The Pursuit

Qin Sang watched the two-headed hou depart, abruptly halted his flight, and spun around, glaring coldly at the rapidly approaching adversaries. In truth, his mind was still filled with doubt; he could not fathom why they placed such great importance on Su Nü. His understanding of demonic cultivators was by no means lacking. After all, the very first sect he had entered upon embarking on the path of cultivation had been a demonic sect. Demonic cultivators of the present era did not attach much significance to true demonic qi. True demonic qi was exceptionally rare, but even if found, they had no way to absorb or utilize such power; on the contrary, it would likely backfire on them and endanger their lives. Precisely because of this, the duo's extraordinary fixation on true demonic qi and Su Nü aroused Qin Sang's suspicions. The connection between the two great merchant alliances and true demonic qi seemed far closer than he had imagined. What kind of secret was hidden behind it? Furthermore, Su Nü had been obedient and docile throughout their escape from the demon island, proving she was hardly an unreasonable or willful person. Yet she had been unable to endure even a few offensive glances, which also made Qin Sang suspicious. He wondered whether it was simply her nature or a deliberate act. If deliberate, Su Nü's motives and her relationship with Immortal Aunt Yue would be intriguing indeed. Of course, these were merely Qin Sang's suspicions. He had not spent much time around Su Nü and had barely spoken a few words with her; he did not know her temperament, and it was entirely possible she had simply been spoiled by Immortal Aunt Yue sheltering her too well. Qin Sang's mission was to ensure Su Nü's safety, not lose her, and he had no desire to involve himself in troubles that did not concern him. Thus, such thoughts flashed across his mind and were promptly set aside without further dwelling. "I have no intention of making enemies of the three of you. Why must you press me so aggressively?" Qin Sang blocked their path and called out sharply. "We merely wish to exchange cultivation insights with the young lady, yet you act like a startled bird, Fellow Daoist. You have completely misunderstood us! Nowadays, the Demon Sea belongs to demon beasts. If we cultivators do not join hands, how many more days can we drag out our meager existence?" the fine-bearded man urged earnestly. Yet a hidden murderous intent lurked in his eyes. In particular, after catching sight of the two-headed hou, he immediately sent a voice transmission to the rich squire: *Junior Brother, this man actually possesses a Demon Core stage spirit beast. No wonder he roams the Demon Sea with such ease. He is not simple; killing him won't be easy, and we would likely have to pay a steep price. Let him go for now. Our priority is to capture that girl—make sure she is taken alive...* Communicating through voice transmissions, the three quickly settled on a plan. The fine-bearded man produced a talisman. While secretly activating it, his true body vanished into thin air. At the same time, the talisman conjured an illusory double of the fine-bearded man, lifelike enough to pass for the real thing. The other two maintained their composure, flanking the illusion and charging aggressively toward Qin Sang. Meanwhile, the fine-bearded man's true body crept through the shadows, quietly altering course to slip around Qin Sang. Qin Sang had remained on guard all along. Having long since awakened the Heavenly Eye Butterfly and activated the Heavenly Eye to scan his surroundings, he easily saw through the illusion and pinpointed the fine-bearded man's true body. Remaining outwardly impassive, he flew forward on his sword to meet the charge, feigning complete ignorance. Only when he drew close to the fine-bearded man's true body did his sword light abruptly pivot. In an instant, the sky filled with sword rays resembling an upturned River of Stars, accompanied by deafening rumbles of thunder. A forest of swords seemed to shoot from Qin Sang's hand, descending straight down upon the concealed fine-bearded man! The fine-bearded man was greatly alarmed. Shaken by the astonishing sword technique, he could no longer maintain his concealment and hurriedly activated his life-bound magic treasure. A crystal square seal shot out from his dantian, shining with silver radiance. The runes atop it shifted, ultimately congealing into a silver character for "Suppress." The sword rays collided with the square seal. The head-sized character "Suppress" flew out from the seal, spinning rapidly. The incoming sword rays shattered one after another along its path, but the character itself was destabilizing as well, and the silver light across the seal fluctuated violently under immense pressure. "What formidable sword technique!" Forced out of hiding, the fine-bearded man's expression turned grave as he stared intently at Qin Sang. "I truly misjudged you. A fellow Daoist of your caliber is rare even within the Three Great Merchant Alliances, yet I have never heard of you." "This humble Daoist is merely an insignificant rogue cultivator, hardly worth mentioning." Qin Sang replied, but showed no mercy. The ebony sword moved like a ghost, unleashing the sword techniques he had comprehended at the Sword Path all at once, violently shattering the silver character. The sword rays poured like a waterfall, sweeping forward with unstoppable momentum. Yet before the ebony sword could close in, the square seal flew back, condensing another silver character. Gripping his treasure, the fine-bearded man retreated hastily. Right at that moment, the other two cultivators arrived. Seeing this, they hastily struck. Rather than helping the fine-bearded man fend off the flying sword, they unleashed their magic treasures straight at Qin Sang, forcing him to defend. A saber and a spear struck simultaneously. *No chance,* Qin Sang thought to himself. When pretending to be oblivious and planning his ambush, he had secretly readied the Foul Blood Divine Light and the star conch, waiting for the fine-bearded man to reveal a flaw so he could eliminate him first; dealing with the other two would then have been simple. However, the fine-bearded man was a late Core Formation expert after all. Despite being caught off guard and thrown into disarray, he had kept his composure and defense intact. Before Qin Sang could find an opening to strike, the other two had already caught up. Facing three powerful adversaries alone, he had no choice but to abandon the idea of slaying them outright and instead patiently play for time. As the magic treasures closed in, Qin Sang's figure flickered repeatedly. At the same time, the demonic banners swirled around him to form a formation, and he channeled a wisp of Nine Nether demonic fire into his palm to lash back at the incoming treasures. Fighting one against three, Qin Sang knew full well this could not last. Once the fine-bearded man recovered and the three formed a coordinated array, they would turn around and suppress him. Moreover, his true essence was depleting rapidly; the elixir pills he had swallowed earlier were merely a drop in the bucket. Therefore, after tangling with them for a short while, Qin Sang intentionally left an opening. Having broken free from the melee and eager to capture Su Nü, the fine-bearded man instructed his companions to keep Qin Sang occupied while he broke off to pursue the two-headed hou. Qin Sang acted as if he did not notice. Recalling the ebony sword, he seized the right moment and unleashed the Foul Blood Divine Light, splashing it directly onto the rich squire's life-bound magic treasure. "Senior Brother, save me!" With the ebony sword and the Nine Nether demonic fire arriving in unison and his magic treasure ruined, the rich squire was utterly helpless and overcome with terror. Cultivator Liu rushed to his aid, but could only manage to block the demonic fire. Witnessing this, the fine-bearded man's eyes threatened to split with fury. He whipped around to mount a rescue, but shadows of swords had already engulfed the rich squire. *Boom!* A silver character blasted the sword qi apart. Qin Sang lowered his sword and stood still, looking at the blood-drenched rich squire with a hint of regret. The man had somehow managed to preserve his life using an unknown method at the last second. Nevertheless, he was grievously wounded. With sword qi invading his body, he was stripped of combat capability for the time being. The Foul Blood Divine Light was truly worthy of its origin in the Ten Great Divine Woods, repeatedly securing victory for Qin Sang. The fine-bearded man was also stunned. Holding his junior brother's heavily injured body, he could hardly believe his eyes. He had assumed that even if the two could not win, they could at least pin Qin Sang down. Who could have expected them to be defeated so swiftly and so brutally? Just what kind of divine ability was that bloody glow? "Dare to harass this humble Daoist again, and this man's fate will be yours!" Qin Sang gave a cold snort, pointed at the rich squire, and flew off atop his sword. "Kill him!" Enraged and consumed with murderous intent, the fine-bearded man nevertheless kept a clear head. "That wicked Daoist is merely at the mid Core Formation stage! After fighting the three of us back-to-back and deploying magic treasure after magic treasure, his true essence is already completely drained! It's nothing but empty bluster—don't let him fool you!" Instructing his junior brother to refine and expel the sword qi inside him on his own, he took Cultivator Liu along and gave chase.