The Seizure

Heavenly thunder descended. Blinding lightning flared. The divine thunder was aimed straight at Venerable Ye. Venerable Ye was caught completely unprepared. After unleashing a saber strike that cowed the entire cavern, he had never expected anyone to dare launch a sneak attack against him. There could not possibly be a second Nascent Soul Patriarch here, yet someone was brazen enough to snatch food from the tiger's jaws. Qin Sang's timing was impeccable. It came precisely when Venerable Ye had poured everything into that saber gleam and was resisting the secret realm's suppression—an awkward gap where his spent strength had yet to regenerate. Such lightning magic was undeniably a top-tier Daoist art, worthy of being a core inheritance in any sect, and could not possibly be unknown in the cultivation world. Yet knowledgeable and experienced as Venerable Ye was, he had never even heard of it. The might of the Thunder Command Art had already exceeded the scope of a Core Formation cultivator. Venerable Ye did not dare treat it lightly in the slightest; he even felt a mortal threat! *Rumble!* The cavern shook violently. The earth spirits surrounding Venerable Ye were shattered to pieces, and his figure was engulfed by thunder, drowned in brilliant arcs of electric light. Witnessing this, the cultivators stood frozen in place, seized by an overwhelming sense of unreality. They began to doubt whether this was truly the Trial Realm, wondering if they had stumbled into the wrong place. Otherwise, why were adversaries far exceeding normal limits appearing one after another? *Whoosh!* Just as Venerable Ye was struck by the ambush of the Thunder Command Art, and the cultivators were utterly dazzled and disoriented by the succession of mysterious figures and the volatile turn of events, not knowing what to do— A gray shadow suddenly darted out from the horde of earth spirits, shooting straight past the seal in plain sight of everyone. *Swish!* A ghostly hand reached out, grabbing for the Soul-Washing Liquid. This person had clearly premeditated the move for a long time. His movements were smooth and fluid as flowing water; in an instant, he swept up all four bottles of Soul-Washing Liquid, then shot backward in retreat. "Stop him!" Venerable Ye's furious roar erupted from within the lightning. The one who had seized the Soul-Washing Liquid was none other than Bai. He and Qin Sang had split up, lurking in the shadows to wait for the opportune moment, coordinating closely: Qin Sang would ambush Venerable Ye, while Bai took advantage of Venerable Ye being occupied to snatch the Soul-Washing Liquid. Blood Bat and the others were gravely wounded and lacked the strength to compete. The rest of the cultivators were leaderless and intimidated by Venerable Ye, not daring to step forward. For a moment, no one stepped in to disrupt their plan. Having obtained the Soul-Washing Liquid, Bai immediately wheeled around and bolted toward Qin Sang's position. Hearing Venerable Ye's booming, full-throated roar, Bai felt his heart clench. Qin Sang's caution had been warranted. These old monsters truly were not simple; even with his cultivation suppressed, it was impossible to slay Venerable Ye with the Thunder Command Art alone. Venerable Ye's roar drowned out the thunderclaps, deafening to the ear. The long-bearded elder and the others knew this command was directed at them. When they had seen Venerable Ye cripple Blood Bat and the others with a single strike, effortlessly shatter the seal, and move to take the Soul-Washing Liquid, their hearts had brimmed with boundless joy and soaring ambitions. Yet when the Thunder Command Art manifested and Venerable Ye was swallowed by lightning, seemingly powerless to fight back with his fate unknown, they plunged straight to rock bottom, their euphoria turning to despair. Standing behind Venerable Ye, they could clearly sense how terrifying the might of the Thunder Command Art was. And with Venerable Ye's cultivation suppressed, bearing injuries, and exhausted after that single strike, how could he withstand it? If Venerable Ye were to... They were terrified and at a complete loss, not daring to let their thoughts continue down that path. Now, finally hearing Venerable Ye's voice, the long-bearded elder and his companions let out a sudden sigh of relief. "Master is fine!" "Stop him!" Following their wild joy came an even greater surge of fury. Not only had this person ambushed their master, but what he stole was their Soul-Washing Liquid! The four had long prepared a banner formation, intending to cover Venerable Ye's withdrawal from the cavern at any moment. Now, it was perfectly positioned to deal with Bai. *Whir! Whir!* The banners fluttered noisily. Endless rays of rosy light and swirls of auspicious clouds drifted from the spiritual banners. This banner formation was mystical, possessing an astonishing aura and extraordinary power. "Drop the Soul-Washing Liquid!" Furious to the point of bristling, the long-bearded elder's whiskers whipped wildly in the wind. Unexpectedly, he felt a sudden sluggishness in the spirit formation. Sweeping his gaze over, he saw Su Nü gripping her spirit banner, staring frozen toward Venerable Ye with a face full of terror and sorrow. "Junior Sister!" the long-bearded elder barked. Su Nü shuddered violently. Meeting the elder's gaze, her eyes were dazed as if she had only just come to her senses. Her face flushed red as she clumsily and frantically channeled power into her spirit banner. The more flustered she became, the more mistakes she made. The long-bearded elder sighed inwardly. Su Nü had clearly been terrified by the scene just now, assuming the worst for Venerable Ye. The three elder disciples had traveled abroad for many years and possessed rich experience; when facing such a situation, they could immediately make the swiftest response. Only Su Nü had cultivated within the Eastern Pole Alliance all along under the protection of the Alliance Leader and Venerable Ye. She had never encountered any real danger, nor had anyone been foolish enough to provoke her. The price for this was that, despite possessing high cultivation, her combat experience was perhaps inferior to someone who had only just achieved Core Formation. When a critical moment arrived, she was at a complete loss for what to do. Hindered by Su Nü, forcing the banner formation into motion only produced glaring flaws. The long-bearded elder and his two companions were decisive individuals. Realizing Su Nü could not be relied upon, they immediately abandoned the banners, activated their magic treasures, and closed in to surround Bai. Seeing this, Bai sneered. With a flick of his arm, he hurled one bottle of Soul-Washing Liquid wrapped in corpse qi violently into the distance. *Whoosh!* Under the watchful eyes of all, a commotion broke out among the cultivators in that direction. When the snipe and clam grapple, the fisherman profits—some audacious cultivators prepared to strike. The Soul-Washing Liquid sparkled like glimmers of fireflies, seemingly about to fly away right under the trio's noses. Even though the elder and his companions knew this was a ploy, their attention was still partially divided. The glamorous woman could not hold back; with a flick of her sleeve, she sent out a bolt of silk rolling toward the bottle of Soul-Washing Liquid. *Bang!* Bai did not slow down in the slightest. Corpse qi boiling around his body, he forced his way through the encirclement. *Screee!* A crane's cry echoed from behind accompanied by a vicious gust of wind. The burly man felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine; paying no heed to anything else, he spun around and slashed fiercely with his saber. *Bang! Bang!* Bai collided with the long-bearded elder. Meanwhile, the White Crane was exceedingly sly. Flapping its wings ahead of time to dodge, it knew it was no match for the burly man and made no attempt to clash head-on—drawing his attention had been more than enough. In that fleeting opening, yet another figure darted into view—it was Qin Sang. After executing the Thunder Command Art, seventy to eighty percent of his cultivation had been drained in an instant, forcing him to leave the heavy responsibility of seizing the treasure to Bai. Having swallowed spirit pills, Qin Sang immediately rushed up to provide support. Both the White Crane and Bai darted toward him. With a flicker of movement, one ducked into the corpse puppet bag, while the other transformed back into the Primordial Concentric Rings around Qin Sang's wrist. Before the elder and the others could close their circle, Three-colored escape light erupted around Qin Sang. The shadow of a flood dragon, Phoenix Wings, and sword radiance—one wondrous spectacle after another complemented each other in brilliant harmony. "Not good! Stop him!" The long-bearded elder had an ominous premonition, his face changing drastically. The burly man was even more direct, unleashing a saber strike with dazzling brilliance that carried a hint of Venerable Ye's bearing, clearly having received the true transmission. Alas, they were still too slow. The escape technique Qin Sang displayed drove them to despair; in an instant, he broke through their encirclement, leaving them completely in the dust. "Courting death!" Venerable Ye roared like thunder. Qin Sang felt his blood churn, secretly appalled. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the heavenly thunder assailing Venerable Ye—it was fracturing inch by inch!