Teaching You a Lesson

*Boom!* The terrifying collision shook the entire cave dwelling. Buffeted by the shockwave, Qin Sang nearly lost his footing. Blinding silver light flooded the cavern, leaving his vision a wash of pure white where the naked eye could distinguish nothing. Once the glare slightly dimmed, the Nine Nether Demon Flame had vanished. The Ten Directions Yanluo Array was in shambles, several ghost banners strewn across the ground. Fortunately, they had not been the thunder orb’s target, and seeing that things were taking a turn for the worse at the last moment, Qin Sang had proactively recalled the main soul, sparing them destruction. Yet the magic treasure had fared poorly. The large banner lay fallen on the ground, its spiritual glow dull and stripped of its former majesty. The banner cloth was curled, a faint crack visible upon its surface. The fat chick broke free. It was charred black from head to toe, its down scorched into patchy bald spots until it looked like a pluck-feathered black chick. Yet it remained just as plump as before, its pair of fleshy wings and potbelly appearing especially plump and succulent. Though it looked miserable, its injuries were not severe. It could still flap its fleshy wings and paddle the air with its two plump legs. The Nine Nether Demon Flame had failed to harm it; before it could, the magic treasure had been sent flying by the thunder orb, causing the demon flame to disperse. Nevertheless, it was furious. Having barely regained its wits, it opened its beak to squawk loudly. Its beak was also scorched bald and blackened, rendering its cry raspy and grating. Unexpectedly, the screech had only just begun when it cut off abruptly, swallowed back down into its belly. A cloud of black miasma descended right over its head. The fat chick's fleshy wings stiffened, and it crashed to the ground with a *thud*. It bounced once. Racing against the clock, Qin Sang had not hesitated to destroy this top-grade magic tool, releasing every scrap of poisonous miasma within the Heavenly Poison Gauze solely to buy himself the slimmest fraction of time. He had been thoroughly rattled by the terrifying might of the thunder orb’s eruption. Above all, seeing the crack on his magic treasure filled him with quiet dread over its condition. Even after resorting to a magic treasure, he had barely scraped by. If not for the power of the magic treasure, he would never have found the opportunity to ambush the fat chick. Even as these turbulent thoughts flashed through his mind, Qin Sang’s movements flowed like water. The instant he hurled the toxic miasma to catch the fat chick, the image of a flood dragon manifested across his body, and like a streak of lightning, he bolted straight for the jade pool. Planting his foot on the edge of the jade pool, Qin Sang felt a surge of relief that the thunder orb did not attack automatically. Without pause, he leaped into the pool, thrust his hand into the spirit spring, and caught the Boundless Blood Mulberry in his grasp. The moment his palm touched the spirit wood, a bloody glow diffused from it like a living thing, creeping along his arm toward his body. Qin Sang gave a violent shudder as an unspeakable chill of filthy, bloody malice assailed his mind, only to be instantly dispersed by the jade Buddha. *Truly worthy of being one of the Ten Great Divine Woods. It really is wondrous.* With no time for a closer look, Qin Sang tossed the Boundless Blood Mulberry into his mustard seed bag. A great weight lifted from his heart, filling him with joy. Just as he prepared to retreat, he glanced up and noticed a stone door behind the jade pool. There was actually a secret chamber, harboring another realm within! A thought struck Qin Sang. He had previously wondered why the cave dwelling held only a thunder-devouring falcon egg, a piece of Boundless Blood Mulberry, and an unknown spirit herb. High as their value was, they hardly seemed worth two Nascent Soul cultivators waging an all-out war. *Could the true treasure be inside the secret chamber?* The thought flickered through his mind, but he did not let greed cloud his judgment. Obtaining the Boundless Blood Mulberry was already immense fortune; to secure it, he had exerted every ounce of wit and exhausted his resources. The Heavenly Poison Gauze had been destroyed by Qin Sang, leaving the toxic miasma uncontrolled. It would not trap the fat chick for long. Once the fledgling awakened, the consequence of insatiable greed would surely be gruesome. Qin Sang tore his gaze away, turned resolutely, and activated the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman to dart toward the cave entrance. As he passed the fat chick, he waved his hand to collect the scattered magic tools and magic treasure from the ground, quickly inspecting the magic treasure’s condition with an inward sigh. His eyes had not deceived him earlier: a crack truly ran across the banner! The only consolation was that the damage was not severe. The thunder orb’s might was not so terrifying as to obliterate a magic treasure. It was only because Qin Sang was too weak. In his hands, the magic treasure was like a pearl cast before swine; held back by his limited cultivation, it could not unleash its true power. Because its physical form took the brunt of the thunderous blast, it had suffered damage. Had he been a Core Formation cultivator, he would only need to withdraw the magic treasure into his sea of qi and nourish it with core fire for a period to restore it completely. Unfortunately, Qin Sang was merely at the middle Foundation Establishment stage. Before reaching the Core Formation stage, he lacked the power to repair it, nor could he ask another Core Formation cultivator for help. He could only shelve it for now. Fortunately, he possessed two Ten Directions Yanluo Banner magic treasures. The two could not be deployed simultaneously anyway; with one damaged, the other was still usable, leaving his strength intact. All things considered, sacrificing a top-grade magic tool and having a magic treasure damaged in exchange for a piece of Boundless Blood Mulberry was, in Qin Sang's view, thoroughly worth it—a massive windfall. Thinking of the Boundless Blood Mulberry and the bright future awaiting the ebony sword, Qin Sang's gloom vanished, replaced by sheer exhilaration. With the cave mouth right before him, Qin Sang heard the fat chick’s enraged screech from behind. A mischievous impulse seized him, and he turned his head to shout, "Little fat chick! Little black fat chick! Let Grandpa teach you a lesson: this world is perilous, so keeping a few extra magic treasures on hand is the true path. Nothing beats a magic treasure! Haha..." He had no idea how demon beasts counted their years. The fat chick had just hatched from its egg, so it could pass for an infant. He was already over seventy; calling himself its grandpa was hardly taking advantage of it. The fat chick seemed to actually understand him, for its shriek grew shriller still. A fierce wind bore down from behind. Laughing heartily, Qin Sang burst out of the cave entrance into the frigid wind. Looking back, as expected, the fat chick’s bloodline talent was lightning manipulation. For all its high cultivation, it still dreaded the terrifying chill of the Mystic Frost Baleful Wind that could assault the origin soul. Inside the cave dwelling, it had relied on the subterranean fire vein to hold back the icy gale, remaining safe and sound. At the mouth of the cave, the fat chick dared not take a single step past the threshold. Flapping its fleshy wings, it hopped about in agitation. In its large eyes—the only parts of its body that retained any white—fury blazed as it squawked in an unbroken tirade. Qin Sang knew the fledgling was cursing him, but since he could not understand bird talk, it was merely cursing itself. The moment he plunged into the deeper tunnel, the smile vanished from Qin Sang's face, replaced by gravity. The Boundless Blood Mulberry was in hand, but it was not yet time to celebrate. Only when he escaped this place safe and sound could he rejoice with an easy heart. He wondered how the battle among the Nascent Soul combatants was progressing; hopefully, no disastrous change had occurred. Gripping the crimson pellet tightly, Qin Sang sped upward. Soon arriving near the exit, Qin Sang slowed his pace. Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he carefully peered out from the cavern mouth toward the distant sky. A sea of wind surged and churned. The clash among the three grand masters had not yet ended. Qin Sang could catch no glimpse of the Wuji Sect Master or the thunder-devouring falcon; to the naked eye, there were only streaks of dragon-like sword light colliding with lightning. The black-robed figure still sat cross-legged and motionless. Several dozen identical black tortoise shells had materialized around him, arranged in an esoteric pattern to form a mysterious grand array. The array still had a small opening, lacking a few black tortoise shells. Once all nine times nine—eighty-one black tortoise shells—were assembled, the grand array would be complete!