He produced a talisman sword, a treasure meant for communication.
Having stayed in Sword Mark Mountain for so long, the talisman sword had shown no reaction at all; it seemed they had yet to track down Old Demon Ye.
Most likely, the minds of most Nascent Souls were no longer on Old Demon Ye anyway.
There were so many spirit herbs in the ancient medicinal garden.
Countless ancient treasures atop Tianshan.
And all those unexplored secret realms.
...
None of these held any less allure to them than Old Demon Ye.
The only reason a consensus to deal with Old Demon Ye had been reached at all came down to two things.
First, those who had been schemed against and made fools of by Old Demon Ye wanted revenge. Second, Old Demon Ye acted without the slightest scruple, far too vicious and ruthless; so long as he lived, no one could sleep soundly.
Moreover, there was the ancient fiend Old Demon Ye had unleashed, brewing who knew what manner of sinister plot.
A pensive look came over Qin Sang's face.
His own objective had already been successfully accomplished, so where he went next did not matter much.
After leaving Sword Mark Mountain, Qin Sang planned to first contact Senior Sister and Bai; if they did not need his help, he would try his luck in the ancient medicinal garden.
What he looked forward to most was Xuanpu Palace.
Earlier, when observing the phenomena from afar, Qin Sang had noticed treasure light seeming to gleam beneath that divine tree in Xuanpu Palace. Having received Yunyouzi's personal teachings, his understanding of Xuanpu Palace far surpassed that of others; with a bit of luck, he might be able to secure an immortal herb or two.
It would be even better if he could obtain an immortal plant on the order of the Ten Great Divine Woods.
Weaving his way through the illusory realms, Qin Sang gradually sensed something amiss. Putting away his thoughts, he looked around and, after observing for a moment, finally discerned how things differed from before.
The power of the ancient illusion formation had not changed, yet the illusions were growing increasingly chaotic.
"Something is wrong!"
Qin Sang's gaze darkened, and he picked up his pace.
Before long, Qin Sang broke out of the illusion formation, only to immediately feel a tremendous force slam viciously into him.
Qin Sang had been on guard and had already brought out his ebony sword; sensing something was off, he hastily pushed his sword incantation, cloaking himself in sword glow to withstand the impact of that immense force.
Like a willow catkin, his body drifted lightly backward a considerable distance.
Once he shed the force of the impact, Qin Sang realized to his surprise that this strength was actually a gust of wind.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
Gale after gale swept toward him.
Steering his sword to maneuver through the raging wind, Qin Sang took in the world before him; during the time he had been inside, earth-shaking changes had once again taken place.
Across heaven and earth, howling gales raged amidst a kaleidoscope of dazzling colors.
It was because the wild winds had merged with the five-colored auspicious clouds, turning into a five-colored immortal wind.
Ziwei Palace had become even more chaotic than before. The five-colored immortal wind swept in all directions, thunderous rumbles echoing incessantly as distant sights blurred into a hazy veil.
Just then, Qin Sang felt the talisman sword vibrate in his palm. Opening his hand, he saw the talisman sword spin briskly and hover before him.
The tip of the blade pointed toward the Outer Hall!
Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly.
It seemed Senior Sister and the others had already been trying to contact him for some time.
Qin Sang looked back toward Sword Mark Mountain. Years ago, the illusion formation had not been able to cut off perception between inside and outside, but now that its true power had manifested, the talisman sword's connection had been severed!
"I don't know when they sent this message. Bai didn't come looking for me—either the situation isn't urgent, or things are so dangerous that he can't pull away."
Qin Sang looked in the direction pointed by the sword tip, but could only see the sky-blotting five-colored divine wind, with no telling what had transpired there.
Unexpectedly, the upheaval seemed to have occurred in the Outer Hall.
When passing through the demon cave to enter, everyone's attention had been drawn by the anomalies in the Inner Hall, and they had taken for granted that Old Demon Ye's target was also the secret realms within the Inner Hall.
Hardly anyone had paid attention to the Outer Hall.
Qin Sang had only given it a cursory glance.
He remembered that the Outer Hall had not been beset by frequent anomalies like the Inner Hall; its most conspicuous feature was the Immortal Graves, surging with monstrous ghostly energy, but that was most likely an effect spilling over from the Inner Hall.
Apart from that, there had seemed to be nothing of note.
The Outer Hall and Inner Hall of Ziwei Palace did not feel like parts of a single whole.
The Inner Hall was like a fairyland, while the Outer Hall was either the Immortal Graves or blood-colored altars. Moreover, the two places had originally been separated by an immortal formation, which had only been breached in recent years.
The Outer Hall held little appeal for a Nascent Soul Patriarch; what could Old Demon Ye possibly do out there?
Thoughts raced through Qin Sang's mind as he glanced back toward Xuanpu Palace.
The anomalies across the Inner Hall were growing more violent by the moment. First, the dormant immortal restrictions had been stirred to life, then the five-colored immortal wind had appeared, and there was no telling what would emerge next.
An inexplicable sense of unease crept into Qin Sang's heart.
If the phenomena persisted, remaining in the Inner Hall might become perilous.
At this juncture, rashly entering the ancient medicinal garden to brave the ancient restrictions of Xuanpu Palace was hardly a wise choice. Even if the talisman sword had not stirred, Qin Sang would have planned to leave the Inner Hall first and observe before making a decision.
With that thought, Qin Sang hesitated no longer. Channeling his spirit sword to shield himself, he retraced his steps toward the Outer Hall.
The five-colored immortal wind grew thicker and thicker, turning the void into what looked like a canvas daubed with reckless strokes of color.
Visibility was severely curtailed.
Qin Sang could not see what was happening in the distant secret realms, nor did he know how many had already rushed to the Outer Hall, or how many had ignored the talisman sword and continued hunting for treasures.
Soon, Qin Sang arrived near the Sword Path Great Hall.
The scene here was nothing like what Qin Sang remembered; changed beyond recognition, it was all the more breathtaking!
Divine peaks rose abruptly from the ground one after another.
Hundreds of towering peaks were arrayed around the Sword Path Great Hall, each one extraordinarily steep and rugged, resembling a colossal sword formation composed of mountains, grand and imposing.
White light gleamed between the peaks, where ancient restrictions formed luminous platforms, seemingly trial grounds meant for disciples to practice swordplay.
The Sword Path Great Hall stood at the very core.
Most of the giant peaks were not intact. Some were severed at the waist, others reduced to mere stumps of foundation, and some were even in the midst of collapsing, sheared cliffs crashing heavily to the earth.
Above the mountains, ancient restrictions shimmered, and ancient halls flickered in and out of sight amidst the five-colored divine wind—including the mountain where the Sword Path Great Hall stood.
These ancient halls radiated a vast, primeval aura.
Yet the vast majority were collapsed and ruined, bearing witness to the decline and fall of the ancient immortal palace.
Qin Sang gazed blankly toward the Sword Path Great Hall.
A solitary divine peak stood prominent and magnificent.
The severed cliff facing due east appeared largely unchanged.
Yet Qin Sang felt a growing concern; he had no confidence that he could still traverse the dense web of ancient restrictions to reach the mountain summit. But now was clearly not the time to test it. Qin Sang lowered his head and withdrew his gaze.
Passing through the peaks, he arrived near the ancient medicinal garden once more.
The treasure light radiating from peerless immortal herbs had grown even more dazzling.
Qin Sang also caught sight of occasional flashes of magic treasure light inside the ancient medicinal garden; sure enough, there were still cultivators unwilling to leave just yet, braving the danger to search for immortal herbs.
Shaking his head, he paid no heed to the others and continued on without a moment's pause.
Along the way, he could feel the might of the five-colored immortal wind steadily intensifying. If this went on, or if new phenomena manifested, it might become difficult to leave at all.
At last, Qin Sang reached the edge of the Inner Hall.
The scene here was utter chaos. The land fragments ripped away from the Inner Hall were collapsing into ruin from the outermost edges inward. Where the Outer and Inner Halls bordered one another, ravines crisscrossed the terrain amidst widespread collapse, heavily wrecked.
What was even more startling:
The ghost mist was no longer confined to the bounds of the Immortal Graves; it had erupted completely, cloaking nearly the entirety of the Outer Hall.
Evil ghosts howled; myriad ghosts ran rampant!
Chapter 1338