Chaos

The grand formation breached the demonic restrictions and brought salvation to the dead souls with earthshaking momentum, yet the commotion did not travel far. After the upheaval erupted, the cloud mass above the deathland glowed faintly, easily stifling the anomalous phenomenon; the disturbance here had not even reached beyond the Purple Mist Deathland. The interior of the Great Rift Valley was affected, but there was no scene of mountains collapsing or the earth shattering; only the ferocious beasts dwelling deep within the rift valley were stirred. Qin Sang and Bai could faintly hear chanting. Bai felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He stared blankly upward. Having finally fulfilled his vow, his eyes held a trace of confusion and melancholy. *My obsession is resolved. I shall journey far to find myself, and one day I will return to offer sacrifices to you all,* Bai said silently to himself. As the aftershocks struck, the two of them were like a lone boat in a gale. Bai gathered the ghost mist with all his might, sweeping them both toward the canyon. Qin Sang ordered the two-headed hou to return to sleep, flapped his phoenix wings, and remained prepared at all times to awaken his external incarnation. If any unforeseen mishap arose, his only choice would be to sacrifice the chariot to save the general, using the incarnation to draw the Nascent Soul cultivator's attention. They had originally been hiding near the canyon mouth and arrived in an instant, faintly catching the sound of an enraged roar. The powers of the demonic restriction, the transcendence grand formation, and the ghost mist tangled together, turning the area outside the canyon into a scene of utter chaos. With the divine ability of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang saw demonic restrictions surfacing along the cliff faces on both sides and beginning to collapse. Shards of stone sloughed off the rock walls, but the mountains only trembled without caving in. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire had already been scattered, and that Nascent Soul cultivator was taking the brunt of the impact. Outside the canyon, an eerie, bone-white light flickered. Densely packed phantoms of square bone tiles surfaced within the white glow; each tile seemed to have an evil spirit sealed inside, emitting chilling shrieks. *So they're bone tiles!* Qin Sang's heart stirred, recalling the scene he had glimpsed earlier. "Hurry!" Bai urged via voice transmission. Qin Sang nodded. Right now was when the aftershocks were at their peak. Under the protection of the bone tile grand formation, that Nascent Soul cultivator seemed largely unharmed. Unfortunately, the spiritual energies were too turbulent, limiting the Heavenly Eye so that Qin Sang could not clearly discern the true state inside the bone tile grand formation. The collapse of the demonic restrictions had started from the center of the Ghostland. It was only because the restriction power at the canyon mouth was weakest and Bai had deliberately targeted it that it had disintegrated so quickly. Once the demonic restrictions surrounding the Ghostland completely collapsed, the ghost mist would also be mostly dissipated. By that time, the Nascent Soul cultivator would be able to regain his footing and have the spare strength to search for them; it would be too late to leave then. Therefore, they had to seize this moment to flee while the Nascent Soul cultivator was unable to attend to anything else. The two exchanged a look and plunged into the canyon. One deployed a divine ability while the other channeled a magic treasure, working in tight coordination as they drifted along with the ghost mist, carried out of the canyon in the blink of an eye. They dared not even breathe, their hearts in their throats as they swept past the bone tile grand formation. At this moment, Old Devil Mou was driving the grand formation with all his might, his expression exceptionally dark. He had never expected such an upheaval to occur within the Ghostland. A terrifying surge of fluctuations had abruptly appeared, scattering the demonic fire he had yearned for in an instant. Caught unprepared, Old Devil Mou felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow and was knocked far back. Fortunately, the demonic fire had absorbed some of the force, and the bone tile grand formation he had laid down early on helped ward off this calamity, or else the outcome would have been hard to say. Watching with his own eyes as the demonic fire dispersed, Old Devil Mou's heart bled. Unlike others, he did not care about the treasures in the Ghostland—the demonic fire was his true objective. If he could subdue this demonic fire, not only would he have great hope of advancing to the late Nascent Soul stage and becoming a top expert of the Canglang Ocean, he would even have a sliver of hope to achieve Deity Transformation. Such beautiful illusions had shattered right before his eyes, sending Old Devil Mou into a fury. Cracks were now appearing across the actual bone tiles, yet he harbored no thought of retreat. Instead, he drove the grand formation at all costs to resist the impact and pushed upstream against the current to seal off the canyon. Even in the most dangerous moment, Old Devil Mou did not forget to send out a wisp of divine sense to probe about, guarding against missing anything. Had it not been for the ancient treasure Red Yuan Gauze and Bai's divine ability to manipulate the ghost mist, he might truly have detected something. Without the demonic fire, only obtaining the treasures inside could make up for his loss. Before that mysterious person appeared, no one had ever set foot in the Ghostland. Old Devil Mou did not know what restriction the mysterious person had triggered inside the Ghostland to cause such a massive disturbance, but surely that person was suffering just as badly right now and could not have escaped unscathed. If the mysterious person had died on the spot, he would be getting an easy bargain. If the person fled while heavily wounded, all the better; by intercepting him, not only could Old Devil Mou obtain the Ghostland's treasures, but he could also perform soul searching to learn how the man had withstood the demonic fire and infiltrated the Ghostland. Perhaps he might even find the demonic fire again afterward. Right then, Old Devil Mou noticed the fluctuations beginning to wane. Overjoyed, he drove his grand formation at all costs and charged into the canyon, unaware that the actual culprits had fled the coop the very moment he had taken that blast. Having successfully escaped and seeing that they had not been detected, Qin Sang and Bai felt their minds ease slightly. Yet they dared not slacken in the slightest; after awakening the fat silkworm, they fled outward at top speed. To their dismay, before they could even reach the rift valley's cliff wall, successive beast roars erupted from deep within the rift, resembling the cries of tigers and dragons, drawing nearer and nearer. Qin Sang's heart jumped into his throat, and he hastily asked, "Are there Nascent Soul-level ferocious beasts here?" Bai nodded. "Over the years, a few have lingered before the demonic fire with auras equivalent to the Nascent Soul stage. As for exactly how many there are, I cannot say." At this, Qin Sang's expression darkened. "We must leave as quickly as possible. I believe my escape arts are somewhat superior to yours, Fellow Daoist. The Heavenly Corpse Talisman and soul imprint within you remain intact, so you may still be able to enter a corpse puppet bag. I wonder if you would be willing to suffer this indignity?" The top-tier ferocious beasts had been alarmed, and if they clashed with that Nascent Soul cultivator, a fierce battle might ensue. Yet Qin Sang had no intention of playing the fisherman waiting to reap the spoils. He had already reaped enough benefits; there was no need to take such risks. Moreover, that Nascent Soul cultivator possessed extraordinary cultivation; the ferocious beasts might not be able to stop him. Bai had unsealed the altars first and then channeled the ghost mist to blind the Nascent Soul cultivator; having expended an immense amount of energy, he had little strength left, not to mention that his escape arts fell far short of Qin Sang's. The inner demon oath they had sworn required them to assist each other until they were clear of danger. Qin Sang naturally would not break his word, but he could not let Bai drag him down either, so having Bai try entering the corpse puppet bag was his best option. Once they were safe, he still had many questions to consult Bai about. "I have witnessed your escape arts, Fellow Daoist... Facing such a catastrophe, what does a slight indignity matter?" Bai did not care in the least. Seeing Qin Sang open the corpse puppet bag, he released a portion of the restrictions on the refined corpse's primordial spirit. Whether it was because Bai was originally a remnant soul or something else, when Qin Sang pinched an incantation seal, he actually succeeded in drawing Bai into the corpse puppet bag. "It is quite peaceful in here; it will serve nicely for me to regulate my breath and recover. I leave everything to you, Fellow Daoist." Hearing Bai's voice transmission, Qin Sang glanced at the corpse puppet bag in surprise. Then, the phoenix wings behind him snapped wide open, flood dragon souls coiled around his body, and he summoned the ebony sword to unleash the Sword Qi Thunderclap divine ability all at once. Deploying three top-tier escape arts simultaneously, Qin Sang transformed into a tricolored streak of azure, red, and white light, fleeing headlong, not even daring to retrieve the purple crystal. The aura of a top-tier ferocious beast was bearing down from precisely that direction. The fat silkworm let out a disgruntled grunt. Qin Sang had broken his word.