Chapter 2018: Late by a Thousand Years

Wuxia Xianxia

A sharp point protruded from the front of the Ziwei Palace fragment, directly facing Qin Sang and Qu Zhen.

Qin Sang looked to the right of the sharp point, at a broken mountain on the edge of the Ziwei Palace fragment. On the mountain stood a palace, mostly collapsed. The person he saw had just emerged from this palace and was about to delve deeper.

He only caught a glimpse, but the sense of familiarity grew stronger.

"Find somewhere to hide," Qin Sang ordered. Without waiting for Qu Zhen to speak, he immediately transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot towards the broken mountain.

Qu Zhen opened his mouth, a little disappointed that Qin Sang didn't want to take him along. However, considering the dangers within the Sword Pavilion, he secretly felt fortunate that Qin Sang wasn't using him as a scout. He looked around and disappeared into the dark void.

From the outside, it appeared to be merely a thin mist, but upon entering, one realized the mist carried an unknown power that greatly obstructed sight and divine sense. As it wasn't a critical moment, Qin Sang didn't awaken the Celestial Eye Butterfly.

*Whoosh!*

As he neared the broken mountain, a gust of wind suddenly assailed him.

Sword light flared before Qin Sang. The Gray Warbler Sword slashed out, and with a clang of clashing metal, a gray short saber was struck squarely on its blade by the Gray Warbler Sword, snapping into two with a *crack*. The two halves of the saber were flung away on the spot, transforming into two wisps of white gas that vanished into thin air.

This incident showed that the Ziwei Palace fragment was fraught with danger, yet Qin Sang's escape speed increased rather than decreased. In a few flashes, he charged up the broken mountain.

After a quick glance at the palace, Qin Sang flew to the break and swept his gaze around. He saw that the mist ahead was thick, and the figure had already vanished without a trace. However, the Ziwei Palace fragment was filled with ancient restrictions; it was almost impossible to pass through here silently without leaving any traces.

Qin Sang immediately locked onto a faint wisp of spiritual energy and, without hesitation, pursued it.

He remembered that beyond this mountain should have been a vast expanse of towering ancient trees, their leaves a clear, verdant green, glistening like crystal and emitting a pure emerald light. This light coalesced to form a substantial membrane above the ancient trees—an anomaly experienced cultivators would instantly recognize as an ancient restriction.

But now, not a single ancient tree could be found. The area was covered in scorched marks, with only occasional withered stumps, as if ravaged by a great fire. The light membrane, naturally, was also gone.

Qin Sang cleared a path with his sword light, swiftly passing through this dead forest. However, he soon noticed the aura appearing intermittently and constantly changing direction. The other party had surely detected a pursuer and was attempting to shake him off.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait..." Qin Sang channeled his true essence and sent out a telepathic message, but there was no response from ahead.

The ancient restrictions blocked communication, preventing his message from traveling far. Helpless, Qin Sang could only continue his relentless pursuit. Finally, he decided to activate the Azure Phoenix True Thunder.

With the Azure Phoenix True Thunder, his雷遁 (Lightning Escape) technique granted him a speed that few of his peers could match.

*Boom!*

A bolt of lightning streaked through the mist. Qin Sang finally sensed a stronger aura, and then faintly saw a flicker of green light disappear into a valley.

As he neared the valley, the green light suddenly accelerated, rushing towards the right side of the valley at an extreme speed.

Qin Sang pursued closely into the valley but again lost his target. The hillside to the right was covered in cracks, and the person had vanished into one of them. However, Qin Sang's speed was too great; despite the other party's efforts to conceal their presence, the residual fluctuations in the crack had not yet dissipated.

He chased into the crack, revealing that the mountain's interior was severely fractured and riddled with crevices. What was more troublesome was that this was no ordinary mountain; every rock was infused with restrictions, making the cracked mountain body incredibly hard. Shattering it was impossible.

Qin Sang could only follow the aura, relentlessly pursuing through the labyrinthine cracks. The other party was clearly not new to this place, showing great familiarity with it.

*Boom!**Rumble...*

As the two chased each other underground, the mountain shook violently, and the vibrations spread, attracting the attention of nearby cultivators.

Cultivators who were busy deciphering ancient restrictions in the distance stopped their work and looked over. From the commotion, they could roughly guess what was happening. They weren't eager to get involved and decided to observe for a while.

The underground chase was in full swing. The person in front repeatedly used ancient restrictions to create obstacles, all of which Qin Sang neutralized. Fortunately, Qin Sang had the advantage of speed, and the distance was gradually closing.

Finally, Qin Sang sensed that the end of the crack was not far ahead. The other party had already left from there. With a flash of lightning, he burst out of the crack.

The moment he emerged, an angry roar echoed from above, followed by an extremely chilling aura that erupted and descended from the sky.

Within the aura was a black sharp cone, undoubtedly a spiritual treasure. The cone was incredibly sharp, and centered around it, ripples like water waves appeared in the void. This one strike seemed to pierce even the very fabric of space.

From the cone's appearance to the aura's burst, in an instant, the elemental energy of heaven and earth surged, transforming into an eerie black current. It descended like a waterfall, accompanying the cone's fierce assault, greatly amplifying its power.

The cone was aimed directly at Qin Sang's Baihui acupuncture point. If it struck true, it would undoubtedly pierce his body.

But Qin Sang seemed to have anticipated it. He neither dodged nor retreated. The Gray Warbler Sword emitted a pleasant hum, and a sword light suddenly sprang forth.

The sword light was dazzling, appearing instantly beneath the cone, as if tearing through space to strike. It rose against the momentum, slashing towards the cone.

*Boom!*

It was as if two suns, one black and one white, collided, merging into a larger, more violently powerful sun in an instant. The aftermath swept in all directions with immense force.

Inside the 'sun,' the Gray Warbler Sword slashed out, its light slightly skewed, deliberately avoiding the tip and striking the cone's body. With a thud, the cone visibly veered off course, and the heaven-and-earth elemental energy gathered around it immediately showed signs of dissipating.

However, the opponent had more than just the sharp cone prepared. A green light shot into the sky, manifesting a dark green jade bangle. The bangle rapidly expanded, forming a black vortex at its center—heavy, violent, capable of tearing everything apart, its power even more terrifying than the sharp cone.

The jade bangle was about to descend to the ground when Qin Sang's voice, tinged with surprise, suddenly came from below.

"Fellow Daoist Sunu, it's really you!"

Just as they had expected, the emergence of the Sword Pavilion indeed attracted cultivators who had ascended from the Lower Realms. After the familiar Jade Heart Blade, Qin Sang had finally encountered an old acquaintance!

Canglang Sea, Sunu!

This woman had left a deep impression on Qin Sang. Back then, Sunu was singled out due to her special physique and trained by the Three Great Merchant Guilds to be a vessel for the ancient devil. Her situation was far more desperate than his own had been.

Yet, she never gave up. With fierce determination, she even resorted to becoming someone else's soul slave, fighting for a glimmer of hope for herself, and played a crucial role in sealing the ancient devil.

After the Devil Sealing War, Qin Sang, needing to return to Xiaohan Domain, entrusted the heavily injured and unconscious Sunu to the care of the Four Sacred Palace and voluntarily destroyed the ghost imprint that controlled her as a soul slave.

After reaching the Transformation God stage and returning to Canglang Sea, he learned from Bao Zhengnan's siblings that Sunu had failed to escape in time during her ascension at the Seven Kills Palace, and her whereabouts had been unknown ever since.

Below the black and white sun, Qin Sang looked up slightly, his gaze fixed on the figure above the sun, a strange expression on his face.

Her features gradually aligned with his memory, less youthful, with a hint more maturity and experience, but the resolute glint in her eyes remained undiminished.

Seeing Sunu again greatly astonished Qin Sang. This woman had actually reached the Void Refinement stage!

It was important to note that Sunu was younger than him, and he had only achieved his current cultivation after receiving the Thunder Ancestor's empowerment in the Talisman Realm. How had Sunu managed this?

What astonishing talent!

Back then, Qin Sang had predicted that with Sunu's character, given the opportunity, she would surely achieve extraordinary things. Facts proved that during her time at the Four Sacred Palace, Sunu's cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and she performed great feats for humanity.

What was completely unexpected was that Sunu had already broken through to the Void Refinement stage.

The moment Qin Sang's voice rang out, Sunu, whose identity had been revealed, stiffened slightly. The attacks from the sharp cone and jade bangle abruptly paused, transforming into two black lights that flew back, and the residual energy dissipated.

Sunu looked down with a startled and questioning expression.

She clearly still remembered Qin Sang. Upon recognizing his appearance, she immediately showed an expression of disbelief and couldn't help but gasp.

"Qin... Fellow Daoist, it's you!"

"It's been many years, Fellow Daoist still remembers me," Qin Sang said with satisfaction.

After recognizing Qin Sang, Sunu's eyes flashed with intense pleasant surprise. Her cherry lips moved slightly, and just as she was about to speak, she felt waves of spiritual energy approaching from a distance. Someone was rushing towards them.

Qin Sang also sensed them. Clearly, they were individuals who had discovered his and Sunu's pursuit and intended to reap benefits from it.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, this is no place to talk, please follow me," Sunu, seemingly familiar with this place for a long time, deftly led Qin Sang. They rapidly traversed the area, soon leaving the Ziwei Palace fragment and flying towards a landscape of illusory divine powers.

After flying for a while, certain that no pursuers were behind them, Sunu stopped on a parched piece of land and turned to face Qin Sang.

By this time, her emotions had calmed. Her gaze lingered on Qin Sang's face, and she opened her mouth slightly, unsure where to begin. "Earlier, I inadvertently provoked two adversaries. To evade them, I had no choice but to enter seclusion for a period before emerging. I didn't know it was Fellow Daoist Qin; I thought my adversaries hadn't left and were still pursuing me."

Qin Sang inwardly thought, *no wonder*. When Sunu made her move, her aura seemed somewhat sluggish. "I also just arrived here. It was a fleeting glance, and I wasn't sure if it was you, Fellow Daoist."

Sunu nodded, then was silent for a moment. Her voice was low and wistful. "When I fell unconscious back then, I couldn't say goodbye to you, which has been a lifelong regret. These past years... has Fellow Daoist Qin been well?"

"Troubles are inevitable, but I've stumbled along to reach this point," Qin Sang smiled freely. "It's you, Fellow Daoist, who has given me such a great surprise. When I returned to Canglang Sea, I learned from the Four Sacred Palace that when you ascended at the Seven Kills Palace, you were unable to leave in time and were swept into the void currents. Everyone was very worried about your safety. Today, I reunite with you to find that not only are you safe and sound, but you've also achieved far more than they could have imagined. If Bao Zhengnan's siblings were to know, they would be overjoyed..."

His greatest curiosity was how Sunu had survived her 'ascension.'

According to the Jade Bone Devil, even they, using the ascension platform to break through the void and resist the void currents via the Ziwei Palace, would only have a glimmer of survival if they were at least in the late Nascent Soul stage.

There was no ascension platform on Yitian Peak, and Sunu was not a Transformation God cultivator. She almost directly faced the void currents. Under normal circumstances, she would have had virtually no chance of survival.

If Sunu could be brought to the Great Thousand World by the Seven Kills Palace, was there also a possibility that Senior Sister and Bai were not sent to the Demon Realm, but also ended up here?

"Fellow Daoist Qin is indeed from an outer region. No wonder I searched all over Canglang Sea back then and couldn't find you. Do you still remember the ancient devil lord beneath Yitian Peak?"

Sunu showed a look of recollection as she recounted the situation at that time.

"The ancient devil lord didn't die, and had always been trying to break the seal. When the void was breached for ascension, the Seven Kills Palace vibrated incessantly, and the immortal restrictions were triggered one after another. At the same time, countless ancient restrictions and formations were destroyed.

"The seal on Yitian Peak was inevitably affected. The devil lord sensed the changes outside and frantically impacted the seal. I didn't have time to escape then. Desperate, I could only try a last resort, rushing towards Yitian Peak, hoping to rely on the devil lord's power to seize a glimmer of hope.

"Under the internal and external attacks, cracks soon appeared in the seal. The devil lord, eager to break free, held nothing back, and power leaked from the seal's cracks, which indeed helped me withstand a great deal of pressure.

"But good times didn't last. The Seven Kills Palace itself was torn apart by the void currents, countless ancient restrictions were obliterated. I struggled to hold on, but eventually fell unconscious. I thought I had died, but when I woke up, I found myself miraculously entering the Great Thousand World."

Listening to Sunu's account, Qin Sang could only marvel at the unpredictability of life. Sunu's tragic experiences were all thanks to the ancient devil lord, yet who would have thought that the devil lord would eventually become her protector?

Qin Sang pressed for other details. Sunu pondered hard, saying, "During the ascension, I indeed saw an immortal palace in the distance, and a stone archway with the words 'Ziwei Palace' written on it. But by then, I was at the end of my strength, and afterward, I lost consciousness."

Learning that Sunu hadn't seen Senior Sister and Bai, Qin Sang was a little disappointed. He sighed inwardly and then asked, "Did the devil lord break free?"

"I'm not sure."

Sunu shook her head, "After I woke up, I wasn't in the vicinity, but was thrown to a different place. I was fortunate enough to take a master, and I followed him for many years. Later, my master also left, leaving me alone. Then I heard that Ziwei Palace had emerged from the Fengju Jade Gate. I remembered that the Seven Kills Palace had many mysterious places, but at that time my cultivation wasn't enough, so I didn't dare to venture. So I rushed over here."

To be able to train a Void Refinement cultivator like Sunu, her master must have been no ordinary person. Seeing that Sunu had no intention of introducing her master, Qin Sang did not press the matter.

The Yitian Peak seal had been worn down by the passage of time and was already very fragile. It was severely damaged during the ascension, so it certainly couldn't have contained that devil.

What was the devil lord's cultivation level at its peak?

Thinking of this, Qin Sang felt a bit of a headache. He wasn't highly cultivated when he sealed the devil, but he exerted considerable effort. He wondered if the devil remembered him, seemingly gaining another enemy out of thin air.

However, if the ancient devil lord was also brought to this Great Thousand World, where outer-realm devils are universally reviled, it might not meet a good end.

As Qin Sang was lost in thought, Sunu had been gazing at his face, her eyes flickering. Suddenly, she said, "Fellow Daoist Qin, may I call you Brother Qin?"

Qin Sang was startled. "Why not?"

"Brother Qin, thank you."

Sunu sincerely thanked him, a look of relief blossoming on her face, her smile as beautiful as a flower.

"This is a thank you delayed by a thousand years. Fortunately, it's not too late."