Chapter 1436: Gains and Losses

Rain beat against the bluestone.

He held the ice casket in his palm.

Qin Sang attempted to break the seal, drawing on his previous experience.

Inside the cultivator's dwelling, pale light occasionally erupted, and a chilling aura permeated the air, causing a layer of frost to condense on the walls.

The ice casket vibrated repeatedly, yet showed no signs of opening.

After a long while, Qin Sang stopped, frowning intently at the ice casket.

Unexpectedly, even with his spiritual consciousness materialized, he remained helpless against the seal on the ice casket. He had already tried every method he could think of.

Holding the ice casket, Qin Sang sat motionless, his gaze distant, as if contemplating something.

His spiritual consciousness was no weaker than that of a Grand Cultivator.

If he couldn't open the ice casket even with such power, and still had no clue, there were only two possibilities: either his spiritual consciousness was still not strong enough, or a specific condition had to be met.

If even a Grand Cultivator couldn't open it, Qin Sang might have to leave the ice casket in his Qianjun Ring, treating it as if it didn't exist, for the foreseeable future.

At that moment, Qin Sang's thoughts wandered, bringing to mind the white-robed man who stole the ice casket, and the Myriad Devil Convention.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would attend the convention himself.

"Old Devil Hun has killed so many Nascent Souls from the Xuantian Palace, forming a deadly enmity. Will Xuantian Palace still participate in the Myriad Devil Convention? As the biggest event in the Northern Sea, the convention is the largest trade fair for Nascent Soul cultivators. If the white-robed man is alive, he might appear on Hunmo Island. If Xuantian Palace wants to find the traitor and retrieve the ice casket, they should send people to secretly investigate. I wonder if they have a way to sense the ice casket. Should I leave the ice casket in my dwelling before going to Hunmo Island?"

As Qin Sang considered this, a sudden idea struck him.

He decided to do the opposite: take the ice casket to Hunmo Island and test Xuantian Palace!

This Myriad Devil Convention was the perfect opportunity.

Since Xuantian Palace had formed an enmity with Old Devil Hun, they would surely not dare to act recklessly on Hunmo Island, entering the heartland of the demonic path.

Moreover, Ghost Mother had once said that the Xuantian Palace Master was not in good condition and might be recuperating. If the Xuantian Palace Master couldn't act, it would be difficult for others to stop Qin Sang.

There were only two possible outcomes.

If he wasn't exposed, it meant Xuantian Palace had no way to sense the ice casket's location, or Qin Sang's Demonic Flame Seal could block Xuantian Palace's detection.

He would then have no further worries.

He could then slowly consider whether to keep the ice casket for study or use it for other purposes.

If Xuantian Palace located Qin Sang, it would mean the Demonic Flame Seal was ineffective.

He would then have no better way to conceal the ice casket.

Even if he could hide it for a while, as long as Xuantian Palace relentlessly pursued it, given their strength and vast influence, they would eventually pinpoint his location. Taking it back to the Northern Star Realm wouldn't be safe either; once the Xuantian Palace Master recovered and crossed the storm belt to find him, the trouble would be even greater.

It would be unwise to antagonize the Northern Sea's foremost power for an ice casket that couldn't even be opened.

Qin Sang didn't even know what was inside the ice casket; it was likely a treasure of the ice element, which might not be useful to him.

In that case, it would be better to negotiate a deal with Xuantian Palace.

After all, Qin Sang hadn't stolen the ice casket. As long as he expressed this willingness, Xuantian Palace wouldn't need to offend another top expert and would surely be delighted.

Taking advantage of the Xuantian Palace Master's weakened state, Qin Sang could secure more benefits.

'Clink! Clink!'

Qin Sang gently tapped the ice casket with his finger, carefully considering the matter: what could he gain from Xuantian Palace?

Firstly, without a doubt, a sea chart leading to the Central Continent.

Thinking of the sea chart, Qin Sang felt a little puzzled.

A sea chart wasn't a disreputable treasure. Given Ghost Mother's strength, if she wanted a sea chart, she could simply visit and request to see it; Xuantian Palace had no reason to conceal it.

Could Ghost Mother's goal be more than just this?

Qin Sang secretly nodded, thinking it was highly probable. Unfortunately, Tan Hao knew very little about Ghost Mother, otherwise he could have made demands based on that.

Secondly, the white-robed man's cultivation technique.

Qin Sang suspected the white-robed man was a rare spiritual cultivator and was very interested in his cultivation technique.

Thirdly, Xuantian Palace had a long heritage, dominating an entire realm. Their sect must surely possess countless rare texts, perhaps even secret arts for breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage or even the God Transformation stage.

It all depended on the value of the ice casket and how much he could exchange it for.

At the very least, Xuantian Palace could certainly provide some spirit pills and magic treasures.

Rather than risking countless enemies by holding onto an ice casket that might never be opened, it would be better to exchange it for things beneficial to his cultivation.

For cultivators, the Great Dao was the fundamental pursuit!

Just as Qin Sang was weighing the pros and cons, he sensed the restrictions on his dwelling being triggered; Tan Hao had returned.

Qin Sang put away the ice casket and, while he was at it, took out the Solar Divine Tree for a look. He noticed that the flame aura on the divine tree was gradually turning deep red, and once it coalesced into a Solar Divine Bird, it would be ready for his use.

He attempted to subdue the Southern Bright Lihuo with 'Golden Lotus of Fire Seeds,' but as expected, it was still unsuccessful.

Qin Sang put away his magic treasures, rose, and walked out of the dwelling, calling out to Tan Hao.

"Brother Qin, you've finally emerged from seclusion."

Tan Hao let out a sigh of relief.

With the Myriad Devil Convention approaching, he was worried Qin Sang would miss it but didn't dare disturb his seclusion, so he had been anxious.

"Lately, news of the Myriad Devil Convention has been buzzing, and many fellow cultivators have already set off. Brother Qin, what have you decided?"

"No rush," Qin Sang smiled slightly. "Have you found any information?"

Tan Hao nodded. He had long since recorded the information he'd gathered and handed Qin Sang a jade slip.

Qin Sang extended his spiritual consciousness into it, quickly scanning over the less important details and focusing on the emergence of Yellow Dragon Scholar's Immortal Abode.

Below the Nascent Soul stage, Tan Hao rarely encountered rivals.

He couldn't uncover all the secrets, but he could find out sixty to seventy percent of them.

The matter had spread like wildfire.

It wasn't just due to the appearance of Yellow Dragon Scholar's Immortal Abode, but also because it involved the feud between the Northern Sea's foremost sect and the Unbounded Sea's top master.

The Yellow Dragon Scholar's Immortal Abode had appeared in a sea area east of the Unbounded Sea. Many people had previously suspected and investigated there countless times, but found nothing.

Old Devil Hun had likely been closely monitoring that area, which was why he detected the first signs of its emergence.

The Yellow Dragon Scholar's Immortal Abode was discovered by four Xuantian Palace Nascent Souls, including an elder, who tragically died at the hands of Old Devil Hun while attempting to seize treasures. Including Qi and Wang, Old Devil Hun had massacred several Nascent Souls in a short period.

There were also other rumors that several other devils had participated in the slaughter.

Old Devil Hun and his accomplices must have gained immense benefits to risk offending Xuantian Palace.

The Cold Bone Devil Hand on the list likely originated from Yellow Dragon Scholar's Immortal Abode.

It was no secret in the Unbounded Sea that Yellow Dragon Scholar had once discovered the secret realm of the ancient demonic sect, the Cold Bone Path, and obtained its legacy.

"It is said there are more treasures from the Cold Bone Path at the Myriad Devil Convention. Why is that old devil so eager to sell them? Is he truly desperate to exchange them for something? Tan Hao couldn't find out these details, but True Master Yin Quan should know a thing or two. Coincidentally, I have something to discuss with him."

Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual consciousness, pondered for a moment, and then left the dwelling with Tan Hao.

After escorting Tan Hao to a safe location near Hunmo Island, Qin Sang arranged a method of contact with him, then changed direction and headed alone to Pearl Island.