Schemes

It was still too early to consider such things. Not knowing the refinement method, Qin Sang could not forge more Beast King Banners, so he tossed the nine captured banners into his Qianjun Ring. “So many treasures?” Qin Sang opened the black-robed cultivator’s mustard seed bag. Sweeping his spiritual sense inside, he was astonished by its contents. There were four top-grade spirit stones alone, alongside several rare artifact-refining materials and spirit herbs. This person possessed greater wealth than even the peak Core Formation stage experts Qin Sang had slain in the past. Unbeknownst to Qin Sang, this cultivator had been ordered to infiltrate Tianxing City to recruit powerful human rogue cultivators. Naturally, he had been provided with abundant treasures, and this bounty was only what remained after a portion had already been spent. An unexpected windfall! Qin Sang had assumed he would need to search everywhere for top-grade spirit stones. Now he had obtained four in one stroke, which, combined with the one the youth surnamed Fang had given him earlier, was more than enough to refine the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner. Delight showed on his face. With no time to inspect his spoils right now, Qin Sang swept everything into the Qianjun Ring, intending to take inventory later. After consecutive fierce battles, his energy was severely depleted. He swallowed several pills, held a spirit stone in his hand, and calmed his mind to enter meditation, seizing every second to recover his true essence. Once his true essence had recovered to sixty or seventy percent, he ceased circulating his cultivation technique and stood up to gaze into the distance. The torrential rain showed no sign of stopping, and the dark clouds were growing ever denser. Amidst the flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder, the night was a chaotic scene. From here, it was impossible to see the state of the battlefield clearly. After a moment of contemplation, he dismissed the surrounding restrictions, concealed his figure within the wind and rain, and quietly crept forward. Before long, a glimmer of golden light appeared high in the distant sky. Faint beastly roars seemed to drift over, intermingling with the wind, rain, and thunder. “The Beast King Banners!” Qin Sang’s heart stirred. “They’re still fighting!” Concealing his aura, he prepared to move closer to see how the battle had developed. Unexpectedly, before he could draw near, the golden light suddenly vanished, and the beast roars cut off abruptly. Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly, and he brought his figure to an immediate halt. “So fast?” He frowned inwardly. The battle had ended so swiftly; his disruption of the Beast King Banner grand array seemed to have had little effect. Barring any accidents, the victor was likely Black Snake Mountain. From the look of things, the mysterious figures had lacked the strength to fight back and were trapped to death by the Beast King Banner array. This was understandable. Unleashing such a mighty lightning-controlling technique could not have come without a price; perhaps they were already on the verge of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the Black Snake Mountain disciples had lurked in the dark, waiting for their opportunity, fresh and ready for battle. As one side waned and the other waxed, the outcome was predictable. However, Qin Sang felt somewhat disgruntled that his scheme had failed and he could not fish in troubled waters. Since it had come to this, he had no choice but to swallow his resentment for now and seek revenge later. He shifted his gaze toward the island. There was no movement there; the Kui Dragon had likely been slain as well. A moment later, several streaks of escape light flew onto the island, revealing the youth surnamed Fang and his companions. They were holding a captive in their hands—not only had they defeated their opponents, but they had also captured several alive. They had not escaped entirely unscathed either. Most of them looked pale, their robes torn, their faces etched with anger. An uninjured Black Snake Mountain disciple scoured the island, stripping the belongings left behind by Chu Heng and the others, then dismembered the Kui Dragon and took all of its valuable parts. The youth surnamed Fang’s gaze swept about like lightning as he patrolled the surroundings, seemingly on guard against something. After a fruitless search, once his fellow disciples had finished, he gave a low command: “Withdraw!” “Hmph! That brat got off cheap after causing us so much trouble!” “Sooner or later, we’ll slaughter him to avenge Fourth Senior Brother and our youngest junior brother!” “Tear him to pieces!” ... The group cursed and spat ruthless threats as they flew off the island. Then, the youth surnamed Fang waved his hand and tossed out several talismans. Everyone abruptly vanished, completely melting out of sight. Rain poured down in torrents upon the ruined island, gradually washing away the marks of battle and stains of blood, as if nothing had ever taken place there. ... Not a trace of the Black Snake Mountain disciples remained. The youth surnamed Fang and the others were exceedingly cautious, leaving behind no traces whatsoever. Unable to track them, Qin Sang lingered for a short while, then silently retreated and had no choice but to depart. Qin Sang’s eyes flickered as he stared into the depths of the rainy night, his expression shifting erratically. He was unwilling to let matters rest so easily and would not give up lightly, but he needed to think carefully about how to proceed. The identity of the mysterious figures was still unknown. If he could discover their origins, he might glimpse Black Snake Mountain’s true objective and find an opportunity to disrupt their schemes. As far as he knew, the surrounding sea area was exceptionally barren, with virtually no islands possessing spirit veins. Not a single sect had ever established a foothold here. Rogue cultivators would never carve out a cave dwelling in such a place either. Those mysterious figures were stronger than some mid-sized sects and possessed a mountain-protecting spirit beast like the Kui Dragon, yet they were holed up in a place like this. It was truly baffling. It would likely take some time to uncover their identities. Alternatively, he could simply spread word that Black Snake Mountain cultivators had infiltrated and were massacring human cultivators on a large scale, using the major human factions to hunt them down without expending an ounce of his own effort. In any case, he refused to let them have an easy time. However, the attention of both races’ experts and various factions was currently drawn to the Demon Sea. There was no telling how effective such a rumor would be. At that moment, Qin Sang suddenly recalled another matter. His face fell, and without sparing another thought for this place, he summoned his escape light and shot straight toward Tianxing City. His external incarnation was still in the cave dwelling in Tianxing City! Having slain two of Black Snake Mountain’s core disciples, the mountain would certainly not let things go. His current identity would be easy to investigate, including the location of his cave dwelling. If his external incarnation were exposed and discovered by Black Snake Mountain, disaster would ensue. Aside from the Black Snake Mountain Patriarch, Qin Sang feared no one else. But the external incarnation was still frail and incapable of enduring any hardship; any ordinary Black Snake Mountain disciple could easily capture or kill him. Time would not permit Qin Sang to forge another external incarnation either. Compared to vengeance, the external incarnation was far more important. It concerned the ancient teleportation formation, and he could not afford to let anything happen to it, even with a one-in-ten-thousand chance of danger. Qin Sang suspected that Black Snake Mountain had spies in Tianxing City; otherwise, they could not have recruited so many human rogue cultivators so effortlessly. That shopkeeper was highly suspicious. At this thought, Qin Sang dared not linger. He had to relocate the external incarnation to a safe place before Black Snake Mountain could make a move, so that he could plan his next steps without any lingering worries. Even if this meant missing the chance for revenge, he could not afford to care. Qin Sang raced against the clock, barely pausing for a moment. Whenever his true essence ran dry, he summoned the two-headed hou to carry him. Traveling day and night, he returned to the waters near Tianxing City in less than two months. Qin Sang donned his cloak and boldly entered the city in the guise of Daoist Qingfeng. He was not worried; even if the Black Snake Mountain Patriarch arrived in person, the man would not dare kill someone inside Tianxing City. After entering the city, Qin Sang did not rush to the Mount Baogu cave dwelling. Instead, he headed straight for the cultivation market. Before long, he arrived near the shop, only to find its doors tightly shut in broad daylight. The shopkeeper had vanished! “There really was something wrong with him!” Qin Sang frowned and quietly withdrew.