Lurking

He forced the saber qi out of his body. After taking a medicinal pill, Qin Sang's complexion noticeably improved. He looked down at the Gold Glow Armor he wore. Marked by several deep dents, it was on the verge of ruin. He had no choice but to put it away and change into a spirit robe. Next, he checked on the Flying Yaksha's condition. Riddled with several gaping holes, the Flying Yaksha was on the brink of death. A moment later, Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual sense and let out a sigh of relief. While the Flying Yaksha's injuries looked shocking, by sheer luck, none had struck its vitals. The two-headed hou unleashed wind blades to carve a path forward. Qin Sang glanced over his shoulder. Cui Ji was nowhere to be seen. He still felt somewhat disgruntled. He had braved the risk of having both the Gold Glow Armor and the Flying Yaksha ruined, and had even held back from unleashing the two-headed hou at the height of danger, all in an attempt to lure the enemy deeper into a trap. Yet that sudden blast had ruined it all. With Cui Ji still alive, Qin Sang felt like he had a dagger at his back. Still, the tables had turned: the enemy was now in the light, and he was in the shadows. Withdrawing his gaze, he wielded his spirit sword, working in tandem with the two-headed hou to cut a path through. They had chosen a different direction. Amid the sheer chaos of the battlefield, Cui Ji would surely never imagine that Qin Sang had not only survived, but still possessed the strength to break through the encirclement. A chaotic brawl ensued. Unable to see what lay ahead, Qin Sang could only fix his sights on a single direction and barrel through. Before long, he noticed traces of other ferocious beasts appearing around him, though far fewer than the Purple Star Eagles. Evidently, only the Purple Star Eagles had been deliberately lured here, while the rest were drawn in by the scent of blood. "Finally, an opening." Qin Sang slashed his sword, cleaving a ferocious beast in two. Ferocious beasts were still relentlessly pursuing him. After scanning the area and finding nothing amiss, Qin Sang recalled the two-headed hou, reined in his aura, and concealed himself. Protected by the poison-warding armor, Qin Sang had no need to expend true essence to shield himself. Lurking in the shadows, holding his breath, he carefully dodged to stay out of the beasts' sight, watching swarms of beasts circling ceaselessly while more poured in from the periphery without end. Without means like the bone lotus or the poison-warding armor, even the most powerful cultivator would be ground down to death here. Having lost Qin Sang's trail, the ferocious beasts gave up the chase and plunged into the melee. By now, the battlefield was no longer just Purple Star Eagles besieging immortal cultivators. As more and more beasts were drawn in, crazed by the scent of blood, they lost all reason and dissolved into pure mayhem. Their eyes held only slaughter, heedless of friend or foe. The area had transformed into a meat grinder, blood flowing like rivers and dyeing the earth crimson, with no telling when it would stop. At last, Qin Sang shook off the beasts and stood on the periphery of the battlefield. Blood trickled beneath his feet. Listening to the frenzied roars of the beasts, he could not help feeling a lingering dread. Standing in place, he did not immediately retreat from the Purple Mist Deathland. Instead, he turned toward the stone hall, his expression shifting uncertainly. Having broken out of the siege, his consumption had not been overly heavy, and his strength remained well-preserved; he was loath to just retreat like this. Cui Ji believed he was dead—this was his chance. After pondering briefly, Qin Sang silently drew closer to the stone hall. The two places Cui Ji was most likely to be right now were either the stone hall or the site of the explosion, and the two were not far apart. Evading beasts and the battlefield, he approached cautiously. He soon discovered that the stone hall was already surrounded by beasts, but the site of the explosion seemed far less chaotic. Midway, Qin Sang lightly curled his fingers, letting three Ten Directions Yanluo Banners slip into his palm. Once he made his move, it had to strike with thunderous ferocity, granting the foe not a single breath of respite. *Boom!* Up ahead, several Purple Star Eagles were besieging a gray wolf. The eagles flapped their massive wings, wheeling up and down. A yellow glow erupted from the wolf as it planted its feet on the earth, riddled with wounds yet refusing to flee. The chaotic clash roiled the purple mist. As Qin Sang crept closer, he caught a glimpse of two figures. He froze, his expression tightening slightly. The gray wolf let out a mournful howl as the Purple Star Eagles crushed its spine and tore it apart, devouring it until only a skeleton remained within moments. As the purple mist closed back in, Qin Sang clenched his fists and advanced soundlessly, calculating the distance in his head before lurking near the two figures. Even with the purple mist concealing him, he dared not draw too close, lest some unforeseen mishap catch him off guard. If his eyes had not deceived him, one of them was indeed Cui Ji. The other, however, came as a complete shock—it was Xiang Yi! He had assumed Xiang Yi had been ambushed and killed, with even his bone lotus taken. But that fleeting glimpse had revealed that Xiang Yi and Cui Ji each held a bone lotus! This stunned Qin Sang beyond measure. It turned out Xiang Yi and Cui Ji were working together, one in the light and one in the dark, both serving the Merchant Alliance. No wonder Cui Ji had acted so fearlessly, daring to commit murder in the middle of a chaotic battle! Those two old foxes hadn't shown the slightest slip on the journey! Qin Sang cursed inwardly, but his curiosity grew even stronger. Could the masterminds who lured the ferocious beasts here be Xiang Yi and Cui Ji? If this was the Merchant Alliance's doing, what was the point? They were all minor figures who hardly counted as the core of their respective guilds. If the Merchant Alliance wanted them dead, there was no need to go to such lengths. Qin Sang frowned secretly, recalling what he had just seen. Right next to where Xiang Yi and Cui Ji stood was a massive crater. When they had cleared the area around the stone hall earlier, that crater had not been there; it must have been created by the blast. *Beside the crater, something was sprawled motionless—that underground beast. It looks like it's dead.* Because he dared not draw too close, Qin Sang had only caught an outline. But the underground beast's features were unmistakable, and he had easily recognized it. *Wait, under those two's feet, there seemed to be another person lying there—or rather, a corpse. It looked like only the upper torso was left...* Qin Sang's brow furrowed, and a flash of insight struck him. *It's him!* The cultivator surnamed Pan who wore a half-mask! Just then, Qin Sang suddenly heard sounds of clashing in the distance. Someone was fighting their way here. His heart stirred, and he quietly retreated another short distance. Before long, Xiang Yi's icy voice reached Qin Sang's ears. "Fellow Daoist An, you're late." The purple mist surged. Shaking off the ferocious beasts, the portly man in luxurious robes charged out from within. After catching his breath for a few moments and steadying his breathing, he glanced at Cui Ji and frowned. "Cui Ji, you sent me a voice transmission earlier telling me to keep tabs on the others while you went off alone to kill Daoist Qingfeng. Did you not discuss that with Fellow Daoist Xiang before making your move?" Cui Ji gave an awkward chuckle and shook his head. Just as he was about to explain, his gaze met Xiang Yi's furious glare. A shudder ran through him, and fear crept across his face. "You dared to go off on your own to kill Daoist Qingfeng! I warned you long ago: wait until the mission is finished, and you can do whatever you like! Did you take my words as wind past your ear?!" Xiang Yi glared at Cui Ji, his voice sharp and demanding. Shrinking his neck, Cui Ji defended himself in a small voice: "Fellow Daoist Xiang, you saw for yourself how formidable that fellow's evasion technique was. Even without going all out, he could keep pace with you! Just now, when he broke out with full force, his speed was practically the fastest I've ever seen among Core Formation stage cultivators. If we slipped up, he could easily shake us off and vanish without a trace. With the toxic mist and the Purple Star Eagles hemming him in, his relied-upon evasion technique was restricted—it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."