"This disaster is all your doing!"
Cave Master Qiling was beside himself with fury.
The scar-faced man sneered. "Back then, you accepted my payment and joined my useless disciple in the hunt, only to let two heavily wounded prey escape. Now that they've come seeking vengeance, you're hardly innocent in this. Instead of throwing a tantrum here, you'd better put your mind to helping me get rid of them and taking your revenge!"
Cave Master Qiling ground his teeth. "I have nothing left but a remnant soul! My divine abilities and treasures are completely gone—what could I possibly do?"
The scar-faced man's tone softened slightly as he promised, "You have seen how difficult that secret technique is to cultivate. I need a helper as well if I am to increase my chances of success. I am all alone in this world and have made many enemies, yet you and I share some history. Aside from you, who else could I partner with? Once matters in this ancient immortal abode are settled, as long as you do your utmost to aid my cultivation, I promise to help you restore your cultivation and reconstruct a physical body. And if I find an opportunity for Deity Transformation in Dishou Mountain, I can share it with you as well."
"Deity Transformation..."
Bitterness flooded Cave Master Qiling's heart, and his hatred for Qin Sang seeped down to the bone.
Not long ago, he had harbored grand ambitions of reaching the Deity Transformation stage, yet in the blink of an eye, he had fallen to such a wretched state.
Everything had dissolved like a fleeting dream.
Though there was not the slightest hint of a threat in the scar-faced man's words, Cave Master Qiling knew all too well how ruthless the man was.
His remnant soul was in the other's grasp.
He was the fish on the chopping block.
With no other choice, Cave Master Qiling had to trust him. Detecting an unusual edge in the scar-faced man's tone, he asked in surprise, "You intend to get rid of them here?"
Cave Master Qiling seethed inwardly.
If this old scoundrel was confident enough to take on two opponents at once, he had certainly hidden his true strength—and yet he hadn't lifted a finger to save him!
"To kill both of them at once might exceed my reach. But since that man delivered the spirit wood straight to my doorstep, I shall gladly accept it! However, my divine abilities require a specific environment to exert their full might. Inside Bingyi Palace, they are heavily constrained," the scar-faced man explained, a cold glint flickering in the depths of his eyes.
After a moment of silence, Cave Master Qiling said, "The one who attacked me wields a bizarre demonic fire of terrifying power. Moreover, his divine sense is the strongest I have ever witnessed. He executed a secret technique targeting the nascent soul that dazed my consciousness, which led directly to my defeat..."
Having not witnessed the battle within the banner formation himself, the scar-faced man now gained some understanding of Qin Sang's true body's methods through Cave Master Qiling's description.
"Wields demonic fire..."
The scar-faced man let out a soft exclamation, his expression shifting slightly.
"You've realized it too. Demonic fire combined with a sword formation... Unless I'm mistaken, the enemy that fellow Su Zinan has been searching for is none other than this man! Having obtained the relics of the Lord of Water Phase, it is hardly surprising that he appeared here by such coincidence and can even manipulate Bingyi Palace's grand formation. Su Zinan claimed that Old Wu suffered a terrible setback at his hands, and Old Wu has vanished without a trace to this day—he must be severely injured at the very least..."
Cave Master Qiling's tone was laden with warning. Having barely escaped with a remnant soul, he did not want any further mishaps.
As matters stood, the best course of action was to find Su Zinan first and join forces for revenge.
"If only we knew where that scoundrel Su Zinan is right now!"
The scar-faced man's gaze grew gloomy as he glanced back over his shoulder.
Qin Sang's incarnation was in relentless pursuit, though he was careful to maintain a distance, manipulating the Fourfold Tengshe Seal and constantly commanding the Tengshe to attack.
Just moments ago, the incarnation had used the spirit treasure to intercept the scar-faced man, and the two had clashed head-on.
Sensing the sudden, overpowering fluctuations of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire erupting from within the banner formation, the scar-faced man had been thoroughly shaken. Realizing Cave Master Qiling was already as good as dead, he had decided to beat a retreat.
Charging into the banner formation to save him would be one thing if he succeeded, but should the rescue fail, he would likely be entangled by the formation himself and surrounded, putting him at a severe disadvantage.
Given his nature, how could he ever do something so disadvantageous to himself?
Even if Cave Master Qiling had taken the blow meant for him.
Moreover, Qin Sang's incarnation was exceedingly cunning, sheltering behind the spirit treasure so that the scar-faced man could not hope to defeat them piecemeal in short order. Seeing this, the scar-faced man had immediately retreated—not in defeat, but to depart the Ice Palace first and then deliberate on how to turn the tables and slaughter his pursuers.
Having obtained this intelligence from Cave Master Qiling, the confidence in the scar-faced man's eyes gradually faded, his mind racing.
Just then, a thunderclap shook the heavens within Bingyi Palace. A bolt of lightning tore through the ethereal blue sky-light and ripped through the void, soaring past row upon row of palaces—it was none other than the Thunder Escape technique.
So swift was this movement technique that few under heaven could match it.
At the same time, the incarnation shed his previous stalling tactics and unleashed the spirit treasure in a fierce assault.
The Tengshe writhed its massive body, whipped its long tail through midair, and let out an intimidating roar. It lunged forward bodily, leaving behind a trail forged of cold flames.
The scar-faced man's eyelids twitched violently. A green light flared from behind him, and his wooden armor trembled slightly, re-manifesting the phantom of a colossal tree whose luxuriant canopy spread like an umbrella to shield him from above.
Hastily pulling his gaze back, he chanted a bizarre syllable under his breath.
By this time, he had already escaped the main body of the Ice Palace and returned to the Qilin screen wall. His gaze swept over the ruins of the screen wall toward the vast forest ahead.
In the next instant, ancient trees swayed throughout the lush forest, and motes of emerald light drifted up from the vegetation. The wood-attribute spiritual qi instantly thickened to its absolute peak.
The specks of light varied in size—the larger ones like pearls, the smaller ones no bigger than mung beans, all exceptionally pure.
Above the forest, countless green motes converged into a verdant sea, undulating gently with the swaying of the woods into an extraordinary, enchanting spectacle.
The green motes began to flow, streaming directly toward the scar-faced man. In an instant, they forged an illusory path of light that connected straight beneath his feet.
The scar-faced man's speed surged as though he were being pulled along the light path, bridging the void to plunge into the forest.
*Crack!*
Thunder roared deafeningly.
"Where do you think you are going, Fellow Daoist?"
Accompanied by a cold, clear shout, Qin Sang's true body pushed both Sword Escape and Thunder Escape to their limits, tearing through the void and overtaking the scar-faced man at the edge of the forest.
At this moment, inside the Ice Palace, rumbles shook like thunder.
The ethereal blue sky-light seemed dragged downward by an immense suction, hanging lower and lower.
From the outside, the Ice Palace appeared as though still shrouded in blue light.
Yet unbeknownst to onlookers, the upheaval beneath the blue light was growing ever more violent. After the ice lake's banner formation annihilated Cave Master Qiling, banner shadows shattered one after another, and the few intact treasure banners could not hold out much longer either.
Once all the treasure banners were destroyed, the ethereal blue sky-light would begin to collapse from that very spot. The grand formation's self-destruction would undoubtedly obliterate the entire Ice Palace.
Until the palace's destruction, however, the forest would remain temporarily spared.
Above the forest, green light rippled like waves.
Qin Sang confronted the scar-faced man.
His gaze shifted to the scar-faced man's wrist, where he sensed the aura of an evil spirit. *As expected, there was a trick.*
When the evil spirits had scattered in flight, he had indeed noticed them and deliberately driven the sword formation to strangle them. He had not anticipated the scar-faced man would be crafty enough to preserve one.
However, with Cave Master Qiling reduced to a mere remnant soul, he could stir up no waves. Whether he was alive or dead hardly mattered now.
"I bear no grudge against you, Fellow Daoist. Why press so hard?"
The scar-faced man spoke, unexpectedly trying to ease the tension.
Cave Master Qiling cursed unceasingly from within.
Qin Sang paid him no heed. His incarnation caught up while wielding the treasure and sharply retorted, "When we first crossed paths back in the Southern Frontier, I bore no grudge against you either. Why did you try to slaughter me then?"
"Do you truly not understand the principle that 'an innocent man's treasure becomes his crime'?"
The scar-faced man chuckled darkly.
Judging by his demeanor, he had never considered the possibility of resolving their feud; his earlier words were merely a casual attempt to stall for time.
Qin Sang wasted no more breath on him. Having crippled Cave Master Qiling, his objective was half-achieved. Today, with his true body and incarnation joining forces to trap the isolated scar-faced man, this was the finest opportunity to settle their score once and for all.
Silently forming a sword incantation, the sword-light swirling around him suddenly halted. The Jinchen Sword flashed, tracing a dazzling arc across the void as it shot straight for the scar-faced man!
The scar-faced man flicked his wrist, stowing the evil spirit fused with Cave Master Qiling's remnant soul into his sleeve. At the same time, he pressed his palm downward, releasing the wooden bead.
As the sword-light closed in, the peerlessly sharp sword intent caused his pupils to contract sharply before gleaming brightly. Reaching out casually to grasp at empty air, the sky full of light motes blazed with brilliance. An intensely rich green tide converged before him and surged forth in rolling waves.
*Swish!*
The Jinchen Sword pierced into the green tide, instantly provoking a violent surge.
Sensing an invisible resistance transmitting back from the Jinchen Sword, Qin Sang was about to manifest the sword formation.
Just then, he noticed the wooden bead that had fallen from the scar-faced man's hand. It plummeted directly into the forest canopy, blending inconspicuously into the myriad motes of light.
Immediately afterward, countless fine threads of spiritual energy shot out from the wooden bead. Each thread targeted a mote of light, shooting outward like arrows.
If the wooden bead connected to all the light motes, the entire forest would fall under the scar-faced man's control, serving his command.
How could Qin Sang allow him to have his way? Raising a finger, he unleashed the Command Thunder Technique at will.
*Boom!*
A bolt of heavenly lightning crashed down without warning.
The scar-faced man's expression changed slightly. Fortunately, he was on guard. Hurriedly forming a hand seal, a phantom materialized before him as his wooden armor reassembled, blocking above the heavenly lightning.
Just moments ago, this treasure had been withstanding the Tengshe's attacks, yet the scar-faced man had recalled it in an instant.
*Crack!*
The heavenly lightning struck the surface of the wooden armor, sending bursts of spiritual light flickering across it.
Threads of lightning scattered in all directions, but they could only snake across the armor's surface. Even though a portion slipped around the armor, it posed no threat to the wooden bead.
The bead paused momentarily before its spiritual threads resumed shooting forth wildly. Soon, it had linked over half of the light motes, unfurling across the forest like a colossal net where every mote served as a node.
Qin Sang's expression darkened slightly. Pointing his sleeve downward, demonic fire gushed forth. Instead of taking its customary flame dragon form, the moment it appeared, it transformed into countless spiritual snakes.
The fiery serpents writhed in a dense, skin-crawling mass before scattering outward, specifically hunting down the wooden bead's spiritual threads and devouring them ravenously.
Seeing that the nearly formed spiritual net was about to be reduced to tatters, Cave Master Qiling called out a warning, emphasizing that the demonic fire's power was extraordinary and not to be taken lightly.
The scar-faced man dared wait no longer. His right fingers tapped repeatedly, and a fist-sized spiritual seal shaped like a sacrificial altar flew from his hand, plunging into the net in a flash.
The wooden bead exploded on contact. Yet there were no splinters—only pure spiritual luminescence surged along the light threads into every single mote of light.
In an instant, the forest shuddered violently. Centered on the scar-faced man, an emerald disc formed. Its texture resembled amber, with starlight glistening inside as it manifested a grand formation that continuously siphoned the forest's wood-attribute spiritual qi.
Had an enemy been trapped within, it would have been no different from being cast into an inescapable heavenly prison.
Unfortunately, the disc was incomplete. Between the light motes, black lines darted relentlessly, staining the green disc black and spreading across the entire expanse at a visible pace.
To trap Qin Sang under such conditions was pure wishful thinking.
At this rate, the disc would collapse before long.
Moreover, the Seven Po Killing Array had already taken shape by now. Sword threads sliced into the disc as the killing formation's power rapidly bore down on him.
The scar-faced man shifted his seals repeatedly, yet failed to suppress the demonic fire. Hesitating no more, he brought his hands together and barked, "Prison Severance!"
*Crash!*
The disc detonated violently, sending green light shooting into the sky.
Countless motes of light blazed with blinding intensity, and the threads between them grew ever more prominent, transforming in a breath into thick vines that blotted out the sky.
Before the echo of the word "Severance" had even faded, the wildly growing vines abruptly froze. A layer of grayish-white washed over them, like a faded ink wash painting.
Death qi spawned.
The vibrant, thriving forest was transformed in an instant into a prison of death.
Evidently, this was a divine ability even more terrifying than the Senluo Withered Prison.
A vortex of death qi suddenly formed beneath Qin Sang's feet, accompanied by a powerful binding force. He instantly activated the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus*. Demonic fire scattered throughout the area whirled back, coalescing into a flame dragon that plunged headfirst into the vortex of death qi!
Viewed from above, one could see the body of the flame dragon jutting into the vortex. Rather than resisting, the demonic fire actively accelerated.
Flames poured into the deathly vortex.
Strange whooshing sounds echoed from within. The bottom of the vortex was quickly dyed black, and its rotation slowed drastically.
Taking advantage of the stagnant death qi, Qin Sang flapped his phoenix wings and flashed out of the vortex.
Yet before he could even steady his footing, Qin Sang flapped his phoenix wings frantically again. His figure flickered twice in succession; when he reappeared, he was already several hundred zhang away. In each spot where he had materialized and vanished, three beams of white toxic light struck where he had stood, hitting nothing but empty air.
Three sweeps of toxic light hissed past.
The source of that toxic light was surprisingly those very motes drifting in the void.
The moment Qin Sang had arrived, a light mote would instantly transform into the phantom of a jade beetle without the slightest warning, capable of spewing toxic light. The light was swift, but it struck only Qin Sang's afterimages.
The true body of the jade beetle clung to the scar-faced man's palm, half its body embedded into his flesh as it voraciously devoured his essence blood, its jade-white shell gradually turning pink.
Seeing Qin Sang unscathed, the scar-faced man's face turned livid.
A sharp pain throbbed in his palm. Shedding its harmless facade, the jade beetle had grown exceptionally vicious, churning his palm into a bloody cavity.
Ever since the jade beetle had reached great accomplishment, it had been a long time since the scar-faced man tasted the backlash of the Gu King.
"Is this what you were relying on?"
Qin Sang's expression was playful.
This move was indeed venomous. The jade beetle had actually fused with the scar-faced man's divine ability, transforming the light motes into reflections of itself, triumphing by catching the target off guard. Anyone else would have fallen victim to it, but unfortunately, the shifting of the light motes could not escape the eyes of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.
This clash could be regarded as an encounter between two spiritual insects, with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly temporarily holding the upper hand. In truth, with Qin Sang's immense divine sense, so long as he remained vigilant, he had a high likelihood of detecting the fluctuations during the transformation anyway.
However, most people in such a situation would inevitably have had their attention consumed by the vortex of death qi.
The scar-faced man did not reply, merely letting out a cold snort and clenching his fist tight.
Before Qin Sang's true body even moved, a vast expanse of white, frigid light carrying bone-chilling cold fiend qi abruptly descended from the sky like a waterfall of frozen radiance tumbling from the highest heavens.
After this brief bout of combat, the incarnation had finally caught up.
With the Fourfold Tengshe Seal suspended above his head, the incarnation appeared over the forest.
The Tengshe was nowhere to be seen; the spirit seal rotated slowly, gathering power for its next strike.
Having wielded the spirit treasure for so long, the incarnation's true essence had been severely depleted, so he switched to wielding the Ice Soul Divine Light, whose might was equally extraordinary.
Behind the divine light, the Snow-Treading Divine Saber carved out a path of snow, slashing fiercely toward the scar-faced man!
Chapter 1636