With an uncertain road ahead, the Snake King could not help feeling uneasy.
Seeing Qin Sang weave through the dark clouds with consummate ease and evident familiarity—looking nothing like someone who had only just slipped into the Abyss Ruins—he gradually set his mind at ease.
Though the evil spirit was formidable, without the Sin Abyss cultivators harassing them, Qin Sang and the Snake King had more than enough strength to protect themselves when joining hands. It was merely difficult to shake the creature off in short order.
Locked onto by the evil spirit, neither Qin Sang nor the Snake King could mask their aura or conceal their trail; their only choice was to fly as swiftly as possible toward the trap site Qin Sang had chosen.
When they burst out of the banner array, the Cold Lizard and Old Demon Ye had clashed several times in an instant, until the frost bead had gathered a beam of frigid light that pierced through the blood water like a sharp sword.
"Elder Ye..."
Failing to stop Qin Sang and the Snake King, Jiang Chenzi and his two companions looked utterly disheveled.
Seeing the situation develop to this point, they wore somewhat sheepish expressions.
They had held a three-against-two advantage, backed by the evil spirit and prepared in advance with a banner array—holding every conceivable initiative. Yet the enemy had still escaped.
"They won't shake off the evil spirit so easily! We shall go capture them at once!"
The three prepared to set off to redeem themselves.
"No need! The Cold Lizard and Old Ghost Lu are at the end of their ropes. The two Daoists at the entrance to the Abyss Ruins will deliver them a crushing blow. I leave this place to you."
Old Demon Ye did not continue chasing them; instead, he halted and instructed Jiang Chenzi's trio.
Jiang Chenzi paused. "Then the Snake King..."
"I shall go meet them myself! I heard Fellow Daoist Pei fell on the Tianxing Plateau, killed by a demon king wielding a fire banner and thunder arts. This one must be the Demon King Mingyue, no? Old Ghost Lu is trapped in the desert, content to languish in his corner, and the Snake King is hardly a concern either. But this Demon King Mingyue is quite something. To possess such strength already, his potential is unlike anything I have seen in my life. He will surely become a grave threat in the future."
With that, Old Demon Ye glanced at the blood lake and continued, "Just now, I used a secret art to suppress the blood lake, but only barely. If it triggers a backlash, delay for as long as possible so our previous efforts aren't wasted."
Hearing Old Demon Ye mention the blood lake, Jiang Chenzi and the other two turned grave and immediately nodded in assent. The blood lake seemed far more important than hunting down Qin Sang and his companion.
The divine-sense exchange took merely an instant. Old Demon Ye cast several restrictions toward the blood lake in quick succession, sensed the trail left by the evil spirit, and transformed into a streak of bloody escape light, setting off in hot pursuit.
Jiang Chenzi and the other two remained behind.
One stayed to guard the blood lake, while the other two flashed down into the earth.
In the distance, dark clouds stretched on and on, woven with endless ancient restrictions.
Fighting as they fled, Qin Sang and the Snake King maneuvered through the narrow gaps. Before long, they sensed a powerful aura hurtling toward them from behind.
"Old Demon Ye is pursuing us in person!"
The Snake King's face tightened slightly.
Qin Sang had not expected Old Demon Ye to abandon the pursuit of the Cold Lizard and Lu to chase after them instead.
Yet he did not panic. Peering through the dark clouds, he saw the faint silhouettes of several mountains appear ahead and transmitted a message to the Snake King to proceed with their original plan: "Ahead lies one of the places to trap the spirit I mentioned earlier. It is more dangerous than the others, but pressed by circumstances, we must shake off this evil spirit as soon as possible. Assist me, Fellow Daoist, and lure the evil spirit into the ancient restriction!"
"Very well!"
The Snake King turned solemn and replied in a deep voice.
Opening his mouth, he spat out a plume of demonic clouds and revealed his true demon form. His appearance changed little, merely gaining an extra layer of green scales. Evidently, he had not deliberately taken on a half-man, half-serpent form; his true body simply looked like this, a testament to a very unusual bloodline.
*Boom!*
A green orb of light grazed past Qin Sang, plunged into a bank of dark clouds, and detonated within.
The dark clouds churned, and the ancient restriction was triggered, lashing out automatically in retaliation. Strands of green radiance shot forth in an indiscriminate attack, targeting not just the evil spirit, but catching Qin Sang and the Snake King in the crossfire as well.
The Snake King exhaled clouds and mist, shouldering the brunt of the assault for Qin Sang.
Qin Sang shifted and dodged, slipping through the gaps. The evil spirit, by contrast, remained imposing and unstoppable. When the green radiance struck its body, it coiled like ropes, only to be forcefully shattered by the beast.
After a burst of rapid flight, the mountain silhouettes ahead grew clearer.
Sweeping his gaze around, Qin Sang located a flaw in the ancient restriction he had spotted earlier. Fortunately, nothing had changed there.
He darted directly into the dark clouds.
Reckless and undeterred, the evil spirit plunged right in after him.
The instant he entered the clouds, Qin Sang felt the surrounding space turn exceptionally profound. What met his eyes was boundless void and a sea of brilliant stars, as though he had stepped into deep space.
Above, below, left, and right—all was void.
The stars glittered. Each seemed within arm's reach, yet lay unimaginably far away. It was impossible to tell whether these stars were real or illusory; even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could not see through them.
Drifting alone without anchor, an endless loneliness welled up in his heart.
Feeling the might of the ancient restriction, Qin Sang was secretly astonished. This was after countless years had worn it down. Had he not identified the restriction's flaw before entering, he would have been trapped alongside the evil spirit, requiring immense effort to break free.
Qin Sang came to an abrupt halt, not daring to move recklessly lest he disturb the ancient restriction.
Just then, Qin Sang felt his back tighten, knowing the evil spirit's attack had followed him inside. Urgently driving his ebony sword, he slashed horizontally to the left.
The sword light drifted out languidly. Though it struck no physical substance, the void rippled faintly, and the stars wavered like reflections in water. A void fissure opened to Qin Sang's left, and without the slightest hesitation, he leapt inside.
The void shattered and faded.
Reality returned.
Breaking free of the void, Qin Sang breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Seeing a tempest raging within the dark clouds and the evil spirit thrashing frantically, he turned and flew away.
*Thud!*
The moment he emerged, Qin Sang heard a muffled crash and saw the Snake King sent flying.
While Qin Sang had been luring the evil spirit into the trap, Old Demon Ye had caught up and had been intercepted by the Snake King.
Seeing blood seeping from the corners of the Snake King's mouth and scales torn away across his body, dripping with gore, Qin Sang was taken aback. In such a short time, the Snake King was already showing signs of defeat.
Old Demon Ye's strength exceeded all expectations.
Without a word, Qin Sang spurred his ebony sword and stabbed toward Old Demon Ye.
Just as Old Demon Ye moved to press his advantage, his vision darkened. He knew at once that this was the sword array Qin Sang had deployed earlier.
Even the evil spirit had been stalled by this sword array, so he did not dare take it lightly. Flipping his palm, a blood wheel flew above his head and spun rapidly, scattering droplets of bloody rain like crimson tassels, accompanied by a pungent stench of blood.
*Blood path secret arts and treasures again... Could this truly be a blood-nurtured incarnation similar to the Seed-Origin Demon Fetus?*
The thought flickered through Qin Sang's mind.
The surrounding space blurred, and countless grey threads within the sword array converged to shred Old Demon Ye.
"The evil spirit is trapped! Let's go!"
The moment his strike found its mark, Qin Sang called to the Snake King to make their escape, having no intention of tangling with Old Demon Ye. Who knew how long it would take the evil spirit to break free; retreat was the best course.
Finally catching his breath, the Snake King's expression relaxed slightly. Looking back at Old Demon Ye, a chill ran through him as he recalled the helpless despair he had just felt.
A moment later.
Old Demon Ye shattered the sword array and watched the two flee, his brow furrowing slightly.
That they were fleeing so resolutely in that direction proved they had another way out—one deep within the Abyss Ruins, a place where even Sin Abyss cultivators dared not tread lightly.
Chapter 1214