Chapter 690: Chapter 690

The newcomer wore a robe similar to that of the black-robed youth, but his appearance was much older.

Though he had lost track of his target, he remained unwilling to give up. He released his life-bound insect gu to scour the area in search. Just then, a streak of evasion light shot in from the distance. Another middle-aged man in black robes approached swiftly.

Descending with his evasion light, the man swept his gaze across the area and, upon seeing only the elderly cultivator, frowned and asked, "Fifth Junior Brother, why are you alone? Where’s Sixth Junior Brother and the person he was following?"

"Third Senior Brother, Sixth Junior Brother..."

The elder faltered, unable to speak further.

Noticing the man’s expression, the middle-aged cultivator felt a sudden foreboding. His face darkened, and he bellowed, "Speak! What exactly happened?!"

The elder’s face turned ashen. "I don’t know what exactly happened either. I heard the sound of a Lightning Command Talisman and rushed over at full speed. But when I arrived, Sixth Junior Brother had already been killed..."

The middle-aged man’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He glared at the elder. "You just stood by and watched Sixth Junior Brother get killed and let the murderer escape?!"

The elder shrank back slightly and said softly, "The killer’s speed was no slower than Eldest Senior Brother. I only saw a flash of red before he vanished without a trace. Though my cultivation is one level higher than Sixth Junior Brother, he possessed supreme treasures and was stronger than me. He already used the Lightning Command Talisman, but the enemy wasn’t harmed at all..."

"There was only one attacker?"

The middle-aged man’s pupils constricted. His voice grew solemn. "The Lightning Command Talisman and Golden Radiance Armor that Master bestowed upon Sixth Junior Brother are both supreme defensive treasures. We rushed over the moment we received his signal. Even if he had run into a late-stage Core Formation expert, he shouldn’t have died so quickly.

"This person not only resisted the Lightning Command Talisman head-on but also easily broke through the Golden Radiance Armor and had a movement speed comparable to Eldest Senior Brother. Could he be one of the top experts from Duyan Island? But those individuals were all recruited by that old bastard Lin Hai and now remain secluded on the island. Lin Hai doesn't want to get involved in this mess. With the island sealed, they shouldn’t be roaming freely... then who else could it be?"

The more the elder thought, the more terrified he became. His face contorted. "Third Senior Brother, Sixth Junior Brother was Master’s favorite. Now that he’s perished in the Demonic Sea, how can we explain this to Master when we return?" Newest update provıded by NovelHub(.)net

The middle-aged man clearly felt some fear as well. After a moment of hesitation, he let out a long sigh. "It’s too late to change anything. We’ll have to wait for Eldest Senior Brother to make a decision..."

Elsewhere, after fleeing for a distance, Qin Sang began concealing his movements again, though he still dared not let his guard down.

Even though he couldn’t hear the black-robed cultivators’ conversation, he knew full well that they would never let this matter rest. It was best not to show himself for a while.

The black-robed youth might not have had a high cultivation level, but he carried a shocking number of treasures. That Lightning Command Talisman had been terrifyingly powerful, and Qin Sang still felt lingering fear. If not for his Blood Defilement Divine Light, even with his sturdy inner armor, he would have suffered greatly. It would have been nearly impossible to kill the youth before his allies arrived.

Clearly, the youth’s companions would not be weak. If Qin Sang encountered them again, he lacked the confidence to defeat them and would much rather stay hidden.

Once he confirmed that no one was pursuing him, Qin Sang let out a quiet breath of relief and took out several items for inspection.

First were the shattered fragments of the Blackwater Mirror.

It had taken the full brunt of the Lightning Command Talisman. The mirror’s core had been pierced and completely purified by divine lightning, its frame blown apart into fragments. Qin Sang had managed to retrieve only these broken pieces.

He hadn’t held much hope, and sure enough, the fragments had lost all spiritual essence. The remaining portions had been internally destroyed by the talisman’s power. It was completely ruined.

It pained Qin Sang to see such a fine astra destroyed in just a few short years. Thankfully, he had inherited the black-robed youth’s possessions, which should offset his losses.

Without rushing to inspect the Mustard Seed Pouch, Qin Sang first took out the youth’s inner armor.

"He called it the Golden Radiance Armor, if I heard correctly," Qin Sang murmured as he lifted it and examined it closely.

Now separated from its owner, the Golden Radiance Armor had shrunk to the size of a palm-sized golden plate. Because it had been tainted and severely damaged, only a faint golden glow still flickered across its surface.

"Just a top-tier low-grade astra... yet it's so incredibly tough. It rivals even middle-grade astras."

Its grade wasn’t as high as Qin Sang had expected, but he wasn’t disappointed.

As an artifact refinement cultivator, he fully understood how rare these inner armor astras were. Though its spiritual essence had been severely damaged by the Blood Defilement Divine Light, the Golden Radiance Armor had withstood blows from both the ebony sword and the flying yaksha. The fact that it didn’t break immediately meant it was extraordinarily resilient, making among the finest of inner armor astras.

Even among late-stage Core Formation experts, few owned such a treasure.

With the Golden Radiance Armor for protection, so long as he didn’t face another technique like the Blood Defilement Divine Light, which specifically countered astras, it could safeguard his vital points in critical moments and greatly enhance his chances of survival.

He wasn’t sure whether the black-robed youth had obtained it from someone else or if it had been bestowed by his sect.

The contamination from the Blood Defilement Divine Light was not difficult to cleanse; it only required some time for nurturing. However, the cracks on the main body of the Golden Radiance Armor were more problematic. If handled improperly, they could impair the armor's effectiveness.

Back then, the situation had been critical. Qin Sang clearly hadn’t had the luxury to consider such details.

After staring at the cracks on the Golden Radiance Armor for a while, Qin Sang gradually formed an idea. He first erased the black-robed youth’s residual aura from it, then refined it slightly before storing it in his dantian to slowly nurture.

"This piece of inner armor alone is enough to offset my losses. Let’s see what’s in the Mustard Seed Pouch," Qin Sang muttered.

He extended his spiritual consciousness into the black-robed youth’s Mustard Seed Pouch and was immediately met with the sight of four astras, all damaged to varying degrees, clearly looted from others in battle.

This did not mean the black-robed youth had only ever killed four people. In the world of immortal cultivation, battles were fought to the bitter end. Cultivators seldom gave up until they were drained of every last drop of energy, and self-destructing one's astra upon death was a common tactic.

The fact that so many astras had been seized already spoke volumes about the strength of the youth and his companions.

Among them, two were clearly life-bound astras taken from others. Though Qin Sang could forcefully use them, their power would be reduced. His gaze shifted to the other two astras.

One was a jade hu tablet[1], the other a scroll, both low-grade astras.

Repairing these two would be far simpler. Qin Sang had plenty of spiritual materials on hand. After refining them one by one, he planned to find a safe place to begin restoration.

Beyond the astras, there was no shortage of other items, including pills, demonic cores, and especially spirit talismans. The talismans were varied and abundant, covering a wide range of functions. Unfortunately, Qin Sang could not find a second Lightning Command Talisman. If he had one more of those, he would have felt much more secure.

This man had truly possessed a rich trove of treasures. With these, Qin Sang could continue tempering himself in the field without needing to return for supplies anytime soon.

Even so, the recent appearance of members of the witch race left Qin Sang uneasy. He feared that even hunting demonic beasts near Duyan Island would no longer be safe.

Remaining ignorant and cowering like a turtle was not an option.

If he waited until disaster struck to start reacting, it would already be too late.

"I’ll find a quiet place to lay low and repair the astras first. Once that’s done, I’ll venture out to investigate. Whatever has happened on Duyan Island, I must get to the bottom of it."

1. A hu is a flat scepter originating from China, where they were originally used as narrow tablets for recording notes and orders. ☜