Chapter 813: Island Master Luo

Qin Sang lay in wait outside the mountain gate.

Less than an hour later, he noticed a fluctuating ripple across Hanhai Sect’s protective array, and his spirits lifted at once.

Several streaks of evasion light shot out from the mountain gate, piercing through the air.

The man in the lead clearly had an aura far stronger than the others.

"At last, the snake has left its hole."

Qin Sang stayed put, waiting a while longer. Once he was certain no one else would emerge from Hanhai Sect, he set off.

The Hanhai Sect's leader led his disciples toward the market.

With incriminating evidence in hand, this time he intended to give them a proper warning. Unfortunately, Island Master Luo had once said they could not be exterminated.

The man and the power behind him were ones the sect leader would never dare provoke.

Whenever he recalled the destruction of Linggui Island two years ago, the sect leader could not help but shiver with dread. The force behind Island Master Luo was too mysterious and terrifying, even capable of capturing and killing a Spiritual Infant.

Toward Island Master Luo’s words, the sect leader felt not the slightest urge to resist. He was even excited at the thought that being linked to such a top-tier power might allow him to rise to great heights.

Unfortunately, since Linggui Island Master’s death, Island Master Luo had never contacted him again.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, the sect leader suddenly felt a wave of restlessness for no apparent reason. Realising something was wrong, he abruptly halted his evasion light, spun around and shouted, "Who's there?!"

Before his voice had faded, a thunderous beast roar erupted from the forest below.

A crackling noise followed, and an azure storm was born out of thin air, tearing apart swathes of forest as it surged skyward with terrifying momentum, sweeping straight toward them.

"Dodge!"

Recognising the storm’s power, the sect leader's expression changed. He shoved several disciples away with force, and then a flash of blue light shot from his dantian.

The blue light was a strangely shaped sword, seemingly forged from some kind of beast bone. It was his painstakingly refined life-bound astra.

With a thrust of his will, the bone sword flared with dazzling blue radiance. Sword qi surged forth, meeting the storm head-on.

But then he heard several miserable cries. He whipped his head around and was horrified to see that his disciples had all perished, slain by a crystalline flying sword.

"There is another one!"

By now, the sect leader understood he had walked straight into a trap.

His first instinct was to flee.

Yet when he tried to mount his sword and escape, the flying sword pressed in on him like a thunderbolt, exploding forward with astonishing speed. Before him, the sword blurred and split into four, making it impossible to tell which was real.

"Sword Light Division!" the sect leader cried out in terror.

Qin Sang and the Two-Headed Hou emerged from hiding at that moment.

In the Sword Dao, the hardest step was the breakthrough. Once it was taken, progress would come swiftly. Having comprehended Sword Light Division, Qin Sang could now condense sword light to a point where it was nearly indistinguishable from the original, and he could already split it into three strands.

Given more time, he could reach the advanced stage of Sword Light Division and attempt to comprehend the realm of a single sword forming an array. Such a realm was usually only attainable by Spiritual Infant grandmasters and was extremely difficult to achieve.

With just his ebony sword, Qin Sang could defeat the sect leader, let alone with the Two-Headed Hou’s assistance.

The man and the beast attacked in turns.

The sect leader was quickly overwhelmed, showing signs of defeat within a few exchanges.

To end the battle swiftly, Qin Sang also used the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions. Choosing the right moment, he sent a wave of devilish flame to knock the sect leader's astra aside, driving him easily into a desperate corner.

He did not even need to use the star turban or the Blood Defilement Divine Light.

"My life is over!"

The sect leader had no power to fight back. His face was full of despair, and he did not even have time to ask who his assailant was or why he wanted him dead.

Swoosh!

The Devilish Flames of Nine Hells shattered his protective aura, yet did not deliver the killing blow.

Qin Sang flashed to his side, sealed his cultivation, scanned the surroundings, summoned back the Two-Headed Hou, and immediately fled into the distance.

From the moment he appeared to the moment he captured the sect leader, Qin Sang’s actions were clean and decisive, leaving no loose ends. Only after leaving Bamen Island and confirming there was no pursuit did he stop at a deserted island to set his captive down.

After a round of interrogation, Qin Sang finally learned the full story.

The key figure was a man called Island Master Luo.

On the eve of the Linggui Island incident, Island Master Luo had come to them. Once the Hanhai Sect's leader learned of Island Master Luo’s cultivation and identity, he immediately abandoned any thought of resistance and obeyed without question.

At the same time, several other forces were also brought under Island Master Luo’s control.

Only then did they learn that Island Master Luo had ordered them to assist in investigating Linggui Island Master, to identify the cultivators who had once attended his lectures, and to keep everything strictly secret or else they would be killed.

Linggui Island Master’s origins were mysterious, and he was not someone to be trifled with. Yet after weighing their options, they all chose to follow Island Master Luo’s orders.

Island Master Luo was the master of a large island near Quheng Island, and the one standing behind him was one of Quheng Island’s masters.

It was well known that the island masters of Quheng Island represented the powers of both the righteous and devilish paths. No matter how rampant the evil cultivators of the Windy Archipelago became, they did not dare to attack Quheng Island.

Either of these factions alone was a colossal force, an overlord of Canglang Sea!

No matter how powerful Linggui Island Master was, he was just one man. How could he compare to them?

In the end, events proved they had chosen correctly.

Island Master Luo infiltrated Bamen Island, subdued the Hanhai Sect and other forces, and investigated Linggui Island Master in secret, yet showed no sign of making a move. At that time, Island Master Luo was hiding within the Hanhai Sect, so the Hanhai Sect's leader knew a little more than the rest.

Every Core Formation expert outside who was connected to Linggui Island Master was being hunted.

It was only when Linggui Island was destroyed that they realised Island Master Luo, despite being a late-stage Core Formation expert, was nothing more than a pawn sent to gather information in secret. The real strike was carried out by a Spiritual Infant grandmaster.

After the siege and killing of Linggui Island Master, Island Master Luo had given them some rewards. They seemed to have come solely for Linggui Island Master, and once their goal was achieved, they left.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Thanks to Island Master Luo’s reward, the Hanhai Sect's leader broke through the bottleneck that had plagued him for many years.

What he had thought impossible in this lifetime was suddenly realised; he advanced to the middle stage of the Core Formation Realm, reigniting his confidence. He devoted himself to trying to attach himself to Island Master Luo, but the other party had no interest in him at all.

Still harbouring a faint hope, he instructed his disciples to keep watch, so that if they ever encountered a survivor, he would have an excuse to pay a visit.

"It was people from the righteous and devilish paths who struck!" Qin Sang murmured with a slight sigh. He was not surprised, for only these two factions had such overwhelming strength.

"But it is not certain whether it was the righteous side or the devilish side.

"Did Senior Qingzhu offend all of them, or just one faction?

"I must first confirm Island Master Luo’s identity. This man should be the master of an island near Quheng Island, but it is unclear which one. With his cultivation being so high, he cannot be an obscure figure. It should be possible to find out on Quheng Island."

Seeing that Senior Qingzhu’s enemies had not left any hidden threats and that Hanhai Sect was at its weakest, Qin Sang no longer felt concerned. Before leaving, he returned to Bamen Island and plundered the Hanhai Sect’s treasury, making a small fortune. He disguised himself as a passing brigand who had acted out of greed, ensuring no one would connect the matter to Senior Qingzhu.

With Hanhai Sect in decline, Bamen Island would once again fall into chaos, but none of that had anything to do with Qin Sang.