Chapter 1927: Untransformed Bone

Red robes, Corpse Qi… Qin Sang had long heard that disciples of the Soulfall Abyss typically looked like this.

It was said that all true disciples of the Soulfall Abyss practiced the Way of Corpses and Ghosts. Rumor had it that the Soulfall Abyss could rival Yun Du Tian because a Corpse Cultivator at the Void Refinement stage, a formidable and legendary fiend, resided there. Corpse Cultivators at the Void Refinement stage held a special title in the world: the Undecayed Bone! The individuals before him also carried Corpse Qi.

Had Ling Shi defected to the Soulfall Abyss? Qin Sang wondered if he could no longer remain hidden and would have to interact with the Soulfall Abyss earlier than planned. However, the attitude of these two seemed somewhat unusual.

“Who are you?” Qin Sang’s thoughts raced. Without answering, he stood on a rock, looking down at them, and asked coldly. One of them stepped forward, his tone softening. “We have only recently begun following Lord Ling Shi. Lord Ling Shi sensed someone’s arrival and instructed us to ascertain your identity.”

They were lying! Their every move could not escape Qin Sang’s keen spiritual sight. Things might not be as he had anticipated. Qin Sang immediately drew a conclusion but did not react. He opened his palm and tossed the stone bead to the two men. “This item is a token Senior Ling Shi personally bestowed upon me. Why are you not quickly taking me to meet Senior Ling Shi?”

Their gazes fell upon the stone bead. They exchanged a look, then cupped their hands and said, “Indeed, this is something Lord Ling Shi personally passed down. Fellow Daoist, please follow us.” With that, the two turned and flew back, exposing their backs to Qin Sang, appearing completely unguarded.

Qin Sang remained expressionless and followed behind them. In the distance, two leaders quietly observed the situation. Seeing this, they slowly retreated to where their subordinates were concealed.

“Form the array!” At the tall cultivator's command, everyone began chanting incantations. A faint, ethereal glow appeared on their bodies, and they vanished underground in a flash. Their movements produced not the slightest ripple. The landscape above remained unchanged.

The short, stout cultivator shook his head and said, “From what I can tell, this person’s cultivation isn’t too high; they should be similar to Junior Brother Qing.”

“His origins are unknown, so caution is best,” the tall cultivator said, stepping forward to stand at the array's core and silently activating his cultivation technique. “We must succeed in one fell swoop, capture this person alive, and bring him to Lord Tu Yuan for interrogation. If we can use him to force that old poisonous creature into submission, it will be a great merit for us! We might even gain the qualification to enter the Ghost-Sun Cave.”

“If we can enter the Ghost-Sun Cave just once, we might have the chance to break through to the Soul Transformation stage! Hehe…” The short, stout cultivator rubbed his hands together excitedly, then moved a step to the left, taking up another array core position.

Before long, the sound of air tearing through the sky could be heard, and the two cultivators brought Qin Sang over. The moment he landed, Qin Sang stood still and vigilantly asked, “Who are you, and where is Senior Ling Shi?”

The tall cultivator chuckled sinisterly. His subordinates, who had vanished underground, had already spread out silently, encompassing several surrounding mountains within the grand array. Now that this person had fallen into the array, he was at their mercy!

“I ask you, what are your origins? What is your relationship with that old poisonous creature? Why do you possess his token?” The tall cultivator fired off a barrage of questions, his voice stern and imposing, filled with a sense of pressure.

At the same time, the short, stout cultivator abruptly waved his hand, and wisps of black smoke, Corpse Qi, rose from the ground, emitting a pungent stench. The rolling Corpse Qi enveloped the surrounding mountains. “Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…” Chilly winds blew, imbued with a sinister aura. Within the Corpse Qi, numerous shadowy figures flickered, appearing like countless ghosts forming a grand array of corpses and spirits, trapping Qin Sang within.

Qin Sang looked around warily and said, “Who exactly are you, and what do you want? This humble Daoist purchased this stone bead from someone else; I was told it could be used to invite Senior Ling Shi out of seclusion once. I had no prior connection with him. You have the wrong person.”

“Whether you have a connection or not, we’ll only know after you meet Lord Tu Yuan! Will you come with us willingly, or shall we escort you by force?” The short, stout cultivator shook his sleeve, and beneath it, a cold glint shimmered as ten silvery nails extended from his fingers. These nails were like blades, meticulously refined by the short, stout cultivator for many years, making them far sharper than ordinary magical artifacts.

They cultivate the Way of Corpses and Ghosts, yet it’s not entirely like the common Corpse Kings; it must be a unique cultivation method of the Soulfall Abyss. This is normal; the Way of Corpses and Ghosts is also a grand Dao… The Soulfall Abyss truly has some secrets. Qin Sang’s eyes flashed, and he said coldly, “I wonder, who is this Lord Tu Yuan? Do you dare swear that if this humble Daoist has no connection with Ling Shi, you will let me leave? If so, this humble Daoist will accompany you.”

“Hmph! Lord Tu Yuan’s status is too lofty to care about a small fry like you,” the tall cultivator said disdainfully, immediately making an oath. It was best if they could trick him into coming without a fight; after all, whether he lived or died was not for them to decide. The Corpse Qi dissipated, and the figures reappeared, surrounding Qin Sang in a formation.

“Daoist Priest, please,” the tall cultivator said, gesturing forward. They flew into the air and sped northward. Seeing Qin Sang’s composed demeanor, both men were quite surprised. “This Daoist actually has some guts!”

“The Soulfall Abyss is also a renowned major sect. This humble Daoist has a clear conscience and no grievances with you, so why should I be afraid?” Qin Sang declared proudly. “Turns out he’s an obstinate Daoist, probably from outside Mount Twilight,” the two exchanged glances and secretly sneered.

They continued flying north, passing countless mountains and rivers, until they saw a vast lake, hundreds of miles in circumference, in the distance. Qin Sang could freely release his spiritual sense to observe, completely undetected by the Soulfall Abyss cultivators. Oh, there’s a cave dwelling at the bottom of the lake, and its protective spiritual array has been breached. I wonder what grievances Ling Shi has with the Soulfall Abyss? If I save Ling Shi this time, he might prove useful to me. Qin Sang pondered this internally. Seeing that the Soulfall Abyss cultivators showed no sign of stopping and continued to fly him forward, he slightly reined in his spiritual sense. Just in case there was an Undecayed Bone-level powerhouse nearby, it would be unwise to act rashly.

Soon after, Qin Sang noticed something amiss: there was an exceptionally vast grand array here, and the protective spiritual array in the lake was merely a part of it. Before long, they passed three more similar spiritual arrays, which should have been connected by spiritual energy to the lake’s array, forming the grand array together. However, they were now severely damaged, having been forcibly breached.

Qin Sang gazed down at the ground and saw clusters of colorful mist floating scattered among the mountains. These were fragments of the shattered spiritual arrays, comprising poisonous miasma. If Ling Shi had personally set up these poison arrays, his attainment in the Dao of Poison was truly not low.

Just then, Qin Sang sensed a continuous stretch of poisonous miasma ahead, indicating that the grand array had not been completely breached and Ling Shi was certainly hidden within it. At the edge of the miasma, numerous Soulfall Abyss cultivators were fiercely attacking the grand array. On one mountain, there were several powerful auras, the strongest of which constituted the main force attacking the array. Among them, one was a supreme expert very close to the late-stage Soul Transformation realm, likely Lord Tu Yuan, the leader of this operation. Even within the Soulfall Abyss, such masters would not be numerous. Under their fierce assault, another spiritual array was on the verge of collapse.

Eight spiritual arrays, each independent yet interconnected by vital energy, supporting each other like horns, capable of changing primary and secondary roles at will. The layout is quite ingenious. Unfortunately, the fifth array is about to be breached, and more than half of the eight arrays are already destroyed. With a supreme expert and numerous Nascent Soul-stage Corpse Kings, breaching the grand array is only a matter of time. Ling Shi’s strength lies in his strange poison arts, but his cultivation is definitely inferior to Tu Yuan’s. Targeted by this group, he won’t be able to escape even if he abandons the array. To deal with him, the Soulfall Abyss doesn’t need to deploy an Undecayed Bone at all… Qin Sang assessed the situation and made his judgment. His body imperceptibly swayed.

The Soulfall Abyss cultivators remained oblivious, leading Qin Sang directly towards a mountain peak ahead. Tu Yuan was leading his men in a fierce assault on the grand array from the mountain. “Rumble!” The mountain peak shook violently, nearly collapsing.

Tu Yuan stood nine feet tall, also wearing a red robe, though his had an extra ring of gold trim along its edges. His head and face were not covered by the robe, but he wore a black ghost-face mask. The eye sockets of the mask were bottomless voids of darkness, creating a chilling and terrifying sight.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!” From the mountaintop came sounds like surging waves, caused by the churning poisonous miasma. The deafening roar was truly like a sea of poison. The miasma drifted erratically, appearing ethereal, yet it firmly blocked everyone’s path.

“Thump!” Tu Yuan charged forward and fiercely swung his palm. His palm was crystal clear like jade, devoid of any sinister aura. He struck the empty air, and his palm wind instantly blasted a huge void in the miasma. But before anyone could rush in, even denser miasma surged from within the void, blocking their path.

Tu Yuan let out a roar, his palms pressed together. A blood-red rune appeared in his palms, and a blood-colored light blade burst forth from the rune. The blood blade was a hundred zhang long, as if congealed from fresh blood, a vivid, dripping crimson. He aimed it at the miasma ahead and sliced down fiercely! A streak of blood-red light shot straight down, leaving a long chasm in the miasma.

“Boom!” A thunderous roar echoed within the miasma, which suddenly thinned considerably, revealing the scene ahead. A mountain had been sliced in half by a single strike! Mountain split, array broken!

Tu Yuan and the others rushed inside, but soon encountered more miasma blocking their way. “Hmph!” Tu Yuan was growing extremely impatient.

He had believed this operation to be foolproof, but unexpectedly, Ling Shi was cunning and had slipped away when they were momentarily careless. If he still couldn’t breach the array and capture this person, he feared he would become a laughingstock to those others.

“Five of your Eight Corrosive Miasma Arrays have already been broken. Are you still going to stubbornly resist?! Master isn’t capturing you to kill you, but to have you serve our Soulfall Abyss. Think carefully. If you don’t surrender now, I will capture you, make you suffer immensely, and then turn you over to Master for disposal!” Tu Yuan roared.

A moment later, a faint scoff came from within: “You can certainly try to capture me, Ling! Serve you abominable creatures, neither human nor ghost, like that fool of a junior brother of mine, who was implanted with a Corpse Soul Pill and left to be tortured to death?”

Tu Yuan paused. “You already broke ties with your junior brother long ago. Are you still thinking of avenging him? Moreover, your junior brother voluntarily consumed the Corpse Soul Pill; he was executed later for defying Master. If you serve Master diligently, Master might grant you some leniency.”

“I, Ling, am not accustomed to having my life controlled by others. If you want me to surrender, that’s fine, but why doesn’t the old zombie come himself? Is he reluctant to leave his coffin? Hahahaha…” The shrill laughter from within the miasma made Tu Yuan furious.

Just then, his subordinates arrived, bringing Qin Sang and the others. “Greetings, Lord Tu Yuan!” The two knelt before Tu Yuan on one knee.

“Hmm? Weren’t you supposed to search Ling Shi’s cave dwelling? Have you discovered any secrets?” Tu Yuan’s gaze swept over them, sharp as a blade, causing their hearts to tighten involuntarily.

“Reporting, Lord, we’ve captured someone…” The tall cultivator presented the stone bead, quickly explained the situation, and ordered Qin Sang to be brought forward.

Unexpectedly, Tu Yuan erupted in fury upon hearing this. “Fools! You don’t even recognize a Life-Saving Bead! What use is this person?” Tu Yuan recognized the stone bead’s origin at a glance. The Life-Saving Bead was what some people called this type of stone bead. It was said that anyone holding the stone bead who sought him out would have their requests fulfilled by Ling Shi. Compared to other fiends of Mount Twilight, Ling Shi had a relatively good reputation, at least in keeping his word, which was why the stone bead was called a Life-Saving Bead. But that was all. Ling Shi was by no means a benevolent sort. He wouldn’t care about the life or death of someone holding a stone bead who had no familial or friendly ties to him. The two, who had hoped to claim credit, couldn't help but tremble with terror.

Tu Yuan didn’t even bother to probe further. He crushed the stone bead in his hand and backhanded the newly brought-up Qin Sang, venting his anger. “Bang!” Qin Sang, utterly powerless to resist, was instantly torn into pieces upon contact with the vicious palm wind.

“Now get lost!” Tu Yuan roared, about to resume breaching the array, when he suddenly sensed something amiss and sharply turned to look at Qin Sang’s corpse. However, the fragmented flesh did not scatter everywhere but melted away like snow, then vanished into thin air. In the blink of an eye, no trace of it could be found.

Inside the poisonous miasma.

At this moment, Qin Sang had already slipped inside, deceiving everyone. The one outside was merely a clone he had casually created. As the clone shattered, Qin Sang glanced outwards, his expression serene and unperturbed, continuing to examine the spiritual array before him.

This was considered the seventh array of the Eight Corrosive Miasma Arrays. With the Soulfall Abyss cultivators pausing their assault, the miasma became slightly more stable, flowing gently like water, forming a vibrant, colorful mist belt. The miasma was thick and seemingly impenetrable, but it was not so in the eyes of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly. When Qin Sang arrived here, his figure merely paused for a moment before he stepped diagonally forward. One step, and he was inside the miasma. The experience of Tu Yuan and the others was not replicated for Qin Sang; he stood steadily within the miasma as soon as he entered. The mist slowly flowed past him, remaining just as calm, as if Qin Sang wasn’t even there.

“Who’s there?!” A startled and uncertain shout came from deep within the miasma. Qin Sang hadn’t intentionally hidden himself; Tu Yuan and the others couldn't detect him, but the moment he entered the spiritual array, its master, Ling Shi, could sense him. Another person had suddenly entered the array, effortlessly passing through the first layer of mist, only being detected now. Ling Shi’s shock was immense.

Qin Sang stood still, his hands clasped behind his back amidst the miasma. Facing the poisonous fog, he smiled faintly and said, “Fellow Daoist, your Eight Corrosive Miasma Arrays are indeed formidable. Unfortunately, with only three remaining, they have lost much of their versatility. If this humble Daoist wishes to enter, Fellow Daoist cannot stop me.”

“Who exactly are you?!” Ling Shi, who had been meditating on a mountaintop within the array, abruptly stood up, his face filled with astonishment.