Chapter 420: Magic Flame Sect

The ebony sword wrapped around the silver-robed man's corpse.

Qin Sang ascended into the clouds and, before the others could react, quickly departed.

The aura from the mountains, which had just appeared, hesitated for a moment. After some mutual communication, they quickly retreated. Firstly, the battle ended too quickly; by the time they reacted, Qin Sang was already far away. Secondly, the commotion caused by the ebony sword slaying the silver-robed man was genuinely shocking. These individuals couldn't discern Qin Sang's true strength and dared not casually make an enemy.

After confirming no one was tracking him, Qin Sang found a secluded spot and landed. He stumbled slightly. Upon inspecting his spiritual sea, he found his spiritual energy nearly depleted. Clearly, continuously wielding two magic treasures placed a significant burden on him. Fortunately, the time he activated both treasures was brief, and the ebony sword was his Natal Spirit Sword, connected to his will, allowing for incredibly precise control. If handled properly, using only a portion of the ebony sword's power resulted in less terrifying consumption than the Ten Directions Yama Banner. Of course, to unleash the full power of the ebony sword, he would need to reach the Core Formation stage.

Qin Sang took out a jade bottle, swallowed a pre-prepared blood-nourishing elixir, then sat cross-legged. After his spiritual sea recovered, he opened his eyes and looked at the silver-robed man's corpse. Fake Core stage cultivators are top-tier in terms of combat skill, battle experience, and decisiveness. All who reach this stage are exceptional cultivators. Killing them might not be difficult, but capturing them alive requires meticulous planning, along with the right timing, location, and people. Seeing no hope of capturing him alive, Qin Sang had no choice but to kill him. However, Qin Sang felt little regret, as he believed the outcome would likely have been the same whether he killed the silver-robed man or not.

"The fourth," Qin Sang muttered, squatting down and pressing his spiritual energy onto the silver-robed man's chest wound. The silver-robed man was the fourth remnant of the Kuiyin Sect he had killed over the years.

After learning about the Kuiyin Sect remnants from Yu Hua, Qin Sang had been quietly investigating their background. He now had a good understanding of 'Demonic Blaze,' the sect they had disguised themselves as. Demonic Blaze Sect was not weak, but it had few members. With the Yuanzhao Sect eyeing them, they dared not extensively recruit disciples. The sect master was Daoist Crow Robe, who used the alias Demonic Blaze, possibly related to the Nine Nether Demonic Flame of his magic treasure. Beneath Daoist Crow Robe were four great disciples, known as the Four Demonic Blaze Envoys. The silver-robed man was one of them, using the alias Silver Blaze.

Among these Four Demonic Blaze Envoys, two were at the Fake Core stage, and the other two were not far behind. Including the silver-robed man, three of them were Kuiyin Sect remnants. However, among these three, only the silver-robed man was Daoist Crow Robe's direct subordinate; the other two were disciples of Yi Tiannie and another Core Formation cultivator, respectively. Only the strongest survived the extensive purges by the Yuanzhao Sect. The last one, Qin Sang didn't recognize. After some investigation, he suspected this person joined after the establishment of Demonic Blaze Sect and rose quickly to become one of the Four Demonic Blaze Envoys. As for whether this person knew the true nature of their sect, Qin Sang was unsure.

All four disciples were reclusive, so even though Qin Sang knew their identities, it was difficult to find opportunities to catch them alone. The three individuals he had killed previously were ordinary disciples below the rank of Demonic Blaze Envoy. Of course, these three were carefully selected by Qin Sang, with significant time intervals between killings. His goal was to silently cripple Daoist Crow Robe and delay his recovery time.

The discovery of Silver Blaze's whereabouts this time was not unrelated to the Blood Origin Essence. In recent years, with changes in the situation in the Lesser Cold Domain, the Yuanzhao Sect became less aggressive, allowing Demonic Blaze Sect to breathe and secretly become active. The sect's disciples were dedicated to finding healing spiritual medicines. They certainly wouldn't miss the emergence of a healing panacea like Blood Origin Essence. Qin Sang had recently been active near Qingyang City. Noticing Silver Blaze's unusual movements and recalling the news of the Blood Origin Essence auction at Tianyou Pass, he devised this ambush plan. This also indirectly proved that Daoist Crow Robe's injuries had not yet recovered, which was the best news for Qin Sang.

What excited Qin Sang even more was that Silver Blaze was the one who came out to purchase the Blood Origin Essence this time. Eliminating Silver Blaze meant a large part of his mission was accomplished. Among the Four Demonic Blaze Envoys, only Silver Blaze was Daoist Crow Robe's most favored and loyal disciple. Killing Silver Blaze was akin to severing Daoist Crow Robe's arm. However, among the four ambushes, this was the first time that luring with the Heart-Eating Gu worm had worked. This indicated that there were actually few disciples in the Kuiyin Sect proficient in poison and Gu techniques.

Unlike Silver Blaze, the previous three were captured alive. But when Qin Sang attempted to restrain their souls, without exception, at that very moment, all of them mysteriously suffered soul decay and died within a blink of an eye. Qin Sang had no time to cast the Soul Seizing Spell and was powerless to stop it. One might be an accident, but three consecutive occurrences were definitely not a coincidence. There was only one explanation: Daoist Crow Robe had planted a restriction in their souls to prevent soul-searching and thus prevent anyone from finding his hiding place.

Upon confirming this, Qin Sang was very surprised. Not only did Yu Hua know the Heart-Eating Gu worm, but he also had a thorough understanding of Daoist Crow Robe and the Kuiyin Sect remnants' movements, despite Daoist Crow Robe's extreme caution. Yu Hua's identity must be more than just a traitor to the Yuanzhao Sect. This person coveted the Nine Illusions Heavenly Orchid and also coveted Daoist Crow Robe; his ambitions were grand. However, with Yu Hua becoming a living corpse embryo, none of this mattered anymore.

Qin Sang couldn't be sure if the Four Demonic Blaze Envoys also had such restrictions. Given Daoist Crow Robe's caution, even if there were no restrictions, he would use other means to limit them. Because of this, Qin Sang dared not act rashly and proceeded with extreme caution. Other disciples were easier to handle, but ambushing the Four Demonic Blaze Envoys required meticulous planning and careful arrangement to find a plausible 'reason' to avoid arousing Daoist Crow Robe's suspicion. If he alerted Daoist Crow Robe and caused him to change his hiding place, it would be much harder to uncover him again.

For this reason, Qin Sang adopted an aggressive stance at the previous auction, aiming to create enmity with the silver-robed man in public. When the silver-robed man went missing, 'Demonic Blaze' investigating would find a 'reasonable' explanation. The cultivation world was fraught with dangers; accidents were perfectly normal.

Qin Sang put a mask on Silver Blaze's corpse and prepared him as a fiend corpse embryo to be refined into a zombie later. Then, he went through his mustard seed pouch. Inside, the Blood Origin Essence was the most striking item. This item was difficult to sell and could be kept for his own use. As the situation in the Cloud Cang Great Marsh became increasingly tense, healing spiritual medicines were essential. After spending fifteen thousand low-grade spirit stones to purchase the Blood Origin Essence, Silver Blaze still had nearly ten thousand spirit stones on him. Daoist Crow Robe had truly invested heavily for the Blood Origin Essence. How furious would Daoist Crow Robe be when he learned that his most trusted disciple had been ambushed and the Blood Origin Essence stolen?