"Fourth Junior Brother, is he the Junior Brother Xue you accepted on Master's behalf?"
Another black-robed man looked over, sizing up the shopkeeper.
The gaze beneath his hood was extraordinarily sharp.
The shopkeeper felt rather uneasy. He quickly cupped his hands, bowed to each of them in turn, and said respectfully, "Junior Brother Xue Ming greets Second Senior Brother and fellow senior brothers."
Second Senior Brother gave an acknowledging grunt and nodded slightly. "Fourth Junior Brother's judgment is surely sound. Junior Brother Xue, as long as you carry out your duties diligently, Master will not treat you poorly. Though you and we are not of the same clan, the path of our divine patterns has reached an impasse, and we too are forced to cultivate your human race's techniques. Even our craft of insect gu can only serve as an auxiliary means. Aside from our bloodlines, there is no difference between us. Even a little guidance from Master will benefit you for a lifetime. Oh, by the way—this is a magic treasure Master instructed me to bring you. Refine it once you return, and use it for self-defense."
With that, the black-robed man produced a long saber and handed it to Xue Ming.
Xue Ming was overjoyed. Receiving it with both hands, he dropped to his knees facing south and bowed. "Disciple shall never forget Master's grace in bestowing this treasure!"
Second Senior Brother chuckled and waved his hand. "Master will bestow plenty more treasures in the future. Go on now, and carry out your duties as your Fourth Senior Brother instructs..."
Having received the treasure, the shopkeeper Xue Ming took his leave in high spirits.
Once he was gone, Fourth Junior Brother asked doubtfully, "Second Senior Brother, was this saber truly bestowed by Master?"
"I ran into an undiscerning human cultivator on the road and killed him to take it," Second Senior Brother replied nonchalantly. "The Xue Ming you recruited will be stationed in Tianxing City from now on, where he will be of great use. Besides, unlike our other clansmen, Master does not harbor bone-deep hatred toward humans. It is very likely he will accept him as a direct disciple, so consider the treasure a gift to one of our own. Time is of the essence; let us make haste as well. We must deploy the Beast King Banner in time so as not to ruin the grand affair."
The group set off, pursuing the direction in which Qin Sang and the others had departed. However, since this was deep within the human heartland, their movements were extremely cautious to avoid contact with human cultivators.
Just then, another person spoke up. "Second Senior Brother, Fourth Senior Brother, Eldest Senior Brother is traveling with those human cultivators. Being together for so long, won't his identity be seen through?"
"It won't!"
Fourth Junior Brother answered with certainty. "The ancient treasure bestowed by Master, the Red Primordial Gauze, can conceal our Witch Clan identities and disguise us as human cultivators. Unless he encounters a Nascent Soul cultivator, nothing can go wrong. I have relied on this treasure to interact with human cultivators in Tianxing City and have never once been exposed. Unfortunately, it is a damaged treasure, and Master knows no way to repair it, so it will be ruined after only a few more uses."
"That is good to hear. But according to Eldest Senior Brother's message, this matter seems rather complicated. Since our objective is to find the treasure for Master, why has it turned into hunting a demon beast? For a greater demon in the late Demon Core stage, our martial brothers working together to operate the Beast King Banner should be enough to take it down. Why go through all this trouble?"
Fourth Junior Brother's tone carried some doubt as well. "Eldest Senior Brother mentioned briefly before that this demon beast seems to be a spirit beast reared by cultivators. To obtain that treasure, one must start with those people, and the other party is not easy to deal with. This trip is likely meant to probe their true depth. With Master away, we must act with utmost caution. That must be why Eldest Senior Brother made such arrangements. Once we arrive, we cannot rush to act. We will wait for Eldest Senior Brother's signal."
***
Two months later.
Qin Sang and the others arrived at an unfamiliar sea region, still speeding forward on their flying magic treasures.
Throughout this time, they had drilled the array without pause. Now, all five of them had completely mastered the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array and operated with seamless synergy, able to unleash the spiritual array's true power.
The youth surnamed Fang was also very satisfied with this.
At that moment, a small island appeared ahead. Shifting course, their streaks of light flew straight toward it, circling briefly before touching down on the island.
Stepping onto solid ground, the group leaped to high ground and looked around. They discovered that the island was not large, and the spiritual energy was extraordinarily thin. There were no traces of demon beast activity, nor did it look anything like the lair of a greater demon, leaving them deeply perplexed.
"Fellow Daoist Fang, you brought us to this godforsaken place—just what demon beast are you planning to hunt?"
Unflustered, the youth surnamed Fang found a clean spot to sit cross-legged and said, "Fellow Daoists, do not be impatient. The right time has not yet arrived. All we need to do now is wait."
"Wait?"
The youth surnamed Fang nodded and pointed toward the northeast. "The beast's lair is over there, but it only comes out on overcast, rainy days. The terrain of that island is peculiar; whenever torrential rain pours, startling lightning is bound to strike down from the heavens. It is those bolts of lightning that draw the beast out. This place lies on the edge of the North Sea, so it won't make us wait too long."
"A night of thunder and rain..." Qiu Ji said suspiciously, "Could it be a thunder beast?"
The youth surnamed Fang smiled without answering.
Seeing this, the others had no choice but to suppress their impatience, clearing out areas nearby to quietly await the arrival of the thunderstorm. To ensure complete success, they continued drilling the spiritual array.
They waited for five days.
Late in the night on the sixth day, a violent wind suddenly arose. Dark clouds gathered rapidly in the gale, blotting out the starry sky in the blink of an eye.
Towering waves surged.
*Rumble...*
The salty sea wind brought abundant moisture. From afar came rolling peals of muffled thunder, and deep within the dark clouds, silver light flickered faintly as electric serpents raced.
Everyone sprang to their feet and exchanged glances, filled with excitement and anticipation.
"Fellow Daoist Fang, can you finally tell us what demon beast it is?" Ma Debao twirled his beard and pressed, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer.
The youth surnamed Fang stared intently in the direction of the demon's lair, a brilliant gleam in his eyes. Then he turned around, glanced at the dark wind and rain behind them, and calmly withdrew his gaze. He said flatly, "Since things have reached this point, I will no longer conceal it. Our target is a Kui Dragon!"
"A Kui Dragon!"
"It's actually a Kui Dragon!"
Everyone gasped in surprise. None of them had imagined it would be such a beast!
"No wonder we had to wait for a thunderstorm before it would appear! No wonder you kept it so secret! It is said that the Kui Dragon is a divine beast capable of commanding thunder; with every breath it takes, lightning is born and extinguished. Magic treasures crafted from its hide and bone can easily be endowed with divine abilities to command thunder, transforming into treasures of supreme yang and hardness, their power vastly multiplied! If news of a Kui Dragon appearing were to leak, I'm afraid even Nascent Soul Patriarchs wouldn't be able to sit still!"
Qin Sang was proficient in the art of artifact crafting and knew various rare spiritual materials like the back of his hand. Supreme lightning treasures were exceedingly rare, yet crafting them from the hide and bone of a Kui Dragon could directly bestow such power.
Every part of a Kui Dragon was a treasure—no wonder the youth surnamed Fang had been so cautious.
The youth surnamed Fang chuckled. "If it were a true Kui Dragon, it would indeed be as Fellow Daoist described. But the Kui Dragon is an ancient divine beast; how could one still exist in this era? That beast merely possesses a portion of the Kui Dragon's bloodline, nothing so exaggerated. Even so, its divine ability to manipulate thunder is indeed not to be underestimated. When the time comes, I must rely on you Fellow Daoists to activate the spiritual array, resist the thunder, and suppress the beast."
Qin Sang nodded. That made more sense; true descendants of ancient divine beasts were rare even in the Demon Sea.
Chapter 860