Chapter 1856: Unexpected Incident

The Human World

The golden light emanating from the Vajra Bodhi Tree filled the entire bubble space, feeling like a golden orb in his hand. Within the golden light, a faint layer of blue light shimmered, the radiance of a restriction.

Qin Sang was currently multitasking: activating his escape technique, comprehending the restriction, and guarding against the spirit tree suddenly turning illusory. Fortunately, with the Celestial Eye Butterfly's assistance, its Celestial Eye divine ability could detect subtle changes, allowing him to boldly flee towards the outside of the secluded valley. However, to prevent any sudden unforeseen changes, he still needed to reserve some energy during his escape, lest all his efforts be in vain.

"This restriction is very powerful..." Qin Sang pondered, glancing back.

That pressure was like a shadow, seemingly unable to catch up to him for now. However, Qin Sang couldn't shake off the opponent's lock. Moreover, his opponent was a Demon King, and no one knew what other capabilities a Demon King possessed.

In this situation, there was simply no way he would have enough time to break the restriction. After briefly sorting out the restriction's network, he would have to forcibly break it and leave this troubled place as soon as possible, hoping it wouldn't damage the spirit tree.

After flying upwards in the secluded valley for a while, Qin Sang noticed that although the blue light restriction showed signs of weakening, it was much slower than anticipated. As expected, the changes in the restriction were not solely related to location.

However, Qin Sang didn't dare to directly take the bubble out of the secluded valley. He had an indescribable feeling; although the blue light restriction hadn't visibly weakened, the golden light inside the bubble seemed to be undergoing some change. He wasn't sure if this change was a transformation into an illusion, and he didn't dare to gamble. Thus, the urgency in his heart grew even stronger.

Behind Qin Sang, in a place invisible to the naked eye, the blue light waves were much dimmer than elsewhere.

'Whoosh...'

A faint sound of rippling water came from far away, drawing closer. Dark, abyssal waves surged from the distance, and within the continuously spreading black tide, a black figure was vaguely discernible: a fish head with a dragon-like body. The black fish's body was enormous, yet its movements were exceptionally agile and swift. The black fish dharma idol swayed its long tail within the black tide, its profound gaze fixed straight ahead, seemingly able to see the continuously fleeing bolt of lightning. Each swing of its dragon-like tail caused a wave to surge in the abyssal waters, propelling its body forward a significant distance.

At this moment, Qin Sang had no time to consider how to deal with the powerful enemy behind him; his mind was immersed in the restriction on the bubble's surface. Perseverance paid off; he finally managed to sort out several energy pathways. Through these main pathways, he could discern the pattern and, based on it, break the restriction.

Inside the bubble, the golden light receded like a tide, no longer as blinding as before. This showed his previous feeling was not an illusion; the bubble space was indeed undergoing unknown changes. Moreover, the pressure behind him was getting closer. He couldn't wait any longer!

Qin Sang's gaze merged with his Celestial Eye divine ability. As he watched, a faint divine light seemed to flow across the bubble's surface. Gradually, a determined expression flashed across Qin Sang's face. He suddenly raised his other palm, placing it over the bubble's surface. His palms were half-closed, with the bubble in the center.

Immediately after, Qin Sang's hands transformed into a pure glass-like state, radiating Buddhist light. No trace of flesh and blood could be felt. As the Buddhist light enveloped the bubble, the golden light inside the bubble remained unchanged. However, the layer of blue light on the surface suddenly became dazzling, momentarily overpowering the golden light.

'Bang!'

Qin Sang's arms violently vibrated. He felt a powerful recoil force in his palms and forcefully closed his hands, firmly suppressing the suddenly surging blue light.

'Bang, bang, bang...'

The bubble continuously vibrated. Qin Sang's hands gripped the bubble like iron clamps, letting the impact rage. The commotion grew louder. Initially, Qin Sang could suppress it, but gradually he lost control. Dense blue light burst forth from the gaps between his hands, dyeing Qin Sang and the surrounding light waves sky blue. At the same time, an invisible wave emanated with the blue light, creating a tremendous commotion in the surroundings.

Behind him, the abyssal waves paused briefly. The black fish dharma idol raised its upper body, glanced into the distance, its eyes flashing with brilliance, and violently swung its tail, stirring up a monstrous black tide.

It was the most crucial moment for breaking the restriction. Qin Sang no longer cared about anything else. His mind, merged with the butterfly, focused entirely on breaking the restriction!

'Whoosh!'

The bubble suddenly flew out of his hands. The blue light was no longer obstructed, and even amidst the rampant light waves in the secluded valley, it was visible for a hundred miles. Simultaneously, a sword light flashed from Qin Sang's glabella. In an instant, the Cloud Roaming Sword appeared above the bubble, aimed at its very center, and swiftly chopped down!

'Crack!'

Accompanied by a cracking sound, the blue light flared intensely, dazzling to the extreme. Qin Sang involuntarily squinted, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes. The blue light's burst was very brief. It receded rapidly like a tide, and immediately, a cluster of golden light burst forth from its center. Faintly, the silhouette of dancing leaves could be seen.

"It's done!"

Qin Sang was overjoyed, unhesitatingly rushing towards the golden light. His figure vanished within the dazzling blue and gold light.

A moment later, a voice filled with shock and fury suddenly came out.

"How is this possible!"

When Qin Sang escaped into the golden light, the sight he saw was very different from what he had imagined, and completely unlike how other bubbles had behaved. With the bubbles Qin Sang had previously broken, as long as they hadn't started turning illusory, their contents would fully appear in reality. Qin Sang would take the valuable items, and the rest would be shattered by the light waves.

The Vajra Bodhi Tree did not appear in reality. Or perhaps it did appear, but only for an extremely brief moment, so brief that even with Qin Sang's cultivation, he was caught off guard. Within the dense golden light, below the tree's crown, there seemed to be a black hole. Qin Sang saw the ancient tree being devoured by the black hole. Within the black hole, a chilling, strange power permeated, devouring the tree's trunk in an instant. The black hole quickly closed, and now only a small part of the crown was visible.

The spirit tree seemed to be hit by a strong wind, its branches and leaves trembling wildly. The Vajra fruit he had seen earlier swayed violently, its surface luster flickering erratically.

'Plop!'

The fruit ripened and detached. The Vajra fruit fell off. At the same time, another one hidden under the leaves flew out, transforming into two golden specks, oscillating and flying wildly.

Seeing that the black hole was about to disappear with the spirit tree, Qin Sang had no time to think. He fully activated the Great Vajra Wheel Seal, disregarding the danger, and plunged his hand into the black hole. He felt a twisting, excruciating pain in his right hand and pulled his hand back at the last possible moment!

The next moment, the black hole transformed into a golden speck, vanishing before him. The golden light in the void also gradually dispersed. The spirit tree disappeared. The bubble was also gone, as if it had never appeared. Everything around him returned to normal. Only the sensation in his palm was real: slightly cool and quite heavy.

Qin Sang opened his palm. Two Vajra fruits lay there, which he had retrieved. The Vajra fruits were oval-shaped, thumb-sized, covered in strange patterns on their surface, and exuding an extraordinary aura.

"Two of them..."

The astonishment in Qin Sang's eyes had not faded. The disparity was too great; he had expected to seize the entire spirit tree, but in the end, he only obtained two Vajra fruits. Why did this happen? He stared at the spot where the spirit tree was devoured, unable to understand what exactly happened at the last moment.

During the breaking of the restriction, Qin Sang had been very cautious. His sword strike on the bubble was also thoroughly calculated. The process of breaking the restriction this time was nothing special; the only unique thing was what was inside the bubble.

"Could it be because the place where the Vajra Bodhi Tree grew is different from other places?"

The Vajra Bodhi Tree was likely the source of the blue light sea's turmoil, possessing some divine mystery. This was highly probable. Where was the Vajra Bodhi Tree absorbed to? Did it transform into another bubble and continue to wander? Or did an ancient restriction on the spirit tree's body send it back to where it should have grown? Compared to the countless bubbles in the secluded valley, Qin Sang had interacted with too few. There wasn't enough evidence, and he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried. What was more troublesome was that he probably couldn't continue searching here, at least not for now.

All things considered, the harvest from this trip wasn't small. He had expected to be satisfied with three to five Vajra fruits, and two were better than none. Additionally, fighting a battle with Marquis Dingxiang, though he couldn't kill him, yielded remarkable results and would greatly assist Qin Sang in comprehending cultivation techniques. Unlike his previous fight with Xia Hou, this time he faced Marquis Dingxiang at his peak. Before breaking through to the late stage of Nascent Soul transformation, he probably wouldn't need to specifically seek opponents anymore.

However, thinking about his current predicament, Qin Sang couldn't bring himself to be happy. Braving the danger of being pursued by a Demon King, he only managed to snatch two Vajra fruits. Was it worth it?

"Heh heh, your movements are quite swift..."

A sinister, cold laugh was faintly audible. Qin Sang's eyelids twitched. Behind him, an overwhelming black tide was surging towards him with astonishing momentum. During the time he was breaking the restriction, Demon King Lingyou had already caught up. The black fish dharma idol's gaze shifted, seeing nothing around Qin Sang but the not-yet-fully dispersed golden light. It's likely that even the tree and its fruits were taken by this fellow!

Qin Sang felt two cold gazes lock onto him. His back stiffened as he thought with a wry smile: "If I say I only got two Vajra fruits, and at most, I could give him one, would this old demon believe me?" It was obvious without thinking; such words would be hard to fool even a ghost.

'Whoosh!'

His phoenix wings flapped rapidly. Qin Sang didn't look back, transforming into a bolt of lightning to flee afar, wasting no words. He dared not hold anything back, displaying the peak of his escape technique before Demon King Lingyou. Looking on the bright side, Demon King Lingyou mistakenly believed he had taken all the Vajra fruits. Now, only he knew the spirit tree was still here, and he could return later to search slowly, still having a chance. Of course, the prerequisite was that Qin Sang first survive this crisis.

'Boom!'

Lightning tore through the light waves, and thunder echoed afar. The black fish dharma idol revealed a human-like grin. Its dragon-like tail instantly transformed into a dragon's tail, fiercely slapping the water surface. The abyssal waves behind it swelled high, forming cliff-like giant waves. The wave crest was a thousand zhang high, carrying an immensely powerful thrust, and slammed heavily into the black fish dharma idol. The scales on the black fish dharma idol's body gleamed faintly. The giant wave could not harm the black fish; instead, it attached itself to the black fish dharma idol's body, propelling it forward at extreme speed.

At this moment, the speed unleashed by Demon King Lingyou astonished Qin Sang greatly. A Demon King's divine abilities were indeed not to be underestimated!

'Boom!''Whoosh!'

Lightning and giant waves pursued each other, one after another, rushing out of the secluded valley.

Meanwhile, Marquis Dingxiang and Marquis Yuan also found the other three demon marquises. The five demon marquises gathered together. Marquis Dingxiang took a medicinal pill, forcibly suppressing his injuries. He then led the four demon marquises back to the place where they had previously encountered Qin Sang. The place was already empty. The five demons searched for a while, finding the hidden mark left by Demon King Lingyou. However, after tracking for a bit, the mark also disappeared.

"His Highness must be fully engaged in pursuing that fellow and cannot be distracted," Marquis Yuan guessed.

"That fellow is so powerful, and his escape technique is formidable. We were already so slow; even with a hidden mark, we can't catch up."

A demon marquis next to him said, looking at Marquis Dingxiang, "Among us, only you have the ability to assist His Highness, yet you are heavily wounded..."

As these words were spoken, the demons fell silent for a moment. Other demon cultivators must have all gone to search for the Divine Court. Now it would be difficult to summon helpers.

"Why the long faces? That fellow is unknown. No matter his identity, he cannot be a Grand Daoist or a Demon King. No matter how great his abilities, can he overturn the heavens? If that fellow got the Vajra fruits, he most likely fled outwards. Let's go outside and intercept him!"

Marquis Dingxiang snorted coldly and activated his escape light. Hearing that they were to leave this place, the other demon marquises felt a bit reluctant. Although they hadn't obtained the Vajra fruits, they had still harvested many treasures during their search. In the Curing Altar, such untouched treasure grounds were extremely rare. If they missed this opportunity, the treasures would all turn into nothingness, and they wouldn't have another chance in the future. Marquis Dingxiang's authority was profound. The demons dared not defy his orders, and coupled with the allure of the Vajra fruits, they all followed him.

At this moment, Qin Sang and Demon King Lingyou had already flown out of the secluded valley, still in pursuit, heading straight towards the sea surface. The Celestial Eye Butterfly monitored Demon King Lingyou's movements for Qin Sang. It was unclear if Demon King Lingyou had reached his limit or if he had some scheme. His speed did not continue to increase; he always trailed behind Qin Sang.

"Perhaps Demon King Lingyou intends to exhaust my energy." This thought flashed through Qin Sang's mind. This was exactly what he wanted to see. Even if he couldn't shake off Demon King Lingyou, as long as he could successfully reach the jungle domain, Qin Sang would have the confidence to battle a Demon King! He didn't dare to harbor the ambition of killing a Demon King. He intended to rely on his spirit wood body to recover and find a way to escape.

'Whoosh!'

Somewhere in the light sea, blue light waves suddenly surged skyward, and a bolt of lightning broke through the waves. The surrounding scenery came into full view. Qin Sang found himself not far from the edge of the light sea. Recalling the layout of the surrounding illusions, he quickly analyzed a path, and the bolt of lightning veered in mid-air. Immediately after, a black tide surged from the bottom of the light sea. On its surface, it followed the lightning bolt's movements.

'Whoosh!'

Qin Sang suddenly heard a whooshing sound from behind him and felt a cold gust of wind assaulting his back.

"He finally couldn't hold back..."

Qin Sang sneered inwardly. Without any intention to dodge, he activated the Bright Mountain Armor, and true treasure fragments condensed at his back.

'Puff!'

Like the dull thud of an arrow piercing water, a ball of dark light exploded behind Qin Sang. It turned out to be an extremely powerful black water arrow, but it failed to harm Qin Sang. Demon King Lingyou's eyes flickered. He stared at the armor on Qin Sang's body for a good while, recalling Qin Sang's previous feat of fighting two demon marquises alone. It seemed this armor could not only withstand demon marquis attacks but also possessed unknown mystic properties. This water arrow seemed like a signal. Immediately after, all sorts of attacks came raining down. Qin Sang blocked if he could, and dodged if he couldn't. He continued to flee without looking back.

Tangled in this manner, he finally broke out of the light sea's edge, entering another illusion. Qin Sang's spirits lifted. He remembered where these illusions were dangerous and where they were safe. In that short time, he already had several ideas. Demon King Lingyou must have forcibly increased his escape speed using some secret technique. If the timing was right, it might not be impossible to shake him off!

Continuously calculating in his mind, Qin Sang led Demon King Lingyou through more than a dozen illusions consecutively. The commotion of their chase was impossible to conceal. Wherever they passed, chaos erupted.

At this moment, True Immortal Zuo, who was meditating, frowned tightly.