Chapter 1160: An Unexpected Development
Seeing that Qin Sang had not come seeking revenge, the sect leader of Yuanzhao Sect quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Not daring to conceal anything, he answered honestly, "Senior, when Yuanzhao Sect was attacked by Kuiyin Sect, we suffered greatly. The reason we managed to counterattack Kuiyin Sect was because disciples of Wuji Sect intervened. After the sect-protecting array of Kuiyin Sect was breached, most of Kuiyin Sect’s treasures fell into the hands of the Wuji Sect disciples."
"The famous astra of Founder Kuiyin, the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, were all taken by Wuji Sect?" Qin Sang pressed.
So he came for the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions... The sect leader of Yuanzhao Sect had not expected that after so many years, someone would still care about that matter.
Maintaining a composed expression, he pondered for a moment and replied while recalling the events. "After we joined forces to kill Yi Tianye, the sect leader of Kuiyin Sect, we found one Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions among his belongings. That banner was taken by Ying Jiansheng of Wuji Sect. Another Golden Core cultivator died beneath Ying Jiansheng’s sword. Whether he possessed a Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, we do not know. There was also a third Golden Core cultivator who escaped with his primordial spirit through some trick while we were breaking the array. His whereabouts have remained unknown ever since. Later, it was said that Ying Jiansheng found some damaged Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions and brought them back to Wuji Sect as well."
It was roughly what Qin Sang had expected. Since Wuji Sect had intervened, the best items would certainly not have been left for Yuanzhao Sect. That made things troublesome.
Wuji Sect had been destroyed over a hundred years ago. Its disciples had either died or scattered, and the treasures accumulated through generations had been divided among many major forces. No one knew whose hands the banner poles had fallen into.
Even if he managed to locate them and went to negotiate for them, the other party would surely demand an outrageous price.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Qin Sang continued, "When Wuji Sect was destroyed, was Ying Jiansheng killed as well?"
The sect leader of Yuanzhao Sect nodded. "On the night Wuji Sect was destroyed, every expert who remained within the sect was killed. Not a single one escaped. Ying Jiansheng was among them."
"So your Yuanzhao Sect did not obtain a single Yan Luo Banner?" Qin Sang’s gaze tightened slightly, and a trace of chill suddenly entered his tone.
He clearly remembered what had happened back then. At the foot of Yuanzhao Peak, Zhao Yan had used a devilish banner to trap the cultivator guarding the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid. After Qin Sang killed Zhao Yan in return, he had not dared touch the devilish banner and had left it there.
That banner must have ended up in the hands of Yuanzhao Sect, yet the man had not mentioned it just now. If he dared deceive him, Qin Sang would not mind employing a few methods.
The sect leader of Yuanzhao Sect felt his heart skip a beat. Uncertain and alarmed, he hurriedly said, "I have not finished speaking! Yi Tianye once sent someone carrying a devilish banner to infiltrate Yuanzhao Sect. It was obtained by one of my disciples and was never handed to Wuji Sect. However, that banner is no longer in my possession. It was later taken away by a certain senior."
"Who?" Qin Sang’s eyes lit up.
The sect leader showed a troubled expression and shook his head. "I do not know that senior’s origins. After Wuji Sect was destroyed, she came to Yuanzhao Sect to demand the banner and promised that Yuanzhao Sect would not be implicated by Wuji Sect. My cultivation is low, and I have never seen that senior again. To this day, I do not know her identity."
This surprised Qin Sang somewhat. "Was she not from a righteous sect? Do you remember her appearance?"
"That senior was a female cultivator wearing a red dress..." The sect leader described her.
The more Qin Sang listened, the more astonished he became. The person described by the sect leader was none other than Qingjun!
It was no wonder the sect leader had never heard of Qingjun. Very few people knew her true identity. Over the years, she had always traveled outside disguised as Leng Yuntian.
So the other devilish banners are also in Senior Sister Qingjun’s hands? Why would she collect them? Did she hear the rumors about Founder Kuiyin and take interest in the power of this set of banners? Qin Sang felt inwardly puzzled.
If it was Qingjun, then the matter would be easy to handle. Qin Sang glanced at the sect leader and asked several more questions, which the man answered one by one.
Seeing that the man was extremely honest and had concealed nothing, Qin Sang did not make things difficult for him. After clarifying everything, he rose into the air in a streak of evasion light and departed.
The sect leader of Yuanzhao Sect remained extremely respectful. Only after Qin Sang disappeared from sight did he seem to survive a great calamity, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. His expression shifted as he muttered to himself, "A Spiritual Infant grandmaster personally came to question me. How would I dare hide anything? Fortunately, that senior did not strictly order us to keep silent about it. I must not provoke any trouble..."
Qin Sang paid no attention to the sect leader’s thoughts. After leaving Yuanzhao Sect, he crossed eastward through the air toward his next destination, Devilish Flame Sect.
He did not dwell long on Qingjun’s motives. When they met next time, he would simply ask her directly. What truly interested him was Qingjun’s cultivation.
The time of Wuji Sect’s destruction was very clear. After Ziwei Palace closed, the experts of Small Cold Domain had rushed without pause to attack Wuji Sect. Qingjun had also come to Yuanzhao Sect around that time.
Before entering Ziwei Palace, Qingjun had even asked Qin Sang to assist with the Blood Defilement Divine Light before she dared confront Leng Yuntian. Yet after emerging, she had immediately become a Spiritual Infant grandmaster.
Her breakthrough speed had been astonishingly fast. Did she cross the heavenly tribulations within Ziwei Palace?
Qin Sang had always felt that something about Qingjun was not quite right. Her realm and strength had seemed contradictory. She herself was peerlessly elegant, yet she disguised herself as Granny Jing, which was even stranger.
Now it seemed his intuition had been correct. Qin Sang suspected that before entering Ziwei Palace, Qingjun had already formed her Spiritual Infant. For some unknown reason, however, her cultivation had been restricted, preventing her from displaying her full strength.
After killing Leng Yuntian, she must have found a method to resolve the restriction within Ziwei Palace. Once her cultivation recovered, she had instantly risen to become a top expert. Even the red-haired grandmaster had feared her somewhat and tacitly allowed her to forcibly occupy Yuanshen Sect.
"By this calculation, Senior Sister Qingjun’s cultivation speed is truly astonishing. Her talent may not be inferior to Chenyan’s. One must remember that one of her parents disappeared while the other died early. She carried deep hatred and never joined any sect. Her circumstances were scarcely better than those of a rogue cultivator. Chenyan, by contrast, had the support of Dongyang Bo and Shaohua Mountain, yet in the end she still relied on devilish techniques to forcibly form her Spiritual Infant." The more Qin Sang thought about it, the more he felt Qingjun was far from simple.
After all, they were not like him. Thanks to his cultivation art, he faced no bottlenecks within minor realms.
***
Qin Sang flew at great speed, hardly stopping along the way, until he entered the range of Tianduan Mountains. From here onward lay the territory of the devilish path.
Qin Sang intended to secretly inquire about Devilish Qingyang Sect, so he kept an extremely low profile. With his cultivation, ordinary people had no chance of seeing through his disguise.
With a great war about to erupt, many immortal cultivators had already been transferred to the front lines. The markets had grown noticeably desolate, with far fewer people moving about.
Qin Sang first visited the great city of devilish cultivators, Tianyou Stronghold, to gather some information. Then he headed south. Traveling in this manner, he eventually arrived near Devilish Flame Sect.
On an uninhabited mountain peak, Qin Sang appeared silently. Turning the Thousand-Jin Ring on his finger, he gazed toward the direction of Devilish Flame Sect.
The sect’s headquarters still stood in its original place and had not relocated.
"Although Devilish Flame Sect lies within devilish territory, the cultivation art they inherit actually draws upon earth fire and is not a devilish art. If the sect’s conduct is acceptable, accepting them under my command would not be impossible..." Qin Sang muttered.
