Chapter 758: Chapter 758
The devilish path, the alliance.
What undercurrents surged beneath the seemingly calm waters of Canglang Sea, Qin Sang had no way of knowing.
He cautiously approached and found that Xiang Yi had left behind a barrier, so he stood at the edge, quietly observing the Pan-surnamed cultivator and the Earth-Breaking Lizard.
The Pan-surnamed cultivator died with his eyes wide open, unwilling to rest. His body had been obliterated from the waist down, and the wound still carried remnants of a peculiar water-based force.
The Earth-Breaking Lizard had also been blasted in two. The portion matching the cultivator’s lower half had been reduced to dust.
The residual force on them must have come from the Divine Water-Wind Thunder that Xiang Yi mentioned earlier.
"Even the remaining power is this strong. The Divine Water-Wind Thunder is probably more powerful than my Flame Orb. The question is, how many of them does Xiang Yi have?"
Qin Sang’s expression was grim. A trace of hesitation flickered in his eyes, then he quietly retreated.
He didn’t touch anything, avoiding any trace that might alert Xiang Yi.
Still, Qin Sang did not leave. He remained nearby and waited.
After some time, voices finally echoed in the distance. Qin Sang held his breath and focused his hearing, discerning that there were six people.
"The Liu couple and the sword-bearing youth were rescued."
Qin Sang silently noted this, pricking up his ears to listen.
He wondered how Xiang Yi was explaining things to them on the way.
The six soon arrived at the edge of the deep pit. The Liu couple and the sword-bearing youth looked at the two mutilated corpses with no surprise and said through gritted teeth, "It really is an Earth-Breaking Lizard. Was that man truly a spy from the devilish path?"
Xiang Yi nodded. "It’s almost certain. Before we set out, the alliance warned me to be cautious. I deliberately withheld the full details of the mission to guard against unexpected variables. I just didn’t expect that man to be so cunning, able to manipulate things in plain sight and draw in the Purple Star Eagles. What a pity about Daoist Qingfeng. We’ve searched for so long and still haven’t found him. I fear he’s met a grim end."
Madam Liu exchanged glances with her husband and sighed. "When the Earth-Breaking Lizard and the Purple Star Eagles struck, I noticed that Daoist Qingfeng was in the worst position. He was directly knocked into the ferocious beast horde and had no time to react before being overwhelmed by the Purple Star Eagles.
"Though Daoist Qingfeng’s evasion techniques are excellent, surrounded as he was, he couldn't make use of them properly. His cultivation was still a bit too low. I’m at a similar level as him, and even I quickly found myself struggling against the beasts and poisonous mist. If not for my husband’s timely rescue, I might have..."
Her expression dimmed, and there was lingering fear in her eyes.
The Liu-surnamed cultivator held his wife and offered some comfort, then said solemnly, "That may be so, but we still shouldn’t be too quick to conclude that Daoist Qingfeng has died. The beasts are gathering in increasing numbers, and we didn’t manage to scout the entire area. Don’t forget, Daoist Qingfeng is not only skilled in evasion techniques but also has some mastery in corpse refinement. There might still be hope.
"In a place , having one more person is one more chance of survival. We can’t give up on him so easily. Once we’ve recovered, we should go in together and search. Daoist Xiang, is there still enough time left on the Bone Lotus?"
Cui Ji and the plump man showed no change in expression.
Xiang Yi thought for a moment, then gave a slight nod. "Daoist Liu is right. In that case, everyone, start recovering your strength at once. There was plenty of time before, but after this chaos, the rest of the journey will be tight.
"You’ve already seen how terrifying it is to be swallowed by the beast horde. Even Daoist Liu and I can’t last long without the Bone Lotus’s protection. When we return to rescue Daoist Qingfeng, we’ll have at most two lotus petals’ worth of time. Let’s do our best and leave the rest to fate."
At this moment, everyone had been severely drained. Their true essence was nearly depleted.
The sword-bearing youth sat cross-legged and frowned. "Daoist Xiang, can you finally tell us the full mission now? Are we expected to blindly walk into another demonic beast ambush?"
Xiang Yi didn’t evade the question and answered directly, "I kept it secret before to guard against spies. Now there’s nothing left to hide. This stone hall is just the first phase.
"There are three such stone halls in total within the Purple Mist End. The other two are said to be similar to this one, separated only by barriers and not particularly dangerous. Once we open all three, we’ll head to a place resembling an ancient divine platform. From there, we can leave the Purple Mist End..."
Qin Sang hid in the shadows, secretly listening to their conversation.
He wasn’t sure how Xiang Yi had explained things, but from the sound of it, the Liu couple and the sword-bearing youth had already bought into his lies. Googlᴇ search novel✶fire.net
When he heard Xiang Yi reveal the full scope of the mission, Qin Sang’s heart stirred.
At the other two stone halls, if there were no second party stirring things up, there might not be another chance for revenge.
He had considered doing what the Pan-surnamed cultivator did to lure ferocious beasts to scatter their formation.
But after thinking it over, he felt the chances were slim.
Who knew what kind of atrocity the Earth-Breaking Lizard had committed in the Purple Star Eagles’ nest to provoke them so thoroughly? That entire flock had been drawn in, and the lizard had moved freely through the forbidden ground, choosing the perfect moment. It would be incredibly hard to replicate that.
As for the final ancient divine platform, even Xiang Yi seemed unable to describe what kind of place it was. That might be his only real opportunity.
His enemies were not just Cui Ji, but also Xiang Yi and the plump man.
All three of them were stronger than him. If he could catch one of them alone, aside from Xiang Yi, Qin Sang felt completely confident in his chances.
If it came down to facing Xiang Yi, however, things would get tricky.
The Divine Water-Wind Thunder’s power was terrifying. Only by using the Flame Orb and seizing the initiative could he hope to kill him. But the Flame Orb was currently his strongest trump card, and compared to revenge, the upcoming journey to the Sky Tower was far more important. It would be best to save the Flame Orb for the unknown dangers that awaited there.
One was a fleeting act of vengeance. The other concerned his breakthrough to the Spiritual Infant Realm. The greater priority was obvious.
Qin Sang had always possessed great patience. He remained hidden, waiting for the right moment.
After a short period of recovery, Xiang Yi and the others returned to peak condition and reentered the battlefield. By now, it was even more brutal and perilous than before. Their search turned up nothing, and they retreated in a sorry state.
"Alive or dead, there’s no trace..."
The Liu couple sighed. "We used to think the tales about Seven-Kill Hall were exaggerated, but now we see that not a single word was false. Daoist Qingfeng’s evasion techniques were among the best at the Core Formation Realm, and even he didn’t have a chance to flee. His corpse must have been torn apart and devoured by the ferocious beasts."
Xiang Yi glanced at the Bone Lotus and reminded them, "More than half of this lotus petal has already been corroded by the mist. We’re running out of time."
Everyone cast one last look behind them, then walked deeper into the Purple Mist End.
None of them noticed that someone was silently tailing them.
Despite the mist obstructing vision and perception, Qin Sang didn’t dare get too close. The tracking was grueling, but fortunately, with six people as his target, he never lost their trail.
The second stone hall lay even deeper inside. Reportedly, it was quite close to the deep chasm in the heart of the Purple Mist End.
Xiang Yi didn’t take a straight path, instead advancing at a diagonal.
The poisonous mist here was far more intense. Qin Sang worried that the fat silkworm might not endure it, so he kept a close eye on its condition. Seeing it lazily sprawled on his sleeve, looking perfectly relaxed and at ease, he couldn’t help but nod in secret.