The reason Yi Tiannie had not fled immediately after his failed sneak attack, and had dared to linger to threaten Qin Sang with the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit, was his assumption that Qin Sang’s corpse core was no different from the one in the Flying Yaksha.
Controlling the Flying Yaksha had given him an intimate understanding of Qin Sang's background, leading him to believe they were evenly matched at the very least. With his speed, Qin Sang would surely never be able to stop him if he chose to disengage.
Yet what Yi Tiannie never could have foreseen was that Qin Sang’s corpse core was entirely different.
Qin Sang had achieved his breakthrough via the astral-fiend core clash, granting him prowess on par with a genuine Core Formation stage cultivator. Yi Tiannie, on the other hand, merely commanded an artificially refined Flying Yaksha!
"You could be considered a formidable overlord in your own right. If you had bided your time for just a few more years, you might truly have succeeded."
The sea of flames parted, and Qin Sang emerged from the demonic fire. His gaze was icy as he stared at Yi Tiannie, his voice chilling. "The scenery here is exquisite—a fitting place for your grave!"
*Rumble!*
The Ten Directions Yanluo Banner shook relentlessly, unleashing waves of sinister demonic sounds.
The ghostly wind turned sharper, its wailing plaintive and harsh.
The stone hall plunged into pitch-black darkness, cloaked beyond the reach of the naked eye. Qin Sang stood beside the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner, grasping the demonic banner as demonic fire danced wildly around him like an archdemon reborn from the flames.
Not only did the Nine Nether Demonic Fire lack heat, but it also plunged the stone hall into bone-chilling cold—a chill that seemed to seep straight into one's soul, inducing involuntary shudders.
The flames were jet-black, appearing as if dredged from the depths of the Nine Nethers, devouring all light and exerting immense pressure. Yi Tiannie, trapped at the center, felt an onset of dread.
The rocks of the stone hall groaned and cracked, but faint luminescent patterns flowed beneath their surface, keeping the walls exceptionally resilient against the onslaught of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire.
Protected by the demon king blood restriction, the stone walls would not break even if Qin Sang and Yi Tiannie exerted every ounce of strength they had, allowing them to fight with complete abandon.
The expression on Yi Tiannie’s face froze, turning thoroughly grim.
Back when Patriarch Kuiyin had passed away and bestowed the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners upon his disciples, Yi Tiannie had begun mastering this treasure, knowing its every nuance like the back of his hand.
Had Qin Sang formed a conventional corpse core, there would have been nothing to fear, but circumstances were different now.
The demonic flames surged to the heavens.
A flash of green light flared at Yi Tiannie's chest, and his figure vanished instantly.
Qin Sang narrowed his eyes. He knew this was no stealth technique, but an illusion born of sheer, terrifying speed.
The Flying Yaksha was inherently adept at evasion techniques and moved like a specter; combined with whichever ghost-path secret art Yi Tiannie had invoked, his speed was even faster and exceedingly agile.
Qin Sang had spread the Nine Nether Demonic Fire precisely to guard against this.
The instant Yi Tiannie moved, he inevitably disturbed the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. Qin Sang easily pinpointed the trajectory of his movement. With a flick of his finger, the surrounding demonic flames immediately surged ahead of Yi Tiannie, blocking his path.
In an instant, chaos erupted within the stone hall.
Amidst a series of thunderous collisions, Yi Tiannie’s figure darted like an apparition, appearing on the left one moment and on the right the next, attempting every possible method to breach the demonic fire.
The Nine Nether Demonic Fire condensed into clusters one instant and dispersed in all directions the next.
Unpredictable yet orderly, it shifted at Qin Sang's every whim.
Even after taking heavy blows from Yi Tiannie, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire swiftly reconvened, sealing his path and driving him back without leaving the slightest gap.
Although there was a gap between their strengths, killing Yi Tiannie was not something that could be done in a brief moment.
If he grew too impatient, he might reveal a flaw and allow Yi Tiannie to escape.
Qin Sang, however, had no intention of slaying Yi Tiannie in such haste, nor did he even plan on wounding him for the moment. Instead, he concentrated entirely on maneuvering the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner to bar every exit and keep him firmly trapped!
Thanks to Qin Sang's cautious approach, no matter how frantically Yi Tiannie struggled, he could find no opportunity to slip away.
At the same time, Qin Sang divided his focus to reach out to the soul imprint within the Flying Yaksha, attempting to break through Yi Tiannie’s blockade and awaken it.
Yi Tiannie was reduced to a mere remnant soul. Until his soul recovered, he had to rely on the Flying Yaksha to wield formidable power.
If Qin Sang could reclaim control over the Flying Yaksha, cutting the ground from beneath his feet, Yi Tiannie would be reduced to a rootless duckweed, a wandering ghost at the mercy of others.
Even if he could not fully take back the Flying Yaksha, he could still sow chaos and diminish Yi Tiannie’s strength.
Yi Tiannie soon discerned Qin Sang’s intentions. Despair washing over him, he let out continuous roars, frantically hurling himself against the Nine Nether Demonic Fire with reckless abandon.
Yet all of it was doomed to be futile. He had missed his sole opportunity to flee, cutting off his own retreat and becoming a caged beast.
With escape out of reach, Yi Tiannie attempted to strike at Qin Sang holding the banner, but that proved equally futile.
In contrast, Qin Sang grew increasingly composed. He could sense the soul imprint growing clearer and clearer, while Yi Tiannie’s speed steadily dwindled, evidently compromised.
At last, Qin Sang reawakened the soul imprint.
Unexpectedly, just as Qin Sang was about to wrest control of the Flying Yaksha's body, Yi Tiannie suddenly ceased his struggling, and the Flying Yaksha froze in place, motionless.
Yi Tiannie seemed to have vanished.
Suspicion rose in Qin Sang's heart. With a shift of his will, he drove the entirety of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire forward, pouncing toward the Flying Yaksha.
At that precise instant, a dazzling green radiance ignited on the Flying Yaksha's chest, erupting with an exceptionally formidable pressure that shot outward.
The beam of green light forcibly tore through wave after wave of flames, yet it failed to carve out an escape route before its momentum flagged. It snuffed out entirely, leaving behind nothing.
Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly. Just as he moved to inspect it, he sensed something amiss and abruptly lowered his gaze toward the bottom of the lake, promptly catching sight of a clue.
Immediately following, a clear, resonant sword hum sounded from between Qin Sang’s brows.
The next moment, the ebony sword materialized at the bottom of the lake ahead.
Sword qi erupted as the ebony sword lunged straight toward the lake bed.
*Clang!* With a crisp ring, a crescent-shaped piece of precious jade was knocked out of the void from the seemingly empty lake bed by the ebony sword.
Within the jade, the ghostly image of Yi Tiannie's soul stared back at Qin Sang, his gaze dripping with venomous malice.
Cornered in a hopeless plight, Yi Tiannie had actually managed to pull off a diversion, detonating all his soul power and concealing himself within the jade in an attempt to slip away undetected.
*What a tenacious will to survive!*
Qin Sang sighed internally, yet his strikes showed no mercy.
The sword qi enveloped the jade from above, leaving Yi Tiannie powerless to resist.
Yet the moment the sword qi wrapped around the jade, a crack abruptly spread across Yi Tiannie’s soul form, and his aura rapidly began to dissipate.
Seeing this, Qin Sang darted forward and snatched the jade.
Yi Tiannie sought to destroy himself, but Qin Sang would not let him off so cheaply—he still needed to interrogate him for news of the Three Light Jade Liquid.
Just as Qin Sang prepared to invoke the Soul-Snatching Incantation, Yunyouzi's voice transmission suddenly rang in his ear: "His divine soul is about to scatter! Use a soul-searching technique!"
Immediately after, a soul-searching technique surfaced within Qin Sang's mind.
This technique was exceptionally profound, far surpassing any of the soul-searching methods Qin Sang had previously obtained.
Knowing that every second counted and that the Soul-Snatching Incantation was indeed ill-suited for this moment compared to a soul-searching technique, Qin Sang shifted his approach without hesitation. Swiftly completing the incantation, an eerie black vapor billowed from his fingertips as he reached directly for Yi Tiannie's remnant soul.
Chapter 586