Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 870: Scheming

It was still too early to think further. Qin Sang did not know the method of refining and could not make more Beast King Banners. He simply tossed the nine banners into the Thousand-Jin Ring.

"So many treasures?" Opening the black-robed man’s Mustard Seed Pouch, Qin Sang swept his spiritual consciousness inside and was stunned by what he found.

There were four high-grade spirit stones alone, along with a variety of rare refining materials and spiritual herbs.

This man’s wealth was even greater than the peak Core Formation Realm experts Qin Sang had killed before.

He did not know that the man had been sent to infiltrate Tianxing City to recruit rogue cultivators, and so had brought a great number of treasures with him. What Qin Sang held now was only what remained after part of it had already been spent.

It was an unexpected harvest indeed!

He had thought he would need to search far and wide for high-grade spirit stones, but now he had four at once. Added to the one Daoist Fang had given him earlier, it was more than enough to refine the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions.

Qin Sang’s face lit up with delight, but there was no time now to examine his spoils in detail, so he shoved everything into the Thousand-Jin Ring to sort later.

The consecutive battles had drained him heavily. Qin Sang swallowed a few pills, gripped a spirit stone, and settled into meditation to restore his true essence.

When his essence had recovered to about seventy percent, he stopped cultivating and rose, gazing into the distance.

The storm showed no sign of relenting, the clouds piling ever thicker. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed. Amid the blackness, chaos reigned.

He could not make out the battlefield from here. After a moment of thought, he withdrew the barrier he had set and slipped quietly into the storm.

Before long, a glimmer of golden light appeared in the high sky far ahead.

There seemed to be beastly roars mixed with thunder and rain, faintly carried by the wind.

"The Beast King Banner!" Qin Sang’s heart stirred. "They are still fighting!"

He restrained his aura, preparing to move closer and see how the battle had unfolded.

But before he could approach, the golden light abruptly went out, and the beast roars cut off.

Qin Sang’s face shifted slightly, and he halted in mid-air.

"So soon?" His brow furrowed. For the fight to end so quickly meant his sabotage of the Beast King Banner Array had seemingly had no effect.

If nothing unexpected had occurred, the victors must have been Black Snake Mountain. Judging from this, those mysterious figures had lacked the strength to resist and had been crushed within the array.

That was only natural. To wield such formidable lightning-controlling technique could not have been without cost. They had likely been near exhaustion already.

Meanwhile, the disciples of Black Snake Mountain had hidden in ambush, fresh and ready. In such a balance, the outcome was inevitable.

Still, his scheme had failed. He had no chance to fish in troubled waters. Qin Sang was somewhat frustrated. He could only swallow the grievance for now and leave vengeance for later.

His eyes shifted toward the small island. It was quiet there. The Kui Dragon had likely been slain.

Moments later, several streaks of light flew to the island, revealing Daoist Fang and the others. They carried captives in hand. Not only had they defeated their foes, they had even taken some alive.

They were not unscathed, however. Most looked pale, their robes torn, their faces marked with anger.

One uninjured Black Snake Mountain disciple combed through the island, gathering all of Chu Heng and the others’ belongings. Then he hacked apart the Kui Dragon’s corpse, collecting anything of value.

Daoist Fang’s gaze was sharp as lightning, sweeping about warily. When his search turned up nothing, and his junior brothers finished their work, he gave a cold order. "Withdraw!"

"Hmph! That brat has gained too much from this, bringing us such trouble!"

"Sooner or later, we will kill him to avenge our fourth and youngest junior brothers!"

"Rip him to pieces!"

Cursing, the group departed the island. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Then Daoist Fang waved his hand and released several spirit talismans. In an instant, they all vanished, completely hidden away.

The downpour raged on. The island lay in ruins, the traces of battle and blood gradually washed away by the rain until it was as though nothing had ever happened.-----The disciples of Black Snake Mountain vanished without a trace.

Daoist Fang and the others had been extremely cautious, leaving behind no clue. Qin Sang found no trail to follow. After lingering in silence for a while, he could only retreat from the area.

His gaze flickered, staring into the depths of the rainy night, his expression shifting between thoughts. He was unwilling to let the matter end here. He would not give up so easily, but how to proceed required careful planning.

The identities of the mysterious figures remained unknown. If he could uncover their origins, he might then glimpse Black Snake Mountain’s true purpose and find a chance to sabotage their schemes.

From what he knew, the surrounding seas were barren, with almost no islands containing spirit veins. No sects had established themselves here.

Even rogue cultivators would not open cave dwellings in such a place.

Yet this mysterious group was stronger than many medium-sized sects, even possessing the Kui Dragon as a guardian spirit beast, yet they chose to hide in this desolate region. It was baffling.

It might take some time to discover their true identity.

Or perhaps he could instead spread word that Black Snake Mountain cultivators had infiltrated this area and slaughtered human cultivators, stirring up the major powers of the human race to hunt them down. That way he would not need to expend the slightest effort. In any case, he could not allow them peace.

But now, with experts of both races and all major powers focused on the Demonic Sea, it was uncertain how effective such a move would be.

After a brief consideration, Qin Sang suddenly turned around. He abandoned the matter here entirely and flew straight toward Tianxing City.

His external incarnation was still in his cave dwelling there!

He had just killed two true disciples of Black Snake Mountain. That sect would not let the matter rest. His identity could easily be uncovered, including the location of his cave dwelling.

If the external incarnation was exposed and discovered by Black Snake Mountain, the consequences would be disastrous.

Aside from their ancestral grandmaster, Qin Sang feared no one else in Black Snake Mountain. But his external incarnation was still weak and could not withstand any trouble. Even an ordinary disciple could easily capture and kill it.

And he had no time to re-forge another external incarnation.

Compared with vengeance, the external incarnation was clearly far more important. It concerned the ancient teleportation array. Even if there was only one ten-thousandth of a chance, he could not allow it to be endangered.

Qin Sang suspected that Black Snake Mountain had planted spies in Tianxing City. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to recruit so many human rogue cultivators so easily. The shopkeeper was highly suspicious.

With this thought, Qin Sang dared not linger any longer. He had to secure the safety of his external incarnation before Black Snake Mountain made its move. Only then could he scheme without worry.

Even if it meant missing his chance for vengeance, it was a price he had to accept.

Qin Sang raced against time, not pausing for even a moment. When his true essence was depleted, he summoned the Two-Headed Hou to carry him onward.

Traveling day and night, he returned to the waters near Tianxing City in less than two months.

Qin Sang donned a hooded cloak, entered the city openly under the guise of Daoist Master Qingfeng. He had no concerns. Even if the Black Snake Mountain grandmaster himself came, he would not dare commit murder within Tianxing City.

After entering, Qin Sang did not immediately return to the cave dwelling on Baogu Mountain. Instead, he went straight to the marketplace. Before long, he arrived near the shop, only to find its doors tightly shut in broad daylight.

The shopkeeper had disappeared!

"As expected, that man is suspicious!" Qin Sang frowned and slipped away quietly.