Chapter 1640: No-Character Jade Bi

Martial Arts and Immortals

The demonic flame drifted towards the Gu King, forming a small fiery ring that encircled it.

Unexpectedly, the Gu King was exceptionally ferocious. Without its master to suppress it, its true savage nature was revealed. When its prey was blocked by the demonic flame, the Gu King instantly flew into a rage. Its wings vibrated rapidly in its fury, producing an ear-splitting buzz.

Far from being intimidated by the demonic flame's aura, the Gu King opened its mouth wide and wildly spewed poisonous light, counterattacking the demonic flame.

"The poisonous light is very powerful, but it's excessively fierce. Its intelligence seems rather low! That person really cultivated a monstrous creature!"

Qin Sang surrounded the Gu King with demonic fire, not rushing to subdue it. Instead, he flashed to the grotesque-faced man's Nascent Soul. Upon seeing the man's condition, Qin Sang's eyes widened with surprise. In such a short time, the grotesque-faced man's state had become extremely critical. His Nascent Soul looked withered and gray, and there was hardly any discernible life force left. The Gu King's poison might be even more terrifying than Qin Sang had imagined!

"Huh? No, wait..."

Qin Sang swept his divine sense over it and unexpectedly found that there seemed to be only one type of poison threatening the grotesque-faced man's life, raging wildly. The poison's destructive power was horrifying, capable of killing someone in an instant! The grotesque-faced man had been poisoned by both the Myriad Poison Mountain's venom and the Gu King's poisonous light, so there should have been two types of toxins in his body.

"Could it be that the two poisons spontaneously fused?"

A thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind, revealing a possibility. The Gu King's aura was very similar to the Gu worms cultivated by the Myriad Poison Mountain's "Gu Scripture." The Myriad Poison Mountain considered the grotesque-faced man an enemy and even gave unrelated individuals treasures to counteract him, implying that the Gu King was their primary target! It's even possible that the Gu King was meticulously cultivated by the Myriad Poison Mountain itself.

Once the Gu King fully matured, its poisonous light, combined with the ultimate poison of the Myriad Poison Mountain, would amplify its toxicity to an unimaginable level, becoming arguably the most potent poison in existence. The two toxins had completely different properties. If not for a fortunate coincidence—the grotesque-faced man being backfired upon by the Gu King, causing the two potent poisons to fuse within his body—Qin Sang would never have discovered this secret.

"If this virulent poison truly succeeds, I wonder if it could threaten a Soul Transformation cultivator. At the very least, Nascent Soul cultivators would have to retreat far away from this Poison King..."

Qin Sang secretly felt a chill. The various sects in Middle-Earth were indeed not to be underestimated; their foundations ran deep. With a flash of thought, Qin Sang didn't hesitate. He immediately prepared to activate his Poison Bead, attempting to use the Detoxifying Light to suppress the poison for the grotesque-faced man, allowing him to cling to life a little longer.

However, before Qin Sang could act, the light in the Nascent Soul's eyes rapidly faded, as if a fierce beast were swiftly devouring its life force from within. The grotesque-faced man had been severely injured by the lightning strike, and the fusion and eruption of the new virulent poison within his body had caused such a tragic outcome. Not only that, Qin Sang discovered signs of the new virulent poison spreading along his divine sense. Startled, he quickly withdrew his divine sense. By then, he had already used his divine sense to forcefully break the restrictions on the mustard seed bag. Seeing the contents inside, he made no further unnecessary movements.

On the other side, the Seven Souls Killing Array successfully trapped the Crying Spirit Cave Master's remnant soul, which was another reason Qin Sang gave up on trying to save him. In a short while, the grotesque-faced man's Nascent Soul was tormented beyond recognition, emitting a foul odor, and transformed into an indescribable mass. Finally, it dispersed into a cloud of blood mist, vanishing into thin air!

With one major threat eliminated, Qin Sang looked around. "Beyond recognition" was an understatement for the current state of the Ice Radiance Palace. Though chaotic before, the main body of the ice palace had remained intact. Now, it was completely leveled, then frozen by the cold air escaping from the ethereal blue light, forming an ice sheet larger than the original Ice Radiance Palace, which continued to spread outwards.

The biting wind was piercing. The energy accumulated by the ethereal blue light had been released, but the light pillar remained, lingering for a long time. Such a conspicuous phenomenon would likely be visible throughout the entire Boundless Immortal Sect, and people were surely rushing towards this location.

"I can't stay here long!"

Qin Sang's figure flickered repeatedly, trying to erase traces on the battlefield as much as possible. The residual shockwaves of the array had already swept through once, and the battlefield was mostly destroyed, so it wasn't too much trouble. His clone wasn't idle either. Activating its remaining true essence, it rushed into the ice palace, passing through the ethereal blue light against the flow, and found the dark hall amidst the ruins.

The dark hall's location had become a deep pit, with the hall above it leveled. However, although the ice platform was covered in cracks, the mysterious ice disc was completely unharmed. Before the ambush, the clone had already identified several key nodes of the spirit array and deduced that the mysterious ice disc would not be affected by the destruction of the flag array. For such an important treasure, the person who set up the array back then must have considered this, ensuring the ice disc wouldn't be destroyed here.

*Whoosh!*

He recalled the ice disc. The clone examined it carefully, clicking its tongue. Although the ice disc was intact, the internal cold fiend energy was noticeably much thinner and had been greatly consumed, requiring a long time to replenish. However, the main body was still far from Soul Transformation, and the ice platform's structure had been memorized. He just needed to find a suitable cave to set up the array again to help the ice disc recover.

There was nothing to linger over. The clone destroyed the dark hall completely, brought the mysterious ice disc back to the battlefield, and then the Second Nascent Soul retreated into the main body to recuperate. By then, Qin Sang had already subdued the Crying Spirit Cave Master's remnant soul and returned to the Gu King. Finding it too ferocious to subdue immediately, he simply wrapped it in demonic fire and took it with him.

After Qin Sang left, the ethereal blue light began to wane from its peak. The light pillar gradually dispersed and slowly faded away. The residual effects left a thick layer of ice on the Ice Radiance Palace's ruins, which would take an unknown amount of time to melt completely.

Not long after, a figure appeared at the southeastern edge of the ice sheet. His figure gradually became clear, revealing himself as Su Zinan. Su Zinan surveyed the scene, unable to discern anything significant. He raised his right hand, forced out a cloud of blood mist, which transformed into a blood phantom, and was about to release it to infiltrate beneath the ice and investigate.

Just then, he sensed something, abruptly looked up to the northwest, and saw two streaks of escape light flying directly towards him without concealment. His expression darkened slightly, but soon a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"What fine taste, and what exquisite methods, you two Venerable Masters!"

As the escape lights approached, Su Zinan said with a half-smile, his words ambiguous, neither praise nor sarcasm. The approaching figures were none other than Venerable Master Zilei and Venerable Master Hegao. With his intelligence, seeing the two Venerable Masters from the Eight Views Sect appear here, he could immediately guess the general reason. However, he hadn't experienced the battle for the array, so some details were still unclear, filling his mind with many questions.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

The two Venerable Masters also stopped at the edge of the ice sheet, facing Su Zinan across the distance. Venerable Master Zilei overlooked the ice sheet, observing. Venerable Master Hegao seemed to have an old grudge with Su Zinan and threatened impolitely, "Surname Su, if you dare collude with the remnants of the Boundless Immortal Sect, aren't you afraid of exhausting Old Demon Lu's legacy?"

Su Zinan scoffed in response, "I've long wanted to experience the Daoist sect's divine abilities..."

Before he finished speaking, Su Zinan's right ear twitched slightly. His expression became exceptionally vivid, and he let out a few Tsk tsk sounds of admiration. His gaze swept around, "Where is Sect Master Yue? He wasn't perhaps counter-killed by the old demons?"

Venerable Master Hegao's face sank. He suddenly turned to stare at a distant mountain peak and shouted, "Who's hiding there, you scoundrel! Get out!"

But there was no movement there. Su Zinan chuckled coldly, not planning to stay long. He returned the blood phantom with a flick of his hand and retreated, not forgetting to leave a few mocking words before he left, "I await with bated breath, let's see how you can dominate this place single-handedly!"

Seeing Su Zinan flee, Venerable Master Hegao looked at Venerable Master Zilei. Venerable Master Zilei ignored Su Zinan, flying directly to the original site of the dark hall and staring for a long time. Venerable Master Hegao also did not pursue.

The trees in the forest swayed. Su Zinan flew here and entered the forest, seeing a person emerge from behind a tree; it was Mo Xingdao.

"Fellow Daoist Mo!"

Su Zinan cupped his hands. He didn't explain why he was acting alone, and Mo Xingdao didn't ask further. The two exchanged a few brief words. Mo Xingdao was a little surprised, "The one who destroyed the Water Aspect Hall wasn't Fellow Daoist Su?"

Su Zinan denied, "I was also drawn here by the light pillar... I don't cultivate water-attribute divine abilities, so what use is the Water Aspect Hall's legacy to me? It's likely that white-robed man and another fellow had a conflict, and now both are nowhere to be seen. Traces on the battlefield were also leveled by the residual array. I don't know what treasure they were fighting over, or who won or lost."

After a pause, Su Zinan asked in return, "Besides me, who else didn't appear at the Cliff of No Return?"

"The centipede-faced man who was with the Crying Spirit Cave Master is also nowhere to be seen..."

Mo Xingdao revealed everything he knew, "However, during the fight for the teleportation array, besides the Daoist sect, there was another uninvited guest who wasn't with the Daoist sect. He was skilled in sword arrays, and his swordsmanship almost suppressed Yue Lingtian..."

After listening to Mo Xingdao's description, Su Zinan's pupils constricted slightly, "Could it be him? Those old demons thought their actions were secret, but in fact, they were full of loopholes and had already been targeted by the Daoist sect. It's not strange to have a few more orioles. I've long suspected that the Fire Demon is the Fire Aspect inheritor..."

Before he could finish, Mo Xingdao interrupted, "In my opinion, Fellow Daoist, it's best to put aside your grievances for now."

Su Zinan was slightly stunned. He continued listening to Mo Xingdao, only then learning that Zhu Wudao had exchanged the secrets of Emperor's Grant Mountain for assistance. Not only were there countless rare treasures in the mountain, but there was even a chance for Soul Transformation!

"The Wordless Jade Tablet!"

Su Zinan murmured to himself, his eyes sparkling. After a moment of contemplation, Su Zinan suddenly said, "This opportunity is precious, and there are many competitors. Seizing it will not be easy, so there's no rush. I have a secret treasure that needs to be refined in advance. Once a fight breaks out, it can greatly increase our chances! I hope Fellow Daoist Mo will wait a moment and protect me!"

Mo Xingdao frowned slightly, but ultimately agreed. The two Daoist Venerable Masters and Yue Lingtian were undoubtedly the strongest. The Crying Spirit Cave Master and the Centipede-faced man moved in tandem. Zhu Wudao seemed to be alone, but he knew many secrets of the Boundless Immortal Sect. Mo Xingdao's individual strength was ultimately limited, and joining forces with Su Zinan was the wise choice.

Su Zinan was overjoyed and immediately opened a cave dwelling on the spot. He set up restrictions to block detection. Su Zinan sat cross-legged and summoned the Three Corpse Vanquishing Divine Banner. The demonic banner fluttered. The luster within the banner became even more subdued. He looked at the demonic banner, and with a slight movement of his mind, two figures floated out from the banner's surface: one was Old Wu, and the other was Old Man Yanshan. Old Man Yanshan ultimately couldn't escape his fate and became the main soul within the banner.

Su Zinan gently beckoned to Old Man Yanshan. Old Man Yanshan, now the main soul, obediently flew to Su Zinan, his expression blank. He stared blankly as Su Zinan raised his hand and pressed it against his glabella. The next moment, Old Man Yanshan's features suddenly twisted. At the same time, Su Zinan felt a resistance from Old Man Yanshan. Under Old Man Yanshan's influence, Old Wu also showed signs of restlessness. This was not because Old Wu had not yet been refined by the demonic banner, but because the three main souls of the demonic banner were closely connected, and they instinctively resisted. This had to be experienced every time a new soul was subdued. Therefore, refining the second main soul was more difficult than the first, forcing Su Zinan to immediately go into seclusion on the spot.

Su Zinan was not at all worried about the main soul devouring the master. He simply strengthened the cave dwelling's restrictions by several layers, then fiercely pressed his hand against Old Man Yanshan's glabella amidst his roars.

"The Wordless Jade Tablet!"

These same four words echoed in another cave dwelling. After leaving the Ice Radiance Palace and confirming that there were no followers, Qin Sang also found a hidden spot, opened a cave dwelling, and went into seclusion to recuperate. He hadn't even had time to count his spoils when he discovered that the Crying Spirit Cave Master's remnant soul was in an abnormal state. The Crying Spirit Cave Master had been severely harmed and finally forcibly driven into a spiritual wood body by the grotesque-faced man, already at the end of his tether. After being confined by Qin Sang, his soul energy rapidly withered.

Left with no choice, Qin Sang immediately performed the Soul Searching technique. Searching the remnant soul of a Grand Cultivator was still not an easy task. Qin Sang succeeded only because his divine sense was strong enough, and he wasn't searching for extremely detailed or complex information. He successfully obtained the information he cared about most: the Soul Transformation opportunity in Emperor's Grant Mountain.

"I must go to Emperor's Grant Mountain, but..."

Qin Sang recalled the tribulation array. The ice disc and some ice-fire tokens were in his hands, and the array of the Taiji Immortal Platform was also memorized. However, he was still missing one crucial item: the fire-attribute treasure corresponding to the ice disc. Qin Sang suspected that treasure was held by the Fire Aspect Hall, so he would definitely have to visit Fire Rhino Island.

"I have to split up again..."

Qin Sang glanced at his clone, who was concentrating on recuperating. He didn't want to miss either opportunity, so he could only split up again, sending his clone to Fire Rhino Island. Qin Sang flipped his hand and took out two jade bottles, each containing a Boiling Snow Pill. He already knew the effects of this pill.

"Let the clone take one Boiling Snow Pill. Even if it encounters a Grand Cultivator, escaping won't be a problem. As long as it escapes to the foot of Emperor's Grant Mountain, I can provide assistance." Qin Sang made the worst-case scenario plan and gave one pill to his clone.

At this moment, the repeatedly tormented remnant soul finally dispersed. He had killed two Grand Cultivators without even using a single Boiling Snow Pill. Qin Sang watched the remnant soul disappear, feeling a sense of satisfaction mixed with a touch of melancholy. During the soul search, he also learned some secrets of the Crying Spirit Cave Master from the memory fragments. This person was proficient in ghost arts, excelling in the '詭' (devious/ghostly) aspect, and his escape techniques were particularly brilliant. Unfortunately, he was pulled into the flag array by Qin Sang, preventing him from fully utilizing many of his methods. If the Crying Spirit Cave Master and the grotesque-faced man had swapped positions, Qin Sang couldn't guarantee he would have been able to keep him.

The Crying Spirit Cave Master's belongings were destroyed in the flag array. At the time, Qin Sang wanted to quickly eliminate a powerful enemy, so he couldn't hold back for external objects. Letting the grotesque-faced man escape would have been a greater loss. However, Qin Sang unexpectedly learned that the Crying Spirit Cave Master was skilled in spirit cultivation techniques and had a large medicinal garden in his cave dwelling with many rare spiritual herbs, thriving beautifully. This person had found a unique approach: he used refined souls to water spiritual herbs, calling them "blood medicines." His current cultivation was not unrelated to these blood medicines, making him quite a genius. He controlled some 'disciples,' scattered across various places, to collect refined souls for him, but his spirit cultivation technique was a closely guarded secret, always performed personally. With the Crying Spirit Cave Master dead, his medicinal garden was now masterless, which would benefit Qin Sang.