Chapter 706: Chapter 706
By the time the five people on the other side of the light wall realized something was wrong outside, Qin Sang and the gaunt elder had already determined the outcome. The gaunt elder had perished to the devilish fire, while Qin Sang remained completely unscathed.
By the time they rushed out, the battle had already ended.
After killing his target, Qin Sang quickly retreated. The gaunt elder’s corpse was soon reduced to ashes by the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, leaving nothing behind but a pile of cinders on the ground.
Seeing this, the others turned pale, instantly drawing their artifacts and aiming them at Qin Sang as though facing some terrifying villain.
"What are you trying to do? Why did you kill him?"
Daoist Fan barked harshly, glaring furiously at Qin Sang.
The rest of them looked equally stunned. The light wall had blocked all sound, so they had not heard the exchange between Qin Sang and the gaunt elder.
On one hand, they were confused about the situation. They were shocked that the usually silent and reserved Qin Sang had suddenly killed a companion. Cultivators at their level all had blood on their hands, but to kill someone without reason outside the cave dwelling before even entering, it was something no one had anticipated.
On the other hand, they were also shocked by Qin Sang’s strength. He had slain someone of the same realm in an instant.
After all, none of them were confident they could easily defeat the gaunt elder.
Didn’t that mean, if Qin Sang were to turn hostile, none of them would be able to escape unscathed?
Qin Sang kept his distance, his expression calm and unreadable. Then the cold mist churned, and two flying yakshas dropped beside him like guardians, confronting the five across from them.
When the group got a clear look at the flying yakshas’ savage appearances, they all gasped. Now they finally understood why the gaunt elder had died so quickly, without even being able to fight back.
These two yakshas were terrifying.
One of them radiated a presence on par with an actual Core Formation cultivator. The other was slightly weaker, but still posed enough of a threat to restrain an opponent. It was definitely not something that could be ignored.
Combined with the eerie devilish fire under Qin Sang’s control, if they were caught in a pincer attack by Qin Sang and the yakshas, even a middle-stage Core Formation cultivator might have no choice but to flee.
"Daoist Qin..." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novᴇlfire.net
The scholar swallowed hard and cautiously asked, "What exactly happened here? We’re already at the entrance of the Spiritual Infant’s cave dwelling and are just about to enter. If there’s some sort of misunderstanding or disagreement, why not speak calmly and resolve it openly in front of everyone? Why go so far as to kill?"
Qin Sang said nothing. His eyes were cold as he swept his gaze across the five of them one by one.
If the gaunt elder had an accomplice, Daoist Fan was the most likely candidate. But the other four were also suspects. All of them were seasoned schemers, hiding their thoughts well. Qin Sang could not detect any obvious signs.
After witnessing the gaunt elder’s death, the rest were clearly on edge. They already regarded Qin Sang as the greatest threat. No amount of words could explain the situation or earn their trust.
No matter how strong he was, Qin Sang would not dare take on all of them at once.
The signal had already been sent. If he stayed in the cave, he would only be walking into a trap. Explaining anything to them now would be a waste of time.
He judged that the gaunt elder’s accomplices likely weren’t strong to the point of being unbeatable. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have resorted to such sneaky tactics.
However, the cave was narrow, making it difficult to use talismans or arrays effectively. More importantly, no one here trusted each other. He had no way of knowing how many of them were in on the plot. Fighting alone would be a dead end.
What concerned Qin Sang the most, though, was the eerie cold mist inside the cave.
He suspected it might be related to some kind of powerful spiritual fire. If someone could control that fire, killing them all would be a trivial task.
A man does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.
First, he needed to leave this place and get out of danger. Only then could he reassess the situation once the gaunt elder’s companions arrived.
No matter how tempting a treasure might be, one had to be alive to claim it.
Besides, whether there was even a treasure in this cave dwelling remained uncertain. To Qin Sang, it was beginning to seem more like a honeyed trap—a hunting ground laid by someone else.
With that thought, a faint smile appeared on his lips. But in the eyes of the others, that smile seemed twisted and devilish. In such an ominous setting, it sent a chill through them.
The hands of the two female cultivators holding their astras were visibly trembling.
"Daoist Lan, out of respect for our alliance, allow me to offer you a word of advice," Qin Sang said calmly.
He pointed to the pile of ashes. "This man took advantage of the chaos when the light wall broke to secretly send a signal outward. I don’t know who he was contacting, but fortunately I caught him in time. If you were working with him, then I’ve said nothing. But if you weren’t, then I suggest you think carefully. We’re already being corroded by the cold mist, and we must still exhaust ourselves to break the barrier. If someone blocks our path here, what do you think will happen?"
Qin Sang remained calm and composed, without the slightest hint of fear.
The scholar and the others had changing expressions as they listened to him. Though they were still unsure whether to believe him, they were already instinctively becoming wary of the short, stocky cultivator.
After all, he had been the one to initiate this venture, and his suspicion was the greatest.
The short cultivator roared, interrupting Qin Sang. "Do not listen to this devil's deceit! He clearly killed to silence his victim after his scheme was exposed, now he’s trying to sow discord among us. Don’t be fooled! We must kill him first. There are five of us. We don’t need to fear him..."
Qin Sang gave a cold snort and refused to argue further.
"I’ve said what I needed to say. I’ll be taking my leave."
Before the words had even faded, Qin Sang raised a hand and recalled the flying yaksha. From within his body came the low, resonant roar of a Jiao. His figure turned into a streak of flowing light and shot back along the path they had come, disappearing into the depths of the cold mist in an instant, leaving the others staring at one another in stunned silence.
The cold mist surged as a figure burst forth, landing lightly on the branch of an ancient tree at the edge of the hill. Just as he reappeared, a patch of sky-blue shimmer suddenly appeared in the air before him. The Sky-Eyed Butterfly's stunning form took shape in front of him.
A gentle smile appeared on Qin Sang’s face. He extended one finger for the butterfly to perch upon, while his other hand softly stroked its wings in encouragement.
After communicating with his life-bound insect gu, Qin Sang received more precise information. It seemed that what the gaunt elder had released was a spiritual insect. The insect had flown high into the air, then vanished.
"Using spiritual insects to transmit signals... sounds very much like a method of the witch race. It’s somewhat similar to the Qingfu Coin, though not as stealthy. It likely needed to bypass the interference of the cold mist to work properly. All six of them are human cultivators. Could someone have colluded with the witch race to harm their own kind?"
A contemplative expression crossed Qin Sang’s face as he looked toward the surrounding sea.
Blue sea and clear skies, scattered white clouds... Everything appeared perfectly normal.
Then his gaze suddenly sharpened, locking onto the distant northern horizon where a single white cloud was rapidly approaching.
That cloud was gliding through the sky with astonishing speed, drawing ever closer in this direction. Seeing how fast it moved, Qin Sang’s expression darkened.
He suspected that the cloud concealed the gaunt elder’s accomplices, but he could not determine how many people were inside. Knowing he could not afford to linger here, he stomped down with force, activating the talisman once more, and took off in another direction without looking back.