Once Dongyang Bo followed Gongliang Yu inside, Qin Sang also arrived above the blood river.
"So that is the Shangyuan Qingjing Palace's Nascent Soul talisman puppet. It truly lives up to its reputation."
Even from a distance, Qin Sang could feel a sense of danger emanating from this Nascent Soul talisman puppet.
The puppet itself possessed formidable might. Add to that its inability to feel pain and its fearless disregard for death, and taking it down in a short amount of time would be no easy feat, even for Dongyang Bo.
He had not expected Gongliang Yu to be able to bring out the Nascent Soul talisman puppet—nor that, with such a vast disparity in cultivation, Gongliang Yu could command the puppet alone without suffering backlash.
This time, Dongyang Bo had likely miscalculated.
Qin Sang sneered inwardly. The stronger Gongliang Yu was, the better. If Gongliang Yu fought a fierce battle with Dongyang Bo and forced him to reveal his full repertoire, Qin Sang could use the opportunity to gauge Dongyang Bo's true depth.
Witnessing this scene, Qin Sang was already inclined to rescue Gongliang Yu.
Setting the Shangyuan Qingjing Palace aside, Gongliang Yu's ability to command such a powerful talisman puppet was enough to prove his worth. He was qualified to be an ally.
Still, the timing of his intervention required careful consideration.
Qin Sang did not know Gongliang Yu well and had no measure of his nerve or courage.
At the very least, he had to wait until Dongyang Bo showed his true colors and the two tore away all pretense of cordiality.
Naturally, the ideal moment would be to step in when Gongliang Yu showed signs of defeat and was in mortal peril, bestowing a life-saving grace upon him.
A Nascent Soul talisman puppet was an inanimate object after all. As its controller, Gongliang Yu's realm was far inferior to Dongyang Bo's. Such a gulf did not merely manifest in cultivation; it was not something a single talisman puppet could easily bridge.
Dongyang Bo surely possessed that same confidence, which was why he had followed without hesitation even after seeing the Nascent Soul talisman puppet.
Furthermore, Qin Sang was curious about what treasure Gongliang Yu had discovered that could tempt Dongyang Bo enough to move against an ally.
As for bullying the weak...
Dongyang Bo had done so countless times; he had long cast aside any sense of shame.
With these thoughts running through his mind, Qin Sang used his Heavenly Eye divine ability to observe the interior of the blood river. Detecting several peculiarities, a hint of solemnity gradually crept into his gaze.
"No wonder Gongliang Yu summoned the Nascent Soul talisman puppet..."
Seeing Gongliang Yu and Dongyang Bo delve deeper into the blood river, Qin Sang could wait no longer. Secretly readying the Eighteen Demon Banners formation, he plunged into the blood river.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The instant he entered, what met him was not the gentle flow of water, but the violent impact of a ferocious gale. The blood mist appeared calm on the surface, but within, currents constantly clashed in a chaotic, churning surge.
Accompanying the impact of the blood mist was an intensely concentrated yin evil power.
This yin evil power was almost palpable, like bone-scraping steel blades or a flesh-grinding millstone, relentlessly battering the protective spirit armor Qin Sang had condensed with his true essence, threatening to grind him into bloody pulp.
Hiss, hiss...
To withstand the invasive evil power, Qin Sang had no choice but to channel more true essence, sharply increasing his expenditure.
Just as the evil chill assailed him, several snake-like blood shadows silently manifested in the blood mist. Sensing Qin Sang, they lunged forward.
These blood shadows had no physical form. The longer ones measured several tens of feet, while the shorter ones were merely three feet long.
Amidst the chaotic blood mist and the pervasive, terrifying yin evil power, they showed no fear whatsoever. Moving like fish in water, they swam about at their leisure.
The few that Qin Sang had disturbed were merely a negligible fraction.
Throughout the entire blood river, blood shadows were countless—far exceeding tens of millions—making them impossible to avoid.
These blood shadows were a type of evil spirit bred from the blood mist that had accumulated within the river over countless years. Born and raised here, they grew by constantly absorbing and expelling the yin evil power, naturally rendering them immune to its corrosion.
In other words, they were the true masters of the blood river.
Disturbed by Qin Sang, all the blood shadows charged recklessly toward him. Possessing almost no intelligence, their instinct was driven by a single thought: to devour the intruder.
Before the blood shadows could draw near, Qin Sang paused slightly. The fire lotus seed emerged between his brows, and several delicate, flower-like flames of spiritual fire drifted out. Accurately pinpointing the positions of all the blood shadows, the flames struck them in an instant.
These spiritual fires had been refined by Qin Sang, and their fluctuations were suppressed to the absolute minimum. By the time they reached the blood shadows, the creatures had not yet sensed any danger, remaining completely oblivious.
By the time the spiritual fire touched them and they reacted, it was already too late.
The flames rapidly leaped across the blood shadows. In mere moments, the blood shadows were burned away without leaving behind the slightest trace.
Immediately after, the flames returned to the fire lotus seed.
All of this unfolded in the blink of an eye. Neither the blood shadows nor the fire lotus seed produced any noticeable fluctuations. Moreover, the blood mist was so turbulent that it helped conceal the disturbance, leaving Gongliang Yu and Dongyang Bo ahead completely unaware.
'Although the Nine Nether Demonic Fire is not specifically meant to counter evil spirits, the strongest among these spirits are merely on par with the Qi Refinement stage. Slaying them is effortless,' Qin Sang mused.
However, these few blood shadows were merely the weakest. The deeper into the blood river one went, the stronger the blood shadows became. If thousands upon thousands of blood shadows were disturbed at the bottom of the blood river, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would likely suffer a heavy blow.
After a moment's thought, Qin Sang tentatively spread his divine consciousness. It instantly drew over a dozen blood shadows, which he dispatched one by one.
'As expected! These blood shadows are similar to the blood lightning, highly sensitive to divine consciousness. It's best not to spread divine consciousness too far here; no one knows what other monstrosities might lurk at the riverbed. Still, this works in my favor—the chances of Dongyang Bo detecting me are even smaller.'
Having grasped the nature of the blood shadows, Qin Sang continued downward.
However, he deliberately slowed his pace, putting more distance between himself and Dongyang Bo.
This was an unavoidable choice. The blood river harbored too many blood shadows; even without using divine consciousness at all, avoiding every single one was impossible.
In the upper layers, it mattered little; no matter how many blood shadows came, they could cause no significant commotion.
Yet the further down he went, the stronger and harder to kill the blood shadows became. Not knowing what methods Dongyang Bo possessed, Qin Sang dared not follow too closely.
Dongyang Bo, on the other hand, had his sights set on Gongliang Yu and faced no such concern, trailing him tightly.
Qin Sang lagged far behind, maintaining his Heavenly Eye divine ability just enough to barely track Dongyang Bo's movements. With the Nascent Soul talisman puppet at his side, Gongliang Yu would have no trouble holding Dongyang Bo off for a time—long enough for Qin Sang to arrive.
The Heavenly Eye Butterfly not only kept a tight watch on Dongyang Bo, but could also see through the movements of the blood shadows.
Qin Sang deliberately chose paths where blood shadows were sparse, making his presence even more inconspicuous.
The blood river seemed bottomless.
Gongliang Yu had traveled for the time it took an incense stick to burn, yet the riverbed remained out of sight.
Lacking the capabilities of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, he could not tell where the blood shadows were dense or sparse, and could only rely on the Nascent Soul talisman puppet to forcefully plow a path forward.
Countless blood shadows surged forward in relentless waves, encircling them completely.
Boom! Boom!
The Nascent Soul talisman puppet was exceedingly ferocious, as though venting all its resentment toward Gongliang Yu upon the blood shadows. Talisman light gleamed across its body as it moved like lightning, its heavy fists striking like thunder and leaving afterimages in their wake.
The blood shadows here were far stronger than those in the upper layers, yet none could withstand a single blow, their bodies shattering on the spot beyond the ability to reform.
Every blood shadow was kept at bay by the Nascent Soul talisman puppet, unable to draw near.
Behind Gongliang Yu, Dongyang Bo was also harassed by blood shadows. However, Gongliang Yu had already drawn away a portion of them; though more continuously drifted over from elsewhere, their numbers were somewhat smaller.
Chapter 1238