Chapter 738: Parting Ways

After slaying the giant turtle, Qin Sang and Saint Yuansan joined up with the reinforcements and managed to rescue a number of cultivators from within the beast tide. However, faced with the tide’s ever-growing scale, they were ultimately forced to retreat.

Upon returning to Earth-Elemental Island, they learned that cultivators on the other islands had also noticed the anomaly and had already withdrawn. By now, nearly all the cultivators from the Five-Elemental Islands had gathered on Earth-Elemental Island.

But after witnessing the horrific scene on Wood-Elemental Island, most cultivators had lost the will to resist the beast tide. After a round of discussion, they reluctantly decided to abandon the islands.

Qin Sang looked back at this place he had spent over twenty years in, filled with emotion.

In the Demonic Sea, it was not uncommon for such islands to be discovered and claimed by cultivators, only to be taken back by demonic beasts.

These types of islands, though lacking a Spiritual Infant grandmaster to preside over them, offered more opportunities. People perished, but many also found fortune and soared to great heights.

Abandoning the Five-Elemental Islands left many cultivators filled with sorrow and reluctance.

"Daoist Master, just now we heard Saint Yuansan and the others discussing plans to find another place after leaving this sea and rebuild the Five-Elemental Islands. What are your thoughts? Should we go with them too?"

While retreating, the Wang Sisters had settled their subordinates before coming over to ask Qin Sang about his intentions.

Rebuilding the Five-Elemental Islands was not something that could be done on a whim. It required finding an island with a spirit vein capable of supporting so many cultivators in their cultivation. The demonic beasts nearby could not be too powerful either, or history would simply repeat itself.

However, the cultivators of the Five-Elemental Islands were all seasoned veterans. Saint Yuansan and the others possessed enough influence and had already begun rallying many people.

Not long ago, Saint Yuansan had asked for Qin Sang’s opinion, but Qin Sang had politely declined.

He shook his head and said, "I just broke through recently and haven’t had the chance to stabilize my cultivation. Seven-Kill Hall will open in five years. During this time, I plan to travel and broaden my horizons. I won’t have the energy to take part in rebuilding the Five-Elemental Islands. If you two wish to stay, that’s perfectly fine. You’ve both reached the Core Formation Realm and are more than capable of standing on your own. Having you stay by my side for so long has been an unfair burden. I can write to Elder Zhou and help you gain the support of the merchant guild."

This was a decision he had made long ago.

In just five years, trying to drastically improve his strength through secluded cultivation would yield limited results. It would be far more worthwhile to travel. Not only would it broaden his perspective, but Qin Sang also had many unresolved matters that required gathering information.

After being transported to Canglang Sea, Qin Sang had traveled from Xijiang of the Witch God Continent to Witch God Mountain, then to Duyan Island, Huntian Island, and finally the Five-Elemental Islands. Aside from traveling and cultivating bitterly, he had yet to truly explore this world.

And there were several matters that continued to trouble him.

First and foremost, he still hadn’t managed to awaken Mute Girl.

While hunting demonic beasts and cultivating, Qin Sang had not forgotten to use the channels of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild to search for secret techniques of the corpse path from both the human and witch races. He had spared no expense. As long as a technique was even remotely related, he would purchase it, hoping to draw parallels and discover a way to unravel the Heavenly Corpse Talisman and save Mute Girl.

Unfortunately, most corpse-path and ghost-path secret techniques in circulation were either extremely shallow and of little value, or fragmented and meaningless, or wildly deranged and clearly imagined nonsense.

So far, no solution had been found.

The good news was that Mute Girl’s primordial spirit remained very stable. Even after several decades, she had not fallen into darkness.

Perhaps it was due to the warm jade’s effect, or perhaps the presence of the fat silkworm had bolstered her primordial spirit and helped her maintain the last link with the living world, or maybe it was a combination of both.

As the fat silkworm grew, this link would become stronger. As long as Mute Girl could hold on with tremendous willpower and not lose herself, she would gain more time.

In the process of collecting these secret techniques, Qin Sang would benefit as well.

His cultivation was growing stronger, but his corpse core and flying yaksha, unable to improve, were becoming less useful. Eventually, they would become dead weight.

Both were products of the

Heavenly Yin Corpse Art

. Qin Sang pinned his hopes on other corpse-path secret techniques to strengthen the flying yaksha and enhance the corpse core.

Another pressing matter was the enhancement of his life-bound astra, the ebony sword.

Now that he had reached the middle stage of the Core Formation Realm, it had become urgent to upgrade the ebony sword. Any further delay would hinder his future progress. If he waited until he reached the late stage of the Core Formation Realm, he might find his cultivation stagnating.

The ebony sword had become a bottleneck. Only a spiritual wood of the Ten Divine Woods could strengthen it. Finding such a divine material in Canglang Sea was like searching for a needle in a haystack, but Qin Sang had no choice but to try.

Choosing to travel at this time was precisely because he hoped to uncover clues, encounter opportunities, and resolve these looming problems.

After hearing his response, the Wang Sisters both looked somewhat downcast.

The two sisters exchanged a glance. The elder sister, Wang Shi, spoke up, "Thank you, Daoist Master. But we’ve just discussed it between ourselves. Since you don’t wish to stay, we’re planning to return to the Inner Sea as well. Over these years, we’ve received your protection and support. Not only have we both broken through to the Core Formation Realm, but we’ve also accumulated a sizable amount of savings, enough to allow us to cultivate in peace for some time. Moreover, our master is already advanced in age, so it’s time we returned to fulfill our filial duties."

Wang Xiang had lost her usual playfulness. Pouting slightly, she said, "Daoist Master, our master’s cave dwelling is on Lingchun Island. It’s a beautiful place where spring lasts all year round. This is a nautical chart of the Inner Sea. Don’t forget us. If you ever come to the Inner Sea, you must visit Lingchun Island as our guest."

Qin Sang accepted the chart handed to him by the Wang Sisters and gave a nod in response.

"In that case, when you bid farewell to Elder Zhou, help me explain things to him. I won’t be making a special trip. Also, the Qiongyu Merchant Guild is actually a decent choice. It has a strong presence even in the Inner Sea. If your sect doesn’t require you to withdraw from the guild, then don’t. With that connection, you’ll have an additional path available to you in the future."

The Wang Sisters nodded repeatedly.

Wang Xiang glanced at Qin Sang’s traveling cloak, clearly itching to say something, but Wang Shi tugged at her sleeve, stopping her. The two sisters turned and left, gradually disappearing into the distance.

Qin Sang remained standing where he was, watching the sisters depart. He looked down at the chart in his hand and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head before storing it away.

After leaving the waters around the Five-Elemental Islands and distancing themselves from the beast tide, the cultivators temporarily found a place to rest and recover. Once Qin Sang had said his farewells to a few familiar faces, he quietly slipped away.

A few days later...

Qin Sang, riding the Two-Headed Hou, appeared above a small island. After circling the island once, he landed on a rocky beach.

The ebony sword transformed into a massive sword and dug a deep hole into the rocky ground. Qin Sang stepped into the cave and sensed the spiritual qi within. Nodding in satisfaction, he sealed the entrance and laid down a spiritual array.

Having just broken through and then immediately faced a great battle, his cultivation had not yet stabilized, and his true essence remained unsettled. Otherwise, it would have been even easier to kill those two great beasts.

Thinking of the beasts, Qin Sang flipped his palm. A jade box appeared in his hand. Inside the box rested a demonic core.

It was the demonic core of the giant turtle.

After the giant turtle was slain, the spoils were divided among the group. Saint Yuansan, moved by Qin Sang’s act of coming to his aid, insisted on giving up his share and even added a pouch of spirit stones to ensure that Qin Sang received the demonic core.