Escape

Though the grand array was not yet complete, a vast, ancient aura was brewing within. The sea of wind was pushed back by the array, exposing a massive hole. This aura was no longer something the bloodline of a black tortoise could possess, making one wonder whether the array's final form might manifest the legendary divine beast Xuanwu! Sensing danger, the thunder-devouring falcon grew even more frenzied. The lightning enveloping its body was laced with a faint bloody mist—it was burning its essence blood! Its wings spread wide, feathers bristling on end as it bathed in thunder, transforming into a creature of pure lightning. Commanding thunder with both wings, it could actually stir the boundless Mystic Frost Baleful Wind. Baleful wind and thunder intermingled, shifting unpredictably. Innumerable wind blades and lightning storms blotted out the sky, shooting in volleys toward the Wuji Sect Master and his companion. The black-robed man was pouring all his focus into preparing the array, unable to move. With no room to dodge, the Wuji Sect Master raised his sword across his chest, sword qi forming a massive wall to block the assault. The wall of sword qi held for only an instant before being blasted apart. The Wuji Sect Master continued to condense new walls, but his sword qi was growing thinner and thinner; he could not hold out much longer. Fortunately, the black-robed man's black tortoise shell array was nearing completion. The battle spanned an immense area; the destructive might of Nascent Soul stage cultivators going all out was simply terrifying. The earth shook. On the iceberg in particular, countless cracks spread before the naked eye, growing increasingly dense. The iceberg trembled violently as chunks of ice large and small crashed and tumbled down. Qin Sang reluctantly tore his gaze away. He would have loved to witness firsthand the world-shaking collision between a carefully prepared array of Nascent Soul cultivators and an essence-blood-burning thunder-devouring falcon. He wanted even more to see who would ultimately emerge victorious. Yet he did not dare linger. Even if the iceberg was not destroyed right now, it would surely not be spared in moments, and his escape route would be cut off. Qin Sang sped toward the iceberg with all his might. Finding the ice cave he had entered through, he saw that nearly half of it had already collapsed. Glancing back toward the distant battlefield, an envious look crossed Qin Sang's face. He stared intently for a moment, burning the scene deep into his memory, then turned and plunged into the ice cave. The cave was crisscrossed with gaping fissures. Qin Sang darted through, and passing the spot where the Nightbloom Lily had grown, he saw that the spiritual array had been breached and the lily had already been harvested by Yunyouzi. Yunyouzi was nowhere to be seen. Speeding forward, Qin Sang finally arrived at the ice wall sealed by the restriction. With the iceberg on the verge of destruction, the crushing force of nature laid bare even the restriction on the ice wall, its glow flickering erratically, doomed to be buried alongside the collapsing mountain. Qin Sang already knew the restriction inside and out. Easily dispelling it, he darted into the ice hall, finding it completely deserted—Yunyouzi had not rested here. Presumably, Yunyouzi had also sensed the upheaval within the cave and dared not linger, preferring to leave and find a safer sanctuary to refine the Nightbloom Lily. This was just as well; it saved Qin Sang the trouble of having to explain himself. Just as he was about to step onto the teleportation formation, a thought struck Qin Sang. He paused, suddenly summoning the Five Elements Dharma-Breaking Sword and thrusting it into several weak points in the ice wall's restriction. *Crack!* A fissure instantly surfaced across the ice wall. Qin Sang withdrew his sword and stepped onto the teleportation formation. After his departure, the frigid winds finally pulverized the ice wall and swept inside, destroying the teleportation formation as well. By then, Qin Sang's figure had already materialized in the side chamber. Having left the Flying Yaksha's territory behind, Qin Sang was in no rush to depart. Not a tremor could be felt here, which meant the fierce battle was far away. Moreover, Wuya Valley was filled with layers of ancient restrictions and strange distortions of space that defied ordinary logic. He did not know what method that senior had used to leave behind a teleportation restriction capable of spanning Wuya Valley's inner valley, slipping into the thunder-devouring falcon's distant nest to steal heavenly treasures. Sitting cross-legged on the icy path, Qin Sang circulated his cultivation technique to recuperate. Once his sea of qi had recovered, he awoke from meditation and could hardly wait to open his mustard seed bag and take out the Boundless Blood Mulberry to inspect it. As his spiritual sense probed into the mustard seed bag, his expression suddenly froze. Along with the Boundless Blood Mulberry, he pulled out several pieces of spirit wood that he had purchased at great expense at Yinshan Pass, before he had had the chance to feed them to the ebony sword. These pieces of spirit wood had originally come in varied shapes and colors. Now, two pieces had been stained blood-red—when their original color was clearly cyan! Not only had they turned into bloody red wood, but their inner spirituality was completely ruined, reducing them to useless junk! Earlier, having stolen the Boundless Blood Mulberry in a rush, he had only had time to fling it into his mustard seed bag, where it happened to land between these two pieces of spirit wood. In such a short time, the spreading bloody light had actually corrupted them. Though stunned by the heavy loss, Qin Sang was instead pleasantly surprised by the power of the Boundless Blood Mulberry. Enveloping the Boundless Blood Mulberry in spiritual power, Qin Sang examined it closely, then cast several restrictions to seal away its bloody light before feeling safe enough to return it to the mustard seed bag. He did not dare rashly let his ebony sword devour the Boundless Blood Mulberry. Once the ebony sword refined it, it would transform into a magic treasure, which might induce unpredictable changes beyond his control. He needed to settle down first, study it thoroughly for some time, and plan carefully. Putting away the Boundless Blood Mulberry, Qin Sang checked the rest of his mustard seed bag, a wry smile creeping onto his face. Who would have thought that helping Yunyouzi this time would lead to one unexpected crisis after another, full of twists and turns, and costing him dearly? Several handy magic tools had been destroyed, his medicinal pills were nearly depleted, and his mustard seed bag was practically empty, looking utterly impoverished. His corpse puppet pouch was also empty. Fortunately, the harvest was staggering. Learning to wield a magic treasure gave him a formidable new means of self-defense. This piece of Boundless Blood Mulberry resolved his future worries; at least before Core Formation, he would not have to squander resources and rack his brains searching for spirit wood to upgrade his ebony sword. Naturally, Wu Shang's letter was immensely valuable as well. Whether or not the method succeeded, under Wu Shang's guidance, Qin Sang at least had a path toward Core Formation. Thinking of Wu Shang's letter reminded Qin Sang of the Heavenly Corpse Talisman still inside his origin soul. He turned his inner vision toward his origin soul space. A faint yellow glow still shimmered around his origin soul, where the Heart-Devouring Insect gu lay quietly, lapsed into stillness. The origin soul itself seemed unchanged. Qin Sang "looked" for a moment. As a thought flashed through his mind, the silhouette of a Buddha suddenly materialized, and brilliant yellow light blazed within his origin soul. Immediately afterward, wisps of grayish aura were expelled from the origin soul, thoroughly swept away. The Heavenly Corpse Talisman had been driven out by the jade Buddha! Qin Sang withdrew his mind from his origin soul space, lifted the restrictions on his body, opened his eyes, and raised his right hand, giving it a firm clench. He could already feel the change in his body: the corpse transformation had halted. The bloodthirsty impulse was gradually fading. Though a faint urge still lingered, he could easily suppress it. Because so little time had elapsed, his corpse transformation was very shallow. According to Wu Shang, all he needed was to find a few common spirit herbs rich in Yang qi and consume them to recover. Qin Sang thoroughly inspected his physical body once more. Finding no lingering dangers he couldn't resolve, he let out a long sigh of relief, truly putting his mind at ease. He rose to his feet and darted outside.