Chapter 1096: Confrontation

"If one's bloodline is too thin to awaken the Vermillion Bird clan's innate abilities, they would not be recognized by the Vermillion Bird clan in ancient times and would not be considered a descendant of the Vermillion Bird."

Qin Sang nodded.

He had learned some rules of the demon race during his conversations with Yuan Zhu.

Without the Vermillion Bird bloodline, it would be difficult to acquire the True Feather of the Vermillion Bird through normal means.

The demon banner could suppress the Nine Nether Demon Flame, but the Southern Bright Lihuo had not been subdued by him. Drawing the Southern Bright Lihuo into his body to condense lotus seeds using the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* technique would be akin to inviting self-destruction.

Furthermore, he had been forced by circumstances on Yitian Peak to hastily condense lotus seeds with the demon flame. He hadn't thoroughly studied the *Fire Seed Golden Lotus* technique yet and dared not act rashly.

"The Profound Iron Pillar restrains the Nine Nether Demon Flame, and Patriarch Kui Yin refined the demon banner from it to collect the demon flame. The green copper block can also restrain the Southern Bright Lihuo and should still be with Daoist Yun You. Could a similar method be used to forcefully take the Southern Bright Lihuo and the True Feather of the Vermillion Bird?"

Qin Sang's thoughts flickered, but he felt his accumulated knowledge in artifact refining was too shallow, and he had no immediate solution.

After a brief stop at Sword Mark Mountain, Qin Sang retreated the way he came, down to the foot of the mountain.

It wasn't time for the Ziwei Palace to close yet.

However, Qin Sang's cultivation was low last time, preventing him from discovering the hidden secrets within the Ziwei Palace. He didn't understand this place well, and the remaining time wasn't enough for him to explore slowly.

Continuing to stay here would yield little gain. Qin Sang thought for a moment and decided to leave the Ziwei Palace now.

The return journey was not peaceful; some areas in the outer hall were even more dangerous than the inner hall.

Like the Seven Kill Hall, the Ziwei Palace was divided into inner and outer sections, connected only by a single Path of Refining the Heart. Last time, when Duke Dong Yang led them into the inner hall, they followed this very path.

At the end of the Path of Refining the Heart, there was originally a stone tower.

However, the latter half of the Path of Refining the Heart was damaged, preventing everyone from reaching the stone tower. The moment they entered the inner hall, they were scattered by the chaotic forces in the sea of clouds, landing in various unknown locations within the inner hall.

The way out was simple.

Find the stone tower, and entering it would teleport one to the entrance of the Path of Refining the Heart, in front of the Bagua Jade Tablet.

Qin Sang had already put on his mask and swiftly moved towards the edge of the inner hall.

Bai accompanied him.

Passing by the immortal city annihilated by a palm print and various immortal secret realms, Bai's gaze was deeply drawn, and he remained silent for a long time.

Not long after, they reached the edge and saw countless fragments of land outside.

Qin Sang continued to fly outwards, passing over one land fragment after another. As he was about to approach the sea of clouds, an unexpected sight entered Qin Sang's eyes, causing his expression to change.

Last time, the entire inner hall of the Ziwei Palace was shrouded in the sea of clouds.

The current scene was different. Directly in front of Qin Sang, at the location of the stone tower, which was also closest to the immortal restriction of the Ziwei Palace's inner hall, the sea of clouds had actually been torn apart!

Within the vast sea of clouds, clear fissures were visible.

The cloud qi could not condense there; a continuous stream of cloud qi gathered, only to then dissipate through the fissures.

The appearance of fissures in the sea of clouds indicated only one possibility: a flaw in the immortal restriction of the Ziwei Palace's inner hall!

"Is it the dissipation of the immortal restriction's power, unable to maintain a complete sea of clouds, or has something happened to the Ziwei Palace, causing damage to the immortal restriction?"

Qin Sang stood on a land fragment, gazing at the immortal restriction, his brows furrowed in contemplation.

After he had left, he had no idea what had happened to the Ziwei Palace to transform it like this.

He was a newcomer, unaware of anything. After a moment of thought, he let Bai enter the Corpse Puppet Bag. He then concealed his form and cautiously approached the sea of clouds.

If the immortal restriction had a flaw, the fissures would serve as a passage to and from the interior. However, for safety, leaving via the stone platform was the most secure.

The stone tower was within the sea of clouds, its surface runes flickering, protected by powerful ancient restrictions.

He found the stone tower without much effort.

At this moment, Qin Sang saw the scene at the end of one of the fissures, causing him to freeze abruptly.

The thin cloud qi in the fissure could barely conceal the eerie aura at its end.

Using his Celestial Eye ability, he could discern the outline of half of a massive cave.

Qin Sang remembered that at the entrance of the Path of Refining the Heart, in front of the Bagua Jade Tablet, there was indeed a giant demonic cave, over a hundred zhang in diameter and seemingly bottomless.

The cave exuded a chilling demonic qi, giving off a biting cold as if it connected to the netherworld.

There were even powerful Nascent Soul cultivators who, despite the danger, leaped into the demonic cave. Until the Ziwei Palace closed, they still hadn't discovered what lay at the end of the cave.

If Qin Sang was not mistaken, the cave at the end of the sea of clouds was precisely that demonic cave!

Currently, at the edge of the demonic cave, several zhang-high banners stood, forming a grand formation. Black mist churned, enveloping nearly half of the demonic cave.

Within the black mist, human figures seemed to emerge.

He could be certain that last time, there was absolutely no grand formation around the demonic cave!

"Why are these people setting up a grand formation at the edge of the demonic cave instead of entering the inner hall?"

Qin Sang stared at the demonic cave, a series of thoughts flashing through his mind.

Seeing the grand formation and the figures within, he felt an extreme sense of danger. Rushing to teleport there might lead to being trapped by the other party, with unimaginable consequences.

"Look at the fissure next to it," Bai transmitted.

Qin Sang's gaze shifted to another fissure, and he was surprised to find that there was also a grand formation there, appearing not far from the demonic cave. The two groups of cultivators were confronting each other!

"Have the Minor Cold Region and the Skyfaring Alliance broken off ties again? Or..."

Qin Sang recalled the ambush by the Sin Abyss. "Is it related to the Sin Abyss?"

"We can't go through the stone tower. Let's leave from somewhere else!"

Qin Sang made his decision. He had to brave the cloud fissures.

Regardless of who these two sides were, he didn't want to get involved. He would rather take the risk and take a detour to leave.

Fortunately, there were many fissures in the sea of clouds.

Qin Sang cautiously retreated, flying around the sea of clouds for a while. Far from the stone tower, he found a fissure whose end was very distant from the demonic cave.

After observing for a long time and testing several times, Qin Sang confirmed that the other side of this fissure was safe. He then activated his Celestial Demon Transformation, summoned his ebony sword and other treasures, and flashed into the fissure.

Although the sea of clouds was torn, the immortal restriction's power still lingered within the fissure, making it incredibly chaotic. Fortunately, it did not exceed Qin Sang's tolerance limit.

He endured the impact of the immortal restriction's aftershocks, fully activating his magic treasures to protect himself, and passed through the immortal restriction with some difficulty but without mishap, landing on the ground.

Standing there, he could faintly see the rolling black mist in the direction of the demonic cave.

Qin Sang dared not linger. He immediately retreated into the shadows, leaving the area. Once he confirmed no one was following him, he stopped on a black stone mountain.

He glanced back at the demonic cave, then flew directly towards the outer hall's exit.

Whatever was about to happen, it had nothing to do with him.

Walking on the path back.

Familiar sights triggered various memories for Qin Sang.

Last time, being led by Duke Dong Yang, he didn't feel it as much. Now, traveling alone in the outer hall, he realized that it truly lived up to its reputation, with dangers lurking everywhere.

Even with his strength, he had to be vigilant.

After passing through several dangerous areas consecutively, Qin Sang saw a vast expanse of blood-red qi in the distance, along with the outline of an altar within it. He didn't stop but continued to fly. Ahead, a ghostly mist enveloped the area—it was the Immortal Tomb!