Having completed these preparations, Qin Sang concealed himself in the darkness and left the stone platform.
He sensed the positions of the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larvae and guided them as far outward as possible, allowing the aura of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold to spread further into the distance.
Silently, the scent of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold drifted through the underground cavern. Qin Sang and the Flying Yaksha lay in ambush, quietly waiting for the spirit insect to appear.
The cavern sank into a dead silence.
A long time passed without any movement.
Qin Sang remained patient, standing motionless like withered wood. He held the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner in his grip, ready to use the Nine Nether Demonic Fire to assist in capturing the Dark Stinkbug.
Throughout this period, Qin Sang had never broken his cultivation, meditating on the Ten Directions Yanluo Array and sword light differentiation with remarkable success; now, he could barely manage to employ them in combat.
The subterranean river gurgled softly.
Nearly an hour had slipped by without the slightest stir, and Qin Sang could not help growing suspicious. After so long, the aura of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold should have spread across a vast distance.
A spirit insect's perception of such an exotic marvel ought to be exceptionally sharp, unless it was asleep or dormant.
The lure of metamorphosis was something no spirit insect could resist.
Could the Dark Stinkbug truly have migrated?
Just as Qin Sang was turning this over in his mind, his gaze narrowed slightly. In his perception, his connection to one of the Ghosthead Bee larvae was abruptly severed.
Qin Sang whipped his head around, his sharp gaze locking onto a fissure in the rock on the opposite riverbank.
Darkness filled the depths of the crevice, saturated with pervasive yin energy.
The Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larva had vanished soundlessly—yet he had sensed nothing at all?
Just then, a sudden turn of events unfolded.
In a flash, all three Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larvae along that line vanished completely!
In the dark, something was closing in on him without a sound, moving at a terrifying speed and devouring every Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larva smeared with Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold.
"Something's wrong!"
Qin Sang's expression changed drastically.
To let the scent of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold disperse as far as possible, he had deliberately spaced the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larvae apart.
The terrain deep within the cavern was treacherous and labyrinthine, twisting and winding.
Even if he executed the Sword Qi Thunderclap divine ability and flew upon his sword, it would be impossible in such terrain to cross the distance between the three larvae so swiftly and kill them in an instant.
One had to know that with Sword Qi Thunderclap, his flight speed was already comparable to a middle Core Formation stage cultivator's!
It was simply too fast!
A second-metamorphosis Dark Stinkbug could never possess such terrifying capability, let alone bypass his senses so easily.
This was a third-metamorphosis Dark Stinkbug!
Had the person who sighted the Dark Stinkbug been mistaken, or had it undergone metamorphosis over the passing years?
The moment this thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind, he snapped his gaze toward the stone platform.
In that split second, the corner of his eye caught what seemed to be a ghostly shadow, gone in a blink. When his eyes fully landed on the platform, nothing was there.
And the Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larva set out as bait had vanished!
Almost on instinct, Qin Sang prepared to unleash the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and pounce on the platform to capture the Dark Stinkbug. But at that very moment, an intense sensation of mortal danger struck him, setting off deafening alarm bells in his mind.
This sense of dread originated from the Flying Yaksha lurking at the bottom of the river!
Bound mind and soul to the Flying Yaksha, he was acutely aware of its state, and this premonition of danger came through with piercing clarity.
"Not good!"
Startled, Qin Sang abandoned all thought of capturing the Dark Stinkbug without a second thought. Stamping against the ground, his figure shot like lightning toward the cavern's exit above.
The ebony sword flew out from between his brows, its sword light circling his body as a rumbling thunderclap shook the subterranean cave.
At the same time, water sprayed outward from the underground river as the Flying Yaksha burst skyward.
*Splash!*
Without sparing the stone platform a glance, the Flying Yaksha also fled toward the cavern exit at top speed.
Speed was normally the Flying Yaksha's forte, but against the Dark Stinkbug lurking in the shadows, it held no advantage at all.
From the gloom, an exceptionally keen aura had already locked onto it, closing the gap with effortless ease. Before the droplets of splashing water could even fall back down, a phantom shadow materialized, cleaving through countless water droplets and bearing down beside the Flying Yaksha in an instant.
Glancing back in alarm, Qin Sang caught sight of this very scene. Horrified, he hastily ordered the Flying Yaksha to twist aside in evasion.
At the same time, he hurriedly opened his corpse puppet pouch and hurled out several refined corpses in succession to buy time for the Flying Yaksha.
To his shock, the moment these refined corpses landed near the Flying Yaksha, they were instantly sliced into minced flesh, accomplishing next to nothing. Only then could one vaguely discern that what had butchered them was a black sword forged of yin energy, tapered at both ends like a wooden shuttle.
The true body of the Dark Stinkbug was concealed within that black sword!
*Swish!*
Two crossing sword shadows bloomed across the Flying Yaksha's chest in an X-shape. Across its torso appeared two identical wounds, cut so deep that bone showed through!
Qin Sang drew a sharp breath of cold air.
The Flying Yaksha's physical body was exceptionally strong. Tempered by earth fiend qi, it surpassed even that of an early Core Formation body-refining cultivator.
Upon reaching the Core Formation stage, the power of incantations was incomparably greater than in Foundation Establishment and was termed Daoist arts. Qin Sang had tested it himself: the Flying Yaksha could withstand the Daoist arts he cast using only its flesh.
Even when facing a low-grade magic treasure, the Flying Yaksha could clash head-on by channeling its corpse qi.
Just now, Qin Sang had commanded the Flying Yaksha to gather all its corpse qi at its chest, yet it had offered not the slightest defense—it had been cleanly cleaved through by the Dark Stinkbug, leaving two horrific gashes across its chest.
Had he not reacted in time, the Flying Yaksha might well have been cut in half at the waist.
Rumor had it that high-tier Dark Stinkbugs possessed the ability to pierce spells and barriers; this one evidently did.
It had definitely not just recently undergone metamorphosis.
Qin Sang could not help feeling profoundly relieved. Fortunately, he hadn't activated the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner or tried to catch the insect with the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, fleeing the moment he realized something was amiss. The Dark Stinkbug was so agile and possessed spell-breaking ability; trapping it was practically impossible, and Qin Sang was not about to gamble his life over an insect.
Qin Sang was in no mortal danger for the moment, but the Flying Yaksha was beset with peril.
If the Dark Stinkbug continued hunting it, the Flying Yaksha would be ruined!
He could not let the Flying Yaksha be destroyed here.
This refined corpse had encountered extraordinary fortunes, making it on par with a true Flying Yaksha. It was a mighty asset, one that could never be replicated even if he refined another in the future.
*Faster! Faster!*
Frantic with urgency, Qin Sang pushed his spiritual sense to its limits, probing into the depths of the cavern until he finally detected two Blood-Winged Ghosthead Bee larvae.
He had split off tiny wisps of spiritual sense and concealed them inside the larvae, but because they were deployed so far away, he could barely discern their positions and could not manipulate them at will.
The instant he sensed something was wrong, Qin Sang had begun searching with all his might for the wisps of spiritual sense within those larvae.
"Detonate!"
*Crack!*
Deep within the cavern, the two larvae self-destructed one after another, and the scent of the Scarlet Fire Flowing Gold on them was thoroughly extinguished.
At that moment, Qin Sang felt a subtle, soundless shift in the air around the Flying Yaksha. Though he could not see it, he was certain the Dark Stinkbug had departed.
*Phew!*
Exhaling a long breath, Qin Sang did not dare linger in the underground cavern. Hurriedly stowing the Flying Yaksha, he fled upon his sword, not stopping until he had flown clear beyond the boundaries of the wasteland.
Chapter 643