“Has the battle between the Nascent Souls of the two races dragged on all the way outside the Hall of Seven Kills without stopping?”
Qin Sang hadn't spotted any sign of Nascent Soul cultivators earlier and had assumed things had already calmed down.
Having already been caught in the crossfire of a Nascent Soul battle before, he had no wish to repeat the experience.
Yet as fate would have it, whatever one feared seemed bound to arrive.
The two streaks of light chased each other, ultimately hurtling straight in his direction.
Seeing this, Qin Sang cursed under his breath. Throwing all caution to the wind, he immediately activated his secret talisman and Sword Qi Thunderclap, fleeing the area at top speed without looking back.
Treasure light shimmered like an illusion as he tore through the storm at blinding speed.
Even within the tempest, the clash between the two Nascent Soul cultivators remained fierce, its spectacle growing ever more terrifying.
Gales howled.
Monstrous waves surged skyward.
Fortunately, this was the open sea; had it been land, one could not help suspecting that mountains would have been shaved flat bit by bit by the storm, leaving no living creature capable of surviving here for long.
Watching the Nascent Soul battle draw closer and closer, Qin Sang felt thoroughly shaken. Dodging with great difficulty and drifting along with the storm, he finally broke away from their battlefield.
Rumble!
Crack!
Amid the ceaseless roar of the tempest came rolling bursts of thunder.
Two figures chased and fought each other. One wielded a sword, while before the other floated a black flute.
When the flute played, what issued forth was not music, but deafening thunderclaps. Phantom beast shadows bolted from the flute one after another, ferocious and menacing, lunging at their foe.
With a flick of the sword-wielder's wrist, dozens of sword rays swirled around his body into a sword formation, ultimately coalescing into a torrential waterfall of sword qi like a starlit river. Descending from the heavens like the Milky Way, it shredded the beast phantoms and slashed toward the black flute.
The two seemed evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Battling continuously within the tempest had begun to wear on them, so with tacit understanding they fought as they moved toward the storm's exterior. Wherever they passed, sword qi and beast shadows flew wildly, shockwaves washing in all directions.
Though Qin Sang had reacted quickly, he was still caught in the collateral damage. A sharp pain shot through his back and he stumbled, violently slammed into the sea by a colossal wave stirred up by a strand of sword qi.
"Cough, cough..."
Pale-faced, Qin Sang struggled to swim up from the sea. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw that the two escape lights had already swept far away, and he let out a sigh of relief.
He could not help feeling concerned. If the Nascent Souls of the two races refused to let matters drop and kept fighting like this, the world outside the storm might have already dissolved into total chaos—it was entirely possible it could trigger an all-out war between the two races.
Right at this moment, an unexpected turn occurred.
Strange light radiated from the clash site as the two Nascent Souls struck with even greater ferocity.
A streak of azure light struggled through the waves, flying forward with all its might, finally managing to avoid the worst of the shockwaves and holding on until the two Nascent Souls had departed.
Unexpectedly, at the very last moment, the sword-wielding Nascent Soul unleashed an overwhelmingly powerful sword formation. Innumerable sword shadows blotted out the sky and sun, bombarding the other cultivator.
The other was utterly fearless; the black flute suddenly swelled in size, and a phantom resembling a qilin leapt out from it, wrapping around his body to block the blow.
Once again, it was an evenly matched strike. The two departed as they traded blows, vanishing into the depths of the storm.
Yet the shockwave caused by the sword formation was far from settled. The azure light had originally steered clear of the battlefield, only to meet sudden disaster: first hurled away by the blast's aftershocks, then pelted by the scattering sword shadows.
Inside the azure light was a young man with a thin face and an aquiline nose.
His eyes were extremely sharp. Facing the incoming sword shadows, he showed no panic. His gaze flicked toward the direction in which the two Nascent Souls had disappeared; once certain they were far gone, he let out a long whistle.
The whistle was piercingly shrill. Immediately afterward, two clusters of azure light surged from the aquiline-nosed man's back.
The azure light squirmed and morphed into a pair of enormous wings.
Though manifested from azure light, the wings looked completely real, covered in dense, delicate feathers that were likewise azure, forming a breathtakingly beautiful pair of plumage wings.
With a whoosh, the wings spread wide and snapped shut in a flash, effortlessly wrapping the aquiline-nosed man entirely within.
Just then, the sword shadows struck.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The wings were struck by sword shadows, severing feathers that flew in disarray. Gaps tore across the wings, leaving them tattered, yet they protected the aquiline-nosed man admirably.
Even so, the immense force sent him flying backward like a ball, flung far away by the impact of the sword shadows.
Meanwhile, Qin Sang, who had just emerged from the sea, caught sight of this. From a distance, he saw the man neutralize the massive force and emerge from the wings. Never expecting to come face-to-face with him under such circumstances, Qin Sang narrowed his eyes.
"Though the sword formation was at the end of its momentum, and these two cultivators' cultivation isn't on par with the Demon Lord and the Grand Shaman, its might was still nothing to sneeze at. This man appears completely unharmed—as expected, he's an expert at the peak of the Core Formation stage!"
Qin Sang judged inwardly.
At this moment, the aquiline-nosed man also spotted Qin Sang. Turning to look over, he knitted his brows tightly. His first instinct was to withdraw his wings, but he immediately realized it was too late, and murderous intent surged within his heart.
There might well be other Nascent Souls battling nearby. Qin Sang was unaware of the aquiline-nosed man's burgeoning killing intent; not daring to linger in this place, and having no intention of making contact with the man right now, he cast him a glance and turned to leave.
As long as he maintained the connection via the bone flute, he was not afraid of losing the man's trail.
Yet Qin Sang had barely traveled any distance when his expression suddenly shifted, turning dark. Without a word, the other man had come after him, immediately erupting with astonishing speed and making no attempt to conceal his earth-shaking killing intent.
The distance between them closed rapidly.
Qin Sang whipped his head around.
The two locked eyes across the howling storm and churning waves.
Feeling the fierce resolve in the aquiline-nosed man's gaze, Qin Sang was filled with astonishment.
He had no grudge or enmity with this man. Tracking him until now, there had been no reaction before, which indicated that the bone flute hadn't been exposed. Why would the man look at him as if glaring at a sworn enemy?
Even if it were murder for treasure, he shouldn't wear such an expression.
Could it be simply because Qin Sang had witnessed his disheveled moment?
Suppressing his doubts, Qin Sang felt alarm bells ring wildly. This man might very well be the strongest opponent he had encountered since reaching Core Formation. Without hesitation, he activated his secret talisman and flying sword, his speed surging explosively.
Seeing Qin Sang display such startling evasion technique, the aquiline-nosed man showed a hint of surprise on his face, but quickly gave a contemptuous smirk. The pair of wings on his back had already restored their shape; with a light flap, he moved like a streak of azure lightning.
Wild winds and towering waves raged without end.
Qin Sang fled with everything he had through the fissures of the tempest, the aquiline-nosed man pursuing relentlessly in his wake.
After a bout of chase and flight, Qin Sang's expression grew increasingly grim.
He had known long ago that the man's flight speed was a notch above his own. Still, the storm was ever-changing, so catching up to him wouldn't be quite so simple.
Unexpectedly, within the storm, the gap was instead magnified.
By now, Qin Sang had discovered that the aquiline-nosed man's cultivation wasn't as high as he had imagined. What was truly terrifying was his physical body—this man was actually a body cultivator!
Facing the battering of crashing waves, Qin Sang had to circulate true essence to protect himself, which inevitably slowed his speed. The other man, however, relied on pure physical strength to tear straight through the churning winds and waves.
Chapter 795