Scale

"The little fellow has quite some character. He's sure to achieve great things in the future," Bai remarked, gazing at the distant figure of the two-headed hou. "Indeed, it is rare," Qin Sang nodded. Even demon beasts whose spiritual wisdom was awakened by Emperor Flowing Dew might not match the two-headed hou's temperament. That he had managed to capture it back then was also a stroke of pure luck, chancing upon it while it was injured. "Let's go!" Qin Sang withdrew his gaze and set off as well. The two-headed hou flew south to draw away Old Devil Mou, while he headed east to seek out Yuan Zhu. *** A streak of bloody light sliced through the sky, pausing at intervals before speeding away once more moments later. Old Devil Mou pursued all the way, drawing ever closer to his target. Yet there was little joy on his face; for some unknown reason, an inexplicable unease lingered in his heart. Being misled last time had planted doubts in his mind about the fire curse. Without seeing the prey with his own eyes, he could not be truly at ease. *Whoosh!* The Dongming Cold Flame flared violently, tilting straight ahead. Even so, Old Devil Mou spat out a mouthful of essence blood, using its power to urge the fire curse with all his might to verify the direction. Only then could he feel reassured. Over such an extended period, even with his profound cultivation, he began to feel the strain. His blood escape secret technique consumed essence blood as well. Old Devil Mou's face was as sallow as golden paper, devoid of color. To capture his prey as quickly as possible and avoid any further complications or unexpected twists, he had thrown all caution to the wind. Once this matter concluded, he would likely need a prolonged period of quiet recuperation to recover. Ever since breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, his fame had ranked among the foremost in the cultivation world. Even the Demon Lord and Lingzhuzi treated him with courtesy; rarely had he ever been in such a sorry state. And this was while holding every conceivable advantage against an opponent who was merely a Core Formation cultivator. Old Devil Mou exhaled a breath of foul air. Just as he was about to stow the fire curse, his expression drastically changed. The cold flame, which had previously pointed southward, suddenly shuddered, jerked toward the northeast, and then wavered erratically right under Old Devil Mou's gaze—sometimes veering south, sometimes drifting east. "I..." Old Devil Mou's vision blackened, and he nearly burst into curses. The scenario he feared most had come to pass. The target ahead was likely another decoy! The prey clearly understood curses, and his methods grew more formidable every time. Previously, he had only concealed part of the fluctuations; now, even with Old Devil Mou driving the fire curse at full strength, the prey could completely shield against his perception. "Wait..." Old Devil Mou's eyes narrowed. Though fury burned within him, he maintained his composure. Which direction was real—east or south? Was the one ahead truly a decoy? The prey was cunning. What if he had changed tactics, and the one to the east was the released decoy, luring the tiger away from the mountain? By the time he realized something was wrong, it would be too late. Old Devil Mou's expression shifted continuously. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly struck downward with a burst of cold flame. The sea froze into ice. Old Devil Mou sat cross-legged atop it, eyes tightly shut. After a long while, the cold flame before him gradually ceased wavering and tilted toward the northeast. Indeed, the one ahead was a decoy again. Seeing the prey's escape trajectory, Old Devil Mou instantly deduced the intention: the brat actually wanted to use the chaotic environmental spiritual aura of the Storm Belt to shake off his pursuit! Old Devil Mou was well aware that once the prey escaped into the Storm Belt, the fluctuations of the fire curse would inevitably be disrupted. Although the prey might perish inside the Storm Belt, what he wanted was not just the prey's life, but the demonic fire on his person! Old Devil Mou's face darkened slightly. He rose abruptly, transforming into a streak of bloody shadow that tore through the void. Far away, the two-headed hou came to a sudden halt. It held a top-grade spirit stone in its mouth, absorbing its spiritual power. Qin Sang had given it the stone, along with a map of the Canglang Ocean and other items. The two-headed hou turned its heads back, its demonic eyes flickering as it sensed the formidable foe moving away. It shook its heads, concealed its aura, and quietly departed in the opposite direction. Its steps were light and brisk. *** "After breaking through to the late Demon Core stage, the two-headed hou's wind escape technique was far swifter than the external incarnation's. It actually lured Old Devil Mou this far away, holding out until Bai was exhausted..." Qin Sang glanced down at the corpse puppet bag. Bai had exerted himself to the utmost, holding out until now before returning inside to recuperate from sheer exhaustion. Fortunately, the time they had bought was enough for Qin Sang to flee to the Storm Belt. Another long chase ensued. This time, Qin Sang had no way to seal the fire curse, so he could only flee with his head down. He gripped the jade bottle tightly, ready at any moment to swallow another drop of Three Light Jade Liquid, having already consumed the second drop earlier. *** On an unnamed islet. *Boom!* The island shook as a bloody shadow plunged from the sky. Old Devil Mou revealed himself, his face grim. His continuous blood escape took an immense toll. Unable to keep it up, he was forced to pause and recover. Meanwhile, the prey was still full of vigor, fleeing relentlessly without a trace of fatigue, his true essence astoundingly abundant. How could Old Devil Mou not realize that the prey definitely possessed some top-grade spiritual elixir capable of replenishing true essence? Old Devil Mou swiftly laid down a profound formation, sat cross-legged within it, stuffed an assortment of medicinal pills into his mouth all at once, closed his eyes tightly, and seized every moment to recover. *** Qin Sang sensed that Old Devil Mou had stopped, yet felt little joy. Shaking off Old Devil Mou was only temporary; the crisis was far from over. Old Devil Mou would catch up sooner or later, so no matter what, he had to enter the depths of the Storm Belt. Out of the dragon's pool and into the tiger's den. Qin Sang was well aware of the perils in the depths of the Storm Belt. Compared to when the spirit tide struck the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, it was likely even more perilous—a treacherous realm feared even by Nascent Soul Patriarchs. Still, at least one might die a swifter, cleaner death there. Amid his swirling thoughts, he flew onward for a while longer. At the edge of his vision, a black curtain suddenly emerged. Qin Sang's spirits rose—he had finally reached the Storm Belt! Heaven and earth roared. Winds and waves surged to high heavens. The scenery within the Storm Belt was monotonous, composed entirely of identical hurricanes and crashing waves. Qin Sang arrived near Yuan Zhu's cave dwelling. Looking around, all he saw was the same uniform vista, with no sign of the cave dwelling anywhere. Qin Sang took out the scale Yuan Zhu had given him from the Qianjun Ring. After infusing it with true essence, the scale emitted a faint shimmer as its restriction was activated. *Hurry! Hurry!* Qin Sang was on edge with anxiety, for Old Devil Mou was in pursuit again, closing in at breakneck speed. There was very little time left. Apprehension gripped his heart, hoping that Yuan Zhu had not left his cave dwelling. Just then, faint pinpricks of white light surfaced amid the waves. Qin Sang rejoiced at the sight, yet Yuan Zhu did not appear right away. A thought struck him, and having vaguely guessed the reason, he waited patiently in place. The white lights drifted in all directions. After a moment, a pillar of light suddenly shot out of the sea, carrying Yuan Zhu's hearty laughter. "Haha, Fellow Daoist returned so soon? You couldn't have missed me, could you? Eh..." Just then, the fire curse flared up again. The fire curse runes surfaced on Qin Sang's body, clearly visible. An illusory silhouette materialized before Qin Sang—none other than Yuan Zhu's phantom projection. He could tell something was amiss with Qin Sang. "What happened?" Qin Sang gave a bitter smile and said, "I was trapped by someone's scheme and plagued by a fire curse, and a formidable enemy is pursuing me. Having no other choice, I came to seek Fellow Daoist Yuan's help. I hope you can lend a hand!"