Shadowing

The Demonic Path, the Merchant Alliance. What undercurrents surged beneath the seemingly calm surface of the Canglang Sea, Qin Sang had no way of knowing. He cautiously walked over, discovered a restrictive ward left behind by Xiang Yi, and stood at the rim of the crater, gazing down at Cultivator Pan and the Ground-Splitting Lizard. Cultivator Pan's eyes were wide, having died with grievances unresolved. Everything below his waist had vanished completely, and a peculiar water-attribute power still lingered on the wound. The Ground-Splitting Lizard had also been blasted into two halves, with that severed section ground to dust just like Cultivator Pan's lower body. The lingering power on them was likely the Water Gang Divine Lightning Xiang Yi had mentioned earlier. *If the remnant force alone is this strong, the power of that Water Gang Divine Lightning is probably even greater than my fire bead. The question is, how many does Xiang Yi have?* Qin Sang looked solemn, a hint of hesitation flashing through his eyes, before he carefully retreated. He didn't touch anything, lest he leave traces and be discovered by Xiang Yi. Qin Sang still didn't leave; he remained where he was, waiting. After some time, he finally heard the sound of voices. Qin Sang held his breath, pinpointing their positions by the sound, and distinguished six people in total. *The Liu couple and the sword-holding youth have both been rescued by them,* Qin Sang mused internally, straining his ears to listen. He had no idea how Xiang Yi had explained things to them on the way. The six arrived at the edge of the deep pit. Seeing the two mangled corpses, the Liu couple and the sword-holding youth were not surprised. They said with resentful voices, "It really is a Ground-Splitting Lizard! Was this man truly a spy of the demonic path?" Xiang Yi nodded. "Almost certainly. Before we set out, the Merchant Alliance warned me to be careful. I deliberately didn't explain the full scope of the mission beforehand just as a precaution. I merely never expected him to be so cunning, tampering with things right under our eyes to lure the Purple Star Eagles. It's a pity about Daoist Qingfeng; we searched for so long without finding him, so I fear he has already met with disaster." Madam Liu exchanged a glance with her husband and sighed. "When the Ground-Splitting Lizard and the Purple Star Eagles struck, I noticed that Daoist Qingfeng's position was the worst. One could say he was knocked flying directly into the horde of vicious beasts, overwhelmed by the Purple Star Eagles before he had any chance to prepare. Though Daoist Qingfeng's evasion technique was impressive, it couldn't be put to good use when surrounded. His cultivation base was a bit low after all. My cultivation is comparable to the Daoist's, and facing both the beasts and the poisonous mist simultaneously, I soon felt completely outmatched. If not for my husband rescuing me in time, I'm afraid I too..." Madam Liu looked somber, feeling lingering fear. Cultivator Liu held his wife close, comforted her with a few words, and said in a heavy voice, "Be that as it may, we shouldn't be so hasty to assume Daoist Qingfeng has perished. The vicious beasts were gathering in ever-greater numbers, and we couldn't scour the entire area just now. Don't forget that Daoist Qingfeng is not only skilled in evasion techniques, but also possesses considerable accomplishments in corpse refinement; there might still be hope. In a deathland, having one more person means one more measure of strength against crises. We cannot give up on the Daoist so easily. Once we recover, let us join forces to go back in and search for him. Fellow Daoist Xiang, should there still be enough time on the bone lotus?" Cui Ji and the fat man in fine robes showed no change in expression. Xiang Yi pondered for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "Fellow Daoist Liu makes sense. In that case, let everyone quickly regulate their breath. Previously, time was more than ample, but after this chaos, things will be somewhat tight later on. Just how terrifying it is to be submerged in the beast horde is something everyone has already experienced. Even Fellow Daoist Liu and I could not hold out for long without the bone lotus's protection. When we go in to rescue the Daoist, we will have at most the time of two lotus petals. We can only do what we can and leave the rest to fate." At this point, everyone was heavily drained, their internal true essence nearly exhausted. The sword-holding youth sat down cross-legged, frowning as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Xiang, can you explain the mission clearly now? Or are we supposed to suffer another inexplicable beast siege?" Xiang Yi did not prevaricate, answering candidly, "Before, it was to guard against spies; now, naturally, there is nothing to hide. This stone hall is only the first link. There are three such stone halls in the Purple Mist Deathland in total. It is said the other two places are similar to this one, separated only by restrictive wards, with little danger. We need only open all three stone halls, and finally head to a place resembling an ancient divine platform, and we can leave the Purple Mist Deathland..." ... In the shadows, Qin Sang eavesdropped on their conversation. He didn't know how Xiang Yi had explained it, but it sounded as though the Liu couple and the sword-holding youth had already bought his nonsense. Hearing Xiang Yi explain the entire mission, Qin Sang felt a stir in his heart. At the other two stone halls, if no second person disrupted things, there would probably be little chance for revenge. He had also thought of copying Cultivator Pan, luring vicious beasts to scatter their formation. Yet after turning it over in his mind, he felt the chances were slim. Who knew what heinous deed the Ground-Splitting Lizard had done in the Purple Star Eagles' nest to draw out the entire flock? Furthermore, it had moved freely through the deathland, picking a timing so exquisite that it would be hard to replicate. As for the final ancient divine platform, which even Xiang Yi seemed unable to clearly describe, it was perhaps the only opportunity. His enemies were not just Cui Ji, but also Xiang Yi and the fat man in fine robes. All three had higher cultivation than him. If he could find an opportunity where they were isolated, Qin Sang was fully confident against anyone except Xiang Yi. Facing Xiang Yi would be quite tricky. The power of the Water Gang Divine Lightning was terrifying. Only by using the fire bead and seizing the upper hand could he slay him. But the fire bead was currently his strongest trump card. Compared to taking revenge, the subsequent trip to the Heaven Tower was more important; it would be best to save the fire bead for then to deal with unknown dangers. One was venting momentary satisfaction, while the other concerned Nascent Soul formation; which was light and which was grave was self-evident. Qin Sang had always possessed great patience. He lurked in the shadows, biding his time. Xiang Yi and the others regulated their breath for a while, returning to their peak before re-entering the battlefield. By then, the battlefield was even bloodier and more perilous than before. Searching to no avail, they retreated in disarray. "Neither alive nor dead, not a trace of him remains..." The Liu couple sighed. "Previously, we thought rumors of the Hall of Seven Killings were exaggerated, but now we know there was not a word of lie. Daoist Qingfeng's evasion technique could be considered top-tier among Core Formation stage cultivators, yet he didn't even have a chance to flee, and even his corpse was devoured and torn apart by vicious beasts." Xiang Yi looked at the bone lotus and cautioned, "More than half the lotus petals have already been tainted by the toxic mist. There isn't much time left." "Let's go..." The crowd looked back once, then headed deeper into the Purple Mist Deathland. None of them noticed that someone was silently trailing behind them. Even though the toxic mist blocked sight and perception, Qin Sang did not dare get too close. Tracking them was arduous, but fortunately, a group of six was a large enough target that he never lost their trail. The location of the second stone hall lay deeper in, said to be very close to the chasm in the depths of the Purple Mist Deathland. Xiang Yi did not walk in a straight line, but advanced diagonally. The purple mist here was even more toxic. Qin Sang was worried the fat silkworm wouldn't be able to bear it and kept close watch over its condition. Seeing it sprawled lazily inside his sleeve cuff looking completely at ease, he could not help but nod secretly to himself.