Trailed

Four years of hunting demons. Qin Sang’s cultivation had improved conspicuously. After entering Core Formation, he began engraving the fifth killing talisman onto his ebony sword, which once again gave a boost to his cultivation speed. It was said that previous artificial openings of the Hall of Seven Killings generally occurred at intervals of roughly seventy to eighty years. Barring unforeseen events, he would break through to the mid Core Formation stage long before the Hall of Seven Killings opened again. The factions preparing to break the formation would spread the word well in advance. When the time came, cultivators hoping to enter the Hall of Seven Killings would have to purchase entry qualifications according to the specified requirements, with no latecomers accommodated. When that time arrived, Qin Sang planned to have the Qiongyu Guild keep an eye out on his behalf so he would not miss his chance to enter the Hall of Seven Killings. Aside from Qin Sang, the cultivation of both the Heavenly Eye Butterfly and the fat silkworm was progressing rapidly. Three years ago, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had successfully advanced to the late second metamorphosis. Now, it stood merely a hair's breadth away from its second molt. As soon as it broke through to the peak of the second metamorphosis, Qin Sang would feed it the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold to aid its breakthrough. A little under half of the inner core cradled by the fat silkworm remained, yet its cultivation was already not far from the mid second metamorphosis. Qin Sang had also offered the demon cores he obtained from hunting demons to the fat silkworm, but it still showed no interest whatsoever. It was now the fifth year since leaving Douyan Island. Having nearly exhausted the pills he brought with him, Qin Sang conceived the idea of returning to Douyan Island. …… The sky stretched cloudless for ten thousand miles, brushed by a gentle sea breeze. Yet across this stretch of water, towering waves surged up from time to time. Amidst the stormy breakers drifted a faint wisp of green mist. Within the haze, a figure holding a precious sword stood in a standoff against a bizarre demon beast. This person was none other than Qin Sang. A faint, prismatic halo enveloped his body. Though subtle, upon closer inspection it was still visible, resembling a suit of prismatic treasure armor draped over him. The beast confronting him was called a Fanyu fish, a demon beast at the peak of the Demon Spirit stage. Over the past four years, Qin Sang had encountered countless rare and bizarre demon beasts, and the Fanyu fish before him was one of them. It looked like a headless turtle or terrapin, possessing a carapaced back and a tail, with whiskers lining the upper edge of its shell, while its mouth and snout sat right beneath its belly. Back in the Lesser Cold Domain, Qin Sang had never even heard of such a demon beast. What required the greatest vigilance was its tail. This Fanyu fish’s tail was a full zhang long, segmented like a steel whip. When lashed out, it could instantaneously unleash a whip-shadow several zhang in length, and like a scorpion’s stinger, it carried potent poison. The green mist was precisely the toxic vapor released by the Fanyu fish, intensely virulent. Most cultivators who encountered a Fanyu fish would choose to give it a wide berth. Even Core Formation cultivators were reluctant to provoke it, dreading that the slightest lapse of caution might leave them contaminated by the deadly venom, leading to a miserable end. Qin Sang had set his sights on this beast and moved freely through its toxic mist precisely because of this layer of prismatic light armor. The prismatic halo emitted by the fat silkworm could effortlessly ward off the Fanyu fish’s venomous mist. Furthermore, to test the fat silkworm's capabilities, Qin Sang had deliberately lingered in the toxic fog for a while longer, and the fat silkworm seemed to bear it without the slightest strain. From the look of things, even if he ran into an early Demon Core stage Fanyu fish, the fat silkworm ought to be able to hold out for a period. One had to consider that the fat silkworm was currently only in the early second metamorphosis. Once it transitioned to the late second metamorphosis or even the third, resisting toxic vapors would become utterly effortless. Generally speaking, demon beasts adept in poison were somewhat mediocre in other divine abilities. With the fat silkworm, their greatest reliance posed no threat to Qin Sang, leaving them entirely at his mercy. In the future, Qin Sang could specialize in hunting venomous beasts. After circling several times within the toxic fog, Qin Sang dispatched the Fanyu fish with a single sword strike. He drew the demon carcass before him and searched through it, but finding no inner core, a look of disappointment surfaced on his face. With practiced skill, he butchered the demon carcass. Then, sword shadows wrapping around his body, he transformed into a streak of sword light and shot straight toward the southwest. Before long, Qin Sang touched down on a desolate island. By this time, the five others—the elderly couple and their companions—were already waiting there. The murderous aura on them had not yet subsided, accompanied by a faint smell of blood; they, too, had just gone through a slaughter. "Senior, this is yours." The old man respectfully presented several beast bones. Qin Sang pocketed them nonchalantly. While pursuing the Fanyu fish earlier, he had happened across a pack of demon beasts along the way. He slaughtered the pack and left the aftermath for them to handle. Over the past few years, the five of them had followed Qin Sang, continually picking up such leftovers. Their standards had been spoiled; they now turned their noses up at ordinary spiritual materials from demon carcasses—though the fact that their mustard seed bags were stuffed full with nowhere left to store anything was another reason. "Senior, are we returning to Douyan Island now?" The Wang sisters walked up shoulder to shoulder and asked in crisp voices. After years together, they had grown familiar with Qin Sang. Knowing he was not an unreasonable man, they were no longer as restrained as they had been at the beginning. Even so, they still carried out Qin Sang's orders without the slightest compromise. Having witnessed with their own eyes Qin Sang slay a Demon Core stage great demon single-handedly, their reverence for him had only deepened. "What, you don't want to go back?" Qin Sang glanced at the mustard seed bags at their waists and said with a smile, "Your mustard seed bags are completely full. If we keep hunting demon beasts, what do you plan to carry the spoils in?" "We can only discard the parts of lowest value," the old man said with an aching expression. Then, harboring some worry, he asked tentatively, "When does Senior plan to come out hunting demons again?" Seeing the looks on the five people's faces, Qin Sang knew what was on their minds and said calmly, "Demon beasts are growing harder to find in this area, and venturing deep into the Fuhu Sea Area is too dangerous. I have decided to switch to a different location. After returning, I will first help the guild craft artifacts, which will likely take at most half a year. If you have any matters to attend to, settle them promptly upon our return, or else I will not wait for you." Seeing that Qin Sang still intended to bring them along, the five were overjoyed and vowed that they would never delay his schedule. Then, the group took out their magic tools and flew toward Douyan Island. Nothing eventful occurred along the way. Half a month later, as they drew close to Douyan Island, they stopped on a small island to rest. Once the elderly couple and the others had recovered their spiritual power, they resumed their journey. They had just left the small island and flown a short distance when Qin Sang suddenly noticed a figure appearing on the sea's surface at the far eastern edge of his vision. Because the distance was so great, he could only vaguely make out a dark silhouette, unable to discern the other party's cultivation level. The person appeared to be traveling straight westward. "Someone is there." The elderly couple and the others also noticed the newcomer, and the other party had evidently spotted them as well. Both sides paused in unison. Anyone daring to travel alone through the Demon Sea certainly possessed something to rely upon. Moreover, the two parties were not headed in the same direction and would ultimately pass each other by. "Let's go. Pay him no mind," Qin Sang said in a low voice, unwilling to invite unnecessary complications. He urged his sword light forward and continued flying toward Douyan Island. Yet the other party's subsequent action caused Qin Sang's expression to darken abruptly. At the very moment they set off, the other person moved as well—not continuing westward, but abruptly shifting course to trail far behind them. Seeing this behavior, fluster washed over the elderly couple and their companions. In hushed tones, they asked, "Senior, what should we do?" To trail them so brazenly was unquestionably with ill intent. Even if this person was confident in their formidable strength, this place was not far from Douyan Island, where infighting and slaughter among cultivators were strictly forbidden. Did this person not fear Douyan Island's patrol guards?