Purgatory

Holding the jade jue, Gongliang Yu seemed to find some confidence, and his expression eased slightly. Clutching the figurine in one hand and the jade jue in the other, Gongliang Yu plunged straight into the Blood Lake. *** The instant he touched the bloody water, Qin Sang felt a pervasive, sinister force invade his entire body. That eerie chill penetrated his mind and seeped deep into his bones. Qin Sang actually shuddered, a rare reaction for him, and his expression changed slightly. Recalling his contest of wagers with Qianji Demon King where he had used the Nine Nether Demonic Fire to ward off poisonous mist, he sought to repeat the trick, channeling his demonic fire to form an armor of flames over his body. Unexpectedly, the chill was remarkably bizarre and pierced right through the demonic fire. Qin Sang then switched the flame armor to Ancestral Holy Fire, yet it still failed to stop the chill. Only when he withdrew the spiritual fire and channeled his true essence into armor did he feel any improvement. Fortunately, his true essence did not deplete too quickly, causing little strain for a Nascent Soul cultivator like him. *Splash, splash...* Within his field of vision lay a sheet of crimson. The surrounding bloody water surged and sloshed noisily, flowing toward an unknown destination. Qin Sang could sense that the sinister force stemmed from a strange power within the bloody water, sweeping him along toward an uncharted place. After glancing around, his body plunged downward, and he suddenly felt the pressure lift, finally freeing himself from the confinement of the water. Beneath the bloody water lay an unknown space permeated by blood-red mist. Observing his surroundings as he descended cautiously, Qin Sang soon touched down upon solid ground. That sinister force still lingered, suffusing the entire space through the bloody mist. Not daring to dispel his essence armor, Qin Sang merely flicked his sleeve, sending three demonic banners flying out to circle him continuously as a protective measure. At the same time, he summoned the Jinchen Sword into his hand. As the leader of Shaohua Mountain, Dongyang Bo had certainly comprehended the Origin Soul Sword Nurturing Chapter. Dongyang Bo was well aware that Qin Sang cultivated this art. If Qin Sang were to use the Ebony Sword and sword array before him, Dongyang Bo would surely perceive clues and deduce Qin Sang's identity, even if he had never seen the second volume of the technique. Therefore, Qin Sang intended to use sword arts as little as possible, planning to rely primarily on the demonic banners and demonic fire while avoiding the Seven Po Killing Array whenever he could. The eighteen demonic banners were sufficient to cope with perilous situations. Just as Qin Sang brought forth his magic treasures, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly awoke as well. She still preferred to perch on Qin Sang's shoulder, rubbing her soft wings against his cheek and staying close to her master. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly possessed the means to protect herself, so Qin Sang let her be without worrying about her safety even out in the open. Keeping vigilant watch, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's gaze pierced the bloody mist, allowing her to see much farther. After some testing, Qin Sang confirmed that the bloody mist here merely obstructed vision slightly and had no effect on divine consciousness; as long as one resisted the sinister erosion, it was nothing to worry about. However, according to the information they had gathered, the interior of the Blood Lake was like purgatory, so one should not extend divine consciousness too far lest it inadvertently trigger a mechanism and invite danger. Those records were vague and sketchy, leaving Qin Sang unsure of what lurked here. Even so, caution was never amiss, and he reined in his divine consciousness to within three zhang. With the Heavenly Eye Butterfly at his side, going without divine consciousness hardly affected him. Channeling the Heavenly Eye divine ability to take in his surroundings clearly, Qin Sang finally understood why this place was called purgatory. He stood upon bare rock, and not far ahead rose a mountain. This mountain was likewise entirely stone, devoid of a speck of soil, let alone flora or fauna. Its mass was completely blood-red, though whether dyed by the ubiquitous bloody mist or naturally colored remained unknown. The sights on the rocky mountain were terrifying. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and baleful winds blew incessantly. The lightning was also blood-red. In the sky above the mountain, blood lightning resembled countless colossal crimson serpents. Thousands upon thousands of blood lightning bolts struck simultaneously without a moment's pause, threatening to pulverize everything around the mountain. *Rumble...* The deafening thunder rattled the soul. Such blood lightning was anything but benign; Qin Sang had no desire to experience its strike firsthand. Bombarded day and night by blood lightning and tempered over countless years, the rocky mountain remarkably remained intact. Either its stone was extraordinary, or it was protected by restrictions. Every time a bolt of blood lightning struck the mountain, a flower of crimson lightning blossomed, scattering wisps of blood-red radiance without budging the mountain in the slightest. The baleful wind was equally formidable, swirling endlessly around the mountain. When the blood lightning collided with the wind, it was occasionally scattered by the gusts, testifying to the wind's immense power. The stone mountain might endure, but a mortal body could not remain indestructible forever. Reflecting on his earlier conjectures about the Abyss Ruins, Qin Sang thought that if someone were suppressed here—subjected to the lashing of thunder and the bone-corroding wind—the torment would be no less excruciating than the Sawing Hell. Even for the most heinous sinners, enduring such punishment would be more than enough. Yet according to the records, such a Wind-Thunder Mountain was merely an ordinary sight here. It was no wonder that predecessors who had entered the Blood Lake held deep dread for it, regarding it as purgatory. Just then, the Primordial Concentric Rings on Qin Sang's wrist flashed, and Fat Chicken hopped out. "Do you sense anything?" Qin Sang asked. Fat Chicken did not reply immediately. It opened its beak to spit out the precious bead and puffed several mouthfuls of vital essence over it. The bead rose slowly and hovered stationary three inches above Fat Chicken's head. The bead pulsed with light as if breathing, shedding a soft luminescence that helped Fat Chicken ward off the sinister chill. A moment later, disappointment flashed in Fat Chicken's eyes. "If my mother were nearby, we could use the Thunder Remembrance Bead to sense each other's location through our bloodline... The Thunder Remembrance Bead has no reaction." After asking about the bead's range, Qin Sang consoled, "Be patient. The interior of the Blood Lake is vast; just exploring the outer perimeter will take us some time. And don't look down on the outer region—places like that Wind-Thunder Mountain are plentiful. Even with your mother's strength, it would be completely normal to be trapped if she accidentally fell into one." Qin Sang pointed at the stone mountain ahead as he spoke calmly. He had reached the mountain's vicinity, yet he dared not approach too closely. The baleful wind and blood lightning encompassed the space surrounding the mountain as well, and their residual force spilled outward, threatening to affect anyone passing by. Qin Sang suspected that if someone recklessly barged in, what they encountered would not be as simple as wind and lightning; the restrictions upon the stone mountain lay dormant, subtle and unpredictable. Gazing at the mountain, Qin Sang felt a prickle of dread. Reason told him that it was best to steer well clear of it. Fat Chicken was overjoyed at his words, yet still somewhat worried. "I only fear delaying Master's important business." "This king is all alone and hardly trusted anyway, so arriving a bit late is no bad thing. However, before that, we must first locate the places marked on this remnant map to get our bearings," Qin Sang said calmly. He had no desire to be the vanguard confronting Old Demon Ye; instead, he planned to play things by ear. Furthermore, he wanted to circle the Blood Lake to see if the Killing Sword's sword spirit showed any reaction. As he spoke, Qin Sang produced an animal hide bearing very sparse lines. It was the copy of the remnant map made by Demon Monarch Tongyou, left behind by predecessors who had previously ventured into the Blood Lake, though who knew whether the terrain had shifted after so many years. As luck would have it, the Wind-Thunder Mountain before him was not depicted on the map. Qin Sang instructed Fat Chicken to follow behind him. But just as he was about to bypass the Wind-Thunder Mountain, dozens of blood lightning bolts abruptly shifted direction without the slightest warning and struck straight toward them!