Chapter 741: Chapter 741

At the same time, Qin Sang sensed someone watching him.

He turned his head and saw a man standing at a window. The man gave him a polite nod.

"Late stage of the Core Formation Realm," Qin Sang noted to himself.

As expected, with the changes occurring in Seven-Kill Hall and the array being broken by a grand witch priest of the witch race, many had been frightened off. Only true experts dared to participate now.

The number of people probably won’t be large. I just wonder how many teams the Dongji Alliance plans to send in. We don’t even know the mission yet, let alone who the leader is. To command so many experts, the leader would need to be at least at the late stage of the Core Formation Realm. They surely wouldn’t send a Spiritual Infant grandmaster, would they? No matter how strong a Core Formation cultivator is, it’s hard to compete in battles between Spiritual Infant experts.

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Sang stepped into the wooden building. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by ⓝovelFire.net

By evening, while meditating in his room, he sensed the barrier on the building being activated. With a wave of his hand, a streak of azure light, shaped like a tadpole, flew in.

Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly. He crushed the azure light, stood up, and walked out of the building toward the innermost wooden tower. There, he finally met the leader of the operation.

Inside the main hall, six people were already seated, but Qin Sang’s eyes were drawn to one man immediately.

This man had the highest cultivation among them. Even if he wasn’t at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, he wasn’t far from it.

He wore a long robe and looked to be in his forties. His features were sharp and authoritative, with big eyes and sharp eyebrows. His very presence exuded power.

"Daoist Master Qingfeng."

Upon seeing Qin Sang, the man stood and cupped his hands in greeting. "I, Xiang, have been awaiting your arrival for some time. I happened to be out earlier today and could not greet you in person. I hope you’ll forgive me."

"You are too courteous, Daoist Xiang," Qin Sang replied with a bow and looked curiously at the other five people.

Among them was the man who had greeted him earlier through the window. Sitting beside him was a beautiful woman. The two appeared to be quite close, likely partners.

The man was at the late stage of the Core Formation Realm. The woman’s cultivation was about the same as Qin Sang’s, probably just recently advanced to the middle stage.

The couple seemed warm and friendly. They took the initiative to greet Qin Sang.

To their left sat a cold and aloof young man, hugging a sword. When he noticed Qin Sang’s gaze, he merely glanced back without expression.

To his left sat a plump man whose flesh nearly overflowed from his chair.

He forced a smile, and the fat on his face quivered with the effort.

Both of these two were at the pinnacle of the middle stage of the Core Formation Realm. Judging by conventional reasoning, they were likely trapped at a bottleneck and had no choice but to seek opportunities in Seven-Kill Hall.

The last person was the most unusual. Half of his left face was covered by a strange mask, which appeared to be fused with his skull. It was veined with blood-colored streaks, and his left eye glowed crimson with a sinister light. At first glance, he looked like an evil spirit.

Compared to him, Qin Sang’s hooded cloak seemed rather ordinary.

This person’s cultivation was also strange. On the surface, he was at the middle stage of the Core Formation Realm and looked unremarkable. But when his wicked eye swept past, Qin Sang felt a faint sting in his own eyes.

None of the others made any effort to conceal their cultivation, so Qin Sang could easily discern their levels. Still, their strength could not be measured by appearances alone. Anyone bold enough to enter Seven-Kill Hall surely had life-saving trump cards at the ready.

"Let me introduce everyone. This is Daoist Master Qingfeng of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild..."

Once the leader finished the introductions, everyone knew where the others came from.

Aside from the leader, the remaining five were all like Qin Sang, hailing from various major merchant guilds under the Dongji Alliance. As expected, the man and woman were indeed partners and came from the same guild. The man’s surname was Liu.

The leader’s name was Xiang Yi. He did not appear to be affiliated with any guild and seemed quite mysterious. Qin Sang, understanding the situation, refrained from prying.

After exchanging greetings, Qin Sang chose a corner and sat down.

"Daoist Xiang, are there really only seven of us going into Seven-Kill Hall this time?"

The Liu couple seemed quite familiar with Xiang Yi and asked directly, "What exactly is the alliance sending us in for? You’ve kept silent this whole time. Can’t you tell us now?"

"There is one more Daoist from the Nine-Star Guild who should be arriving soon. There will be eight of us in total. That’s already enough to handle most dangers. Any more, and we’d attract too much attention. That would only hinder our movements."

Xiang Yi replied calmly, "As for the alliance’s mission, I’m afraid I cannot disclose it. You will understand once we enter Seven-Kill Hall. This is an order from the alliance leader, and I do not dare to defy it."

When he heard the name Nine-Star Guild, Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. He thought to himself, "It can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it?"

Among the cultivators of the Nine-Star Guild, he only knew one.

The others all frowned upon hearing Xiang Yi's explanation. The sword-hugging youth raised an eyebrow, clearly displeased.

The plump man let out a chuckle, his words hiding barbs beneath the surface. "Daoist Xiang, since the task details cannot be revealed, we naturally wouldn’t dare disobey the alliance leader's orders. However, surely you can give us at least some idea of the difficulty and expected duration? From what I know, the celestial array outside Seven-Kill Hall is no trivial thing. Even the strongest spiritual array has a time limit. We must leave before the array reactivates and seals itself again. If the mission takes too long and we don’t even have time to search for treasure, then wouldn’t we just be spending our own spirit stones to work for the alliance? What would be the point of that?"

As he spoke, the plump man glanced around the room. The others nodded in agreement, and even Qin Sang added his voice in support.

Xiang Yi didn’t take offense. His expression remained unchanged as he replied calmly, "Fellow Daoists, you may rest assured. I can guarantee that this task will take, at most, one-quarter of our allotted time. You will have plenty of time left. As long as everyone works together and supports me, if things go smoothly, we may even finish earlier. As for whether there will be danger along the way, I can only say that we’ve made full preparations. But Seven-Kill Hall is unpredictable, and no one can say for certain whether unexpected events will arise."

"As long as you’re confident, that’s good enough. I’ve always admired your character, Daoist Xiang." The plump man grinned, saying no more.

The others also refrained from pressing further. After asking a few superficial questions, they settled down to wait for the final person to arrive.

Before long, the sound of footsteps came from outside.

The elderly gatekeeper called out, "Senior Uncle Xiang, Daoist Cui from the Nine-Star Guild has arrived."

Qin Sang’s eyelids twitched. He looked toward the entrance of the hall and saw a gaunt young man strolling in. His eyes still carried that familiar lewd glint.

Who else could it be but Cui Ji?

After driving Cui Ji off Five-Elemental Islands all those years ago, Qin Sang had never seen him again. Surprisingly, Cui Ji had kept a low profile and had not stirred up further trouble.

Qin Sang had originally been on guard against secret retaliation.

But after a long period of silence, he had assumed the matter was over.

Compared to twenty-odd years ago, Cui Ji’s aura had clearly grown stronger, though his cultivation remained stuck at the middle stage of the Core Formation Realm, which was similar to the sword-hugging youth.

However, something seemed off about Cui Ji’s current state. He was too thin, his skin unnaturally pale, devoid of the slightest trace of blood. It was likely the result of a mishap during the cultivation of some secret art.

"Has this guy also been trapped by a bottleneck?" Qin Sang’s expression turned odd.

"Welcome, Daoist Cui. Please take a seat," Xiang Yi stood up to greet him.

Just as Cui Ji was about to sit, his eyes landed on Qin Sang. In that instant, a flood of painful memories surged into his mind.

The hooded cloak. The familiar aura.

"You heretic! It’s you!" Cui Ji erupted with fury.