General Gui

Taotie Lake lay nestled between two mountains, its surface long and narrow. The stone cliffs beneath the water were clearly visible on both sides, uneven and jagged with grotesque rocks. Though the water was crystal-clear, it was bottomless. The lakebed was plunged in pitch-black darkness, resembling an enormous maw capable of devouring everything. And that was indeed the case. Beneath the seemingly placid depths lay not only layers of ancient restrictions, but also an eerie suction. Anything from the outside world—immortal cultivators included—would vanish without a trace once caught in that pull. No one knew where those victims were dragged. Thus, the lake had earned the name "Taotie." In their attempts to probe the secrets hidden within Taotie Lake, Xuantian Palace had lost many experts with virtually nothing to show for it, and the place had gradually fallen into neglect. Qin Sang and Liuli ascended the floating mountain and stood at the shore of Taotie Lake. Liuli pointed toward the lakebed, explaining the peculiarities of the restrictions and the suction to Qin Sang. Having quickly devised a plan, the two plunged into the water without hesitation. Intangible restrictions drifted through the water. The route Liuli chose was exceedingly winding, yet she dove at great speed, clearly possessing an intimate knowledge of the area. Qin Sang guided his sword to shield his body as he followed close behind her. For now, there was no need for him to intervene; Liuli alternated between wielding her phoenix-shaped treasure sword and another magic treasure, navigating the hazards with ease. After diving to an unknown depth, Liuli abruptly came to a halt and sent a voice transmission: "This is the spot!" Qin Sang focused his gaze. The lake bottom was pitch-black; to the naked eye, only a faint barrier of light formed by an ancient restriction was visible ahead to the left. His divine sense, however, warned him that a gravitational pull clung right beside this barrier. It was calm and had no effect on the surrounding water, yet it gave Qin Sang an extremely dangerous premonition. This was the most perilous point. The ancient restriction was immensely powerful, but the thorniest issue was that mysterious suction. Liuli could handle every other area on her own, but she needed Qin Sang's help to force her way through here. A contemplative look crossed Qin Sang's face. After pondering for a moment, he summoned his external incarnation and said, "Let's begin!" Liuli glanced at the incarnation and gave a slight nod. Sword qi surged from the phoenix-shaped sword as she merged with the blade, shooting straight toward the ancient restriction. Qin Sang was just as swift. The instant Liuli struck, he directly unleashed the Jinchen Sword to form a sword array, using its power to counter the suction. Simultaneously, the external incarnation raised both palms, sending two torrents of frigid qi transforming into ice dragons that surged toward where Liuli was heading. Boom! The phoenix-shaped sword pierced the ancient restriction, and chaotic energies erupted underwater, rushing in all directions. The suction right beside the restriction was instantly disturbed. Waking from its slumber like a roused lion, it suddenly unleashed an astonishing momentum. At the same time, the Seven Po Killing Array descended, its sword array power clashing head-on with the suction. A faint blue glow flared in Liuli's eyes as the Ice Soul Divine Light seeped into the ancient restriction. In an instant, a layer of blue frost spread across the light barrier, making it appear brittle as ice. Clang! The radiance of the Jinchen Sword grew even more dazzling. The suction went berserk, and the sword array proved unable to fully contain it. Just then, the divine ability deployed by the external incarnation came into play. The two ice dragons converged behind Liuli, solidifying into an ice mirror to block the suction. Crack! Cracks rapidly spread across the ice mirror until it shattered with a crash, its fragments instantly sucked away into nothingness. However, Liuli had already succeeded in breaching the ancient restriction, slipping through to the other side of the light barrier. Seeing that she was safe, Qin Sang immediately withdrew his sword, retreated, and flew out of Taotie Lake with his incarnation. Next, without stopping to catch his breath, Qin Sang hurried toward the Body Cleansing Pool on the other side of the floating mountain. His figure darted through the mountain forests. The woods here were lush and the foliage tranquil, yet not a single insect chirp or beast roar could be heard; an inescapable deathly stillness hung over the place. Along the way, Qin Sang would spot spirit herbs from time to time. While their rank was not necessarily high, many were rare varieties virtually impossible to find in the outside world. It was indeed a treasure trove. Still, Xuantian Palace currently had no spare energy to gather these herbs. One could only wonder how Yin Changsheng and Tong Lingyu planned to deal with Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng. The people Old Man Hunmo had brought in were clearly a loose sheet of sand, each acting for themselves. Old Man Hunmo had gathered them merely to tie down Xuantian Palace and throw the situation into chaos, and Xuantian Palace naturally would not fall for it. Yet Old Man Hunmo, Great Sage Tianpeng, and their confidants alone formed an extraordinarily troublesome force. Whether their goal was to force Xuantian Palace to share the Sacred Ground or if they harbored other designs remained unknown. Yin Changsheng and Tong Lingyu had not seemed anxious in the least. Could it be that they did not know the Sacred Ground hid additional secrets, or were they confident that Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng stood no chance of succeeding? Thoughts raced through Qin Sang's mind. Just then, his figure came to an abrupt halt. He gazed toward the direction of the Body Cleansing Pool, his brow furrowing slightly. The Body Cleansing Pool was situated in a valley on the floating mountain, shrouded in mist year-round. It was said that no means could peer inside, and anyone entering had to abide by the pool's rules. At the entrance of the valley stood an inscriptionless archway. On the hills surrounding the Body Cleansing Pool, pavilions and ancient halls stood in dense succession. The place must have been bustling once, but more than ninety percent had now collapsed, with broken walls and ruined masonry scattered everywhere. Just now, Qin Sang had seen strange lights flickering at the entrance to the Body Cleansing Pool. During the brief time he was delayed at Taotie Lake, two people had actually beaten him there. One was of the demon race. Qin Sang recognized him as the Yellow-Browed Demon King, a mid-Transformation stage expert whose true form was reportedly a yellow weasel, a figure whose strength was not to be underestimated. The other was also a stranger. Clad in full armor that concealed even his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, his bizarre attire made his identity easy to guess: another notorious fiend of the Boundless Ocean—General Gui! Qin Sang had noticed earlier that Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng had a clear objective and had headed straight for the depths of the Sacred Ground. Yet these two had not accompanied them, choosing instead to make a detour to the Body Cleansing Pool. So long as one met the requirements of the Body Cleansing Pool, one could enter directly. These two clearly did not qualify, but being ignorant of the truth, they assumed they had merely failed to find the right path and were frantically attacking the archway. Qin Sang had no desire to waste time tangling with them, nor was it worth using the Sun Divine Tree on their account. Just then, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly transmitted a thought to him. Qin Sang's eyes narrowed slightly; he already had a plan. *** "We've attacked for so long, yet the archway hasn't budged an inch. There must be some secret hidden here that we know nothing about. That old devil surely kept a great deal from us..." After another fruitless attempt, General Gui found himself helpless against the archway, his tone turning chilly. The Yellow-Browed Demon King shook his head. "Not necessarily a deliberate concealment. The Body Cleansing Pool must be a place Xuantian Palace values above all else. For Hunmo to have uncovered that this place offers some kind of benefit to Nascent Soul cultivators is already quite remarkable." He stared into the depths of the mist, his long brows twitching as he twirled a wisp of yellow smoke between his fingers, wracking his brain for a way to break through. "It seems our only choice is to capture a Xuantian Palace cultivator and interrogate them. But those cowards are timid as mice and rarely travel alone, making them difficult targets..." As he spoke, General Gui abruptly turned toward the distant woods and let out a bizarre cackle. "Speak of the devil! Get the hell out here!" The final words turned into a thunderous bellow. The armor on General Gui rattled loudly as four streaks of dark light shot out from between the plates, landing in four directions and transforming into four several-zhang-tall statues of armored warriors. All four statues opened their eyes in unison, glared into the forest, and unleashed eight beams of black light. Boom! That patch of forest was blasted to pieces on the spot, billowing with smoke and dust. A figure flashed out—it was Qin Sang. "You two shouldn't waste your efforts. Neither of you is fated for this place, and fate cannot be forced," Qin Sang said cryptically, showing no hint of fear before the two fiends. General Gui grinned malevolently. "So you're the fated one? Then once I refine you into a puppet, this general will be fated too!" With a sway of their figures, General Gui and the Yellow-Browed Demon King moved to encircle him. Qin Sang pointed a finger to summon the Jinchen Sword, making a show of attacking, but suddenly looked toward the ruined ancient pavilion near the valley entrance and shouted, "Fellow Daoist Yue, if you don't strike now, when will you?!" Only upon being alerted did General Gui and the Yellow-Browed Demon King notice the anomaly there; someone had crept in so close without their realizing it at all. The two barked in fury and immediately redirected their attacks. Rumble! The remnants of the pavilion collapsed completely, and a figure flew out from within, narrowly dodging the blast in an utterly disheveled state. It was none other than the cultivator surnamed Yue, who had attended Qin Sang's wedding banquet alongside Shanglu. He glared venomously at Qin Sang; had Qin Sang not exposed his presence, he could have crept closer and slipped into the Body Cleansing Pool while their opponents were distracted. At the same time, he was deeply shaken. His concealment art was a secret technique of Tianshan, unnoticed even by the two demon fiends, yet this man had seen through it with ease. Qin Sang smiled and nodded in greeting. There were likely very few Nascent Soul cultivators capable of hiding from both him and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly simultaneously. "Where is Lineage Master Shang?" Qin Sang asked. Just now, he and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had searched carefully and found no trace of Shanglu. This took Qin Sang by surprise; had Shanglu given up, knowing he had no hope of besting him? Otherwise, why had this man come alone? Cultivator Yue snorted coldly, unwilling to answer, and said briskly, "One each! Yue has long heard of the Yellow-Browed Demon King's poisonous smoke slaughtering countless disciples of our Xuantian Palace. I was just looking to avenge them!" With the Sacred Ground open, the restrictions of the Body Cleansing Pool were already active. Time was limited; if they missed the window, neither would gain any benefit. Though rivals, he and Qin Sang had no choice but to suppress their mutual distaste and join forces. Without waiting for Qin Sang's reply, Cultivator Yue immediately unleashed a python banner and conjured a Tianshan snow python, charging straight at the Yellow-Browed Demon King. Qin Sang was unfamiliar with both demons, so taking on either made no difference to him. Since Cultivator Yue had picked the Yellow-Browed Demon King, Qin Sang had no choice but to engage General Gui. "Arrogant!" General Gui sneered in fury, the scales covering his armor snapping open and shut as dozens of dark rays flew out. Each dark ray held an armored warrior puppet. Upon landing, they coordinated with the four statues to assume a peculiar battle formation, their killing intent locked onto Qin Sang. "A puppet array?" Qin Sang's gaze turned strange. It seemed to share similar principles with the Judge's corpse array. Each puppet was not particularly powerful on its own, but when combined, they formed an integrated whole, their qi linked seamlessly, causing their strength to surge. Little did General Gui know that after the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's recent advancement, this was precisely the type of technique Qin Sang feared least. No matter how secretive the shifts in formation, nothing could escape the sight of the Heavenly Eye divine ability. Remaining calm and unruffled, Qin Sang directed his sword to slash out while secretly channeling his divine sense in coordination with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to unravel the battle formation. Whoosh! The moment the sword light slashed forth, dark light flared from the puppet battle array, coalescing in midair into a fiendish axe of overwhelming ferocity that chopped down toward the sword light. At the same time, the armored puppets stepped forward in unison, fiendish qi soaring to the sky. Qin Sang suspended the Jinchen Sword inverted above his head, a strange glint flashing in his eyes as he advanced instead of retreating, actively charging into the puppet battle array. This move took General Gui completely by surprise. Taken aback for a fraction of a second, his fury only deepened. He stomped his foot heavily, and the four statues came to life like generals of the battle formation, leading the soldiers to unleash a lethal array to grind Qin Sang to dust. In an instant, the puppet formation shifted dramatically. Yet in the eyes of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, every nuance followed a traceable pattern. Qin Sang strolled through the battle array as if taking a leisurely walk, calmly directing the Jinchen Sword to fire off streak after streak of sword light at various points, each strike delivered with exquisite precision. A noticeable sluggishness immediately crept into the battle formation. The reason he could identify the crucial points of the puppet array so quickly was, first and foremost, thanks to the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. Secondly, Qin Sang had learned a great deal about the Dao of Puppetry from Senior Sister Qingjun; having absorbed it over time, while he could not claim mastery, his discerning eye was undeniably sharp. He could clearly sense that when it came to the Dao of Puppetry, General Gui still lagged behind Senior Sister Qingjun! General Gui was shocked. Before he could make any adjustments, a piercing sword hum resonated within the formation, and several puppets shattered on cue! General Gui felt no heartache over losing ordinary puppets like these. But right now, one of the statue puppets was exposed beneath the sword's edge. General Gui had never imagined his puppet battle array would be cracked so effortlessly. While not his strongest divine ability, it was the technique that had made his name, renowned as an "army of one." Yet before this man, it proved so utterly fragile! Crack! The Jinchen Sword locked onto a statue puppet, striking dead center on its chest—the puppet's exact weakness. The statue puppet stiffened instantly as its chest was pierced through, leaving a gaping hole from which blazing white light surged. The entire puppet began to collapse from that point, breaking into pieces in the blink of an eye! General Gui flew into a rage. He slapped his forehead forcefully, causing the armor between his brows to split open, revealing a vertical eye. Inside the vertical eye, there was no pupil—only a dark shadow. The vertical pupil split open, and the humanoid shadow looked poised to burst forth, its features contorted as if in excruciating agony. At that moment, Qin Sang sensed an anomaly and glanced over instinctively. A grave look crossed his eyes; he actually felt a sense of threat from that dark shadow. Just then, several points of light appeared outside the floating mountain. Judging by the direction from which they came, they were cultivators from Xuantian Palace, likely including elders or hall masters. All four people engaged in combat noticed the distant streaks of light. Though brimming with fury, General Gui kept his head. His opponent had barely used any real techniques, yet had dismantled his puppet battle array with a few simple sword strikes. With Old Man Hunmo and Great Sage Tianpeng elsewhere, the arrival of more Xuantian Palace cultivators would put him in grave danger. Even if he played his trump card, he stood to gain nothing. "Retreat!" Glaring fiercely at Qin Sang, General Gui forcefully suppressed the dark shadow and shouted to the Yellow-Browed Demon King, preparing to flee. "Leave the puppets behind!" Qin Sang had no intention of continuing his entanglement with General Gui, channeling the Green Bamboo Sword Scripture with all his might. The sword split into thousands, submerging the entire puppet battle formation. "I'll remember you!" General Gui spat out this vicious parting threat, managing to retrieve less than half of his puppets. By the time Qin Sang gathered the puppets General Gui had abandoned—intending to study them later—he found that Cultivator Yue had been exceedingly sharp-witted, having already slipped into the Body Cleansing Pool a step ahead. Qin Sang glanced back at the distant streaks of light. Hesitating no further, he flickered forward in several flashes, arriving beneath the archway. Meeting the requirements, he indeed met with no obstruction whatsoever. The moment he stepped through the archway, Qin Sang abruptly felt an invisible pressure descend. The surrounding scenery vanished entirely, leaving only white mist.