Having mistakenly assumed Qin Sang was entangled in the secrets of the ancient divine platform, the youth had suspected another faction was lurking in the shadows. That suspicion had stayed his hand, making him hesitant to act rashly until he could investigate thoroughly.
Now that he knew it was all a misunderstanding, he had no further reservations and stomped down firmly.
*Crack, hiss...*
The ground suddenly split open. Starting from beneath the youth's feet, a fissure spread toward Qin Sang with startling speed.
Thick green light pulsed from within the fissure, where a green vine was growing rapidly. Shaped like an enormous python, its target seemed to be not Qin Sang, but the two-headed hou!
The two-headed hou arched its back slightly, lowering its head to snarl as it glared fixedly at the fissure.
*Boom!*
The vine tore free from the ground and shot out with a sharp whistle. Qin Sang caught only a blurry green streak before the vine pounced right before the two-headed hou.
Every hair on the two-headed hou's body bristled. Without hesitation, it unleashed its shadow-splitting divine ability. With a blur of motion, it divided into several figures that darted in all directions.
Unexpectedly, the vine whipped violently, and several branches sprouted from its tip, moving as nimbly as agile serpents and as swift as lightning.
*Thud, thud, thud...*
The two-headed hou's phantoms were ensnared squarely and shattered on the spot, but its true body managed to evade the vine and escape.
The vine pressed on relentlessly, poised to continue the pursuit.
Suddenly, a flash of sword light severed the vine.
Qin Sang darted back alongside the two-headed hou. The ebony sword darted forward like a swimming dragon; severing the vine above ground was not enough—in a flash, it plunged into the fissure, easily chopping the vine into several segments and uprooting it completely.
Yet Qin Sang showed not the slightest hint of delight; instead, his heart tightened.
The vine had been formidable enough to frighten the two-headed hou into using its shadow-splitting divine ability to dodge; there was no way it could be cut down so easily unless the youth had done so intentionally.
At this thought, alarm bells rang in Qin Sang's mind. His gaze narrowed, noticing something off about the youth standing motionless in the distance. Without hesitation, he activated the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman.
A flood dragon coiled around him. Enveloped in the flood dragon soul, Qin Sang's speed surged explosively. He vanished from his spot and reappeared several tens of feet away.
At the exact moment Qin Sang vanished, the ground beneath his feet blew open, and a ray of green light shot skyward.
At the heart of the green light was a strangely shaped spirit sword. Its body was a gray sword resembling carved old tree bark, its surface exceedingly rough, yet radiating a green glow full of vibrant vitality.
The gray sword appeared without the slightest omen; having lain concealed beneath the earth, it erupted suddenly.
Had Qin Sang remained where he was, he likely would have been cleaved in two.
The youth let out a soft exclamation of surprise, glancing at Qin Sang with some astonishment. "It seems your evasion technique is even stronger than I imagined. But that won't be enough!"
Before his words faded, the youth cast several hand seals in rapid succession. The gray sword shuddered, emitting a muffled sword chime, and the green glow it radiated turned even more dazzling and intense.
As the green light grew stronger, the physical form of the gray sword became ethereal until it vanished completely.
Upon the barren ground, green grass and small trees actually sprouted.
In an instant, the space around Qin Sang transformed from the Purple Mist Deathland into a green wilderness.
Of course, these were all illusions.
The physical form of the gray sword had disappeared, concealed within the expanse, but every blade of grass and every sword in the wilderness emanated sword qi. Any one of them could be an incarnation of the gray sword, impossible to guard against.
If the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had completed its third metamorphosis, Qin Sang could easily have seen through these illusions, but for now, he could only remain on high alert.
An illusion domain formed purely of sword qi actually possessed glaring flaws and was more flashy than practical, unless the user's attainment in the sword dao was exceptionally high. Unfortunately, the gap in cultivation between Qin Sang and the youth was simply too vast; unable to use brute force to break through subtlety, Qin Sang found himself constrained.
The vegetation grew wildly, compressing his room to maneuver.
Knowing he could not sit idly awaiting death, Qin Sang pointed toward the ebony sword from afar. Instead of recalling it to his rescue, he commanded it to strike straight toward the youth's true body.
At the same time, Qin Sang retrieved the scroll painting and tossed it gently upward. Drifting blossoms and falling leaves fluttered down, perfectly complementing the surrounding illusory world of plants and trees.
Qin Sang's figure wavered and vanished into thin air.
The reason he could use the scroll to blend seamlessly into the illusion and hide in the most perilous place was precisely because, like the youth, he primarily cultivated wood-attribute spiritual power.
Losing sight of Qin Sang and sensing no ripples of his presence within the sword qi illusion domain, the youth realized his cleverness had backfired. He instantly barked in anger, "Detonate!"
*Boom!*
The entire sword qi illusion domain shattered at once. The lifelike vegetation exposed its true nature—nothing more than conjured illusions—and cracked like a mirror into countless fragments.
These fragments converged in a flash, reforming into the physical gray sword.
As the illusion domain shattered, the scroll took the brunt of the impact. The falling blossoms trembled violently, and Qin Sang's true form was exposed. The gray sword shuddered, taking advantage of the moment to slash toward the back of Qin Sang's neck.
Sensing the rapidly approaching gray sword, a chill ran down the back of Qin Sang's neck, and he had no choice but to dodge once more.
From the moment the clash began until now, he had been almost entirely suppressed by the youth. The only thing he could do was counter each move as it came, not daring to confront him head-on; the disparity in cultivation realm was laid bare.
If he did not find a way to break the deadlock, he would merely be worn down and killed.
While Qin Sang maneuvered against the gray sword, the ebony sword had already reached the youth, and the two-headed hou seized the opportunity to charge at him as well.
The youth's relaxed expression froze the moment the rumble of thunder reached his ears.
"Sword Qi Thunderclap..."
Like a bolt of lightning, the ebony sword thrust straight toward the youth's throat. Reacting with astonishing swiftness, the youth tapped his foot and retreated explosively, swinging his arm at the same time to loose a golden beam from his palm.
The true form of the golden beam was a golden ring. Originally the size of a finger ring, once cast out, it swiftly expanded to the size of a bracelet. Spinning rapidly, it shot straight toward the ebony sword, seemingly intent on snaring it.
"Another medium-grade magic treasure!"
Qin Sang's expression tightened slightly. The gray sword the youth had unleashed earlier was likely his life spirit sword; given his cultivation, refining his life magic treasure to the rank of a medium-grade magic treasure was not surprising.
Yet casually producing another medium-grade magic treasure showed just how troublesome an opponent he was.
Not knowing the golden ring's abilities, Qin Sang dared not let it touch the ebony sword. Shifting his hand seals, he hurriedly executed the divine ability of sword light differentiation.
As the golden ring bore down, the ebony sword braked sharply in midair and suddenly split into two.
Caught off guard, the youth's golden ring only snared the ray of sword light, while the physical ebony sword drove straight through.
"Sword light differentiation!"
The youth cried out in shock, envy and jealousy surfacing on his face.
He had immersed himself in the sword dao for many years yet had never been able to comprehend sword light differentiation. Though Qin Sang had produced only a single beam of differentiated sword light, it represented a chasm the youth had never managed to cross.
Yet despite his shock, the youth did not panic. The gap in strength between them could not be bridged by a mere sword dao divine ability.
The ebony sword was already inches away.
The two-headed hou also realized this was its chance. Its slit pupils dilated as it exerted all its strength, firing off wind blades that coalesced into a tempest and swept outward.
As the two clashed, it was surprisingly the youth who first fell into a pincer attack from the ebony sword and the two-headed hou.
Chapter 762