"Haaah..."
The vicious beasts bared their fangs and widened their purple pupils, their ferocious auras flaring as they let out low, warning growls. They clearly had not expected any demon beast to vie with them for the purple crystal; even their alpha seemed momentarily dazed, unable to react in time.
After all, within this region, only their own kind dared to devour the purple crystal.
Yet seeing the phantom illusions of the two-headed hou hurtling straight toward the crystal, the beasts flew into a violent rage.
The alpha bellowed, driving the entire pack into a frenzy. Their fleshy wings joined into an expanse that blotted out the sky, and torrents of purple fire coalesced into a blazing sea, instantly swallowing two of the phantom silhouettes.
The two-headed hou conjured a gale to strike back, then turned and bolted, barely evading the scorching purple flames.
Right at that moment, an escape light shot out from the rocky crevice with astonishing speed, reaching the center of the lake in the blink of an eye.
Most of the pack was in hot pursuit of the two-headed hou; only the alpha still guarded the center of the lake, waiting to seize the purple crystal.
Qin Sang's sudden appearance caught the alpha completely off guard.
It opened its maw and spat a jet of purple fire.
Yet before the flames could reach Qin Sang, they were scattered by a blast of Nine Nether Demonic Fire.
The Nine Nether Demonic Fire was inherently far superior to the beast fire of the alpha, but given Qin Sang's limited cultivation, it was already at the end of its strength after dispersing the purple flames, flickering as if about to extinguish.
Just as Qin Sang prepared to activate the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner to strike again and drive the beast back, something unexpected occurred.
The moment the alpha laid eyes on the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, it reacted as though it had seen a ghost. A look of terror seized its face, its cry warped in panic, and it instinctively recoiled.
Qin Sang was surprised. He had never anticipated such a reaction—the alpha was terrified of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire to the point where its very first instinct was to flee.
Though he did not understand why, the turn of events was plainly entirely in his favor.
In the Purple Mist Deathland, once these vicious beasts succumbed to frenzy, they would fight to the death. Qin Sang had originally assumed driving the alpha back would require considerable effort.
Naturally, he would not let such an opportunity slip by. Abandoning any thought of pursuing the beast, he flickered past it, darting straight for the whirlpool at the center of the lake.
By now, the purple crystal was rising higher within the vortex. Two more fissures cracked across its surface, and with a crisp sound, it broke into three pieces, surging upward at great speed.
Arriving above the vortex, Qin Sang channeled the true essence in his palm, shaping it into a giant hand that reached for the nearest piece.
The hand of true essence pushed hard against the churning vortex and clamped down on the purple crystal.
In that instant, Qin Sang's expression changed dramatically.
The moment his true essence made contact with the crystal, a rich purple hue surged forth from within the stone, invading the energy. In the blink of an eye, the entirety of his true essence had been dyed purple.
Worse, it was creeping rapidly upward, tracing the link back directly toward his physical body.
*What terrifying venom! It's even deadlier than the purple mist—it can even corrode true essence!*
Qin Sang was shaken. Only now did he understand why the beasts native to the Purple Mist Deathland were so wary of the crystal, daring to ingest only a tiny morsel at a time.
He had not expected such a mishap when retrieving the crystal.
He had no desire to let such lethal poison invade his body.
For a moment, he could think of no suitable countermeasure.
Left with no alternative, he abandoned the attempt to claim it and severed his connection to that strand of true essence.
Frowning, Qin Sang cursed silently at how troublesome this was.
If he waited for the crystal to emerge from the vortex on its own, the vast majority of it would dissipate into the purple mist.
He possessed few restrictions tailored against poisons, let alone a venom this virulent; ordinary restrictions stood no chance of suppressing the crystal.
The only thing at his disposal with an origin plainly grander than the purple crystal was the Nine Nether Demonic Fire.
Back when he had subdued the cold flame, he had devised several sealing restrictions that drew upon the power of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. However, he had no idea whether they would work on the crystal.
Just then, the sound of tearing air came from behind.
Qin Sang's back tensed as he felt a fierce gust rushing at him.
The alpha had regained its senses.
At the same time, the beasts pursuing the two-headed hou realized what Qin Sang was doing. Consumed by fury, they turned around and charged back. He had very little time left.
Without looking back, Qin Sang flung a burst of Nine Nether Demonic Fire behind him.
As expected, the alpha was deathly afraid of the flame and dared not clash with it. With a yowl, it twisted its body and darted away.
Qin Sang stared intently at the swirling purple crystals, eyes flickering. Just as he was about to make another attempt, he noticed the fat silkworm arch its upper body and spit out an exceptionally dense strand of rainbow silk, shooting it straight at the crystal.
*How could I forget about it? It was the one who demanded to eat this in the first place! The little fellow is sharp enough to lend a hand after all.*
Qin Sang gave a self-deprecating smile. It was not that he had forgotten the silkworm's abilities; rather, since it was not his natal insect gu, communicating with it took time—time he simply could not afford in such a dire situation.
The silk landed swiftly upon the purple crystal and rapidly wound around it, soon forming a thin, rainbow-colored cocoon.
Qin Sang's true essence came down immediately after. Shielded by the rainbow cocoon, the lethal poison was prevented from spreading outward.
With a beckoning wave of his hand, the cocoon fell cleanly into a jade box in his palm.
This piece of crystal was roughly the size of a fist, yet it felt as light as nothing in his hand, devoid of any weight.
He was intensely curious as to how such crystals were formed, but the vortex was exceedingly deep, its bottom completely hidden from view.
Qin Sang glanced at the center of the lake, swiftly stowed the jade box into his Qianjun Ring, and looked at the fat silkworm.
After spitting out the dense strand of silk, the silkworm's aura had suddenly weakened. Clearly, producing such concentrated silk took far more out of it than projecting a rainbow halo.
Yet the fat silkworm pushed through, straining to spit out another strand toward the largest remaining piece of crystal, putting everything on the line for its coveted meal.
At this moment, the entire beast pack went completely mad.
They had watched with their own eyes as Qin Sang made off with a large chunk of crystal—plundering the supreme treasure of their kind. How could they not be enraged?
Seeing that Qin Sang dared to covet yet another piece, every beast descended into a state of sheer frenzy.
Using the Nine Nether Demonic Fire to deter them was no longer an option.
The alpha let out an earth-shattering roar that echoed throughout the rift.
Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. The alpha's cry sounded peculiar, as though calling out to something.
Soon, his suspicion was confirmed.
A bellow came in response from the depths of the rift, bursting like muffled thunder. Hearing the sound, Qin Sang felt a tightness in his chest as the blood within him surged violently.
*There's an even stronger leader lurking deep within the rift!*
Qin Sang blanched. He sensed a commotion brewing in the depths, accompanied by a tremendous momentum rushing in this direction.
Daring not delay, he hastily reeled in the crystal bound by the rainbow silk, spun around, and slashed his sword. A sweeping wave of sword qi surged forth, blocking the alpha's razor-sharp claws and carving open a path.
The rest of the pack had already arrived, swarming in like a dark cloud that blotted out the sky.
His face darkening, Qin Sang struck a violent palm toward the center of the whirlpool.
Under the impact, the sole remaining piece of purple crystal shattered to pieces. Countless shimmering fragments burst outward like fireworks, scattering in every direction.
As the purple mist swept past, a portion of the fragments dissolved and vanished.
Seeing this, the beasts—already on the brink of losing all reason—went red in the eyes. They abandoned their pursuit and turned instead to scramble frantically for the crystal shards.
The pressure weighing on Qin Sang instantly eased, yet there was not the slightest sense of relief in his heart. Gathering all his strength, he broke through the remaining encirclement, recalled the supporting two-headed hou into the Primordial Concentric Rings, and fled at maximum speed.
Chapter 768