Peril

"He was waiting for me on purpose!" Ever since he had first met Cui Ji and set out alongside him, Qin Sang had been quietly on guard. Regardless of whether Cui Ji harbored ill intent, Qin Sang had never intended to give him an opening. With ferocious beasts circling all around and survival far from guaranteed, that Cui Ji would be mad enough to turn on an ally at such a moment was something Qin Sang had never anticipated. Even stranger, how had the bone lotus ended up in Cui Ji's hands? Xiang Yi could well be called the strongest among the eight of them, and Qin Sang knew he was no match for him. Even when faced with that underground beast, surely he wouldn't have perished and lost his treasure so quickly? Unless there was more to the story! Suspicion sprouted in Qin Sang's mind, accompanied by a sudden prickle of unease. *Whoosh! Whoosh!* An overwhelming purple glow surged to fill Qin Sang's vision. The purple haze blooming from the Purple Nether Bead could overcome firmness with softness. Before, it had transformed into a cage to easily trap the Flying Yaksha, but now it rivaled sword qi, exceedingly fierce and unyielding. The purple haze rushed out like bolts of silk. If struck, Qin Sang had no doubt his body would be riddled like a hornet's nest. Cui Ji had plotted this for a long time, while Qin Sang was caught virtually unawares. Moreover, the distance between them was terribly close, and Qin Sang was surrounded by Purple Star Eagles. The timing of Cui Ji's strike was vicious and cunning, leaving no room to dodge. Qin Sang's face sank. His first reaction was to open his corpse puppet pouch. The Flying Yaksha had barely leapt out before the purple haze descended upon them. Thick corpse qi converged before the Flying Yaksha's chest. Standing in front of Qin Sang to shield him from calamity, the Flying Yaksha glared fiercely with rounded eyes, utterly fearless of death. Unfortunately, the time granted to the Flying Yaksha was simply too short. Before the corpse qi could coalesce into an armored shield, still pitifully thin, it was torn through by the purple haze and collapsed instantly. All that remained was its physical flesh! The Flying Yaksha possessed a formidable physique, but even that had its limits. Cui Ji was at the peak of the mid-stage, significantly stronger than he had been twenty years ago, and the power of the Purple Nether Bead was beyond comparison. *Pfft...* The Flying Yaksha took the purple haze with its bare body. In an instant, several gaping holes were punched through it by the purple haze, leaving it in a gruesome state. At that critical juncture, although Qin Sang did his best to maneuver the Flying Yaksha away from lethal strikes, the battle was too perilous; he could neither check nor spare the thought to worry about the Yaksha's condition. By intercepting part of the purple haze, the Flying Yaksha bought Qin Sang precious moments. Desperately channeling true essence into his Gold Glow Armor, golden radiance erupted around him, solidifying into a thick mantle of light that made him look like a god of war. *Crack!* Qin Sang took a heavy blow. His face instantly drained of color as the immense force blasted him away, crashing him violently into a Purple Star Eagle. That Purple Star Eagle suffered the worst fate: first battered by Qin Sang's collision until it blacked out, and immediately pierced through the heart by a beam of purple haze, dying on the spot. The next moment, Qin Sang, along with several Purple Star Eagles, was enveloped by the purple haze. *Clang! Clang!* The abrupt metallic clashing of weapons rang out. Amidst the purple haze, Qin Sang hit the ground with a muffled grunt. Purple light swirled across his chest. His face was devoid of color, and his Daoist robes had blown apart, revealing the true form of the Gold Glow Armor underneath. Over the chest plate of the Gold Glow Armor, a deep indentation had sunken in, spiderwebbed by tiny fissures radiating outward. Two beams of purple haze that pierced the golden armor of light had struck the exact same spot in succession. The Gold Glow Armor itself had sustained damage! Without the Gold Glow Armor, Qin Sang would have been in dire straits. Cui Ji's sneak attack was far too insidious. Had Qin Sang not reacted in time, the outcome would have been far worse than mere dents and cracks. This Gold Glow Armor, whose materials rivaled a medium-grade magic treasure, might well have been destroyed outright. Gritting his teeth, Qin Sang forcefully suppressed the churning blood and qi inside him. Just as he prepared to push himself up and regroup, a white flash suddenly burst out from behind the purple haze—it was a flying knife. The white light was blade glow; the blade was clear like autumnal water, flying even faster than the purple haze and sweeping like lightning toward Qin Sang's neck. The knife had slender lines, with a breathtakingly sharp upward hook at the tip—unquestionably a vicious weapon! Twenty years ago, Cui Ji had not possessed this magic treasure; it was newly acquired. A flying knife behind the purple haze! *This* was the true killing strike, utterly venomous—seizing the exact instant when Qin Sang had just weathered the purple haze and let his guard slip, arriving in a flash! Qin Sang's expression shifted. The purple haze had still been within his calculations, so he had refrained from releasing the two-headed hou to shield himself, intending to catch Cui Ji off guard later. Now it was too late to summon it! *Clang!* A sword hum wailed. The ebony sword materialized with a roll of thunder. At the same moment, dragon souls coiled around Qin Sang's body, radiant with crimson light. Still sprawled on the ground without even the chance to rise, he simultaneously activated the sword evasion technique and the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman, unleashing extreme speed. The flying knife slashed toward his neck. In this suffocating instant, Qin Sang snapped his body upward. He could already feel a chill biting into his throat, the frigid blade nearly brushing his skin. *Slash!* By a hair's breadth, Qin Sang dodged a lethal blow, yet he still could not completely evade the strike and was wounded after all. Agony flared from his shoulder as blood spattered wildly. The flying knife hacked deep into his shoulder, tearing through flesh and nearly severing the arm at its joint. White bone lay exposed, and the knife dripped crimson. His arm hung limp. The true essence within him surged violently, deflecting the spent knife away. Grimacing in pain, Qin Sang gritted his teeth and glared viciously at Cui Ji. Cui Ji, however, looked astonished. He knew Qin Sang possessed decent evasion speed, enough to keep pace with Xiang Yi, but he had never imagined Qin Sang could burst with such shocking speed in an instant—faster than ever before—and manage to dodge a sure-kill strike. While the wound appeared horrific, for an immortal cultivator it was not fatally grave; so long as the lingering blade glow in the wound was expelled, it could be swiftly healed. Yet Cui Ji beamed with a wide smile, brimful of confidence. No matter how good his evasion techniques were, it would change nothing! This was the Purple Mist Deathland, unlike anywhere else, surrounded by boundless toxic mist. That knife slash had not only nearly cleaved Qin Sang's arm, but had also shattered his protective spiritual aura. The toxic mist, mingled with the blade glow, had already invaded Qin Sang's body. Disaster upon disaster! Once poison penetrated the inner organs, it was beyond remedy. Unless Qin Sang immediately circulated his cultivation technique, suppressed the blade glow, and devoted all his strength to purging the toxic mist. Unfortunately, neither the Purple Star Eagles nor Cui Ji would give him that chance. With a wave of his hand, Cui Ji recalled the flying knife. This throwing knife was a magic treasure obtained at immense cost, and he feared Qin Sang might defile it with bizarre methods. "Wicked Daoist, today is the day you die!" Cui Ji looked demented, venting his malice without restraint. Clutching the Purple Nether Bead, he attacked furiously once more, offering Qin Sang no room to breathe. He did not even need to land a killing blow himself; a prolonged battle alone would ensure Qin Sang succumbed to the poison. It had been a very long time since Qin Sang had been driven into such a perilous plight by a cultivator of the same realm. Ever since forming his core, he had relied on an array of methods to virtually crush any opponent of comparable cultivation. Qin Sang could not help but acknowledge that Cui Ji's scheme had been deep and his timing impeccable. Moreover, the ferocity of his lethal move was astonishing, actually shattering his defenses.