Star Conch

Body cultivators were exceedingly rare, and one as formidable as the aquiline-nosed man was rarer still. Most of the body cultivators Qin Sang had encountered in the past possessed low cultivation realms, having merely attempted to forge an alternative path. Top-tier body-refining methods were far harder to come by, and their difficulty was extraordinarily high, which often left practitioners mediocre across the board and having squandered their time in vain. Glancing back occasionally to observe his pursuer, Qin Sang noticed that the aquiline-nosed man had not used a single magic treasure from start to finish. He was very likely a pure body cultivator. With every beat of those wings, the man streaked forward like an azure rainbow, bursting with astonishing speed—a perfect complement to his formidable physical body. As a result, not only was Qin Sang unable to shake him off, but the distance between them was actively closing. The aquiline-nosed man was consumed by lethal intent, pursuing him relentlessly. Qin Sang knew he could not let this go on. His opponent showed no signs of exhaustion whatsoever; shaking him off was nearly impossible, and he would soon be overtaken. He had to devise a way to escape. With that thought, Qin Sang swept his gaze around and abruptly changed direction, intentionally flying toward where the hurricane's power was densest. There, countless strands of dense gray mist drifted in the air—hurricanes so concentrated they seemed tangible, packing terrifying power. Because the hurricanes were clustered tightly together, the space left for maneuvering was minuscule. Only in such chaotic terrain would Qin Sang stand a chance. The aquiline-nosed man saw through Qin Sang's intentions at a glance, yet showed no fear whatsoever, pivoting without hesitation to give chase. In this pursuit, the gap between the two drew ever narrower. Qin Sang could practically feel the man's chilling gaze like needles prickling against his back. The man's arrogance and brazen disdain ignited a ruthless streak within Qin Sang. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes, and he came to an abrupt halt, whirling around to glare back with fury. In the next moment, a streak of lightning shot from between his brows. The lightning arrived first before the faint rumble of thunder rolled in, booming softly. The ebony sword manifested with startling momentum, darting straight for the aquiline-nosed man. The man saw the flying sword swell rapidly in his vision, and then blur into three: two solid and one slightly illusory. An instant later, they merged back into one in an uncanny fashion, its momentum growing even more formidable. A glimmer of surprise flashed in the aquiline-nosed man's eyes. Then his wings of light snapped shut, and dazzling azure light erupted from within his body, making the wings shine even more brilliantly. Twisting his body slightly, he drew his fists into the wings of light. Facing the ebony sword without dodging or evading, he violently swept his wings, smashing viciously against the ebony sword. *Boom!* Sword qi and azure light clashed in an explosion. The ebony sword rebounded through the air. The aquiline-nosed man's wings dimmed slightly. Drawing back his fists, he flexed his fingers, brought to a halt by the ebony sword. This strike had failed to injure the aquiline-nosed man in the slightest, but it had broken his momentum. This combined sword-light strike was something Qin Sang had learned from the swordsman in the Sword Path. He was not yet proficient with it, but for a first execution, its power left him quite satisfied. With keen interest, the aquiline-nosed man looked Qin Sang up and down before suddenly breaking into a bloodthirsty smile. "Your evasion technique and sword skills must be quite rare among the Human race, no? In all these years, you're the first I've encountered. It seems today I shall personally cut down a human genius in his prime!" His voice was sharp and grating to the ear. Qin Sang was taken aback by his words. The man bore a faint trace of demon qi, indicating he had ingested a Fiend Demon Pill upon Core Formation. Moreover, he was clearly not of the Witch Clan. Being human himself, why would he say such strange words? Without a word, Qin Sang commanded his sword to attack again. The aquiline-nosed man had seemingly made that remark in passing. His expression darkened slightly as he threw a fist out to meet the attack once more. Qin Sang fought as he retreated. The aquiline-nosed man was simply too powerful. Relying solely on his fists and wings, he proved too much for the ebony sword to handle. Qin Sang could not halt his onslaught at all, yielding ground step by step until defeat was imminent. Forced into a corner, Qin Sang discreetly summoned the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner. With a wave of his hand, the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner spun rapidly, and a stream of Nine Nether Demonic Fire shot forth, lunging straight for the opponent's face. Sensing the aura of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, the aquiline-nosed man's expression shifted slightly. With a violent flap of his wings, he shifted horizontally tens of zhang in an instant, staring at the demonic fire in uncertainty. The demonic fire hit empty air, but seeing this reaction, Qin Sang's thoughts quickened. The aquiline-nosed man had likely misunderstood something. Although this Nine Nether Demonic Fire possessed only a fraction of its true power, it was terrifying enough to bluff someone. For anyone unfamiliar who encountered Nine Nether Demonic Fire for the first time, a reaction like his was perfectly normal. However, once one actually clashed with the demonic fire, its true limits would quickly be exposed. Even so, relying only on flesh-and-blood fists, the aquiline-nosed man dared not rashly touch Nine Nether Demonic Fire. As long as he did not expose the true nature of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, he could stall for a while. Qin Sang immediately drove the ebony sword and the demonic fire into a pincer attack. At first, the aquiline-nosed man acted with restraint, but he soon detected something amiss. Using his wings of light to probe, he finally confirmed that the demonic fire was not as terrifying as he had imagined, and embarrassment quickly morphed into fury on his face. During this back-and-forth exchange, Qin Sang had managed to retreat deep into the storm. Although the aquiline-nosed man had no fear of the ocean waves, he still had to give a wide berth to the hurricanes born of heaven and earth's might, not daring to be sucked into their vortex. Thus, under the interference of the hurricanes, even though the aquiline-nosed man held a clear advantage over Qin Sang, swiftly killing him would not be so easy. Amid the gaps between the hurricanes, Qin Sang's situation grew increasingly perilous once the aquiline-nosed man saw through his bluff, and signs of defeat were already showing. The aquiline-nosed man's momentum surged like a rainbow. With one punch, he sent the ebony sword flying, followed by the rumbling resonance of his five viscera. Sweeping his wings of light, an azure rainbow slammed viciously into the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, violently scattering it with a tremendous boom. Qin Sang's face tightened. Just as he prepared to channel the Ten Directions Yanluo Banner to conjure fresh demonic fire, alarm bells suddenly rang in his mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a speck of blue light darting out from within the azure rainbow right after it broke through the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, hurtling straight toward his true body. *A magic treasure! He was hiding his true depth all along!* The speed of the blue light was staggering. Barely the size of a fist and devoid of any soul-shaking fanfare, it nonetheless made Qin Sang's hair stand on end. Qin Sang abruptly hurled out the Jinyao Lock, then snapped his wrist to release the two-headed hou from the Primordial Concentric Rings. He had originally planned to use the two-headed hou as a trump card, but seeing that blue light, he released it without hesitation. An astonishing scene unfolded. Struck by the blue light, the Jinyao Lock resisted for only a fleeting instant before letting out a mournful wail. Its golden light shuddered violently, and the lock shattered inch by inch, disintegrating into dust. A bona fide medium-grade magic treasure had been destroyed right before Qin Sang's eyes just like that. At the same time, Qin Sang finally saw the blue light's true form: it was actually a blue conch shell. The shell itself was jade-white, yet dotted with specks of blue light like beautiful stars. It was from these glittering specks that the rich blue radiance emanated. Spinning rapidly with its pointed tip aimed straight at Qin Sang, this star conch appeared entirely natural and unblemished, yet displayed devastating destructive power. Having obliterated the Jinyao Lock, it continued to pierce forward without slowing down.