Deadly Ambush

After resting briefly, Qin Sang left the Changyang Cultivation Market and flew toward the Tianjing Secret Realm. Surrounding the market was an endless expanse of undulating rocky mountains, an utterly barren waste. Qin Sang was thoroughly familiar with the terrain, having even conducted several "transactions" in the area. Upon leaving the Changyang Cultivation Market, Qin Sang first concealed his figure and cautiously observed his surroundings, ensuring no one was tailing or spying on him. Still, being in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, an excess of caution never hurt. He channeled his energy into the gray robe he wore, causing a hazy gray aura to envelop him. It was a high-grade defensive magic tool retrieved from Luo Xingnan's mustard seed bag. Coupled with the baleful corpse and the ebony sword he could unleash at any moment, it was enough to handle most crises. Then, transforming into an escape light, he sped toward the Tianjing Secret Realm. Just as Qin Sang was about to fly clear of the rocky mountain range, passing right between two towering peaks, an inexplicable sense of unease suddenly surged within his heart. The feeling struck with extraordinary abruptness and intensity! Before Qin Sang could fathom the cause, a sudden thunderclap exploded directly overhead. Qin Sang came to an abrupt halt. At that instant, the very ground shook violently, as though some slumbering ancient thunder beast had been awakened by Qin Sang's disturbance and roared in earth-shattering fury. Along with the thunderclap, Qin Sang felt an exceptionally terrifying aura appear above him, locking onto him with absolute precision. His heart chilled at once, and his hairs stood on end. His face drained of color, and he looked up in alarm. Blinding lightning filled his field of view. At the epicenter of the lightning, a yellow spirit talisman hung suspended in midair. With a sharp crack, the spirit talisman shattered. Instantly, an abyss-like vortex formed, hanging upside down in the sky as wild winds raged, thunder rumbled, and serpentine arcs of electricity danced madly. In a flash, the clouds and skies roiled. The alarming aura locked onto Qin Sang radiated directly from this vortex. Then, countless streaks of lightning burst from within it, converging into a single point directly aimed at him. A massive pillar of light plunged from the heavens! Carrying an aura of ultimate destruction, it was a force that Qin Sang, even having broken through to the middle Foundation Establishment stage, would never dare withstand with his bare flesh. *Who?* *Why?* He had very few enemies—or rather, very few living ones. Even when he had fished for targets near the Changyang Cultivation Market, he had chosen with extreme caution, targeting only roving scoundrels. Moreover, every time he struck, he tied up all loose ends cleanly; it was impossible to have left any clues. Could someone have laid an ambush here to pick targets at random, waiting for a fat sheep to walk into the trap, and his bad luck had just steered him right into it? That was even more absurd! The expanse of rocky mountains was vast, and the direction leading toward the Tianjing Secret Realm was thoroughly remote. Setting an ambush here might not yield a single victim for ages; the efficiency would simply be abysmal. The spell sealed within this spirit talisman was tremendously powerful and of immense value. To recklessly expend such a spirit talisman without even knowing their prey's identity—were they not afraid the losses would outweigh any gains? Furthermore, he had prudently taken a wide detour to ensure no one was trailing him before heading straight toward the Tianjing Secret Realm. How could it possibly be a mere coincidence? The glaring light reflected off Qin Sang's shocked eyes. Amid his horror, these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. The pillar of light fell with blinding speed, leaving him no time to dodge. In desperation, he channeled spiritual power into the gray robe magic tool, causing thick gray mist to surge and rapidly gather around him. In the next instant, Qin Sang was about to be swallowed by the pillar of light. *Crack!* The gray robe magic tool could not endure even a single breath. The moment the pillar of light made contact, it fractured into pieces. *Rumble!* The thunderous light crashed down. Qin Sang was utterly horrified. At this point, even activating the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman would not allow him to escape the pillar's range. In this dire crisis, Qin Sang made a split-second decision. Hurriedly brushing his hand across the corpse puppet pouch, he summoned his remaining few zombies along with the baleful corpse refined from Luo Xingnan's body, sending them flying upward fearlessly to meet the descending pillar of light. Refined corpses confronting thunder and lightning with flesh and bone! The few zombies possessed strength only comparable to Qi Refinement stage cultivators; upon the slightest contact, they immediately followed in the gray robe's wake, pulverized into dust. The baleful corpse held out slightly longer. Letting out a chilling howl, it unleashed a billow of baleful energy, charging full-force up into the thunderous light without reservation. Yet it was no match for the thunderous light either. Its baleful aura was rapidly burnt away, fractures spiderwebbed across its body, and with a loud bang, it was blasted to pieces by the lightning. *Spurt!* A sweet metallic taste rushed up Qin Sang's throat as if struck by a massive sledgehammer. He spewed out a mouthful of blood, which was instantly vaporized by the thunderous light. Grazed by the brunt of the beam, he was sent hurtling sideways like a kite with a broken string. *Boom!* Smoke and dust billowed as shattered rocks flew. Qin Sang slammed hard into the solid rock face, letting out a groan of agony. Though the baleful corpse had absorbed a portion of the talisman's might on his behalf, the residual thunderous power remained terrifying. His clothes were shredded and his body riddled with wounds, leaving him looking thoroughly battered. But before he could inspect his injuries, the resonant hum of sword chimes echoed from the mountains on either side. Sword lights flashed forth like swimming dragons, closing in within the blink of an eye. Lethal strikes followed in relentless succession, giving Qin Sang no chance to catch his breath. At the same time, several escape lights flew out from the mountains, pursuing closely behind the sword lights. One from the mountain on the left, and two from the right! Three people! They had concealed themselves in the distance, using the spirit talisman for a surprise attack, and the moment Qin Sang was struck, they closed in to encircle him. From among the two escape lights on the right came a shout that was all too familiar to Qin Sang: "Quick! Don't give him the chance to use his talisman treasure!" Yu Daiyue! Qin Sang's heart jolted with shock. Hearing that voice, he realized in an instant that he was indeed the intended target! Because Yu Daiyue was there, and Yu Daiyue knew he was heading for the Tianjing Secret Realm and would take this exact route. Yet what Qin Sang could not fathom was why Yu Daiyue would ambush him, wishing nothing more than to see him dead. This certainly was not an order from Shaohua Mountain, because aside from Yu Daiyue, neither of the other two were Shaohua Mountain disciples; Qin Sang did not recognize either of them. He and Yu Daiyue had no grudges between them and shared the same sect. Furthermore, they had cooperated twice—once in the Heavenly Corpse Sect crypt and once in the ancient cultivator's abandoned abode. Even if their friendship was not particularly deep, there should have been some lingering camaraderie between fellow sect members. Or had he unwittingly offended Yu Daiyue in some way, prompting him to do such a thing? Though Qin Sang had never harbored high expectations of anyone other than himself, a surge of fury still welled in his heart. But very quickly, he forced that anger down. In a life-or-death crisis, he could not allow rage to cloud his judgment. Whatever scores had to be settled, they would wait until after he escaped! Looking through the crisscrossing sword lights, Qin Sang fixed his bloodshot eyes coldly on Yu Daiyue. Then, light flashed between his brows, and the ebony sword shot forth, parrying two incoming sword lights in the nick of time. *Clang!* The ebony sword was knocked aside, but an opening appeared in the trajectories of those two flying swords. Qin Sang's figure flickered, slipping through the razor-thin gap between the two flying swords by a hair's breadth. An instant later, a deafening crash sounded behind him as the third person's flying sword struck where Qin Sang had just been standing, leaving a bottomless sword mark carved into the stone.