Chapter 1447: A Heavenly Thunderbolt

There were many Nascent Soul cultivators in the city, making it impossible to ascertain how many more from the Profound Heaven Palace had infiltrated by disguising their identities. They had mistakenly believed that simply keeping a close watch on the three elders would suffice.

The other party had vanished right under their noses!

"Master, forgive us!"

Seeing this, the two disciples were greatly alarmed.

The Old Demon of Chaos didn't even spare them a glance. He reached out, grabbed a fragment of the ice sculpture, and his figure transformed into a black rainbow, shooting into the air. He scanned the surroundings, then quietly made his escape.

"Junior Brother, gather everyone and search for the disciples of the Profound Heaven Palace's Enforcement Hall. I'll go help Master."

One of the black-robed figures whispered, then quickly activated his flying magic artifact and gave chase.

The other person disappeared into the shadows.

Outside Demon Chaos Island.

Elder Mei and Elder Lan of the Profound Heaven Palace were hidden beneath the sea surface, enveloped in a sphere formed by a layer of thin ice.

By then, they had already put some distance between themselves and Demon Chaos Island.

This was not only because they feared the Old Demon of Chaos might interfere, but also because they were wary of the forces behind the Myriad Demons Assembly.

If they took action near Demon Chaos Island, breaking the rules and angering those people, the Profound Heaven Palace, even if not afraid of retaliation, would still have to consider the subsequent repercussions, unless their disciples were never to enter the Boundless Sea again. Over the years, countless facts had proven that they would indeed retaliate furiously against those who crossed their boundaries.

Inside the thin ice sphere.

The two elders, one sitting and one standing.

Elder Mei gazed towards Demon Chaos Island.

The whereabouts of the sacred object had finally been found, and it was about to be retrieved. Yet, for some reason, she felt a persistent unease in her heart.

Elder Mei recalled all the arrangements they had made, confident there should be no oversights.

Three ice sculptures created the illusion that they were still in the city.

Most of the Old Demon of Chaos's attention was diverted by the sudden appearance of the Great Sage Tianpeng. This small arrangement was sufficient; adding more would be superfluous and counterproductive.

They didn't hope to deceive the Old Demon of Chaos for long; their sole purpose was to gain enough time to retrieve the sacred object and prevent the Old Demon of Chaos from interfering.

Once they succeeded, all the disciples of the Profound Heaven Palace would rendezvous, and even the mighty Old Demon of Chaos would only be able to watch them depart.

There was even less to worry about regarding the arrangements here.

To avoid alerting their target, everyone was positioned in ambush outside Demon Chaos Island.

At this time, all the Nascent Soul elders of the Profound Heaven Palace were scattered in all directions except the north, setting up an inescapable trap.

The north was the necessary path for the Great Sage Tianpeng and the other demon kings on their return journey. They didn't want to expose their identities, attract powerful enemies, or cause unexpected incidents. Therefore, only one elder, skilled in concealment techniques, was sent to lie in wait there.

If the person carrying the sacred object were to leave from the north, they would wait until the Great Sage Tianpeng was far away before taking action.

If it were any other direction, things would be much simpler.

To prevent the opponent from making a detour, the elders responsible for the ambush could not act on their own.

The two of them would use the ice spoon's detection to quickly approach the target. If they couldn't catch up in time, the elder lurking there would appear first and tie down the opponent.

They would arrive in moments, ensuring foolproof success.

In the unlikely event that even their combined forces were no match for the opponent, the elders ambushing in other directions would by then have successively arrived at the battlefield, ensuring the opponent had no means of escape!

However, Elder Mei considered this possibility unlikely.

Even if that scoundrel had extraordinary luck and broke through to the Mid Nascent Soul stage, Elder Mei was confident in subduing them, unless the opponent was a Late Nascent Soul cultivator.

As her thoughts raced, Elder Mei's peripheral vision caught sight of the light on the ice spoon beginning to shift. Her heart stirred, and she thought, "Has the trade fair ended?"

The octagonal dark ice-shaped ice spoon hovered in front of Elder Lan's chest, flashing continuously.

Elder Lan let out a soft "hmm," loosely held the ice spoon, and partially closed her eyes. "That person is making a detour," she said.

This was within their expectations.

The two elders remained patiently still, staring intently at the ice spoon. After a series of dazzling changes, the sensation transmitted by the ice spoon pointed directly south!

"Directly south!"

Elder Lan abruptly stood up.

They had guessed wrong, having guarded the direction opposite to the Profound Heaven Palace, on the west side of Demon Chaos Island.

Elder Mei moved even faster, her fingers rapidly tapping the empty air. With a series of crackling bursts, the thin ice forming the sphere shattered into countless shards, flying everywhere.

In an instant, these ice shards gathered around them, transforming into a mass of cold air that enveloped them both, and they shot through the air.

They had just flown a short distance.

Elder Lan suddenly cried out in alarm, "Oh no! That person's escape speed is incredibly fast!"

They practiced one of the Profound Heaven Palace's most supreme ice evasion techniques, rarely encountering a match in the cultivation world, yet the opponent was even faster than them!

Elder Mei's expression darkened. "The one guarding the south is Shi Xue," she said. "Have her tie down the opponent! She's already at the peak of the early stage and has been trapped by a bottleneck for years. Even against a Mid Nascent Soul cultivator, she has the strength to contend."

"Understood!"

Outside Myriad Demons City.

Qin Sang successfully left the city and immediately sensed several distinct, undisguised auras of Nascent Soul cultivators near Demon Chaos Island, their imposing auras soaring to the heavens.

They were like guardians, stationed at the eight cardinal points.

"These are the Nascent Soul cultivators invited by the forces behind the Myriad Demons Assembly?" Qin Sang wondered.

Indeed, with these masters and the Old Demon of Chaos, very few dared to cause trouble on Demon Chaos Island.

However, they could only guarantee peace in the immediate vicinity of Demon Chaos Island. If a conflict occurred outside this area, they would merely observe with cold indifference.

Qin Sang still maintained a degree of vigilance towards these Nascent Soul cultivators, suspecting that one of them might be in collusion with the Old Demon of Chaos.

He reined in his aura, found a gap to leave the island, and deliberately made several detours.

He activated his spiritual sense, combined with his Heaven's Eye Divine Ability for detection, confirming there were no trackers. Once he was out of their sight, he no longer hesitated, transforming into a bolt of lightning, and sped away.

"I've acquired both the 'Seven Master Buddha Seal' and the spiritual materials to enhance the Golden Sinking Sword," Qin Sang mused. "Unfortunately, the spiritual items required for the Spirit Ascension Ritual couldn't be fully gathered. Primordial Yin Water and Netherworld Soil seem unobtainable outside of Hundred Flowers Valley. No wonder Valley Master Mu remained calm and didn't try to contact me. I just don't know how many Myriad Spirit Fruits I'll have to pay..."

While remaining vigilant of his surroundings, Qin Sang pondered the gains and losses of this trade fair.

"This time went fairly smoothly," he thought. "The Old Demon of Chaos didn't play any tricks; I wonder if he chose not to, or simply couldn't. The major forces behind the Myriad Demons Assembly are not to be trifled with, and they are capable of keeping the Old Demon of Chaos in check. It seems the dual preparations I made earlier won't be needed, a waste of a set of array tools and three pill recipes."

Not long after flying out, Qin Sang's gaze slightly hardened.

Immediately after, the Heaven's Eye Butterfly also sent a warning.

Thanks to his powerful spiritual sense, he sensed the anomaly ahead before the Heaven's Eye Butterfly did.

Of course, this was also due to the opponent's not-so-clever concealment methods; otherwise, if the distance were too great, spiritual sense would not easily detect them, making the Heaven's Eye Butterfly's role irreplaceable.

"Who's there?"

Qin Sang inwardly cursed his own ill-omened words, while a wave of doubt arose in his heart.

He hadn't felt any mark being placed on him, so why could this person accurately determine the direction of his departure?

"Could it be..."

A flash of inspiration struck Qin Sang; he thought of the mysterious ice casket in his Qianjun Ring.

However, he wasn't about to waste words.

Regardless of the opponent's origin, or whether they had come for him, furtively hiding in the shadows was absolutely not a sign of good intent.

Without a word, Qin Sang feigned ignorance, silently recited the 'Thunder Command Technique', and with a raised hand, unleashed a Heavenly Thunder!