On the other side.
Fighting for his life, Luo Xingnan held nothing back with the power of his talisman treasure. The silver knife flared with brilliance, instantly casting a dazzling silver beam several zhang long across the air.
The spirit soul of a flood dragon abruptly flashed across Qin Sang's body, and his speed surged dramatically. His figure twisted violently, dodging the surprise attack by a hair's breadth. With a muffled grunt, his body was hurled diagonally through the air.
His hand clutched his right chest, soaked in blood.
Qin Sang had used his own body as bait, relying on the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman to evade the silver knife's fatal blow at the final moment. Even so, the blade light had grazed his right chest, inflicting a severe wound.
Fortunately, the secret talisman was fast enough that his vital spots were spared.
Still, being wounded was far better than losing his life.
Shangguan Lifeng was inside the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, his vision entirely blocked by ghostly qi. Moreover, Qin Sang was acting under the identity of Daoist Qingfeng; even if Shangguan Lifeng did notice the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, Qin Sang would not have much to worry about.
Having failed in its ambush, the silver knife shuddered, its blade light trembling as it prepared to pursue Qin Sang once more, only to abruptly revert into a sheet of talisman paper in midair and drift down.
Cracks crisscrossed the talisman paper; it was in only slightly better shape than the jade ruyi talisman treasure had been earlier. It looked as though it could be used once or twice more at best.
Luo Xingnan had possessed the silver knife talisman treasure for quite some time. Once a talisman treasure's power was depleted, it could not be replenished; although he had used it sparingly, it was still nearly exhausted.
Qin Sang drew the talisman treasure toward him with spiritual power, hastily sealed his wound, and darted to the front of the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, catching Shangguan Lifeng just as he plunged downward from exhaustion.
At the same time, the main soul of the Yanluo Banner scurried over with a fawning expression, holding Luo Xingnan's corpse in its jaws.
Saber and sword wounds crisscrossed Luo Xingnan's body, his heart shredded to pieces by sword qi, leaving him stone-dead. Even in death, his eyes bulged wide with fury, staring unblinkingly in utter disbelief that he could have died here.
His sea of qi remained undamaged, which meant he could still be refined into a baleful corpse.
Qin Sang gave a quiet nod, tidied Luo Xingnan's body a bit, and put it into his mustard seed bag.
According to the records, a baleful corpse's strength was closely tied to the cultivator's strength while alive. A baleful corpse crafted from the body of a middle Foundation Establishment stage cultivator would be a notch stronger than the ones he had made before.
Thinking back on the battle just now, Qin Sang's heart still thudded with tension. Although he had been eighty percent confident, actually putting the plan into practice had remained perilously risky.
Luo Xingnan also possessed a talisman treasure, and having witnessed Qin Sang use the jade ruyi talisman treasure, Luo Xingnan would definitely have been on guard; it would have been impossible to kill him with either the talisman treasure or the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners alone.
Had Qin Sang used both simultaneously, his spiritual power could hardly have lasted long enough to forcibly slay Luo Xingnan through the protection of a talisman treasure.
Thus, Qin Sang had formulated a strategy and willingly taken an immense risk—and fortunately, it had succeeded.
Qin Sang did not retrieve the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners immediately; instead, he had all the main souls return to the ghost banners and concealed the banners.
Shangguan Lifeng watched Qin Sang control the demonic tools, but asked no questions.
Flitting back to the cave entrance, Qin Sang had Shangguan Lifeng recuperate and tend to his condition while he himself bore the pain of his injuries, staying concealed at the cave entrance and keeping a watchful eye outside.
Some time passed, and all remained quiet and calm.
"It seems the scholar in white has already left."
Qin Sang nodded inwardly. That man truly was not greedy; otherwise, he likely would have lingered to play the fisherman waiting for the snipe and the clam to exhaust each other.
Of course, Qin Sang would not have let him succeed anyway.
This was no place to linger. Qin Sang waved his hand to recall the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, then turned and slipped into the cave. He found Yunyouzi sitting cross-legged; though still exceedingly weak, the Taoist was doing considerably better than before.
Hearing Qin Sang's suggestion, both Yunyouzi and Shangguan Lifeng agreed. Doing the exact opposite of what might be expected, the three flew directly toward the depths of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield.
Not long after they departed,
a tremor suddenly shook the Offering Hall inside the immortal's abode, sending out wave upon wave of bizarre fluctuations.
People throughout the abode felt the fluctuations and looked up toward the mountain peak one after another, their expressions uncertain and alarmed.
Immediately following, a rainbow streak abruptly surged out from the hall, accompanied by the furious roar of a hook serpent.
Everyone knew an anomaly had occurred in the Offering Hall. Given the special location and extraordinary significance of the place, if an exotic treasure had emerged, it was bound to be something extraordinary.
In an instant, aside from those who had already entered the Spirit Treasure Pavilion, everyone scrambled toward the Offering Hall. Countless beams of light converged on the mountain peak like flickering fireflies—a magnificent sight.
None of this concerned Qin Sang and his companions anymore.
Only after traveling far from Qiuhong Market did they find a hidden spot. All three were injured, and deep within the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, dangers lurked at every turn; they needed to recover as quickly as possible.
Qin Sang was the least severely hurt. Swallowing a few spirit pills, he sat quietly and circulated his cultivation method, and before long, the wound was no longer a major hindrance.
Shangguan Lifeng's most serious injury was his severed left arm; aside from that, he had suffered no grave harm. It was mainly that his sea of qi was depleted, and he finished recovering at around the same time as Qin Sang.
Only Yunyouzi showed little improvement even after regulating his breathing for so long. The price he had paid to activate the Flawless Pearl was far greater than Qin Sang had imagined.
Yunyouzi opened his eyes. The weariness in his gaze had faded slightly as he said somewhat helplessly, "This old Daoist fears he will need several years of quiet convalescence to make up for the damage. During this time, I will not be able to help Brother Qin concoct the spirit pill. Opening the furnace rashly would drastically lower the chance of success, squandering this hard-won Xuanwen Huangjing in vain."
"There is no need for Senior to rush..."
The matter of his foundation posed little problem for the time being; a few years earlier or later made no difference.
After replying, Qin Sang suddenly recalled something. He took out the mustard seed bags of Ge Yuan and Luo Xingnan, retrieved the three spiritual herbs inside, and arranged them before him.
"Among these three spiritual herbs, is there any that could help Senior recover from your injuries?"
Yunyouzi shook his head repeatedly. "How could that be proper! Though I did not see it with my own eyes, Brother Qin's battle to slay Luo Xingnan was surely fraught with extreme peril—one false step and there would have been no turning back! You risked your life to obtain these, Brother Qin; I cannot take them."
Qin Sang disagreed. "If Senior had not heavily injured the human-faced owl and frightened off the hook serpent, this junior would never have even had the chance to fight Luo Xingnan, having perished in the jaws of the demon beasts long before. Senior surely does not want me to become someone who forgets gratitude, does he? Fellow Daoist Shangguan also contributed his strength. Three spiritual herbs happen to split evenly among us."
To his surprise, Shangguan Lifeng also refused without hesitation to take any of the herbs.
Qin Sang was caught between tears and laughter. Never could he have imagined that thousand-year spiritual herbs—coveted by everyone, herbs for which countless cultivators would fight to the death—would be pushed back and forth among the three of them.
As for Qin Sang himself, having obtained the Xuanwen Huangjing had already satisfied him; gaining another would be an unexpected windfall, and he was not so greedy as to claim all three spiritual herbs for himself.
"This..."
Yunyouzi declined several more times, but seeing Qin Sang's resolute expression, he could only accept. He pointed toward the Mist-Enveloping Grass.
"This Mist-Enveloping Grass need not be concocted into pills; refining and consuming it directly will take effect. Thousand-year Mist-Enveloping Grass is truly rare, and its age is exceptional, its potency far exceeding that of ordinary Mist-Enveloping Grass. Barring unforeseen events, it should allow this old Daoist to recover at least two years sooner."
Hearing this, Qin Sang nodded, closed the jade box containing the Mist-Enveloping Grass, and handed it to Yunyouzi.
Chapter 307