Separation

This was the tide-drawing horseshoe crab's innate divine ability. A fourth-metamorphosis spirit insect possessed extraordinary abilities. Though no match for the black bamboo cane, it served as a buffer, successfully saving the female cultivator Wang's life. Old Man Hunmo's strike had failed. A hint of surprise flickered across his face, but it did nothing to alter his decisiveness. The black bamboo cane did not pursue Wang. Only Wang's Nascent Soul remained, and forced into using teleportation to escape, her vitality was severely depleted—she was no longer a concern. Fierce and imposing, the black bamboo cane maintained its forward momentum, smashing mercilessly toward Valley Master Mu! At this moment, Wang's Nascent Soul was frail, drifting like a leaf in the wind. Cultivator Qi was entangled by Realized Master Chijie. Without sparing them so much as a glance, Old Man Hunmo charged straight for Qin Sang and Valley Master Mu, who posed the greatest threat to him. Valley Master Mu's gaze remained calm. He recalled the tide-drawing horseshoe crab, curled his hand to retrieve his serpent spear, and summoned his serpent armor for defense against the black bamboo cane. Just as he was about to thrust the spear toward Old Man Hunmo, he suddenly saw an eerie, chilling smile appear on the old man's face. A dark shadow stirred behind Old Man Hunmo, and a head emerged from the back of his skull, craning over his shoulder to stare fixatedly at Valley Master Mu. The head was not corporeal, but seemed to be a wraith. Its eye sockets were stark white, devoid of pupils. Under the wraith's gaze, it felt as if one were being stalked by something unimaginably terrifying. A shiver ran through Valley Master Mu. In that moment, he recalled the various rumors surrounding Old Man Hunmo. Warning bells clanged wildly in Mu's mind, and he cried out inwardly that things were bad. "*Ah!*" The wraith abruptly opened its mouth and unleashed an ear-piercing shriek like demonic music. The instant he heard the shriek, Valley Master Mu's head buzzed. The demonic sound flooded his mind, inflicting agonizing pain on his essence soul and even causing his reactions to become sluggish. Thoroughly appalled, Valley Master Mu hastily sealed his five senses. Yet Old Man Hunmo's next move caught everyone by surprise. Rather than taking advantage of the opening to strike Valley Master Mu, he flicked his withered palm and sent the Hunmo Token in his hand flying straight toward the Thousand Buddha Wall. Old Man Hunmo had launched his offensive. Wang had been crippled. Valley Master Mu's essence soul had suffered a shock. All of this had transpired in the blink of an eye. Qin Sang was currently enduring the first wave of impact from the Buddhist glow and crimson flame aura. He had two choices. The first was to ignore what was happening behind him, press forward, and leave directly. With the Thousand Buddha Wall blocking the way, Old Man Hunmo would not be able to catch up to him in the short term, ensuring his own safety. However, doing so would place Valley Master Mu and the other two in grave danger. Even at their peak, Mu's trio would have been no match for Old Man Hunmo and Realized Master Chijie—not to mention that Old Man Hunmo seemed to understand the Jinghai Sect even better than they did. The second choice was to turn back and mount a rescue. With scarcely any hesitation, Qin Sang chose the second path. At the very least, he could not allow Valley Master Mu to perish here. As for Qi and Wang, he could only do what he could. Qin Sang weighed the two sides' strength. Based on past experience, by relying on several of his divine abilities and joining forces with Valley Master Mu, they should have the power to put up a fight against Old Man Hunmo. At the very least, Old Man Hunmo would not find it easy to slay him. If Valley Master Mu and the other two perished here, Qin Sang would be left entirely on his own. Running into Old Man Hunmo again would leave him at a severe disadvantage. More Nascent Soul cultivators would arrive later. Those people feared Old Man Hunmo and shared no friendship with Qin Sang. His predicament would only grow more difficult, and before obtaining any treasures, he would likely be driven out of the Jinghai Sect. Turning back to save them carried another consideration. By doing Valley Master Mu a favor, Mu would have no reason to refuse him when he later inquired about Hundred Flowers Valley. Weighing the pros and cons, Qin Sang pushed the Jinchen Sword with all his might, deploying the Seven Po Killing Array. The vast and mighty power of the sword array surged forth, resisting the Buddhist glow and crimson flame aura. The moment the pressure on him eased, Qin Sang saw Valley Master Mu fall prey to the trick. Just as he prepared to reveal his trump card at any cost and release the Nascent Soul talisman puppet to save him, he saw the Hunmo Token come crashing over. *Rumble!* The Hunmo Token materialized a phantom shadow a hundred zhang across, crashing into the Thousand Buddha Wall with world-shaking momentum! The delicate balance originally maintained between the Buddhist glow and the crimson flame aura was shattered by the impact of the Hunmo Token's power, instantly descending into chaos. This was especially true for the crevice where Qin Sang stood. Surging like tempestuous waves, crimson-and-gold brilliance flooded in from both sides, threatening to swallow the crevice in the blink of an eye. Qin Sang's vision blurred, and an intense sensation of peril seized him. 'Not good!' Qin Sang guessed Old Man Hunmo's plan, his heart tightening with alarm. Once his movements were exposed by Qin Sang, Old Man Hunmo had adapted to the situation, abandoning his original plan of slaying all four on the spot. He knew that if he attacked Valley Master Mu, once Qin Sang broke free, the two would support one another. Even for him, executing them would take considerable effort. One was the valley master of Hundred Flowers Valley, whose fame reached from the Crescent Moon Realm all the way to the Boundless Sea. The other had an unknown identity yet had seen through his stealth, clearly possessing formidable methods. Neither of the two was an ordinary middle Nascent Soul stage cultivator. Delay risked disaster. Therefore, Old Man Hunmo had chosen to throw the Thousand Buddha Wall into upheaval, forcing Qin Sang away first to separate his opponents and defeat them one by one. Leaving Valley Master Mu alone would make him far easier to handle. Even if he failed to catch Qin Sang later, a single person could not stir up much trouble. Rumbles echoed ceaselessly across the surface of the Thousand Buddha Wall. Some swastika runes blazed with brilliant light, while others shattered. The crimson flame aura rampaged across the Thousand Buddha Wall like a torrential flood of fire. With the balance broken, the surface of the wall instantly descended into utter chaos. In Qin Sang's field of view, only crimson and gold remained; outside, Valley Master Mu and the others had vanished completely from sight. The ferocious power crashed in wave after wave, truly terrifying. If Qin Sang tried to charge out now, he would be obliterated on the spot. With his path of retreat cut off, his only option was to abandon the rescue, cross the Thousand Buddha Wall, and depart from this perilous ground. "A great cultivator is indeed as sly as a fox..." Qin Sang slowly let out a breath. He had to admit that Old Man Hunmo's plan had succeeded brilliantly. However, it did not mean he was powerless to retaliate! A cold sneer tugged at the corner of Qin Sang's mouth. Ignoring the incoming Buddhist glow and crimson flame aura, he sent his divine sense into the corpse puppet bag at his waist, and the Nascent Soul talisman puppet leaped out, shielding Qin Sang. *Boom!* The first massive wave crashed in. Dauntless and impervious to death, the Nascent Soul talisman puppet surged with puppet seal power, shielding Qin Sang firmly. Qin Sang glanced at the talisman puppet, flicked his sleeve, and the eighteen demonic banners flew out in a flash. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire coalesced into a fire dragon, seemingly peering through the Thousand Buddha Wall to survey the battlefield on the other side. "Go!" Qin Sang barked softly. Taking advantage of the talisman puppet withstanding another wave of attacks, the fire dragon roared and surged forth. Its target was not outside the Thousand Buddha Wall, but the wall itself! *Rumble!* The demonic fire slammed violently into the Thousand Buddha Wall, causing even greater chaos. In the instant of the explosion, Qin Sang used the demonic fire to redirect a portion of the bursting Buddhist glow and crimson flame aura, hurtling it across space straight toward Old Man Hunmo. By then, the crevice was nearly inundated by the incoming forces. The Nascent Soul talisman puppet was already teetering on the verge of collapse. Knowing this was the limit of what he could achieve, Qin Sang retrieved the talisman puppet, turned, and departed. Outside the Thousand Buddha Wall. Just as Old Man Hunmo verified that Qin Sang could not possibly emerge and was about to strike Valley Master Mu, he suddenly sensed something amiss and snapped his gaze toward the Thousand Buddha Wall.