It seemed he had pushed him to his absolute limit.
Qin Sang's eyes flickered, and he said in an airy tone, "What's the rush? I just need to verify the goods first. What if that jade slip of yours isn't a map?"
In the end, the youth in tight-fitting clothes tossed the jade slip to Qin Sang first. Once Qin Sang confirmed that it indeed contained a map, he agreed to call a truce.
The two retracted their spiritual power simultaneously, keeping their eyes locked on each other as they slowly backed away to guard against any breach of promise.
Only when the youth in tight-fitting clothes had virtually faded from view did Qin Sang put away his ebony sword and ride the Void-Traversing Wind to make a swift escape.
The youth stared in the direction Qin Sang had left, his face still full of indignation. Then, suddenly remembering something, he hastily raised the talisman treasure before his eyes—only to find several cracks of varying thickness running across it.
This was a sign that the talisman treasure's power was almost entirely depleted. At most, it could be used one more time before it was completely ruined.
In this single battle, both of the prized treasures he relied on for survival had suffered grave damage.
Deep anguish surfaced in the youth's eyes. He carefully stowed the talisman treasure, hurled a few curses in the direction of Qin Sang's escape to vent some of his frustration, and swallowed a spirit pill. Flitting to the edge of the pool, he waved his hand. The waters churned, and a large azure banner floated to the surface.
Stowing the banner and incinerating the bait, the youth pondered for a moment before mounting his green leaf magic tool and vanishing into the rift valley.
***
By this time, Qin Sang had already found a secluded spot to nurse his wounds.
Their clash had pushed both of them to the limit. The spiritual power in his body was completely depleted, his overexertion even worse than the previous time; before the youth, he had merely put on a bold front.
Nevertheless, he estimated that the youth in tight-fitting clothes was in a similar state; otherwise, he would not have backed down so easily.
Only after two full two-hour periods did Qin Sang emerge from his hiding spot. His face remained pale—evidently, a full recovery was not so easily achieved.
Qin Sang took out both the map and the jade plaques.
He could not be certain whether there was any trickery behind the youth's map, but he could not afford to drop his guard. Thus, he cross-referenced the map with the jade plaques. With fourteen jade plaques gathered together, the misty vapors upon them had thinned somewhat, allowing him to vaguely make out the nearby terrain.
***
In the core area of the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground.
At this point, five rocky reefs along the edge of the small island were already occupied. Aside from the two Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Yuanzhao Sect—Yu and Luan—and Zhao Yan, there was another man and woman.
If Qin Sang were to see them, he would recognize them at a glance: the man was none other than the senior brother on the verge of breaking through to the eighth layer, named Ruan Nanfeng.
The woman, on the other hand, was an unfamiliar rogue cultivator whose profound cultivation was in no way inferior to Ruan Nanfeng's.
Clearly, the two were the first to distinguish themselves in the Ascension Assembly.
The five each occupied a reef, meditating in silence without uttering a word.
Just then, Luan Shan suddenly opened his eyes. He raised a hand and sent a stream of spiritual power into the empty air; where the spiritual power vanished, a gate of light appeared.
Fourteen jade plaques emerged first from the gate of light.
Luan Shan gave a slight nod. "Not bad strength."
Then, a figure followed close behind, flying out of the gate of light after the jade plaques.
Luan Shan's brows knit slightly, and he said indifferently, "Good luck, rather."
The person who appeared was none other than Qin Sang. The map the youth had given him was indeed accurate, allowing him to effortlessly steer clear of various hazards. He already had enough jade plaques, so he ignored the few rogue cultivators he encountered along the way, finding the entrance to the core area without any setbacks.
Qin Sang glided on the wind. Sweeping his gaze across, he spotted the five people seated along the island's edge. He flew over, landed on an open reef, and bowed respectfully. "Qin Sang greets the two Martial Uncles, as well as Senior Brothers and Senior Sister."
Ruan Nanfeng and the woman nodded in acknowledgment.
Zhao Yan examined Qin Sang with great interest and took the initiative to introduce them: "Junior Brother Qin, this is Martial Uncle Luan Shan, and this is Martial Uncle Yu Hua. I am Zhao Yan—you can simply address me as Senior Brother Zhao."
"Martial Uncle Luan, Martial Uncle Yu, Senior Brother Zhao..."
After Qin Sang greeted each of them in turn, Martial Uncle Luan said, "The Ascension Assembly is not yet over. Find a reef and cultivate in peace. Do not intrude upon the island, or you will be expelled from the forbidden ground immediately. Once all twelve participants have gathered, we will return to the sect together."
Qin Sang naturally raised no objections. Glancing at the mysterious island, he followed instructions and sat cross-legged on the reef. Yet he did not immediately enter deep meditation; instead, he lowered his head slightly, his gaze shifting as if lost in thought.
Just then, Qin Sang sensed something amiss. He looked up with apparent nonchalance, only to find Zhao Yan staring at him with a playful, assessing smirk. A chill ran through Qin Sang's heart, but he smiled back as if nothing were wrong, cleared his mind of stray thoughts, circulated his cultivation art, and entered quiet meditation.
Who knew how much time passed before Luan Shan opened the gate of light once more. Two men emerged together and were likewise accepted.
After another interval, Luan Shan opened the gate of light in quick succession, admitting two more people.
By this point, everyone knew that newcomers would arrive faster and faster and that the Ascension Assembly would soon conclude, so they no longer entered deep meditation.
Qin Sang noticed that besides himself and Ruan Nanfeng, another fellow disciple from the Kuiyin Sect, a senior brother named Liu Yi, had also made the cut. He was one of the five disciples who had broken through to the seventh layer of the Qi Refinement stage.
Oddly enough, ever since entering the core area, Liu Yi had appeared heavy-hearted, sitting on his reef in gloomy dejection as if troubled by something distressing.
Fidgeting restlessly on the reef, Liu Yi suddenly clenched his fists, snapped his head up, and spoke: "Two Martial Uncles, this disciple has something to report..."
Mid-sentence, Liu Yi's face twisted in agony and his voice cut off abruptly. A layer of black qi surged across his face, emanating a foul stench, before his body tipped over, splashing into the lake water without another sound.
The sudden catastrophe startled everyone, and they took to the air one after another. Yu Hua flashed over to Liu Yi's reef, fished out the corpse, examined it briefly, and said indifferently, "It seems he was infected with some kind of insect poison, which lay dormant until erupting just now. Senior Brother Luan, could venomous insects be running rampant in the forbidden ground?"
As he said "insect poison," Yu Hua shot a deeply meaningful glance toward Qin Sang and Ruan Nanfeng.
A chill ran down Qin Sang's spine. Looking over at Ruan Nanfeng, he saw thick terror hidden in his eyes as well.
Could this Martial Uncle Yu also be an undercover agent of the Kuiyin Sect? If even Foundation Establishment cultivators had been infiltrated, just how many Kuiyin Sect operatives were lurking inside the Yuanzhao Sect?
Just moments ago, Qin Sang had also toyed with the idea of blowing the whistle—after all, he had no fear of the Heart-Devouring Insect's threat. Fortunately, reason had suppressed the impulse in the nick of time.
Looking back on it now, Qin Sang broke into a cold sweat of lingering fear.
Luan Shan noticed nothing of the subtle dynamic passing among them and said with utter indifference, "I took charge of the Ascension Assembly not long ago myself, but I have heard that there are venomous swamps in there. Naturally, venomous insects would inhabit them. This boy was infected with insect poison and remained completely oblivious; his death is hardly a pity. Junior Brother Yu, toss the corpse outside so it doesn't foul this tranquil place. We'll simply let the next person in line take his spot."
Yu Hua clapped his hands and chuckled. "No rush. Leave it here as a warning for the disciples coming up behind us to stay sharp, lest they wander the cultivation world in the future and end up dead without even knowing how."
Thus, Liu Yi's corpse remained on the reef. The disciples all kept their distance, and after waiting for a while, all twelve spots were finally filled.
Chapter 83