The commotion stirred up by the projection of the Azure Luan was far too grand, and the demon beasts had already noticed it.
A moment later, and they would be trapped like turtles in a jar. The falcon demon, restrained by Qin Sang and unable to budge, wanted to run but couldn't. Seeing Qin Sang remain utterly indifferent, it burned with frantic anxiety.
Jolted to his senses, Qin Sang knew he had to leave; he could not break through here.
While enduring the violent shock of the Azure Luan's power, he had sensed an opportunity for breakthrough. There was tremendous hope for the *Heavenly Demon Refining Form* to advance to the fourth layer. However, comprehending the Heavenly Demon Dharma Idol took time; it was not something that could be achieved in a single breath.
If he attempted to break through now, Qianji Demon King would arrive before he finished.
"Go!"
Qin Sang made a split-second decision.
His expression darkened as he exerted all his strength to suppress the Azure Luan's power and steady his phoenix wings.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly was also absorbing the energy, sharing his burden. Qin Sang could still hold out for the time being, forcing himself to divide his attention—silently chanting his cultivation technique to comb through the chaotic power tearing through him while fleeing for his life.
With a flicker of his figure, he appeared at the treasury entrance in an instant.
Amidst the azure streak of escape light, wisps of silver radiance mingled, crackling with the rumble of thunder. Its speed was so astonishing that it exceeded Qin Sang's own expectations.
*This is thunder escape...*
Qin Sang was startled. After his wings merged with the Azure Luan's power, he had actually grasped the thunder escape divine ability on his own without any teacher.
It was truly an unexpected boon.
His escape speed was even faster than before.
However, this state could not last very long; the Azure Luan's power could spiral out of control at any moment and blow his phoenix wings to smithereens.
"Big brother! Grandfather! There's no grudge between us! Please, have mercy and lift the restrictions on this humble one! You won't need to worry about me, sir—I can run on my own!"
The falcon demon suddenly changed its tune, pleading bitterly.
Just moments ago it had been cursing him up and down, and now it was calling him grandfather.
This fellow truly knew how to bend with the wind!
Qin Sang couldn't bear to look at it. With a flick of his finger, he unsealed the restrictions on the falcon demon and shot straight out of the tunnel. He saw that the boudoir of the demon king's favored consort had already collapsed into rubble, dust billowing into the air.
Keeping the falcon demon alive meant he could interrogate it later about Boundless Valley to search for the Boundless Blood Mulberry.
One could never have too many of the Ten Great Divine Woods.
However, taking the falcon demon along was out of the question; it would simply come down to whether its luck was great enough to survive.
Having regained its freedom, the falcon demon rushed out of the tunnel right on Qin Sang's heels.
Its eyes gleamed. Only now did it realize that the aura swirling within Qin Sang held an immense temptation for it, setting the bloodline throughout its body leaping with excitement.
The Azure Luan projection within the stone slab had been the true draw for it all along.
Yet right now, the falcon demon only cared about keeping its life; where would it find the heart to covet treasure?
Sensing the disturbance, the minor demons raised an uproar of shouts and cries, rushing toward the area.
Without pausing for a heartbeat, Qin Sang set his sights on the grand formation's exit.
"Courting death!"
The white-feathered eagle was the first to spot Qin Sang, and it flew into a towering rage.
Tasked with guarding the demon king's cave dwelling, it had somehow allowed a thief to sneak inside at such a crucial moment. What made the white-feathered eagle's head feel ready to burst was the location of the break-in—it was actually the cave dwelling of the demon king's favored consort!
There was no telling yet whether the favored consort was dead or alive.
At the thought of the demon king's fury and the fate awaiting it, the white-feathered eagle wished it could tear the intruder apart and swallow him whole.
*Whoosh!*
A white blur shot forward like an arrow, leaving the minor demons far behind.
Qin Sang felt a violent gale sweep toward him as the white-feathered eagle swooped down to intercept him.
The eagle let out a piercing shriek.
The cry shook the clouds, brimming with fury.
Demonic qi surged wildly. Its talons were like sharp swords, and its wings slashed like broadsabers.
The white-feathered eagle's form multiplied into thousands of silhouettes. In an instant, the sky was blanketed in the gleam of blades and the chill of swords, an overwhelmingly menacing display.
At this very moment, the Azure Luan's power inside Qin Sang threatened to erupt at any second. Desperate to break free and find a secluded spot to advance his cultivation, he was in no mood to show mercy.
*Swish!*
A streak of sword light detached from his body, swift as a falling star.
Alarm bells blared in the white-feathered eagle's mind. Before it could react, the void before it filled with glints of icy starlight. Then, to its horror, it watched its offensive shatter instantly under the assault, overtaken by a crushing wave of sword momentum.
The eagle's spirit was instantly struck dumb by the overwhelming sword momentum. Its body stiffened, gripped by bone-chilling dread.
*Bang!*
A miserable screech tore through the air.
The white-feathered eagle was swatted far into the distance, blood splattering the sky and feathers scattering wildly as it crashed down, gravely wounded. At the final juncture, it had exhausted every ounce of its strength just to preserve its life and avoid being slain outright by the blade.
This was also largely because Qin Sang refused to waste time finishing it off.
Clearing the way with his spiritual sword, Qin Sang pressed forward without the slightest hesitation.
The minor demons saw only a blur before their eyes, and the intruder's figure was already gone.
*Whoosh!*
Qin Sang broke out of the grand formation, then abruptly wheeled around, shooting straight up into the sky.
Right then, a furious roar like a crack of thunder exploded in his ears, leaving his head buzzing violently.
"Get down here!"
Qianji Demon King!
Qin Sang's heart seized. In the end, he had still drawn the demon king out.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a rainbow streak tearing through the sky from the direction of the banquet. Demonic qi rose toward the clouds, and the fiery crimson radiance laid bare the demon king's towering wrath.
As the roar echoed, Qin Sang felt his entire body grow heavy as the crushing pressure of a demon king descended upon him.
At the same time, a cluster of gloomy gray mist condensed in the void. Qin Sang felt as though he had plunged into a thick bog; his escape light abruptly dimmed, and his speed threatened to grind to a halt.
At this juncture, Qin Sang was beset by peril both inside and out.
"Break for me!"
Qin Sang's face contorted as he roared with everything he had.
As though sensing its master's desperate urgency, the ebony sword rang with an exceptionally shrill, mournful cry. The sword formation encircled Qin Sang, taking shape in the blink of an eye.
*Boom!*
The sword formation erupted, and a pillar of brilliant light surged into the sky.
The surrounding gray mist was swept clean by the swirling sword energies.
Above the Ten Thousand Snakes Abyss, the perimeter was heavily fortified. As the guards moved to intercept Qin Sang, the ascending pillar of light blasted a gaping hole right through their ranks, throwing their formation into utter disarray. Without looking back, Qin Sang shot straight out of the abyss.
It was the dead of night, a time when all things should have slept in quiet peace, but the stillness was shattered to pieces.
Within the abyss.
Qianji Demon King had failed on his opening strike, an outcome that exceeded his expectations and left him unsettled with surprise and doubt.
This thief gave him an exceedingly peculiar impression: clearly emanating an incomparably pure demonic qi, yet wielding sword arts on par with the very pinnacle of human sword cultivators.
His aura was even stranger—he did not seem to be a Transformation stage great demon or a human Nascent Soul cultivator, yet he stood entirely unfazed by the pressure of a demon king, easily dismantled his divine ability, and displayed an escape technique that even Qianji Demon King felt somewhat inferior to.
Such prowess was simply impossible for someone at the Core Formation stage.
*An injured great demon, or... a trap?*
Qianji Demon King couldn't help letting his suspicions run wild.
Suddenly, Qianji Demon King recalled the intruder's aura, and a feeling of familiarity struck him.
*The stone slab! The Azure Luan! Could that person possess the bloodline of an Azure Luan and have stolen the slab?*
After obtaining the stone slab, Qianji Demon King had tried every method available to unravel its secrets, yet failed to comprehend anything, leaving him no choice but to toss it into the treasury, where he had nearly forgotten it.
Never would he have thought that a descendant of the Azure Luan still roamed the world today.
Word of the mysterious stone slab must have leaked out somehow.
Having confirmed that this was no trap, but rather the theft of a supreme treasure, how could Qianji Demon King permit him to escape so easily? Cold glints flashed in his eyes, and with a frigid snort, he surged out of the Ten Thousand Snakes Abyss in hot pursuit of Qin Sang.
Blessed with an innate thunder escape ability, and with Qin Sang drawing all the attention, the falcon demon surprisingly managed to slip out amidst the chaos.
Even though Qin Sang had unsealed its restrictions, the falcon demon felt not the slightest shred of gratitude. After all, this whole catastrophe had been orchestrated entirely by Qin Sang.
Still, watching Qin Sang beat back the white-feathered eagle and shatter the demon king's blockade in one seamless stroke, the falcon demon could not help but be awestruck by his terrifying strength.
Chapter 1145