Chapter 441: Snake Woman

As Qin Sang neared the large disc, he suddenly shivered. A terrifying chill emanated from ahead, second only to the Profound Frost Malefic Wind! As he drew closer, Qin Sang felt his spiritual power congeal, his entire body threatening to freeze solid. He finally saw Teng Zhaogang's figure.

Teng Zhaogang was covered in a thick layer of white frost from head to toe, resembling a snowman at first glance. The disc rested on his lap, continuously emitting cold air. Across from Teng Zhaogang sat a senior disciple from Taiyi Pill Sect, looking equally miserable. They were activating their discs to support the large disc above, assisting the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Di in setting up the formation. However, even after arriving here, Qin Sang still couldn't see the large disc with his naked eye. Above Teng Zhaogang's head, cold air converged into a cloud, resembling a giant snowdrift suspended in mid-air. Extreme cold radiated from it.

"Help me disperse the cold..." Teng Zhaogang's teeth chattered, his voice weak, yet he continued to activate the disc, not daring to relax. Qin Sang and Zhan Yi landed on either side of Teng Zhaogang.

Qin Sang pondered briefly, then took out a teapot-shaped artifact from his mustard seed pouch. This artifact was personally refined by Qin Sang, created by melting down the not-completely-destroyed Ten Thousand Crows Pot and another artifact. Qin Sang called it the Myriad Flame Pot. The smoke from the Ten Thousand Crows Pot was originally a fire-attribute substance, and the illusory crows were a type of fire crow, containing rich fire elemental power. The other artifact he merged with it also had similar attributes. At the time, Qin Sang made this attempt partly out of regret for the excellent Ten Thousand Crows Pot and partly to hone his artifact refining skills. To his surprise, he succeeded on the first try. Although the quality of the merged Myriad Flame Pot didn't improve, its fire elemental power became more abundant, and it emitted a spiritual flame instead of smoke. Its function also changed, now leaning towards offense rather than defense.

Qin Sang held the Myriad Flame Pot, releasing rolling flames that surrounded the three of them, dispersing the cold. Zhan Yi, meanwhile, took out a fire-attribute flying sword and activated it, unleashing streams of flame-like sword qi, though the effect was merely passable.

Not long after Qin Sang entered the formation, several more streaks of light flew in from the horizon. The Golden Core cultivator surnamed Di let out a long sigh of relief and said, relieved, "Daoist friends, you've returned just in time. Quickly, help me stabilize the formation artifacts and set up the formation together!"

An unknown amount of time passed. Just as Qin Sang was nearing exhaustion, Teng Zhaogang was finally able to disengage. Upon returning below, they discovered that the Chaotic Islands Waterway had undergone astonishing changes. All directions, and the sky above, were shrouded in an endless sea of mist. The spiritual formation's range was larger than Qin Sang had imagined. He flew closer to the mist layer to look, barely able to discern the boundaries of the space. The white mist, dense but not dispersing, covered the Chaotic Islands Waterway, enclosing this vast area. Below the mist, for a height of less than three zhang, the mist was thin and did not obstruct vision. Although the mist was thin, the weather within the Chaotic Islands Waterway was constantly changing: sometimes torrential blizzards, sometimes heavy snowfall, sometimes fine drizzle, and sometimes sweeping cold winds... No wonder it was called the True Water Myriad Illusion Formation; it was truly ever-changing. The entire Chaotic Islands Waterway seemed to have transformed into a sanctuary made of mist. The overly low-hanging mist gave a sense of oppression. However, being inside, one felt much more secure than before. After all, with the grand formation's protection, they wouldn't easily get caught in chaotic battles.

Qin Sang's gaze swept around, spotting the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Di meditating on the largest island at the center of the Chaotic Islands Waterway. Beside him sat several equally powerful cultivators, all experts at the Core Formation stage. The grand formation appeared to be incomplete, and they were still busy. Even with Qin Sang's cultivation level, he could sense a slight weakness in their aura, indicating the immense difficulty of setting up the True Water Myriad Illusion Formation. Vice Island Master Xiao wasn't among them. Was there still a fierce battle happening upfront?

Just as Qin Sang was pondering, the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Di seemed to sense something. He suddenly opened his eyes, looked south, and let out a low cry: "Open!" Immediately after, a faint white light illuminated within the dense mist, shooting out beyond the mist. As the mist churned, a narrow passage was revealed. Whoosh, whoosh... Several streaks of light flew in through the passage. Along with them came Vice Island Master Xiao's urgent voice: "Quickly, seal the grand formation!"

Qin Sang focused his gaze and saw over a dozen figures had appeared on the island at some point. Most of their dharma robes were tattered, and they hadn't even had time to retrieve their artifacts. Some even bore shocking wounds, all looking quite disheveled. Vice Island Master Xiao and Che Yutao were among them. However, at the very center was an old woman holding a snake staff. Seeing the Golden Core cultivator surnamed Di and the others treating the old woman with such reverence, Qin Sang was secretly surprised. The Island Master of Stargazing Island was actually this old woman.

Beside the old woman stood a strange individual, leaning close to her. His upper body was that of a handsome man, but his lower body was that of a snake. Instead of a tongue, a scarlet serpent's tongue flickered from his mouth. His pupils were vertical slits, like a snake's, and his gaze carried an unsettling chill. Qin Sang had asked Zhan Yi, and apparently, this person was called Snake Mother, the Vice Sect Master of Spirit Taming Sect. This half-human, half-snake anomaly was nominally the old woman's spirit beast, but in reality, he was a demon beast from Celestial Demon Hill. He had awakened his intelligence early through the Imperial Dew, was sent to the Spirit Taming Sect, and formed a contract with Snake Mother. It was said that the anomaly's status on Celestial Demon Hill was also significant, and his strength was no less than Snake Mother's.

The Spirit Taming Sect's mountain gate was located northwest of the Illusory Gate, making it the closest sect among both righteous and demonic paths in the Minor Cold Domain to Celestial Demon Hill, with myriad connections to it. Like the Upper Yuan Qingjing Palace and a few other prominent sects, the Spirit Taming Sect was an ancient sect with a long heritage. Regardless of how the situation changed, it always maintained a place on the stage of the Minor Cold Domain. Its foundation was far beyond that of ephemeral demonic sects like the Kuiguin Sect. The Spirit Taming Sect relied precisely on this close relationship with Celestial Demon Hill. Even without a Nascent Soul expert presiding, other sects wouldn't want to provoke them. There were rumors that truly powerful Nascent Soul cultivators were few and far between in the Minor Cold Domain. The current generation's Spirit Taming Sect Master did not exist; there were no Nascent Soul cultivators in the Spirit Taming Sect, so Snake Mother was the true Sect Master. Even among the Eight Righteous Sects and well-known demonic sects, several were similar to the Spirit Taming Sect, lacking a Nascent Soul expert but possessing strength that even Nascent Soul cultivators would fear. This differed from Qin Sang's understanding during the Qi Refinement stage, which was normal. He still wasn't qualified to delve into secrets of this level; he could only treat them as legends, and what he heard now might not even be true. Seeing Snake Mother and the snake-bodied man looking around, Qin Sang inexplicably felt a pang of guilt and quickly averted his gaze. He still had the remains of a Spirit Taming Sect Golden Core cultivator in his mustard seed pouch, so he couldn't afford to reveal any clues.

They were all Golden Core experts. Qin Sang couldn't discern their cultivation techniques, but he could gather some information from their artifacts. It seemed all the righteous, demonic, and rogue cultivators from the Minor Cold Domain had arrived. They were protecting two individuals in their midst, precisely Elder Fang and Elder Shen Tu, who had been ambushed earlier.