Chapter 669: Departure

Mortal Realm

Mortal Realm

Qin Sang filled all the Lesser Yin magnetic bottles with Fiendish Earth Qi, preparing for any eventuality, then took out the Blackwater Mirror.

After soul-searching just now, Qin Sang understood the magic treasure. He couldn't help but feel fortunate that Du Han hadn't been able to unleash its full power; otherwise, capturing him alive so easily would have been impossible.

The Blackwater Mirror can be used for both offense and defense, making it extremely versatile.

Especially when used defensively, the unique spiritual water sealed within the Blackwater Mirror can transform into a shield or a barrier to resist enemy attacks. Its highly versatile nature embodies the essence of using softness to overcome hardness.

Moreover, its power increases by ten percent when fighting in water, allowing it to truly shine in the Stormy Demonic Sea. It was indeed a rare treasure.

Qin Sang's face showed delight. Seeing there was still plenty of time, he decided to subdue the Blackwater Mirror there.

The journey to the Stormy Demonic Sea would be a long and perilous one, with unknown dangers along the way. Naturally, it was best to improve his strength as much as possible.

"By now, the Li Witch Palace must have discovered Du Han's death," Qin Sang thought. "By the time they send people into West Xinjiang to investigate the truth, I will have already left the Witch God Continent."

Qin Sang sneered inwardly as he erased Du Han's lingering aura from the magic treasure, then focused on refining it.

Three more days passed. A figure appeared above the canyon, suddenly becoming illusory, and streaked northward through the air.

At this time, the Blackwater Mirror was in Qin Sang's Dantian.

He was simultaneously familiarizing himself with the magic treasure and using his Golden Core to nourish it, repairing the spirituality it had lost after being defiled by the Blood Impurity Divine Light.

Unburdened by Du Han, Qin Sang's speed increased significantly. He returned to Pingbo Port in just seven days. In the city, he contacted several merchant associations and gathered much information about the Canglang Sea and the Stormy Demonic Sea. Only on the agreed day did Qin Sang arrive at Pingbo Port's East Gate, their designated meeting point.

As soon as Qin Sang stepped out of the city gate, he heard Ran Luo's relieved voice, "Daoist Qingfeng, you're finally here! The caravan is about to depart, and I hadn't seen you, fearing you might be held up by important matters and miss the time."

Then, a person appeared not far ahead. It was Ran Luo, looking at him with a slight reproach.

Clearly, Qin Sang's demonstrated ability in artifact refining was highly valued by the Qiongyu Merchant Association; otherwise, Ran Luo would not have been so enthusiastic.

"My apologies for making Daoist Ran wait," Qin Sang said, clasping his hands. "This humble Daoist returned to the city long ago, but feared disturbing your esteemed association, so I waited until now to come."

Qin Sang cupped his hands and looked past Ran Luo, taken aback by the immense size of the contingent. He had thought a merchant association, no matter how large, would have limited scale, but it seemed he had greatly underestimated it.

Large carriages were lined up in rows, pulled by domesticated low-tier demonic beasts.

These were secondary. Within the caravan, Qin Sang sensed over a hundred powerful or subtle auras. Each of these individuals had a cultivation no weaker than his own, and some even had hidden strengths that he couldn't clearly perceive.

"A single merchant association has so many Golden Core masters?"

Qin Sang was secretly shocked. "Perhaps there truly is a Nascent Soul Grandmaster presiding here," he mused.

Ran Luo saw Qin Sang observing the caravan, understood his thoughts, and smiled. "Daoist, you misunderstand. Our Qiongyu Merchant Association doesn't have such profound heritage. Thanks to the trust of other merchant associations and fellow cultivators, as soon as we released the news a month ago, many people contacted us, deciding to depart together. Coupled with many lone cultivators, we assembled such a large group. A scale this big was very rare even in the past."

"So that's how it is," Qin Sang thought to himself. With such a mixed group of people, he no longer feared the Qiongyu Merchant Association harboring ulterior motives.

However, such a large group parading through Witch Tribe territory would present other hidden concerns.

"Daoist Ran," Qin Sang began, sending a private message, "have you noticed that the major Witch Tribe sects have been acting strangely lately? It seems to involve the Nascent Soul level. This humble Daoist is worried something might happen. With us making such a big show, won't it be too ostentatious...?"

Qin Sang carefully chose his words, transmitting his voice to Ran Luo.

He believed that with the strength of the Eastern Extremity Alliance, they must have detected some signs.

As expected, Ran Luo's expression stiffened. She looked Qin Sang up and down, then glanced around, motioning him to a corner at the back of the caravan. Meaningfully, she said, "I didn't expect Daoist's information to be so well-informed, even knowing the secrets of the Witch Tribe so clearly. You should know, I only recently learned some inside information from Elder Zou."

"A major storm begins with a ripple," Qin Sang said vaguely, not revealing his source. "Such a large movement by the Witch Tribe will always reveal some signs. This humble Daoist is just more observant."

Ran Luo scrutinized Qin Sang, valuing him a bit more in her heart. After a moment of contemplation, she transmitted her voice.

"Daoist, you might not know this," she began, "Our Qiongyu Merchant Association originally planned to depart for the Stormy Demonic Sea only half a year from now. It's precisely because we noticed something unusual with the Witch Tribe that we decided to set off now."

"Should chaos erupt, if we are trapped in Pingbo Port, isolated and helpless, we would surely be abandoned by our own kind. Some other large merchant associations have also noticed this, so they privately discussed with us to act together."

"To leave as quickly as possible, we only brought a portion of lightweight goods, and the personnel are all at least Foundation Establishment cultivators. Traveling light allows for faster speed."

"Elder Zou's previous visits to Houtu Gate and other places were actually to scout out the situation. Currently, the Witch Tribe sects are still very calm, so there's no need to worry. As long as we don't delay along the way, we will certainly be able to escape. Moreover, if we discover any signs, we also have a 'Golden Cicada Shedding its Shell' plan. Daoist, you just need to follow me."

The major merchant associations were so pessimistic, preparing to withdraw from the Witch God Continent already?

Qin Sang's heart sank; the situation seemed even more severe than he had imagined.

Seeing that the Qiongyu Merchant Association had made proper arrangements, Qin Sang could only choose to go with them.

After all, if major chaos erupted, choosing to leave Pingbo Port by ship would still not escape the Witch Tribe's control and would directly drag them into the front lines of the battlefield. Rushing directly to Witch God Mountain would be faster instead.

Having dispelled Qin Sang's concerns, Ran Luo led him towards a carriage.

Qin Sang was going to share a carriage with Ran Luo. Besides them, there were two other people in the carriage, who were surprisingly also Golden Core cultivators.

Four people sharing one carriage was a bit crowded, and the conditions were difficult, but they could only bear with it.

"Elder Zou is in the carriage ahead. Daoist, would you like to go and see Elder Zou?" Ran Luo asked.

Qin Sang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Never mind. Elder Zou is commanding the merchant association and is preoccupied with important matters, so I won't disturb him now. It won't be too late to visit after we reach the Stormy Sea Region."

Ran Luo didn't insist. After settling Qin Sang, she flew to the front to busy herself. The foremost part of the caravan had already set off.

Qin Sang stepped onto the carriage shaft, taking one last look back at Pingbo Port.

Most of the human cultivators in the Witch God Continent were gathered in this city.

The Qiongyu Merchant Association only took a portion of important figures with them, abandoning those with insufficient cultivation here.

Once chaos erupted, he wondered what fate would befall these people.

Qin Sang shook his head. He could barely protect himself and could do nothing. He only hoped that those Witch Tribe Nascent Souls would remain peaceful and allow this rare period of peace to continue.