Old Devil Mou's expression froze. He gave a dry laugh and said, "Old Ghost Xue, since when did you become so hesitant? If I didn't have absolute certainty, why would I ask for your help and bring trouble upon myself?"
"Hmph! Among the Nascent Soul cultivators present, I am likely the only one capable of helping you. Refining a single blood soul consumed blood qi that will take me decades to recover. Were it not for the Tiangang Ring, no amount of sweet talk would have gotten one out of my hands!"
The blood-robed elder covertly passed a fist-sized orb of blood to Old Devil Mou. Sealed within it was a crimson silhouette whose face was twisted in ferocious, excruciating agony.
"Once you reach the place, leave this blood orb behind. You may leave the rest to me."
Delight flitted across Old Devil Mou's face. Stowing the blood orb, he pulled away from the blood-robed elder so as not to draw unwanted attention to anything unusual between them.
Watching Old Devil Mou's receding figure, Old Ancestor Blood Cloak's eyes flickered with suspicion.
*What kind of extraordinary treasure did this old devil find in the Hall of Seven Kills that makes it worth trading away his chance to borrow the Tiangang Ring? Is he no longer afraid of the heavenly tribulation? I heard he raided Master Dongming's immortal cave in the Demon Sea. Could he have truly gained something that drastically boosted his power?*
……
The Purple Mist Deathland.
Qin Sang traveled upstream along the Purple River, and before long, an expanse of purple mist stretching across the sky came into view.
Along the way, Qin Sang had kept the Heavenly Eye Butterfly alert to their surroundings to avoid running into anyone from the two great business alliances, yet he did not encounter a single soul.
He wondered if the East Pole Alliance had changed targets and decided not to dispatch anyone here.
Drawing near the purple mist, Qin Sang noticed that its edge seemed to have receded considerably compared to his last visit, though he could not tell whether this was normal.
He opened his spirit beast bag and retrieved the fat silkworm.
Aware that it was about to be treated to another delicious meal, the fat silkworm harbored no resentment despite having starved for so long.
Without waiting for Qin Sang's instruction, it cheerfully hopped onto his shoulder, spat out the poison-warding armor, and stared straight into the depths of the Purple Mist Deathland, swaying its head from side to side.
Meanwhile, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly remained inside Qin Sang's qi ocean, channeling its divine abilities to assist him.
Qin Sang intended to drag out the ghost that had snatched the Flying Yaksha, so he could not expose the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's existence too early.
With the poison-warding armor cloaking him, Qin Sang flickered into motion and plunged into the purple mist, vanishing from sight.
He headed straight for the Purple Star Eagle nest he had passed last time, capturing several purple ferrets along the way. There was more than one pass across this towering cliff, but this route was the easiest; the alternatives were either too distant or fraught with extreme danger.
To his surprise, when Qin Sang arrived before the pass, he discovered that not a single Purple Star Eagle remained in the gorge.
During his previous visit, Purple Star Eagles had crowded the area, with over a hundred adult eagles circling above the gorge at any given moment, and the entire flock had numbered an astounding sum.
Few ferocious beasts could survive in the poisonous mist. Adult Purple Star Eagles were formidable, and with their sheer numbers, they virtually had no natural predators, having entrenched themselves here for countless years.
Had that not been the case, Xiang Yi would not have been so certain back then.
*I remember the cultivator surnamed Pan turned traitor last time, ordering an Earth-Splitting Lizard to lure the flock of Purple Star Eagles over and triggering a chaotic brawl on the scale of a beast horde. Could that battle have wiped out the Purple Star Eagles entirely?*
Qin Sang was surprised. *I wonder what fierce beast rules the pass now.*
He halted in the distance, not daring to draw close, and instructed the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to activate its heavenly eye to scout ahead.
To his astonishment, there was not a trace of any ferocious beast; the gorge was unnervingly peaceful.
*It's empty?*
Qin Sang frowned in thought. Without a beast guarding the area, he could stride through openly. Yet for some reason, an ominous premonition stirred faintly within him.
He had heard Madam Liu mention that on their return journey, Xiang Yi and the others were ambushed and hunted by a fierce beast comparable to a Transformation stage great demon, which was why so many twists and turns had ensued.
*Could this place have been taken over by that great beast?*
Qin Sang stared intently into the gorge, wrestling with hesitation, before ultimately deciding to take a detour. He was not about to gamble with his life.
He lacked the strength to confront a Transformation stage great demon, and this was the Hall of Seven Kills to boot.
"Good thing I prepared several backup plans," Qin Sang muttered ruefully. Backing away slowly, he skimmed straight westward along the mountain range. After flying an untold distance, he arrived before a cave.
The cave was another passage leading to the other side of the high cliff. It was said to be inhabited by many earthworm dragons capable of exhaling purple mist. These earthworm dragons usually burrowed into the depths of the cave to slumber, stirring only when disturbed.
However, the purple mist they exhaled was second in toxicity only to the deepest parts of the Purple Mist Deathland.
Cultivators lacking sufficient strength or top-tier poison-warding techniques dared not choose this path. As a result, few rumors about the cave circulated, and whether earthworm dragons were its sole inhabitants remained an open question.
Remaining vigilant and concealing his aura, Qin Sang darted into the cavern.
The cave twisted and wound, yet it was remarkably spacious.
Dead silence reigned within. Qin Sang advanced a considerable distance without spotting any other beasts. Suddenly, his figure came to an abrupt halt, and he turned to look at the stone wall.
Shrouded in the purple mist, a section of the wall possessed an odd sheen.
A closer look revealed that it was not stone at all, but a massive scale!
The earthworm dragon's entire body was concealed inside the stone wall, exposing only this single scale.
*No wonder they are called earthworm dragons!*
Qin Sang was secretly astonished. Judging by the scale, its size likely surpassed even that of a flood dragon, though its exact strength remained unknown.
Having no interest in testing it, he accelerated and moved away. Along the way, he discovered several more nests of earthworm dragons, all deep in slumber. In the end, he exited the cave with surprising ease.
Qin Sang breathed a sigh of relief. Orienting himself, he sped toward the Great Rift Valley, making a slight detour past the vicinity of the ancient divine platform, where he found no sign of other cultivators.
The ancient divine platform still slumbered beneath the earth. Whether due to the ancient restrictions being too powerful or the presence of true demonic qi, even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could not peer deep into the subterranean depths, forcing Qin Sang to drop the matter.
The Great Rift Valley.
A top-grade magic treasure was within arm's reach.
Staring at the purple mist, dense as vibrant clouds, even a cultivator of Qin Sang's temperament could not help feeling a surge of excitement.
Repeating his previous method, he quietly crept down the cliff face, avoiding every peculiarity along the path to prevent unexpected complications. After landing on the valley floor, Qin Sang summoned the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and followed its resonance, heading straight for the ghost land.
Displeased, the fat silkworm rolled about on Qin Sang's shoulder, whining and grunting in a bid to retrieve the purple crystals first.
"Your appetite just keeps growing. This time, I'll probably have to get several chunks to fill your belly. The pack of beasts guarding the purple crystals is very strong, so we must plan carefully, snatch them, and make a run for it."
Qin Sang spoke in a gentle, soothing tone, explaining things to the fat silkworm with unprecedented patience.
Only then did the fat silkworm quiet down.
Qin Sang let out a quiet breath of relief. If this little fellow threw a tantrum and withdrew the poison-warding armor, he would be finished.
Having appeased the fat silkworm, Qin Sang wound his way through several turns and finally returned to that exceptionally secluded gorge.
Inside the gorge, the cluster of Nine Nether Demonic Fire still floated in its original position, firmly sealing the entrance to the ghost land. Over several decades, it seemed not to have changed in the slightest. On the other side of the demonic fire, pale-white ghost mist shrouded the entirety of the ghost land's space.
Chapter 931