Chapter 1238: Blood Shadow Evil Spirit

Once Duke Dongyang followed Gongliang Yu inside, Qin Sang also arrived above the Blood River.

"That's the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet from the Shangyuan Pure Palace," Qin Sang mused. "It certainly lives up to its reputation." Even from a distance, Qin Sang could feel a palpable threat emanating from the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet. The puppet itself was incredibly powerful, felt no pain, and feared no death. It would likely not be easy for Duke Dongyang to subdue it quickly. It was unexpected that Gongliang Yu could bring out such a Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet, and even more surprising that he could control it alone without suffering backlash, despite the vast difference in their cultivation levels. This time, Duke Dongyang might have miscalculated.

Qin Sang sneered. The stronger Gongliang Yu was, the better. A fierce battle between him and Duke Dongyang would force the Duke to reveal all his hidden techniques, giving Qin Sang the perfect opportunity to gauge Duke Dongyang's true capabilities. Witnessing this, Qin Sang was already leaning towards saving Gongliang Yu. Regardless of the Shangyuan Pure Palace, Gongliang Yu's ability to control such a formidable puppet was enough to prove his value and qualify him as an ally.

However, the timing of his intervention still needed careful consideration. Qin Sang didn't know much about Gongliang Yu and was unsure of his courage. At the very least, he would wait until Duke Dongyang revealed his true colors and the two had completely fallen out. Ideally, he would intervene to save Gongliang Yu at his most critical moment, when defeat seemed imminent, thus earning his gratitude.

The Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet was, after all, an inanimate object. As its controller, Gongliang Yu's cultivation realm was far inferior to Duke Dongyang's. This disparity wasn't merely in cultivation; it wasn't something a single puppet could easily bridge. Duke Dongyang must have shared this confidence, as he followed without hesitation upon seeing the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet. Furthermore, Qin Sang was curious about what treasure Gongliang Yu had discovered that could tempt Duke Dongyang to betray an ally. As for preying on the weak, Duke Dongyang had done it countless times; he surely had no reputation left to protect.

While pondering these thoughts, Qin Sang used his Heavenly Eye divine ability to observe the Blood River's interior. He noticed some clues, and a hint of solemnity gradually appeared in his eyes. "No wonder Gongliang Yu summoned the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet…" Seeing Gongliang Yu and Duke Dongyang delve deeper into the Blood River, Qin Sang could wait no longer. He secretly prepared the Eighteen Demon Banners formation and entered the Blood River.

Whoosh… whoosh…

The moment he entered, he felt not a gentle current, but an incredibly violent onslaught of wind. The blood mist's surface appeared calm, but its interior was constantly colliding, with turbulent currents surging, making it utterly chaotic. Accompanying the assault of the blood mist was an extremely concentrated evil Yin power. This evil Yin power was almost tangible, like a bone-scraping steel blade or a flesh-grinding millstone, continuously assaulting the protective spiritual armor Qin Sang had condensed with his true essence, threatening to grind him into blood pulp.

Hiss… hiss…

To resist the encroaching evil Yin, Qin Sang had to increase his true essence output, significantly raising his consumption. As the evil Yin assaulted him, several serpentine blood shadows silently emerged from the blood mist. Sensing Qin Sang, they immediately lunged at him. These blood shadows had no physical form; some were several meters long, while the shortest were only a meter. Within the chaotic blood mist and the pervasive terrifying evil Yin power, they showed no fear, moving freely as if in their natural element, swimming around contentedly.

The few Qin Sang had disturbed were just a tiny fraction. Countless blood shadows, tens of millions, filled the entire Blood River; they were impossible to avoid. These blood shadows were malevolent spirits formed from the accumulation of blood mist over many years within the Blood River. Born and raised there, constantly absorbing evil Yin power to grow, they naturally weren't afraid of its erosion. In other words, they were the true masters of the Blood River. Disturbed by Qin Sang, all the blood shadows surged forward without hesitation. They possessed little intelligence, their instinct driven by a single thought: to devour the intruder.

Before the blood shadows could get close, Qin Sang's figure paused slightly. A fire lotus seed appeared between his brows, and then several small, flower-like spiritual fire flames gently floated out, accurately pinpointing the location of all the blood shadows. They arrived before the shadows, landing on them. These spiritual flames were refined by Qin Sang, their fluctuations suppressed to the minimum. When they reached the blood shadows, the shadows were still oblivious to the danger, confused. By the time they reacted to being engulfed by the spiritual flames, it was too late. The flames swiftly engulfed the blood shadows, burning them completely away in mere moments, leaving no trace behind. Immediately after, the flames retracted into the fire lotus seed.

All of this happened incredibly fast. Neither the blood shadows nor the fire lotus seed showed any significant fluctuations. Furthermore, the blood mist here was so chaotic it helped conceal everything, which was why Gongliang Yu and Duke Dongyang ahead were completely unaware.

"Although the Nine Nether Demonic Flame isn't specifically for countering evil spirits," Qin Sang mused inwardly, "the strongest of these evil spirits are only at the Qi Refinement stage. Killing them is as easy as turning over one's hand." However, these few blood shadows were only the weakest. The deeper into the Blood River, the stronger the blood shadows became. If thousands of them were disturbed at the bottom of the Blood River, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would likely suffer greatly. After some thought, Qin Sang tentatively spread his divine sense, immediately attracting over a dozen blood shadows, which he eliminated one by one.

"Indeed!" Qin Sang thought. "These blood shadows are similar to blood lightning; they're very sensitive to divine sense. It's best not to extend my divine sense too far here. Who knows what other monsters lurk at the bottom of the Blood River? This is also good, as it reduces the chance of Duke Dongyang discovering me."

Having understood the blood shadows' abilities, Qin Sang continued to descend. However, he deliberately slowed his pace, creating a greater distance between himself and Duke Dongyang. This was a necessity. The Blood River contained too many blood shadows; it was impossible to avoid all of them, even without using divine sense at all. In the upper layers, it was fine; no matter how many blood shadows there were, they wouldn't cause much disturbance. The deeper he went, the stronger and harder to kill the blood shadows became. Qin Sang didn't know what methods Duke Dongyang possessed, so he dared not follow too closely. Duke Dongyang, whose target was Gongliang Yu, didn't have this problem and continued to follow closely.

Qin Sang lingered far behind, maintaining his Heavenly Eye divine ability just enough to barely track Duke Dongyang's movements. With the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet by his side, Gongliang Yu wouldn't have trouble holding off Duke Dongyang for a while, enough time for Qin Sang to arrive. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly not only kept a close watch on Duke Dongyang but also allowed him to discern the blood shadows' movements. Qin Sang specifically chose paths where the blood shadows were sparse, making his presence even more inconspicuous.

The Blood River was unfathomably deep. Gongliang Yu had traveled for the duration of an incense stick, yet still hadn't reached the riverbed. He didn't possess the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's ability to discern where blood shadows were dense or sparse; he could only rely on the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet to force his way through. Countless blood shadows surged forward one after another, completely encircling them.

Boom! Boom!

The Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet was incredibly formidable. It seemed to vent all its resentment towards Gongliang Yu on the blood shadows, its body shimmering with runes, its figure like lightning, its heavy punches like thunder, leaving trails of afterimages. The blood shadows here were far stronger than those in the upper layers, yet they couldn't withstand a single punch, their bodies instantly shattering into pieces, unable to reform. All blood shadows were blocked by the Nascent Soul Talisman Puppet, unable to get close. Behind Gongliang Yu, Duke Dongyang was also entangled by blood shadows. However, Gongliang Yu had already drawn away a portion of them, so while more continuously swarmed in from elsewhere, their numbers were somewhat fewer.