Chapter 683: Chapter 683

"So fast!" the old man exclaimed in shock, his face full of disbelief.

From the moment they saw Qin Sang make his move to the time they rushed into the mist, it had only been a few dozen breaths. Yet Qin Sang had already subdued the leader of the Blue Jiao without any sign of a fierce battle.

This meant the Blue Jiao had been suppressed without even having a chance to fight back.

The three exchanged glances, all visibly shaken, a deep sense of unease surfacing in their eyes.

They had accepted Qin Sang’s commission after careful deliberation, believing that with their hidden trump cards, even if Qin Sang turned on them, they would still have a chance to resist. Thɪs chapter is updated by novęlfire.net

Only now did they realize how naïve they had been.

This cloaked Daoist's strength was far beyond ordinary. If he truly attacked them, their fate would be no different from that of the Blue Jiao—utterly powerless.

The old man was a decisive person. He quickly withdrew his gaze from Qin Sang and gritted his teeth as he shouted.

The other two also knew it was too late for second thoughts. Qin Sang’s behavior along the way had not seemed especially ruthless, which gave them some comfort.

Qin Sang paid no attention to what they were thinking.

After cleaving open the demonic mist with one sword strike, he summoned two flying yaksha to assist the ebony sword in subduing the peak Demonic Spirit Realm Blue Jiao. With such a formation, the task required almost no effort.

Still, he didn’t dare to be careless. The moment he captured the Blue Jiao leader, he immediately summoned the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman, preparing to extract its soul. If he delayed too long, nearby demonic beasts could be attracted to the disturbance.

Holding the talisman in one hand, Qin Sang pressed it against the Blue Jiao’s forehead.

The Blue Jiao let out a furious roar, its ferocity flaring. But as the talisman grew brighter, its radiance shot into the Jiao’s body like countless silver needles. Its struggles quickly weakened.

Moments later, a Jiao spirit the size of a palm slowly separated from its forehead, cun by cun, and drifted toward the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman.

The Jiao spirit resisted violently again, but it was all in vain before Qin Sang.

He rapidly formed a series of hand seals to activate the talisman, gradually absorbing the Jiao spirit until the talisman completely stabilized.

With a flick of his hand, the talisman flew back into his palm.

Now within the pure talisman shaped like a jade tablet, seven Jiao spirits had been sealed, enhancing its power yet again.

After putting away the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman, Qin Sang turned to scan the surroundings.

With their leader gone, the remaining Jiao panicked and scrambled to flee toward the seabed. The old man and the others had taken advantage of the chaos to slay over a dozen large Jiao, their faces alight with excitement.

By now, the seawater below had been dyed red with blood, and a faint stench of it drifted outward.

The mist was also thinning by the moment.

Just then, the old woman’s voice suddenly rang out from outside. "Daoist Master, there’s something unusual with the seawater to the east. Strange winds are kicking up waves and blowing this way!"

Qin Sang shouted back, "Stop killing! Cut up the Jiao corpses and leave immediately!"

If they attracted a high-level beast, all six of them would be in grave danger.

Moreover, according to Duyan Island’s rules, they were not allowed to completely exterminate the Jiao group. What they had harvested already was enough.

The old man and the others understood the situation well. They immediately ceased their attacks and began gathering their spoils.

Qin Sang swiftly began dissecting the Jiao corpse in front of him, taking only the valuable parts and storing them in his Thousand-Jin Ring. When he reached the head and severed it, he suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. Probing it with his true essence, he found a bluish core resembling a demonic core.

"Is this a demonic beast’s inner core?"

Seeing the orb, Qin Sang recalled the Heavenly Flame Jiao inner core he had obtained from Kong Xin in the Endless Valley.

The two looked very similar.

However, while the Heavenly Flame Jiao inner core held powerful fire energy, this one appeared to be a poison core, slowly corroding his true essence.

Since arriving in the Demonic Sea, Qin Sang’s understanding of demonic beasts had grown considerably. He now knew that inner cores were not unique to the Heavenly Flame Jiao. They could also appear in late-stage Demonic Spirit Realm beasts, though the chance of finding one was extremely low.

Demonic beasts with inner cores were generally stronger than others. As for whether there was a relationship between inner cores and demonic cores, even immortal cultivators had not figured it out. However, like demonic cores, inner cores could also be added into Malevolent Demonic Pills and Blood Bone Pills to boost their medicinal potency, making them highly valuable.

The fact that this Blue Jiao had produced an inner core meant its strength should have been extraordinary. Unfortunately, it had not had the chance to unleash it before being besieged and slain by Qin Sang and the two flying yakshas.

Qin Sang took out a jade box and was about to seal the inner core when he suddenly felt a stir from the insect basket. The fat silkworm inside had become restless. Qin Sang took out a jade box and was about to seal the inner core when he suddenly felt a stir from the insect basket. The fat silkworm inside had become restless. The silkworm’s cry was as urgent as when it had first seen the Thousand-Hand Spider Fruit, full of impatience.

Could it be that its true preferred food was the inner cores of demonic beasts?

A delighted look spread across Qin Sang’s face. He had tried countless things, yet the fat silkworm had shown no interest. Who would have thought that, unintentionally, he would stumble upon what it truly desired here?

"That might not be it. It could be because this is a poison core that it's attracting the fat silkworm's interest. I wonder if a real demonic core would work."

Qin Sang murmured to himself, recalling that the silkworm’s abilities were all poison-related.

But now was not the time to test that theory. He first put away the Blue Jiao’s inner core and quickly finished dissecting the Jiao’s corpse. Seeing that the others had also completed their work, he immediately gave the order to retreat.

The six of them concealed their presence and escaped outward, hearing the deafening roar of crashing waves behind them.

Only after fleeing a great distance did they dare to look back.

The area where they had slain the Jiao was now engulfed in howling winds. Demonic qi surged to the skies, even obscuring the bright moon. From the depths of the sea, terrifying black shadows seemed to be surfacing.

Had they lingered a little longer, they would truly have been trapped.

Everyone was inwardly alarmed. They moved with even greater caution and journeyed through the night. Fortunately, they managed to leave that sea region without incident.

At dawn the next day...

"You’ve been operating here for quite some time. There should be a safe stronghold, correct? Take me there. Once the sea calms down, we’ll return to hunt more Jiao," Qin Sang spoke in a low voice.

After killing the Blue Jiao last night, he had sensed that the aftermath was a bit too chaotic. Uneasy, he decided to proceed more cautiously.

The old man hesitated for a moment but ultimately obeyed Qin Sang’s command and led the group flying due south.

After several days of flight, they landed on a barren island just outside the trench.

The cracks in the rocks on the island reached deep into the earth. At the very bottom, a spirit vein was concealed. Though not large, it was sufficient to serve as a cave dwelling.

Qin Sang gave a few instructions and then chose the innermost cave dwelling. He laid down a concealment barrier and sealed it off.

Inside, he took out both the fat silkworm and the Blue Jiao’s inner core.

The moment it saw the inner core, the silkworm’s eyes lit up, just like when it first saw the Thousand-Hand Spider Fruit. It squealed with excitement, full of eager longing.

Though the inner core was extremely valuable, if it could enhance the silkworm’s abilities, Qin Sang would not be stingy. He immediately removed the seal on the Blue Jiao’s inner core and tossed it to the silkworm.

With a happy chirp, the fat silkworm radiated a multicolored glow. It landed on the Blue Jiao’s inner core, then crawled onto it and wrapped itself tightly around the orb.

Unlike when it had chewed on the Thousand-Hand Spider Fruit, this time it did not gnaw on the core. Instead, it used its rainbow-colored glow to slowly absorb the power from within.

Clinging to the inner core, the silkworm looked deeply content. It didn’t form a cocoon but remained in a trance-like state—half-asleep, half-meditating. The Blue Jiao’s inner core showed no visible changes on the surface.

It seemed this would be a long and gradual absorption process.