Scattering in Flight

*Snap!* Its spiritual power exhausted, the spirit stone fractured into several pieces. Qin Sang's eyes snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing within them. He let out a low bark: "Go!" The ebony sword pointed from afar toward the cavern. Its blade trembled, and in an instant, it transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from Qin Sang's sight. The explosive burst of speed shook Qin Sang to the core. Then, urging the Void-Traversing Wind into motion, Qin Sang flew out of the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation. Zhao Yan lay prone on the ground, completely still. A pool of crimson blood stained the floor. Qin Sang directed the ebony sword to pierce him a few more times before soaring over. Lifting Zhao Yan, he saw the man's eyes bulged wide, lingering terror frozen within them. He must have only just spotted the ebony sword before it struck him dead. "Phew!" Qin Sang's taut nerves finally relaxed, and he collapsed limp onto the ground. Only now did he feel the aches racking every inch of his body. Exhausted down to his marrow, he wanted nothing more than a deep, long sleep. Yet he could not afford to let his guard down. He was still not out of danger. Whether he could safely exit the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation, and how the battle outside was unfolding, remained entirely unknown. Fortunately, the ebony sword had dispatched Zhao Yan with ease, avoiding a drawn-out deadlock, so a good deal of the spirit stone's spiritual power still lingered in Qin Sang's body. Qin Sang snatched Zhao Yan's mustard seed bag and glanced at the mysterious orchid safely resting inside the jade casket. A grin tugged at his lips. If he could make off with this, all the suffering he had endured would be worth it. If the Yuanzhao Sect had already fallen, he could claim he had run into a formidable enemy who killed Zhao Yan, leaving him to escape by commandeering the Four Clouds Divine Restriction. Surely, handing over this orchid would delight the sect master enough to spare him any harsh blame over Zhao Yan's death. As for the Yuanzhao Sect turning the tables on the Kuiyin Sect? That seemed unlikely. Whether such an excuse could save his neck remained to be seen. What to do in practice would depend on sizing up the situation once he got outside and adapting on the fly. Above all, survival was paramount. Qin Sang smiled bitterly to himself. What choice did he have anyway? A celestial herb like this was never something he could hope to keep. Sensing the spiritual power in his body slowly dissipating, Qin Sang dared not linger. He grabbed the transparent jade from Zhao Yan's hand. The refinement method he had learned earlier worked on the transparent jade as well. Once he finished refining it, Qin Sang realized that one did not need to control all five restriction implements simultaneously. Directing the transparent jade with spiritual sense alone was enough to command the four triangular cloud banners, making it possible for a solitary Qi Refinement stage cultivator to use. However, a single person could only unleash a fraction of the Four Clouds Divine Restriction's power. Dull throbs of swelling pain pulsed from his dantian. Qin Sang endured the agony and stood up, raising the transparent jade. The four triangular cloud banners rose into the air of their own accord and began revolving around him. Flicking his fingers, Qin Sang incinerated Zhao Yan's corpse and did his best to erase every trace of his own aura. Then, he stepped into the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation. To conserve spiritual power, Qin Sang only activated the Four Clouds Divine Restriction when calamity winds appeared. Controlling the restriction implements alone proved significantly harder. Even drawing upon the power left by the sect master, Qin Sang struggled with every step. Taking several times longer than on his way in, he finally made it out of the Three Calamities Heart-Devouring Formation. Qin Sang stepped out of the giant clam shell, only to find the ghost banner magic treasure still planted outside. There was no telling how the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator trapped within was faring. Counting the time, not much had actually passed since entering the underground cavern and emerging, but events had unfolded so rapidly and with such relentless peril that he felt utterly drained. The magic treasure stood right before his eyes, but Qin Sang did not dare claim it for himself. If the Foundation Establishment cultivator inside was not dead, he would be in deep trouble. In fact, if he chose to flee amidst the chaos, he would have to grit his teeth and abandon both the mysterious orchid and this set of the Four Clouds Divine Restriction. The sect master's power still lingered in the cloud banners. The might of a Golden Core Master was unfathomable; who knew whether there were esoteric methods to track him down? Whether to flee or hand over the orchid in exchange for a promising future was a difficult dilemma. Qin Sang channeled the Four Clouds Divine Restriction's concealment art, masking his figure. Zhao Yan had dared sneak all the way down here right under the noses of Yuanzhao Peak's high-level cultivators, proving that the Four Clouds Divine Restriction far surpassed the Cloudfall Wings. Masking his aura, Qin Sang swam rapidly toward the lake's surface. As he neared the top, he slowed his movements, crept cautiously onto the shore, and hurried away from Sect Master Peak before daring to look up. Qin Sang looked at the scene in the sky above in shock. Above Yuanzhao Peak, dozens of figures stood suspended in midair, forming a grand formation. All of them were Foundation Establishment stage cultivators; he could not tell whether Yu Hua was among them. In their midst, a white-haired elder held up one hand toward the heavens, supporting a massive, slowly spinning Yin-Yang Double Fish diagram. Endlessly raging demonic flames blazed atop the diagram, while vicious ghosts howled and slammed violently against it. The elder's other hand reached toward the ground, drawing streams of white qi from Yuanzhao Peak upward like a great whale swallowing the sea, converging into his palm. Qin Sang had heard that Yuanzhao Peak was the convergence point of the mountain range's spirit veins. Was this elder drawing upon the spirit veins' power to sustain the grand formation? Yet the sect-protecting formation was already covered in cracks; things did not look good. Qin Sang crept to higher ground to peer around and found the Yuanzhao Sect in total turmoil. The sect's disciples were rushing about like headless flies, streaks of light darting erratically everywhere, while distant shouts of panic drifted through the air. After a moment's thought, Qin Sang stowed the Four Clouds Divine Restriction, summoned the Void-Traversing Wind, and sped toward his own Huiyang Valley. Unexpectedly, just as he was passing Cloud-Moving Valley, Meng Ruhui intercepted him. Outside the valley, the fellow disciples of Cloud-Moving Valley stood gathered, looks of worry plastered across their faces. "Junior Brother Qin, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" Meng Ruhui said, full of anxiety. Qin Sang had already prepared his excuse. Feigning panic, he said, "I was listening to a sermon at the Lecture Hall. When turmoil struck the sect, the Martial Uncle told us to find a place to hide, and I only just dared to come out. Senior Brother Meng, what is happening right now? What orders does the sect have for us?" Meng Ruhui replied, "A Martial Uncle sent a voice transmission earlier. The sect plans to concentrate the formation's full might to fight a desperate battle against the devils. The demonic sect is short-handed and won't bother targeting Qi Refinement stage disciples like us. Once the formation opens, each hall is to scatter and flee, waiting for..." Before he could finish, a sudden bolt from the blue shattered the air. Everyone looked up in horror. A massive fissure had torn open along the edge of the sect-protecting formation, and a corner of it collapsed. Several mountains at the formation's perimeter crumbled into churning waves of shattered stone. As demonic flames rained down onto the peaks, the blaze surged violently, threatening to reduce everything to ash. Yuanzhao Sect disciples screamed in terror. The sect-protecting formation... had been breached! "Run!" Meng Ruhui summoned a flying needle magic tool and shouted, throwing up his arm. Instantly, countless streaks of light flared across the entire Yuanzhao Sect, like fragile fireflies scattered beneath the night sky. Relying on whatever means they possessed, the disciples of the Yuanzhao Sect fled frantically in every direction. Qin Sang intentionally lagged behind to slip away from Meng Ruhui. Aside from Meng Ruhui, he barely knew any of the fellow disciples from Cloud-Moving Valley, so none of them paid him any mind. Following the crowd out of the Yuanzhao Sect, Qin Sang broke away from the group and flew southwest alone. His greatest fear was that high-level Kuiyin Sect cultivators were lying in wait outside, so he kept his guard up the entire time. He had flown a great distance from the Yuanzhao Sect without encountering any ambush. Just as Qin Sang was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his back suddenly grew taut. A ferocious gale bore down from behind, slamming him violently into the mountain forest below.