Grand Shaman

The Wang sisters parted their lips, about to say something, but Qin Sang cut in with a deep voice, "This is no place to linger. Take your people and follow me!" Seeing his grave expression, the two women immediately realized the situation was worse than they had imagined. Without another word, they rallied their people to assist Qin Sang. Just then, a middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd, bowed, and said, "You must be Daoist Qingfeng? This junior was sent by Elder Zou with a message for the Daoist..." Hard-pressed as he was, Qin Sang turned to look the man over. Seeing his distinguished bearing, he nodded. "I am indeed Qingfeng. What is the message? Speak plainly." "This..." The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before sending a voice transmission: "Elder Zou said that in five years, the Grand Shaman of the Witch Clan will personally take action to break open the immortal array of the Hall of Seven Kills. He asks that you make your preparations as soon as possible, Daoist." "Five years. Understood." Qin Sang nodded. There was still plenty of time. Then he suddenly froze, wondering if he had misheard. "What? The Witch Clan's Grand Shaman is breaking the array? The Hall of Seven Kills is a sacred ground of the human race containing ancient cultivator relics. Weren't Witch Clan Nascent Souls always forbidden from entering? Why ask a Grand Shaman to intervene?" "Grand Shaman" was a specific title within the Witch Clan. Only peak experts at the late Nascent Soul stage were qualified to bear it. Currently, the Witch Clan had only one known Grand Shaman out in the open, whose Daoist sanctuary was on Witch God Mountain. Qin Sang had only learned of this from Elder Zou when they passed by Witch God Mountain years ago. The various human factions had always been wary of the Witch Clan, fearing they might obtain some treasure inside the Hall of Seven Kills. Barring Witch Clan Nascent Souls from interfering in the Hall of Seven Kills was something all sides had agreed upon. Yet unexpectedly, right after a major war between the two races, the humans had actually compromised on the Hall of Seven Kills. This caught Qin Sang entirely off guard. There had to be some deal struck between the two races; otherwise, such a situation could never have arisen. He wondered what kind of treasure in the Hall of Seven Kills could attract a Grand Shaman to make a move. Could opening the Hall of Seven Kills twenty years early be related to the Witch Clan? When the time came, the situation inside the Hall of Seven Kills would surely be far more complex and treacherous. The middle-aged man acknowledged, "Elder Zou said this news has been confirmed by the Merchant Alliance and is undeniably true. As for the reason, Elder Zou was unable to learn it, and could only urge you to be cautious in all things. In addition, the Alliance requires you to assemble with the others on Dahuang Island before the Hall of Seven Kills opens, and then proceed together to the Hall of Seven Kills without delay..." Leading the breakout, Qin Sang pondered privately. He had never imagined the Witch Clan would be involved in this trip to the Hall of Seven Kills—and a peak late Nascent Soul expert at that. No one could predict what would happen inside the Hall of Seven Kills when the time came. 'The human experts shouldn't be weaker than the Witch Clan, right? Wouldn't that mean there will be at least two late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators in the Hall of Seven Kills? If a fight breaks out between them... how am I supposed to survive?' From the Lesser Cold Domain to the Canglang Sea, Deity Transformation cultivators existed only in legend; the universally recognized pinnacle experts of this era were late Nascent Soul Great Cultivators. Across the vast Canglang Sea, it was said that such Great Cultivators could be counted on one's fingers, while the Lesser Cold Domain did not have even one. The mere thought of sharing a secret realm with them sent a chill down Qin Sang's spine. He could only pray in his heart that they weren't aiming for the Heaven Tower. Just as Qin Sang's thoughts were wandering, a thunderous roar erupted in the sky. In an instant, the entire battlefield seemed to fall deathly still. Qin Sang jerked his head up in alarm and was horrified to find, amidst the swarm of demons, a pair of vicious, copper-bell eyes glaring fixedly down at him. They belonged to a giant turtle. The turtle possessed a colossal body, its shell covered in mysterious sigils that shimmered with an arcane glow, boasting immense defensive power. This demon beast was actually a great demon of the late Demon Core stage! "It's that thing!" Qin Sang recognized the great demon, his heart clenching. Of his two Flying Yakshas, only one remained today, and that was all thanks to this giant turtle. After subjugating the two-headed hou, Qin Sang had no longer been satisfied with hunting only early Demon Core beasts. He had set his sights on mid Demon Core beasts and succeeded time and again, accumulating a handsome fortune for himself. The beasts he encountered were either low in intelligence or weaker than the two-headed hou, so Qin Sang had never thought to replace it. Yet walk along the river often enough, and your shoes are bound to get wet. On one occasion, Qin Sang had been spotted by this giant turtle and pursued relentlessly for an entire day. Only after setting up a diversionary array had he finally lured the turtle away, at the cost of the Flying Yaksha refined from Du Han's golden core, which the beast had destroyed. He had never expected to run into it again here. What was worse, the creature seemed to remember him, its ferocious gaze dripping with murderous intent. At this moment, beside the giant turtle were over a dozen other great demons, every single one at the Demon Core stage. Cultivators were being besieged in their midst, and among them, Qin Sang caught sight of a familiar face—Master Yuansan. Master Yuansan was a late Core Formation expert, rumored to be on the verge of touching the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage, and a figure second to none across the entire Wuyuan Island. Earlier, the woman had said that when Muyuan Island fell, everyone had fought on their own; evidently, she had not been exaggerating. Even Master Yuansan was pinned down, with only a handful of companions left at his side. "Roar! Roar!" Glaring at Qin Sang, the giant turtle let out an enraged bellow. At that moment, two great demons abruptly broke away from the melee, having received the giant turtle's command, and swooped downward. Both beasts were great demons of the mid Demon Core stage, extraordinarily ferocious and not to be taken lightly. With their departure, Master Yuansan and the others finally gained a moment to catch their breath, but Qin Sang was now in deep trouble. Qin Sang had not anticipated that the giant turtle's hatred toward him would remain so intense. Thinking inwardly that things looked bad, he knew that if these people stayed with him, they would all become collateral damage. Qin Sang hurriedly barked in a low voice to the Wang sisters, "Follow the Flying Yaksha and get out of here quickly! With its help, breaking out shouldn't be difficult. Once outside, contact the other islands immediately. Tell them the entire Demon Sea is in turmoil and the scale of this beast tide is extraordinary. If so many experts perish here, things won't go well for them either—they must send reinforcements at once!" In a battle of this caliber, the Flying Yaksha's strength was no longer enough to make a significant difference. Having it assist the two women in escaping and summoning reinforcements was the right course of action. After his breakthrough, his cultivation and spiritual sense had both grown, making controlling the Flying Yaksha much easier; keeping it at a greater distance was no longer an issue. The Wang sisters knew what was at stake and followed his orders. All the experts rallied around the Flying Yaksha like the head of an arrow, striving with all their might to break through. Qin Sang glanced back; sure enough, the two demon beasts were hurtling straight toward him. After a brief hesitation, he called out to the two-headed hou and dashed in another direction. The two beasts promptly veered to follow, their eyes locked entirely on Qin Sang. These two demon beasts were simply too fast. Qin Sang could normally have shaken them off with ease, but trapped within the beast tide, his speed was drastically reduced. Furthermore, the sea beasts around him seemed to have received orders as well, growing even more frenzied than before. Some threw their flesh directly against his sword radiance. Although Qin Sang could easily slaughter them, his progress was unavoidably hindered, and no sooner had he cut down one wave than another swarmed in, seemingly endless.