"Elder Zou, this is Daoist Qingfeng, whom I mentioned to you before. I believe this must also be the Daoist's first time meeting Elder Zou?"
Ran Luo made the introductions between the two.
"Indeed," Qin Sang said, nodding and cupping his hands. "This poor Daoist is Qingfeng. Greetings, Elder Zou."
The man possessed an obscure aura and extremely high cultivation. Though he appeared youthful, he was undoubtedly an old monster.
Besides, Qin Sang might well have to earn his living under him in the future, so he maintained a very courteous demeanor.
"I have long heard Ran Luo speak of Daoist Qingfeng. Tangled up in trivial affairs, I have neglected to receive you properly. Please do not take offense, Daoist," Elder Zou said amiably, projecting an approachable air.
This was no place for a lengthy conversation. After exchanging greetings, the group set off immediately, circulating their movement arts and skimming toward Witch God Mountain.
Only then did Qin Sang notice the charming, alluring woman accompanying Ran Luo. She was exceptionally intimate with Elder Zou, yet the two did not appear to be Dao companions.
Her name was Yan Wu, an expert of the early Core Formation stage, and she was actually of the Witch Clan.
Several streaks of escape light rose into the air, shining like shooting stars as they hurtled toward Witch God Mountain.
Before long, Witch God Mountain came into view.
From a distance, dense crowds of figures could already be seen at the foot of the mountain—all Witch Clan members who had come on pilgrimage.
Witch God Mountain was the universally acknowledged sacred mountain of the Witch Clan. No single party dared claim it for themselves, so no Witch Clan sects existed on the mountain; it was jointly guarded by all the factions of the Witch Clan.
It was precisely for this reason that the teleportation formation leading to the Demon Sea had been constructed on Witch God Mountain.
Across the mountain stood numerous imposing, archaic halls, and the teleportation formation was located inside one of them.
"Drop down below. In front of Witch God Mountain, everyone must land on the ground and ascend on foot to show respect. Otherwise, it will incite public fury,"
Elder Zou warned via voice transmission.
At that moment, Qin Sang could also see the cultivators who had arrived ahead of them landing one after another and walking up the mountain along the stone steps.
In an alien land, it was better to keep a low profile. Qin Sang promptly stowed his ebony sword, his escape light flashing as he touched down on a flat clearing at the foot of the mountain.
Elder Zou, having flown fastest, was waiting ahead. Seeing Qin Sang arrive, his eyes lit up, and he said, "I did not expect that you, Daoist friend, would not only be proficient in artifact crafting, but also possess such extraordinary swordsmanship. On this splendid sword art alone, you are well worth our full efforts to recruit. In all sincerity, Zou asks that you give careful thought to our Qiongyu Guild. This is information on Douyan Island, where Zou intends to establish a foothold in the Demon Sea. You might as well take it and have a look first."
With that, Elder Zou handed Qin Sang a jade slip.
"Before Elder Zou, what little attainment this poor Daoist has is hardly worth mentioning—merely showing off my slight skills in front of a master."
Qin Sang offered a modest remark, feeling somewhat sheepish. With the help of his life spirit sword, his swordsmanship could indeed bluff people, but the moment he switched to any other spirit sword, he would be exposed.
The contents within the jade slip were exceptionally detailed, keeping nothing hidden from Qin Sang, not even the identity of the island master.
Douyan Island was a large island situated between Dahuang Island and Tianwu Island, occupying an important position along the sea route. Its master was a renowned Nascent Soul Patriarch named Lin Hai.
Before Lin Hai garrisoned Douyan Island, it had not held such importance. After cultivators occupied Douyan Island in the past, it was repeatedly besieged by demon beasts. Countless cultivators on the island were killed or injured, with only a scant few managing to escape with their lives.
This was tied to Douyan Island's geographic location.
Douyan Island was the most protruding large island along the entire sea route. Should trouble arise, reinforcements could not easily arrive in time. Furthermore, near Douyan Island lay a bottomless oceanic trench teeming with countless demon beasts.
Hunting too many demon beasts here easily enraged them, and once a beast tide descended, it was unstoppable.
After Lin Hai claimed Douyan Island, with a Nascent Soul Patriarch presiding, the island acquired what amounted to a sea-calming anchor.
At the same time, Lin Hai established numerous rules: for instance, cultivators were forbidden from heading out to hunt demon beasts in large packs, restricted to small groups of a few people at most; and indiscriminate slaughter was strictly prohibited...
Ever since then, Douyan Island had become exceptionally safe. Most miraculous of all, not a single beast assault on the island had occurred since.
Over the years, after several adjustments to the sea routes and Lin Hai's painstaking management, Douyan Island had attained its current standing.
Securing a place on such a major island was no easy feat, and Elder Zou and the Qiongyu Guild had spared no effort to do so.
The jade slip contained not only information on Douyan Island, but also brief introductions to other famous large islands in the Demon Sea.
After reviewing them one by one, Qin Sang found that Douyan Island was indeed an excellent choice.
He excelled at evasion techniques and could always slip away in time when facing danger, so having fewer teammates posed no problem. Moreover, his primary purpose was not to hunt demon beasts, but to comprehend the killing talisman; he needed sufficiently formidable opponents and would not go out of his way to engage in mass slaughter.
By comparison, other large islands each had their own sets of rules, even harsher than those of Douyan Island, comparable to the sect laws of cultivation sects.
Of course, one could also choose not to be bound by such restrictions.
In that case, one could go to smaller islands or simply take over an island to become its master, enjoying total freedom. The Demon Sea was vast and boundless, dotted with countless islands large and small, free for anyone to choose.
Yet such places offered no safety whatsoever, leaving one in constant peril from day to day.
Qin Sang pondered the contents of the jade slip without giving Elder Zou an immediate answer.
Before they knew it, they had already ascended Witch God Mountain. Elder Zou seemed thoroughly familiar with the place, leading them through the various great halls until they finally arrived before a hall named the Tianwu Hall.
An elderly Witch Clan man happened to be walking out from inside. Seeing them, he sneered, "Old Ghost Zou has run back too? You lot have pulled out so many Core Formation stage experts this time—Pingbo Port must be nearly empty, isn't it? Aren't you afraid someone will take advantage of the void to destroy the foundation the human race built over so many years?"
Elder Zou let out a cold snort. "Old fellow, you have the gall to make sarcastic remarks? Were it not for your Witch Clan harboring treacherous schemes, why would we be reduced to this? Compared to our lives, what does Pingbo Port matter?"
The old man gave a scoffing laugh. "You humans are deceitful, always judging others by your own petty hearts..."
Yet he said nothing more. After collecting their spirit stones, he handed each of them an order-arrow-shaped spirit talisman before allowing them inside.
"This spirit talisman is a teleportation talisman, capable of resisting the spatial pressure during teleportation. The teleportation formation leading to the Demon Sea was constructed by relocating and modifying an ancient teleportation array from elsewhere, so it is prone to instability and occasional spatial turbulence. Under normal conditions, we Core Formation stage cultivators can withstand the spatial pressure by exerting our full strength. But once turbulence appears, one must rely on the protection of the spirit talisman to pass through safely. To be safe, everyone should activate the power of the teleportation talisman before proceeding with the teleportation..."
Ran Luo softly explained the use of the teleportation talisman to Qin Sang and the others.
Qin Sang was secretly astonished.
In the Lesser Cold Domain, people could only make use of intact ancient teleportation arrays they came across, or barely manage to repair ones that were not heavily damaged. He had never heard of any sect possessing the ability to modify an ancient teleportation array.
However, modifying an ancient teleportation array surely required exceedingly stringent conditions; otherwise, the Canglang Sea would have long been covered in teleportation formations.
Qin Sang scrutinized the teleportation formation, recalling the scene when he had been teleported here from Ziwei Palace. Had he been protected by such a teleportation talisman back then, perhaps he would not have needed to sever his arm to survive.
Chapter 673