Chapter 917: Conquest

**The Human Realm**

Looking at the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord's mutilated body, Qin Sang wore a pensive expression. Then, runes emerged from his palm, and the vital blood from the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord's corpse flowed steadily into his hand. The light of the runes flickered like flames, refining the vital blood and leaving only the purest essence. Finally, only a longan-sized crimson pearl remained in Qin Sang's hand. With a slight shake of his arm, he disintegrated the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord's shriveled corpse into dust.

Qin Sang was using a secret technique from the *Demon Embryo of Sowing Origin* to extract vital blood. After his external incarnation consumed and refined it, its cultivation could rapidly improve, making it a quick method for advancement. However, using this method to boost cultivation would make the external incarnation more bloodthirsty and harder to control, planting a hidden risk of backlash. Even with the help of the Jade Buddha, it would be difficult to suppress, and the first to be affected would be the incarnation's master. Therefore, Qin Sang tried his best to avoid this method, provided his external incarnation could advance to the peak of the Core Formation stage on its own. He flipped his hand, putting away the blood pearl.

At that moment, the incarnation flew out of Poison Island, instantly appearing beside Qin Sang. It had finished interrogating the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord's subordinates and relayed the information to Qin Sang. Qin Sang nodded, instructing the external incarnation to stay and guard the island, while he took the Twin-Headed Hound and left to tie up loose ends.

An expanse of sea dotted with continuous reefs. The weather changed abruptly. A clap of thunder from a clear sky terrified the birds and beasts on the surrounding desolate islands. Whoosh...countless birds scattered from the forest.

At this moment, two figures materialized out of thin air, appearing on a small reef. They looked at a scorched area on the island and several charred corpses. Qin Sang leaped from the Twin-Headed Hound's back and flashed to the charred corpses, identifying which one belonged to the Core Formation cultivator from the Sacrificial Demon Cave. This person was the helper the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord had intended to notify in advance. Qin Sang had instructed the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to leave a flying insect to track, leading him here to find the opponent. This individual was second only to the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord within the Sacrificial Demon Cave; their cultivation was equally formidable, and they were accompanied by another early Core Formation stage cultivator. Qin Sang had tested the power of the *Thunder Subduing Art* on them. The results were evident: everyone, including this cultivator surnamed Xun, had virtually no power to resist and perished under the thunder. After eliminating these individuals, Qin Sang's face was pale, with only one or two tenths of his true essence remaining. However, his physical body was far stronger than that of the Dou Niu Peak disciples. He not only easily withstood the backlash from the *Thunder Subduing Art* but also retained considerable combat power.

"Excellent!" Qin Sang held spirit stones to recover his true essence, nodding inwardly with a satisfied expression. Even without activating the Heavenly Demon Transformation, this Daoist art, when unleashed by him, already possessed the power to severely injure or even slay cultivators at the late Core Formation stage. Even experts like the young man surnamed Fang and Chief Lu would suffer greatly if caught off guard. No wonder the Lan Dou Sect was willing to spend so many resources on the *Thunder Subduing Art*, despite its inherent risks. The Twin-Headed Hound stood behind Qin Sang, its eyes wide as it looked at the scattered corpses, also astonished by the power of the Thunder Subduing Art. For over a decade, it had often seen Qin Sang recklessly charge into the sky during storms, battling against heavenly thunder. It never expected him to be cultivating such a terrifying grand divine ability.

Qin Sang waved his hand, conjuring a spiritual fire to erase the traces on the battlefield, then looked into the distance and calmly said, "Let's go. There's no longer any need for the Sacrificial Demon Cave to exist."

Ten days later, Qin Sang returned, bearing the marks of his bloody work. After confirming that the Sacrificial Demon Cave had no significant backing, he completely uprooted the entire sect. It was only several days after Qin Sang's departure that the nearby sects noticed something amiss. To their shock, despite numerous sects conducting overt and covert investigations, they couldn't find the slightest trace. They could only hope that a passing powerful cultivator, displeased with the Sacrificial Demon Cave's actions, had effortlessly eradicated it. For a time, cultivators in the vicinity were seized with panic. All major powers began to restrain their subordinates, their actions becoming much more subdued.

Qin Sang was neither aware of nor concerned about the extent of the impact he had caused. He returned directly to Poison Island, preparing to continue his arduous cultivation.

"Junior greets Senior!" Seeing Qin Sang enter, the scholar and the two others hastily bowed. The incarnation had left them in a quiet room and gone off to cultivate by itself. For days, they had been restless, unsure of what their fate would be. Seeing Qin Sang's travel-worn appearance, the scholar and the middle-aged beautiful woman exchanged a look, secretly alarmed. On the day they fled into Poison Island, they had been trapped by the illusion array and had not witnessed the battle outside. However, seeing that the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord never reappeared, they had already guessed some of what happened. "Senior, the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord, he..." the scholar asked cautiously.

Qin Sang uttered a soft 'Oh' and calmly said, "That old demon is dead. This old man went out for a few days and dealt with all of the Sacrificial Demon Cave Lord's confidants, so as to avoid any future trouble. Oh, I forgot to ask, what are your names?" His tone was understated, but the content filled the scholar with both joy and alarm. He was joyous because the demonic cultivator who coveted his daughter was dead. He was alarmed because the person before him possessed unfathomable power, speaking of eradicating the Sacrificial Demon Cave as if it were effortless. With their entire family confined to the island, he truly didn't know whether to be happy or worried. Hearing Qin Sang's question, the scholar hastily and respectfully replied, "All disciples of White Flame Valley take 'Bai' as their surname. My name is Bai Zhongqiu, my junior sister is Bai Hong, and for my daughter, Senior can simply call her Ying'er." Seeing her father's subtle hint, Ying'er obediently stepped forward and curtseyed, "Junior Ying'er greets Senior." "Senior has shown immense life-saving grace to my family, which this junior will never forget..." Bai Zhongqiu knelt with his wife and daughter.

Qin Sang did not stop them. He walked further inside and sat down, calmly looking at the three of them. "I slew that old demon because I value peace and quiet the most, and I don't want to be disturbed during my arduous cultivation. One can only blame that old demon for being so blind..." Upon hearing these words, Bai Zhongqiu's heart sank, and he instinctively shielded his wife and daughter. After a slight pause, Qin Sang said in a deep voice, "The reason I spared your lives is that I believe you two, husband and wife, might still be of some use to me." Bai Zhongqiu, understanding the hint, immediately knelt on both knees. "Senior, please command us. This junior will go through fire and water for you." Qin Sang let out a light laugh. "There's no need to go through fire and water, but it won't be entirely without danger either. Your cultivation as a couple is decent enough. From now on, you can go out and help me collect spiritual materials and gather information. This old man intends to focus solely on arduous cultivation, so I'll leave those trivial matters to you. As for your daughter, she possesses a Water Jade Physique, which makes her an excellent cauldron for demonic cultivators practicing cultivation-harvesting techniques. Going out would easily attract trouble, so she should remain on the island to cultivate." Upon hearing the first part, the couple had initially relaxed. However, learning that Qin Sang intended to keep Ying'er on the island, their expressions immediately changed drastically. "What, you are unwilling?" Qin Sang's eyes narrowed slightly. Bai Zhongqiu shivered, his expression changing several times. "This junior will obey Senior's command. It is Ying'er's great fortune to be able to remain by Senior's side and receive Senior's guidance." The middle-aged beautiful woman opened her mouth but dared not speak, holding her daughter tightly in her embrace.