Old Grudges

The mere shockwaves were enough to make everyone pale. Without hesitation, they prepared to abandon the crystal steles and flee the island. Yet the situation proved far grimmer than they had imagined. The frigid qi surged upward, meeting the descending lightning head-on. The two forces collided with a thunderous roar, accompanied by a sharp hissing sound like steam violently evaporating. For a moment, the frigid qi seemed to hold the lightning at bay. But had anyone stood at the point of collision, they would have seen the frigid qi being depleted at an astonishing rate. High above, watching the torrent of lightning pour down, the interlopers burst into hearty laughter, venting their pent-up fury. Yet when they saw the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array actually resisting the Lightning Command Technique, anger surged anew. At the middle-aged man's command, they cast their secret technique once more, gathering even more lightning. Rumble... The gathered lightning consolidated into a massive thunderbolt that crashed down from the heavens as if possessed of world-destroying might. Maintaining it was clearly no easy feat for them either. Those with weaker cultivation swayed unsteadily. Even their strongest member, the middle-aged man, turned pale. Compared to them, however, Qin Sang and his companions were in far more dire straits. They had believed the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array would buy them enough time to escape, but reality was far crueler. The frigid qi had merely blunted the lightning's force, failing to halt its advance, and was pierced through by the bolt. A gaping hole was forcibly torn through the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array. The crystal steles shook violently, cracks spreading upward rapidly from their bases. "The Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array is about to be destroyed!" Qin Sang was appalled, horror gripping his heart. The lightning's power was utterly terrifying. Even after shattering the grand array, it pressed forward with unabated fury, sending chills down his spine. Such terrifying power belonged to a Nascent Soul Patriarch, yet it was being unleashed by a mere group of Core Formation cultivators. His vision was drowned in blinding lightning, obscuring everything. Yet Qin Sang could distinctly sense the intensely pure yang force descending from above, carrying immense destructive power that obliterated every force attempting to resist it. Crack! The crystal steles shattered. Frigid mist scattered in all directions. Qin Sang shuddered—the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array had been completely destroyed! Although Qin Sang had been on guard ever since those people appeared, he had not anticipated the disaster would strike so swiftly, nor that they could strike so fiercely from such a distance. Not only Qin Sang, but the others were caught completely unprepared. It was simply unheard of; none of them had imagined these people could wield such incredible divine abilities. Fortunately, Qin Sang had kept a portion of his mind locked onto the Nine Dragons Heavenly Chariot Talisman all along. Instantly, sword radiance and flood dragon phantoms intertwined over his body as he shot toward the edge of the island at his absolute fastest speed, desperate to escape the area enveloped by the lightning. The others were not about to fall behind and mounted their own responses. Due to the positions of the crystal steles, the five of them were situated in different directions, leaving them no choice but to flee along separate paths. Only Chu Heng remained motionless, a look of despair in his eyes. Though his cultivation was high, his greatest strength lay in formation arrays and restrictions; his evasion techniques and combat Daoist arts were mediocre at best. In a situation like this, he had no room to display his talents. Unable to flee, all he could do was resist with everything he had, hoping for a sliver of a chance at survival. The most impressive performance belonged to Ma Debao. A sly and cunning man by nature, he had been just as wary as Qin Sang the moment the interlopers appeared. Sensing disaster, he had promptly unleashed his magic treasure, the Heavenly Chasm Five Extremes Whip. With a series of sharp, rapid cracks, the flickering whip shadows produced a peculiar vibration, and using that momentum, Ma Debao propelled his body outward in an explosive leap. Qiu Ji and Luo Kun had somehow coordinated with each other and planned to join forces to resist. Among the five, Qin Sang possessed the fastest evasion technique, yet he still could not outrun the lightning's blast. His figure flickered before abruptly grinding to a halt. The lightning was already upon him. A ruthless glint flashed through his eyes, and a burst of golden light suddenly erupted from his body. At the center of that golden light was a suit of golden armor—the Gold Glow Armor. Ever since Qin Sang acquired this magic treasure, it had shielded him on numerous occasions. Thanks to the exceptionally sturdy spiritual materials used in its forging, it had remained remarkably reliable despite being merely a low-grade magic treasure. Back in the Hall of Seven Kills, the Gold Glow Armor had been damaged, but Qin Sang had repaired it later. Drawing on his understanding of artifact crafting, he had incorporated new spiritual materials during the restoration, elevating its defensive power to a whole new level. Boom! The lightning crashed down from the heavens. The power of the Gold Glow Armor fully enveloped Qin Sang. Qin Sang felt a tremendous force slam into him. With a muffled groan, he was sent flying through the air while a crisp cracking sound reached his ears. To his horror, he found that the body of the Gold Glow Armor had fractured. Only a few years had passed since this magic treasure's repair, and now it was facing ruin once more. No! It was not just damaged. In an instant, countless fissures spread across the entire armor. This treasured armor, which had served him faithfully for decades and rendered immense merit, was about to be completely destroyed! Yet the Gold Glow Armor's sacrifice was not in vain. Qin Sang clearly sensed that the armor had absorbed the vast majority of the lightning's force. The most dangerous moment had passed! Before Qin Sang could rejoice, however, the residual force seeped in through the gaps in the Gold Glow Armor. The lightning struck his body and invaded his flesh, sending a wave of numbness washing over him. Qin Sang's body stiffened, and anxiety surged within him. While these strands of lightning power were easy enough to dispel and would not inflict severe damage, they impaired his movements and reaction time. Immediately afterward, however, a sense of relief washed over him as the numbness vanished. Only then did he realize that the Heavenly Eye Butterfly was dancing lightly within his sea of qi, unleashing its lightning-controlling divine ability and greedily devouring the invading lightning. Compared to the lightning in the heavens, the arcs dancing on the butterfly's wings appeared frail and delicate. However, most of this lightning had first been ground down by the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array, then blocked by the Gold Glow Armor. By the time it penetrated Qin Sang's protective true essence and entered his body, it had been weakened drastically, allowing the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to consume it with ease. "Splendid!" Qin Sang rejoiced inwardly, silently praising his natal insect gu. Without looking back, he cast his evasion technique once more. He had already sensed a familiar aura behind him—wild and intensely berserk. It was the Kui Dragon! The Kui Dragon was not dead; at the final moment, it had been freed from the spirit array. What was more, it feared the Lightning Command Technique not in the least. It was out for vengeance! Chu Heng had struggled desperately to survive under the Lightning Command Technique and had barely weathered the fiercest onslaught, yet unaware of the approaching peril, he was bitten in half by the Kui Dragon without offering the slightest resistance. Qiu Ji and Luo Kun had joined forces and were in far better shape than Chu Heng. They sensed the Kui Dragon's ambush, only to discover in horror that their bodies were paralyzed by the lightning's power. Their true essence was sluggish, and their reactions had slowed considerably. They fought back desperately, but the Kui Dragon had gone mad. Disregarding its own injuries, it swallowed both of them into its belly one after another. Ma Debao had fled the second farthest after Qin Sang. He too noticed the Kui Dragon rampaging behind them. Though in a far more wretched state than Qin Sang, he still vigorously cracked the Heavenly Chasm Five Extremes Whip, struggling with all his might to survive. Though severely wounded, the Kui Dragon was still not to be underestimated. His companions were either dead or maimed, while the status of the strongest among them, the youth surnamed Fang, remained unknown. Farther away, those mysterious cultivators still glared like tigers watching their prey. Qin Sang had not the slightest desire to turn back, bolting toward the open sea beyond the island. Just then, a cry of shocked fury rang out ahead: "The Gold Glow Armor! You were the one who killed Junior Brother!"