Chapter 1438: A Play

He held the ice casket in his palm. Qin Sang, drawing on his previous experience, attempted to break the seal.

Inside the cave abode, pale light occasionally flared, and a chill permeated the air, forming a layer of frost on the walls.

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

After a long while, Qin Sang stopped, his brows furrowed as he stared at the ice casket.

To his surprise, even though his spiritual consciousness had materialized, he remained helpless against the seal on the ice casket. He had just tried every method he could think of.

Holding the ice casket, Qin Sang sat still, his gaze distant, seemingly deep in thought.

His spiritual consciousness was comparable to that of a Grand Cultivator. The fact that he couldn't open the ice casket and still had no clue suggested only two possibilities: either his spiritual consciousness wasn't strong enough, or a specific requirement had to be met.

If even a Grand Cultivator couldn't open it, Qin Sang would likely have to store the ice casket in his Thousand Jun Ring and treat it as non-existent for the foreseeable future.

For a moment, Qin Sang's thoughts drifted, connecting the ice casket to the white-robed man who stole it, and to the Myriad Devil Assembly.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would attend the assembly personally.

"Since Old Man Hunmo killed so many Nascent Soul cultivators from Xuantian Palace, forging a mortal enmity, will Xuantian Palace still participate in the Myriad Devil Assembly? The Myriad Devil Assembly is the grandest event in the North Sea, 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 reclaim the ice casket, they should send people to investigate secretly. I wonder if they have a way to sense the ice casket. Should I leave the ice casket in the cave abode 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 Assembly was the perfect opportunity.

Since Xuantian Palace had a feud with Old Man Hunmo, and they were entering the heartland of the Demonic Path, they surely wouldn't dare to act recklessly on Hunmo Island.

Furthermore, Ghost Mother had once mentioned that the Palace Master of Xuantian Palace was in an unusual state, possibly recuperating. If the Palace Master couldn't act, it would be difficult for others to restrain Qin Sang.

There were only two possible outcomes.

If he wasn't exposed, it would mean Xuantian Palace had no way to sense the ice casket's location, or Qin Sang's demon-fire seal could block their senses.

He would then have no more worries.

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

If Xuantian Palace located Qin Sang, it would mean the demon-fire seal was ineffective.

He had no better way to conceal the ice casket.

Even if he managed to hide it temporarily, given Xuantian Palace's strength and vast influence, if they pursued it relentlessly, 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 North Sea's foremost power for an ice casket he couldn't even open.

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

In that case, he might as well 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 would have no reason to offend a top expert further and would certainly be eager for such an arrangement.

While the Xuantian Palace Master was weak, Qin Sang could seize greater benefits.

Tap! Tap!

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

First, undoubtedly, a sea chart leading to Middle Continent.

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

A sea chart was not some illicit treasure. Given Ghost Mother's strength, if she wanted one, she could simply demand to see it. There was no need for Xuantian Palace to conceal it.

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

Qin Sang nodded inwardly, believing this was highly probable. Unfortunately, Tan Hao knew little about Ghost Mother; otherwise, he could make demands based on that.

Second, the white-robed man's cultivation method.

Qin Sang suspected the white-robed man was a rare spirit cultivator and was very interested in such cultivation methods.

Third, Xuantian Palace had a long heritage and dominated a whole realm. Their sect undoubtedly preserved countless ancient texts, possibly containing secret arts for breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage or even the God Transformation stage.

It all depended on how valuable the ice casket was 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 risk making countless enemies for an ice casket he couldn't open, it would be better to exchange it for items beneficial to his cultivation.

For cultivators, the Grand Dao was the foundation!

Just as Qin Sang was weighing the pros and cons, he sensed the cave abode's restrictions being triggered; Tan Hao had returned.

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

He attempted to subdue the Southern Bright Lihuo with the 'Fire Seed Golden Lotus' technique, and as expected, it was still a failure.

Qin Sang put away his magic treasures, rose, walked out of the cave abode, and called out to Tan Hao.

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

Tan Hao breathed a sigh of relief.

The Myriad Devil Assembly was approaching, and he was burning with anxiety, worried Qin Sang would miss it, yet not daring to disturb his seclusion.

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

"No hurry," Qin Sang replied with a faint smile, "Have you found any information?"

Tan Hao nodded, having already recorded the information he'd gathered. He handed Qin Sang a jade slip with the information.

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

Below the Nascent Soul stage, Tan Hao already had few rivals.

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

The matter had spread far and wide.

The buzz wasn't just about the Yellow Dragon Scholar's palace appearing; it also concerned the longstanding grievances between the North Sea's largest sect and the Boundless Sea's foremost expert.

The Yellow Dragon Scholar's palace emerged in a sea area east of the Boundless Sea, where many had previously suspected its presence and investigated countless times, but to no avail.

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

The Yellow Dragon Scholar's palace was discovered by four Xuantian Palace Nascent Soul cultivators, including an elder, who were brutally killed by Old Man Hunmo during their attempt to seize treasures. Including Qi and Wang, Old Man Hunmo had slaughtered several Nascent Soul cultivators in a short period.

There were also other rumors that several demonic cultivators participated in the slaughter.

Old Man Hunmo and the others must have gained immense benefits to risk offending Xuantian Palace.

The Frigid Bone Demonic Hand on the list likely originated from the Yellow Dragon Scholar's palace.

It was no secret in the Boundless Sea that the Yellow Dragon Scholar had once discovered a secret realm of the ancient demonic sect, Frigid Bone Dao, and obtained its inheritance.

"It is said that there will be more treasures from the Frigid Bone Dao at the Myriad Devil Assembly. 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 need to see him about something."

Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual consciousness, pondered for a moment, then took Tan Hao and left the cave abode.

After taking Tan Hao to a safe location near Hunmo Island and agreeing on a contact method, Qin Sang changed direction and headed alone to Pearl Island.