Chapter 480: Praise from Snake Granny

After capturing the Yellow Armored Man, Qin Sang landed on the ground. His skin looked pallid from excessive blood loss, but he had long prepared pills in advance. Once he swallowed one, his recovery began to accelerate.

The black flames gradually dispersed.

Beneath the sea of fire, four black shadows were lying in ambush. These were top-tier malevolent corpses crafted from late-stage Foundation Building corpses.

They were one of Qin Sang’s backup plans. If his astra failed to subdue the enemy, he wouldn’t hesitate to use up even his Xutian Thunder, let alone sacrifice a few malevolent corpses. There was no way he would allow the Yellow Armored Man to escape.

Qin Sang laid the Yellow Armored Man on the ground and found that his primordial spirit had been severely wounded by the Demonic Flames of Nine Hells. There was no time to do anything else. He immediately began healing him, then sealed his primordial spirit using a Heavenly Corpse Talisman, and stored him inside the Corpse Puppet Pouch.

This time, Qin Sang would not act recklessly. He would wait until he broke through to the Fake Core Realm before attempting anything further.

Together with Yu Hua, he now had two living corpses. Even if only one could be successfully refined, it would be well worth it.

Fortunately, Qin Sang had acted quickly enough. The Yellow Armored Man’s Mustard Seed Pouch survived intact. Although there weren’t any ultimate treasures like Xutian Thunder inside, it was still an astonishing fortune.

There was also a pouch filled with Elemental Star Stones. Though it only held a thin layer, he estimated there were about a hundred in total.

Qin Sang weighed the pouch in his hand, deep in thought.

Given the Yellow Armored Man’s strength, he was likely among the top contenders of the sixty-six cultivators who entered Zhitian Peak. Even after cautiously using a Spirit-Sealing Bangle to harvest Elemental Star Stones, this was all he managed to gather.

Qin Sang already had over three hundred stones in his own pouch. Adding these, his total now approached five hundred, equivalent to what four people might collect.

Zhitian Peak was vast, and its challengers were scattered everywhere.

Most of them didn’t have someone like Granny Jing, who possessed such powerful insight that she could easily detect weak points in barriers and move freely through deadly traps. Even with luck, they’d be fortunate to encounter two opportunities, and might not even be able to seize them.

"This should be enough. Any more would be excessive."

Qin Sang murmured to himself.

With that, he stopped hurrying and moved with caution. Along the way, he casually collected a few more Elemental Star Stones, bringing his total to around five hundred. When he exited the canyon, the allotted time was nearly up.

Qin Sang glanced around. Once away from the canyon, he found a clearing, then looked up into the sky. Chaotic suction forces raged above like countless whirlwinds, swirling violently overhead.

Moments later, those fierce winds suddenly came to a standstill, as if time itself had frozen.

Now!

This phenomenon would only last for a fleeting instant. Miss it, and there would be no way to leave Zhitian Peak.

Without hesitation, Qin Sang summoned the Cold Gold Sword, merged with it, and soared into the sky at top speed.

All across Zhitian Peak, dozens of brightly colored streaks of evasion light burst out like fireworks, rising from every direction—from the summit to the base of the mountain. Everyone surged toward the heavens.

The chaotic winds began to reverse, turning into a suction force from above.

Having experienced it once before, Qin Sang skillfully navigated the turbulence, maintaining the integrity of his sword light. Before long, a blinding expanse of white light appeared ahead. It was as if a massive tear had been ripped through the heavens, forming a gigantic sky portal.

Whoosh!

He shot into the white light, and all the chaotic forces around him vanished at once.

His vision was flooded by a blinding glow. Then, as his sight returned, an endless expanse of lake water came into view.

The soft sound of lapping waves reached his ears, slowly calming Qin Sang’s tightly wound nerves.

He had barely found his footing when a strong gust of wind swept in from behind. He instinctively dodged to the side and focused his gaze, only to see that it was a master from the Yuling Sect, emerging from Zhitian Peak at nearly the same moment as he had.

The two of them exchanged a silent nod and flew toward their respective camps.

Snake Granny and Vice Island Master Xiao were still waiting in place.

Nearly twenty people had exited before them and were now standing respectfully behind the two island masters. Senior Brother Rong was among them. He seemed troubled by something; his brows were furrowed, and his expression grave.

When he saw Qin Sang, a small smile touched his lips, and he nodded in greeting.

As Qin Sang walked over, he scanned the crowd and was surprised to find so many survivors.

On second thought, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Everyone who entered Zhitian Peak was a top-tier expert. Unless their luck was truly abysmal, surviving wasn’t impossible.

Just then, Qin Sang suddenly felt a light tug at his waist. His pouch of Elemental Star Stones had been retrieved by Snake Granny.

"

Hmm?

"

Snake Granny weighed the pouch in her hand, gave Qin Sang a surprised glance, and nodded slightly. "I remember you’re a disciple of Shaohua Mountain, aren’t you? Not bad at all."

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Swish!

In an instant, all eyes turned to Qin Sang. Among so many cultivators, he was the only one who had received praise from Snake Granny.

Snake Granny tossed the pouch into the air and tapped a finger toward it. The pouch opened midair, and a cascade of Elemental Star Stones poured out with a whoosh.

One hundred, two hundred...

Each stone sparkled like crystal under the sunlight, dazzling to behold. The pouch seemed endless, and the stones continued to flow out in an unbroken stream.

That scene drew not only the attention of those from the Small Cold Domain, but even the cultivators from the Tianxing Alliance turned to look.

Expressions varied across the crowd. Gazes shifted back and forth between Qin Sang and the pouch. Some filled with shock, some with envy, and others with caution and unease.

Qin Sang stood calmly before Snake Granny, head slightly lowered, face serene and unreadable.

Yet his thoughts were elsewhere.

Among the twenty or so who had emerged so far, Ji Wu was not among them.

If Ji Wu had perished within Zhitian Peak, then that would be an ideal outcome.

Still, it was too early to be certain. Cultivators were still emerging from Zhitian Peak.

Finally, the pouch emptied.

Over five hundred Elemental Star Stones piled up into a neat little mound, radiating an almost magnetic allure, difficult to look away from.

The gaze of the golden-armored general from the Tianxing Alliance grew chillingly dark. He even glared at Qin Sang directly. Qin Sang felt as if he had been struck by a hammer—his face turned even paler, and his heart skipped a beat.

What a terrifying gaze... what terrifying pressure!

Qin Sang was inwardly shaken, but thankfully, Snake Granny acted immediately. Smiling faintly, she twirled her snake-headed staff, blocking that hostile gaze for him.

"What now? Is the Tianxing Alliance full of sore losers who can’t even accept the outcome of a bet? Trying to bully the weak with power?"

Snake Granny’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Whether we’ve lost or not is yet to be seen."

The golden-armored general replied coldly, unfazed by her jibe. He turned his head and continued watching the exit of Zhitian Peak.

Waiting.

Snake Granny turned back to Qin Sang, her tone now gentler. "Among all those who’ve come out so far, you’ve gathered the most Elemental Star Stones. In fact, no one in any of the previous duels has ever surpassed your count. You truly live up to your status as a prized disciple of Shaohua Mountain."

Qin Sang cupped his fists and bowed respectfully, offering the explanation he had prepared in advance. "Senior, you overpraised me. It was simply good fortune, I stumbled across a large patch of loose Elemental Star Stones..."

Whether or not Snake Granny believed him, she didn’t press the matter. Her gaze returned to the entrance of Zhitian Peak, where she waited silently.

As time passed, the pillar of light at the entrance began to narrow, growing thinner and thinner. The mirror-like portal at its core also began to shift.

When the light vanished completely, Zhitian Peak closed, once again hidden from the world.

Qin Sang swept his gaze across the gathered crowd and saw that, on the Small Cold Domain side, including himself, twenty-eight people had made it out—only five had failed to return. The Tianxing Alliance had twenty-seven survivors.