Chapter 509: A Minor Side Note

In truth, none of the four had ever laid eyes on Daoist Jiupao in person.

This was the first time the sect leader of the Demonic Flame Sect had made a public appearance.

Qin Sang gave a slight nod, his gaze sweeping across each of the four one by one.

He already understood their temperaments well.

Daoist Jiupao had long been lurking in this place, yet had not revealed his true demonic nature. Though the Demonic Flame Sect bore the name of a demonic sect, its disciples had remained unaffected, behaving no differently from those of ordinary immortal cultivation sects.

Among these four, Mei Gu was the most gentle by nature and held the highest prestige within the sect.

"Rise."

Qin Sang didn’t want to waste too much time here. He got straight to the point. "This time, I’ve come to summon Senior Brother Luo and the others to descend the mountain on an important mission. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone. The four of you will remain to guard the sect. In my absence, Mei Gu shall act on my behalf as sect leader. The other three of you will assist her."

The four were utterly stunned to hear such news from the sect leader himself.

No matter what they thought, Qin Sang gave his orders with unquestionable authority and made all the necessary arrangements.

The foundations left behind by Daoist Jiupao were solid.

Be it the spiritual vein within the mountain or the protective array, all were of excellent quality and required no alteration.

"Once I’m gone, you must prioritize improving your cultivation and strengthening the sect. Continue as you always have. Rely on the grand array for protection. It's more than enough to keep you safe. Remember this: if you journey outside, do not act recklessly or invite enemies to the sect. Should that happen... I will execute you myself."

Qin Sang gave a cold snort. Lightning suddenly burst from the center of his brows, accompanied by deafening thunder. A torrent of sword qi rained down from above like a flying waterfall, enveloping the four of them.

The sword qi carried a killing aura that shook them to their cores.

The aura of his astra erupted in full force. The four were so intimidated by the presence of the ebony sword that terror took hold. They could hardly believe that the one beneath the black robes was merely a cultivator of the Fake Core Realm, wielding a life-bound spiritual sword to bluff his way through.

That strike left a deep and unforgettable mark on their hearts.

Only after Qin Sang withdrew the ebony sword and the sword qi dissipated did they realize their entire bodies were soaked with cold sweat, as if they'd been thoroughly washed. Lu Xing and the others were even trembling.

"We wouldn’t dare!"

...

Watching the four trembling figures, Qin Sang slightly softened his tone.

He had never truly intended to act as the sect leader. His talent was poor, and he could barely protect himself. There was no way he’d devote himself to managing the affairs of a sect, let alone invest more effort into the Demonic Flame Sect.

This was just a minor side note Qin Sang had left behind.

Perhaps it would prove useful someday or perhaps not.

The foundation that Daoist Jiupao had painstakingly laid was just beginning to take shape. Since there were no hidden threats, it was a pity to destroy it all. Leaving it intact posed no harm.

The Demonic Flame Sect was still weak. How far it could develop in the future would depend entirely on them.

Of course, since Qin Sang had gotten involved, he had to leave behind some mark before departing, lest the day come when the sect needed him, and the disciples only knew of the acting sect leader and not the true one.

"Go and summon all disciples in the sect under the age of fifty who have a chance of breaking through to the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm."

Qin Sang instructed Mei Gu.

"As you command!"

Mei Gu’s composure far surpassed the other three, and she left at once to carry out the order.

Not long after, all qualifying disciples were gathered. Qin Sang brought out part of the spoils he had recently obtained and personally handed each disciple a magic artifact as a reward and encouragement.

Mei Gu and the others received top-grade artifacts as their reward.

Though they were merely standard top-grade artifacts, they still left Mei Gu and the others elated.

Finally, Qin Sang dismissed the rest, held a private conversation with Mei Gu, left her with a few items, and departed gracefully.

Once he stepped down from Earth Fire Mountain, he cast the Demonic Flame Sect from his mind. He hadn’t lingered long and now had more time to make preparations. Infiltrating the Demonic Qingyang Sect was the real task at hand.

After descending the mountain, Qin Sang returned once more to the underground cave.

He sat down on a large stone, opened the Corpse Puppet Pouch, and arranged the fourteen corpses in a row before him.

Soul-Guiding Grass was hard to come by, and Qin Sang had only two Heavenly Corpse Talismans left. He was reluctant to waste them on this group and thus killed them all. Of the group, two had reached the late stage of the Foundation Building Realm. He planned to refine them into malevolent corpses for his own use.

As for the remaining twelve, he set aside one for another purpose. Most of the rest would be turned into zombies, with a few refined into malevolent corpses.

Qin Sang’s plan to infiltrate the Demonic Qingyang Sect was closely tied to these zombies. He intended to bring them to Qingyang Market and sell them to disciples of the Demonic Qingyang Sect.

Malevolent corpses drew too much attention; he couldn’t bring too many of them.

Zombies, however, were no issue. Their strength was roughly equivalent to that of cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm. The Heavenly Corpse Sect’s methods for refining zombies weren’t all that different from those of other corpse-refining sects, but their technique allowed for the rapid creation of zombies using a strand of Earth Malevolent Qi.

Though the Demonic Qingyang Sect was not as bloodthirsty or unrestrained as some other demonic sects, it still operated within demonic territory. The disciples had long grown accustomed to certain things.

Corpse refinement techniques were not rare among demonic sects. Both rearing and trading in corpses were common practices. Disciples buying zombies for self-defense wasn’t something the sect would overly restrict.

That said, with the current situation uncertain, the Demonic Qingyang Sect had grown very cautious. Whether they would permit disciples to bring in refined corpses of unknown origin was something even Qin Sang couldn’t be sure of.

These refined corpses would serve as his pathfinders.

As long as they could enter the Demonic Qingyang Sect, Qin Sang could follow with ease!

Since acquiring the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art

, Qin Sang had become a Foundation Building cultivator. Though he had never refined a zombie before, he was already highly skilled in crafting malevolent corpses. Refining zombies would pose no difficulty.

He selected one of the corpses, destroyed its dantian, and erased all traces of it once being a Foundation Building cultivator. Then, summoning a wisp of malevolent yin qi, he began etching corpse-refinement barriers into the body.

The barrier was completed in a single go effortlessly.

Next, Qin Sang retrieved the prepared soul of a demonic beast and the Earth Malevolent Qi.

This step required caution, but it wasn’t beyond his ability. He followed the procedure step by step, and soon, the zombie was successfully refined.

Bang!

Qin Sang caught the zombie’s incoming punch with one hand and tested its strength.

Its power was comparable to a cultivator at the eleventh stage of the Qi Refining Realm.

Using a Foundation Building cultivator’s corpse to refine a zombie typically resulted in strength equivalent to the tenth stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Qin Sang had intentionally introduced slight variations to prevent all the zombies from possessing identical strength, which might otherwise raise suspicion.

He then circulated corpse qi throughout the zombie’s body, thoroughly destroying the corpse’s original appearance and transforming it into a true zombie—one with greenish skin and fanged jaws.

Qin Sang spent two days inside the cave, refining all of the zombies and malevolent corpses. Once complete, he stored them in his Corpse Puppet Pouch and headed toward Qingyang City.

...

The Spirit Tide was in full swing, and both Qingyang City and Tianyou Stronghold had closed their gates.

Many cultivators had gathered outside the twin strongholds, waiting for the Spirit Tide to end so they could be the first to enter the Ancient Immortal Battlefield in search of treasure. It was also a convenient place to gather information.

With so many cultivators gathered at the twin strongholds, auctions were held one after another, with rare treasures appearing frequently. Even the sect leader of the Demonic Qingyang Sect would have a hard time ignoring such temptations.

Assuming the alias Daoist Qingfeng, Qin Sang blended into the crowd. From his inquiries, he learned that neither Tianyou Stronghold nor Qingyang City had shown any sign of the Demonic Qingyang Sect’s sect leader making an appearance.

It seemed the sect leader was playing it very close to the chest.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Qin Sang frowned slightly in secret. With no other option, he could only be patient. After regrouping with Wandering Man, the two took positions at each of the great strongholds, waiting for the right opportunity.