Chapter 1617: Yin Demon Nail

Wuxia and Xianxia

Outside the Boundless Immortal Gate, cultivators displayed their unique abilities, traversing the channel.

Qin Sang, accompanied by his avatar, initially had to be wary of anyone following him as he entered the channel. Once he confirmed no one was close, he focused on breaking through the obstacles ahead.

Whether it was a single restriction array or energy turbulence, Qin Sang, with his current cultivation, could handle them. However, here, these unfavorable conditions merged into an extremely chaotic environment, requiring considerable effort from Qin Sang. A cultivator with weaker cultivation would have been overwhelmed, so it was understandable that Old Ghost Qiu and others teamed up.

*Whoosh!*

A strong gust of wind assailed him. Out of the corner of his eye, Qin Sang saw only the shadow of a crimson magic sword. The sword energy was sharp, and Qin Sang felt a faint ache in his brow.

However, before the magic sword approached, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly had already detected it and warned him. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly saw clearly that this sword was not real but an illusion formed by sword energy, creating a phantom sword shadow. Yet, its destructive power was no less than that of a genuine treasure sword.

Strangely, despite being a phantom sword shadow, the magic sword was a broken blade, only half its length remaining. Could a phantom sword also break? There was only one explanation: the spirit array or restriction array that formed the magic sword was damaged, which explained the chaos Qin Sang had witnessed since entering.

"Not only were the two Southern Barbarian states ruined back then, but the Boundless Immortal Gate's entrance must have also suffered. I wonder if the entrance was affected by the demonic chaos or if it was caused by internal strife among human cultivators after the chaos ended..."

As this thought crossed Qin Sang's mind, he saw the magic sword approaching. Without panicking, he wielded his own sword and struck a blow towards the front-left.

In front of him, a vibrant green light, signifying vitality, shimmered. Within the green light was a dense forest, with ancient trees and lush green leaves, a sight that was refreshing to behold. A closer look revealed that there were only a dozen or so ancient trees; the rest were merely their branches. In places with abundant spiritual energy, such flourishing ancient trees were not uncommon, and setting up hidden traps with them often yielded unexpected results. However, in this environment, they were too conspicuous. Ordinary trees could never have survived until now, so it was clear there was something amiss—it must be a remnant of some array.

*Boom!*

The Golden Sinking Sword thrust towards the thickest ancient tree. As Qin Sang expected, before the Golden Sinking Sword even struck the trunk, as soon as it approached within a hundred feet of the ancient tree, the tree underwent a sudden transformation—it came alive!

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Blinding green light erupted as countless vines shot wildly from the tree, like the tree's hair dancing wildly, lunging with bared fangs and claws towards the Golden Sinking Sword, instantly entangling it. Even so, Qin Sang's true form did not retract his sword, and his external avatar retracted his blade and retreated behind his true form.

*Creeeeak! Creeeeak!*

The vines possessed immense strength, tearing at the Golden Sinking Sword with incredible ferocity. Looking at this, Qin Sang couldn't help but suspect that if he didn't retrieve the Golden Sinking Sword quickly, this magical artifact might be torn to shreds.

However, Qin Sang did not need to directly confront the ancient tree. The moment the ancient tree trapped the Golden Sinking Sword, the magic sword struck, hitting the vines precisely. Everything was perfectly timed, all within Qin Sang's calculations!

*Boom!*

Within the green light emitted by the vines, a point of crimson light suddenly erupted. The power of the magic sword, like a surging fiery torrent, engulfed countless vines and swept forward. The crimson light, like fire, incinerated the vines with overwhelming force.

The vines were an extension of the ancient tree's power. Upon being attacked, the ancient tree immediately sensed it and retaliated. Its trunk swayed, and the entire forest began to grow wildly. The trunks of all the ancient trees extended themselves, twisting to an extreme, losing their original shape. The green tide surged like water, seemingly determined not to extinguish the magic sword's fire until it was completely consumed.

Qin Sang did not wait to observe the outcome of the struggle between these two forces. He seized the chaos to retrieve the Golden Sinking Sword, then his figure flickered repeatedly, expertly passing through the gaps. The magic sword and the ancient tree's restrictions were engaged in a mutual struggle and did not react to Qin Sang's approach. Qin Sang easily passed this dangerous hurdle.

By relying on early warnings and his quick ability to analyze restrictions, Qin Sang frequently used this method of leveraging external forces, exerting minimal effort for maximum effect. All along the way, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly proved to be of immense help to him. Although not as overpowering as the altar used by Zhu Wudao and others, or the combined efforts of True Immortal Zilei and his group, Qin Sang's speed was remarkably fast.

Despite this, after entering the channel, Qin Sang had not encountered anyone who entered before him. He wondered if others possessed secret treasures or divine abilities that made them even faster, or if the area was so vast that he had inadvertently missed them. According to Qin Sang's analysis, the space within the channel could not be measured by ordinary means. It was clearly the result of array formations and restrictions, leading to various unexpected situations and unknowingly guiding people in different directions. Moreover, the environment here was ever-changing; even traversing the same path, each person's experience would be different.

Qin Sang and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly put forth their full effort, trying their best not to get lost here. Otherwise, even if they could escape, they would fall far behind and miss the opportunity to explore.

"Huh?"

Just as he passed the range of the ancient tree's restrictions, Qin Sang suddenly felt something unusual and abruptly stopped. He looked around. He was in a void, suspended without support, surrounded by endless darkness, with turbulent currents streaking like meteors. His spiritual sense and Heavenly Eye worked in tandem.

After a moment of contemplation, Qin Sang suddenly realized, "So it's an illusion array!" He feared such arrays the least, and none of the spirit arrays or restrictions in the channel were complete.

With his mind united with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly and his vision focused, Qin Sang easily found the flaws in the illusion array. The Golden Sinking Sword and the Snow-Treading Divine Saber worked together to open a clear path, and he burst out of the illusion array. The view instantly brightened, transitioning from darkness to daylight.

Qin Sang remained secretly vigilant because he had fallen into an unknown sea of mist. The vast white mist stretched endlessly, with only the ubiquitous turbulent currents remaining constant. The scene before him reminded Qin Sang of the common practice of cultivation sects, using white mist to shroud their mountains and isolate themselves from the mundane world.

"If this is a mountain-sealing mist, then we might be nearing the entrance of the Boundless Immortal Gate..."

Qin Sang's spirits lifted, and his speed increased. He skillfully handled various sudden situations, consistently avoiding danger. However, after flying for a while, he suddenly slowed down, looking ahead with surprise.

An unusual silhouette appeared deep within the mist. A slender white shadow stretched across the front, extending to both sides, its end unknown. The white shadow remained motionless, unclear whether it was inanimate or alive. Qin Sang harbored some caution. After approaching a certain distance, he used his Heavenly Eye divine ability and finally saw clearly: the white shadow was actually a dragon carved from clouds!

The clouds were condensed, serving as spiritual material, sculpted into a solid cloud dragon. Its scales and claws were lifelike, resembling a celestial dragon prostrating itself before him, exuding a majestic aura. There was not just one cloud dragon, but two. The two dragons' heads faced each other, their bodies winding to the sides, their tails out of sight.

Between the dragon heads was a cloud energy plaza, where numerous stone pillars stood. The pillars were thick, large enough to accommodate over a hundred people, more like arenas. Their original purpose was unknown, but they were now damaged and uneven, some reduced to mere bases. Only one pillar remained relatively intact.

"Someone!"

As he saw the scene around the stone pillars, Qin Sang's expression tightened. He had finally caught up! Figures flickered around the stone pillars. These people were either standing or sitting. Between the dragon heads, the turbulence was significantly less, making it a rare calm spot in the channel. Most people were seizing every moment to meditate and recover, but a few were gathered around the best-preserved stone pillar, continuously attacking it, with flashing mystical lights.

It seemed that the area between the two cloud dragons was the entrance to the mountain gate. Qin Sang stared at the cloud dragons, finding no trace of a barrier on their bodies, but he would not test it himself. It was best to enter through the cloud energy plaza between the dragon heads. His gaze shifted to the area between the dragon heads, and he discerned the attire of the group.

"They all seem to be from the Eight Views Palace and the Grand Peak Sect. The remnants of the Boundless Immortal Gate have already gone inside. True Immortal Zilei and Yue Lingtian aren't here either; only these people are resting here..."

Qin Sang stopped at a distance, noticing that there were no Grand Cultivators among this group. As he drew closer, he saw a spiritual herb growing on the stone pillar they were attacking. The spiritual herb grew crookedly in a crack in the stone pillar, looking like a wild weed to the uninformed.

"Blue Cloud Grass!" Qin Sang was slightly surprised.

The spiritual herb had neither flowers nor fruits, its leaves were azure blue and slightly curled, with intricate patterns. It was a rare spiritual grass in Qin Sang's memory, extremely useful for cultivators who practiced certain special divine abilities! The stem of the Blue Cloud Grass was dark purple, a sign of its sufficient age and its status as a top-grade Blue Cloud Grass, its medicinal efficacy being three parts stronger than other Blue Cloud Grass.

Judging by where the Blue Cloud Grass grew, it didn't seem to be planted artificially. It must have grown naturally during the years the Boundless Immortal Gate was dormant, due to the abundant spiritual energy, and happened to grow on the stone pillar, protected by its restrictions. Zhu Wudao and True Immortal Zilei had both noticed the Blue Cloud Grass but hadn't wasted time here. These cultivators intended to take the Blue Cloud Grass while they rested. Finding a heaven and earth treasure-grade spiritual grass even before entering was unexpected for Qin Sang. The Boundless Immortal Gate truly was an undeveloped treasure trove, and even without considering the Southern Sea Immortal Palace behind it, it was worth this journey!

Blue Cloud Grass was of little use to Qin Sang. He retracted his gaze and pondered how to bypass this group of people. Just then, Qin Sang suddenly remembered something. When the channel opened, a black shadow had entered before him. Where had that person gone?

Thinking of this, Qin Sang's expression darkened slightly. He ordered the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to search carefully but found no trace of that person around the cloud energy plaza. However, when Qin Sang secretly moved and expanded his search range, he finally discovered something! Outside the cloud energy plaza, within the sea of clouds, there was a faint wisp of black smoke.

Just as Qin Sang was about to focus his vision to discern the true nature of the black smoke, he suddenly felt something amiss. Unbeknownst to him, the person in the black smoke was none other than Old Devil Fan. Old Devil Fan had tracked them here but was not in a hurry to enter, as the Blue Cloud Grass was beneficial for his cultivation of divine abilities and he had sought it for many years. Two fists are no match for four hands. Even without True Immortal Zilei present, Old Devil Fan dared not openly confront the experts from the two sects alone, so he had lurked here, planning to snatch the Blue Cloud Grass from under their noses. To this end, Old Devil Fan had secretly laid out his arrangements in the surroundings. Unexpectedly, his carefully made arrangements had not yet been activated when Qin Sang unexpectedly stumbled in.

At the same time Qin Sang discovered Old Devil Fan, he was also detected by Old Devil Fan. The stone pillar's restriction was about to break. Old Devil Fan was also a decisive person. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Rather than meticulously planning to acquire treasures inside, it was better to secure the Blue Cloud Grass first. Realizing that someone else had entered, he did not hesitate to change his plan, launching a sneak attack to force Qin Sang into revealing himself. While the two sects' cultivators' attention was drawn to Qin Sang, he would rush into the cloud energy plaza, snatch the spiritual herb, and make a swift exit!

Qin Sang's true form and external avatar were telepathically connected. When the true form sensed the anomaly, the external avatar unhesitatingly activated its divine ability. Its pupils turned stark white, and a visible cold light, imbued with dense chilling malevolence, plunged straight down. The newly refined Ice Soul Divine Light was used in combat for the first time.

*Whoosh!*

Before the cold light arrived, extreme coldness had already begun to spread. The void twisted, and three faint, eerie lights appeared, flashing to pierce into Qin Sang's true form and external avatar. The Ice Soul Divine Light, though launched later, arrived first, instantly freezing this part of the void.

Only a few *crackling* sounds were heard, and within the Ice Soul Divine Light, several black, strange nails suddenly appeared. The black nails were slender, only an adult thumb's length, and moved without any fluctuation, making them very secretive and hard to detect. At this moment, all three black nails were enveloped by the Ice Soul Divine Light. Their tips trembled a few times, then white frost spread over them, completely freezing the black nails. Immediately after, cracks erupted on the bodies of the black nails, freezing and shattering on the spot.

Old Devil Fan was astonished, never expecting this result. These black nails were called Yin Devil Nails, each one imbued with a Yin Devil. Once they pierced an enemy, they would torment the victim with unbearable pain. They were the renowned demonic treasures of the Heaven's Scythe Tower, making everyone's face change color upon hearing of them. He had unleashed three at once, yet they were destroyed on the spot! But what surprised Old Devil Fan even more was how quickly his position had been exposed!

Qin Sang instantly guessed the other party's intentions and naturally showed no mercy. He ordered his avatar to block the black nails, while his true form flicked his sleeve, sending out streaks of black flames—all Nine Nether Demonic Flames! He did not use all his demonic flames; these were sufficient! The demonic flames did not directly attack Old Devil Fan but shot towards other locations. This area was still within the Boundless Immortal Gate's channel, just as chaotic as the outside, with only the cloud energy plaza being somewhat peaceful.

Qin Sang's targets were precisely the fragments of restrictions and spirit arrays around Old Devil Fan's hiding place. A cracked stone tablet, a crimson river of lava, and various restriction fragments formed anomalies that were glaringly obvious. Seeing this, Old Devil Fan cursed inwardly, knowing it was bad. He quickly pulled out a yellow copper bowl. With a *clink*, the copper bowl emitted waves of yellow ripples, shrouding Old Devil Fan. Old Devil Fan darted outward.

At the same time, ancient restrictions were activated by the Nine Nether Demonic Flames. In an instant, Old Devil Fan's surroundings became a dazzling display of colors, quite beautiful to behold. For him, these were not the biggest trouble yet. To make matters worse, Qin Sang saw further than anyone else, predicting the trajectories of the turbulent currents in advance. He had already pinpointed the paths of several magic swords, and the order in which each restriction was touched was crucial.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

Loud roars echoed. Old Devil Fan and his copper bowl were engulfed. Enraged, he cursed, "Bastard!"

The commotion of their fight was also noticed by the cultivators in the cloud energy plaza. "Who's there!" the cultivators from the two sects shouted, stopping their meditation and rushing out to investigate. Just then, everyone suddenly heard a rapid whooshing sound behind them. Before they could react, a flash of lightning tore through the mist, passed through the cloud energy plaza, and rushed into the Boundless Immortal Gate!