Upheaval at the Altar

The demonic fire was on the verge of being seized. Yet not the slightest trace of panic could be seen on Qin Sang's face. Jade Bone started, sensing that something was amiss—it might have overlooked something! Soul qi surged around the Soul-Gathering Funnel, forming a massive, funnel-shaped dark cloud in midair that radiated endless strange ripples, exerting a pronounced pull on the demonic fire. Even the Eighteen Demon Banners were powerless to contest it. Qin Sang could only watch helplessly as the demonic fire tore free from the banners, flying toward the Soul-Gathering Funnel at accelerating speed. In the end, it would be brought under the funnel's control and completely change hands! Right at this critical moment, a tiny flame suddenly sprang from the very center of the demonic fire. This flame was demonic fire as well, perfectly integrated. Had it not revealed itself voluntarily, even Jade Bone would not have detected anything out of the ordinary. Unlike the rest of the demonic fire being drawn toward the Soul-Gathering Funnel, this flame appeared weak yet remained rock-steady, showing no sign of being influenced by the funnel whatsoever. The flame rose slowly, and within it, a fire lotus seed emerged! The Fire Seed Golden Lotus! From the very beginning, Qin Sang had secretly concealed the fire lotus seed within the demonic fire, deliberately masking its fluctuations to deceive Jade Bone's perception. What composed this fire lotus seed was precisely demonic fire that Qin Sang had refined! *Whoosh!* The fire lotus seed dispersed into a blanket of flame, blanketing the demonic fire and cutting off the Soul-Gathering Funnel's influence. Qin Sang's control over the demonic fire snapped back in an instant. With a mere thought, the momentum pulling the demonic fire halted, and it plunged downward sharply, widening the distance between itself and the Soul-Gathering Funnel. Qin Sang dared not delay. His hand seals shifted in rapid succession as he fought for control against the Soul-Gathering Funnel with all his might. At the sight of the fire lotus seed, Jade Bone's expression shifted drastically. It could clearly sense that the fire lotus seed shared an identical aura with Qin Sang, inextricably bound to him. Just moments ago, it had asserted to Old Demon Ye with absolute certainty that an early Nascent Soul cultivator could not possibly refine demonic fire. Never had it imagined it would be slapped in the face so quickly. Refining demonic fire with the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* brought it remarkably close to a natal demonic fire, leaving Qin Sang's profound imprint upon it. Even if descendants of the Nine Nether clan arrived in person, they would not be able to take his fire lotus seed. Shame turned into fury, and Jade Bone let out an enraged roar. The Soul-Gathering Funnel shook violently. The fluctuations pulling at the demonic fire stirred the soul qi, transforming into streaks of black ribbons that shot downward like mad, lunging straight for the main body of the demonic fire. Qin Sang's face shifted slightly. He immediately dispersed the blanket of flame, reincorporating the fire lotus seed into the main body of the demonic fire. *Thwack! Thwack!* The black ribbons pierced into the mass of fire. The demonic fire began flying toward the Soul-Gathering Funnel once more. Qin Sang naturally would not let it have its way. Driving the secret technique of the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*, he pulled back with all his power. A tug-of-war ensued between the two sides. In truth, Jade Bone was also using the Soul-Gathering Funnel for indirect control, which was fundamentally no different from using the demon banners. Wresting the demonic fire from Qin Sang now was vastly more difficult than seizing ownerless demonic fire. Although Qin Sang had refined only a portion of it, the demonic fire shared the same origin. Through the fire lotus seed, Qin Sang wielded a degree of direct mastery over the demonic fire. This was an entirely different concept from indirect control via the demon banners—it was a qualitative leap! At Jade Bone's former realm of cultivation, this would have been child's play. Unfortunately, it had only just broken free of the seal, and its current cultivation was not worlds apart from Qin Sang's. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* Pursuing and fleeing, Jade Bone and Qin Sang put some distance between themselves and the rest of the group. Daoist Zhenyi and the others watched the struggle between Qin Sang and Jade Bone over the demonic fire while speeding forward to reinforce Qin Sang. Those making their moves were all Nascent Soul Patriarchs, the pinnacle beings of the Beichen Realm. Every strike carried extraordinary power. Through years of warfare, they had developed substantial mastery in coordinated attacks and were by no means a disorganized mob. Faced with a siege by multiple Nascent Soul cultivators, even a late Nascent Soul great cultivator would have had no choice but to retreat. Jade Bone was reluctant to face so many at once head-on, but regrettably, their attacks could scarcely touch it. Without visibly executing any secret technique, Jade Bone's figure flickered in and out of existence, effortlessly dodging every magic treasure and Daoist art. Not a trace of injury appeared across its body. Jade Bone turned a blind eye to the others, fixing its cold gaze upon Qin Sang as the soul fire in its sockets radiated chill. "Courting death! This venerable one shall grant your wish today!" Its plan to seize the demonic fire had fallen through. If the contest continued, victory would certainly belong to Jade Bone, but it lacked the patience to play such petty games with Qin Sang. It decisively gave up on the Soul-Gathering Funnel. Kill the man! Take the fire! *Why hasn't Bai made a move yet? I don't know if the time I bought is enough...* At a moment like this, other thoughts were actually running through Qin Sang's mind. He had already done everything he could. Unfortunately, Jade Bone was impatient; otherwise, dragging things out would have bought a little more time. Qin Sang narrowed his eyes, his expression taut. Standing motionless where he was, his palm twitched slightly, just about to unleash the Demon Binding Rope in his hand. Jade Bone was closing in at terrifying speed—he could hold back no longer. Right at this moment, an abrupt change occurred! A massive boom came from the distance, shaking heaven and earth. The ground shuddered several times, the tremors growing increasingly violent. The source seemed to be in the direction of the blood altar. Deep within the ghost mist, a cluster of cyan light became clearly visible. Jade Bone's figure suddenly froze, right in front of Qin Sang. *Crack!* Its head snapped around to look behind it. Jade Bone stared fixedly toward the blood altar, squeezing a terrifying roar from its throat as its soul fire flared wildly, nearly bursting from its sockets! "Seeking death!" The shout rumbled like thunder. Fury soared to the heavens. In the next instant, Jade Bone actually abandoned its pursuit of Qin Sang and paid no further heed even to the demonic fire. Transforming into a streak of purple rainbow light, it tore through the void and vanished in a flash. Daoist Zhenyi and the others flew to Qin Sang's side, glancing at each other in bewildered silence as they stared into the empty ghost mist. From its sudden appearance to its abrupt vanishing, Jade Bone had moved like a ghost, coming and going without a trace. "Is this the demon that was sealed in Sin Abyss? Old Demon Ye released it, and it possessed the jade skeleton. To retain such terrifying power after being sealed for countless years, just what realm did it possess back in the day?" A Nascent Soul cultivator murmured, still gripped by lingering fear as he recalled the scene just now. Someone as powerful as Qin Sang, deploying secret treasure after secret treasure, was not Jade Bone's match for even a single exchange. Had any of them been targeted instead, they would likely be a corpse by now. "Fellow Daoist Qin, are you unhurt?" Daoist Zhenyi asked with concern. Seeing that Qin Sang's breath was merely hurried and his injuries were not severe, his gaze shifted to the Eighteen Demon Banners. "What is the connection between the demonic fire and Jade Bone?" "There is likely some past connection." Qin Sang nodded slightly without explaining in detail. Recalling the demon banners, he inspected them to confirm they were undamaged, sealed the demonic fire, and said, "We will understand once we go over and take a look!" With that, Qin Sang pushed his escape technique to its utmost limit and flew swiftly toward the blood altar. His eyes fixed on the cluster of cyan light above the altar, his gaze flickering as his grip tightened on the Demon Binding Rope in his hand. Daoist Zhenyi and Daoist Canghong hurriedly followed. Looking at Qin Sang's back, a hint of suspicion flashed through their eyes; they could not shake the feeling that something was strange about Qin Sang, that he must know something. The others hesitated for a brief moment before hurrying after them. Jade Bone's reaction had not looked feigned; it seemed to have run into some serious trouble. Not only had it abandoned Qin Sang and the demonic fire, it had even disregarded the sinister formation. The surrounding blood clouds were scattering, and the onslaught of yin souls and ghostly fiends was no longer as frenzied as before. The pressure on everyone eased dramatically. Breaking through the encirclement without further hindrance, they rushed straight toward the blood altar!