang easily found the source, which was none other than the spring's orifice. The escaping exotic aroma had simultaneously exposed the restriction at the spring eye. "What an exquisite restriction. Had the ripening of the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit not exposed it, I fear that even if I stayed by this poison spring for a year, I wouldn't have discovered anything amiss here." Qin Sang sighed with emotion. After trying several times, he quickly found a way to bypass the restriction and darted inside. Inside was a square subterranean chamber, clearly excavated by human hands, exceedingly neat and clean. In the center of the chamber stood a half-man-tall little tree with slender branches and leaves, upon which hung a single green fruit. This was the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit Tree. Originally, there had been three Thousand Hands Spider Fruits on it. Cui Xuanzi's martial uncle had discovered them and plucked one, Cui Xuanzi had obtained the second after it matured, and this was the third, not yet ripe. The Thousand Hands Spider Fruit had a peculiar shape, resembling two spiders clutching each other tightly. Along its sides were numerous fine patterns that looked like countless interlocking walking legs. Unripe Thousand Hands Spider Fruits were green, turning purplish-black upon maturation, bearing an even closer resemblance to venomous spiders. In fact, the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit was indeed a poisonous fruit. Not only could it be used to concoct various potent toxins, but poisonous insects could also reap substantial benefits from consuming it. It was an exceedingly rare natural treasure. After Qin Sang entered the stone chamber, the insect basket at his waist suddenly began to vibrate. It was that fat silkworm again! Qin Sang pinched the fat silkworm out, only to find it staring fixedly at the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit, its face full of yearning. The Thousand Hands Spider Fruit seemed to hold immense attraction for it. Since capturing the fat silkworm, this was the first time Qin Sang had seen it take an interest in a spiritual fruit other than Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold. Having been disciplined by Qin Sang multiple times, the fat silkworm had become well-behaved now. Although it was ravenous for the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit, it dared not act on its own; its tiny eyes looked pitifully at Qin Sang, seemingly on the verge of tears, as it made pleading sounds. "This fruit isn't ripe yet. What good will it do if you eat it? Such a waste!" Qin Sang remained unmoved, channeling the Nine Nether Demonic Fire to warn the fat silkworm to behave. To his surprise, the fat silkworm threw caution to the wind for the sake of the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit, not even fearing the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. Wriggling its plump body with shameless persistence, it rubbed repeatedly against Qin Sang's fingers in desperate pleading, as though even an unripe Thousand Hands Spider Fruit could bring it tremendous benefits. Ignoring the fat silkworm, Qin Sang circled the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit Tree, carefully inspecting the restrictions in the subterranean chamber. In the end, Qin Sang shook his head. He found the restrictions here far too intricate; he had no way to tamper with them. If even a restriction like this could not contain the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit's scent, he could not think of any good solution either. The third Thousand Hands Spider Fruit would take another hundred years to ripen. Once mature, the pervasive aroma would be impossible to hide unless he returned to guard it when the time came. Qin Sang thought to himself that after ambushing and killing Du Han, he certainly would not be able to remain in the Western Frontier. A hundred years from now, if he was still alive, he would at least be a mid-Core Formation stage cultivator, and he might not even care about the meager value of the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit anymore. In addition, some sects cast secret arts similar to life soul lamps upon their Core Formation disciples. If the Li Witch Palace discovered Du Han's death, they would surely come here to investigate. If the Li Witch Palace dispatched experts to scour this area, this subterranean chamber could not possibly stay hidden. Rather than letting it fall into the hands of the Li Witch Palace, it was better to make the best of it and let the fat silkworm eat it. With this thought, Qin Sang released the fat silkworm and tossed it over. Ecstatic with joy, the fat silkworm landed upon the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit and immediately began gnawing away in great mouthfuls.