Chapter 175: Two Forms Divine Art

Qin Sang channeled water spiritual energy to form an ice coffin, encasing the embracing couple. He planned to bury them in a suitable location once they were outside, and he also collected Liu Shan's body.

Out of the original eight, five were now dead. Qin Sang wondered about Yu Daiyue and Li Zai. According to Qing Ting, the area behind this main hall was the forbidden ground of the Heavenly Corpse Sect's branch. Regardless of which karst cave one entered from, everyone was supposed to converge here. However, Yu Daiyue and Li Zai had still not appeared.

The Liu brothers had not been entirely truthful. They did not practice the same cultivation method. What enabled their combined attacks, allowing them to display strength comparable to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, was a secret technique called the "Two Poles Divine Art."

This secret technique was quite peculiar, suggesting an unusual origin.

However, they had told the truth about one aspect: the "Two Poles Divine Art" indeed required two individuals with a profound mental connection to cultivate it together. Since it was useless to Qin Sang, he casually put it away.

What intrigued Qin Sang the most was the talisman treasure. On the exceptionally durable, snowy-white talisman paper, there was an imprinted jade ruyi that emitted a faint, clear glow. The small jade ruyi seemed so vibrant, it looked as if it might break free from the paper at any moment, imbued with immense spiritual energy.

Although he had encountered such items before, despite cultivating for so long, this was the first time he had ever possessed a talisman treasure. It was truly astonishing how a thin piece of paper could contain one-tenth of a magical artifact's power.

The young man in combat attire whom he had met in the Bagua forbidden zone also possessed a talisman treasure—a crescent-shaped curved blade. However, as the young man was only at the Qi Refining stage and lacked the method to fully condense its power, he could only unleash a fraction of the talisman treasure's true might.

Senior Sister Qing Ting, on the other hand, was a Foundation Establishment cultivator and capable of unleashing the talisman treasure's full power. The sight of her activating it to attack the evil corpse had been an eye-opener for Qin Sang.

Even a top-grade magical artifact paled in comparison to a talisman treasure. Regrettably, Senior Sister Qing Ting had been ambushed by the evil corpse first, suffering severe injuries that made the situation irreversible.

Furthermore, activating a talisman treasure required a significant amount of time for refinement, along with the infusion of a large quantity of spiritual energy, making it extremely draining.

After examining the talisman treasure for a moment, Qin Sang carefully put it away. He then approached the heavy profound iron door and, following Senior Sister Qing Ting's instructions, began to decipher the restriction on it.

Previously, he had always resorted to brute force to break restrictions. However, using Senior Sister Qing Ting's method would not damage the restriction's core. This meant he could re-close the heavy profound iron door after entering, allowing it to continue blocking the yin evil energy.

The Five Elements Law-Breaking Sword transformed into a beam of light, repeatedly touching the heavy profound iron door. Each touch was light and tentative, appearing to exert no force at all. Yet, in a surprisingly short time, the restriction was effortlessly broken.

Qin Sang couldn't help but marvel at Senior Sister Qing Ting's profound mastery of restrictions. Once he confirmed there was no danger behind the heavy profound iron door, he channeled spiritual energy into his palm and pushed it open with force.

*Creak... creak...*

The heavy profound iron door slowly creaked open. To his surprise, there was no connecting stone path behind it; instead, it opened directly into an immensely vast and empty cavern. As the iron door swung inward, an incredibly dense surge of spiritual energy immediately rushed out, invigorating Qin Sang.

This cavern was the core forbidden ground of the Heavenly Corpse Sect branch!

Just as he was about to step inside, a muffled thud suddenly echoed from behind him.

Qin Sang paused and looked back to see a row of stone doors at the front of the main hall. One of them was covered in cracks before it shattered with a resounding crash, and a dark figure darted out from within.

Qin Sang's expression subtly changed, his mind racing. He chose not to conceal himself, as he had already clearly recognized the dark figure as Yu Daiyue, not an evil corpse. The traces of battle in the hall would not escape Yu Daiyue's notice, so there was no need to hide.

Furthermore, he had already taken a quick glance earlier and noticed that the area behind the heavy profound iron door was also a ruin, just like the front hall. Both had clearly been plundered, and it was unlikely any treasures remained.

"Huh, Junior Brother Qin?"

Yu Daiyue rushed into the main hall. Upon suddenly seeing someone standing ahead, his internal alarm immediately flared, and he quickly activated his magical tool, adopting a defensive posture. When he clearly saw that it was Qin Sang, he couldn't help but feel a surge of surprise.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Yu," Qin Sang said, then glanced behind Yu Daiyue. Seeing no sign of Li Zai, it appeared Yu Daiyue had also entered alone.

Yu Daiyue let out a deep sigh of relief and put away his protective magical tool. With lingering trepidation, he said, "I didn't encounter anyone along the way; I thought everyone... Fortunately! Fortunately! Junior Brother Qin, you're surprisingly fast. Did you encounter any evil corpses on your way? These evil corpses are truly formidable..."

As Yu Daiyue spoke, he surveyed the main hall. Mid-sentence, he suddenly noticed the evil corpse on the ground, its head pierced by a spiritual sword. His voice abruptly ceased, and an expression of profound astonishment appeared on his face as he instinctively swallowed.

"Uh... was this evil corpse killed by Junior Brother Qin?"

Seeing Yu Daiyue's startled and uncertain expression, Qin Sang calmly replied, "Senior Brother Yu thinks too highly of me. The credit for slaying this evil corpse primarily belongs to Senior Sister Qing Ting. If not for her, I might already be one of the evil corpse's victims."

Yu Daiyue's expression brightened at this. He quickly looked around, asking, "Senior Sister Qing Ting has arrived too? Where is she now?"

Qin Sang's expression grew solemn, and he stated in a grave tone, "Senior Sister Qing Ting has passed away."

"What did you say?"

Yu Daiyue's face instantly changed. He abruptly turned and glared at Qin Sang, his aura suddenly erupting.

Unfazed by Yu Daiyue's oppressive aura and the intense vigilance in his eyes, Qin Sang retrieved the ice coffin from his spatial pouch. He then recounted what had just transpired and displayed the bodies of the Liu brothers to Yu Daiyue.

The fatal wounds on Qing Ting were clearly inflicted by the evil corpse. Furthermore, her serene expression as she embraced Senior Brother Jiang before her death showed no trace of anger from being ambushed, leaving Yu Daiyue no choice but to believe.

Yu Daiyue let out a long sigh, his face etched with bitterness. "I had already anticipated that the Liu brothers would be separated and unable to use their combined attack. I just never imagined that Senior Sister Qing Ting, whose cultivation was superior to all of ours, would die at the hands of an evil corpse. I wonder what has become of Junior Brother Wu and the other two..."

Qin Sang said, "Although these evil corpses are strange, they are ultimately inanimate. Senior Brother Wu and the others certainly possess life-saving methods, so there's no need to worry excessively. Before she passed, Senior Sister Qing Ting informed me that there must be an array artifact in the forbidden area ahead, which can be used to control the restrictions here. We might as well open the restrictions first and patiently wait for our fellow cultivators..."

He knew well that Old Man Baiyun and Wu Yuesheng would certainly not appear; it was only a question of whether Li Zai had managed to escape in alive. Nevertheless, he had to play his part convincingly.

The greatest threat now was the yin evil energy. Yu Daiyue was fully aware of this, but he had been momentarily disoriented by Qing Ting's death. Prompted by Qin Sang, he immediately regained his composure and said repeatedly, "Junior Brother Qin is right! We should quickly activate the restrictions to block the yin evil energy. Junior Brother Qin, have you tried it yet? Is the array artifact for the restrictions easy to operate?"

Qin Sang pushed the iron door wide open and shook his head. "When you arrived, Senior Brother Yu, I had just finished breaking the restriction on the iron door and hadn't yet had a chance to go inside and examine it."

Yu Daiyue glanced behind the iron door, saw a large expanse of ruins, nodded, and followed Qin Sang inside.

Related

Wuxia Novel