Qin Sang had struck with thunderous force, killing two men in an instant. This show of absolute might struck dread into the crowd, leaving the nearby cultivators too intimidated to dare make a move.
Along the cultivation market's main street, the riverbank had collapsed into a chaotic ruin.
Two corpses lay sprawled on the ground, their blood soaking the fallen leaves in a horrifying sight.
Only three remained on Vice Envoy Zuo's side.
Qin Sang, Bai, the external incarnation, and the two-headed hou encircled them from four directions. Fei You shuddered, jolted awake as if from a dream. After a brief hesitation, he felt that joining in would only get in the way, so he held the perimeter to prevent any escape.
The two mid Core Formation cultivators were thrown into panic.
They had arrived bursting with confidence, only to plunge into hell in the blink of an eye. How they longed for reinforcements now! Yet the shops along the street remained dead silent; the other merchant guilds clearly had no desire to wade into such muddy waters.
Vice Envoy Zuo managed to maintain a facade of calm, though his expression was dark and somber. The situation was plain to see: capturing the target was out of the question, and they had instead landed themselves in grave danger.
"Fellow Daoists of the Business Alliance, assist me in slaying this villain! I, Zuo, will gladly bestow all my possessions upon you..."
Vice Envoy Zuo shouted repeatedly, promising one enticing reward after another.
Tempted by his promises, a few onlookers stirred, thinking of joining forces. However, their reservations ran deeper. No matter how lavish the reward, staying alive to claim it was another matter entirely.
More importantly, with their adversary possessing such terrifying strength, he was bound to have an extraordinary background and powerful backers. Incurring the wrath of a major power for the sake of the Qiongyu Guild was simply not worth the cost.
The shops remained utterly silent.
"Retreat!"
Seeing that all hope was lost, Vice Envoy Zuo barked a low command.
The two Core Formation cultivators drew tight against Vice Envoy Zuo. The trio recalled their magic treasures and swept their gazes around, quickly identifying the weakest point—the direction guarded by the two-headed hou.
*Whoosh, whoosh...*
The dragon-headed stone staff shifted direction and hurtled obliquely through the air, crashing violently toward the two-headed hou.
Black light cascaded like a waterfall as a black dragon roared.
Strange lights flickered across the surrounding storefronts as the fallout of the dragon-headed stone staff's power triggered the protective barriers of the spiritual ward arrays. The entire street shuddered relentlessly like a turning earth dragon, striking terror into every heart.
In an instant, the daylight over the avenue turned dim and murky.
At the very eye of the storm, the figures of Qin Sang, Bai, and the incarnation descended simultaneously.
Corpse qi, bloody brilliance, and the sword radiance of the ebony sword shone together, their aura surpassing that of the dragon-headed stone staff by a good margin. The bizarre lights surged like crashing waves, converging to submerge Vice Envoy Zuo and his companions.
Terror written across their faces, the two mid Core Formation cultivators stuck close behind Vice Envoy Zuo in their bid to break out, each releasing their magic treasures to hold off the onslaught of Qin Sang's group.
Unfortunately, not only were they weaker, but they were also outnumbered. How could they possibly withstand such a terrifying offensive?
Both men knew this all too well.
A flash of anguish crossed their eyes, immediately replaced by ruthless resolve. They channeled their true essence with everything they had, pouring it madly into their magic treasures. Their faces turning pale, they shouted in unison, "Detonate!"
*Crack!*
*Boom!*
The two magic treasures self-destructed at the same time.
The icy blue chain snapped into countless fragments that flew in every direction, while the moon-white flying dagger blew apart into powder in an instant.
The simultaneous self-destruction of the magic treasures managed to stall their opponents for a fleeting moment.
Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths from the backlash, but neither man dared to hesitate for a second. They swiftly slapped several talismans onto their bodies, causing their speed to skyrocket.
At the same time, Vice Envoy Zuo used the dragon-headed stone staff to force back the two-headed hou, carving open an escape gap.
In truth, Qin Sang had instructed the two-headed hou not to risk its life fighting them to the death.
Surround three sides and leave one open—a strategy to gradually wear down the enemy's strength.
He wanted live captives to uncover why the Qiongyu Guild was targeting him and who his enemies were. His confidence stemmed from a movement technique that far surpassed any cultivator of the same stage; Vice Envoy Zuo and his men had no hope of escaping his grasp.
The two-headed hou fell back.
With Vice Envoy Zuo opening a path to survival, a spark of hope flared in the trio's eyes as they shot out from the encirclement.
Little did they anticipate that before they could even clear the street, a flash of light burst before them, and a figure appeared in a blur directly in their path—Qin Sang.
Qin Sang looked upon the three with cold indifference and flicked his sleeve.
Six delicate demonic banners manifested, and three black arrows shot forth in rapid succession, formed by condensing the Nine Nether Demonic Fire. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Qin Sang did not wish to expose the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, so he had masked its appearance and suppressed the demonic fire's fluctuations.
The black arrows flew straight for the trio's faces.
Meanwhile, Bai and the incarnation had already caught up, closing the encirclement around their opponents once more.
Vice Envoy Zuo was shaken by fury and dread, his heart plunging to rock bottom.
Earlier, Qin Sang had used merely seventy percent of his power. Now that his formidable movement technique was on full display, it brought Vice Envoy Zuo and the others nothing but despair.
Driven to desperation, Vice Envoy Zuo abruptly flung the stone staff from his grasp.
With a deafening explosion, Vice Envoy Zuo actually chose to self-destruct his dragon-headed stone staff as well.
The other two men also took on fierce expressions. Drawing upon their remaining strength, they brought forth new magic treasures and directed them straight at Qin Sang.
This was their only chance. As long as they could slay the primary target, the others would no longer have so many misgivings, and they might stand a chance of breaking out of their predicament.
The dragon-headed stone staff was Vice Envoy Zuo's natal magic treasure, nurtured for many years. Its detonation at point-blank range unleashed terrifying might; the banner array shook violently, nearly scattered, and the black arrows of demonic fire were swallowed whole.
A burst of black light erupted like a dark sun, devouring everything in its wake, including the three black arrows.
Though Qin Sang was on guard, his eyes narrowed slightly at the sheer ferocity of the dragon-headed stone staff's detonation. Fortunately, he had maintained a degree of vigilance all along, instantly stowing the demonic banners and retreating swiftly.
The spiritual energy in the void turned chaotic, with sword qi and spiritual power intertwining to form a tempest.
Qin Sang reacted promptly, unleashing a flurry of slashes with his ebony sword while falling back rapidly to diffuse wave after wave of the shockwaves.
Just then, Vice Envoy Zuo wore a savage sneer. Throwing his life to the wind, he charged forward and flipped his palm to release an object. A sudden speck of blue light shot out from within the storm.
The light radiated from a blue jade bead no larger than a grain of rice.
The blue jade bead flew straight toward Qin Sang.
Compared to the sheer grandeur of the dragon-headed stone staff's self-destruction, the blue light seemed utterly unremarkable.
Yet for reasons unknown, the instant Qin Sang laid eyes upon that blue jade bead, his heart gave a violent jolt. A dreadful sense of foreboding gripped him, whispering that this object posed an immense threat to his life.
Qin Sang's pupils contracted sharply. Trusting his instincts, he commanded his sword wheel to slash fiercely at the blue jade bead while pulling back without hesitation.
To his surprise, the blue jade bead took the direct strike, yet the sword wheel felt as though it had slashed through empty air.
An astonishing scene unfolded.
Utterly unaffected, the blue jade bead passed straight through the sword wheel. Deceptively slow yet lightning-fast, it closed the distance to Qin Sang in the blink of an eye.
With a sharp pop, it detonated into a burst of flame that vanished as quickly as it appeared, followed by a deeply bizarre vibration that erupted from the bead and instantly dissolved into the void.
Before Qin Sang could react, the fluctuations enveloped him and burrowed into his body like maggots clinging to bone, disappearing without a trace. The spirit robe and spirit armor he had managed to activate offered no resistance whatsoever.
Qin Sang's expression changed drastically. He hastily examined his interior, sweeping his spiritual sense from head to toe, yet found nothing out of the ordinary.
Bai and the incarnation rushed over.
"What happened?"
Bai had also seen the jade bead, and seeing how grim Qin Sang looked, he hurried to ask.
Qin Sang furrowed his brow tightly and shook his head. Looking up toward the direction the three had fled, he said, "Capture them!"
Though the three had exhausted every trick in their arsenal to escape with their lives, in the end, it was all in vain.
Chapter 983