Chapter 931: Ghost Land

Old Demon Mu's face stiffened. He let out a dry laugh. "Old Ghost Xue, since when did you become so indecisive? If I wasn't absolutely certain, why would I ask for your help and bring trouble upon myself?"

"Hmph! Among the Nascent Soul cultivators present, I'm probably the only one who can help you. Refining a Blood Soul consumes so much of my vital energy that it would take decades to recover. If it weren't for the Heavenly Gang Ring, you could talk until the cows come home, but you wouldn't get one from me!" The old man in blood-red robes secretly handed a fist-sized blood orb to Old Demon Mu. Inside the blood orb, a blood-red figure was sealed, its expression one of extreme pain and ferocity.

"Once you reach the location, leave this blood orb there, and I'll handle the rest."

Old Demon Mu's face lit up. He put away the blood orb and distanced himself from the old man in blood-red robes to avoid attracting attention.

Watching Old Demon Mu's retreating figure, the old man in blood-red robes' eyes flickered with suspicion. "What extraordinary treasure did this old demon find in the Seven Kills Hall that he's willing to trade the chance to use the Heavenly Gang Ring for it? Isn't he afraid of the Heavenly Tribulation? I heard he raided Sage Dongming's cave abode in the Demon Sea. Could he have really gotten something that greatly increased his strength?"

The Violet Mist Death Trap.

Qin Sang followed the Violet River upstream and soon saw the sprawling violet mist.

Along the way, Qin Sang kept the Fiery-Eyed Butterfly on alert to avoid encountering anyone from the two major trade alliances, but he didn't see a single person. He wondered if the East Pole Alliance had changed its target and hadn't sent anyone here.

As he approached the violet mist, Qin Sang noticed that its edge seemed to have receded significantly since his last visit; he wasn't sure if this was a normal phenomenon.

He opened his spirit beast pouch and took out the Fat Silkworm. The Fat Silkworm knew it was time for another delicious meal and had no complaints despite being hungry for so long. Without Qin Sang needing to instruct it, it happily scampered onto Qin Sang's shoulder, opened its mouth to spray out the Poison-Repelling Armor, and stared intently into the depths of the Violet Mist Death Trap, wagging its head.

The Fiery-Eyed Butterfly was currently still in Qin Sang's Qi Sea, channeling its divine abilities to assist. Qin Sang intended to find the ghostly entity that had taken the Sky-Flying Yaksha, so he couldn't expose the Fiery-Eyed Butterfly too early.

With the Poison-Repelling Armor on, Qin Sang flickered and flew into the violet mist, his figure vanishing. He headed straight for the Violet Star Condor nest he had passed last time, capturing a few violet polecats along the way. There were multiple passes through this high cliff, but this one was the easiest to navigate; other routes were either too far or extremely perilous.

Unexpectedly, when Qin Sang arrived at the pass, he was surprised to find no Violet Star Condors in the canyon. During his last visit, Violet Star Condors were densely packed, with hundreds of adult condors constantly circling above the canyon, and the entire population was astonishingly large. Very few fierce beasts could survive in the poisonous mist. Adult Violet Star Condors were not weak in strength, were numerous and powerful, had almost no natural enemies, and had been entrenched there for countless years. If not for this, Xiang Yi wouldn't have been so confident last time.

"I remember the last time, the cultivator surnamed Pan betrayed us and ordered the Fissure Lizards to lure all these Violet Star Condors away, creating a chaotic battle on the scale of a beast tide. Could that battle have driven the Violet Star Condors to extinction?" Qin Sang was filled with surprise. "I wonder what fierce beast now rules this pass?"

He stopped at a distance, daring not to approach, and ordered the Fiery-Eyed Butterfly to activate its divine eye to observe. However, there was no trace of any fierce beasts; the canyon was unusually quiet.

"Empty?" Qin Sang frowned secretly. If there were no fierce beasts guarding it, he could just walk through grandly. But for some reason, he had a faint, ominous premonition. He had heard Madam Liu mention that when Xiang Yi and the others were returning, they were unexpectedly pursued by a fierce beast comparable to a shapeshifting great demon, which led to many complications.

"Could that great fierce beast have occupied it?" Qin Sang stared intently at the canyon, his face full of hesitation. Finally, he decided to take a detour, unwilling to gamble with his life. He didn't yet possess the strength to fight a shapeshifting great demon, and this was the Seven Kills Hall, after all.

"Fortunately, I made several other preparations," Qin Sang muttered grudgingly. He slowly retreated, then swept straight west along the mountain range. After flying an unknown distance, he arrived at a cave entrance. The cave was also one of the passages leading to the other side of the high cliff. It was said to be inhabited by many Earth Dragons that could exhale violet mist. These Earth Dragons usually burrowed into their dens to sleep and only became active when disturbed. But the violet mist they exhaled was second only in toxicity to that found deep within the Violet Mist Death Trap. Cultivators lacking sufficient strength or top-tier detoxification techniques dared not choose this path, which was why there was little information circulating about the cave, and whether Earth Dragons were the only type of fierce beast inside remained uncertain.

Qin Sang remained vigilant, concealing his aura, and flashed into the cave. The cave was winding and twisting but unusually spacious. It was deathly silent inside, and Qin Sang walked a long distance without seeing any other fierce beasts. At this point, his figure suddenly paused, and he turned to look at the stone wall. Enveloped in violet mist, one spot on the stone wall had a strange sheen. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a stone wall at all, but clearly a scale! The entire body of an Earth Dragon was hidden within the stone wall, with only this scale exposed.

"No wonder they're called Earth Dragons!" Qin Sang was secretly astonished. Estimating the Earth Dragon's size from the scale, it might even surpass a flood dragon, though he didn't know its strength. He had no interest in probing it, so he sped away. Along the way, he discovered several other Earth Dragon lairs, all in slumber. In the end, he emerged from the cave with unusual smoothness.

Qin Sang breathed a sigh of relief. Orienting himself, he swept towards the Great Rift Valley, taking a detour along the way to pass near the Ancient Divine Platform. He found no other cultivators there. The Ancient Divine Platform still lay dormant underground. Qin Sang had no choice but to give up, as even the Fiery-Eyed Butterfly couldn't see deep underground, whether due to the ancient restrictions being too strong or the presence of true demonic energy.

The Great Rift Valley.

A supreme-grade magic treasure was within reach. Staring at the violet mist, thick as colorful clouds, even Qin Sang's composure couldn't suppress a surge of excitement. He used his old trick, stealthily climbing down the cliff face, avoiding all unusual spots along the way to prevent any complications. Upon reaching the bottom of the valley, Qin Sang summoned the Nine Nether Demonic Flame and, guided by its sensation, headed directly toward the ghostly realm.

The Fat Silkworm, discontent, rolled around on Qin Sang's shoulder, grunting and wanting to retrieve the violet crystals first. "You little glutton, you're eating more and more. This time, I'll probably need to get quite a few more pieces to satisfy you. The beast horde guarding the violet crystals is very powerful; we need to plan carefully, then grab them and run."

Qin Sang explained softly to the Fat Silkworm, his attitude unusually gentle. Only then did the Fat Silkworm settle down. Qin Sang secretly sighed in relief. If the creature threw a tantrum and withdrew the Poison-Repelling Armor, he would be doomed.

Having placated the Fat Silkworm, Qin Sang navigated through twists and turns, finally returning to the extremely secluded canyon. Inside the canyon, the cluster of Nine Nether Demonic Flame still floated in its original spot, firmly blocking the entrance to the ghostly realm. It seemed as if nothing had changed for decades. Opposite the demonic flame, a pale gray ghostly mist enveloped the entire space of the ghostly realm.