Chapter 1295: Abnormal Change

The Mortal Realm

From Qin Sang, he learned the details of the Battle of Blood Lake.

Bai mumbled about jade bones and brocade skin.

“It must be a life-preserving secret technique, where one refines themselves into a non-human form to barely survive. The mysterious person in the water prison, who refined his bones into a bone formation, had the same intention.” Bai mused, “This kind of secret technique isn't very common. If I still had my memories, I would definitely be able to discern its origin. Are you sure his divine soul has completely dissipated?”

Qin Sang replied, “Senior Sister's Azure Luan Spirit Puppet is equivalent to her clone. During the struggle with Old Devil Ye, it personally touched the jade bone, confirming that the person had perished before giving up the struggle.”

“Qing Jun?”

Bai nodded lightly, then paused, before asking about Old Devil Ye. He was very interested in Old Devil Ye, questioning every single detail meticulously. Unfortunately, Qin Sang had only fought against Old Devil Ye's clones twice and had not yet had the chance to confront Old Devil Ye's true form directly.

When the Battle of Twin Mirror Mountain occurred, Old Devil Ye fell into a trap, was injured again, and fled. After that, he rarely appeared, and Qin Sang never encountered him again.

“Brother Bai, what are you suspecting?” Seeing Bai relentlessly question him about Old Devil Ye, Qin Sang asked curiously.

Bai stated matter-of-factly, “Your feeling about the Nether Crystal Pagoda might not be an illusion! How did the Sin Abyss discover the connection between the Sin God Palace and the Ziwei Palace? Where did the Nether Crystal Pagoda come from? How did they know there was an ancient cultivator trapped in the Blood Lake, barely surviving until now? Old Devil Ye's shadow is behind every single one of these events. This foremost expert in the Northern Star Realm must know many untold secrets!”

Qin Sang was naturally curious about these things too, but Old Devil Ye was not so easily dealt with. In fact, as long as Old Devil Ye's actions didn't threaten him, Qin Sang didn't want to fight him to the death. He still harbored deep apprehension towards Old Devil Ye.

He already had enough secrets of his own. Not to mention the Southern Blazing Fire and the Killing Sword fragments. The Immortal Palace in the Seven Kills Hall awaited his exploration. The Four Saints Palace was the only Soul Transformation inheritance Qin Sang currently knew of, with profound foundations. He held a token given by Bao Zhengnan, which would allow him to visit the Four Saints Palace legitimately in the future. If he could uncover these secrets, he might find opportunities to reach the late Nascent Soul stage, or even the Soul Transformation stage.

Qin Sang had many choices and no need to desperately fight Old Devil Ye. At least, before breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he wouldn't actively seek trouble with Old Devil Ye.

With the current conflict settled, the framework of Qingyang Temple was now set up. Qin Sang was now to focus on his own cultivation.

“Old Devil Ye is cunning and now determined to withdraw his troops. We will soon arrive at Yu City. The Sin Abyss will have nowhere left to retreat and will undoubtedly fight to the death to defend the city. At that time, Brother Bai should have a chance to confront Old Devil Ye. However, before that, I need Brother Bai to help me with something…” Qin Sang's tone turned cold, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Only Qin Sang and Qing Jun knew of Bai's return.

The next day, Qin Sang, as usual, led his army out of the city in pursuit. The Sin Abyss no longer concealed its intentions. Its various armies raced against time to transfer items from the grasslands, destroying anything they couldn't take, fleeing towards Yu City like a swarm of locusts or a surging tide.

In this situation, eliminating enemies was no longer Qin Sang and his allies' primary task; instead, it was to seize resources as quickly as possible. Due to the vastness of the plains, by the third day, Qin Sang had to split his forces with Jing Yu. Jing Yu pursued the remnant forces of the Sin Abyss, targeting a small city ahead, while Qin Sang changed course midway to seize spiritual mines. For the next few days, the two fought independently, with almost no opportunity to rendezvous. Qing Jun was also doing the same, and the distance between them grew greater. From start to finish, Bai never made an appearance.

Ten days later.

Qin Sang led his army into a city. The Sin Abyss cultivators in the city had long since fled, not forgetting to destroy the city's spiritual formations before leaving, leaving behind only broken walls and ruins. Amidst the ruins, mortals who were unable to leave watched the invading cultivators tremblingly, awaiting their fate.

Although it was a war between cultivators, mortals were inevitably affected. Most cultivators wouldn't trouble mortals, but there were also those with cruel dispositions. Some demonic cultivators, who practiced demonic arts requiring living souls, dared not act recklessly within the allied territories but seized the opportunity to unleash massacres and slaughter countless individuals upon entering enemy territory. Qin Sang and Qing Jun could only restrain the cultivators under their command to prevent such tragedies from occurring around them.

“Martial Uncle, all the cultivating families in the city have evacuated, and the treasure vault has been emptied. There were originally several herb gardens outside the city, but all the spiritual herbs have been destroyed,” Li Yufu reported, stepping forward.

Qin Sang nodded. “Pass down the order: We will rest in the city tonight and depart tomorrow, heading straight for Yu City!”

“Yes!” Li Yufu withdrew.

Qin Sang went to the area with the densest spiritual energy in the city and used a spell to conjure a simple stone house.

“It seems your plan failed,” Bai said, emerging from the Corpse Puppet Bag.

It turned out that after discovering Bai had broken through and possessed extraordinary strength, Qin Sang devised a plan to 'lure the snake out of its hole'. The Sin Abyss was about to be driven into Yu City. What followed would either be peace talks or a prolonged standoff, making it difficult for such chaotic situations to arise again. Once the situation stabilized, there would be even less opportunity. If Earl Dongyang harbored malicious intentions, these past few days were the best time to act. Killing Qin Sang would also allow them to frame the Sin Abyss.

With Senior Sister and Jing Yu nearby, Earl Dongyang would certainly not dare to act rashly. So Qin Sang discreetly separated from them, deliberately exposing a vulnerability. With Bai's assistance, Qin Sang was confident that even if Old Devil Ye and True Monarch Cang Hong arrived together, they could hold out until Jing Yu and Senior Sister arrived. Of course, this was the worst-case scenario, which Qin Sang believed was highly unlikely. Both of those old foxes wouldn't easily trust Earl Dongyang's intelligence. The primary objective was to lure Earl Dongyang and his accomplices out.

However, everything had been normal for the past ten days, and Qin Sang had even deliberately maintained a long distance from Jing Yu. It was unknown whether Earl Dongyang felt unsure about dealing with Qin Sang alone and was still biding his time, or if he genuinely prioritized the bigger picture.

“An opponent of this cultivation level becomes harder to guard against the more they bide their time. Fortunately, Mount Shaohua is his concern, so he wouldn't dare use unscrupulous means against me; otherwise, it would truly be a great trouble,” Qin Sang sighed softly.

Just then, the restriction outside the stone house was suddenly triggered. Qin Sang's spiritual sense swept across it, revealing Li Yufu hurrying back, holding a jade slip—an urgent report.

“What happened?” Bai asked curiously, seeing Qin Sang's expression suddenly change drastically after taking the jade slip.

“Brother Bai, you truly are a lucky general!” Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual sense, his expression shifting, before finally uttering a cryptic exclamation to Bai. He handed the jade slip to Bai, saying with a hint of incredulity, “The news just came in: Yu City has suddenly fallen into great chaos, and the reason isn't yet known... Brother Bai, see for yourself!”