Before leaving, Qin Sang quietly made another round around the mountain. Lying in wait was always easier than rushing into an encounter, but unfortunately, he gained nothing.
In the end, Qin Sang sped off in the direction he had previously chosen.
Meanwhile, the entire Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground had already descended into chaos.
The core area of the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground was not large. It was a circular lake, with water as clear as jade, undisturbed by even the slightest ripple.
In the center of the lake was a small island, lush with green plants and vibrant flowers. At the center of the island stood a towering tree with huge, coiling roots, and its fiery red leaves stacked in layers, resembling a pagoda.
A Yuanzhao Sect cultivator, who had been operating the Moon-Crossing Raft, was meditating on a reef at the edge of the island. Suddenly, his face twitched slightly, and he opened his eyes, looking upward.
The sky above suddenly shifted, with wild winds raging, but they couldn’t shake the massive tree in the slightest. Two figures surrounded by the glow of protective artifacts flew through the winds and headed toward the island.
Seeing the faces of the newcomers, the tense expression of the Yuanzhao Sect cultivator relaxed, and he asked in surprise, "Junior Brother Yu, why are you here? Where is Senior Brother Du?"
The man was a Foundation Building stage cultivator in his forties, followed by a young man in white who appeared to be in his twenties, with cultivation at the eighth stage of the Qi Refining Realm.
The two landed on the island, and the young man bowed respectfully. "Zhao Yan greets Senior Uncle Luan."
The cultivator surnamed Yu smiled and said, "Senior Brother Luan, you may not know, but it seems something happened within Senior Brother Du’s family. Early this morning, one of his children rushed up the mountain seeking help. Senior Brother Du was overwhelmed, so he entrusted me to handle the assignment of menial tasks for the new disciples."
"So that’s it. No wonder Senior Brother Du hasn’t shown up."
Luan Shan suddenly understood. Most of the new recruits from the ascension conference were wandering cultivators with unruly temperaments, and they needed to be tempered.
For the first two years, many menial tasks that the inner disciples were unwilling to do would be assigned to them, under the pretense of refining their temperament.
These tasks, which often earned resentment, were typically assigned by Senior Brother Du.
Since Senior Brother Du had delegated this to Junior Brother Yu, Luan Shan was more than happy to let him take over.
"I’ll leave it to you, Junior Brother Yu."
Qin Sang gave the saber a few swings and found it surprisingly handy, so he kept it.
Once the corpse was fully burned, Qin Sang glanced around before hiding himself. After leaving the canyon, he crossed over two mountains and found a cave to take shelter in.
After meditating to recover his strength, Qin Sang gripped the Blood Saber and set off again.
The mountains seemed endless, and the terrain was incredibly complex. Picking up his pace, he continued for a while until he spotted a solitary peak ahead. It stood tall, with its summit nearly piercing the clouds. Being the tallest mountain in the area, it promised a broad and expansive view, so Qin Sang decided to ascend and take a look.
In a place like this, one had to be extremely cautious. Qin Sang silently climbed to the summit, where his eyes suddenly sharpened.
On a rock at the top, there was a subtle mark that only the seventeen of them could recognize. It was the secret sign that Senior Uncle Yue had arranged for them.
Since entering the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground, Qin Sang had completely forgotten about the secret sign. He had no intention of leaving one himself for others to find him and assumed the others shared the same mindset.
To his surprise, one of his fellow disciples had actually left a sign.
Naivety? Or a trap?
Qin Sang furrowed his brows, following the direction indicated by the mark. It pointed exactly where he was planning to go, suggesting that the fellow disciple was likely not far ahead.
After two battles and only obtaining one jade token, Qin Sang realized that standing out in the ascension conference was far from easy.
Compared to the consequences of failing to join the Yuanzhao Sect, is it more acceptable to team up with a potential adversary?
Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, deep in thought, before deciding that each person should walk their own path. He had no idea which disciple lay ahead, and if it turned out to be someone at the seventh stage of the Qi Refining Realm, with ill intentions, he might be in serious danger.
The allure of a top-grade artifact was almost as tempting as a jade token.
Changing his direction, Qin Sang noticed shimmering waves in the distance to his left, which seemed to be a large river. The land around the riverbank was open, and not far across was the poisonous swamp.
After descending the mountain, Qin Sang changed course to the right, continuing his trek through the deep mountains.