Subordinates

Upon Poison Island, Qin Sang emerged from his cave abode and stood atop a knoll, gazing down at the illusory formation below. By this time, the three who had disembarked from the flying shuttle had stepped onto the island and triggered the formation. Though he did not know the specifics, seeing their ragged state and the yin wind dogging their heels, Qin Sang could hazard a guess. He felt somewhat helpless. He had been quietly cultivating in his cave abode, yet these blind fools had disturbed his peace and dragged him into their troubles. With his current cultivation, he feared no one unless a Nascent Soul cultivator intervened in person, but fewer complications were always preferable to more. As Qin Sang deliberated on how to handle the situation, his expression shifted thoughtfully upon observing the trio's conduct after landing and gauging the scholar and middle-aged matron's cultivation. Just as he was about to dash down the mountain to take action, his eyes narrowed slightly. Staring intently beyond the perimeter of Poison Island, he detected the presence of an illusory silhouette. "A Core Formation old ghost... seems to be a demonic cultivator." Qin Sang's face darkened. Judging by the momentum and speed of the yin wind, he had assumed the cultivators within were at most at Foundation Establishment. He had taken it for a squabble among Foundation Establishment cultivators, which would have been a trivial matter to wipe out completely. To his surprise, a Golden Core expert was trailing behind them. Evidently, matters were not so simple. Even so, a Core Formation devil was not enough to make Qin Sang change his mind. Casting a cool, detached glance at the silhouette, he withdrew his gaze and darted down the mountainside in a series of blurs. To be safe, Qin Sang summoned the two-headed hou and his external incarnation, ordering them to keep a close eye on the illusory formation. Down on Poison Island, the scholar and the matron had plunged into the poisonous miasma and immediately split up as planned. The matron brought out a gauze canopy and draped it over herself and her daughter. Having ingested the Yin Toad Pills, their bodies emanated a faint black vapor that blended seamlessly into the miasma. Bolstered by the abilities of the Red Tassel Canopy magic tool, they were able to conceal their presence thoroughly. The scholar, meanwhile, charged toward the depths of Poison Island without looking back, prepared to use his own flesh and blood to draw out the eagle king. Wiping away her tears, the matron turned with resolve, carrying her daughter as she flew in the opposite direction. Before either had flown far, both let out cries of astonishment, discovering they had fallen into a peculiar illusory formation. The illusory formation was infused with the island's poisonous miasma and controlled personally by Qin Sang. How could mere Foundation Establishment cultivators hope to unravel it? Disoriented and terrified, the scholar hastily bowed to empty air. "Junior did not know this was Senior's dao arena! We have disturbed Senior, and we beg for Senior's forgiveness!" The formation remained eerily silent. Just as the scholar was suspended in dread and uncertainty, an aged, chilling voice rang out above him. "Forgiveness? You have the audacity to disturb this old man's secluded cultivation, and you even dare lure so many cultivators here. Do you take it that this old man lacks the stomach to take your lives?" Hearing this, the scholar grew frantic, groaning inwardly. This old fellow was clearly no benevolent soul. He had assumed this was an abandoned poison island, never imagining it had been claimed by an old devil who established his dao arena here. The rot-winged eagle king was a creature even Core Formation cultivators dreaded, yet this old devil had quietly eliminated it and seized its lair without a whisper leaking to the outside world. That alone proved how terrifying his strength was. Before shaking off his pursuers, he had plunged straight into a devil's den. "Junior was insolent and is willing to bear all consequences alone, leaving myself at Senior's disposal! My wife and daughter were completely unaware of this. I only beg Senior to spare them..." A rasping, sinister cackle drifted through the air. "Are you referring to them?" The poisonous mist before the scholar rippled, coalescing into a water mirror that reflected the figures of his wife and daughter. The matron and the girl had already been separated; the young girl was awake now, both of them pale with panic and helplessness. At this sight, the scholar's heart clenched. He dropped to his knees immediately and pleaded, "Senior, they are innocent! Please show mercy and do not make things difficult for them! Junior is willing to work like a beast of burden..." "Enough!" A cold snort from above cut him short. "Save your petty schemes; do not bother putting on an act before me. Your pursuers have arrived, including that Core Formation demonic cultivator. I have not yet decided how to dispose of you—or perhaps I should simply hand you over to curry favor with that Fellow Daoist..." "Senior, please, no!" the scholar cried out. Upon realizing an old devil inhabited the island, he had harbored a few scheming thoughts, but only now did he understand that the devil had seen through him from the start. Stricken with terror, he could only beg. "Then we shall see whether you have any value worth protecting," the voice paused, then continued, "State your origins and why you provoked the person outside. Hold nothing back. If there is the slightest discrepancy between what you say and what your wife and daughter tell me, this old man will cast you out immediately." At that moment, Qin Sang was standing directly above the scholar, looking down at him without the man sensing his presence in the slightest. Qin Sang had watched the couple's earlier conduct; his intervention was not born purely of compassion. First, he did not wish for his cave abode to be exposed prematurely. If these people lacked any formidable background, he would simply keep them all here. Second, Qin Sang happened to be in need of a few hands. The couple's actions demonstrated their deep parental devotion; they cared immensely for their daughter, which made them easy to control. For the foreseeable future, he anticipated remaining in seclusion to cultivate, but collecting the spiritual items required for his cultivation and gathering intelligence still had to be done by someone. One was at late Foundation Establishment, and the other at middle Foundation Establishment. With Qin Sang's discernment, he could easily tell that their cultivation techniques were out of the ordinary, and their true strength far exceeded what appeared on the surface. Naturally, Qin Sang would act strictly within his capabilities. If the power they had provoked was too formidable and involved a Nascent Soul Patriarch, he would wash his hands of it. Though terrified by the mysterious old devil's methods, the scholar was both shocked and overjoyed to hear that this figure might actually have the confidence to shield his family. "My wife and I were originally cultivators of White Flame Valley outside the Liefeng Archipelago. Forced by an enmity we incurred, we had no choice but to flee into the archipelago. Over the years, we have been cautious, hiding wherever we could, never actively harming anyone. Who could have foreseen that during an outing, my daughter would be spotted by that demon's subordinates? They discovered she possesses the Water Jade Body and sought to abduct her by force to use as a cauldron..." The scholar's eyes shifted erratically, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and laid everything bare, not daring to conceal the slightest detail. "The Water Jade Body?" Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly, and he let out a rasping chuckle. "I have heard that those with the Water Jade Body condense water jade qi within their sea of qi, which yields miraculous benefits for certain demonic arts of matching affinity. No wonder it stirred up such a storm. As for White Flame Valley, this old man has never heard of it. Now make it clear: what are the backgrounds of the enemy you provoked in the past, and these people waiting outside?" Fidgeting with anxiety, the scholar felt a wave of relief upon noticing that Qin Sang paid no undue interest to his daughter. He hastily replied, "White Flame Valley is merely a small sect; it is only natural Senior has never heard of it. Our past enemy was an elder of the Heguang Sect. As for the man outside, he is an infamous demon in these parts—the Cave Master of Simo Cave—along with his subordinates..."