Monster

Rumble! The bottom of the Blood River had transformed into a sea of fire. Even the ignorant blood shadows sensed danger from the towering demonic flames and dared not draw near. Qin Sang and Dongyang Bo brought their divine abilities to bear, trading blows across countless rounds. Dongyang Bo was desperate to break free, but things were no easier for Qin Sang. Pouring his full power into controlling the demonic fire to trap and kill Dongyang Bo not only placed immense strain on his mind, but his true essence was also draining away like water into the Eighteen Demon Banners. Unfortunately, Dongyang Bo’s reactions were exceedingly fast, and every countermove he made was optimal. Qin Sang had never managed to fully close the ring of demonic fire; had he done so, things would have been much easier. Beside the battlefield, deep within the blood mist, the Nascent Soul talisman puppet was trapped, incessantly and frantically battering the jade vase, which caused the spirit formation to waver unstably. Beneath the formation, the blood mist began silently roiling, as though something hidden below had been stirred from slumber by their fierce battle. Immediately afterward, a tiny vortex appeared within the blood mist. A pulling force emerged, enveloping both the formation and the Nascent Soul talisman puppet, threatening to drag them both downward. At first, the suction was weak. Soon, however, the vortex expanded. Both the Nascent Soul talisman puppet and the jade vase spirit formation began uncontrollably descending toward it. At that moment, locked in the heat of battle, neither Qin Sang nor Dongyang Bo noticed the bizarre phenomenon developing around them. The physical body of Dongyang Bo’s treasure lantern had been destroyed, and its flame could only last so long. He had to escape before the flame went out. Otherwise, his predicament would only worsen; even if he managed to flee, claiming the talisman puppet would become entirely out of the question. Through their protracted exchange, Dongyang Bo had confirmed that while Qin Sang was stronger than Patriarch Kuiyin, his control over the demonic fire had its limits. Steeling his resolve, Dongyang Bo let out a muffled grunt, his face flushing crimson. With a retch, he spat out a mouthful of blood essence onto his vajra ring, his aura instantly withering by several degrees. Seeing this, Qin Sang inwardly cursed. Countless rays of blazing light burst from the vajra ring, shining like a brilliant sun. At that instant, Dongyang Bo vanished, seemingly merging into one with the vajra ring. Meanwhile, the surrounding demonic flames turned somewhat sluggish, reminiscent of how magic treasures were typically trapped by the ring. Qin Sang was startled and spared no effort in driving the remaining demonic flames forward to bear down on him. Just then, eight identical spheres of light split off from the blazing sun, each containing a Dongyang Bo. Qin Sang quickly ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to look closely, but the butterfly felt a sharp jolt of pain; its vision was obstructed by the blazing light, making it impossible to tell real from fake for the moment. Dongyang Bo had heard the rumors about Qin Sang seeing through Chanling’s movements, so he had naturally taken precautions against this. Only then did Qin Sang realize that these eight Dongyang Bos did not appear to be mere illusions. The vajra rings clattered in cacophony, each carrying tangible power and leaving streaks of radiant light across the void. For a moment, Qin Sang was thrown into a scramble, managing to extinguish only half of them with the demonic fire. With a cold snort, the other four figures successfully broke free of the flames! Qin Sang’s face turned livid. Dongyang Bo had not hesitated to expend his blood essence to activate his life-bound magic treasure, creating a technique that even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly could not pierce. Furthermore, with his singular focus on fleeing, Qin Sang could no longer hold him. Decisive as ever, Qin Sang abandoned the banners altogether. He secretly formed an incantation, and thunder rumbled within his body. Boom! Dongyang Bo burst from the fire without casting a single glance at Qin Sang. One of the figures pounced straight for the Nascent Soul talisman puppet. Seeing this, Qin Sang nearly laughed out of sheer fury. Even in such dire straits, the old scoundrel hadn't forgotten to take the puppet with him! Crack! A sudden clap of thunder echoed out. Dongyang Bo was privately startled, knowing this thunder could not be met head-on. Boom! The Thunder Command Art struck straight down. The figure took the heavenly thunder where it stood without resisting in the slightest and disintegrated into powder—it had been an illusion. At the same time, a giant hand flew out from another figure, grabbing straight toward the Nascent Soul talisman puppet. To make matters worse for Dongyang Bo, just as the lightning fell, a silver thread as slender as a strand of hair pierced the conjured hand, shattering it on the spot, before running the figure through. In the blink of an eye, six of the figures were destroyed. Sword light ripped through the air to slay the final two. Dongyang Bo froze. Knowing that Qin Sang had once again unleashed his ebony sword, he realized taking the puppet was hopeless. Only two figures created by his secret art remained, and with his blood essence heavily depleted, lingering any longer would likely cost him his life. He could not help but sigh, lamenting the twilight of a hero, full of will yet lacking the strength. The two figures split left and right, darting into the Blood River and flashing away at incredible speed. Qin Sang could not intercept them in time, his brow furrowing deeply. Right then, he heard a strange shriek from the Nascent Soul talisman puppet, which finally drew his attention to its abnormal state. A vortex had appeared in the blood mist at some point. The jade vase spirit formation had tilted, and the talisman puppet was staggering, completely unable to resist the vortex’s pull as it was dragged downward. Reaching out with his senses, Qin Sang faintly detected an abnormal aura inside the vortex. It seemed to have been disturbed by their battle and was now waking, sending a shiver of dread through him. Qin Sang hesitated, glancing in the direction Dongyang Bo had fled. Relying on his escape art, he was confident he could catch up to one of them, but it might not be Dongyang Bo's true body. Those figures possessed the miraculous ability to shift between illusory and real. Even if he caught up, Dongyang Bo was already on guard; luring him into a formation again would be exceedingly difficult. Moreover, entangling himself with Dongyang Bo for too long risked complications here—at the very least, the Nascent Soul talisman puppet would certainly be swallowed by whatever unknown entity lay beneath. A puppet possessing the strength of a Nascent Soul was truly a rare treasure. Qin Sang knew nothing of the puppetry Dao, but he could hand it over to Qingjun; perhaps it could become another powerful ally in the future. Striking in haste this time, coupled with Bai not having advanced yet, meant that failing to trap and kill Dongyang Bo had not been entirely unexpected. As the master of a sect situated near a place like the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, Dongyang Bo was indeed far more formidable than ordinary mid-Nascent Soul cultivators. To force Dongyang Bo to spit blood, sacrifice a magic treasure, and leave behind the Nascent Soul talisman puppet had already vented Qin Sang’s pent-up rage. Moving forward, he would only need to guard against Dongyang Bo’s retaliation, and if he had the assistance of Bai and the talisman puppet, he had nothing to fear. With this thought, Qin Sang decided to abandon the pursuit. With a wave of his hand, he recalled the ebony sword and summoned the eighteen demonic banners before him, conjuring the demonic fire anew before flashing over to the puppet. The pulling force inside the vortex grew stronger, nearly causing Qin Sang to lose his footing. Not daring to delay, he swept his gaze across the jade vase formation. Seeing that it served solely to trap the puppet, he left it alone. "Go!" Qin Sang pointed a finger, and the Nine Nether Demonic Fire surged toward the puppet. The puppet sensed danger, but, trapped and restricted by the jade vase formation, its movements were constrained. Unversed in puppetry, Qin Sang did not know how to suppress the puppet. With the monster below on the verge of waking, there was no time to experiment; he could only wrap both the formation and the puppet together in demonic fire and shoot upward toward the surface of the Blood River. As he flew upward, Qin Sang did not let his guard down for a moment. He used a witch clan secret art to enhance the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's vision while secretly forming hand seals. If Dongyang Bo dared to return and harass him, he would not hesitate to discard the puppet just to leave the old scoundrel's life right here! Fortunately, all the way until Qin Sang flew out of the Blood River, there was no sign of Dongyang Bo. Qin Sang glanced down. Seeing the blood mist churning below, roiled by some unknown beast, he felt a secret chill and hastily departed this perilous ground.