Toe-to-Toe

Back at Cangheng Island, when Qingjun had brought Qin Sang along and the boy had unexpectedly reached the late Core Formation stage, Dongyang Bo had contemplated killing him to eliminate future trouble. Yet he had been held back by concerns over two people. The first was Qingjun. Dongyang Bo knew she was Qingzhu's daughter, and since Qin Sang practiced the very same cultivation method as Qingzhu, he suspected she harbored fondness for the boy by association and had kept Qin Sang hidden all these years. The second was Chen Yan; he could never discern her true feelings toward Qin Sang. Chen Yan was desperate to save her master and was bound to return in the future. If she learned of Qin Sang's resurfacing, a major disturbance was inevitable. Thus, he could only make his move in secret without leaking a whisper. To his frustration, the cunning rascal had vanished without a trace right after that appearance, causing all of Dongyang Bo's arrangements to fall through. Afterward, with Sin Abyss advancing menacingly, Dongyang Bo had no attention to spare, and the matter was simply dropped. Naturally, the most crucial reason was that Dongyang Bo never believed Qin Sang could pose a genuine threat to him. Born with five spiritual roots, the boy had only managed Foundation Establishment by selling himself into indenture. Even after consuming a snow spirit lotus and an iris flower, he had failed to form a core. God knew what means Qingjun had used to help him form his core—perhaps that too had been bought at the cost of selling himself. Could a Nascent Soul be achieved just by wishing for it? In truth, Dongyang Bo's reasoning had not been flawed. Qin Sang had only succeeded by obtaining two wondrous medicines—the Calamity Crossing Pill and Soul-Cleansing Liquid—alongside two secret arts: his natal insect gu and the Heavenly Demon Refining Form. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that the pawn he had once regarded as an ant would not only truly reach the Nascent Soul stage, but also wield power far beyond belief, transforming into a demon king and forging a towering reputation. And now, he stood toe-to-toe before him, yielding not an inch! Dongyang Bo could not conceal the astonishment on his face. Qin Sang could not be bothered to reply. The daggers were bared; there was nothing left to say to Dongyang Bo. Without a single word, he formed a covert sword incantation. The ebony sword blazed with intense radiance, shattering the ring phantom before splitting into tens of thousands of sword beams, instantly laying down the Seven Po Killing Array. "Eh?" Catching sight of the grand array derived directly from that cultivation method, Dongyang Bo stared blankly, overwhelmed by disbelief. "Could it be... that I personally drove away two peerless geniuses?" Seeing the Seven Po Killing Array, Dongyang Bo mistakenly assumed Qin Sang had learned it from Qingjun, believing Qingzhu had already succeeded in creating the Nascent Soul portion of the technique. Though mistaken, he was not far from the truth. One could create his own cultivation method from scratch, while the other, though aided by a unique art, had attained the Nascent Soul stage with the meager aptitude of five spiritual roots—proof enough of extraordinary talent. Spiritual roots, after all, were merely one facet of natural talent. Only because orthodox essence cultivation dominated the present era while alternative paths had fallen into decline did spiritual roots appear all-important. Both of these individuals were figures rarely seen in the world, capable of founding sects and bringing Shaohua Mountain to greater glory. Had he retained even one of them, why would he ever have fretted over a successor or schemed endlessly to seize a Nascent Soul talisman puppet? Yet he had personally driven both of them away. "Haha..." Dongyang Bo suddenly burst into wild laughter. His laughter was layered with complex emotion, defying description. Was it regret? Or was he mocking himself? Even so, he was ultimately a Nascent Soul Patriarch. Shaken though his mind was, his reactions were not slow. Dongyang Bo knew full well that his actions in the past precluded any peaceful reconciliation with Qin Sang. Qin Sang hiding his identity and walking the realm as a demon king was proof enough that his resentment remained undiminished. He wasted no breath on pleasantries like inviting Qin Sang back to the mountain to turn swords into plowshares. "Heh heh. I had long heard of the illustrious Demon King Mingyue, yet never did I expect it to be you." Dongyang Bo's tone was inscrutable as he sighed with feeling. "Truly, every generation produces its own talent! That you could achieve what you have today is a rare feat indeed—more than worthy of Fairy Chenyan. Perhaps she might end up answering to you in the future instead. When I urged her to cultivate the Stone Bridge Chan back then, I truly underestimated you." Hearing Dongyang Bo suddenly bring up Chen Yan, Qin Sang remained utterly unmoved. He focused solely on driving his sword in relentless attacks. Even if this battle had begun in haste, he intended to test himself with all his might and fight Dongyang Bo to the end! Seeing that even Chen Yan could not shake Qin Sang's resolve, Dongyang Bo held his tongue, his thoughts racing. He knew Qin Sang possessed not only a top-grade spirit sword but other formidable techniques as well; deciding the victor would take time, and he had no desire for a drawn-out struggle here. His only wish was to swiftly claim the talisman puppet before complications arose, and then carefully consider the landscape ahead. Qin Sang's breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage and extraordinary strength introduced too many variables, thoroughly wrecking all of his prior plans. Having made up his mind, Dongyang Bo opened his eyes to take in his surroundings. Darkness shrouded everything—he was trapped within the sword array. Right then, countless threads of sword qi within the array surged forward to throttle him. Under the onslaught of the killing array, Dongyang Bo felt his origin soul tremble, his mental defenses showing signs of faltering. He realized that this sword array was not only unfathomably potent, but could also assault the soul itself. Not daring to let the array close in, Dongyang Bo immediately pushed the vajra ring to its full power. The vajra ring hovered above his head, constantly quivering, prepared at any moment to shift position and evade the Foul Blood Divine Light, though this did not diminish its power in the slightest. Ring phantoms surged relentlessly in all directions. For a moment, the area around Dongyang Bo lit up as bright as day. The sword threads were brought into sharp relief; though buffeted and thrown slightly into disarray by the ring phantoms, they continued to shift and converge on Dongyang Bo to strangle him. At the same time, a flash of treasure radiance lit Dongyang Bo's palm, revealing a bronze treasure lantern. The lantern was merely three inches tall, exquisitely delicate. Its top was carved in the shape of a lotus, every petal verdant like jade. The bowl held no oil, only a wick made of some unknown material. At the mere surge of Dongyang Bo's true essence, the wick ignited without a spark. The bronze treasure lantern hovered before Dongyang Bo's forehead, its bean-sized flame dim and yellow. Yet the moment the flame flared to life, the sword threads stagnated, and Dongyang Bo's expression noticeably relaxed. Outside the array, Qin Sang saw it clearly. He knew this lantern could suppress the Seven Po Killing Array. Dongyang Bo was a veteran Nascent Soul cultivator and the leader of a sect, possessing a plethora of treasures; his slaying of Gongliang Yu earlier had merely been testing the waters. Qin Sang's reaction was equally swift. The moment Dongyang Bo produced the lantern, a thought crossed his mind, and the ebony sword abruptly burst from the array, spraying down the Foul Blood Divine Light without hesitation! Having suffered from the Foul Blood Divine Light before, Dongyang Bo would never give him another chance to corrupt the vajra ring. Qin Sang could only settle for the next best thing: taking him unawares to ruin one of his other treasures first. Qin Sang's ploy worked just as intended. Tainted by the Foul Blood Divine Light, the bronze treasure lantern's power dwindled drastically. Its flame flickered violently a few times before snuffing out on the spot. Unexpectedly, rather than despairing over the loss of his lantern, Dongyang Bo let out a loud laugh and abruptly spat out a blast of yellow light. Within the yellow light was a stone pillar. Carved with dragons and phoenixes, the pillar expanded wildly and crashed brutally toward the ebony sword. This was a rare, bizarre treasure, heavy as a mountain, whipping up peerless gale-force winds while possessing the power of suppression. Dongyang Bo's timing was impeccable, and since the stone pillar had been spat from his mouth, it was near impossible to guard against. Pressed down by its overwhelming might as if bearing the weight of a mountain, the ebony sword's radiance showed a faint sign of stagnation. At that very instant, the vajra ring finally discovered a flaw in the sword array. Like a burst dam, its opening blasted forth an endless torrent of blazing light, roaring like a torrential river as it slammed viciously into a certain point of the formation. Qin Sang sighed inwardly, lamenting only that his cultivation had been too brief and he had yet to truly master the Seven Po Killing Array. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Dongyang Bo to find a weakness so easily. Yet while Dongyang Bo believed his ploy had succeeded, he had no idea this was merely Qin Sang's diversion to split his attention. The Eighteen Demon Banners had already been secretly laid down!