Chapter 741: Enemies Meet

At the same time, Qin Sang noticed a scrutinizing gaze. He turned his head and saw a man standing by a window, who nodded at him.

"Late-stage Core Formation."

Qin Sang inwardly confirmed his suspicion; the change in the Seven Kills Palace this time, with the Witch Tribe's Grand Shaman breaking the formation, had driven away some people. Only true masters dared to participate.

"The number of participants probably won't be too high. I just don't know how many teams the East Pole Alliance will divide into. Not only is the mission unknown, but even the leader's identity is a complete mystery. To command so many masters, the leader's strength must at least be at the peak of Core Formation. They can't possibly send a Nascent Soul Ancestor, can they? No matter how strong a Core Formation cultivator is, it's difficult for them to get involved in disputes between Nascent Soul cultivators." Qin Sang muttered to himself as he walked into the wooden building.

As evening approached, Qin Sang, who was meditating in his room, sensed that the building's restriction had been triggered. He reached out, and a tadpole-like streak of green light flew in. Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. He crushed the green light, rose to his feet, and walked out of the wooden building, heading towards the innermost one. There, he finally met the leader of their expedition.

Six people were already seated in the main hall, but Qin Sang's attention was immediately drawn to one individual. This person had the highest cultivation; even if they weren't at the peak of Core Formation, they were very close. Dressed in a long robe, the man appeared to be around forty, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, exuding natural authority without needing to express anger.

"Daoist Qingfeng."

Upon seeing Qin Sang, the man stood up and cupped his hands, saying, "I, Xiang, have been waiting for you, Daoist. I happened to be out on an errand today and couldn't greet you personally. I hope you don't mind."

"Fellow Daoist Xiang, you are too kind." Qin Sang returned the gesture and curiously looked at the other five people.

Among these five, one was the man who had greeted him earlier in the day. Beside him sat a beautiful woman; they appeared quite close, possibly a Daoist couple. The man was a late-stage Core Formation master, while the woman's cultivation was similar to Qin Sang's, suggesting she had recently broken through to the mid-stage. Both the couple were very amiable and gestured warmly to Qin Sang. To their left, an aloof young man sat alone, holding a sword. Noticing Qin Sang's gaze, he merely gave a cold, expressionless look. To the young man's left was a corpulent man, whose flesh seemed to spill over the edges of his chair. He squeezed out a smile, making the flesh on his face tremble. Both of these individuals were at the peak of mid-stage Core Formation cultivation. It was reasonable to infer that they were likely trapped by a bottleneck, thus compelled to enter the Seven Kills Palace in search of an opportunity. Finally, there was a strange individual with a half-mask covering the left side of his face. The mask appeared to be part of his facial bones, covered in blood vessels, and his left eye glowed crimson, giving him a very sinister and demonic appearance at first glance. Compared to him, Qin Sang wearing a hooded cloak didn't seem so strange. This person's cultivation was also peculiar; on the surface, he was a seemingly ordinary mid-stage Core Formation cultivator, but when his sinister eye looked at Qin Sang, Qin Sang felt a slight stinging sensation in his own eyes. None of them concealed their cultivation levels, which Qin Sang easily discerned. However, their true strengths could not be judged by ordinary standards. Those bold enough to enter the Seven Kills Palace surely possessed one or two life-saving trump cards.

"Allow me to introduce everyone. This is Daoist Qingfeng from the Jade Firmament Merchant Guild..."

After the leader's introductions, everyone learned each other's backgrounds. Apart from the leader, the other five, like Qin Sang, were from various merchant guilds under the East Pole Alliance. The man and woman were indeed a Daoist couple from the same guild; the man's surname was Liu. The leader's name was Xiang Yi. He didn't seem to be associated with any merchant guild, and his background appeared quite mysterious. Qin Sang wisely chose not to press for details. After exchanging greetings with everyone, Qin Sang took a seat in a corner.

"Fellow Daoist Xiang, is it just the seven of us going to the Seven Kills Palace this time?" The Liu couple seemed quite familiar with Xiang Yi and spoke bluntly, "What exactly does the Merchant Alliance want us to do? You've kept silent all this time, but surely you can tell us now?"

"There's also a fellow Daoist from the Nine Stars Society arriving soon. The eight of us are enough to handle most dangers. Any more would draw too much attention, making it disadvantageous for our operation." Xiang Yi said in a calm tone, "As for the Merchant Alliance's mission, I apologize, but I cannot disclose it. You will know once we enter the Seven Kills Palace. This is the Alliance Leader's order, and I dare not act presumptuously." Hearing "Nine Stars Society," Qin Sang's expression faltered for a moment. He thought to himself, "It can't be such a coincidence, can it?" The others frowned deeply at Xiang Yi's words. The sword-wielding youth's eyebrows twitched, a look of displeasure on his face. The corpulent man chuckled, saying with a hidden sharpness, "Fellow Daoist Xiang, since you cannot reveal the mission's content, and we dare not defy the Alliance Leader's command, surely you can at least give us a hint about the difficulty and time required? As far as I know, the immortal formation outside the Seven Kills Palace is extraordinary. Even if forcibly breached, the strongest spiritual formation can only hold for a limited time; we must leave before the immortal formation closes. If the mission takes too long, and we don't even have time to search for treasures, wouldn't we just be spending our own spirit stones to work for the Merchant Alliance? What's the point?" As he spoke, the corpulent man looked around. Everyone nodded in agreement, and Qin Sang also voiced his support. Xiang Yi was not offended; his expression remained placid. He said calmly, "Fellow Daoists, please rest assured. I, Xiang, can assure you that this journey will at most consume a quarter of the available time, leaving you ample time. As long as everyone works together to assist me, things will proceed even faster. As for potential dangers, I can only say that sufficient preparations have been made. However, the Seven Kills Palace is unpredictable, and no one can be certain whether unforeseen circumstances will arise."

"It's good that you have a plan, Fellow Daoist. I am personally convinced of your integrity." The corpulent man grinned, surprisingly ceasing his inquiries. The others also found it hard to probe further, so they asked a few innocuous questions while waiting for the last person to arrive.

Before long, footsteps were heard from outside. The old man guarding the door announced loudly, "Senior Xiang, Fellow Daoist Cui from the Nine Stars Society has arrived." Qin Sang's eyelids twitched. He looked up towards the hall's entrance and saw a youth, gaunt as a stick, with a seemingly lecherous glint in his eyes, sauntering in. Who else could it be but Cui Ji? After driving Cui Ji away from Five Elements Island all those years ago, Qin Sang had never seen him again. The man had surprisingly kept a low profile and caused no further trouble. Qin Sang had initially been wary of him seeking secret revenge, but as there was no further activity, he eventually let it go. Compared to over twenty years ago, Cui Ji's aura was noticeably stronger, but his cultivation remained stuck at mid-stage Core Formation, similar to the sword-wielding youth. Moreover, Cui Ji's current state seemed off; he was excessively thin, with pale skin utterly devoid of color, likely due to a malfunction in his cultivation of a secret art. "Is this guy also stuck at a bottleneck?" Qin Sang's gaze was peculiar.

"Fellow Daoist Cui, you've arrived. Please have a seat," Xiang Yi said, rising to greet him.

Cui Ji was about to take his seat when he suddenly spotted Qin Sang, and an unbearable memory flooded his mind. Both wore hooded cloaks, and their auras were strikingly similar.

"Evil Daoist! It's you!"