It seemed he had already been pushed to his limit.

Qin Sang's eyes flickered, and he spoke with a relaxed tone, "What's the rush? I just want to inspect the goods first. What if the jade slip you have doesn't contain the map?"

In the end, the young man reluctantly threw the jade slip over to Qin Sang. After confirming that it indeed contained the map, Qin Sang agreed to make peace.

Both of them retracted their spiritual power at the same time, keeping a close watch on each other while slowly retreating, wary that the other might break their promise.

Once the young man's figure was nearly out of sight, Qin Sang finally put away his ebony sword and rode the Empty Wind to make a swift escape.

The young man, still staring in the direction Qin Sang had left, was filled with unwillingness. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly raised the talisman astra in his hand. To his dismay, he saw several cracks of varying sizes across its surface.

This was a sign that the talisman astra's power was nearly depleted. It could only be used one more time before being completely destroyed.

In this battle, both of his life-saving treasures had suffered significant damage.

A deep sense of heartache filled his eyes as he carefully put away the talisman astra. He then cursed a few times in the direction Qin Sang had escaped, slightly relieving some of the frustration in his heart. After swallowing a spiritual pill, he flickered to the side of a pond. With a wave of his hand, the waters rippled, and a large cyan flag floated to the surface.

After retrieving the flag and burning the bait, the young man paused in contemplation. He then summoned his green leaf artifact and disappeared into the ravine.

…

Qin Sang had found a secluded place to heal.

Both had pushed their limits during the confrontation. His spiritual power had been completely drained, leaving him more exhausted than the last time. He had merely been putting on a brave front before the young man.

However, he estimated that the young man's condition was likely just as bad; otherwise, he wouldn't have yielded so easily.

It was two full hours before Qin Sang emerged from his hiding place, his face still pale. It was clear that fully recovering wouldn't be easy.

Qin Sang took out both the map and the jade token.

He couldn't be sure if the map given by the young man contained any trickery, but he had to be cautious. Therefore, he cross-referenced the map with the jade token. When the fourteen jade tokens were placed together, the mist on them thinned slightly, revealing a faint outline of the nearby terrain.

…

In the core region of the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground.

Five rocky skerries along the edge of a small island had already been claimed by others. Besides Yuanzhao Sect's two Foundation Building cultivators, Yu and Luan, as well as Zhao Yan, there was also a man and a woman.

If Qin Sang were here, he would have recognized them at a glance. The man was none other than Senior Brother Ruan Nanfeng, who was on the verge of breaking through to the eighth stage.

The woman, however, was an unknown rogue cultivator, but her cultivation was profound, no weaker than Ruan Nanfeng's.

It was clear that these two were the first to stand out from the ascension conference.

Each of the five had taken a position on one of the skerries, silently meditating, with no one speaking.

Luan Shan suddenly opened his eyes and raised a hand, sending out a stream of spiritual power into the void. A moment later, a glowing portal appeared where the spiritual power had vanished.

Fourteen jade tokens emerged from the portal first.

Luan Shan nodded slightly. "Impressive."

Then, a figure followed closely behind, flying out from the portal along with the jade tokens.

Luan Shan frowned slightly and commented indifferently, "Fortunate, I see."

It was Qin Sang who had appeared. The map given by the young man was accurate, allowing Qin Sang to easily avoid all the dangerous areas. He had gathered enough jade tokens. Along the way, he encountered a few rogue cultivators but didn’t engage with them. Without any major obstacles, he soon found the entrance to the core region.

Qin Sang rode the wind, scanning the area. He spotted five people sitting cross-legged along the edge of the small island. He flew over and landed on one of the skerries, bowing respectfully. "Qin Sang greets the two senior uncles and the senior brother and sister."

Ruan Nanfeng and the woman nodded in acknowledgment toward Qin Sang.

Zhao Yan, on the other hand, looked at Qin Sang with interest and took the initiative to introduce the others to him. "Junior Brother Qin, this is Senior Uncle Luan Shan, and this is Senior Uncle Yu Hua. I am Zhao Yan, you can call me Senior Brother Zhao."

"Senior Uncle Luan, Senior Uncle Yu, Senior Brother Zhao..."

After respectfully greeting each of them, Qin Sang heard Senior Uncle Luan speak. "The ascension conference has not yet ended. Find a skerry and meditate in silence. Do not enter the island or cause any disturbance, or you will be expelled from the Forbidden Ground. Once all twelve have gathered, we will return to the sect together."

Qin Sang had no objections. After glancing at the mysterious island, he followed the instructions and sat cross-legged on a skerry. However, instead of immediately entering meditation, he kept his head slightly lowered, his eyes flickering with thoughts, as if lost in contemplation.

Just then, Qin Sang sensed something odd. He casually lifted his head and saw Zhao Yan staring at him with a playful look. Feeling a chill in his heart, Qin Sang forced a smile in return and quickly cleared his mind, focusing on his cultivation art as he entered meditation.

It was unclear how much time had passed when Luan Shan opened the glowing portal again, allowing two more men to enter, who were both accepted.

After a while, Luan Shan opened the portal several more times, letting in two more people.

By this point, everyone knew that the remaining participants would arrive more quickly, and that the ascension conference was about to conclude, so they ceased meditating.

Qin Sang noticed that, aside from himself and Ruan Nanfeng, another member of Kuiyin Sect, Senior Brother Liu Yi, had also stood out. He was one of the five who had broken through to the seventh stage of Qi Refining.

Strangely, ever since entering the core region, Liu Yi had appeared deeply troubled, sitting on his skerry with a sullen expression, as if weighed down by a difficult matter.

Liu Yi sat restlessly, suddenly clenching his fists. He abruptly lifted his head and spoke, "Senior Uncles, I have something to report..."

But before he could finish, his face contorted in pain, and his voice cut off. A foul stench spread as black mist enveloped his face. His body slumped to the side and fell into the lake without a sound.

The sudden turn of events startled everyone. They immediately flew into the air, while Yu Hua quickly rushed to Liu Yi's skerry, pulling out his lifeless body. After inspecting it briefly, he said calmly, "It seems to be a type of insect poison that had been lying dormant until now. Senior Brother Luan, could there still be poisonous insects roaming in the Forbidden Ground?"

As he mentioned the insect poison, Yu Hua cast a meaningful glance at Qin Sang and Ruan Nanfeng.

Qin Sang felt a chill run through his entire body. He noticed the same deep fear hidden in Ruan Nanfeng's eyes.

Could it be that Senior Uncle Yu is also an informant for Kuiyin Sect? How many people from Kuiyin Sect has infiltrated Yuanzhao Sect, even among the Foundation Building cultivators?

Earlier, Qin Sang had considered reporting the matter. After all, he wasn’t afraid of the Heart-Devouring Insect’s threat. Fortunately, reason had prevailed, and he had abandoned the idea.

Now, reflecting on it, Qin Sang couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of fear.

Luan Shan, oblivious to the subtle exchange between them, remarked indifferently, "I've only been in charge of the ascension conference for a short time, but I did hear that there are poisonous marshes inside. There must be poisonous insects residing there. This disciple was poisoned without even realizing it. He deserved to die. Junior Brother Yu, throw the body outside. We don't want to contaminate this place. We’ll just replace him with the next participant."

Yu Hua clapped his hands and smiled. "No need to rush. Let’s leave the body as a warning for the disciples who come later. It might teach them to be more careful in the world of immortal cultivation, so they won’t die without knowing how."

Liu Yi’s corpse was left on the skerry, with all the disciples keeping their distance. After some time, all twelve were finally present.