Qin Sang's origin soul had no fear of it, but he still did not want to be touched by the sharp spike; there was no telling if it carried strange secondary effects. This was his first time clashing with such a powerful soul body, so he remained exceptionally cautious.
Fierce winds rushed head-on.
Qin Sang darted backward, dodging repeatedly, until he finally unleashed the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. The demonic fire condensed into a sphere and collided with the spike, both shattering into dispersion.
Just as the demonic fire was broken apart, the Ten Directions Yanluo Banners fluttered loudly, drawing out another stream of demonic fire. Qin Sang dodged into the banner array and waved his arm, shaping the demonic fire into a black spear before him.
Right at that moment, the woman caught up.
Pointed at by the fiery spear and sensing the aura of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, the woman came to a sudden halt. She glared fixatedly at the black demonic fire, a flicker of dread surfacing on her face.
The Nine Nether Demonic Fire naturally counteracted souls to an extent, and as a pure soul body, she instinctively felt terrified.
Seeing that the Nine Nether Demonic Fire was effective, Qin Sang beamed with delight. He pointed forcefully with his finger, sending the fiery spear spinning on its own, snapping instantly from stillness to motion as it shot forward.
Sure enough, the woman dared not let herself be pierced by the fiery spear. Giving up her pursuit of Qin Sang for the moment, her form shifted laterally several zhang in a flash, dodging rapidly in an attempt to bypass the spear.
Having gained the upper hand, Qin Sang pressed his advantage relentlessly.
The Nine Nether Demonic Fire shifted unpredictably, morphing at times into sabers, spears, swords, halberds, and all sorts of weapons, pressing the woman step by step. Yet frustratedly, the woman's speed was far too great and she was remarkably nimble, leaving Qin Sang unable to secure a decisive blow despite sustained attacks.
Several times the woman tried to ambush Qin Sang, only to be forced back by the demonic fire, and Qin Sang's speed was by no means inferior to hers. Thwarted again and again, she flew into a towering rage, roaring repeatedly with eyes scarlet and bloodthirsty—a truly terrifying sight.
At this moment, where was there any trace of her former fragile appearance? She was entirely a vengeful spirit.
However, though Qin Sang appeared to have the upper hand, in truth he had failed to inflict any real damage on her.
Qin Sang looked up toward the distant battle between the Nascent Soul cultivators. The commotion there had grown even more astonishing and exceptionally fierce. His brows furrowed slightly, wondering how much time he had left.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Qin Sang spotted another opening and shouted immediately, "Detonate!"
*Crack!*
The demonic fire erupted abruptly.
The woman was half a beat too slow to react; her soul body could not evade in time and was scorched by the demonic fire, eliciting a groan of agony. At the same time, battered by the concussive force, her soul body was sent flying backward violently.
Unexpectedly, the direction in which she tumbled was right toward Qin Sang.
Qin Sang was immediately on high alert. The woman showed not the slightest trace of distress; instead, riding the momentum of the demonic fire's blast, her speed skyrocketed as she closed in rapidly, a savage grin spreading across her face.
"Ah—!"
Facing Qin Sang, she opened her mouth and unleashed a piercing shriek.
This time, no sharp spike formed, but the scream generated soundwaves as tangible as physical matter, surging toward Qin Sang in an overwhelming wave.
This piercing screech was extraordinarily grating, far from an ordinary cry; it was in itself a dreadful attack. If an immortal cultivator lacked the means to defend against it, taking the brunt of such a shriek would at best jolt their origin soul and freeze their body stiff, and at worst shatter their soul on the spot, causing them to bleed from all seven orifices and die.
The woman had premeditated this for a long time, watching for an opportunity to strike with decisive effect in a single blow.
Caught completely off guard and unable to dodge in time, Qin Sang was struck squarely by the screech. True to expectations, he froze in place, dazed and lost.
"Jie-jie..."
The woman broke into a piercing, cackling laugh, transforming into a horrific evil ghost. Her scarlet tongue licked her fangs, and the nails on her hands shot out into long claws. Urged on by an impatient thirst for blood, she clawed straight toward Qin Sang's chest.
Yet the moment she lunged before Qin Sang, she realized something was amiss: Qin Sang's eyes were crystal clear, devoid of any confusion, staring at her with cold indifference.
*Swoosh!*
Sword radiance flared into view and split apart instantly, erupting into multiple arcs of sword light.
At the same time, Qin Sang flicked his wrist, and the two-headed hou leaped out from the Primordial Concentric Rings. Having prepared well beforehand, its slit pupils unleashed a tempest.
Never in her wildest dreams could the woman have imagined that Qin Sang was not afraid of this soul-targeting screech in the least. He had only been feigning earlier, boldly luring her close to deliver a fatal blow.
In an instant, he brought his full mastery of the sword Dao into play.
The beams of sword light crisscrossed, swift as lightning.
Within the storm, wind blades were sharp as daggers, seemingly capable of shredding anything to pieces—their power likewise not to be underestimated.
In the blink of an eye, several sword lights pierced straight through the woman.
In the next moment, the woman's agonized scream rang out. Struck by the ebony sword, cracks spread across her soul body. Immediately after, the storm crashed upon her, countless wind blades slicing into her seemingly fragile form and engulfing her in an instant.
The shriek came to an abrupt halt.
Once the ebony sword flew back and the storm dissipated, the woman had vanished entirely, as if she had already been slain.
Yet Qin Sang's expression did not relax in the slightest. Sweeping his gaze around, he suddenly recalled the Nine Nether Demonic Fire to envelop himself, whereupon he saw the woman's figure reconverging in the distance.
Her limbs were intact, and even the cracks caused by the ebony sword had disappeared, leaving no trace of injury upon her.
The woman looked even more hideous. Having never expected that someone who appeared so weak could brush off her attack as if nothing and even injure her in return, she hated Qin Sang to the bone, wishing nothing more than to eat his flesh and blood raw.
"An indestructible body?"
Qin Sang frowned.
He knew soul bodies differed from regular cultivators, and certain attacks were ineffective against them. But the soul bodies he had encountered before would have been severely wounded if not killed outright when faced with an offensive of this caliber; it was impossible for them to emerge completely unscathed like this.
Refined souls at a higher realm were simply too bizarre.
*Wait, no. Her soul body seems slightly more translucent than before...*
Staring at the woman, Qin Sang noticed the difference and thought to himself that this made sense; otherwise, possessing such terrifying strength alongside an indestructible body would be far too monstrous.
Even so, the woman posed a great problem for Qin Sang.
Techniques like the ebony sword could only weaken her soul body, and while the Nine Nether Demonic Fire could truly hurt her, the woman was exceedingly wary of it and would not easily fall victim to it.
The distant battle between the Nascent Soul cultivators seemed intense, but once victory or defeat was decided, it could happen in a split second.
Time was on the woman's side; he could not afford to keep dragging things out with her.
At this thought, Qin Sang cast a deep glance at the woman, turned, and fled once more.
Hating Qin Sang to the core, the woman was even less inclined to let him go, chasing after him without hesitation.
*Her speed has slowed down...*
While fleeing, Qin Sang kept tabs on what was behind him and made a discovery.
It seemed the earlier attack was not ineffective after all; it had damaged her, even if it was not obvious from the outside.
He stopped fleeing, whirling around to direct the demonic fire in an assault against the woman, while the two-headed hou assisted from the flank, unleashing a tempestuous onslaught in an instant.
The woman feared the demonic fire, but while dodging it, she inevitably neglected defenses against other attacks. Compounded by her recent injury, it was not long before Qin Sang seized another opportunity.
This time he failed to shred her body, but the ebony sword succeeded in cleaving off a large chunk of her soul body.
Right before Qin Sang's eyes, the woman merged the two pieces of her soul body back together, restoring herself completely, her expression bordering on mockery.
Faced with her taunt, Qin Sang remained stern and silent, immediately mobilizing his magic treasure to attack once more, appearing as though he were engaging in a futile exercise over and over.
Chapter 820