Ambush

Even though he had failed to refine a living corpse, the gains were still immense. After this attempt, Qin Sang had gained a thorough understanding of the False Core stage, which would allow him far greater composure the next time he refined a corpse. Once the earth fiend qi dissipated, Qin Sang carefully wiped away all traces of his lingering aura, left the square, and stepped onto the stone path. He had not expected so much to happen. Less than half an hour remained before he would have to leave Heaven-Pointing Peak. Time was running out. Retracing his steps, Qin Sang gave up on seeking out that Heaven-Traversing Alliance cultivator. Instead, he intended to leave this restriction-riddled area as quickly as possible, return to the canyon's outer periphery, and gather more Star Element Stones. The snow spirit lotus and iris flower were of paramount importance; he could never allow them to fall into someone else's hands. The surrounding restrictions had also been affected by the spatial storm Old Man Star-Grasper caused and had shifted slightly. Fortunately, the change was not drastic and remained under control. After walking a certain distance, Qin Sang found a sea of fire conjured by a restriction, tossed all of the handsome youth's belongings into it, and watched with his own eyes as the flames consumed them. Setting out once more, Qin Sang finally had a moment to examine his own condition. During his fight with the handsome youth, he had handled things with relative ease and suffered no real injuries. However, because he had relied heavily on the Cold Metal sword and clashed directly with the youth's magic tools several times, the flying sword's spirituality had been damaged, leaving its luster somewhat dimmed. The damage was not severe and could be restored after a day of refinement. After considering it, Qin Sang stowed the Cold Metal sword and took out the long-neglected Ten Directions Yanluo Banners. These ghost banners had gathered dust for a long time. Ever since the great battle in Luandao Waters began, Qin Sang had shelved them away and never touched them. Now that they were being deployed again after several years, the moment he held them, he could actually sense an eager, jubilant emotion emanating from the banners' main souls. Qin Sang smiled wryly, stimulated his spiritual power, and activated the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners. His cultivation was far superior to what it had been in the past, so wielding this set of magic tools was even more effortless. Sustaining them until he left Heaven-Pointing Peak would be more than manageable, making them ideal for self-defense. Ten compact ghost banners swirled around Qin Sang, the soaring yin qi suppressed close to his body to form a shroud of ghostly mist. Before long, Qin Sang reached the end of the stone path. He glanced back with a hint of emotion, then kept moving forward without pause, his pace quickening steadily. Having safely traversed the area densely packed with restrictions, two massive black boulders appeared ahead. They crouched there like a pair of black tigers, majestic and imposing as door gods. Qin Sang remembered these two black rocks vividly. Seeing them meant the path ahead was far less dangerous, and he could begin collecting Star Element Stones. Qin Sang looked up. Against the pitch-black sky, a dozen points of light were scattered. Most of the Star Element Stones had already merged with the restrictions, leaving very few that could actually be collected. *Let's head a bit further forward,* Qin Sang thought, quickening his pace as he darted toward the black rocks. Just as he was about to pass between the two tiger-like boulders, a sudden jolt of terror struck his heart, followed by an exceptionally fierce gale tearing down from above. Qin Sang's expression changed drastically. He snapped his head up and saw a colossal stele plummeting from the summit of the black rock on the left! The massive stele descended from the sky, heavy as a mountain, pressing down to crush him. It was squarely cut and inscribed with three large characters—"Mountain-Shaking Stele." Exuding a dense aura of mysterious yellow qi, it appeared cumbersome, yet it moved with extraordinary swiftness. In the blink of an eye, Qin Sang's figure was engulfed by the mysterious yellow qi, his vision completely dominated by the colossal monument. Even before the stele arrived, the mysterious yellow qi exerted a terrifying pressure, firmly locking onto Qin Sang. Crushed by an immense force, Qin Sang was slammed directly against the ground, his feet cratering deep pits into the earth. His eyes went wide as every bone in his body creaked and groaned. Shuddering from head to toe, he could barely maintain his footing, nearly flattened beneath the stele's sheer weight. *A talisman treasure!* Qin Sang cried out internally. Only a talisman treasure could possess such formidable power. The stele's mysterious yellow qi obstructed his line of sight, preventing him from seeing the ambusher's face, but nine times out of ten, it had to be the Heaven-Traversing Alliance cultivator he had encountered earlier. Qin Sang had never imagined that rather than him going after the man, the other party would strike first. Moreover, it seemed the man had anticipated his route and prepared a talisman treasure well in advance for an ambush. *When we crossed paths earlier, Granny Jing helped conceal my aura, so how could he have detected me?* Qin Sang was bewildered, but the situation gave him no time to ponder. Fortunately, he was habitually cautious and had already deployed the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners for defense. *Whoosh!* The Mountain-Shaking Stele was right upon him, close enough that he could clearly make out its fine engravings. *Crash!* Yin qi billowed outward. The Yanluo Banners expanded with the wind, instantly growing into massive ghost banners nearly twice the height of a man. The ten banners planted themselves firmly into the ground, arraying into a banner formation. In an instant, the space between the black rocks transformed into a ghostly domain, thick with chilling yin qi and filled with the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves. Then, at the center of the formation, yin qi surged, and black ghost fire surged into the sky. Incredibly powerful, the ghost flame directly shattered the pervasive mysterious yellow hue, coalescing into a single stream that braced firmly against the Mountain-Shaking Stele. *Boom!* The Mountain-Shaking Stele collided with the ghost fire. The Ten Directions Yanluo Banners merely shuddered once, remaining firmly rooted in place. The Mountain-Shaking Stele hung frozen in midair, unable to descend another inch. Qin Sang could finally see his attacker. At the summit of the black rock, a man clad in mysterious-yellow armor stood on the precipice looking down. He wore a heavy helmet of the same color, leaving only his facial features exposed. With the Mountain-Shaking Stele thwarted, an expression of profound astonishment surfaced in the armored cultivator's eyes. He clearly had not expected his meticulously prepared ambush—carried out at the expense of a talisman treasure—to be fended off so easily. "It's you!" Qin Sang let out a cold snort as he finally recognized the man's identity. This man was an expert dispatched here by the Heaven-Traversing Alliance only a year ago. In less than a year, he had achieved illustrious battle merits, causing numerous experts from the Lesser Cold Domain to fall by his hand. The armor on his body was no mere ornament, but an entire set of magic tools. Each piece of the armor seemed mysteriously linked, intertwining to produce power far exceeding ordinary top-grade magic tools. His true name was unknown, so when Qin Sang and the others spoke of him, they simply called him the Yellow-Armored Man. Qin Sang had never fought the Yellow-Armored Man, which was why he had failed to recognize him earlier, but he held a deep impression of him. The man was among the few adversaries he dreaded most. Were they to meet outside, Qin Sang would have avoided him as much as possible. "So it's the renowned Shadowless Sword. No wonder you managed to come out alive after causing such a commotion," the Yellow-Armored Man said, his voice laced with mockery when mentioning Qin Sang's moniker. Realization dawned on Qin Sang. It appeared the impact of the spatial storm was even greater than he had anticipated; it had likely caused tremors across the canyon's entire network of restrictions, drawing the Yellow-Armored Man over. He had no idea what reward the Heaven-Traversing Alliance had promised, but it was bound to rival what Stargazing Island offered. Taming Star Element Stones one by one with a Spirit-Locking Bracelet offered meager prospects, especially in a place as perilous as the canyon, where one's hands were tied at every turn. Ambushing an opponent and seizing their Star Element Stones was by far the fastest method—no wonder the Yellow-Armored Man had been tempted.