Above the wasteland, a vortex-shaped passage appeared within the hurricane.
The passage was slowly shrinking; the spirit array that had breached the immortal array was collapsing, and everyone had to leave the Hall of Seven Kills before the passage disappeared entirely.
In the wasteland, withered grass swayed.
A figure appeared without warning. Looking wary, the cultivator glanced around before transforming into an escape light that shot like an arrow toward the passage.
Before entering, the person activated a jade talisman to gain protection, then vanished into the swirling rift.
Qin Sang witnessed this scene with his own eyes. In no rush to leave, he took out his jade talisman to keep it ready, waiting quietly on the outer fringes of the wasteland.
At this moment, he retrieved the bone flute from the Qianjun Ring.
He was still unsure whether the bone flute was a magic treasure or something else, but one thing was certain: it definitely did not belong to the mortal realm of the present era; otherwise, its fragments could not have been scattered so far apart.
The bone flute was very mysterious, capable of connecting to the astral energy of the heavenly circuit, yet it had not displayed the might expected of a supreme treasure.
Qin Sang recalled the bronze block he had helped Yunyouzi obtain in the Ziwei Palace. A fragment of an immortal cauldron, it remained unimaginably heavy and was feared even by the Nanming Li Fire.
Qin Sang fingered the bone flute, keeping his gaze fixed on the wasteland.
Time slowly drifted by. Cultivators emerged one after another from the depths of the Hall of Seven Kills and flew into the passage. During this time, Qin Sang spotted Madam Liu again, though he made no sound, merely watching her depart.
Throughout the process, he saw no sign of Xiang Yi. If Xiang Yi had died inside, that would be a good thing, saving him a great deal of trouble.
Compared to what he had seen at Dongmen Island, far fewer cultivators managed to leave the Hall of Seven Kills; clearly, many had been laid to rest here forever.
While waiting, Qin Sang did not forget to observe. Spotting several figures suspected to be Nascent Soul cultivators, he grew even more cautious and dared not make a sound. The reason he stayed so far away was precisely to avoid causing any misunderstanding.
"Fewer and fewer people..."
Qin Sang let out a quiet sigh and glanced up at the sky.
The passage had shrunk to half the size it had been when he first arrived; there was not much time left for him.
"If that person died in the Hall of Seven Kills, the hope of restoring the bone flute will be slim. The Hall of Seven Kills is so vast that searching it bit by bit is impossible. I can only hope he left this place early—there might still be a chance outside..."
The thought arose in Qin Sang's mind.
Right at that moment, the bone flute in his hand suddenly lit up, shimmering with a faint glow.
The change in the bone flute was completely unheralded. Qin Sang had been waiting for this very moment. At the sight, his expression shifted, and immediately suppressing the pleasant surprise in his heart, he discerned the direction indicated by the bone flute. Snapping his head up, he looked toward a distant mountain.
All was calm in the mountain; not a single figure was in sight.
The person carrying the bone flute must be hiding there!
Just as Qin Sang was about to rise and creep closer, he suddenly saw a beam of azure escape light shoot out from the mountain.
Brilliant and breathtakingly fast, the azure light tore across the sky, speeding toward the passage.
Within the azure light, the phantom silhouette of a pair of wings was faintly visible. The person steering the azure light seemed to have transformed into a bird, flapping its wings to burst forth with a speed that made even Qin Sang feel inferior.
As if being pursued and fleeing in panic, this person did not enter the wasteland at all, heading straight for the passage.
Qin Sang could not see their appearance at all, let alone determine their identity.
He looked back toward where the person had come from; no one was chasing behind. That person was simply too fast, plunging into the passage in the blink of an eye.
This caught Qin Sang somewhat off guard. The hiding spot he had chosen was rather distant, and seeing the light on the bone flute dimming further, the connection was about to be severed.
Qin Sang's heart tightened. With no time to overthink, he hastily activated the secret talisman and Sword Qi Thunderclap, bursting into his fastest evasion speed to give chase.
A terrifying, colossal force slammed violently against him.
No sooner had he neared the passage than Qin Sang was nearly thrown off course.
Pushing the jade talisman with all his might, he stimulated the blood-red barrier and barely managed to steady himself.
The familiar sensation returned.
Entering the immortal array, Qin Sang was like a lone boat sailing into a tempestuous sea, battered by chaotic fluctuations that made steering difficult. Fortunately, the impacts all came from behind him, pushing him outward with wave after wave of force toward the outside of the immortal array.
The blood-red barrier released by the jade talisman teetered on the verge of collapse, and cracks even began to appear across the jade talisman itself.
Qin Sang had been through this scene before; after a single glance, he paid it no further mind and kept his eyes glued to the bone flute. Like a dying candle, its glow was faint, but fortunately, the connection remained unbroken.
Pouring in every ounce of his power, Qin Sang struggled through the violent turbulence, pushing closer toward the direction pointed out by the bone flute.
Not knowing how much time had passed, Qin Sang suddenly felt the pressure on his entire body ease, followed by a bone-chilling cold. Opening his eyes to look around, he discovered he was deep beneath the sea.
The seawater here was not calm either, with hurricanes whipping up monstrous waves and undercurrents surging.
Though the surrounding forces were chaotic, they were far weaker than the terrifying fluctuations inside the wind wall. Knowing he had successfully exited the immortal array, Qin Sang cast a water evasion technique and swam vigorously toward the surface.
He had entered from the wind wall before, yet emerged at the bottom of the sea.
Qin Sang felt somewhat disoriented, wondering where exactly the Hall of Seven Kills was concealed.
Fortunately, the connection had not been severed. In fact, their distance seemed to have shrunk while traversing the immortal array; the bone flute now shone brilliantly, meaning the person was directly above him.
To avoid attracting unwanted attention, Qin Sang put the bone flute away.
When Qin Sang broke through the surface of the water, he found that he had already left the perimeter of the wind wall and was now amidst the storm. Surging waves met his eyes on all sides, obscuring the distant view, so he could only rely on the bone flute's guidance to close in on his target.
Within the storm, one had to constantly sustain a magic treasure for protection, making it difficult to unleash full speed.
Braving the wind and cleaving the waves, Qin Sang noticed that the other party barely altered course, heading with clear purpose toward a destination that was definitely not Dongmen Island.
"No wonder I didn't run into him on Dongmen Island; this person came from one of the other two islands. Looking at the heading, he's very likely bound for Gushan Island..."
Qin Sang deliberately slowed his pace, not wanting to make contact right now. Thoughts turned in his mind; he planned to ascertain the person's identity after reaching Gushan Island.
The speed that person had demonstrated made even Qin Sang feel inferior. The phantom wings within the azure light did not resemble a magic treasure; if they were the manifestation of a divine ability, that person's strength might be greater than Xiang Yi's, almost certainly an expert at the peak of the late stage.
Qin Sang sought the bone flute, and a peaceful trade with everyone satisfied would be ideal.
However, his cultivation was inferior to the other party's. If he approached rashly and caused a misunderstanding, or if the person took one look at Qin Sang's modest cultivation and was gripped by murderous intent, a great battle would be inevitable.
Qin Sang's evasion techniques were far superior to others, allowing him to come and go as he pleased, and he feared not even adversaries with superior cultivation. Yet against this person, speed had become his disadvantage instead.
Pinning all hopes on the fire bead would be exceedingly unwise; if the fire bead failed, he would be at a severe disadvantage.
Amidst the storm, things were fraught with even greater uncertainty.
Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, Qin Sang suddenly sensed something amiss. He abruptly halted, turning sideways to look into the distance, and saw an unusually colossal wave surging wildly toward him. The violent fluctuation made his heart clench as he faintly spotted two streaks of escape light—one red and one white—chasing each other through the air.
Sensing the aura of those escape lights, Qin Sang's expression changed dramatically. Nascent Soul cultivators were clashing nearby!
Chapter 794