A Terrifying Great Demon

The others had not come out yet. Without knowing what was transpiring within the underground cavern, if they failed to make up their minds soon, they would likely be unable to escape even if they wanted to. Qin Sang had no time to worry about anyone else. In his haste, he glanced back over his shoulder. The figures within the white cloud immediately spotted him, and an escape light suddenly detached from it, hurtling after him in hot pursuit. *As expected, there’s more than one of them!* Qin Sang thought to himself. Without pausing in the slightest, he flew forward at full speed. The person pursuing him seemed to realize Qin Sang's evasion technique was extraordinary, and they were already separated by a vast distance to begin with. Waging an all-out chase across the Demon Sea could easily alert the demon beasts, which was plainly unwise. Seeing that the pursuit was hopeless, the pursuer finally gave up after a brief chase. Yet once this person returned to the white cloud, its speed surged drastically once more. Without looking back, Qin Sang fled far into the distance. After flying a considerable distance and confirming no one was pursuing him, he stealthily descended onto the surface of the water. *Why has there been no commotion over there all this time? Were they forced into some agreement, or were the people in the cavern wiped out in an instant?* Qin Sang turned to gaze into the distance, pondering in silence. Unexpectedly, the moment this thought crossed his mind, a dazzling, blinding ray of sword radiance suddenly flared up in the distance, followed shortly by the piercing shriek of a sword whistle. *Good! A fight has broken out!* A smile appeared on Qin Sang’s face. *It’s that man surnamed Lan…* Qin Sang recognized the spirit sword of the scholar in green robes; that sword radiance had been unleashed by him. It seemed Lan had run into a formidable foe, and this strike had clearly been delivered with his full power. That man’s attainment in the sword dao was actually superior to Qin Sang’s. Even if Lan had not yet grasped the Sword Qi Thunderclap, he was not far from it. Qin Sang was secretly astonished. That man had also kept a trick up his sleeve; during their earlier discussions, he had humbly asked Qin Sang several questions about the sword dao without Qin Sang detecting anything amiss. None of these people were simple. Confronted with such a sword strike, even Qin Sang would have to treat it with the utmost gravity. Immediately afterward, a sudden buzzing roar broke out, loud enough to drown out the whistle of the sword. Where the sword radiance pointed, an eerie phantom materialized out of thin air. It was difficult to see clearly, but Qin Sang was certain it was not a human silhouette, but rather that of an insect. *Insect controlling! They really are of the Witch Clan—someone became a traitor to humanity! It seems Lan isn’t in league with them…* Concealing his presence, Qin Sang flew to higher ground to watch from afar. What he could see most clearly was the clash between the sword radiance and the insect phantom. The two seemed evenly matched, with neither side gaining the upper hand for the moment. As he observed the battle, Qin Sang opened the scrawny old man's mustard seed bag. Sweeping his spiritual sense swiftly across its contents, his expression shifted slightly. A white bone, as thick as an adult’s thigh and a full zhang long, leaped out from the mustard seed bag. *A great demon’s bone! Its aura matches the beast hide!* Qin Sang grabbed the white bone and found it devoid of luster and spirituality. It was extremely brittle, clearly having been eroded away just like the hide. *This man really was working with that plump cultivator. Aside from the bone, there are no other treasures worth mentioning in the mustard seed bag; it seems all they retrieved from the cave dwelling was indeed just scraps. Could it be they emptied their fortunes to breach the Nascent Soul cave dwelling, expecting great windfalls, only to find all the treasures corroded by the cold mist? Driven mad by the crushing disappointment, did they turn to evil schemes, using this place as bait to lure people here and kill them to recoup their losses?* Qin Sang muttered to himself, *Or is there some treasure trove deeper in the cavern that is sealed off, requiring specific conditions to unlock? I’ll know once I capture one of them and interrogate him.* Over by the island, towering waves surged and the battle raged with tremendous fervor. Even flying high in the air, the island was obscured from view, and violent tremors from true essence collisions rippled outward continuously. At this moment, Qin Sang noticed the battlefield shifting. One side seemed to be falling back, possibly looking to flee. *They haven't been able to take down Lan after all this time. It seems my guess was right: although the scrawny old man’s accomplices can steer that strange white cloud at shocking speed, their combat strength is limited. If I head back now and kill one of them in an instant, turning the tide of battle would be effortless.* Qin Sang weighed his options, though he still hesitated, uncertain whether they were putting on an act to lure him back. *Even if the newcomers are exceptionally strong, they couldn’t possibly come up with such a ploy to lure me back so quickly, could they? Causing such a huge commotion risks alerting a great demon, which would hardly be worth it. Besides, I didn’t use my full power earlier; with Sword Qi Thunderclap, they wouldn’t catch up even with that white cloud. If they chase me relentlessly, turning it into a contest of true essence reserves, with my corpse core I have even less to fear.* Qin Sang decided to sneak closer and take a look. However, he had only flown back a short distance when an inexplicable sense of impending doom flooded his heart. His hair stood on end, as though a dreadful disaster were bearing down upon him. Coming to an abrupt halt, Qin Sang whipped his head around, his face clouded with shock and doubt. The next instant, he saw ripples and waves suddenly churning on the surface of the sea to his left. Beneath the spray, a massive black silhouette—neither truly dragon nor fish—was slowly rising from the ocean depths. Catching sight of this silhouette, Qin Sang felt as though his scalp would burst. This was very likely a great demon in the late Demon Core realm! A terrifying great demon had actually been lurking in this stretch of sea! It had probably been slumbering, only to be awakened by the battle, and having surfaced now, it was bound to devour living prey! Fortunately, the great demon’s attention was drawn to the battlefield ahead, and it did not notice Qin Sang, who was comparatively closer. Holding his breath and restraining his aura, Qin Sang slowly retreated. The battle raged on ahead, neither side realizing that a terrifying dark shadow was swimming toward them beneath the surface at breakneck speed. Catastrophe was bearing down! After retreating a safe distance, Qin Sang spun around and fled without looking back. Treasures, spiritual fire—all of it was cast to the back of his mind. Before a great demon, there was no room for wishful thinking. The others could only fend for themselves. *Crash!* Before he had flown far, Qin Sang heard the deafening roar of surging water. Glancing back in alarm, he saw a white line appear across the sea behind him as a wall of water over a dozen zhang tall came crashing in pursuit. Faintly, he seemed to hear an agonizing, bloodcurdling shriek. Qin Sang elevated his escape light higher into the air. All he could see was an expanse of white foaming waves, within which a gigantic demon beast was thrashing and rolling as though at play. As for the cultivators, they had long been engulfed by the waves, vanishing from sight. Even the island seemed to tremble ceaselessly amidst the colossal waves raised by the beast. Faced with such a beast, all those cultivators appeared entirely powerless to resist; it was impossible to tell whether any of them would be fortunate enough to survive. Dusk was falling. Witnessing this scene, Qin Sang fled toward the setting sun with resolute determination. He judged that the battle would not last long, but he dared not pause for a second; once the great demon finished off the others, he would be next. Even after the battlefield vanished from sight, the ripples stirred by the combat did not cease, spreading far across the sea beneath Qin Sang, though they appeared much weaker now. Just as Qin Sang thought the battle was over, a thunderous boom suddenly erupted behind him!