Chapter 1213: Escape

## The Mortal Realm

During the battle of Ziwei Palace, after witnessing the power of the Blood-Defiling Divine Light, all the cultivators desired a piece of Abyssal Blood Mulberry to refine magical treasures.

The Minor Cold Domain repeatedly entered Boundless Valley to search, but found nothing. They suspected that the Abyssal Blood Mulberry had been completely collected by Sin Abyss, and eventually, the matter was dropped.

The Abyssal Blood Mulberry had been a fleeting presence, and after so many years, Jiang Chenzi and the others had gradually forgotten about it.

Unexpectedly, the Blood-Defiling Divine Light reappeared here, used against them. It was truly a karmic cycle, a swift retribution.

*Swoosh!*

The Blood-Defiling Divine Light, seemingly slow but actually swift, drifted onto the treasured banner. Jiang Chenzi had no time to retract it and watched helplessly as the banner trembled, losing all its brilliance in a blink. The three treasured banners were indispensable. With one banner corrupted, the spirit formation, as expected, became sluggish.

"This is bad!"

They hadn't anticipated Qin Sang having such a move. Jiang Chenzi frantically channeled his true essence into the wavering banner, attempting to salvage it. Old Demon Ye had appeared above the blood-water at some unknown point, about to refine cultivator Lu and the Frost Lizard within it. Sensing the damage to the banner formation, Old Demon Ye frowned slightly, showing some displeasure. Yet, his expression remained calm, devoid of surprise or urgency, as he gently raised a hand to grasp at Qin Sang.

Just then, an anomaly also occurred within the blood-water. A non-human roar emerged from the depths of the blood-water. The sound was extremely piercing, laced with pain, like demonic music invading the mind. All who heard it furrowed their brows, feeling unusually uncomfortable.

*Boom!*

A powerful force erupted violently, causing the blood-water to surge backward. At the same time, a terrifying chill emanated from it. Some of the extremely eerie blood-water was even frozen into ice by the chilling wind. A blue-glowing orb slowly rose from the center of the explosion. It resembled the Snow Orb the Frost Lizard had just wielded, but the icy fluctuations it emitted were far stronger than before.

A Frost Lizard, dozens of feet long, raised its head high. With the Snow Orb above its head, its limbs like colossal pillars trampled through the blood river, its eyes filled with fury as it stared coldly at Old Demon Ye. Under the Frost Lizard's gaze, Old Demon Ye's heart tightened. A ripple appeared in his calm expression, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Among the four who had intruded into the Abyssal Ruins this time, Cultivator Lu and the Serpent King were both experts at the Mid Nascent Soul stage. Qin Sang had the lowest cultivation, yet his divine abilities and treasures were in no way inferior, making him the most highly regarded. Only the Frost Lizard, being merely in the early stages of shapeshifting, seemed unremarkable and not a cause for concern.

But the Frost Lizard at this moment greatly exceeded everyone's expectations. Not only had its body size surged, becoming incredibly mighty and fierce, but the aura it exuded was also incomparably stronger, making Old Demon Ye deeply wary. Old Demon Ye's gaze darted quickly, falling to the area beneath the Frost Lizard's body, where he finally discovered Cultivator Lu. In stark contrast to the Frost Lizard, Cultivator Lu's face was ashen, his aura unusually weak, and his injuries seemed to have suddenly worsened, becoming more severe than before.

Cultivator Lu and Old Demon Ye exchanged glances, their expressions similarly calm, not like they were fighting for their lives. "What kind of secret art is this? It seems that Cultivator Lu has channeled his entire cultivation into the Frost Lizard..." Old Demon Ye instantly deduced the reason for this transformation. The Frost Lizard and Cultivator Lu had remained still until now, likely preparing a secret art. What puzzled him, however, was that the Frost Lizard bore no mark of Cultivator Lu and was not his spirit beast, yet it mastered such a combination secret art.

This thought vanished in an instant, for Old Demon Ye heard the Frost Lizard's roar and simultaneously felt danger. He immediately withdrew the hand reaching for Qin Sang and pressed it towards the Snow Orb. At the same time, the Snow Orb instantly erupted with brilliant light, like a colossal azure sun.

Old Demon Ye's expression became solemn. With his five fingers spread wide, fine threads of blood shot forth from his fingertips. The blood-water below was swallowed by these threads, then rapidly congealed into a peculiar blood-red diagram.

*Boom!*

No sooner had the blood-red diagram formed than the colossal azure sun violently slammed into it. Blood light and cold light collided and intertwined, and the shockwave rippled out powerfully, creating a chaotic scene where nothing could be discerned, including the figures of Cultivator Lu and the Frost Lizard. Old Demon Ye's figure flickered, forced to fly higher, temporarily avoiding the brunt of the attack. The Frost Lizard's strength at this moment was evident.

Meanwhile, after Qin Sang disabled one treasured banner, creating a flaw in the spirit formation, he and the Serpent King activated their magical treasures, forcing back Jiang Chenzi who attempted to resist, and charged outwards side by side. Sensing the terrifying fluctuations from below and 'seeing' the entire process through his Heavenly Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang was slightly startled. He hadn't expected them to have such a move. As expected, these Nascent Soul cultivators and great demons all had their hidden cards. He wondered, however, if Cultivator Lu, severely injured, and the Frost Lizard, forcefully enhanced by a secret art, would still have enough strength to escape the subsequent pursuit after breaking free from the blood-water's confines.

Qin Sang and the Serpent King exchanged glances. Qin Sang still adhered to his original plan: to go to the headquarters of the Heavenly Corpse Sect. Although the blood-water blockade would be torn open by the Frost Lizard, Old Demon Ye seemed largely unharmed and still had strength to spare. If they went downwards now, they would still have to face Old Demon Ye, and moreover, they would first need to overcome the evil spirits. A single misstep could lead to all their efforts being in vain.

This was also good. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Frost Lizard and Cultivator Lu should be able to break through the blood-water and escape the Abyssal Ruins, while Qin Sang and the Serpent King would pass through the Heavenly Corpse Sect. Dividing into two groups would split Sin Abyss's forces. As for the evil spirits, Qin Sang had already thought of a way to deal with them. Having searched for fragments of the Killing Sword in the Abyssal Ruins for the past few days, Qin Sang was now very familiar with the ancient restrictions throughout the area. He knew they would pass several ancient restrictions on their way back, which they could leverage. Although they couldn't kill the evil spirits, they could trap them for a moment and shake them off.

"Let's go!" the Serpent King said in a deep voice, sharing Qin Sang's idea. His decision to help Qin Sang was also carefully weighed, not abandoning companions or using the Frost Lizard and Cultivator Lu as bait. If he had decisively charged downwards just now, coordinating with the Frost Lizard from within, it might have seemed easier to force back Old Demon Ye and break the blood river blockade. However, if Qin Sang couldn't break through Jiang Chenzi's trio's banner formation, and Old Demon Ye gained the help of three Nascent Soul cultivators, the blood river's power would surely be even greater. Once the full power of the banner formation was unleashed, they would all become trapped beasts in a cage. Precisely by doing this, all four of them could successfully break out of the cage and escape separately. As for whether they could survive the subsequent pursuit, that would depend on their individual abilities.

Then, without looking down, they flew deeper into the Abyssal Ruins, still accompanied by the evil spirits. Jiang Chenzi was furious and, uniting with the other two Nascent Soul cultivators, made a final effort to delay them. However, with their spirit formation broken earlier, Jiang Chenzi and the other two had lost the initiative, and it was too late to stop Qin Sang and the Serpent King. Qin Sang was proficient in escape arts, and the Serpent King's cultivation was second only to Old Demon Ye's, so their escape speed would naturally not be slow. With blades and swords dancing in unison, they effortlessly repelled the hasty attacks from Jiang Chenzi's trio.

Qin Sang and the Serpent King flickered several times, successfully breaking through all obstacles and entering the gap in the dark clouds. The Serpent King, unfamiliar with the path, could only follow closely behind Qin Sang. The two of them simultaneously fended off the evil spirits' attacks and flew towards the headquarters of the Heavenly Corpse Sect.