Standoff

"If one's bloodline is thin and unable to awaken the innate divine abilities of the Vermilion Bird clan, they would not have been recognized by the Vermilion Bird clan in ancient times and could not be considered a true descendant of the Vermilion Bird," Qin Sang said with a nod. When conversing with Yuan Zhu, he had learned about some rules of the demon race. Without Vermilion Bird bloodline, it was difficult to claim a Vermilion Bird True Feather through normal means. The demonic banners could suppress the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, but the Nanming Primordial Fire had not been subdued by him. Using the Fire Seed Golden Lotus to guide the Nanming Primordial Fire into his body to condense lotus seeds would be no different from playing with fire and courting destruction. Moreover, at Yitian Peak, pressed by the situation, he had hastily condensed lotus seeds with demonic fire without thoroughly comprehending the Fire Seed Golden Lotus, so he dared not act rashly now. "The dark iron pillars counter the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, and Patriarch Kuiyin used them as a foundation to refine the demonic banners and capture the demonic fire. The green copper chunk can also counter the Nanming Primordial Fire and should still be with Yunyouzi. Could a similar method be used to forcibly take the Nanming Primordial Fire and the Vermilion Bird True Feather?" Thoughts raced through Qin Sang's mind, but he felt his foundation in artifact refinement was too shallow, leaving him with no clear clues for now. After lingering briefly on Sword Mark Mountain, Qin Sang retraced his steps to the foot of the mountain. It was not yet time for Ziwei Palace to close. However, back then, Qin Sang's cultivation had been low, unable to perceive the secrets of Ziwei Palace, and he had little understanding of this place. The remaining time was also insufficient for him to explore at leisure. Continuing to remain here would yield little gain. After some thought, Qin Sang decided to leave Ziwei Palace now. The road back would not be peaceful; some places in the Outer Hall were even more dangerous than the Inner Hall. Like the Hall of Seven Kills, Ziwei Palace was divided into an inner and outer section, connected only by the Heart Refinement Road. Last time, Dongyang Bo had led them into the Inner Hall via this very road. The end of the Heart Refinement Road was originally connected to a stone tower. However, the second half of the Heart Refinement Road had been damaged, preventing anyone from reaching the stone tower. The moment they entered the Inner Hall, they had been scattered by the chaotic forces within the sea of clouds, landing in random locations across the Inner Hall. The way out, on the other hand, was simple. One only had to find the stone tower. Entering the stone tower would teleport a person to the entrance of the Heart Refinement Road, right before the Eight Trigrams jade bi. Qin Sang had already put on his mask. He flickered into motion and swept toward the edge of the Inner Hall. Bai traveled alongside him. Passing that immortal city obliterated by a palm print, as well as various immortal secret realms, Bai was deeply captivated, remaining silent for a long time. Before long, they arrived at the edge and saw the countless land fragments outside. Qin Sang continued flying outward, leaping past one land fragment after another. As he drew near the sea of clouds, an unexpected sight met his eyes, causing his expression to shift. The last time he came, the entire Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace had been enveloped in a sea of clouds. Now, the scene was different. Directly ahead of Qin Sang, where the stone tower was situated—and also the point closest to the immortal restriction of the Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace—the sea of clouds had actually been torn open! Within the vast sea of clouds, fissures were clearly visible. The cloud mist could not gather there. Continuous streams of mist flowed in, only to immediately drain out through the fissures. Fissures appearing in the sea of clouds could mean only one thing: a flaw had developed in the immortal restriction of the Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace! "Has the power of the immortal restriction waned, making it impossible to maintain the complete sea of clouds? Or did something happen in Ziwei Palace that damaged the restriction?" Standing on a land fragment, Qin Sang gazed at the immortal restriction, frowning in contemplation. After he was teleported away back then, who knew what had happened in Ziwei Palace for it to turn into this. Having just arrived, he knew nothing. After pondering for a moment, he had Bai retreat into the corpse puppet bag, while he concealed his presence and carefully approached the sea of clouds. With flaws in the immortal restriction, the fissures served as passages between the inside and outside, but to be safe, departing via the stone platform was still the most secure choice. The stone tower stood amidst the sea of clouds, runes flickering on its surface, protected by a potent ancient restriction. He found the stone tower effortlessly. At this moment, however, Qin Sang caught sight of the scene at the end of one of the fissures, and he froze on the spot. The sparse cloud mist within the fissure could not mask the sinister aura at its far end. With the aid of the Heavenly Eye divine ability, he could see the silhouette of half a gigantic cavern. Qin Sang remembered that at the entrance of the Heart Refinement Road, in front of the Eight Trigrams jade bi, there was precisely a bottomless, massive demon cave spanning over a hundred zhang in diameter. Demonic qi billowed inside the cave, emanating bone-chilling cold as though connecting straight to the netherworld. A Nascent Soul mighty figure had once braved the danger and leaped into the demon cave, but until Ziwei Palace closed, they had failed to discover what lay at its depths. If Qin Sang was not mistaken, the cave at the end of the sea of clouds was none other than that Demon Cave! Right now, along the rim of the Demon Cave stood several zhang-tall banners, forming a grand formation. Rolling black mist enveloped nearly half the cave. Within the black mist, shadowy figures seemed to loom. He was certain that last time, there was absolutely no grand formation around the Demon Cave! "These people didn't enter the Inner Hall, yet set up a grand formation at the edge of the Demon Cave. What are they plotting?" Qin Sang stared at the Demon Cave, thoughts flashing rapidly through his mind. Seeing the grand formation and the figures within, he felt a sense of extreme danger. If he rashly teleported over, he would run straight into an ambush, and his fate could easily be imagined. "Look at the fissure next to it," Bai's voice transmission came. Qin Sang shifted his gaze to another fissure and was surprised to discover another grand formation there as well. It looked not far from the Demon Cave, with the two groups of cultivators locked in confrontation! "Has the Xiaohan Realm fallen out with the Tianxing Alliance again? Or..." Qin Sang recalled the sneak attack by the Sin Abyss back then. "Could it be related to the Sin Abyss?" "We can't take the stone tower. We must leave from elsewhere!" Qin Sang made up his mind: he had to brave the fissures in the sea of clouds. Regardless of who the two sides were, he had no wish to be dragged in. He would rather take the risk and take a detour to leave. Fortunately, there were numerous fissures in the sea of clouds. Qin Sang retreated cautiously, flying around the sea of clouds for a while until, far from the stone tower, he found a fissure whose far end was well away from the Demon Cave. After observing for a long time and probing several times, Qin Sang confirmed that the opposite side of this fissure was safe. He then activated the Heavenly Demon Transformation, summoned the ebony sword and other treasures, and darted into the fissure. Although the sea of clouds had been torn apart, remnants of the immortal restriction's chaotic power still lingered inside the fissure. Fortunately, it did not exceed the limits of what Qin Sang could endure. Bearing the impact of the restriction's residual waves, he pushed his protective treasures to their limits, passing through the immortal restriction without mishap and landing on the ground. Standing here, he could faintly make out the billowing black mist in the direction of the Demon Cave. Not daring to linger, Qin Sang immediately slipped into the shadows and moved far away from the area. Once he confirmed that no one was tracking him, he came to a halt on a black stone mountain. He glanced back at the Demon Cave, then swept straight toward the exit of the Outer Hall. Whatever was about to happen, it had nothing to do with him. Traveling the road back, familiar sights stirred up many memories in Qin Sang. He hadn't felt it as much when Dongyang Bo had led them last time, but traveling alone in the Outer Hall now, he truly understood that its reputation was well earned—danger lurked everywhere. Even with his current strength, he had to remain vigilant. After passing through several hazardous areas in succession, Qin Sang saw a plume of blood-fiend qi in the distance, along with the silhouette of the altar standing within it. Without stopping, he flew onward. Ahead, ghost mist drifted—it was the Immortal Graves!