Flawless Pearl

The scholar in white shook his head and sighed. "The Yin-Yang Compass... That's how Sheng Yuanzi died." Even so, no one felt any sympathy for Ge Yuan. When disaster struck, it was natural for everyone to fend for themselves. Had Ge Yuan merely sought to save his own skin, no one could have faulted him too harshly. Yet to save himself, he had deliberately chosen the very instant the human-faced owl struck. His obvious aim was to use everyone else's lives as a shield to buy time for his own escape. Among those he betrayed was Yunyouzi, to whom he owed his life. Had Yunyouzi failed to mend the formation in time, Ge Yuan's abrupt departure would have caused the Golden Ring Formation to collapse, sending everyone to their deaths beneath the owl's razor claws! Ge Yuan's timing had been cunning, but he never anticipated being targeted by Luo Xingnan—who had manipulated him like a toy with a pull and a flick of the Yin-Yang Compass, tossing him straight in front of a king hook serpent. The gaping maw was right before his eyes. The breath it exhaled reeked with a vile stench, yet beneath the foul odor lingered a faint, intoxicating sweetness born of the red mist. Having already tasted the terror of that red mist, Ge Yuan shuddered violently and hastily held his breath, not daring to let a wisp enter his body. The magic tool Ge Yuan relied upon most was a pair of Wu hooks—one large and one small, a matched pair of male and female blades. Now, with the crimson forked tongue darting from the serpent's mouth less than an inch before his eyes, Ge Yuan dared not hesitate in the slightest. He frantically summoned his magic tools, driving them viciously into the beast's maw. Two rays of light, one azure and one crimson, shot forward and plunged straight into the open mouth. The king hook serpent reacted with blinding speed. Its massive head jerked violently aside, dodging the fatal fate of having its brain pierced by the hooks, though at the cost of its severed tongue. The long serpent tongue went flying, and blood gushed like a fountain from the king serpent's mouth. Maddened by the pain, the king hook serpent flew into a frenzy, locking its murderous gaze onto Ge Yuan. Little did Ge Yuan know that this was precisely what Luo Xingnan had hoped for. Though the hook serpents' numbers and strength had suffered heavy losses, the two king hook serpents were exceptionally difficult to handle, working in close coordination. Luo Xingnan had been unable to find an opening to prepare his talisman treasure and could not break free, leaving him covered in wounds and nearing the end of his rope. Fortunately, Ge Yuan had delivered himself right to his door. Naturally, Ge Yuan was no match for the king hook serpent, but drawing its attention and stalling it for a brief moment was enough to shatter the serpents' pincer trap. Opportunity knocked. Luo Xingnan gasped for breath as he poured all the spiritual power in his body into his compass. A blast of black light forced the other king hook serpent back a fraction, giving him the opening he needed to break away. Shangguan Lifeng had been dutifully holding off the lesser hook serpents, already heavily wounded himself. Seeing this, he immediately sheathed his saber and bolted after Luo Xingnan. Unexpectedly, seeing the serpents in relentless pursuit, a sinister look flashed across Luo Xingnan's face. He suddenly spun the Yin-Yang Compass around and aimed it at Shangguan Lifeng behind him! *Swish!* Shangguan Lifeng looked stunned, seemingly unable to believe that after keeping his word and remaining utterly loyal to Luo Xingnan, this was the end that awaited him. Then, Shangguan Lifeng gave a resigned, bitter smile. Raising his blade, he unleashed a wave of saber qi to parry the black beam, but the impact forced him to a halt. By the time the black light dissipated, the king hook serpent was already bearing down upon him. The upheaval had unfolded in the blink of an eye, like flint sparking fire, the tides turning repeatedly. Having sacrificed two lives, Luo Xingnan had truly managed to make his escape. At a moment like this, Qin Sang no longer cared about concealing his secrets. He was just about to open his mustard seed bag and pull out the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner to fight for his life. Just then, Yunyouzi looked at Qin Sang with grave solemnity and said in a heavy voice, "Brother Qin, what comes next is up to you!" Qin Sang was startled. "Senior, you..." Then he saw radiance converge before Yunyouzi. The Flawless Pearl rose steadily from the light, its visions of roaring wind, crashing thunder, and the alternating dance of yin and yang appearing more vivid and minutely detailed than ever, profoundly mysterious. When Yunyouzi had previously claimed that activating the Flawless Pearl required overdrawing his sea of qi, it had clearly been no exaggeration. Spiritual power from his body surged furiously into the pearl, causing visible, violent fluctuations in the air. Yet this time was vastly different from their encounter in the subterranean magma. The Flawless Pearl sucked Yunyouzi's spiritual power bone-dry, but it didn't stop there—it seemed to be siphoning away his very vitality! Yunyouzi, whose visage had already been quite aged, turned deathly pale without a speck of color. The wrinkles on his face deepened further, and his aura decayed at an astonishing rate, leaving him exceedingly frail. To describe his breath as clinging by a mere thread would be no exaggeration. Yet in return, a tremendous transformation overtook the Flawless Pearl. Even Luo Xingnan in the distance noticed the anomaly; amid his flight, he glanced back over his shoulder, his face stamped with astonishment. This was the first time Qin Sang had ever witnessed Yunyouzi unleash the full might of the Flawless Pearl. The pearl burst into brilliant radiance, dazzling azure light beaming in all directions until it resembled an azure sun. A fiercely violent aura radiated from within it. The aura was exceedingly bizarre, bearing a distinct resemblance to demon qi. Sensing it, both the human-faced owl and the hook serpents grew visibly agitated and uneasy. The scholar in white was utterly stunned and murmured, "This aura feels like demon qi... Could it be a magic tool refined from a demon core?" A demon core formed only inside demon beasts that had broken through to the Demon Core stage, analogous to a human cultivator's golden core. A demon beast possessing a demon core wielded strength rivaling a Core Formation cultivator and was just as rare. However, whether demon cores or magic tools crafted from them, such things were far beyond what Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could ever touch. Qin Sang had no idea whether demon cores could be used to refine magic tools, nor could he discern what the Flawless Pearl truly was. He even wondered: could the Flawless Pearl be a magic treasure? Yet he quickly dismissed the thought. If it were truly a magic treasure, Yunyouzi was not in the Core Formation stage and could never have utilized it. The authentic Ten Directions Yanluo Banner in Qin Sang's mustard seed bag was also a magic treasure. He had tried to use it more than once, each attempt ending in futile failure; the same held true for the Primordial Concentric Rings obtained from Old Man Dique's remains. Still, even if the Flawless Pearl was not a magic treasure, its tremendous power was beyond question. He wondered whether the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, once assembled with all ten ghost banners, could rival the Flawless Pearl. *Skree!* The human-faced owl's shriek dripped with intense agitation. With a sudden flap of its massive wings, it turned into a streak of black light and swooped down, its target unmistakable: Yunyouzi. Seeing this, Qin Sang instantly darted in front of Yunyouzi, sparing no effort to unleash the talisman treasure's might. All the phantom images of the jade ruyi converged into Qin Sang's palm, condensing into a seemingly tangible ruyi that appeared crafted from the purest fine jade. Qin Sang thrust his palm forward; the jade ruyi trembled faintly before shooting forth as a beam of white light. At the same time, the Golden Ring Formation—now placed under the control of the scholar in white—was triggered as well. This time it was no ambush, and the owl was on guard. The greatly weakened Golden Ring Formation was shredded by razor talons, destroying the set of restriction implements on the spot. And in the clash, as Qin Sang's spiritual power was thoroughly drained, the talisman treasure reverted to a slip of talisman paper and drifted down, covered in countless cracks—likely good for at most one more use.