Chapter 681: Hunting Demon Squad

Qin Sang's actions were noticed by Ran Luo and others, who grew increasingly friendly towards him, and their estrangement gradually disappeared.

Even the young man named Zhuo, who was supposed to be the chief artifact refiner, had long since let go of his lingering animosity towards Qin Sang after Qin Sang several times took the initiative to share his insights on artifact refining.

Of course, Qin Sang also gained quite a lot.

However, when making friends, Qin Sang always maintained a certain distance; it was now difficult for him to trust anyone completely.

After conversing with the young man named Zhuo, Qin Sang learned that Zhuo's sect, the Sword Cauldron Sect, was indeed a renowned artifact refining sect in the Canglang Sea.

Qin Sang found an opportunity to discuss the Ten Divine Woods with him.

The young man named Zhuo expressed his shame, explaining that due to his limited talent, he was not valued by his sect and thus ventured out on his own. He couldn't access the core secrets of his sect and was unsure if the major artifact refining sects in the Canglang Sea possessed any of the Ten Divine Woods.

However, during his more than a hundred years in the Sword Cauldron Sect, he had never heard of anyone obtaining the Ten Divine Woods.

It is worth mentioning that over the past six months, Ran Luo had found four live flood dragons for him.

After Qin Sang collected these flood dragon essence souls, the number of flood dragon essence souls in the Nine Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman reached six. Venerable Xuan Yu, from back then, must have expended immense effort to find so many.

Qin Sang went to the uninhabited sea area near Duyan Island and tried to activate the Nine Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman. Combined with his Sword Qi Thunder Sound, his escape technique was now reliably superior to that of an ordinary mid-Core Formation cultivator.

His ability to escape in dangerous situations would be significantly enhanced.

After this, Qin Sang remained on Duyan Island for several more months, finally nearing completion of his task.

Since Ran Luo had not been able to bring new live flood dragons, Qin Sang decided to go out to sea himself to hunt for flood dragon essence souls. Once he collected ten flood dragon essence souls, the Nine Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman would undergo a qualitative transformation!

When Qin Sang went to find Ran Luo, she did not object and, according to Qin Sang's request, helped him find a reliable team.

"Daoist, according to the information received by the guild, flood dragons sometimes appear at the southern edge of the sea trench. However, besides demonic spirit-level flood dragons, traces of demonic core-level flood dragons have also been found in the deeper parts of the trench. Flood dragon bloodline is top-tier among demon beasts. Perhaps you should wait a while longer, and when Huiwen returns, she can accompany you as an assistant." Ran Luo advised.

Qin Sang's requested team consisted entirely of False Core cultivators, with Qin Sang being the only Core Formation cultivator, which made Ran Luo somewhat uneasy.

He made this request because Qin Sang considered that if he traveled with cultivators of similar strength, it would easily lead to disputes when dividing spoils, and it would also be difficult to control them, as they would certainly not be willing to obey orders from cultivators of the same realm.

Though bringing these individuals meant a slightly weaker overall strength, as long as they were cautious and avoided provoking powerful late-stage demonic core beasts, Qin Sang was confident that escaping would not be overly difficult.

Huiwen had only recently left Duyan Island and would take some time to return. There were not many Core Formation cultivators from the guild on the island, and they all had their own affairs.

"There's no need to trouble Daoist Huiwen," Qin Sang refused. "This time, I'm only targeting peak demonic spirit-level flood dragons. I'll return immediately once I've collected the essence souls; there won't be any danger."

Ran Luo found it difficult to argue further. She ordered someone to bring the demon-hunting team and introduced their background to Qin Sang.

"The team consists of five people, recruited into the guild by Manager Ning before he left half a year ago. Although their cultivation isn't high, they've been active around Duyan Island for many years, and their reputation is quite good. What's most valuable is that they've spent a long time operating in the southern part of the sea trench and are very familiar with the demon beasts near Duyan Island. They possess unique methods for both locating beasts and providing early warnings. Of course, I've already ordered them that once we set sail, they are to follow Daoist's lead in all matters..." Ran Luo introduced the team members to Qin Sang.

All five were False Core cultivators. They had come to the demon sea to achieve Core Formation, and the team members had met on Duyan Island, gradually building trust among themselves.

Qin Sang noted down their information. His main reason for bringing them along was their familiarity with the areas where flood dragons appeared, intending for them to guide the way and help locate the dragons.

A short while later, Qin Sang met the five individuals.

"Greetings, Daoist Qingfeng," the five said in unison, bowing.

Qin Sang remained seated, observing the five individuals before him.

There were three women and two men. Two of the young women looked quite similar, indicating they were sisters.

They reminded Qin Sang of the Le family sisters from the Minor Cold Region. It was truly rare for two sisters to possess such high cultivation and both be rogue cultivators.

Another elderly woman and an old man in a green robe were a married couple.

This couple was over two hundred years old, their faces showing undeniable fatigue and the marks of time.

At their age, achieving Core Formation was almost impossible.

Ran Luo mentioned that the couple had been in the Canglang Sea for several decades. Fortunately, they had never encountered life-threatening dangers, but sadly, neither had succeeded in achieving Core Formation.

They had a son who was cultivating in the inner sea.

They had now given up on Core Formation, dedicating their remaining years to accumulating cultivation resources for their son.

Finally, there was a middle-aged man in a grey robe, a sword cultivator.

These five individuals appeared unremarkable, yet Qin Sang could sense a subtle, faint murderous aura about them. Even when bowing to him, their positioning was meticulously considered, and they maintained constant coordination with each other.

Such traits could only belong to cultivators who had long endured numerous battles.

Having spent years in the Chaotic Island waters and endured countless battles, Qin Sang could easily discern these details.

If an ordinary early-Core Formation cultivator underestimated them when the five worked together, they might very well suffer a setback.

"There's no need for such formalities," Qin Sang began. "After we leave the island, I will still need your assistance. If you have any suggestions, feel free to voice them. As long as they are reasonable, this Daoist will certainly act upon them."

Qin Sang stood up, looking at each of them in turn, his tone suddenly hardening. "However, if anyone acts without this Daoist's permission, or even defies my orders, I will not hesitate to take another life with my sword!"

Before his words had fully faded, Qin Sang's killing intent abruptly erupted. Combined with his cultivation method and years of experience, the intensity of his killing intent even startled Ran Luo.

The five were greatly alarmed and quickly affirmed they would not dare.

Qin Sang nodded with satisfaction. "Without further delay, go back and prepare now. We will depart tomorrow."

The next morning.

Six figures quietly departed from Duyan Island.

Initially, they headed west. After traveling a short distance, they made several wide detours before finally heading directly southeast.

Qin Sang had the elderly couple lead the way, while he activated his Netherworld Cloud to follow behind them.

Seeing their caution, he nodded inwardly, realizing that surviving in the demon sea for several decades indeed required considerable skill.

To accommodate them, Qin Sang deliberately slowed his pace, while also discreetly observing the environment of the demon sea.

In such a perilous place, where demon beasts could ambush them at any moment and even flying altitude was crucial, the elderly couple answered all his questions, and Qin Sang gained much valuable experience.