"Ah!"
A sharp pang shot through Jinglin's nascent soul. His face drained of all color, and he clutched his head with both hands, letting out a shriek of agony.
His whole body shuddered.
The divine radiance of the Wind Summoning Bracelet dimmed.
The very same scene unfolded before Qin Sang.
With the jade Buddha watching over him, Qin Sang did not fear even Split-Essence God-Slashing, let alone a mere Soul-Extinguishing Awl.
Yet what he had just noticed forced him to think twice.
Qin Sang was unwilling to reveal that he could shrug off attacks targeting the soul, at least not now.
However, if he feigned injury, he would be unable to keep controlling the Twelve Demon Banners. The combat opportunity he had fought so hard to seize would be squandered, allowing Old Demon Pei to slip away.
Qin Sang had always been decisive. Realizing that the Soul-Extinguishing Awl was no ordinary weapon, he altered his strategy in an instant. His incantation shifted, and the rumble of heavenly thunder echoed from deep within his body.
*Crack!*
The round shield shattered.
The Soul-Extinguishing Awl plunged straight into the space between Qin Sang's eyebrows and, as expected, was stopped cold by the jade Buddha.
Even so, Qin Sang put on an even more pathetic display than Jinglin. He let out shriek after shriek, blood leaking from all seven facial orifices, his body stumbling as if on the verge of tumbling to the ground.
Over the years, such deception had practically become second nature to him. Performed with seamless finesse, it betrayed not the slightest flaw.
Left unguided, the grand array of the Twelve Demon Banners collapsed on its own. The banners tilted askew and the demonic fire scattered in disarray, opening up wide gaps.
Old Demon Pei saw a glimmer of hope.
Yet before joy could even reach his face, a sudden bolt out of the blue plunged him into utter despair.
Blinding lightning flared.
Heavenly thunder cascaded from above.
The demonic fire dispersed, and the Nether Crystal Pagodas shook violently.
To save his own life, Old Demon Pei had sacrificed a portion of his vitality to drive the pagodas, which had already depleted his vitality severely. Before the Thunder Command Art, he was reduced to a lamb awaiting slaughter, powerless to resist.
*Boom!*
Under countless watching eyes, the heavenly thunder struck Old Demon Pei squarely. His body was charred black, and his corpse tumbled toward the ground.
It all occurred in the blink of an eye.
Chanling and Old Demon Tan intended to rescue him, yet before they could even break out of the Cold Bell Grand Array, they witnessed Old Demon Pei being struck dead by the lightning. Not even his nascent soul managed to flee; he had perished entirely!
The pair were gripped by shock and fury.
Their opponents were clearly three experts at the early Nascent Soul realm, whose cultivation should have been a notch lower than their own.
Three against three, and yet right in front of them, Old Demon Pei had been slain.
Even after sacrificing his own vitality, Old Demon Pei had failed to cling to life.
Chanling was enraged, having no idea how he would explain this upon his return.
Old Demon Tan rushed toward the Nether Crystal Pagodas to prevent Qin Sang and his companion from destroying the array, while Chanling charged after them in pursuit.
"Move!"
Having recovered slightly, Jinglin caught sight of Qin Sang slaying Old Demon Pei with thunder magic. Beside himself with joy, he also felt deep apprehension.
Both of their nascent souls were injured. If Chanling and his ally intercepted them, there was no telling how things would end.
Suppressing his injuries, Jinglin swiftly retrieved the Wind Summoning Bracelet, turned into an azure gale, and fled back toward the Cold Bell Grand Array from the other side. Skilled in manipulating wind, he had grasped the rudiments of wind escape techniques, so his speed was by no means slow.
Qin Sang was completely unharmed.
After breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, the Thunder Command Art no longer drained him as heavily as it had during his Core Formation days. Qin Sang had no fear of Chanling, yet he had no desire to reveal that he was untouched.
Naturally, he did not forget to sweep up his spoils.
To eliminate Old Demon Pei, he had laid bare two of his strongest trump cards.
Qin Sang gathered the demonic banners and Old Demon Pei's corpse. With no time left to destroy the Nether Crystal Pagoda array, he transformed into a streak of lightning and darted away.
Chanling and his ally intended to cut them down, but Si Di tangled with them relentlessly, fighting tooth and nail. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Qin Sang and Jinglin vanished back into the Cold Bell Grand Array, fuming with helpless rage.
"These are Jade Dew Pills, which heal wounds to the soul. Fellow Daoists, please take them quickly!"
Si Di flicked his fingers, sending two medicinal pills flying over.
The pills were clear and translucent, resembling two drops of jade dew.
"I've long heard that Jade Dew Pills are divine healing elixirs whose efficacy far exceeds the medicine refined by the Two Domains Alliance, but their ingredients are exceedingly scarce. I finally get to see one with my own eyes."
Jinglin swallowed the pill, unable to conceal his excitement. Turning his gaze toward Qin Sang, the contempt he had once harbored was completely gone. "This victory is entirely thanks to Fellow Daoist Mingyue! I truly thought we would return empty-handed."
Lingering fear still haunted Jinglin's heart.
The moment the Soul-Extinguishing Awl struck him, he had assumed killing Old Demon Pei was out of the question. To his surprise, the outcome had wildly defied his expectations.
"Indeed! With Fellow Daoist Mingyue's divine abilities, had you not been struck by that Soul-Extinguishing Awl, you wouldn't need to fear that old ghost Chanling even in a duel. Old Demon Pei ran rampant for years only to fall by your hand. Who could have imagined that you had only just achieved your metamorphosis!"
Si Di marveled in admiration.
Watching from farther away, he had seen everything with greater clarity.
The ambush against Old Demon Pei had been full of twists and turns. Qin Sang had first summoned the twelve fiery banners, then called down heavenly thunder at the critical juncture—each a pinnacle divine ability.
He silently warned himself never to cross this man.
It was only a pity that such a figure did not hail from the human race.
"You flatter me. Without your coordination, I could not have displayed my skills no matter what I possessed. Now is not the time for chatter. Chanling cannot be underestimated. Please take care, fellow Daoists—I shall return to preside over the Cold Bell Grand Array."
Qin Sang caught the Jade Dew Pill and spoke in a deep voice.
"Right, right!"
Jinglin nodded repeatedly, having already adopted a posture of deferring to Qin Sang's every word. He gave a fierce grin. "With one of their Nascent Souls dead, their troops' morale is shattered. Let's see how much longer they can hold out! My brother and I will go meet Chanling right now!"
Qin Sang nodded, turned around, and flew back into the grand array.
Watching Qin Sang leave, Jinglin and Si Di exchanged a glance, a hint of awe deep in their eyes.
What followed was straightforward.
After Old Demon Pei died, the forces of Sin Abyss fell into disarray, losing any will to fight.
In contrast, the morale of the Two Domains Alliance surged.
Qin Sang took charge of the array implements, presiding over the Cold Bell Grand Array and unleashing various transformations to reinforce their allies.
For a time, the Two Domains Alliance swept all before them, routing the forces of Sin Abyss into headlong retreat. Even though Old Demon Tan recaptured the Nether Crystal Pagodas and Chanling personally held the line, they could not turn the tide.
More importantly, Chanling had lost all appetite to prolong the battle.
Old Demon Pei's death had sent chills down Chanling's spine.
At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that it was Old Demon Pei who had borne the brunt, rather than himself.
He harbored deep wariness toward that unfamiliar demon king and resolved to keep a close watch on him from now on.
Chanling suspected that his own movements had been exposed by this very demon king. He needed to return and carefully review the battle to determine where things had gone wrong.
If that demon king truly proved to be his nemesis, he would have yet another adversary to avoid in the future.
Leaving behind a field of corpses, Chanling hastily gathered his troops and withdrew from Sandie Pass.
The great battle could only draw to an abrupt close.
The enemy's Nether Crystal Pagodas remained intact, and two Nascent Soul combatants were still standing. Knowing when to stop, Jinglin and Si Di did not chase them far before sounding the retreat.
Though casualties were inevitable, this was indisputably a resounding triumph. It had been a very long time since the Two Domains Alliance had managed to slay a Nascent Soul Patriarch from Sin Abyss.
The lower-realm cultivators cheered in high spirits; they too would share in the spoils and earn a handsome sum of battle merits.
Si Di and Jinglin assigned men to clear the battlefield and made various arrangements to guard against a counterattack from Sin Abyss. Then, they could hardly wait to fly toward the tall tower.
Qin Sang had not joined the pursuit.
He sat there with his head slightly bowed, lost in thought.
Sensing the presence of Jinglin and Si Di, Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly, and he turned to look outside.
Chapter 1187