Astral Fiend

The youth surnamed Fang crashed headlong into the mountain forest, snapping a vast swath of ancient trees. A muffled groan sounded from amid the broken branches and messy weeds. The youth surnamed Fang staggered to his feet, covered in crushed leaves and withered grass, looking thoroughly disheveled. He shook his head, still seemingly dizzy and muddled. A moment later, he snapped fully awake. Raising his hand to look, he saw that the life-saving talisman bestowed by his master was shattered, its power entirely depleted. He had known all along that the newcomers harbored ill intent. The moment he sensed something amiss, he had fled ahead of time, yet he had still been caught in the aftermath, surviving only thanks to the talisman given by his master. "Is this the Landou Sect's secret Daoist art, the Lightning Command Technique?" The youth surnamed Fang muttered to himself, his face etched with terror as he looked down toward the center of the battlefield. Lightning permeated the area. The naked eye could not pierce the conditions on the battlefield, but the youth surnamed Fang knew in his heart that the five cultivators he had bribed were most likely dead or doomed. He could not help feeling immensely relieved. Fortunately, he had been cautious enough not to rashly lead his fellow disciples to storm their cave dwelling, choosing instead to recruit several cannon fodder. Otherwise, the corpses littering the ground right now would have belonged to his junior brothers. Just as the youth surnamed Fang prepared to withdraw, his figure swayed unexpectedly, struck by another wave of dizziness. "What is this?" Alarmed, the youth hastily turned his inner vision inward, only to discover to his astonishment that an unprecedented strange energy had appeared in his body. It was exceedingly gloomy, sinister, and chaotic, like a fiend qi he had never encountered before. This power invaded his purple mansion and battered his origin soul, sending it into turbulence, nearly causing him to lose control of the true essence within him. "Did it follow the lightning and invade my body without my noticing? Just what kind of power is this! The Lightning Command Technique is truly the strongest Daoist art I have ever witnessed in my life, yet the Landou Sect shelved it and classified it as a forbidden art! The Douniu Peak branch, who cultivated the Lightning Command Technique, were banished, becoming Landou Sect outcasts and having their names struck from the sect..." He hastily sat down cross-legged to expel this dark force, when he suddenly heard the furious shout of his Fourth Junior Brother. "Gold Glow Armor! It was you who killed Little Junior Brother!" The youth surnamed Fang froze, suddenly recalling the tragedy from several decades ago when his master's most beloved youngest disciple met his demise in the Demon Sea. The murderer remained at large to this day, and as the Eldest Senior Brother, he had been mercilessly punished by his master for failing to protect his junior brother, suffering quite a bit of hardship. To think he had searched high and low to no avail, only to stumble upon it without lifting a finger! The murderer was actually among these five people! He had only roped them in as cannon fodder, never expecting to flush out the culprit who killed Little Junior Brother. What an unexpected boon! Presumably, it was precisely due to the protection of the Gold Glow Armor that the person had survived. This treasure had been bestowed upon Little Junior Brother by their master, and the youth surnamed Fang knew its power all too well. "Killing Little Junior Brother, and even wearing his inner armor..." Killing intent flared in the youth's eyes, but plagued by the fiend qi entangled within him, he was temporarily unable to move. *** Ma Debao snapped his Heavenly Chasm Five Severances Whip, leaping backward again and again like a sea shrimp on the recoil. But his fortune did not last. Just like the youth surnamed Fang, he was struck by dizziness without any warning. "Ah!" He clutched his head with one hand, his body stiffening as his true essence fell into disorder. The Heavenly Chasm Five Severances Whip shuddered erratically, nearly slipping from his grasp. When he realized the presence of that unknown power, he hastily tried to purge it, but by then the Kui Dragon had already slain the other three and caught up to him. Terror washed over his face. Battered by that strange force, his protective true essence collapsed. Unable to control his magic treasure, he could mount no effective resistance. A lash of the Kui Dragon's tail sent the Heavenly Chasm Five Severances Whip flying, and he was swallowed by a sphere of lightning spat from the Kui Dragon's jaws, perishing instantly. *** Having fled the deserted island, Qin Sang also sensed an anomaly within his body. Looking inward, he saw the Heavenly Eye Butterfly fluttering wildly within his sea of qi as though drunk. He was secretly surprised, not understanding why the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had ended up like this. Was there poison in the lightning? As his spiritual sense swept over it, he detected the abnormality, but to his surprise, felt a sense of familiarity. "Astral fiend power?" Qin Sang recognized the nature of this energy. It was remarkably similar to the astral fiend power he attracted while cultivating the Heavenly Demon Form Refining, equally gloomy and chaotic. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly had been affected by this very force. However, during his cultivation, any attracted astral fiend power was blocked by the jade Buddha and then gradually refined and expelled from his body by Qin Sang, leaving no residue behind. This astral fiend power had likely entered alongside the lightning. When the Heavenly Eye Butterfly swallowed the lightning, it had swallowed the astral fiend power with it. The lightning power of utmost yang and rigidity, and the gloomy, chaotic astral fiend power—how could two entirely opposite forces blend together? Time did not permit Qin Sang to ponder further. He hastily helped the Heavenly Eye Butterfly expel the astral fiend power. Qin Sang was exceptionally experienced in dealing with astral fiend power, and since the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had only swallowed a small fraction of the lightning, the impact was minor. He easily helped it stabilize its origin soul. Then he heard a furious shout from up ahead. Qin Sang focused his gaze and saw fierce winds and surging waves ahead. A black-robed man holding a strange banner surfaced, treading over the waves and glaring at him with rage. At the same time, Qin Sang spotted figures in other directions as well. All were black-robed men dressed identically, wielding strange banners of identical shape, their qi connected to one another. "Gold Glow Armor? Little Junior Brother?" Qin Sang suddenly recalled that past incident. Back during the Witch Calamity, he had been tailed and ambushed by a Witch Clan cultivator in the Demon Sea. After turning the tables and killing him, he had fled immediately. Later, Ran Luo mentioned that the deceased possessed quite a background, being a personal disciple of the Witch Clan's Black Snake Mountain Ancestor. Elder Zou and Ran Luo had mobilized the power of the Business Alliance to cover for him, sparing him further fallout. He never expected to encounter them here in the Inner Sea, nor that his identity would be exposed by the Gold Glow Armor. "They're disciples of Black Snake Mountain—all of them are Witch Clan cultivators!" Qin Sang's eyes narrowed slightly. This place was the heart of human territory. Most Witch Clan cultivators operated in the southeastern sea near the Witch God Continent; why would they appear here? Seeing them holding a banner array and looking thoroughly prepared, they could not have simply been passing by. Qin Sang realized that among the companions who had come to hunt the demon beast this time, someone had definitely turned out to be a problem. The most likely suspect was the organizer, the youth surnamed Fang. This person was either a spy for the Witch Clan or a member of the Witch Clan himself! There were countless strange treasures in the cultivation world; it was not surprising that treasures existed which could mask one's identity and deceive even the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's perception. Combined with that mysterious group who could cast the bizarre lightning art, Qin Sang immediately felt the shadow of a colossal conspiracy looming over him, countless enigmas welling up in his mind. The black-robed man blocking the path sent voice transmissions to his fellow brothers, then wheeled around, brandishing his strange banner to slay Qin Sang. Seeing things turn sour, Qin Sang swiftly reined in his stray thoughts. Without pausing for an instant, his figure flickered as he charged rapidly toward the black-robed man barring his way. Only now did he finally get a clear look at the strange banners in full. Upon the surface of the dark material, the origin souls of demonic beasts seemed to be sealed. Wild and untamed, these beast origin souls were extraordinarily frenzied and bloodthirsty. The magic treasures themselves carried a thick aura of baleful fiend qi, clearly no benevolent objects. The eighty-one Beast King Banners were evidently a single set, their power certainly no lesser than the Heavenly Cold Fierce Wind Array. Qin Sang knew full well that if he were trapped, he would have no choice but to wait for death.