Chapter 332: Tracking

This exchange meeting proceeded faster than an auction, concluding in less than an hour. Both hosts and guests were fully satisfied. The elder made a significant profit and smiled amiably at everyone.

Everyone exited through a secret passage and found themselves in a narrow alley instead of the stone house they had entered, revealing the elder's caution. After leaving the alley, the group quietly dispersed, each going their separate ways. Despite his assertive demeanor at the secret market, Qin Sang was well aware that this wouldn't deter true masters, so he remained highly cautious to avoid being followed.

The night was moonless. Even cultivators were inevitably influenced by the mortal rhythm of working from sunrise to sunset. Unless necessary, they rarely engaged in activities at night, preferring to return to their rented stone houses for meditation.

A large figure suddenly appeared in the desolate alleyway—it was the masked strongman. The strongman was now acting in a way that belied his robust physique. He moved cautiously, constantly looking back, his eyes unusually vigilant, much like a timid mouse. The alley led directly out of Stone Island. Reaching the edge of Stone Island without incident, the strongman immediately activated an escape technique to blend into the night, quietly departing the island.

Soon after the strongman left, the space at the end of the alley rippled, revealing a blurry figure that then transformed into a fleeting wisp of faint light and shot off, following him. What this person didn't expect, however, was that while he was pursuing his target, another was in pursuit of him. After he departed, another person appeared at the same spot—it was Qin Sang. He gazed at the deep swamp, pondered for a moment, then activated the newly acquired "Netherworld Cloud" and quietly vanished.

The alley, having witnessed three waves of people, finally returned to tranquility.

Outside the auction house, the sudden sense of familiarity hadn't initially drawn much attention from Qin Sang, as it had appeared abruptly and vanished just as quickly. However, at the secret market just now, the strongman's true voice, revealed in a moment of urgency, brought back that sense of familiarity, awakening an extremely distant memory in Qin Sang, one from decades ago!

This voice wasn't entirely identical to the one in his memory. After all, so much time had passed, times had changed, and people would also change, growing up or aging. However, for cultivators, the pace of such changes is much slower than for mortals. For this reason, although the person's voice now carried more weariness and roughness, its most fundamental timbre retained some essence, which was the source of Qin Sang's familiarity.

Rummaging through his past memories, Qin Sang suddenly recalled someone he never would have expected: Tan Hao!

At Ghost Mountain Market, Tan Hao had spoken up for justice, helping him retort against a dishonest merchant, which allowed Qin Sang to purchase the "Netherworld Scripture" with attached spells at a low price. After both joined the Kuiyin Sect, Tan Hao spent his days in diligent cultivation within his cave dwelling, rarely showing himself. Qin Sang had a good relationship with Tan Hao's younger brother, Tan Jie, but wasn't particularly close with Tan Hao himself.

Remembering Tan Hao, Qin Sang felt he resembled the strongman more and more. Tan Hao's physique had been very tall even as a youth, a stark contrast to his younger brother, and he would undoubtedly be even more robust as an adult. But this only made Qin Sang more surprised: How could it be him?

The Kuiyin Sect's failed invasion of the Yuanzhao Sect led to its collapse. Tan Hao and Tan Jie hadn't been sent to the Yuanzhao Sect as spies, nor had they been chosen as sacrifices like Shi Hong. When the Kuiyin Sect was destroyed, there was no one left to guard the Yinsha Abyss, and the Yuanzhao Sect wouldn't relentlessly pursue these low-level disciples, so they indeed had a chance to escape.

However, escaping didn't guarantee survival; this was precisely the insidious nature of the Kuiyin Sect and the Yanluo Banner. Since they had already cultivated with the Yanluo Banner, they had only two paths left. One was to diligently cultivate to the tenth level of the Qi Refining stage, be devoured by Yanluo, and become the main soul of the Yanluo Banner; the other was to discover the Yanluo Banner's abnormality in advance and disperse their cultivation to re-cultivate.

When the Kuiyin Sect fell, Tan Hao was already over twenty. With his talent, after dispersing his cultivation and becoming a rogue cultivator again, the possibility of establishing a foundation would be infinitely close to zero. Moreover, even if Tan Hao had discovered the Yanluo Banner's anomaly, he might not have been able to decisively give it up; the temptation of soul pill cultivation wasn't something everyone could resist. If Sun De hadn't delivered himself, Qin Sang might still not have unraveled the Yanluo Banner's mysteries to this day.

Qin Sang had originally believed that Tan Jie, Shi Hong, and others were no longer alive. Discovering someone who might be Tan Hao surprised him, but also brought a hint of joy. After embarking on the path of cultivation, he hadn't made many friends. During his time in the Kuiyin Sect, he had supported Tan Jie and Shi Hong, and their friendship was solid.

It was a reunion with an old friend, but Qin Sang didn't rush to reveal himself. Firstly, he had now joined Mount Shaohua and absolutely couldn't expose his past with the Kuiyin Sect. Even if he were to reveal himself to a friend, he would need to be disguised. Secondly, after so many years, was Tan Hao still the same Tan Hao? Had his character changed? Was he still the passionate youth who would draw his sword to help those in need? The ambush from a year ago was still vivid in his memory. The drastic changes in Yu Daiyue weren't due to his inherent nature but were forced upon him by cultivation bottlenecks. How many people in the cultivation world were similar to Yu Daiyue?

More importantly, was Tan Hao still secretly connected with the remnants of the Kuiyin Sect? Tan Hao's unusual cultivation level made Qin Sang wary, so he decided to follow him to observe his current situation. His experiences at the auction and secret market clearly showed that Tan Hao's cultivation path wasn't smooth. He likely had spirit injuries and had spent everything just to buy healing elixirs, which was somewhat similar to Yun Youzi's experience. However, Tan Hao was far more distressed than Yun Youzi. He didn't have the support of the Taiyi Pill Sect, and even his magic artifacts were several grades inferior to Yun Youzi's. Just now, when competing for the Quiet Spirit Pill, the best magic artifact he produced in his desperation was merely a high-grade one.

Qin Sang still remembered the kindness of Tan Hao's righteous intervention at Ghost Mountain Market. If possible, he wouldn't hesitate to lend Tan Hao a hand.

Besides, there was another reason: if Tan Hao still had connections with the Kuiyin Sect, Qin Sang could follow the clues through Tan Hao to find the remaining members of the Kuiyin Sect. With his cultivation having broken through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, along with several magic artifacts and talismans, he was no longer the inexperienced individual he once was. As long as he didn't encounter a demon from the Kuiyin Sect at the Pseudo-Core stage, it was uncertain who would kill whom. It would be good to resolve the trouble with the Heart-Eating Worms as soon as possible. As for the Yanluo Banners, he only had six. If he found the Kuiyin Sect remnants, he might be able to collect all ten, completing the full Ten Directions Yanluo Formation.

While tracking Tan Hao, Qin Sang noticed something amiss. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that another person was secretly following Tan Hao—the masked man who had competed with Tan Hao for the Quiet Spirit Pill. This person's motive for following Tan Hao was obvious. At the time, the masked man had decisively given up on the Quiet Spirit Pill, and Qin Sang hadn't realized he had malicious intentions. Sure enough, a silent dog is a dangerous one. The masked man cautiously tracked Tan Hao, completely unaware that he had a fellow tracker. Qin Sang immediately changed his strategy, shifting his target to the masked man. The three individuals, forming a strange formation, successively left Stone Island and entered the chaotic swamp.