Chapter 669: Chapter 669

Qin Sang filled all the Lesser Yin Magnetic Bottles with Earth Malevolent Qi in preparation for unforeseen circumstances. He then took out the Blackwater Mirror.

During the soul search earlier, he had already come to understand this astra and couldn’t help but feel relieved. Fortunately, Du Han had not been able to unleash its full power; otherwise, capturing him alive would have been impossible.

The Blackwater Mirror could be used for both offense and defense, offering remarkable flexibility.

Its true strength lay in defense, especially thanks to the peculiar spiritual water sealed inside. It could transform into shields or barriers to block enemy attacks, ever-shifting in form, embodying the principle of softness overcoming force.

Moreover, its power would increase by another ten percent when used in aquatic environments, making it exceptionally effective in the Stormy Demonic Sea. It was indeed a rare and precious treasure.

Qin Sang’s expression lit up with delight. Seeing that he still had time, he decided to refine the Blackwater Mirror here and now.

The journey to the Stormy Demonic Sea would be long and perilous, with many unknowns along the way. Naturally, it was best to strengthen himself as much as possible beforehand.

“By now, Black Witch Palace must have realized Du Han is dead. By the time they send someone to Xijiang to investigate, I will already be long gone from the Witch God Continent.”

With a faint, cold smile, Qin Sang wiped away Du Han’s residual aura from the astra and focused on refining it.

Three more days passed. A figure suddenly appeared above the canyon, flickered into a blur, and soared northward into the sky.

The Blackwater Mirror rested within Qin Sang’s dantian.

As he familiarized himself with the astra, he also used his Golden Core to nourish it, slowly restoring the spiritual essence that had been corrupted by the Blood Defilement Divine Light.

Without Du Han dragging him down, Qin Sang moved much faster. In just seven days, he returned to Pingbo Port. There, he contacted several merchant guilds and gathered a great deal of intelligence on Canglang Sea and Stormy Demonic Sea. On the agreed day, he arrived at the eastern gate of Pingbo Port, where they had arranged to meet.

Just as he stepped out of the city gate, he heard Ran Luo’s voice, filled with relief. "Daoist Master Qingfeng, you’ve finally arrived. The caravan is about to set out. I hadn’t seen you, and feared you might have been delayed by urgent matters and missed the appointed time."

A figure then emerged from a short distance ahead. It was Ran Luo, gazing at him with a hint of playful reproach.

Clearly, Qin Sang’s display of skill in artifact refinement had earned the Qiongyu Merchant Guild’s high regard. Otherwise, Ran Luo would not have treated him with such warmth.

"Apologies for keeping you waiting, Daoist Ran. I returned to the city early but didn’t want to disturb your guild, so I waited until now to come over," Qin Sang replied with a cupped fist.

His eyes swept past Ran Luo and landed on the caravan behind her, and even he couldn’t help being surprised by its size. He had assumed that, no matter how large a merchant guild might be, their caravan couldn’t be too grand. But clearly, he had underestimated it.

Cart after cart was lined up in rows, each pulled by tamed low-level demonic beasts.

That wasn’t the most impressive part. Within the caravan, Qin Sang sensed dozens of powerful or well-concealed auras. Every one of these individuals had a cultivation no weaker than his, and some were too well hidden to even gauge.

"A single merchant guild has this many Golden Core experts?"

Qin Sang was silently astonished. "Could it be that there's even a Spiritual Infant grandmaster among them?"

Ran Luo noticed Qin Sang inspecting the caravan and smiled knowingly. "Daoist Master, you misunderstood. Our Qiongyu Merchant Guild doesn’t possess such profound resources. It’s thanks to the trust of other guilds and fellow cultivators. As soon as we released word a month ago, many came to us, wanting to journey together. There are also many solo cultivators joining the group. Such a large gathering is quite rare, even in past years."

So that’s how it is. Qin Sang now understood. With this many people, all mixed in together, the Qiongyu Merchant Guild wouldn’t dare try anything.

Still, a group this conspicuous passing through witch race territory might stir up other problems.

"Daoist Ran, have you noticed anything strange lately among the witch race’s major sects? There seems to be some disturbance among the Spiritual Infant cultivators. I’m concerned something might happen. Traveling with such a large group, so openly, might be too conspicuous..."

Qin Sang carefully chose his words and sent a voice transmission to Ran Luo.

He believed that with the Dongji Alliance’s strength, they must have detected some signs.

Sure enough, Ran Luo’s expression froze. She glanced up and down at Qin Sang, then looked around before signaling him to follow her to a quiet corner at the rear of the caravan. "Daoist Master, I didn’t expect you to be so well informed even about the witch race’s secrets. To be honest, I only learned about this recently from Elder Zhou."

"A breeze stirs before the storm. The witch race is making large movements. Signs were bound to appear. I’m just a bit more attentive," Qin Sang replied vaguely, offering no clue as to the source of his information."

Ran Luo studied him again, clearly elevating her regard for him. After a moment of thought, she sent him another voice transmission.

"What you don’t know, Daoist Master, is that our Qiongyu Merchant Guild originally planned to depart for Stormy Demonic Sea six months later. But after observing strange signs among the witch race, we decided to act now."

"If chaos truly breaks out and we’re trapped in Pingbo Port with no support, we’ll be abandoned by our own kin. Some larger guilds have noticed the same signs and approached us privately, proposing we travel together."

"To move quickly, we’re only bringing light and essential cargo. All our personnel are at least Foundation Building cultivators. Traveling light and lean is the only way to maintain speed."

"Elder Zhou’s visits to the Houtu Sect and other places were actually to probe the situation. So far, the major witch sects remain calm. There’s no need to be alarmed. As long as we don’t delay along the way, we’ll make it out. And if something does happen, we have a way to slip away unnoticed. You just need to follow me."

So the major guilds are already this pessimistic. They are preparing to withdraw entirely from the Witch God Continent?

Qin Sang’s heart sank. It seemed the situation was more dire than he had imagined.

Seeing that the Qiongyu Merchant Guild had made proper arrangements, Qin Sang had no choice but to travel with them.

After all, if chaos truly erupted, trying to escape by sea from Pingbo Port would still leave him within the witch race's sphere of control and likely throw him straight into the front lines. Heading directly toward Witch God Mountain might actually prove faster and safer.

With Qin Sang's concerns dispelled, Ran Luo led him toward a carriage.

He was to ride together with Ran Luo in the same carriage. Besides the two of them, there were two others on board, both of whom turned out to be Core Formation cultivators as well. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveI★Fire.net

Four people sharing one carriage made for a tight squeeze and a rather rough ride, but it was something he could endure.

"Elder Zhou is in the carriage just ahead. Daoist Master, would you like to meet him?" Ran Luo asked.

Qin Sang considered it, then shook his head. "Forget it. Elder Zhou is in charge of the guild’s affairs and must be busy with important matters. There’s no need to disturb him now. I’ll pay him a visit once we reach the Stormy Sea."

Ran Luo didn’t insist. After settling Qin Sang in, she flew off toward the front of the caravan, where the leading carts had already set out.

Qin Sang climbed onto the carriage shaft and, at the last moment, turned back to look at Pingbo Port.

Most of the human cultivators on the Witch God Continent were concentrated in this city.

The Qiongyu Merchant Guild had only brought along a handful of important individuals. Those whose cultivation was lacking had been left behind.

If war broke out, who knew what fate awaited them?

Qin Sang shook his head. He could barely protect himself and was powerless to intervene. All he could hope for was that the witch race’s Spiritual Infant cultivators would restrain themselves and allow the fragile peace to continue just a little longer.