Rescue

Both demonic tools had their wondrous uses, and their power was by no means weak. Yet Qin Sang did not hesitate for long before deciding to let the Yanluo Banners devour them. To Qin Sang, having two more demonic tools was merely icing on the cake. Enhancing the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners was the most pressing matter; the Ten Directions Yanluo Array at its peak was a treasure capable of letting him challenge those above his level. His mind made up, Qin Sang directly laid out the Ten Directions Yanluo Array on the stone platform. Braving the harassment of the firebirds, he had the ghostly banners devour the refined souls. Before long, the refined souls of the two demonic tools were completely devoured, yet the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners were still slightly short of completion. Qin Sang flipped his palm and threw the soul-refining demonic tool he had bought from the black market into the array as well. Finally, all six Ten Directions Yanluo Banners reached great completion! As the ghostly banners stirred, soul threads wove into webs, and ten thousand ghosts wept in unison. The stone platform instantly filled with a grim, chilling yin qi, resembling an earthly hell. And he seemed like an earthly Yanluo striding forth as a shepherd of ghosts! Qin Sang activated the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, sweeping up a flock of firebirds to test it briefly. Nodding in satisfaction, he waved his hand to stow the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners. His figure flickered, leaving behind the baffled firebirds that had lost their target, and he darted toward the end of the iron chain. The journey was unobstructed. Near the end of the iron chain, Qin Sang noticed that many iron chains were converging toward a single point. Right then, he suddenly heard the frantic, resounding cries of birds ahead. The mist churned in chaotic upheaval, and faintly, a "red cloud" could be seen lying across the path ahead. Qin Sang was all too familiar with this situation. Was someone trapped by firebirds? Qin Sang's eyes flashed. Concealing his aura, he quietly drew closer to the red cloud. Approaching it, he saw countless multicolored threads of rain falling from within the red cloud amid the encirclement of firebirds. The sight was strangely desolate and beautiful. The threads of rain appeared harmless to man and beast, yet they harbored lethal intent. Whenever a firebird was pierced by a few rain threads, its body would extinguish like a real flame, vanishing completely from the world. Yet the firebirds were endless; the more were killed, the more were drawn in. No matter how dense the rain threads were, they could not kill all the firebirds, and more and more birds converged instead. In the brief moment Qin Sang approached, the red cloud grew larger and thicker at a rate visible to the naked eye, until finally the rain threads were annihilated before they could even pierce through the red cloud! These threads of rain looked remarkably familiar... "The Five-Colored Glaze? It's her?" Qin Sang was secretly surprised. The person besieged by the firebirds was actually Yunqiong Sanren. By now, the rain threads within the red cloud were growing sparser, their spiritual energy scattering. From the looks of it, Yunqiong Sanren was not in good shape. After a moment's thought, Qin Sang quietly retreated some distance, summoned his ebony sword, and decided to step in and rescue her. First, it was to prepare for the upcoming trials. The only reason he could be so at ease right now was that the jade Buddha happened to be the firebirds' bane. The trial's difficulty was beyond doubt; among those who entered the ancient cultivator's abandoned abode, Yunqiong Sanren's strength was above average, yet she was now in grave danger. In the subsequent trials, he would not be able to rely on the jade Buddha to cheat. If he could join forces with Yunqiong Sanren, the chances of passing would be greater. Even if they encountered danger, by helping each other, they could withdraw unscathed rather than being caught in a deadlock like Yunqiong Sanren, unable to advance or retreat, left only to wait for death in despair. Second, they had cooperated before in the mine shaft, and Yunqiong Sanren had left a decent impression on Qin Sang. She was not particularly close to Yin Xingge, yet she had strongly insisted that they must not abandon him back then; her character was good. Qin Sang retreated outside of Yunqiong Sanren's line of sight and released his aura, attracting a flock of firebirds. Then, dragging these burdens along, he darted forward at high speed. Upon spotting the "red cloud," Qin Sang paused and shouted in feigned astonishment, "Is that Fellow Daoist Yunqiong inside?" "Fellow Daoist Qin?" From within the red cloud came an exceptionally weak voice that nonetheless brimmed with boundless, frantic pleasant surprise. "Fellow Daoist Qin, it is Yunqiong! Fellow Daoist Qin, please save me..." "Fellow Daoist Yunqiong, look out!" Qin Sang had come specifically to save her. Hearing this, he unfolded his sword array without hesitation, called out a loud warning, and the ebony sword unleashed an incomparably powerful sword qi aimed straight at the red cloud. The sword array's full might erupted, and the sword qi instantly surged tens of zhang, a fiery-red sword light piercing straight through the center of the red cloud and carving out an escape passage. A moment later, the passage through the red cloud squirmed and was on the verge of closing up when a slender figure suddenly darted out—it was Yunqiong Sanren. At this moment, Yunqiong Sanren was in a wretched state. The dharma robe she wore was riddled with holes, barely retaining a shred of defensive power. Her aura was weak in the extreme, and the spiritual power within her body was nearly exhausted. The Five-Colored Glaze floating above her head looked dim and unstable, as if it would lose its support at any moment. Yunqiong Sanren's face was paper-white, a sign that her origin soul had suffered severe trauma. However, what left Yunqiong Sanren so weak was definitely not just the damage to her origin soul. Across her abdomen was a shocking blade wound that had nearly cleaved her in two. Residual golden light lingered on the wound, preventing it from healing, and blood was still flowing from the cut. Seeing Yunqiong Sanren's condition, Qin Sang could roughly guess what she had experienced. Firebirds did not use blades, so this slash had surely been inflicted in the passage. Yunqiong Sanren had likely encountered danger in the passage. After fighting her way out with great difficulty, she hadn't had time to heal before disturbing the firebirds, leaving her no choice but to flee for her life with her wounded body. For a cultivator, such an injury was not fatal. As long as she expelled the residual golden light from the wound and took a few healing medicinal pills, she would be out of danger. Yunqiong Sanren probably hadn't expected the firebirds' abilities to be so bizarre either. Her physical wounds unhealed, her origin soul severely battered—it was truly adding insult to injury. That she had held out until now was already a testament to her profound cultivation. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Qin..." Before she could finish speaking, Yunqiong Sanren noticed the red cloud chasing after her, countless firebirds surging aggressively, and a look of deep dread flashed in her eyes. "Follow me, Fellow Daoist Yunqiong!" Not wanting to expose the jade Buddha's abilities in front of Yunqiong Sanren, Qin Sang immediately formed a protective barrier around her with his spiritual power, then used the ebony sword to blaze a path and flew rapidly forward. Yunqiong Sanren hastily channeled her remaining spiritual power, barely keeping up with Qin Sang. At last, a stone platform appeared ahead on the iron chain. The two accelerated and stepped onto the stone platform. The relentlessly pursuing firebirds were blocked by an invisible barrier that also shielded their perception. After circling outside the platform for a short while without finding their target, they scattered in all directions. "Cough, cough..." Clutching her blade wound and swaying on her feet, Yunqiong Sanren still insisted on bowing to Qin Sang. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Qin, for saving my life. Yunqiong is endlessly grateful!" "No need for formalities. Fellow Daoist Yunqiong, tend to your wounds quickly!" Seeing the embarrassed look on Yunqiong Sanren's face, Qin Sang realized she had probably exhausted all her healing medicinal pills, so he produced a jade vial and handed it to her. Once Yunqiong Sanren sat down cross-legged to regulate her breathing and heal, Qin Sang began looking around in all directions. Just as they stepped onto the stone platform— Deep within the ancient cultivator's abandoned abode. A black stone stele towered into the clouds, and from within it stepped a figure.