Chapter 1636: Leaning on

"It's all your fault!" the Crying Spirit Cave Master roared, seething with fury.

The strange-faced man sneered. "Years ago, you accepted my payment and searched with my useless apprentice, yet two heavily injured individuals still escaped. Now they've come seeking revenge, so you can hardly claim to be innocent. Instead of throwing a tantrum, you should consider how to help me eliminate them and exact our revenge!"

The Crying Spirit Cave Master gritted his teeth. "I'm only a remnant soul, and I've lost all my divine powers and treasures. What can I possibly do?"

The strange-faced man's tone softened slightly as he promised, "You've seen how difficult that secret art is to cultivate. I also need assistance to increase the chances of its success. I am alone in the world and have made many enemies, but we have some connection. Who else can I cooperate with but you? When the matter of the relic site is settled, as long as you fully assist me in my cultivation, I promise to help you restore your cultivation and reshape your physical body. If we find an opportunity to become a Soul Transformation cultivator on Mount Di Shou, I can share it with you."

"Soul Transformation..."

The Crying Spirit Cave Master felt a surge of bitterness and deep hatred for Qin Sang. Not long ago, he still harbored ambitions of Soul Transformation, but in an instant, he had fallen to this state. Everything had become an illusion.

Though the strange-faced man's words contained no hint of threat, the Crying Spirit Cave Master well knew how ruthless this individual's methods were. His remnant soul was in the other's grasp. He was but a fish on the chopping block.

With no other choice, the Crying Spirit Cave Master could only trust the strange-faced man. Noticing a change in his tone, he asked in surprise, "You intend to eliminate them here?"

The Crying Spirit Cave Master secretly harbored resentment. This old scoundrel was confident in fighting two opponents, meaning he must have hidden his true strength, yet he hadn't saved him!

"Killing both at once might be beyond my current capabilities. Since that person willingly delivered the spirit wood, I'll gladly accept it! However, my divine power requires a specific environment to unleash its full potential, and it will be significantly restricted within the Ice Palace," the strange-faced man explained, a cold glint in his eyes.

After a moment of silence, the Crying Spirit Cave Master said, "The person who attacked me wielded a strange demonic fire of terrifying power. And their divine sense was the strongest I have ever witnessed. They also employed a secret art targeting the primordial spirit, which made my consciousness hazy, leading to my defeat..."

The strange-faced man had not witnessed the battle within the flag array, but through the Crying Spirit Cave Master's description, he learned some of Qin Sang's main body's techniques.

"Wielding demonic fire..." the strange-faced man murmured, his expression subtly changing.

"You've realized it too, demonic fire plus a sword array... Unless something unexpected happened, that fellow Su Zinan's opponent was this very person! It's no wonder this person obtained the Water Aspect Master's relics and appeared here by such a coincidence, also being able to control the Ice Palace's grand array. That scoundrel Su Zinan claimed that Elder Wu suffered greatly at his hands, and Elder Wu has remained missing ever since, at least severely injured..."

The Crying Spirit Cave Master's tone was full of warning. Having barely escaped with his remnant soul, he certainly didn't want any more mishaps. For now, it would be best to find Su Zinan first and cooperate for revenge.

"It's just that I don't know where that scoundrel Su Zinan is now!"

The strange-faced man's eyes darkened as he looked back. Qin Sang's avatar was in close pursuit, but always maintained a distance, wielding the Four-Mounted Teng Snake Seal and constantly commanding the Teng Snake to attack.

A moment ago, the avatar had used a spirit treasure to block the strange-faced man, and the two had clashed directly. The strange-faced man sensed the powerful fluctuations of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire suddenly erupting within the flag array, instantly alarming him. He realized that the Crying Spirit Cave Master was in dire straits and considered retreating. Rushing into the flag array to save him, if successful, would be fine, but if the rescue failed, he might also become entangled by the flag array and be besieged, putting him at a disadvantage. Given his nature, he would never do something so detrimental to himself. Even though the Crying Spirit Cave Master had taken a hit for him.

Moreover, Qin Sang's avatar was very cunning, hiding behind the spirit treasure, making it impossible to achieve the goal of defeating them one by one in a short time. Seeing this, the strange-faced man immediately retreated. It wasn't a defeat, but rather a strategic withdrawal from the Ice Palace to plan how to counter-attack his opponent. After receiving intelligence from the Crying Spirit Cave Master, the strange-faced man's confidence gradually vanished, and his mind raced.

Just then, thunder roared within the Ice Palace, a bolt of lightning tore through the faint blue sky-light, and electricity shot through the air, crossing layers of palaces – it was the lightning evasion technique. Its speed was rarely matched. Simultaneously, the avatar changed from its previous entanglement tactics, aggressively attacking with its spirit treasure. The Teng Snake twisted its body, its long tail sweeping through the air, its roar intimidating, as it lunged forward, leaving a trail of cold flames in the air.

The strange-faced man's eyelids twitched rapidly. A green light illuminated his back, and his wooden armor quivered, re-forming the shadow of a giant tree whose luxuriant canopy spread out like an umbrella, blocking the space above him. He hastily withdrew his gaze and uttered a strange syllable. By now, he had escaped the main body of the Ice Palace and returned to the Kylin Shadow Screen. His vision swept over the ruins of the Kylin Shadow Screen, looking towards the vast jungle ahead.

The next moment, the ancient trees in the lush jungle swayed, and clusters of green light floated up from the plants, instantly making the wood spirit energy incredibly dense. The light points varied in size, some as large as pearls, others as small as green beans, all exceptionally pure. Above the jungle, scattered green lights converged into a verdant ocean, gently undulating with the swaying trees, forming a peculiar and beautiful scene. The green light points began to flow, moving directly towards the strange-faced man, forming an illusory path of light that stretched to his feet in a mere instant. The strange-faced man's speed surged as if being pulled by the path of light, crossing through space and rushing into the jungle.

*Crack!*

The thunderclap intensified.

"Where are you going, fellow cultivator?"

Along with a cold, clear shout, Qin Sang's main body pushed his sword evasion and lightning evasion techniques to their limit, piercing through the air to catch up with the strange-faced man in the jungle.

At this moment, a thunderous roar echoed within the Ice Palace. The faint blue sky-light seemed to be pulled down by an unseen force, sinking even lower. From the outside, the Ice Palace still appeared to be shrouded in faint blue light. However, beneath the blue light, the anomalies grew increasingly severe. After the Ice Lake Flag Array annihilated the Crying Spirit Cave Master, the flag shadows shattered one after another, and even the few intact treasure flags wouldn't last much longer. When all the treasure flags were destroyed, the faint blue sky-light would begin to disintegrate from this point, and the spirit array would self-destruct, undoubtedly destroying the entire Ice Palace. Before the Ice Palace was destroyed, the jungle would remain temporarily unaffected.

Above the jungle, green light pulsed. Qin Sang and the strange-faced man confronted each other. Qin Sang's gaze shifted to the strange-faced man's wrist, sensing the aura of an evil spirit. He thought, 'Sure enough, something's amiss.' When the evil spirits scattered and fled, he had indeed noticed and specifically commanded his sword array to eliminate them, but unexpectedly, the strange-faced man was so cunning that he managed to save one. However, with only a remnant soul, the Crying Spirit Cave Master couldn't cause any significant trouble, so his life or death didn't make much difference.

"Fellow cultivator, we have no grievances, so why be so aggressive?" the strange-faced man asked, attempting to de-escalate.

The Crying Spirit Cave Master, meanwhile, cursed incessantly.

Qin Sang ignored him. His avatar was already pursuing with its spirit treasure. Qin Sang retorted sharply, "When we first met in the Southern Border, I had no grievances with fellow cultivator either, so why did you strike to kill?"

"Don't you understand that possessing a treasure makes one a target?" the strange-faced man chuckled sinisterly. Looking at his demeanor, he clearly had no intention of resolving their enmity; his words earlier were merely a casual remark to buy some time.

Qin Sang ceased the pointless talk with this man. Disabling the Crying Spirit Cave Master was half of his objective achieved. Today, with his main body and avatar working together to corner the isolated strange-faced man, it should be the best opportunity to settle their score. He silently formed a sword incantation. The sword light circling his body suddenly halted. The Jin Chen Sword flashed, leaving a brilliant sword arc in the void as it shot straight for the strange-faced man!

The strange-faced man flicked his wrist, collecting the evil spirit containing the Crying Spirit Cave Master's remnant soul into his sleeve. At the same time, he pressed his palm downwards, and a wooden bead flew from his hand. The sword light approached, its unparalleled sharpness making the strange-faced man's pupils contract sharply, then radiate brilliance. He casually grabbed at the void, and the sky full of light points glowed intensely. A thick green tide converged before the strange-faced man, surging forth.

*Swish!*

The Jin Chen Sword pierced into the green tide, immediately causing a surge. Qin Sang sensed the invisible resistance from the Jin Chen Sword and was about to form a sword array. Just then, he noticed the wooden bead fall from the strange-faced man's hand, dropping straight down between the tree canopies and merging with the countless light points, appearing quite inconspicuous. Following this, countless slender spirit threads shot out from the wooden bead, each thread corresponding to a light point, darting outwards. If the wooden bead were connected to all the light points, this entire jungle would be brought under the strange-faced man's control, serving his purposes.

How could Qin Sang let this man succeed? He raised a hand and activated the Lightning Manipulation Art at will.

*Boom!*

A bolt of heavenly lightning struck down without warning. The strange-faced man's expression changed slightly. Fortunately, he was prepared and quickly formed a hand seal. A phantom image appeared before him, and his wooden armor reformed, blocking the heavenly lightning from above. This treasure had just been enduring the Teng Snake's attack, yet the strange-faced man had instantly recalled it.

*Crack!*

The heavenly lightning struck the surface of the wooden armor, causing the spirit light on it to flicker wildly. The lightning threads scattered, but could only glide on the armor's surface. Even though some bypassed the armor, they posed no threat to the wooden bead. The wooden bead paused slightly, its spirit threads continued to shoot out wildly, soon connecting more than half of the light points, forming a gigantic net with each light point as a node, spreading out within the jungle.

Qin Sang's expression darkened. He pointed his sleeve downwards, and demonic fire surged out. Instead of habitually transforming into a fire dragon, it immediately turned into countless spirit snakes upon appearing. The fire snakes twisted into a squirming mass that made one's scalp tingle, then scattered, specifically pursuing the wooden bead's spirit threads and devouring them extensively. It seemed the nearly formed spirit net was about to become a broken one. The Crying Spirit Cave Master also warned him that the demonic fire's power was extraordinary and not to be underestimated.

The strange-faced man dared not wait any longer. His right hand continuously pointed, and a fist-sized spirit seal, shaped like an altar, flew from his hand and flashed into the net. The wooden bead exploded in response. However, there were no splinters of wood, only pure spirit light surging along the light threads into each light point. In an instant, the jungle shook with a rumble, forming a green disc centered on the strange-faced man. Its texture was like amber, glowing with starlight within, forming a grand array that continuously drew in wood spirit energy from the jungle. If an enemy were sealed within, it would be no different from falling into a Heaven-Sealing Abyssal Prison.

However, the disc was incomplete. Streaks of black lines constantly wriggled between the light points, dyeing the green disc black, and the black areas visibly encroached upon the whole. To attempt to seal Qin Sang was wishful thinking. At this rate, the disc would collapse before long. Moreover, the Seven Souls Killing Array had already formed, and the sword threads were cutting the disc, with the power of the sword array rapidly approaching.

The strange-faced man changed his hand seals repeatedly, but could not suppress the demonic fire. No longer hesitating, his hand seals abruptly joined, and he roared, "Prison Decree!"

*Whoosh!*

The disc exploded, and green light surged into the sky. Countless light points became intensely bright, and the spirit threads between them grew increasingly prominent, quickly transforming into thick vines that covered the sky. Before the sound of "Decree" faded, the wildly growing vines suddenly solidified, covered in a layer of greyish-white, like a faded ink wash painting. Death energy bred. The vibrant jungle instantly transformed into a death prison. Clearly, this was a more terrifying divine power than the Senluo Deadwood Prison.

A death energy vortex suddenly appeared beneath Qin Sang's feet, and he simultaneously felt a powerful binding force. He immediately activated the "Fire Seed Golden Lotus," and the demonic fire scattered everywhere swiftly returned, gathering to form a fire dragon that plunged headfirst into the death energy vortex! From above, one could see a section of the fire dragon's body within the death energy vortex. The demonic fire not only didn't resist but actively sped up. Flame poured into the death energy vortex. A "whooshing" sound emanated from the vortex, and its bottom quickly turned black, its rotational speed suddenly slowing.

Taking advantage of the death energy's stagnation, Qin Sang flapped his Phoenix Wings and flashed out of the vortex. Unexpectedly, before he could find his footing, Qin Sang flapped his Phoenix Wings again in quick succession, his figure flickering twice more. When he reappeared, he was already hundreds of feet away. At each spot where he had appeared and vanished, three streaks of white poisonous light were left behind, undoubtedly striking empty air. Three streaks of poisonous light swept past. The source of the poisonous light was precisely the light points floating in the void. As soon as Qin Sang arrived, the light points immediately transformed into Jade Armor Beetle phantoms, appearing without warning, and they could also spray poisonous light. The poisonous light was swift, but could only hit Qin Sang's afterimages.

The Jade Armor Beetle's main body was perched in the strange-faced man's palm, half its body embedded in his flesh, greedily devouring his essence blood, its jade-white body gradually turning pinkish-red. The strange-faced man looked at the unharmed Qin Sang, his face ashen. A stinging pain came from his palm; the Jade Armor Beetle, abandoning its harmless state, had become fiercely aggressive, twisting his palm into a bloody hole. Since the Jade Armor Beetle reached its full potential, the strange-faced man had not felt the taste of a Gu King's backlash for a long time.

"Is this your reliance?" Qin Sang's expression was playful. This move was indeed insidious; the Jade Armor Beetle had actually merged with the strange-faced man's divine power, transforming the light points into its own body, which was effective due to its unexpected nature. Had it been another person, they would have been hit. Unfortunately, the transformation of the light points could not escape the eyes of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. This encounter could be considered a clash between two spirit insects, with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly temporarily gaining the upper hand. In fact, with Qin Sang's strong divine sense, as long as he remained vigilant, he would likely be able to detect the fluctuations during the light points' transformation. However, most people encountering such a situation would undoubtedly have their attention drawn by the death energy vortex.

The strange-faced man did not answer, merely snorted coldly and clenched his hand. Qin Sang's main body had not yet moved.

A vast expanse of white cold light, carrying bone-chilling cold aura, suddenly descended from the sky, like a waterfall of cold light, falling from the heavens. In this exchange, the avatar had finally caught up. The avatar, with the Four-Mounted Teng Snake Seal hovering above its head, appeared above the jungle. The Teng Snake was not visible, but the spirit seal slowly rotated, ready to unleash its power. Having wielded the spirit treasure for a long time, the avatar's True Essence was severely depleted, so it switched to wielding the Ice Soul Divine Light, which was equally formidable. Behind the divine light, the Snow-Treading Divine Blade cleaved open a path of snow, slashing rapidly towards the strange-faced man!