Chapter 813: Lord Luo of the Island

Qin Sang lay in wait outside the mountain gate.

In less than an hour, he noticed fluctuations in the Vast Ocean Sect's protective formation, and his spirits lifted. Several streaks of escape light shot out from the mountain gate, disappearing into the distance. The aura of the person in the lead was clearly far superior to the others.

"The snake had finally been lured out," he thought. Qin Sang remained still for a while, waiting to confirm that no one else emerged from the Vast Ocean Sect before he finally moved.

The Vast Ocean Sect Master flew with his disciples towards the market. Holding incriminating evidence, he intended to give them a stern warning this time. Unfortunately, Island Master Luo had previously decreed that they were not to be completely annihilated. This person and the power behind him were forces the Vast Ocean Sect Master could absolutely not afford to provoke.

Every time he recalled the destruction of Spirit Turtle Island two years ago, the Vast Ocean Sect Master couldn't help but shiver with extreme fear. The power behind Island Master Luo was too mysterious and terrifying; it was even capable of capturing and killing Nascent Soul cultivators.

Regarding Island Master Luo's words, the Vast Ocean Sect Master felt no inclination to resist; instead, he was excited. He believed that being associated with such a top-tier power might lead to great success. Unfortunately, after the Spirit Turtle Island Master's death, Island Master Luo never contacted him again.

As he was thinking about these things, the Vast Ocean Sect Master suddenly felt an inexplicable unease. He finally sensed something was wrong, abruptly stopped his escape light, turned sharply, and roared, "Who's there!"

Before his words fully faded, a thunderous beast roar suddenly echoed from the forest below. Amidst a series of crackling sounds, an azure storm materialized out of thin air, destroying large sections of the forest. It surged upwards with astonishing momentum, sweeping towards them.

"Get out of the way!" The Vast Ocean Sect Master, seeing the storm's power, revealed a look of alarm. He forcefully pushed several disciples aside, and then a blue light flew out from his dantian. The blue light was in fact a strangely shaped sword, seemingly refined from some kind of beast bone—his life-bound magical artifact, painstakingly refined after exhausting all his efforts.

The Vast Ocean Sect Master pointed forcefully, and the bone sword glowed intensely with blue light. Its sword energy surged, blocking the storm. But then he heard several screams. He whipped his head around, horrified to discover that several disciples had all perished, and the culprit was a crystal-clear flying sword.

"There's another one!" By this point, the Vast Ocean Sect Master realized he had fallen into a trap. His first thought was to flee.

But as he was about to flee on his sword, the flying sword pressed tightly towards him, moving like lightning with astonishing speed. Then, before him, the sword body flickered, splitting into four, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake.

"Sword Light Diversion!" At this moment, Qin Sang and the Two-Headed Qiongqi also revealed themselves from the shadows.

In the realm of swordsmanship, the most difficult aspect is breakthrough. However, once that step is truly taken, progress is rapid. He had comprehended Sword Light Diversion, condensing sword light to a point where it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and he could already split it into three.

Given more time, once Sword Light Diversion reached mastery, he could attempt to comprehend the realm of 'One Sword Forms a Formation'. Generally speaking, that was a realm only Nascent Soul Grandmasters could comprehend, making it extremely difficult.

Qin Sang could defeat the Vast Ocean Sect Master with just his ebony sword, let alone with the Two-Headed Qiongqi's assistance. The man and beast attacked in turns from both sides. The Vast Ocean Sect Master struggled to cope, showing signs of defeat within a few rounds.

To end the battle quickly, Qin Sang unleashed the Ten Directions Yama Banner. Seizing the opportunity, the demonic flame swept forth, knocking the Vast Ocean Sect Master's magical artifact away and easily cornering him. He didn't even need to use the Star Conch or the Blood Impurity Divine Light.

"I'm doomed!" The Vast Ocean Sect Master, utterly helpless, was filled with despair. He didn't even have time to ask his opponent's identity or why he was being killed.

"Whoosh!" The Nine Nether Demonic Flame shattered the Vast Ocean Sect Master's protective aura, but it didn't deliver a killing blow. Qin Sang flashed next to the Vast Ocean Sect Master, sealed his cultivation, swept his gaze around, called back the Two-Headed Qiongqi, and immediately fled to a distant place.

From his appearance to capturing the Vast Ocean Sect Master, Qin Sang's actions were clean, swift, and left no trace. He didn't stop until he had left Barren Gate Island, confirming there were no pursuers behind him. Qin Sang then found a desolate island and released the man.

After a thorough interrogation, Qin Sang finally learned the full story. The key figure was someone named Island Master Luo.

On the eve of the Spirit Turtle Island incident, that Island Master Luo sought him out. After learning about Island Master Luo's cultivation and identity, the Vast Ocean Sect Master immediately lost all will to resist and complied obediently.

Several other powers were also subdued by Island Master Luo at the same time.

Only then did he learn that Island Master Luo had ordered them to assist in investigating the Spirit Turtle Island Master, to ascertain the identities of cultivators who had once listened to his teachings. He also strictly forbade any leaks, threatening death if they disobeyed.

The Spirit Turtle Island Master's origins were mysterious, and he was not to be trifled with. However, after weighing their options, everyone decided to obey Island Master Luo's orders.

Island Master Luo was, in fact, the master of a large island near Quheng Island, and backing him was a Quheng Island Master. It was common knowledge that the Quheng Island Masters represented the forces of both righteous and demonic paths. No matter how rampant the evil cultivators of the Rifting Wind Archipelago became, they wouldn't dare attack Quheng Island.

Either of these two factions was a colossal power, a hegemon of the Azure Waves Sea!

No matter how strong the Spirit Turtle Island Master was, he was still just one person. How could he compare to them? As it turned out, they had made the right choice.

Island Master Luo had secretly infiltrated Barren Gate Island, subdued the Vast Ocean Sect and other forces, and covertly investigated the Spirit Turtle Island Master, yet there had been no sign of direct action. Island Master Luo had been hiding within the Vast Ocean Sect at the time, which is why the Vast Ocean Sect Master knew more details.

All Core Formation experts connected to the Spirit Turtle Island Master were being hunted.

It wasn't until the destruction of Spirit Turtle Island that they realized with shock that Island Master Luo, a dignified late-stage Core Formation expert, was merely a pawn sent to secretly gather information, while the true perpetrators were Nascent Soul Grandmasters.

After encircling and killing the Spirit Turtle Island Master, Island Master Luo gave them some rewards. They seemed to have come only for the Spirit Turtle Island Master, and once their objective was achieved, they left.

The Vast Ocean Sect Master, having received a reward from Island Master Luo, actually broke through the bottleneck that had plagued him for many years.

He had originally thought he had no hope in this life, but breaking through to the mid-Core Formation stage rekindled his confidence. He wholeheartedly desired to attach himself to Island Master Luo, but the other party simply had no regard for him.

He held onto a glimmer of hope, instructing his disciples to be vigilant; if they caught any who had escaped, he would have a reason to visit.

"Those who acted were from both the righteous and demonic paths!" Qin Sang sighed faintly, unsurprised. Only these two factions possessed such formidable strength.

"But it's uncertain whether it was the righteous path or the demonic path. Did Senior Qingzhu offend everyone, or just one of the sects? First, I need to confirm Island Master Luo's identity. He should be the island master of an island near Quheng Island, but it's unclear which one. However, with such high cultivation, he wouldn't be unknown. I should be able to inquire about him on Quheng Island."

Seeing that Senior Qingzhu's enemies had left no countermeasures and the Vast Ocean Sect was vulnerable, Qin Sang no longer worried. Before leaving, he returned to Barren Gate Island, plundered the Vast Ocean Sect's treasury, gaining a small fortune. He disguised himself as a passing bandit who had targeted the sect for its wealth, ensuring that the incident wouldn't be linked to Senior Qingzhu.

With the decline of the Vast Ocean Sect, Barren Gate Island would once again descend into chaos, but none of that concerned Qin Sang.