Qin Sang could not be bothered to drag things out with words; he had already accomplished his goal.
Coming to the door alone, had he bluntly declared an intention to drive Cui Ji out, his greatest worry would have been Cui Ji's years of local dealings, with other guilds bought over to his side, leaving Qin Sang facing a siege.
By openly flying the banner of a personal feud, he made it difficult for outsiders to intervene.
Facing Cui Ji directly was far simpler.
"Cui, waste no more breath. You know perfectly well what this poor Taoist wants. You and I shall have a bout today. The victor stays, and the loser takes his people and scrambles off the Five Elements Islands, never to set foot here again."
Qin Sang's lips barely moved as he sent a voice transmission to Cui Ji.
Cui Ji's face turned green and pale by turns. He could not see through Qin Sang's true depth. The man's aura was clearly early Core Formation stage, yet he had captured Cui Ji's subordinate alive and intimidated everyone else present into silence.
Glancing left and right, Cui Ji knew none of these onlookers could be relied upon.
With his right-hand man fallen into the opponent's clutches and leverage handed over, using the Nine Stars Guild's authority to forcefully crush the Qiongyu Guild had become impossible.
His only remaining option seemed to be accepting this wild Taoist's proposal.
Without a word, Cui Ji turned on his heel, swept his sleeves, and strode into the hall.
Qin Sang bade the Wang sisters watch the captive, then walked inside with unhurried ease. As he passed through the crowd, he even gave them a friendly nod, eliciting quite a few responses.
*Bang!*
The heavy doors slammed shut.
Everyone outside had guessed how the two intended to settle matters, and they lingered outside the closed doors, unwilling to disperse.
Within the hall, Qin Sang and Cui Ji confronted each other. In his palm, Qin Sang quietly readied the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, his array formation already taking shape. Then, brushing a finger against his waist, he summoned the Flying Yaksha, which appeared silently behind him.
"A Flying Yaksha!"
Cui Ji's eyes narrowed slightly, sudden understanding dawning on him. "You rogue Taoist actually possess a refined corpse at the Core Formation stage! I didn't expect Elder Zou to place such value on the Five Elements Islands. Cui truly misjudged this!"
"Since you know you misjudged, just accept your misfortune," Qin Sang said impassively.
Cui Ji sneered. "It is far too early to tell whose hand the deer will die by. Aren't you being far too arrogant, rogue Taoist?"
Before his words had even settled, the hand Cui Ji had kept behind his back snapped up before his face. Purple radiance surged in his palm, and a perfectly round pearl the size of a longan flared with brilliant splendor.
"Rogue Taoist, taste the power of my Purple Nether Pearl!"
Cui Ji snarled, and the pearl erupted with intense purple radiance. In an instant, it split into several ribbons of purple mist that whistled through the air, tearing toward Qin Sang.
The Flying Yaksha's silhouette flickered, vanishing from behind Qin Sang.
The next instant, the roar of an evil ghost suddenly reverberated through the hall.
Qin Sang glanced aside and saw that the Flying Yaksha was actually entangled by several ribbons of purple mist. Like ropes, the purple mist bound the Flying Yaksha. Pliant yet unyielding, it possessed extraordinary toughness; even when struck by the Flying Yaksha's heavy fists, it showed no sign of shattering, merely parting slightly before snapping back into place.
With a flick of Cui Ji's finger, several more ribbons of purple mist darted toward the Flying Yaksha, reinforcing the cage.
From the look of it, the Flying Yaksha would have a difficult time breaking through the purple mist to reach Cui Ji in short order.
Qin Sang showed not the slightest hint of panic. With a shake of his long sleeves, three Ten Directions Yanluo Banners drifted out slowly, forming a great array before him, their magic treasure auras instantly laid bare.
"A medium-grade magic treasure!"
Cui Ji's expression warped in shock, and he cried out involuntarily.
Panic seized his heart. His fingers tapped rapidly as the Purple Nether Pearl spun with frantic speed, spewing torrent after torrent of purple mist that blotted out the sky. Even while dividing his focus to trap the Flying Yaksha, he could still muster such tremendous might.
Qin Sang acted as if the purple mist did not exist, pouring all his true essence into the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners. With a loud *whoosh*, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire surged forth, gathering into a single mass at the center of the banner array. At a thought from Qin Sang, it immediately counterattacked.
*Boom!*
The hall shook violently.
The purple mist and the Nine Nether Demonic Fire collided.
In an instant, the chairs and furnishings inside the hall were either shattered to splinters by the shockwaves or reduced to ashes by the bizarre flames, leaving the entire structure teetering on the verge of collapse.
Cui Ji's eyes bulged, stunned by the power of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire.
Sensing the demonic fire's aura, a thread of dread rose in his heart, warning him that he could under no circumstances allow it near his person. He cast a strange look at Qin Sang, already regretting his choices; he had never imagined the emissary sent by the Qiongyu Guild was hiding such depth.
*Why would that old immortal send someone like this to a place like this?*
Cui Ji cursed furiously in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly shaped his true essence into a blade, cut a slit in his fingertip, and forced out essence blood onto the Purple Nether Pearl.
He did not hesitate to consume his essence blood to fuel the magic treasure, seeking a swift resolution.
Nourished by the essence blood, the purple mist swelled several times thicker, taking on an astonishing momentum as it bypassed the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and bore straight down on Qin Sang.
Qin Sang's eyes flickered. He suddenly darted backward in retreat, though the Nine Nether Demonic Fire remained where it was.
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...*
The purple mist rained down, striking the ground and effortlessly blasting deep craters into the stone floor with horrifying force.
Qin Sang dodged clumsily, looking thoroughly hard-pressed.
Cui Ji was overjoyed at the sight. Just as he prepared to push the Purple Nether Pearl further, his peripheral vision caught a black shadow—the Nine Nether Demonic Fire had seized the opening to launch a sudden strike.
Thinking the demonic fire was coming for him, Cui Ji hastily dodged.
To his surprise, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire veered in midair and pounced toward the Purple Nether Pearl instead.
Cui Ji was momentarily taken aback. He knew the demonic fire was bizarre, but hoping to destroy the Purple Nether Pearl was nothing short of a fool's dream. This was his life magic treasure, tempered through years of refining, its power far beyond ordinary treasures. It was not far from breaking through to a medium-grade magic treasure, hardly inferior to the Ten Directions Yanluo Array.
Yet just then, a sudden change occurred.
As the Nine Nether Demonic Fire closed in on the Purple Nether Pearl, an eerie streak of red light flashed and vanished.
Before Cui Ji could even make out what the red light was, he suddenly felt his life magic treasure—bound to his very life and soul—turn sluggish and rigid. For reasons unknown, the Purple Nether Pearl suffered a drastic loss of its spirituality, teetering precariously in the air.
Qin Sang had hidden the ebony sword within the Nine Nether Demonic Fire all along, waiting for the right moment to taint the Purple Nether Pearl.
The ferocious purple mist abruptly vanished into nothingness.
Cui Ji paled with terror. Worrying about his life magic treasure was secondary; having lost it, his current predicament had become perilous in the extreme.
Fortunately, his cultivation was not shallow, and he did not lose his head in panic.
He slapped his mustard seed bag in haste, and a round silver shield flew out, radiating brilliant silver light to barely hold back the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. At the same time, sensing a foul gale sweeping in from his left, he realized the Flying Yaksha had broken free. He quickly tapped a finger toward the shield.
The shield swayed gently and split in two, blocking the Flying Yaksha's razor-sharp claws.
He harbored no hopes that the shield could hold out for long. His true essence had not been heavily depleted; as long as he could buy a bit of time to regain his footing, this battle could still be fought.
Yet Qin Sang gave him no such chance.
A rumble of thunder echoed through the room. A beam of sword radiance flashed before Cui Ji's eyes, then split into two—one on the left, one on the right—making it impossible to tell the real from the false.
"Sword Qi Thunderclap! Sword light differentiation!"
Cui Ji was struck with utter shock, a sharp pain pricking his throat.
At that moment, he realized he had been outmaneuvered at every turn. Reversing the tide was all but hopeless, and his life hung by a thread. Daring not gamble any further, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I surrender!"
*Swish!*
The sword radiance sliced past his side.
Qin Sang frowned slightly in secret, left with no choice but to stay his hand.
Chapter 731