Chapter 650: Chapter 650

Manager Bai had told Qin Sang of three new locations where sightings of spiritual insects had been rumored. These were areas he had only recently investigated, but all were far away, and their accuracy remained uncertain.

Although all three were considered supernatural insects, some had innate talents that were ill-suited, while others lacked known methods of cultivation. Compared to these, selecting the Sky-Eyed Butterfly as his life-bound insect gu might prove a more reliable choice.

Qin Sang remained silent, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Manager Bai added, "There is one more place where such spiritual insects might exist. Those peerless major sects beyond Xijiang. They might have raised them."

Qin Sang chuckled. "And you think they’d sell them?"

Manager Bai shook his head. "Highly unlikely. The Witch Insect Register’s rankings mainly apply to minor sects and rogue cultivators. They hold little value for the major sects and powers. Insects that are useless to us, those with no known cultivation methods and barely capable of a second metamorphosis, might be of critical importance to them. Some among them possess the complete method to raise such insects. These are their closely guarded secrets, the very foundation of their sects. They would never sell them to outsiders."

Qin Sang had anticipated this. The great sects of the witch race were indeed formidable. Their expertise in insect taming rivaled that of Yuling Sect.

Without the Crimson Fire Gilded Gold and the inheritance from Yuling Sect, Qin Sang would not have dared to dream so far. He would have simply followed the crowd and chosen one of the better-ranked spiritual insects on the Witch Insect Register.

After bidding farewell to Manager Bai, Qin Sang visited several more merchant guilds. That very night, he departed from Centipede Village.

Unfortunately, none of the newly uncovered information proved satisfactory. Qin Sang now leaned more and more toward selecting the Sky-Eyed Butterfly as his life-bound insect gu.

Once he had put sufficient distance between himself and Centipede Village, Qin Sang ceased his concealment, mounted his sword, and traveled swiftly back toward the Bear Mountain region.

He flew day and night without delay.

Just as he was about to re-enter Bear Mountain territory, the sword light beneath his feet came to an abrupt stop. He raised his right hand and retrieved an object from the Thousand-Jin Ring. Upon examining the change it had undergone, Qin Sang’s expression subtly shifted.

In his palm lay the Qingfu Coin's mother coin.

Originally, the mother coin had a hollow center, as the child coin was missing.

But just moments ago, after Qin Sang had arrived in this vicinity, a child coin had reappeared in the center of the mother coin.

The child coin had returned.

Since the transmission, he had only ever given a single child coin to Mute Girl.

And now, she had shattered it.

Qin Sang held the Qingfu Coin tightly and lifted his gaze toward the direction of Five-Insect Sect. His expression flickered with uncertainty.

Back then, Mute Girl had begged him not to take back the Qingfu Coin, believing it to be the first gift he had ever given her.

Qin Sang understood her well. Unless faced with something truly dire, she would never willingly destroy it.

What kind of danger could she possibly have encountered in Five-Insect Sect?

Qin Sang didn’t believe Cui Xuanzi would dare harm her.

Cui Xuanzi was a clever man. Even if the Cold Gold Sword and Essence-Devouring Spike on the Mute Girl were exposed, they weren’t worth the risk of offending a Core Formation cultivator just to seize them.

The real question now was: When did Mute Girl crush the Qingfu Coin?

The Qingfu Coin could only sense its child counterpart within a certain range.

After Qin Sang left the Bear Mountain region, he had moved beyond its sensing range. Only now, having returned close enough, could the mother coin detect and call back the child coin.

But he had not yet fully re-entered the Bear Mountain region. This was already the very edge of the coin’s sensing range. That meant Mute Girl had likely broken the coin much earlier. And he might already be too late.

The Qingfu Coin could not convey messages. Qin Sang had no way of knowing what had happened to her.

However, when the coin was shattered, a faint trace of the user’s blood aura would remain, allowing the mother coin to vaguely locate their general direction.

What surprised Qin Sang was that this location turned out to be east of his current position, in the lower reaches of Qingyi River.

But Five-Insect Sect lay directly north, along the upper reaches of Qingyi River.

Why had the Mute Girl left Five-Insect Sect?

If he counted the days, she had only been with the sect for half a year.

Qin Sang had provided her with numerous cultivation-supporting pills, and even the belongings of the Winged Serpent Village's priests had been entrusted to her. Her cultivation resources far exceeded what he had back then.

However, her talent was poor.

Given such a short period, Qin Sang estimated that if she had reached the peak of the third stage of the Qi Refining Realm, it would already be quite an achievement. The fourth stage was a bottleneck. It could not be overcome by relying on pills alone.

At the third stage of the Qi Refining Realm, danger lurked everywhere, even in the relatively safe Bear Mountain region. For Mute Girl to leave the Five-Insect Sect at such a time was deeply suspicious.

Qin Sang gripped the Qingfu Coin tightly and cast a cold glance toward the direction of Five-Insect Sect. Knowing that saving her was the top priority, he immediately turned the sword light around. Sparing no expense in true essence and pills, he directly activated Sword Qi Thunderclap and the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman to travel at maximum speed.

Mute Girl had once shown him kindness. Now that she was in trouble, he had to rescue her. He only hoped he wasn’t too late.

Moreover, her abrupt departure from Five-Insect Sect must have had a reason. If Cui Xuanzi had secretly harbored some twisted intentions, only by finding Mute Girl could Qin Sang get to the bottom of it.

Sword Qi Thunderclap was a formidable evasion technique.

A radiant streak of sword light tore through the sky, brilliant as a meteor. Its overwhelming presence swept through all directions without restraint. Thıs content belongs to NoveIꜰire.net

Countless birds and beasts along the way scattered in terror.

Some mortals, hearing thunderclaps under clear skies and witnessing the dazzling sword light, dropped to their knees in awe, crying out to the heavens in worship.

The Qingfu Coin could only point to a general direction. Qin Sang could vaguely sense that Mute Girl was still moving.

As he passed over a large village, a sudden thought struck him. He swept his spiritual consciousness downward and detected an old Foundation Building priest within. Without hesitation, he gathered his true essence into the form of a giant hand and plucked the old priest from his cave dwelling.

The old priest let out a terrified cry.

He had been quietly cultivating within his cave dwelling when the protective barrier was torn apart by brute force. Before he could react, a giant hand formed of pure true essence seized him like a chick and lifted him effortlessly into the air. He was powerless to resist.

Qin Sang, focused entirely on the rescue, did not slow down in the slightest after capturing the priest. With wind-like speed, he crossed several mountain ranges in the blink of an eye.

"I’m asking you, what has happened in the Bear Mountain region recently?"

Dangling the old priest in his hand, Qin Sang questioned him with a cold, piercing gaze.

The priest, overwhelmed by the terrifying pressure radiating from Qin Sang, was gripped by fear. But he was a veteran of the martial world. Realizing Qin Sang did not seem intent on killing him, he managed to steady his nerves and answered in a trembling voice, "Four months ago, Five-Insect Sect suddenly gained a Core Formation Realm expert who asserted control over the surrounding area. Using the name of a Golden Core cultivator, he ordered all of us to go out and search for hidden realms within a thousand li. Other than that, no major events have occurred."

Qin Sang narrowed his eyes. "Has there been any unusual activity from Five-Insect Sect in recent days?"

"I don’t know what you are referring to, Senior. As far as I’m aware... there doesn’t seem to be any," the old priest said cautiously, watching Qin Sang closely.

Qin Sang asked him a few more questions. Seeing that the old man truly knew nothing, he casually tossed him away.

The priest, having narrowly escaped with his life, turned pale and muttered to himself as he fell, "This is bad, this is very bad... Chaos is about to erupt in the Bear Mountain region. I’d best get out of here as soon as I can..."

Leaving the priest behind, Qin Sang did not slow down in the slightest.

Before long, he finally caught sight of Qingyi River. Thousand-Household Village was not far ahead. The Qingfu Coin responded again. Mute Girl was still farther downstream.