Chapter 75: Cooperation and Conflict

The Human World

Upon hearing this, Qin Sang's eyes narrowed, and a look of hesitation crossed his face.

Shen Jing, thinking Qin Sang was swayed, urged him eagerly, "Junior Brother Qin, there are certainly many people cooperating in the forbidden area now. You just saw how easy it was for the two of us to fight together. If you're uneasy, we could make an agreement: after defeating enemies, we'll take turns choosing spoils. Once we can trust each other, we can make long-term plans."

Qin Sang pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, looking at Shen Jing with piercing eyes. "Senior Sister Shen," he asked, "did you carve the secret mark on that mountain peak?"

Shen Jing was startled, then suddenly realized. She turned her head and glanced at the blurry silhouette of the solitary peak behind them. "So Junior Brother Qin also came from that direction," she said. "To be honest, after I left the mark, I kept moving forward. Unexpectedly, I encountered a mountain alligator deep in the mountains. It was lurking in a deep pool, fortunately chewing on a corpse. Luckily, it just glanced at me and ignored me. In my terror, I fled far away, but I was so panicked that I chose the wrong path and was intercepted by this person."

Fear and vulnerability appeared in Shen Jing's eyes, as if she was still shaken by the experience.

"A demonic beast?"

Since entering the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Area, Qin Sang hadn't encountered any demonic beasts, which was also due to his cautious nature; he never easily took risks or ventured into places that looked abnormal.

"Oh, right!"

Shen Jing suddenly clapped her hands, exclaiming in surprise, "Junior Brother Qin, that mountain alligator only devours corpses, so the jade token must still be intact! Moreover, I've heard that rare spiritual herbs are usually found where demonic beasts reside, and the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Area should be no exception. If the two of us cooperate, combining the power of two supreme-grade magic artifacts, even if we can't kill it, we can at least retreat safely. How about..."

The more Shen Jing spoke, the more excited she became, but Qin Sang suddenly shook his head, cutting her off.

"Since that mountain alligator could easily kill a cultivator and frighten Senior Sister Shen away with just a glance, it's probably not that simple," Qin Sang said. "Uncle-Master Yue once said that there are many great demonic beasts in the forbidden area, including those at the late and peak stages of the Mortal Demonic period. There are plenty of jade tokens; why risk it all for just one? As for spiritual herbs, only a few can directly improve cultivation. Neither of us is an alchemist, so what's the point of seizing them now?"

Qin Sang knew very well how formidable the participants of the Immortal Ascension Assembly were; even that shabby, impoverished Taoist priest had means to save his life.

Yet the mountain alligator could kill a cultivator without a scratch, its strength clearly formidable.

Shen Jing let out a dry laugh, her face flushing with embarrassment. "Junior Brother Qin is right," she said, "I was too reckless."

It wasn't recklessness so much as the allure of treasure moving her Dao heart.

Cultivators, in the end, were merely mortals who had mastered powerful abilities.

Qin Sang smiled, not taking offense. He extended his spiritual sense into the straw-hat man's Mustard Seed Bag and, to his surprise, found two jade tokens inside. It was clear this person had already defeated an opponent, but had unfortunately encountered Qin Sang and Shen Jing.

Seeing the two jade tokens in Qin Sang's hand, Shen Jing was filled with envy, but immediately a look of determination appeared on her face, and she said nothing.

Qin Sang saw this and secretly nodded. He then took out a low-grade spiritual sword from the straw-hat man's Mustard Seed Bag and threw it to her. "Senior Sister Shen," he said, "you can use this magic artifact for self-defense for now. We might have to go through several tough battles later; it's best if we work together with one heart."

With that, Qin Sang switched to the straw-hat man's Azure Wave Sword, activated his escape art, and swept out of the mountain gorge.

Shen Jing took the spiritual sword, her face filled with joy. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Qin Sang's back receding into the distance. She quickly stamped her foot and chased after him.

The two moved one after another, Qin Sang consistently maintaining a certain distance from Shen Jing.

Qin Sang's Cloud Escape Art was superior to Shen Jing's escape art, so he let Shen Jing move openly while he concealed his aura and trailed behind.

However, the people around seemed to have vanished without a trace. They walked for a while, yet didn't encounter a single soul.

Just as Qin Sang was secretly frowning, wondering whether to change direction, Shen Jing, who was ahead, crossed over a small hill and suddenly stopped. She turned and called out, "Junior Brother Qin, there seems to be a mountain ahead."

Qin Sang leaped a few times and stood on a treetop. Sure enough, he saw a prominent mountain peak at the end of his vision.

With Shen Jing as a helper now, it was naturally better to encounter people as quickly as possible. Qin Sang intended to go up and survey the surrounding terrain, so he said, "Senior Sister, wait for me at the foot of the mountain."

Shen Jing readily agreed. The two quickly arrived at the foot of the mountain; Shen Jing found a place to hide, and Qin Sang activated his escape art to ascend towards the summit.

Only by standing on the mountain peak did he realize that they were already nearing the edge of the mountain range. A few more mountains ahead lay a vast plain covered in wild grass. The wild grass on the plain was tall enough to reach a person's height, and when the wind blew, the green grass swayed like waves.

Unless one crawled through the grass, there was nothing else around to conceal one's figure.

This place was quite suitable for luring and ambushing. Qin Sang's heart was stirred by the prospect of a hunt, and just as he was about to descend the mountain to inform Shen Jing, he suddenly heard a loud bang from the base of the mountain, and his expression subtly changed.

He flashed to the edge of the mountain peak and saw rocks collapsing and dust rising at the foot of the mountain. Within the dust, he could vaguely see flashes of blades and swords. He could also hear Shen Jing's urgent shouts, indicating a dire situation.

Seeing this scene, Qin Sang pushed off with his foot, about to descend the mountain to rescue Shen Jing, but after a few strides, his figure suddenly froze.

Could it be a trap?

Qin Sang's expression was hesitant. After all, he had been standing on the mountain peak for so long and hadn't seen anyone pass by, yet Shen Jing, hidden in the shadows, had suddenly encountered enemies.

This thought flashed through his mind. Although Qin Sang felt the possibility was low, he still felt a heightened sense of vigilance. He used his Falling Cloud Wings to conceal his figure and approached the foot of the mountain silently.

Unexpectedly, just as Qin Sang reached halfway up the mountain and was about to pass over a valley, a sudden change occurred.

Several eerie black mists suddenly shot out from the valley. The source of the mists was a series of copper mirrors arranged like a grand formation. Their placement was extremely subtle and well-considered, making them hard to detect.

These mists were ghostly and chilling, radiating an oppressive cold. They were as fast as lightning, and the concealment provided by the Falling Cloud Wings seemed to have no effect on them whatsoever, as they shot directly towards Qin Sang.

These copper mirrors...

Qin Sang's face was filled with shock and anger. Under the suddenness, he couldn't dodge at all, so he forcefully swung the Azure Wave Sword in his hand.

*Whoosh!*

The Azure Wave Sword shone brightly, rapidly radiating outwards around Qin Sang like expanding circles of water ripples, colliding with the approaching black mists.

To Qin Sang's surprise, the Azure Wave Sword's light passed through the mists without any resistance, having no effect whatsoever. Qin Sang only had time to activate his Ice Silkworm Armor, forming a layer of frosty protection, before he was enveloped by the mists.

The mists made no sound upon hitting Qin Sang, nor did Qin Sang feel any pain.

*Buzz... buzz...*

The copper mirrors on the ground suddenly began to tremble simultaneously, slowly rising into the air. More and more mist surged from the copper mirrors. Qin Sang was completely surrounded by pitch-black, impenetrable mist from all directions.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in the valley. It was Shen Jing, completely unharmed!