Threat

A sudden change occurred in the Red Gold Vine. Just as Qin Sang had expected, the instant Old Man Dique plucked the fruit, his disguise was seen through by the monkey swarm. Roars like thunder threatened to tear the subterranean cavern apart! All the flying monkeys instantly forgot about Qin Sang, turning their eyes in unison toward Old Man Dique in the center of the lake. Astounding fury and savagery surged within their gazes. Among them, the divine monkeys whose fusion Qin Sang had stimulated erupted with an aura that was not in the least inferior to Old Man Dique's! A grand battle was on the verge of breaking out! Everything was progressing according to Qin Sang's plan. Yet, when his gaze crossed the vast lake and landed on Old Man Dique, he found that the old man was turning a blind eye to it all, staring straight at him instead. Their gazes met in midair. There was not a trace of panic on Old Man Dique's face; instead, a mocking sneer curled upon his lips. Qin Sang's heart skipped a beat. Immediately after, within his origin soul space, the wisp of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound that Old Man Dique had left behind gently vibrated. Old Man Dique's voice sounded like a bolt from the blue: "To think I would sense the aura of the Heart-Devouring Insect from Brother Qin's origin soul—it has truly been a long time! From what I know, using the Heart-Devouring Insect gu to control the origin soul is an exclusive technique of the Kuiyin Sect. Brother Qin's identity is quite extraordinary!" Qin Sang's complexion changed drastically. His body stiffened violently, his hands and feet turning icy cold. When the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound had invaded his origin soul space, he had used his spiritual sense to shield the Heart-Devouring Insect. To think Old Man Dique had seen through it! Could he be from the Kuiyin Sect? No! If Old Man Dique belonged to the Kuiyin Sect, with his cultivation, he would surely be able to manipulate the Heart-Devouring Insect gu and would have discovered Qin Sang's identity long before outside the immortal's abode. Judging by his tone, he had not actually discovered the insect itself; he had merely sensed its aura within Qin Sang's origin soul space. This indicated that he had encountered the Heart-Devouring Insect before and knew it was the handiwork of the Kuiyin Sect. To Qin Sang, the Heart-Devouring Insect was his greatest secret apart from the jade Buddha. Now that his identity was exposed, even if he escaped from the cavern right now, once Old Man Dique leaked the information to Shaohua Mountain, he would inevitably be purged as a traitor. The only silver lining was that Old Man Dique showed no intention of killing him. In Old Man Dique's eyes, Qin Sang was a spy who had successfully infiltrated Shaohua Mountain. If the old man harbored other motives, Qin Sang was certainly worth far more alive than dead. Countless thoughts raced through Qin Sang's mind in complete disarray. His feet felt rooted to the spot, and he dared not take a single step. Right then, Old Man Dique moved. His figure was like lightning as he sped toward the shore of the lava lake. Just as the monkey swarm was about to surround and hunt him down, a sudden change occurred in the sea of fire Qin Sang had created. Amid raging winds and colossal waves, the vast, mighty power of divine sound erupted, enshrouding a magic treasure shaped like a conch shell. Before this, Qin Sang had never detected the conch's existence. The conch magic treasure wailed, and with its aid, the power of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound surged at an astonishing rate. The Thousand Illusions Divine Sound that Qin Sang had wielded before was merely a fraction of this power. Like an iceberg in the water, a far greater power had remained hidden in the shadows, biding its time until this very moment to erupt. This concealment was perfected to the extreme—neither Qin Sang nor the flame flying monkeys had noticed it! At the very beginning, when Old Man Dique had ordered him to scout ahead, Qin Sang had found something strange. The Thousand Illusions Divine Sound Old Man Dique had bestowed upon him was power at the Core Formation stage. Yet, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had been able to manipulate it with such ease and freedom, without feeling strained in the least, which defied common sense. Later, as he went in to scout again and again, encountering danger multiple times—including life-threatening crises—the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound had never shown any abnormality. It was Qin Sang's own alertness that had pulled him through each time. This had eased Qin Sang's suspicions, leading him to think with wishful optimism that the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound was simply special and could thus be lent to others. After all, sonic divine abilities were exceedingly rare; any bizarre property was possible. Only now did he realize that this power had always remained firmly within Old Man Dique's control. The old man had seemed to be concentrating fully on sensing the flying monkeys' fluctuations, but in truth, he had been dividing his attention to manipulate the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound. Qin Sang's ability to control it at will had merely been an illusion granted by Old Man Dique! Having thought this through, Qin Sang wore an intensely bitter expression. He had thought he was conjuring powerful enemies for Old Man Dique, but in reality, he had been bait, helping Old Man Dique gather the majority of the monkey swarm in one place. Most importantly, all the fused flying monkeys in the lava lake had been drawn over by Qin Sang. When the conch rose from the water, the power of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound—its might skyrocketing—immediately transformed into ropes, swiftly wrapping around those flying monkeys and tightening abruptly, binding them all in an instant. At that moment, a massive cocoon appeared at the edge of the lava lake. The flying monkeys struggled violently inside, the cocoon rising and falling as if it were a living creature breathing. Such a restraint could not last long. Soon, countless cracks split across the cocoon, which seemed on the verge of tearing apart. But because of its existence, a brief opening appeared in the swarm's assault. *Boom!* The cocoon shattered completely, and the divine monkeys gave chase. Old Man Dique had not yet rushed clear of the magma. Looking coldly at the overwhelming deluge of staff shadows, he suddenly roared like thunder: "Defend!" The conch vibrated violently, the divine sound transforming into a shield. The staff shadows crashed down upon the sonic shield in unison. Old Man Dique's face turned deathly pale. His body was blasted away like a cannonball, yet this played right into his hands. Using the conch to blaze a trail, he tumbled out of the lava lake and slammed into the cavern wall. Straightening up, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sneered at the monkeys raging helplessly in the lava lake. Then he spread his palm, looked at the undamaged fruit, and burst into laughter. Qin Sang watched Old Man Dique's actions woodenly. Old Man Dique paid Qin Sang no mind. Holding the Red Gold Vine fruit in one hand, he cautiously gathered spiritual power in the other, forming a sharp blade to prod the fruit's skin. Unexpectedly, the fruit was extraordinarily hard. Old Man Dique tried several times in succession, increasing his force, yet it remained completely unharmed. To think the fruit was this tough—even a Core Formation stage cultivator could do nothing against it. Frowning deeply, Old Man Dique stroked the fruit, lost in thought for a long while. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He quickly retrieved a jade slip and pressed it against his forehead between his brows. Before long, Old Man Dique opened his eyes, a look of pleasant surprise settling upon the fruit. He then extended a finger and swiftly traced peculiar runes onto the fruit's surface with spiritual power. Standing to the side, Qin Sang suppressed the unease in his heart. He was also quite curious about the fruit. Focusing his gaze, he realized he had never seen any of these runes before. They seemed to carry a hint of artifact-refining intent, yet also bore the aura of pill concoction—remarkably bizarre. As rune after rune merged into the fruit, Old Man Dique's movements grew faster and faster, and the fruit finally began to undergo changes. Like a mortal fruit slowly rotting in nature, what unfolded before Qin Sang was this spiritual fruit rotting at millions of times the normal speed. In the blink of an eye, the luster of the golden skin grew dull, turning into dark gold, then veiling over in gray, and ultimately turning pitch-black and shattering to pieces. Revealing the flesh within.