Sword Qi

The instant the cloud banner illuminated his figure, Qin Sang immediately shook the Purple Soul Bell. "Ding-ling-ling..." Crisp chiming echoed through the cavern. Just as Qin Sang was about to seize the moment to condense Yin Thunder, kill Zhao Yan, and snatch the Four Clouds Divine Restriction, an overwhelming wave of unease suddenly surged within his heart. His brows knit tight. His gaze swept over Zhao Yan, finally locking onto his left hand. Zhao Yan held the jade casket containing the mysterious orchid in his right hand, the transparent jade floating before his chest, while his left hand was secretly reaching into his mustard seed bag. In his palm, a black bead was faintly visible. It was an unremarkable bead that Qin Sang had never seen before, yet it gave him an intensely perilous sensation. The moment his eyes fell upon it, every hair on his body stood on end, an unspeakable dread churning incessantly in the depths of his heart! *Not good!* Qin Sang was utterly alarmed. Unwilling to gamble with his life, he hesitated not a moment, immediately dispersing the Gui Water Yin Thunder Incantation. Transforming into a violent gust of wind, he fled toward the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation with every ounce of his strength. Right on his heels came an enraged roar from Zhao Yan, followed by the whoosh of an object shooting straight at him. Qin Sang's scalp tingled with dread. Recklessly driving his spiritual power, he steered the Void-Traversing Wind. Right as he was about to crash into the grand formation, he hurriedly brought out the green gauze canopy magic tool he had acquired in the Eight Trigrams Forbidden Ground, threw it behind him, and simultaneously activated the Ice Silkworm Armor on his body. *Boom!* A thunderous detonation erupted behind him, deafening Qin Sang's ears. He felt only a terrifying force slam violently into his back. The ice armor formed by the Ice Silkworm Armor let out crisp crunching sounds before shattering to pieces in an instant, its base armor wrecked along with it, while the green gauze canopy magic tool was directly obliterated into nothingness. Blasted directly into the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation by the tremendous force, Qin Sang was left with his back a mangled mess of flesh and blood, bones visible beneath the wounds. The cavern shook violently, the dazzling white light lingering for a long time before finally dissipating. Zhao Yan tightly shielded the jade casket containing the mysterious orchid against his chest, propping one hand on the ground. Nearly flipped over by the fierce shockwave rushing toward him, he barely managed to steady himself. The fury on his face had yet to subside as he glared viciously at the massive crater that had abruptly appeared in the ground. The corpses of Ruan Nanfeng and the other two had been blown to dust along with the floor. Zhao Yan spat fiercely, his hoarse voice cursing, "Wasted one of my Profound Yin Thunders!" Then, deep confusion surfaced on Zhao Yan's face. He could not understand why the Heart-Devouring Insect, which had never failed before, had no effect on Qin Sang. He drove the cloud banner to whip up a violent gust, blowing away the gravel and rubble in the crater, but there was nothing beneath. The mustard seed bags of the others had also been blown to smithereens by the Profound Yin Thunder. Zhao Yan made a mental note of this, deciding to ask the sect master once he returned. *Phew!* Zhao Yan exhaled a long breath. He glanced down at the jade casket in his arms, let out a couple of wild laughs, and carefully stowed it into his mustard seed bag before immediately sitting cross-legged in the lotus position to recover his spiritual power. An accident like this was beyond Zhao Yan's expectations. What he feared most now was alarming the Golden Core Masters of the Yuanzhao Sect. In the face of a Golden Core Master, no amount of Profound Yin Thunders could save his wretched life. From the looks of it now, the Yuanzhao Sect cultivators had already been pinned down tight by the experts of his own sect. Still, Zhao Yan was ignorant of the situation outside, so he decided it was best to leave this place of peril as quickly as possible. Having flawlessly accomplished the mission entrusted to him by his sect master martial uncle, he would certainly receive generous rewards upon returning, and breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage was just around the corner! While Zhao Yan was circulating his cultivation technique to recover spiritual power, inside the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation... Qin Sang lay motionless on the ground. The injuries on his back were gruesome to behold; had he been a mortal, he would likely have been dead already. Suddenly letting out a faint groan, Qin Sang clawed at the ground with both hands. Enduring the agonizing pain on his back, he barely managed to sit up. As the movement pulled at his wounds, he could not help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air. Qin Sang hastily fetched several spirit pills from his mustard seed bag. Back at Cloud-Moving Valley, he had consulted Senior Brother Meng and learned that the pills he had obtained from the man in the bamboo hat were all healing medicines, though varying in efficacy. Some were of high grade like the Water Dew Pill, while others were merely wound medicines for mortals. Unable to be picky under the circumstances, Qin Sang took out two of each kind and swallowed them down. A sensation of cool relief immediately spread across his back. Some of the smaller wounds began to scab over, and the pain subsided considerably. His two defensive magic tools had not been destroyed in vain; he could not help feeling secretly fortunate. Recalling the perilous moment just now, Qin Sang still shuddered with fear and shock. Just what was that bead? The mere shockwave of its explosion had wrecked two of his defensive magic tools and wounded him so grievously. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly enough; sensing that things were amiss, he had steered the Void-Traversing Wind to flee for his life. Otherwise, he might have been vaporized on the spot just like the green gauze canopy. Without waiting for his injuries to stabilize, Qin Sang began looking around to survey his surroundings. The ground was icy cold, enveloped on all sides by grayish-white vapors that restricted visibility to a very short distance. Though already inside the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation, his consciousness remained clear. There was no confusion of the mind, nor did he perceive any inner demons. Evidently, the jade Buddha was firmly shielding his origin soul. However, Qin Sang was now deeply worried that he would be trapped to death within the formation. Without the Four Clouds Divine Restriction, with his level of cultivation, it was utterly impossible to cross the Three Calamities ahead. To escape from this place, he had to seize the Four Clouds Divine Restriction, and his sole reliance was the ebony sword. At this thought, Qin Sang could no longer heal his wounds in peace. Enduring the pain, he climbed to his feet and tentatively took a step back. The surrounding grayish-white vapors did not change at all, nor did any danger appear. After taking several consecutive steps, the grayish-white vapors in front of him suddenly grew thin. He halted immediately, lest Zhao Yan spot him and hurl another bead his way. Channeling the Cloudfall Wings to conceal his figure, Qin Sang walked out without making a sound and caught sight of Zhao Yan at a single glance. The man was sitting cross-legged where he was, recovering his spiritual power. Certain that Qin Sang could not have survived, he had not set up any protection around himself. Qin Sang quietly retreated back into the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation. Feeling the wounds on his back and judging that they would not hinder him too much, he sat cross-legged on the ground, summoned the ebony sword, and took out that middle-grade spirit stone he had treasured for so long from his mustard seed bag. Grasping it with both hands, he drew a deep breath and sank into meditation. The ebony sword floated before Qin Sang, dark light flickering upon its blade, utterly inconspicuous. Qin Sang connected with the spirit sword through his spiritual sense and madly absorbed the spiritual power from the spirit stone. As that power surged into his dantian, his previously stable sea of qi instantly grew tempestuous, and a tearing agony shot through his meridians. *Worthy of being a middle-grade spirit stone,* Qin Sang mused internally. Had this been a year ago when he was still at the sixth layer of the Qi Refinement stage, Qin Sang reckoned he would already be on the verge of collapsing. Forcing himself to continue absorbing would only cause him to detonate and die before he could kill Zhao Yan. As time went on, the luster on the spirit stone grew increasingly dim. At this moment, a speck of green sword qi emerged upon the ebony sword, flickering and darting at the tip of the blade, accompanied by the faint humming of a sword. Sword qi was a manifestation of the spirit sword's own material, and the ebony sword had been crafted from spiritual wood. Gradually, the sword qi nearly enveloped the entire ebony sword.