Chapter 1684: True Spirit Reciprocity Three Corpses Burning Spirit

Martial Arts and Immortals

Su Zinan casually tossed out a wisp of light gauze.

The gauze unfurled, revealing itself to be Su Zinan’s usual dragon-sinew net, which he had compacted and reshaped.

Individual dragon sinews were woven into a net that, when spread out, resembled a chessboard. As it shimmered, dragons and serpents seemed to swim across its surface.

Their expressions were fierce and their demeanor extraordinary.

Su Zinan had clearly been prepared; almost at the instant the heavenly lightning appeared, the dragon-sinew net was thrown, rapidly expanding above his head.

The net tautened, producing a resonant clang, like the sound of a sword.

Spiritual mist churned, and the phantom dragons and serpents raised their heads.

‘Boom!’

The heavenly lightning struck with immense force.

In an instant, the spiritual mist dispersed, directly penetrated by the lightning. The illusions of dragons and serpents disintegrated.

The center of the dragon-sinew net suddenly caved into a deep hollow. The power of the heavenly lightning immediately erupted across its surface, and countless threads of lightning spread outward along the sinews, transforming the net into a shimmering web of electricity.

The dragon sinews seemed to possess vitality, spasming under the heavenly lightning's impact. The net twisted into a knot, encapsulating the lightning’s power within it.

Su Zinan paid no mind to the changes above his head. He shifted his gaze to the swiftly fleeing light, a smirk playing on his lips: “So that’s your avatar!”

He recognized Qin Sang’s avatar.

Years ago, the avatar had visited Elder Yan Shan, and later, they had turned against each other in the snow plains, dividing the Water Elemental Lord’s relics.

After capturing Elder Yan Shan, Su Zinan identified the avatar’s origin and knew of its friendship with the Fire Demon, having previously teamed up with it in the snow plains.

The Fire Demon blocked Elder Wu outside the tomb.

Concubine Yue, meanwhile, ‘died’ by the avatar’s hand.

One inside, one outside, their cooperation was seamless. Had Elder Yan Shan not been more skilled, not a single treasure from the tomb would have been taken out.

Their simultaneous appearance on Emperor’s Peak further confirmed their relationship.

It was precisely the Fire Demon’s presence that led Su Zinan to decide to act now.

After several previous skirmishes, it was clear that the Fire Demon had almost no weaknesses and was an extremely troublesome opponent. Su Zinan had already abandoned the idea of imprisoning the Fire Demon’s Nascent Soul.

He regarded the Fire Demon as a formidable rival. Once the avatar and the Fire Demon reunited, and the Five Elements Pill fell into the Fire Demon’s hands, it would be extremely difficult for anyone else to reclaim it.

The Fire Demon was nowhere to be seen, either scared away or lying in wait.

The avatar surely wouldn't expect anyone to dare snatch the Five Elements Pill right under the nose of a Soul Transformation cultivator. This was when its guard was at its lowest, offering the highest chance of success.

However, Su Zinan hadn't anticipated their connection being so close.

The Outer Body Avatar, derived from orthodox Xuanmen techniques, despite its numerous limitations, possessed a naturally integrated aura and profound divine abilities, incomparable to ordinary unorthodox secret arts.

When appearing alone, the Outer Body Avatar could even deceive Soul Transformation cultivators.

Of course, it was possible that their attention was focused on the demonic body, preventing them from thoroughly investigating the avatar.

Qin Sang could not fathom the divine abilities of Soul Transformation cultivators and had been somewhat apprehensive just now, worried that the avatar’s true nature might not escape their discerning eyes.

Even if Su Zinan had ‘seen’ the avatar and the true body through the memories of Elder Wu and Elder Yan Shan, it would be difficult for him to link them.

At this critical juncture, Qin Sang had neither the power nor the need for further disguise. With both the true body and the avatar appearing simultaneously, Su Zinan sensed a faint, ethereal aura connecting them, and instantly understood.

“You seek death!”

Qin Sang roared furiously.

Within the escaping light, Qin Sang’s gaze carried overwhelming killing intent, like two sharp swords, stinging Su Zinan’s eyes.

Su Zinan sneered, dismissing Qin Sang’s threat with contempt, and retorted, “A late-stage Nascent Soul true body, plus an Outer Body Avatar wielding a spirit treasure, yet you were still outwitted by that old ghost Yan Shan, letting him snatch the Water Elemental relics and escape unscathed. Calling you useless wouldn’t be an exaggeration…”

His mockery was cut short by the incoming sword light.

The Golden Sinking Sword arrived with astonishing speed, faster than Qin Sang’s true body.

The sword’s hum was rapid and sharp, seemingly influenced by its master’s fury.

Su Zinan, having witnessed the power of Qin Sang’s sword formation, his expression slightly darkened. Before the Golden Sinking Sword could get close, he mentally commanded the black ruler, which had been furiously attacking Jian Xing, to change course.

‘Whoosh!’

All the ruler’s shadows converged, and the black ruler changed direction, its body slightly tilted, meeting the Golden Sinking Sword.

Clusters of black light continuously erupted from the black ruler, their explosive sounds comparable to thunder. The black light was like blossoming demonic thunder-flowers, their aura as violent as lightning.

Wherever it passed, demonic thunder-flowers continued to bloom, and countless dense black threads spread through the surrounding void.

The scene appeared as if the void itself was being shattered by the black ruler.

As the black ruler moved, its momentum accumulated in layers. The black ruler’s physical form disappeared, leaving only a black sun and a colossal sun-halo formed around it.

‘Boom!’

Sword light blazed like a rainbow, piercing the sun!

A point of light appeared at the center of the black sun, and then the entire black sun began to裂 apart from the middle, revealing the black ruler within.

At this moment, the Golden Sinking Sword vanished. Unbeknownst to them, the void had already grown dim, with sword threads crisscrossing. The sword formation merged with the sun-halo, constantly grinding away at the black ruler’s power.

Accompanied by a metallic clang, the black ruler shuddered violently, its shadows raining down, scattering in all directions.

Su Zinan intentionally allowed the Golden Sinking Sword to enter, the black ruler’s sun-halo tightly intertwined with the sword formation. Although the halo was dispersed by the sword formation’s impact, it maintained its coherence, grappling with its opponent at all costs.

Everything was as expected. Su Zinan ignored these developments, having already withdrawn his gaze, focusing on Jian Xing. His eyes seemed to penetrate the starlight, seeing the avatar hidden within.

He had no designs on Qin Sang’s Nascent Soul. Firstly, Qin Sang was too strong. Secondly, the threat of Soul Transformation cultivators loomed, making a prolonged battle with Qin Sang here unwise.

His sole objective was the Five Elements Pill!

Relying on its spirit treasure, divine light, and the Sword Xing sword intent, the avatar astonishingly held its ground against Su Zinan and the two demonic souls for a time.

Su Zinan’s peripheral vision flickered towards the two demonic souls, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Even as he engaged Qin Sang’s true body from a distance, his actions hadn't ceased. The blood aura between himself and the two souls grew increasingly dense, its stench turning putrid.

The intense blood light was incredibly dazzling, even eclipsing the brightness of Jian Xing.

The blood aura formed a triangular distribution, with Su Zinan’s true body and the two demonic souls positioned at its three vertices. The demonic banner stood beside Su Zinan, and Jian Xing, dim and faint, resembled a lone boat in a sea of blood, on the verge of capsizing at any moment.

Su Zinan had not created such an anomaly without purpose. Though the naked eye couldn’t penetrate the blood aura, one could feel the increasingly powerful aura within it.

Su Zinan turned his head slightly, grinned menacingly at Qin Sang’s true body, and raised his hand to strike the demonic banner.

‘Clap!’

The Three Corpses Decimating Spirit Banner shook.

Its surface unfurled, and from within, a faceless head flew out.

This was the third demonic soul, which had not yet fused with a Nascent Soul.

The faceless demonic soul was forced out of the demonic banner. Facing its master and its two fully-formed companions, though it couldn't make expressions, one could sense its fear.

The dense blood aura made it tremble, cowering and wanting to retreat.

Su Zinan snorted, squeezing out an unintelligible sound from his throat. The faceless demonic soul was immediately confined in place, unable to struggle, and flew on its own before Su Zinan.

The next moment, a stream of light shot from the top of Su Zinan’s head. His Nascent Soul left his body, paused briefly, and then plunged into the faceless demonic soul.

‘Swish!’

As the Nascent Soul merged, the faceless demonic soul let out a piercing shriek, its face bulging outwards.

Then, the shriek subsided, and its features formed, identical to Su Zinan’s.

True spirit rebirth, the three corpses united!

Su Zinan, transformed into a demonic soul, reappeared beside his true body, close to the demonic banner. He lowered his gaze, looking not at Jian Xing, but at the continuously churning blood aura.

Under his gaze, the blood aura suddenly settled, becoming completely still. Then, streaks of blood light emerged within the blood aura, with the three outermost ones being the thickest and most prominent.

The three streaks of blood light connected to the three demonic souls, forming a triangular blood formation.

Inside were even denser blood threads, thick and thin, outlining various malevolent ghosts and blood creatures, bizarre and grotesque, a hundred times uglier and more terrifying than legendary demons and monsters.

Jian Xing was precisely at the center of the blood formation, surrounded by countless malevolent ghosts and blood creatures, as if it had been thrown from a river of blood into an infernal hell. Its sword light was also tainted by the evil.

“Soul Incineration!”

Su Zinan’s demonic soul let out a sharp howl.

His own voice could still be heard within the howl, but it sounded somewhat ethereal.

Elder Wu’s demonic soul and Elder Yan Shan’s demonic soul roared in unison.

In an instant, blood light soared into the sky.

This was Su Zinan’s most powerful blood dao divine ability, Soul Incineration Blood Sacrifice.

This ability was descended from the cultivation methods he and Elder Wu practiced, but it wasn't originally part of the method. Instead, it was deduced by Old Demon Lu and passed to Su Zinan.

Old Demon Lu’s foundation was not in the path of blood, but he deeply understood the principle of drawing parallels and was very interested in the path of blood. He took Elder Wu as his servant because he saw Elder Wu's talent, which could help him verify his demonic cultivation.

In fact, Old Demon Lu and Elder Wu were both master and servant, yet also like master and disciple.

As Elder Wu made rapid progress, Old Demon Lu’s demonic cultivation reached completion, leading him to deduce the powerful divine ability, Soul Incineration Blood Sacrifice.

Su Zinan cultivated a technique that merged Old Demon Lu’s demonic cultivation and Elder Wu’s blood cultivation. Because he received more guidance from Elder Wu, his path leaned more towards Elder Wu’s blood cultivation. However, with his current cultivation, performing the Soul Incineration Blood Sacrifice was extremely strenuous and required reliance on the Three Corpses Decimating Spirit Banner.

If all three souls were complete, it would be much easier.

With two souls lacking one, he could still manage to perform it.

However, the incomplete three souls required the true spirit rebirth step, and without prior preparation, it could only be used as it was now, with the opponent trapped within Jian Xing and surrounded, to ensure absolute success.

True spirit rebirth also weakened him and the demonic souls, so it naturally couldn't be used casually.

In his previous clash with Mo Xingdao, Su Zinan had tried several times to trap Mo Xingdao, but Mo Xingdao’s puppet escape technique was too potent, failing each time to find an opportunity for the Soul Incineration Blood Sacrifice.

Now, to seize the Five Elements Pill, Su Zinan held nothing back!

With the three souls in place, the blood formation was complete.

Within the dazzling blood light, the outline of the blood formation grew clearer. The specters and blood creatures within the formation seemed to come alive, scrambling to engulf the central Jian Xing.

Jian Xing was now obscured. A massive blood bubble appeared at the center of the blood formation, continuously enduring terrifying impacts, as explosions rumbled within the blood bubble.

Seeing this, Qin Sang’s true body was enraged, his eyes almost splitting. Protected by the Astral Fire Shield, he instantly broke through the black ruler’s halo. He raised his hand, and red light flashed as the Solar Divine Tree spun into the air, shining brilliantly.

Su Zinan’s demonic soul let out a low growl.

The three demonic souls beneath him suddenly trembled, transforming into three streaks of soul light, which shot towards the top of the blood formation.

The soul lights converged in a flash, turning into a giant several tens of feet tall.

The giant's facial features appeared uncoordinated. Upon closer inspection, it looked more like Su Zinan, but also carried the essence of Elder Wu and Elder Yan Shan. The essences of the three demonic souls were merged in this bizarre way, making it very strange.

The giant’s body was not solid; like the demonic souls, it had a somewhat ethereal quality, like a spirit.

‘Swish!’

The giant opened its eyes, glaring at Qin Sang’s true body. Its pupils reflected a dazzling spark of fire, mirroring the Solar Divine Tree.

The Soul Incineration Blood Sacrifice was complete, and Jian Xing was submerged in blood light. Various twisted and eerie shadows appeared on the blood bubble in the center.

The pressure on the avatar instantly soared to a terrifying degree.

With the Five Elements Pill almost within reach, Su Zinan would not allow Qin Sang’s true body to interfere. The giant took a step forward, blocking Qin Sang, looking down as if at an ant. It raised a finger and drew a line.

The fingertip shimmered with faint blood light. As it moved, it left behind a striking bloodstain.

The bloodstain appeared as if opening a blood-gate connecting to a blood-hell in the void, shooting towards the Solar Divine Tree at an extremely fast pace. Endless blood surged from the bloodstain.

Su Zinan intended to strike first.

Although he hadn't personally experienced it, he had witnessed the Solar Divine Bird several times and had a general understanding of its power. This attack, even if it couldn't repel Qin Sang, would definitely impede the Solar Divine Bird.

He only needed a moment’s time to break through Jian Xing and seize Qin Sang’s avatar.

The Solar Divine Tree shimmered with colorful light. South Ming Fire moved along its trunk, finally gathering at the treetop, coalescing into the Solar Divine Bird.

Facing the crushing bloodstain, the Solar Divine Tree’s luster did not diminish in the slightest. Instead, it was made even more vibrant and dazzling by the blood light, and the Divine Bird was lifelike.

The tree trunk trembled, and the Divine Bird flapped its wings.

The giant’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred. A sharp cry emerged from within Qin Sang, clearly not from Qin Sang himself, but from his Dantian!

Within the Dantian.

The Sword Intent of Cloud Roaming Sword had been working with the poisonous bead to suppress the Gu King.

Suddenly, both lost control.

The sword intent abruptly strengthened, breaking the balance. In the Gu King’s perception, this meant it was about to be killed. Startled, it instinctively resisted, furiously spewing poisonous light.

The poisonous light erupted in Qin Sang’s Dantian.

This move was undoubtedly very risky, but Qin Sang had activated the poisonous bead beforehand to protect himself, which should weaken the poisonous light's power.

Under his deliberate guidance, the poisonous light surged precisely towards the giant.

‘Swish!’

The giant demonic soul was on high alert, preparing for the Solar Divine Bird, so it had no idea that poisonous light would burst from Qin Sang without warning. It was immediately struck, and the toxin was so potent that its body involuntarily stiffened.

Having personally witnessed how the grotesque-faced man died, and drawing on Lu Zhang’s experience, Qin Sang knew that the Gu King’s poisonous light could harm soul bodies. However, he was unsure how much damage it could inflict on the three fused demonic souls.

Of course, his goal wasn't to poison the demonic souls, but to use the instant the poison entered their bodies to slow down their reaction, creating an opportunity for himself!

‘Whoosh!’

The Solar Divine Tree burst forth with an unprecedentedly bright fire light. The firebirds flapped their wings, flying off the branches.

Not three, but six!

Six firebirds emerged simultaneously!

In an instant, Qin Sang’s true essence drained like a burst dam, leaving him extremely weak.

Su Zinan forcefully suppressed the toxins within the giant’s body, only to see the bloodstain swallowed by a blaze of intense fire.