Encounter

Qin Sang and Fat Chick were both startled. They had steered well clear of Wind Thunder Mountain and done nothing at all, yet they had still alarmed the blood lightning. Qin Sang reacted swiftly. Wrapping Fat Chick in his true essence, he instantly fled far into the distance. Unexpectedly, the blood lightning clung to them like maggots on rotting bone, pursuing them relentlessly. No matter how many times Qin Sang shifted directions, he could not shake it off. Seeing this, Qin Sang had an epiphany. He hastily reined in his divine sense while rapidly dodging and shifting his position. *Whoosh, whoosh...* The blood lightning finally abandoned the chase and withdrew. Residual lightning power lingered in the void like flecks of blood blossoms, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Fat Chick was still thoroughly shaken. While being pursued by the blood lightning, it had felt as though the demonic blood throughout its body was freezing solid. Its frame had stiffened under the lock of the lightning's power; had it been struck, it would likely have suffered severe injury. And if that blood lightning possessed any other bizarre properties, the outcome would not have been as simple as an injury. It turned its head toward Qin Sang, uncertain whether it was its own fault or if Qin Sang had done something to alarm the blood lightning. Qin Sang pondered for a brief moment before sending a voice transmission: "Stay behind me. Focus solely on channeling the Thunder Remembrance Bead to sense your mother's location, and do nothing else." "Understood!" Fat Chick knew that rescuing its mother here depended entirely on Qin Sang, so it obeyed him without question. Qin Sang glanced back at Wind Thunder Mountain and set off once more, keeping an even greater distance this time. He probed outward with his divine sense to test the waters, and this time the blood lightning did not react. *This blood lightning is truly bizarre. It can sense divine sense—even without direct contact, simply drawing near is enough to provoke a pursuit. However, its detection range is limited. As long as one is careful to keep one's divine sense contained and stays far enough away, it should be fine. The warnings of the predecessors were certainly not without cause...* Qin Sang tested the rules of the Blood Lake as he traveled. Gradually gaining a feel for them, he began to pick up speed. *** "Master, the strange mountain ahead seems to be the one marked on the remnant map." Half an hour later. Qin Sang and Fat Chick spotted a rocky mountain. It rose vertically straight up and down, looking just like a colossal stone pillar. Highly conspicuous, it served well as a landmark, and precisely such a peak was drawn on the remnant map. The scenery on this mountain was entirely different from Wind Thunder Mountain. There was no blood lightning or baleful wind here, but the mountain was covered with bizarre crimson trees. The blood trees took root in the rock crevices and grew horizontally outward, resembling rows of spikes protruding from the crags, making the entire massif look like a spiked mace. The trunks of the blood trees were as tough as iron, and their leaves were like serrated steel blades. Blood-red clouds hovered around them; if anyone were caught in those branches, they would endure the agony of their flesh being sawn open and their soul corroded. Qin Sang produced the remnant map, located the mountain's position, and surveyed the surrounding terrain, confirming it was indeed this peak. "According to the markings on the map, the inner part of the Blood Lake counts as north, while we landed on the southwest side. Heading straight east from here and making two sweeps back and forth should just about cover the periphery of the Blood Lake..." Qin Sang proceeded according to plan. Fat Chick followed closely behind him, concentrating on channeling the Thunder Remembrance Bead, but unfortunately there was no reaction at all. Qin Sang quietly committed everything he observed to memory. Traveling through the periphery was relatively easy, as places like Wind Thunder Mountain were spaced some distance apart, leaving the areas between them safe. However, that was only true of the periphery. *** In an area crowded with jagged rocks, a massive cavern several hundred zhang across opened amidst the stones. The cavern was bottomless and intensely mysterious. At this moment, a Core Formation stage cultivator, hovering beneath a treasured mirror held over his head, was descending slowly into the depths of the cavern. *Bang! Bang!* From time to time, tentacles formed from congealed blood lashed out from the cavern, striking against the cultivator with terrifying force. His expression remained calm. The treasured mirror above his head shifted through seven-colored light, forming a pliable barrier that countered hardness with softness, dissipating the momentum of the tentacles so that his defense remained unbroken. Though the blood tentacles made quite a commotion, this cultivator had laid down a concealing restriction at the cavern mouth beforehand, so even if someone passed by, they would notice nothing amiss. Engrossed in battling the endless tentacles rising from the depths, he was utterly oblivious to the arrival of a man and a beast outside, who took in the entire scene. It was Qin Sang and Fat Chick, searching their way through the lake. Although the restriction laid down by the cultivator was ingenious, it could not thwart the Heavenly Eye divine ability. He was the second person Qin Sang had encountered. Both cultivators Qin Sang had run across so far were at the Core Formation stage. Qingjun and the others had presumably already moved on ahead. *These fellows have indeed received guidance from expert figures. Their objectives are clear; they didn't just come to throw their lives away. It seems every faction kept some information hidden and wasn't entirely ignorant of the Blood Lake.* Qin Sang observed for a moment and gave a subtle nod. After a few glances, he withdrew his gaze and sped off into the distance. These Core Formation cultivators knew very little; capturing them would be pointless. From what Qin Sang could see, the restriction in this cavern was quite formidable. Even if he were to take it on personally, it would require considerable effort, and he could not afford to waste so much time here. After searching for a long time, the Thunder Remembrance Bead still gave no response. Qin Sang estimated that if the Thunder-Devouring Falcon Demon King was still alive, the chances of her being trapped in the periphery of the Blood Lake were slim. If she was trapped deep within the Blood Lake, she would be in grave danger should she be caught in the crossfire between cultivators of the two domains. Qin Sang did not want to be the one to stick his neck out first, but neither could he arrive too late. Continuing forward, Qin Sang occasionally struck at ancient restrictions to test their power. Having hurried onward in this fashion for a stretch, Qin Sang was just about to pass between two peaks when his expression abruptly changed. He urgently commanded Fat Chick via divine sense, "Get back into the concentric ring, quickly!" Hearing this, Fat Chick was startled, assuming they had encountered some grave danger. Its eyes darted frantically around, only to find the surroundings exceptionally tranquil. Dense blood qi billowed atop the peaks on either side, with blood lightning flashing frequently, but they were still far off and unlikely to attack without warning. Even so, Fat Chick did not dare hesitate in the slightest. It knew its master's divine abilities far surpassed its own and that there must be good reason. It hastily stowed the Thunder Remembrance Bead and retreated into the Primordial Concentric Rings. The treasured ring on Qin Sang's wrist flashed. He gave his sleeve a flick, and his figure vanished into thin air. Having faded into concealment, Qin Sang only then cautiously activated the Heavenly Eye divine ability. Looking past the mountain peaks, he fixed his gaze upon a distant summit. It was a barren hill, desolate and littered everywhere with jagged stones. Aside from that, there was nothing else, nor was there anyone in sight. Yet in Qin Sang's vision, the scene on the mountain revealed subtle differences. Atop a protruding stone platform, there was a faint cluster of white light, completely invisible to the naked eye. It was unmistakably peculiar. Seeing the white light, Qin Sang felt a spontaneous surge of familiarity. Inside the white light lay total chaos. Qin Sang bolstered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's divine ability, finally catching a faint glimpse of the magic treasure emitting the white light, and discovered a figure within the glow. "It really is him!" Surprise showed on Qin Sang's face. Before he could make out the true features of the person within the white light, he ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to retract its ability to avoid being detected. Even in his dreams, he would never forget this magic treasure—Dongyang Bo's natal magic treasure, the vajra ring! Back in the Ziwei Palace, Dongyang Bo had used this very vajra ring to capture him and bring him into the bronze hall, threatening Chen Yan to her face. Had it not been for the Foul Blood Divine Light, Qin Sang would probably never have escaped that catastrophe. *He actually didn't regroup with Senior Sister and the others. What is he doing here?* Qin Sang believed the chances of successfully taking him down were slim and had not planned to make a move now, but he had never expected to encounter Dongyang Bo in the outer reaches of the Blood Lake.