"He's not even dead after that?"
Qin Sang had watched with his own eyes as Old Devil Mou was besieged, and had even been lamenting how this great enemy who had stuck in his throat like a fishbone had died just like that on Yitian Peak.
With so many top experts present, none had noticed Old Devil Mou's petty trick, allowing him to slip through under false pretenses.
"Just now, when I stimulated the fire curse seed, I found there was still a connection. However, the reaction from the fire curse seed was very faint, showing that even if Old Devil Mou kept his little life, he is hardly in good shape. His physical body was definitely destroyed, and he likely relied on some secret life-saving art. He is quietly moving, aiming to slip away amid the chaos. What are your thoughts?" Bai explained.
Qin Sang understood what he meant.
This was an opportunity of a lifetime.
Once Old Devil Mou succeeded in faking his death and escaping, both the righteous and demonic paths would believe he had perished. All the sins Old Devil Mou had committed before would be wiped clean, and he could still emerge to stir up trouble in the future.
Qin Sang fixed his gaze on the cliff where Old Devil Mou had fallen, remaining silent. Bai said nothing more either; in the end, the decision had to be Qin Sang's own.
"A Core Formation stage chasing a mid Nascent Soul stage..."
Qin Sang exhaled slowly. The very thought was suffocating.
The gathered experts were all occupied with exterminating the ancient demon and could not spare any attention. Furthermore, it sounded as though some unforeseen shift was brewing on Yitian Peak, unsettling everyone present.
Compared to the ancient demon, Old Devil Mou was not a major threat. If Qin Sang wished to borrow another's blade, he wouldn't even know whom to turn to, not to mention the risk of exposing the gray qi within his body.
The only person connected to Qin Sang was Senior Qingzhu, who was currently locked in a fierce contest with the demonic soul, his circumstances unknown.
He had to do it himself!
This move was too insane; no one would dare attempt it.
Yet it was not entirely devoid of opportunity.
Qin Sang knitted his brows and paced back and forth.
"Both of them appeared out of nowhere, their strength no weaker than Old Devil Mou's. They struck without mercy, and the power of that jade stele was terrifying to the extreme. Old Devil Mou was attacked from front and back; there's no way he could have planned for this in advance. Even if he preserved his life with a secret art, he must have paid an immense price and is barely clinging to survival."
Qin Sang knew very well how perilous the situation had been at that moment.
"Old Devil Mou is severely wounded—that is beyond doubt. To some extent, he will also be suppressed by the Spirit-Suppressing Domain, and after being injured, the effect will be even more pronounced. His Nascent Soul never left his body, yet so many top experts present, such as Lingzhuzi, were all fooled. That proves the strike from the jade stele was certainly potent enough to destroy a Nascent Soul, which was why they were convinced Old Devil Mou was doomed..."
"Within the Spirit-Suppressing Domain, severely wounded, on the brink of death, and merely sustaining his life through a secret art—how much strength could Old Devil Mou have left?"
"The Thunder Command Art, the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, the Star Conch... my own strength isn't weak either."
"The most renowned human experts are essentially all gathered here, completely tied down. Ambushing Old Devil Mou won't carry the risk of someone suddenly appearing to disrupt things."
"Even if there are confidants of the Demon Lord at the foot of the mountain, their cultivation is insufficient, so they won't dare enter the Spirit-Suppressing Domain. What's more, could a sinister, calculating figure like Old Devil Mou dare show his face before other demonic cultivators after losing his physical body and suffering severe damage to his Nascent Soul? Most likely, before I even made a move, those demonic cultivators would give Old Devil Mou a warm reception. He will certainly take the initiative to steer clear of their location and escape from another direction, which suits my intentions perfectly."
"If Old Devil Mou still has strength to spare and the ambush fails..."
Qin Sang's expression tautened slightly.
"Since it's a sneak attack, if it fails, I'll immediately flee toward the mountain summit. If Old Devil Mou isn't afraid of Lingzhuzi and the others discovering his trail, he's welcome to pursue."
Qin Sang's thoughts raced as he anticipated every conceivable contingency. To hunt down an enemy like this, one had to plan meticulously and only act once the scheme was set.
The opportunity was fleeting. If he missed this chance and Old Devil Mou escaped the Hall of Seven Kills, tracking him down would be nearly impossible.
Qin Sang looked down at the billowing demonic qi below.
The sudden fissure gave him an ominous premonition. Whenever he stared straight into the depths of that chasm, an alarming tremor seized his heart, sending chills down his spine.
There was a great terror down there!
Unease stirred within Qin Sang. He didn't dare linger nearby to keep watching.
Moreover, Senior Qingzhu's condition was unclear, and it was unknown whether he could suppress the demonic soul.
With the situation still unresolved, a conclusion would not be reached anytime soon, nor could anyone tell which direction events would ultimately take. He needed to prepare for a rainy day.
If he couldn't return to the Xiaohan Realm and was forced to remain in the Canglang Ocean, the continued existence of Old Devil Mou would keep him in constant dread, like thorns prickling his back.
"Wait! If Old Devil Mou still has enough strength to teleport, we might..."
Just as Qin Sang was about to make up his mind, a crucial issue suddenly struck him.
One reason it was exceedingly difficult for a Core Formation cultivator to leap across stages and slay a Nascent Soul ancestor was precisely this: if one could not restrict a Nascent Soul's teleportation, retaining the opponent was all but impossible.
"Have you forgotten my origin?"
Bai gave a soft chuckle. "Though I've lost all my cultivation, my eye and judgment remain intact. A Nascent Soul's teleportation is hardly an insoluble technique to high-stage cultivators. Even if I cannot restrict it, his movements cannot elude my eyes."
Qin Sang was startled, then overjoyed.
Entrusting the Star Conch to Bai had truly been the right choice.
"Let's do it!"
Qin Sang made his decision at once. Sweeping his gaze across the terrain, he picked a path, circled around the battlefield, and silently glided down the mountain.
Bai tracked Old Devil Mou's trail, discovering that the old devil had started out extremely slow, inching outward bit by bit. Only after passing beyond the perception of the Demon Lord and the others did he dare quicken his pace and flee down the mountain. Even then, he remained intensely vigilant, stopping frequently and shifting directions time and again.
Just as Qin Sang had anticipated, Old Devil Mou did not dare meet the demonic cultivators. Once he confirmed that no one had discovered he was still alive, he deliberately took a detour behind the mountain to escape.
This was when Old Devil Mou was at his most vigilant. Rather than heading straight for him, Qin Sang concealed his presence and descended the mountain ahead of time. He silently wove through forests of stone pillars and ancient halls, turning a blind eye to those forbidden grounds and secret realms as he gradually closed the distance to Old Devil Mou.
When Qin Sang crossed a patch of stone forest and finally caught up with Old Devil Mou, Bai sent a soft voice transmission: "Right ahead."
Qin Sang nodded. Concealing his aura with all his might, he slipped quietly out of the stone forest, blending into the shadows of the crags, and commanded the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to activate its Heavenly Eye divine ability.
With the aid of the Heavenly Eye divine ability, Qin Sang soon noticed an anomaly.
Beneath a sheer precipice lay a dried riverbed. The stones had long been polished smooth by flowing water, still gleaming with luster. The abundant water weeds in the riverbed had all petrified, resembling countless slender swords.
At this moment, within the petrified weed thickets, a faint spatial ripple was drifting downstream.
To avoid alerting Old Devil Mou, Qin Sang did not dare look directly into the ripple.
He was inwardly astonished that it had been so easy to confirm Old Devil Mou's trail.
"Old Devil Mou is undoubtedly sustaining his life with a secret art. Concealing himself right under the noses of all those experts took everything he had, and he couldn't maintain it for long. That's why he was so impatient to flee the moment the battle erupted. Now his aura is unstable, and he can no longer hide it..."
Hearing Qin Sang's description, Bai drew a conclusion that matched Qin Sang's own view.
Out of caution, Qin Sang did not strike immediately. Instead, he kept his distance, trailing far behind Old Devil Mou and observing steadily. In any case, with the fire curse seed, he wasn't afraid of losing the trail.
Before he knew it, Qin Sang realized they were approaching the foot of the mountain.
Having confirmed Old Devil Mou's condition, he needed to make a decisive move. He could not wait until the devil walked out of the Spirit-Suppressing Domain.
Chapter 1074