Chapter 1860: Acquaintance

The Human World

The Human World

Heavy rain poured down.

Each clash raised massive splashes, and raindrops shattered into a misty spray, enveloping both sides on the battlefield.

Two colossal figures continuously intertwined, every casual move creating astonishing momentum. Fortunately, this was a phantom realm of the Healing Altar; in any other place, mountains and rivers would have already been shattered.

Whoosh!

Water from the ground surged upwards. The torrential rain seemed caught in a gale, its aerial deluge veering towards the battlefield. The mist around the fighting intensified, only vaguely revealing a slender figure swaying upwards.

As the long tail rapidly swayed, raindrops were drawn in, giving birth to a gigantic water tornado.

Rumble!

The water tornado rose from the ground, and with a powerful flick of the fishtail, like a true dragon's tail, it swept across the area with immense force.

Qin Sang was at the edge of the water tornado, feeling the terrifying impact. His breath hitched, his feet were firmly planted on the ground, and his shoulders shook.

Thud!

A heavy punch, like an iron hammer, struck the water tornado directly. The water tornado paused for a moment, and two large holes appeared where it was struck. The force of the punch erupted within these cavities, causing the entire water dragon to explode. The raindrops forming its body lost their support and cascaded down, creating a spectacular sight.

Qin Sang was not spared; his hands and arms ached from the shock, his blood and qi churned within him, and his internal organs felt displaced. He repeatedly stepped back, his feet splashing loudly in the water.

"Gasping..."

After slightly calming his rapid breathing, Qin Sang sensed through his Spiritwood Body and found clear signs of stagnation in the surrounding wood spirit energy.

"Time to change battlefields again..."

He muttered to himself, then glanced at the two long whiskers whipping down from above. His expression instantly became stiff, his physical body lost its luster, and his life force receded.

Previously, his teleportation technique had been smooth and unimpeded.

Demon King You had no power to affect the wood spirit energy of the entire Jungle Domain. If he couldn't prevent Qin Sang from teleporting and keep him confined in the torrential rain, he couldn't stop him from absorbing wood spirit energy. The immense energy expended on his divine ability would be wasted.

Qin Sang had been vigilant, wondering what other tricks Demon King You had, and now he finally knew.

In the distance, an ancient tree selected by Qin Sang had its leaves turning yellow, its life force seemingly about to completely vanish.

Just then, the Sea-Swallowing Clam, which had been suspended above, only used to regulate the rain, suddenly turned. Its opening pointed at the ancient tree, and a white mist circulated within its shell, vanishing in a flash.

Simultaneously, a swirling mass of vapor gathered out of nowhere above the ancient tree. With a rush, it poured into the tree trunk.

The nearly dead ancient tree instantly surged with vitality. Its yellow leaves regained their greenness, and its bark clearly appeared more supple and moist.

Swish!

Green leaves unfurled, and branches grew.

The entire ancient tree came back to life and began to grow wildly. Its canopy overshadowed the surrounding spirit trees, becoming even more lush and vibrant than before!

Unlike before, only this one ancient tree underwent the change; the several ancient trees beside it showed no anomalies.

Thump, thump, thump...

The original Spiritwood Body suddenly moved again. Its facial features became lively once more, its stiff eyes rolled, and a look of shock appeared in its gaze.

At this moment, Qin Sang was forcibly knocked out of his teleportation state and returned to his original form. He then felt sharp gusts of wind assaulting him, and two flashes of lightning struck from left and right.

In haste, Qin Sang raised his right arm, quickly activating his Bright Mountain Armor, and true treasure fragments condensed on his forearm.

A sword light shot from his glabella, slashing at the white whisker on his left.

Bang!

Crack!

The Cloud Roaming Sword flew back, its light circling his body, protecting its master.

Qin Sang's figure swayed, and he rapidly retreated over ten steps, instinctively shaking his arm.

Although the true treasure fragments could block the white whiskers and protect him from whip injuries, a strong force still penetrated the armor, causing waves of pain.

At this moment, Qin Sang ignored the pain, staring intently at the Sea-Swallowing Clam in the sky.

So, Demon King You was using this method to counter the teleportation technique!

That was to accurately locate the spirit tree Qin Sang had selected before his teleportation was complete, imbue it with vitality, absorb its wood spirit energy for his own use, and forcibly interrupt the Spiritwood Body's transformation process.

This method sounded simple.

The Spiritwood Body's teleportation was almost instantaneous. Unless one possessed extremely keen spiritual perception, it was easy to misjudge.

One mistake, and all previous efforts would be in vain.

Qin Sang sensed that the Sea-Swallowing Clam was connected to the vapor in the void, and a strange power seemed to spread with the vapor throughout the jungle space. Was it using this to determine his teleportation direction?

While Qin Sang watched the Sea-Swallowing Clam, Demon King You did not press his attack. Instead, he pondered his previous strike; he had been experimenting, and it seemed to have been very effective.

Gradually, Demon King You revealed a confident smile.

"It's been a long time since this King had such a satisfying battle. What other divine abilities do you have? Bring them forth!"

His shout was like thunder.

Demon King You looked at Qin Sang as if he were a toy.

The two strongest divine abilities of the Spiritwood Body had been countered. Once completely suppressed, it meant Qin Sang had utterly lost his advantageous position.

Qin Sang remained silent. With a slight thought, the sword light circling him paused briefly, its tip pointing diagonally upwards.

The sword roared, shaking the heavens, and its light soared into the sky. It did not slash at the enemy but transformed into a streak of green light hovering in mid-air.

The next moment, the sky darkened, plunging into deep night.

Myriad stars hung high in the sky, their starlight radiating a fierce sword intent.

The Seven Mansions Division Sword Array!

The sword array Qin Sang unleashed this time was grander than any before, the profound starry river as vast as a real night sky!

However, vastness and grandeur do not necessarily mean greater strength; it implies the sword momentum is not condensed enough and is harder to control, especially when facing a cunning Demon King.

In Demon King You's eyes, this starry sky likely had countless flaws, and he could effortlessly locate the main star.

Furthermore, forcibly shattering the sword stars wouldn't be too difficult.

As long as he willed it, escaping would be no challenge.

However, Qin Sang's purpose in setting up this array now was not to trap the enemy.

While controlling the sword to ascend, Qin Sang's feet remained firmly on the ground, the light in his eyes faded, and he once again performed the teleportation technique.

The Black Fish avatar raised its head, its gaze sweeping across the starry river, but it did not act rashly.

He repeated his trick, and the same scene as before unfolded.

Outside the battlefield, an ancient tree withered without warning. The Sea-Swallowing Clam immediately turned, white mist swirling at its opening, and a mass of vapor condensed above the tree's canopy.

Unexpectedly, before it could fully condense, a sharp fluctuation suddenly erupted from its center, as if lightning flashed, and the vapor instantly exploded and dispersed.

In that instant, the ancient tree's life force extinguished, and Qin Sang leaped from its trunk, his eyes narrowed, meeting the Black Fish avatar's gloomy gaze.

Within the sword array, sword intent was omnipresent!

However, the vapor was a manifestation of the Sea-Swallowing Clam's power, not as light as it appeared, and dispersing it was not an easy task.

The timing was also fleeting; a moment too late, and the ancient tree would be infused with vitality, interrupting the teleportation divine ability.

First, he had to determine the core of the Sea-Swallowing Clam's power and instantly condense a powerful enough sword intent to disperse the vapor and disrupt Demon King You's intention.

If it were before he comprehended "Sword Rising from the Heart Sea," Qin Sang couldn't have done it, even within the sword array.

A cold snort came from the air.

The torrential rain followed closely, and Demon King You's attack arrived, still as fierce as before. Qin Sang had to respond with all his might.

While relentlessly attacking Qin Sang, Demon King You successively employed several divine abilities and took out a scale-shaped treasure, continuously bombarding the starry sea.

The starry sky became incredibly chaotic.

Boom, boom, boom...

From time to time, streaks of energy tore through the starry sky, many sword stars exploded in response, and countless others were displaced.

Entire sections of stars were even wiped out with a single blow.

However, no matter how Demon King You cast his spells, he couldn't destroy the sword array. This array was different from ordinary spirit arrays; it was a sword array, comprising only one spirit sword and no other formation artifacts.

Unless Demon King You could destroy the Cloud Roaming Sword.

And the sword array itself was full of flaws; it wasn't meant to kill the enemy, so its destruction was irrelevant.

Two battlefields had been created, one in the sky and one on the ground. The one in the sky had a grander scale, but the struggle below was the most perilous.

Soon, it was time to teleport again.

Qin Sang repeated his trick and succeeded again, but after another intense battle, his subsequent teleportation failed!

Although he had pinpointed the core of the vapor, he failed to disperse it in time.

As time passed, the battlefield continuously shifted.

Teleportation was sometimes successful, sometimes not. Each collision between these two top-tier cultivators at the Spirit Transformation stage caused the earth to collapse and mountains to crumble.

Who would have thought their victory or defeat hinged on such a minute contest?

If Demon King You could trap Qin Sang, he could disable the Spiritwood Body.

Qin Sang faintly felt that as long as he persevered, Demon King You would be unable to defeat him, and the situation would eventually turn.

He dared not say he could turn the tide, but at least he could stalemate Demon King You.

Demon King You's power was not inexhaustible. Unless he drew in other demon cultivators for assistance, Demon King You would exhaust himself sooner than Qin Sang, and he would be the first to retreat.

Perhaps, seeing the futility of the situation, Demon King You would back off.

As a venerable Demon King, he knew best when to advance and when to retreat. He wouldn't fight to the death with an unknown nobody like Qin Sang over external matters.

Puff!

The vapor scattered explosively.

Qin Sang successfully teleported once more, ravenously absorbing the wood spirit energy, feeling a wave of comfort throughout his body.

Reflecting on the previous clashes, Qin Sang was not optimistic.

He had truly experienced the Demon King's power. Although Demon King You had suppressed his cultivation, his understanding of divine abilities and spells, and his exquisite control over power, made Qin Sang feel inferior.

In clashes at this level, Demon King You's advantages were fully displayed. Several times, Qin Sang was deceived by Demon King You, missing crucial opportunities.

If not for the assistance of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly, his Spiritwood Body would likely have been crippled.

During the fierce battle, Qin Sang and the Heavenly Eye Butterfly were growing rapidly, while Demon King You was also constantly experimenting with various strategies. The outcome remained uncertain.

Compared to the injuries and pain, what most exhausted Qin Sang was the terrifying mental strain. He had to concentrate fully to find a way to counter in the Jungle Domain.

Although he had other arrangements elsewhere, sufficient to deal with other enemies, against Demon King You, they could only buy him some time.

Once forced out of the Jungle Domain, Qin Sang feared he would only be able to rely on the Flower Field Grand Array to resist Demon King You.

Even if he could ultimately escape, exposing the Flower Field in the process was something he found unacceptable.

Unless absolutely necessary, Qin Sang did not want to resort to this.

As soon as Qin Sang stepped out of the tree trunk, he was engulfed by the torrential rain.

The Black Fish avatar lunged, its eyes flickering, and its confidence began to waver.

Demon King You hadn't expected Qin Sang to be so difficult to deal with and lacked absolute confidence in winning this subtle contest. He calculated mentally that if the situation continued like this, he would only have a sixty percent chance of victory.

Before this, Demon King You could never have imagined that his opponent, at the Void Glimpse stage, could persevere to such an extent.

A sixty percent chance of victory meant any unexpected turn could affect the battle, even reversing it.

It wasn't necessary to retreat now; the opponent clearly only had the strength to parry.

Demon King You had left some markers on his way here, wondering when Marquis Dingxiang and the others would arrive.

Demon King You held no great hope for this; with layers of illusions blocking the way, Marquis Dingxiang and the others would likely not make it in time.

Thoughts flashed through Demon King You's mind. He mused internally, simultaneously seeking Qin Sang's weaknesses and making calculations.

Outside the Heavenly Wall.

At the edge of the azure spirit wind, a flickering figure clung to the Heavenly Wall, observing the battle below.

True Master Zuo was hidden here, showing no trace of his presence, taking in the entire battlefield.

He seemed quite familiar with Demon King You. After a glance, his gaze fixed on Qin Sang, primarily observing him.

When the Cloud Roaming Sword appeared and unleashed the sword array, True Master Zuo diverted some of his attention to examine the array.

After observing for a long time, True Master Zuo watched the struggling Qin Sang, lightly rubbed two fingers together, and a silent rune glow appeared. Then his lips moved slightly.

"What is your relationship with True Master Sword-Wielder?"

A voice, as faint as a mosquito, entered Qin Sang's ear.

"Who is it?!"

Qin Sang was startled.

There was actually a third person secretly observing!

He and Demon King You had been pursuing each other to this point, without seeing a single figure along the way. He had assumed that other cultivators and demon cultivators had been drawn to the depths of the Healing Altar.

Relying on his strong will, Qin Sang calmly glanced at the Black Fish avatar, saw no abnormality, and realized it had evidently not detected the hidden person either.

"This person knows True Master Sword-Wielder and first sent a telepathic message to me; they must be a human cultivator. If they can evade Demon King You's perception, could they be a Grand True Master?"

He mused inwardly, Qin Sang thought it was highly possible.

After a moment of thought, he sent out a wisp of spiritual consciousness to connect with the other party. "May I ask which senior has graced this place? This junior, Qingfeng, was invited by Fellow Daoist Sword-Wielder to cultivate on Sword Heart Island. I often seek his guidance on sword techniques; Fellow Daoist Sword-Wielder is both a teacher and a friend to me..."

"Heh heh..."

A faint chuckle sounded in his ear, "No wonder this humble Daoist finds your sword techniques somewhat familiar."

After this sentence, the other party's voice ceased again.

Qin Sang's thoughts raced.

The other party had implicitly confirmed it; he was indeed a Grand True Master!

When he sought guidance on sword techniques from True Master Sword-Wielder, he was inevitably influenced. Even if their sword arts were different, his sword usage would inevitably bear True Master Sword-Wielder's imprint.

This influence shouldn't have been too obvious, yet it was instantly recognized by the other party, indicating that this Grand True Master must be very familiar with True Master Sword-Wielder.

From the other party's tone, they seemed not to be an enemy of True Master Sword-Wielder.

For years, Qin Sang had always felt that True Master Sword-Wielder was very mysterious and unfathomable. He hadn't expected him to have ties with a Grand True Master!

The Grand True Master said nothing, and Qin Sang also remained silent, awaiting a response.

"This humble Daoist is Zuo Fengdao. Perhaps you've heard of me, perhaps not... Since circumstances align, and this humble Daoist also has some old grievances with this old demon, it's opportune to resolve them together. Are you willing to help me slay this fiend?" True Master Zuo said coldly.

"Senior intends for this junior to be bait?" Qin Sang's heart immediately filled with vigilance.