Chapter 526: Qingyang Gale Essence

Golden Core!

The moment the firelight vanished, Qin Sang shot up from the grass, his eyes flashing. Without the slightest hesitation, he activated his movement art and silently crept toward Divine Gale Peak.

The Golden Core cultivator of the Demonic Qingyang Sect was the only one he truly feared. Now that this person had already departed, Qin Sang no longer needed to worry about being easily exposed. Without waiting for the others to move out, he immediately began his infiltration toward Divine Gale Peak.

He needed to save every second!

With a Core Formation cultivator’s strength and speed, rushing at full power, it would take at most two hours to travel from the Demonic Qingyang Sect to Endless Valley, and then enter the second zone.

The demonic beasts of the first zone would pose no obstacle at all.

Before coming, Qin Sang and Wandering Man had agreed that once the job was done, Wandering Man would immediately withdraw. He could not possibly confront the entire sect, no matter how strong he was.

Every detail had been meticulously calculated long ago.

Now, with a sudden beast tide erupting, Qin Sang might even be able to buy himself more time.

Factoring in the time needed for rescue missions...

Qin Sang decided to set a strict limit: He must complete the secret art and leave the Demonic Qingyang Sect within four hours!

"Four hours... As long as nothing unexpected happens, it will be enough."

Qin Sang steeled his resolve inwardly.

As he drew closer to Divine Gale Peak, Qin Sang suddenly paused. He darted behind a large boulder to hide, just as several figures burst out of the mist, flying down the mountain at great speed.

Among them, one cultivator summoned a flying boat. It was narrow and sharp at both ends, its shape resembling a slender bean pod. Layers of azure fire roiled across the surface of the vessel.

The flying boat expanded swiftly with the wind, and the cultivators hurriedly boarded without hesitation.

Moments later, two more figures arrived.

The flying boat’s flames flared brightly. With a slight tremor, it transformed into a streak of flowing light and shot toward the sky. Its speed was astounding, only slightly slower than that of the Core Formation cultivator’s evasion technique.

Qin Sang surmised that the vessel’s astonishing speed must have been achieved through the combined effort of its passengers.

Given the current turbulence—sect members dispatched to both the Demonic Qingyang Sect and the Chaotic Island Waters—only a handful of experts remained to guard the sect. Judging from what he had seen, even if these were not all of them, it could not be far off.

Watching them disappear into the distance, Qin Sang finally set aside all concerns.

...

The main gate of the Demonic Qingyang Sect.

The flying boat streaked across the sky and was about to exit the sect when it suddenly came to a halt before a large stone stele.

A firm and unquestionable command rang out from within, "Senior Brothers, after we leave, the sect will be severely undermanned. Seal the main gate at once. No one is permitted to enter or leave under any circumstances!"

At that moment, eight Foundation Building cultivators were seated around the stele, maintaining their watch.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Upon hearing the order, a black-robed old man promptly responded, "Junior Brother Li, rest assured. Before Senior Uncle Wu departed, he instructed us the same. Once you leave, we will immediately activate the grand array, leaving no chance for troublemakers to exploit!"

He paused, seeming to remember something, and hurriedly pulled out a jade slip from his robes, tossing it toward the flying boat. "The scouting report from Endless Valley has already arrived. A beast tide is indeed raging within. Senior Uncle Wu instructed that once you reach Endless Valley, proceed according to the markings in the jade slip. You need not rendezvous with him first."

"Good!"

A phantom hand stretched out from the flying boat and caught the jade slip mid-air, pulling it inside.

The next moment, the flying boat quivered lightly, then shot toward the east with a sharp whoosh.

After watching them depart, the black-robed old man swept his gaze across his fellow cultivators and ordered in a low voice, "Junior Brothers, activate the grand array!"

"Activate the array!"

"Activate the array!"

...

Accompanied by angry shouts, the eight cultivators formed a circle and simultaneously pressed their palms against the stone stele before them.

As they continuously channeled their spiritual power into it, the stele seemed to shed its old grime, gradually transforming into a transparent jade monument. The characters "Qingyang" carved on it bloomed with dazzling light.

Drawn by the anomaly, the winds suddenly surged among the surrounding mountains, and the sea of clouds began to converge. In a short time, the Demonic Qingyang Sect was completely sealed off—the mountains, the stone stele, and even the eight cultivators were hidden within the dense clouds.

For the ordinary disciples, the sealing of the mountain gate meant nothing more than restricted entry and exit. Since it was not due to an enemy invasion, they remained unconcerned and continued cultivating as usual.

Qin Sang had successfully infiltrated Divine Gale Peak!

Once inside, Qin Sang finally understood just how chaotic the vital energy here truly was. No wonder there were no barriers or spiritual arrays around the mountain—it was simply impossible to maintain them in such conditions.

His figure silently emerged, standing before a stone pillar that resembled a withered ancient tree, with thick branches stretching outward like gnarled vines.

Qin Sang tilted his head slightly, examining the azure "lanterns" hanging from the branches.

The Divine Qingyang Gale that Shi Ying had brought back had already been refined. This was Qin Sang’s first time seeing the raw Qingyang Gale Essence with his own eyes, and he found it incredibly novel.

Although it appeared to be a light, airy mass of qi, it remained condensed and attached firmly to the branches, refusing to disperse. Even at such close range, he could barely sense any fluctuations from it.

Not far from Qin Sang, a Qi Refining Realm disciple was absorbing a strand of Qingyang Gale Essence, completely unaware that someone was watching him. Qin Sang quietly stepped forward, standing just behind the disciple, observing his technique.

The disciple summoned his Demonic Qingyang Fire and gently touched the Qingyang Gale Essence. He then swiftly struck dozens of seals into the air. Moments later, his Demonic Qingyang Fire grew visibly stronger, as if it had drawn nourishment from the Qingyang Gale Essence.

However, the strengthening came at a cost. The originally docile Demonic Qingyang Fire suddenly became violent and unstable.

Clearly, the disciple was not experiencing this for the first time. Without panicking, he circulated his spiritual power through his palms, steadily subduing the unruly flames, then turned and returned to his cave dwelling to continue cultivating.

Watching him depart, Qin Sang shook his head slightly. Since he did not cultivate the Demonic Qingyang Fire, he could not absorb the raw Divine Qingyang Gale the same way they did.

Sweeping his gaze around, Qin Sang soon found a relatively hidden strand of Qingyang Gale Essence.

He stepped carefully before it, slowly closing his eyes. Stretching out his right hand, he cautiously reached forward while activating his spiritual consciousness to sense every subtle change.

After a moment, Qin Sang opened his eyes, staring at the Divine Qingyang Gale with furrowed brow.

No wonder the Qingyang Gale Essence at the foot of the mountain appeared the way it did. Qin Sang realized that the Gale Essence here was impure. If one wished to use it for cultivation, one had to first refine and purge the impurities to extract the pure Celestial Gale Qi within.

Refining impurities was not difficult; Qin Sang had already devised a method. However, it would consume precious time, and the Divine Qingyang Gale was extremely unstable; even the slightest mistake could cause it to dissipate entirely.

He had little time to waste on such a task.

A thought flashed through Qin Sang’s mind. Based on his previous investigations, he remembered that the Divine Qingyang Gale manifested in various forms. Very likely, the purer Celestial Gale Qi resided in different shapes of Qingyang Gale Essence!

With this realization, Qin Sang hesitated no longer. He immediately activated his evasion technique and darted toward the summit.

Sure enough, the closer he got to the peak, the more condensed and solid the Qingyang Gale Essence became. The Celestial Gale Qi within it grew purer, and Qin Sang’s heart filled with secret delight. He quickened his pace even further.