Chapter 900: 串联

Those present were all seasoned and cunning individuals; naturally, they wouldn't be easily intimidated. However, the Landou Sect did indeed have two Nascent Soul grandmasters, and Elder Lu had publicly acknowledged the opponent as his senior fellow disciple from the most mysterious lineage.

Furthermore, they were unaware of the situation inside the Bamboo Pavilion, hearing only the accusations but not Elder Lu's counter-arguments. Although the Bamboo Pavilion was shrouded in a sea of blood, which didn't resemble orthodox methods, no one present knew anything about the true legacy of Dou Niu Peak. Such strict secrecy surely had a reason, and it wouldn't be surprising if it involved cultivating some demonic art. With various coincidences intertwining, it was impossible for them not to harbor suspicions.

If they were to get involved in the Landou Sect's internal conflict, their own safety would be secondary. Their sects could be implicated, and one careless mistake might lead to the ruin of the foundations left by their ancestors. With the situation unclear, everyone felt apprehensive. They stared intently at the Bamboo Pavilion, pondering extensively, unsure whether or not to intervene, or how to do so.

Meanwhile, the young man surnamed Fang didn't expect to keep the deception going for long. His plan was simply to trap Elder Lu, and once his junior disciples succeeded, they would immediately withdraw.

Amidst the chaos, no one noticed that Daoist Mingyue had disappeared.

Qin Sang was currently speeding towards the location of his avatar. He held the Qingfu Coin in his hand; the 'son coin' had conspicuously returned.

Before the anomaly occurred in the Bamboo Pavilion, Qin Sang had sensed something unusual with the Qingfu Coin and realized his avatar was sending a message, indicating it had encountered trouble. Just as he was burning with anxiety, trying to figure out how to escape, the conflict inside the Bamboo Pavilion began.

The internal strife within the Landou Sect involved Dou Niu Peak, which was of utmost concern to him. Naturally, he was extremely curious about what was happening in the Bamboo Pavilion, but he hadn't expected his avatar to get into trouble at that precise moment. Now, he could only set that matter aside, seize the opportunity to escape, and prioritize saving his avatar.

"My avatar has the Soul-Devouring Cone and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. What on Hole-Illuminating Island could possibly threaten him? It's just my luck that both issues are happening simultaneously. I should have known not to let him go out..." Qin Sang sighed inwardly, feeling a touch of regret.

He fully unleashed his escape art, racing against time, and soon arrived near the Landou Sect's territory. At that moment, he saw chaotic beams of light flying towards him from ahead; clearly, those Landou Sect disciples had discovered the anomaly at the entrance.

Qin Sang's figure vanished into the shadows, his speed undiminished. He slipped past them unnoticed, and shortly after, he finally sensed his avatar's location, feeling a sudden wave of relief. The avatar was safe.

Qin Sang flickered through the air, silently passing through the restrictions. Simultaneously, he connected with his avatar's thoughts, learning of all its recent experiences, which filled him with immense surprise.

"Go out with them and use this opportunity to leave!" Qin Sang made an immediate decision, arranging for his avatar to withdraw. The avatar was no longer needed at this point. He wanted it to quickly leave the troubled area and find a safe refuge to avoid being caught in the crossfire. As merely a Qi Condensation disciple, as long as it was careful enough, the powerful cultivators wouldn't notice it.

The avatar nodded slightly, then turned and departed.

Qin Sang stood atop the mountain, gazing at the dark jungle ahead, a surprised expression still on his face. He had never imagined things would unfold this way; it seemed he had encountered an old nemesis.

The avatar and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had discovered Zhao Songqiao's unusual actions and personally witnessed him release a sorcerer's insect-gu. This immediately made the avatar connect it to the cultivators from Black Snake Mountain, who had infiltrated human territory and tricked his main body. The avatar felt such a coincidence was unlikely, but it was certain that Zhao Songqiao had a group of sorcerer cultivators backing him, also planning something against the Landou Sect. It was unclear what their objective was, or what they intended by sending someone with a gu-worm into the Dark Thunderwood Forest. Therefore, the avatar ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly not to alarm Zhao Songqiao, but to observe the situation.

After releasing the gu-worm, Zhao Songqiao continued flying deeper into the forest, eventually reaching its densest part. This spot was precisely at the edge of Hole-Illuminating Island's grand formation, sealed by white mist. Next, he took out over a dozen black flags, which the avatar had never seen before, and thrust them into a nearby clearing, where they vanished from sight. They appeared to be some kind of forbidden magical artifacts. Then he stopped moving again, seemingly waiting for a certain moment.

The gu-worm, meanwhile, began flying all over the forest, seemingly searching for something. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly tracked the gu-worm and saw it eventually stop above an inconspicuous pond. After a brief pause, it returned to Zhao Songqiao's side. If the gu-worm hadn't led the way, others would have found it difficult to notice anything unusual here. When the Heavenly Eye Butterfly focused on the pond, it discovered that it was sealed by a restriction, one far more powerful than the two layers of restrictions it had encountered since entering Hole-Illuminating Island, making them incomparable. There must be a secret of the Landou Sect hidden inside!

Upon witnessing this, just as the avatar was contemplating whether to notify its main body, an anomaly suddenly occurred. Zhao Songqiao and the gu-worm finally made their move. Zhao Songqiao cast incantations towards the clearing, causing the black flags to rise from the ground, forming a large flag formation. Dense black smoke billowed from the flags, growing thicker and thicker. Simultaneously, the gu-worm's wings fluttered, and its form disappeared into the black smoke.

The black smoke gathered by the grand formation slowly rose and drifted towards the mist above. As the two distinctly colored mists converged, they clashed violently, like fire meeting oil. The black smoke seemed to possess some corrosive power, gradually polluting the white mist. At the same time, strange movements also appeared outside Hole-Illuminating Island.

Witnessing this, the avatar immediately understood that the opponents intended to coordinate from both inside and outside to break through Hole-Illuminating Island's grand formation! This formation was set up by the Landou Sect's sect master, combining the power of several sects; even a Nascent Soul grandmaster would likely find it difficult to break. However, the formation was currently activated for the Dharma Assembly, its power weakened. Furthermore, these flag formations seemed specifically designed for breaking formations. Judging by the signs, with their coordinated efforts from inside and out, they truly seemed capable of breaking through the white mist and entering. It was unknown how many people were outside the island, or what their cultivation levels were. However, there shouldn't be any Nascent Soul cultivators involved; otherwise, they wouldn't need to go through such elaborate efforts to sneak in.

The avatar's cultivation was too low, and it worried about being exposed. It dared not remain nearby, so it hastily crushed the Qingfu Coin to notify the main body and instructed the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to proceed with caution.

After learning all this, Qin Sang immediately realized that the situation in the Bamboo Pavilion was not an internal sect conflict at all. Those three Dou Niu Peak disciples were there to cooperate with outsiders to infiltrate Hole-Illuminating Island!

The control disk for Hole-Illuminating Island's grand formation was in Elder Lu's hands. If an external enemy attacked the formation, Elder Lu would immediately detect it. With so many Core Formation cultivators on the island, it was impossible for them to allow intruders to simply barge in. Now, Elder Lu was trapped in the Bamboo Pavilion, sealed by the sea of blood, unable to send out messages. The attention of the others was also diverted, making it difficult for them to discover the anomaly here in a short time. By the time a result was reached there, these individuals would have long succeeded and made their escape.

Meanwhile, Qin Sang's mind connected even more dots: sorcerer's insect-gu, Landou Sect, Dou Niu Peak, unknown treasure, Dark Thunderwood Forest, restricted pond... Black Snake Mountain. The mysterious figure of unknown origin, capable of subduing the Kui Dragon and cultivating terrifying thunder arts. Each of these incidents and clues seemed to be perfectly linked!