Chapter 618: Chapter 618

"Thank you for lending a hand, Daoist!"

The three cultivators had just survived the encounter and quickly cupped their fists toward the flying yaksha in gratitude.

The flying yaksha had only assisted them in slaying the Blood-Winged Ghost-Headed Wasps and retrieving the hive, without displaying much of its true strength.

With their level of insight, they couldn’t see through the flying yaksha’s origins.

Even so, after witnessing the battle, they could tell that the flying yaksha was even stronger than the young man who had appeared alongside it. Their tone grew respectful.

The flying yaksha stood silently, holding the wasp hive in its arms.

The three cultivators exchanged uncertain glances.

Qin Sang finally emerged from the shadows. Like the flying yaksha, he was cloaked in a hooded robe that concealed most of his body.

"A small effort, hardly worth mentioning."

Under the trio’s wary gazes, Qin Sang stepped forward and said, "This is my puppet. I came out to temper myself, but got lost along the way. When I passed through this area and saw you being attacked by the wasps, I commanded my puppet to intervene."

The three visibly relaxed.

The young man took a step forward and introduced himself. "I am Yuan Hu of the Five-Insect Sect. These two are the high priest and junior priest of Tianyue Village. May I ask your name, Daoist?"

"You may call me Ming Yue," Qin Sang replied, not even daring to use the alias Qingfeng. He then summoned the flying yaksha over to inspect the hive.

Inside were larvae of the Blood-Winged Ghost-Headed Wasps.

The adult wasps had already slaughtered so many living beings and reverted to their feral nature. It was impossible to tame them again. Qin Sang had thus killed them all, leaving only the larvae alive.

The three exchanged glances again. They had never heard the name before and intended to invite Qin Sang to Tianyue Village for a talk.

But Qin Sang declined. "I have cultivated bitterly since childhood and only recently achieved a modest level of cultivation. I had planned to travel and broaden my horizons. Unexpectedly, I lost my way here. I was just about to find someone to ask for directions when I ran into the three of you. I’d be grateful if you could point the way."

"That’s no trouble at all!"

Yuan Hu took out a jade slip and, with a wave of his hand, sent it drifting toward Qin Sang. "Daoist Ming Yue, this is a geomantic map issued by my sect. It marks the nearby roads and dangerous areas. You can follow the guidance within."

Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly as he received the geomantic map. He activated a thread of spiritual consciousness to examine it and was disappointed to find that it only covered a large surrounding area.

The most prominent landmarks on the map were a towering mountain named Bear Mountain and the Five-Insect Sect itself.

Beyond that were several large villages, including Tianyue Village.

Among them, Tianyue Village ranked somewhere in the middle. A place like Thousand-Household Village didn’t even qualify to be marked, while the Five-Insect Sect seemed to be the dominant force in the region.

From the contents of the geomantic map, Qin Sang gained a rough understanding of the power distribution around Bear Mountain. But none of it was what he urgently wanted to know.

"Daoist Yuan, does your sect’s geomantic map only cover this region? I’ve only recently ventured out and am unfamiliar with the world beyond. May I ask how much your sect knows about other areas?"

"I don’t have access to maps of other regions due to my limited cultivation, but the senior uncles in my sect do. If you’re willing, you can return with me to our sect and ask them for one," replied Yuan Hu.

"Our sect’s collection of geomantic maps not only covers other areas of Xijiang but even notes major powers and dangers across the entire Witch God Continent. As for the seas beyond the continent, we’re not familiar with them either. You’d need to ask one of the major powers out there."

When Qin Sang heard the unfamiliar name, he secretly let out a breath of relief. If this place dared to be called a continent, it must span a vast territory. That meant he had indeed left the Small Cold Domain behind.

When Yuan Hu mentioned the seas beyond the continent, Qin Sang’s curiosity was once again piqued.

"It’s said that the Witch God Continent is just the largest island within this sea. In the past, not only this continent but even the countless islands scattered across the sea used to belong to us witch cultivators. Later, the human race acted shamelessly, seizing our cultivation resources and driving us from our homeland. Now we witch cultivators have been forced into exile by the humans and can only survive on the Witch God Continent and a few nearby islands..."

Yuan Hu’s voice grew agitated as he spoke of the human cultivators.

Though his cultivation was not high and much of what he knew was hearsay and vague, it was enough for Qin Sang to gather useful information.

Qin Sang was secretly shocked. He had thought he had simply been transported to a strange continent. He hadn’t expected to arrive in a vast, boundless sea.

Here, cultivators were divided into human and witch races. The two sides were far from peaceful and had once waged a great war.

The humans now flourished while the witch race had retreated to the Witch God Continent.

According to Yuan Hu, the Witch God Continent was vast, but as for exactly how vast, he had no concept.

Qin Sang was eager to learn more about the outside world, but in the end, he still declined Yuan Hu’s invitation. Just knowing that this was no longer the Small Cold Domain was enough to set his mind at ease.

He didn’t know much about the strength or character of the Five-Insect Sect, but judging from Yuan Hu’s dual cultivation in corpse refinement, they were likely not a benevolent group. His top priority was to find a place to heal and form his core.

He could always visit them after regaining his strength.

Yuan Hu showed no displeasure at being refused. Instead, he said warmly, "Daoist, if you're not in a rush to leave, you might consider staying a while longer. Before the annual Witch God Festival, all the Bimos and priests from villages across the Bear Mountain region will gather at the Bear Mountain. They trade, share news, and exchange what they lack. Whether you're looking for information or wishing to trade treasures, it's not to be missed."

Qin Sang's heart stirred. This sounded like a great opportunity to gather intel.

There were still many things he needed to investigate, such as the whereabouts of Senior Qingzhu, whether there were hidden realms or ancient barriers near the ruins, anything that might help him locate an ancient teleportation array.

He was only lying low for now. He couldn't afford to settle down here. The Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid was still in the Small Cold Domain, and he had to return for it before forming his Spiritual Infant. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novel※fire.net

Yuan Hu’s cultivation was too low to be of much help, and his knowledge limited.

Qin Sang quickly asked for the exact date of the gathering and calculated that he had just enough time to recover and form his core before it.

After a few more polite exchanges, Qin Sang decided to take his leave. With the geomantic map in hand, he already knew where to look for a spirit vein.

"Please wait, Daoist!"

Seeing that Qin Sang was about to depart, Yuan Hu called out and hesitated for a moment before saying with some embarrassment, "I have a rather bold request... Would you be willing to leave me one of the larvae from that strange wasp?"

They had been in a dire situation earlier, and it was only due to the flying yaksha’s intervention that they had survived and the Blood-Winged Ghost-Headed Wasps were eliminated. Technically, the hive belonged to Qin Sang alone. They had no right to a share.

Qin Sang glanced at the spiritual insects of the two priests from Tianyue Village and asked in surprise, "With your cultivation level, Daoist, surely you already have one..."

Yuan Hu shook his head repeatedly. "I already have a life-bound insect gu. I was focused on controlling the bone skeleton just now, so I didn’t summon it. I merely found these wasps to have considerable combat potential, and I’ve never seen anything like them. Strangely, they’re not even listed in the Witch Insect Register. I was simply curious."

So it's called a life-bound insect gu.

And the Witch Insect Register...

Qin Sang silently committed those two names to memory, guessing that the Witch Insect Register was similar to Yuling Sect’s register of supernatural insects.

It seemed that witch cultivators had a more extensive and in-depth understanding of spiritual insects than Yuling Sect. They could even refine spiritual insects into life-bound insect gu, and their register was surely a more complete and systematic classification than the Yuling Sect’s.