Island Master Luo

Qin Sang lay in wait outside the mountain gate. After less than an hour, the Hanhai Sect's mountain-protecting grand array rippled, and his spirits instantly lifted. Several streaks of escape light shot out from the mountain gate and tore through the sky. The person leading them had an aura that vastly outstripped the others. *The snake has finally been lured from its hole.* Qin Sang stayed where he was and waited a moment. After confirming that no one else was coming out of the Hanhai Sect, he moved out. The Hanhai Sect Master flew toward the cultivation market with his disciples. With hard evidence in hand, he would definitely give those rivals a severe beating this time. What a pity Island Master Luo had once ordered that they could not be wiped out entirely. Neither that man nor the faction behind him was someone the Hanhai Sect Master could ever afford to cross. Every time he recalled the scene of Spirit Tortoise Island's destruction two years ago, the Hanhai Sect Master could not help shivering in sheer terror. The faction behind Island Master Luo was simply too mysterious and frightening—capable of capturing and killing a Nascent Soul cultivator. Against Island Master Luo's words, the Hanhai Sect Master harbored not the slightest thought of resistance. He was even excited; if he could tie himself to a top-tier faction like that, he might very well rise to prominence. Unfortunately, after the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island died, Island Master Luo never contacted him again. As he was lost in these thoughts, an inexplicable restlessness seized the Hanhai Sect Master. Sensing something amiss at last, he abruptly halted his flight, spun around, and barked, "Who's there?!" Before his voice had even faded, a thunderous beast roar erupted from the mountain forest below. Amidst a crackling din, a violent azure gale materialized out of thin air, flattening a vast swath of the forest as it surged into the sky with terrifying momentum and swept toward them. "Get back!" Recognizing the storm's ferocity, the Hanhai Sect Master's face flashed with alarm. He forcefully shoved several disciples aside, and a beam of blue light shot out from his dantian. The blue light resolved into a strangely shaped sword that appeared to be crafted from the bones of some beast. It was his life magic treasure, painstakingly refined only after immense effort and exhaustion. The Hanhai Sect Master pointed forward with force. Blue light blazed brightly from the bone sword as its sword qi swelled, blocking the storm. Immediately after, however, several agonizing screams rang out. He whipped his head around, horrified to discover that all of his disciples had perished. The culprit was a crystalline, translucent flying sword. "There's another one!" By now, how could the Hanhai Sect Master not realize he had been duped and fallen straight into an ambush? His very first thought was to run. Yet just as he was about to flee on his sword, the flying sword bore down on him at breathtaking speed like a thunderbolt. With a single sway before his eyes, it split into four blades, real and false indistinguishable from each other. "Sword light differentiation!" The Hanhai Sect Master shrieked in terror. Qin Sang and the two-headed hou emerged from the shadows at that moment. In the realm of swordsmanship, breaking through was always the hardest step, but once that threshold was crossed, one's progress would advance by leaps and bounds. Having comprehended sword light differentiation, Qin Sang could condense sword lights that were nearly indistinguishable from reality, and he was already capable of producing three phantom lights. Given a little more time to bring sword light differentiation to mastery, he could attempt to comprehend the realm of turning one sword into a formation. Normally, that was a realm only Nascent Soul Patriarchs could attain, an extraordinarily difficult feat. Qin Sang could defeat the Hanhai Sect Master using only the ebony sword, let alone with the two-headed hou aiding him. Man and beast launched alternating pincers. The Hanhai Sect Master struggled frantically to cope, showing signs of defeat within just a few exchanges. To end the battle as swiftly as possible, Qin Sang brought out the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner as well. Seizing the right moment, a sweep of demonic fire knocked the Hanhai Sect Master's magic treasure flying, easily driving him into a corner. He had not even needed to deploy the star conch or the Blood Filth Divine Light. "I am done for!" Left completely powerless to resist, the Hanhai Sect Master was filled with utter despair. He had not even had the chance to ask who his opponent was or why he was being killed. *Whoosh!* The Nine Nether Demonic Fire shattered the Hanhai Sect Master's protective spiritual light, yet it did not strike a lethal blow. Qin Sang flashed to the Hanhai Sect Master's side, sealed his cultivation, scanned the surroundings, called back the two-headed hou, and immediately sped away into the distance. From appearing to capturing the Hanhai Sect Master, Qin Sang's movements had been clean and decisive, leaving no loose ends behind. Only after leaving Bamen Island and confirming there were no pursuers did Qin Sang find a deserted island and set the man down. After a round of interrogation, Qin Sang finally learned the full sequence of events. The key figure was a man called Island Master Luo. On the eve of the disaster on Spirit Tortoise Island, that Island Master Luo had come knocking. Once the Hanhai Sect Master learned of Island Master Luo's cultivation and identity, he instantly lost any will to resist and obediently followed orders. Several other factions had been brought to heel by Island Master Luo at the same time. Only then did they learn that Island Master Luo had ordered them to assist in investigating the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island and uncover the identities of all cultivators who had ever listened to his sermons. He had placed them under strict orders never to leak word of it, on pain of death. The Master of Spirit Tortoise Island was of mysterious origin and not someone to be trifled with, but after weighing their options, they had still chosen to obey Island Master Luo's command. As it turned out, Island Master Luo was the master of a large island near Quheng Island, and the backer standing behind him was none other than one of the island masters of Quheng Island. It was common knowledge that the island masters of Quheng Island represented both the righteous and demonic factions. No matter how rampant the evil cultivators of the Liefeng Archipelago were, they never dared attack Quheng Island. Either of those two factions was a colossal titan—an overlord of the Canglang Sea! No matter how formidable the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island was, he was just one man. How could he possibly compare to them? As it turned out, they had made the right choice. Island Master Luo had lain low on Bamen Island, subduing the Hanhai Sect and other factions to secretly investigate the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island, yet he had never shown any sign of making a move. Because Island Master Luo had hidden within the Hanhai Sect back then, the Hanhai Sect Master knew a bit more than the others. Every Core Formation expert connected to the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island had been hunted down. Only after Spirit Tortoise Island was destroyed did they realize with a shock that Island Master Luo, a dignified late Core Formation expert, had merely been a pawn sent to secretly gather intelligence; the ones who actually struck had been Nascent Soul Patriarchs. After besieging and killing the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island, Island Master Luo had granted them some rewards. They seemed to have come solely for the Master of Spirit Tortoise Island, departing as soon as their objective was achieved. With the reward from Island Master Luo, the Hanhai Sect Master had actually broken through the bottleneck that had plagued him for years. He had originally thought he had no hope in this life, but breaking through to the mid Core Formation stage reignited his confidence. He desperately wanted to ingratiate himself with Island Master Luo, but the man had looked down on him entirely. Clinging to a sliver of hope, he had instructed his disciples to keep a lookout, thinking that if they caught any fish that slipped through the net, he would have an excuse to pay a visit. *The ones who struck were from the righteous and demonic factions!* Qin Sang sighed softly, not particularly surprised. Only those two factions possessed such overwhelming might. *Still, it's unclear whether it was the righteous path or the demonic path.* *Did Senior Qingzhu offend all of them, or just a single sect?* *I must first confirm Island Master Luo's identity. He should be an island master near Quheng Island, but it's not clear which island. Still, with such high cultivation, he won't be an unknown figure; I should be able to ask around on Quheng Island.* Seeing that Senior Qingzhu's enemies had left behind no lingering arrangements, and with the Hanhai Sect currently emptied of its master, Qin Sang no longer had any worries. Before leaving, he returned to Bamen Island and ransacked the Hanhai Sect's treasury, making a tidy profit while making it look as though a passing brigand had acted on sudden greed. That way, no one would connect the incident to Senior Qingzhu. With the Hanhai Sect fallen into decline, Bamen Island was bound to sink back into chaotic conflict, but none of that had anything to do with Qin Sang anymore.