Demonic Fire

Qin Sang erupted with a burst of speed that left the ferocious beasts far behind. Soon, the pack was completely lost in the distance. Even the beast leader lost his trail, pacing back and forth in the rift while letting out furious, unwilling roars. Having shaken off the beasts, Qin Sang still dared not tarry. He fled while keeping a close eye behind him, stopping only after all sound had completely vanished to duck into a secluded rock crevice. Though he had only heard the roar earlier, the creature had made his blood churn from such a great distance. Even if its strength fell short of a Transformation stage great demon, it would still easily surpass the young man Qin Sang had just slain. The depths of the rift were perilous indeed; who knew how many similar beasts were hidden down here? Hiding in the crevice, Qin Sang maintained a vigilant expression. After listening to the outside for a while, he looked down to inspect the fat silkworm's condition. Spitting out the dense rainbow silk twice had taken a tremendous toll on the fat silkworm. It appeared listless and visibly drowsy. Even so, it continued to gaze at Qin Sang with eager eyes, itching to devour the purple crystal. "Wait until we leave the Hall of Seven Kills, then I'll let you have it. Eat this first." Qin Sang produced the demon core of a venomous beast for the fat silkworm to absorb and recover. Back in the Bear Mountain region and on Red Leaf Island, the fat silkworm had devoured the Thousand Hands Spider Fruit and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had absorbed lightning; both times, they had immediately fallen into a deep slumber, though one was a metamorphosis and the other a mutation. Qin Sang would never dare feed it the purple crystal here. If the fat silkworm fell asleep on the spot, he would be doomed. During this foray into the Purple Mist Peril, the fat silkworm's usefulness had truly come to light, far exceeding his expectations. It might prove even more useful during the remainder of the journey. He had to wait until they left the Hall of Seven Kills and reached a safe place before feeding it the crystal and observing the changes. The fat silkworm embraced the demon core and rolled its eyes at Qin Sang. Sensing the silkworm's disdainful glare, Qin Sang's eyelid twitched. This was a demon core! It was being fed to this little fellow as mere rations, yet it had the audacity to turn up its nose. Qin Sang sorely wanted to give it a thrashing, but taking in his surroundings, he decided to endure it. As the fat silkworm devoured the demon core, its aura gradually recovered. Qin Sang kept tabs on the outside. After waiting a while and confirming that the beast leader had not pursued him, he cautiously ventured out. This flight had brought him roughly back to the area where he had first descended. Qin Sang returned to his previous route and resumed his search for the spiritual fire. This time he was even more cautious, terrified of bumping into the beasts searching for him; he halted every few steps, constantly prepared to flee. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire in his hand trembled violently, growing increasingly restless. This signaled that he was drawing ever closer to the unknown spiritual fire. At this moment, Qin Sang realized he had arrived at the foot of another sheer precipice. He could not tell whether it was the same cliff where the beast pack roosted. The terrain in the rift was exceedingly complex. And the direction indicated by the Nine Nether Demonic Fire seemed to run straight along the cliff. Hugging the cliff closely, Qin Sang not only watched his left and right but also remained on guard against beasts descending from above. Fortunately, the path remained smooth and unobstructed. "Eh?" Qin Sang came to a sudden halt. He discovered that two sheer cliffs converged ahead, forming a canyon at their junction. Up ahead, the purple mist still lingered thick and heavy, obscuring everything from sight. "A strange terrain like this exists inside the rift? A place like this is ideal for a lair. Could the spiritual fire be hidden within some ancient palace or ancient restriction, guarded by a ferocious beast?" Suspicion and wariness stirred in Qin Sang's mind. He stared forward for a long while, but could not detect the slightest sound. Since he was already here, he might as well see it through. Steeling his resolve, Qin Sang gripped the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner and stepped forward at a measured pace. The canyon was not wide to begin with, and it grew narrower the further in he went. After advancing for a short distance, Qin Sang paused slightly, genuine shock surfacing in his eyes. Then, suddenly accelerating, he darted forward at full speed. ... Between the towering cliffs, a plume of black fire floated in the middle of the canyon, blocking the way forward. Qin Sang stood transfixed, craning his neck to gaze up at the flames. "Nine Nether Demonic Fire! It's actually Nine Nether Demonic Fire! The Hall of Seven Kills has Nine Nether Demonic Fire too! No wonder..." Qin Sang murmured to himself. The look on his face shifted from shock to sudden comprehension, and finally to wild exhilaration. No wonder the Nine Nether Demonic Fire had reacted so differently compared to back on Cold Flame Island. The spiritual fire here shared the exact same origin as the demonic fire; their auras were identical. This was not the superficial trace of power Qin Sang controlled through the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner, but the true origin of the demonic fire! Back then, Patriarch Kuiyin had encountered the Nine Nether Demonic Fire in Ziwei Palace. He had wracked his brains to refine demonic banners and subdue it, thereby making a name that shook the Lesser Cold Domain. When Qin Sang had first learned of this secret, he had envied the patriarch immensely. Later, Patriarch Kuiyin and subsequent generations of the Kuiyin Sect searched Ziwei Palace and the Ancient Immortal Battlefield for years, but never again found the same demonic fire, leaving them powerless to repair their damaged sect-guarding magic treasure. Never could Qin Sang have imagined that he would encounter it here in the Hall of Seven Kills today. Moreover, the cluster of Nine Nether Demonic Fire before him was even larger than the one Patriarch Kuiyin had subdued! Standing here and feeling the true might of the demonic fire, Qin Sang finally understood why Patriarch Kuiyin had been so obsessed with it. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire burned in silence. Qin Sang widened his eyes, sensing the demonic fire's power. Previously, he had only learned about it through soul searching Yi Tiannie and had never experienced the true might of the demonic fire in person. Beneath its deceptively calm surface, the latent power churned as violently as volcanic magma. Were the demonic fire's true strength ever unleashed, Qin Sang had no doubt he would be reduced to ash on the spot. He could not help comparing it to the Nascent Soul Patriarchs he had encountered before, sensing that this demonic fire was a terrifying power beyond the reach of even the Red-Haired Ancestor or Daoist Zhenyi. Those two were at the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, a mere step away from the late stage! Patriarch Kuiyin had only been able to unleash a fraction of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire's might through the Ten Directions Yanluo Array, yet that alone had propelled him to the ranks of top experts in the Lesser Cold Domain. "What terrifying power. Can I truly subdue it?" Qin Sang took a deep breath, unable to help doubting himself. Suppressing his excitement, he flipped his hand, and a dark iron pillar appeared in his grasp. This dark iron pillar had been spoils of war obtained from killing Daoist Jiupao, and it was also the Kuiyin Sect's most cherished heirloom. The poles of the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners had been forged by melting down another piece of dark iron pillar. Had the Kuiyin Sect been able to find Nine Nether Demonic Fire, they would have long since forged new Ten Directions Yanluo Banners to restore the array. After suffering grave wounds, Daoist Jiupao had once attempted to use it to forge a life magic treasure. Later, when Qin Sang acquired it, he studied it for a long time, only to discover it was impossible to forge. Patriarch Kuiyin had merely used clever tricks to refine it back then without damaging the restrictions within the dark iron pillar itself, so Qin Sang had shelved it. Qin Sang had never dreamed he would live to see the day he encountered the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. "Such a massive cluster of Nine Nether Demonic Fire... Even if I melt down the entire dark iron pillar to forge Ten Directions Yanluo Banners, there will be more than enough fire to empower them—at least fifteen or sixteen banners..." Qin Sang ran his fingers along the dark iron pillar, analyzing the possibilities. His eyes widened. "Doesn't that mean I can forge a banner array even stronger than the original Ten Directions Yanluo Array?!" The original Ten Directions Yanluo Array, deployed with ten demonic banners working in unison, could clash head-on against a top-grade magic treasure. If he could successfully forge more demonic banners and develop a suitable array formation, it would solidly possess the might of a top-grade magic treasure!