Chapter 2021: 裂城

As Qin Sang advanced, a powerful suction force pulled at him, pushing him towards the 'void.' Approaching the edge of the black disk, Qin Sang did not stop; he entered it. Immediately, he felt the suction force intensify, accompanied by a rotational power. He stimulated the vital energy within him and, relying on his powerful physique, forcibly remained still. He felt as if he had fallen into the heart of a colossal millstone, constantly grinding him.

Qin Sang experienced this for a while, then retreated. From his Qianjun Ring, he retrieved some spiritual materials and casually refined two puppets, throwing them towards the black disk. As soon as the puppets entered the black disk, they were enveloped by the suction force, rapidly spinning along the disk, their speed accelerating until they were almost instantly drawn into the void. Since the puppets were not strong, they had no ability to resist the suction and thus were not crushed by the disk. Their bodies remained intact until they were swallowed by the void, sustaining almost no damage.

This scene unfolded before Qin Sang's eyes, but he couldn't determine from it whether the void was safe. He could see that the puppets vanished into thin air upon touching the void, and Qin Sang immediately lost contact with them, unable to know what they encountered after entering. However, through this probing, Qin Sang captured some clues and secretly pondered if there was anything he could leverage, and what method he could use to explore the interior of the void. Sending anyone or anything into the void required preparing for their permanent disappearance. He also needed to find a way to break through the void's blockade and transmit information; otherwise, all efforts would be in vain. Qin Sang considered various options. Besides risking approaching the void himself and awakening his Celestial Eye Butterfly to attempt probing the void with its divine ability, there seemed to be no other good way. Not rushing to awaken the Celestial Eye Butterfly, Qin Sang decided to try other methods first. He manifested his dharma body, repeatedly venturing into the black disk, experiencing the suction's power, constantly pushing his limits, and employing various secret techniques to probe.

As Qin Sang continued his efforts, he suddenly felt a wisp of clear breeze brush across his face. The wind was extremely gentle, like a mild spring breeze that ordinary people wouldn't notice, but its appearance here seemed abrupt and eerie. Qin Sang's expression subtly shifted, and he abruptly looked towards the depths of the Fengju Jade Gate. The Vermilion Bird and other demons, realizing later, also noticed something was amiss. Remembering the legends of the Fengju Jade Gate, they cried out, "It's the Evil Wind!"

Qin Sang had been in the Fengju Jade Gate for a long time, but this was the first time he encountered the two major natural disasters: Evil Wind and Strange Lightning. These two disasters sometimes appeared individually, sometimes raged together, with no discernible pattern. As the cry of alarm sounded, the power of the Evil Wind surged at an astonishing speed. Although the surroundings were tightly enveloped by illusory scenes of divine abilities, the Evil Wind seemed to penetrate everywhere, constantly blowing, whistling in his ears. It was said that the Evil Wind's power fluctuated; when weak, its lethality was limited. However, their current location was too special, situated amidst these illusory scenes of divine abilities. If the Evil Wind ignited the dormant power within these scenes, anyone would tremble with fear, especially with an even more terrifying, bizarre black hole nearby. Qin Sang's gaze narrowed slightly. Without a word, he stretched out his hand, directly pulling the Vermilion Bird and other demons in front of him. Then, his true body carried them away from the area, while he left his dharma body behind. This action was extremely risky, but it offered a rare opportunity to observe the void using the Evil Wind.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! By the time Qin Sang rushed out of the divine ability illusion area, the Evil Wind's power had increased to a terrifying degree. The invisible wind continuously blew from the depths of the Fengju Jade Gate, passing through the void and leaving visible wind traces, like bone-etching steel blades, only what was being cut was the void itself. Looking around, the Evil Wind was ubiquitous, impossible to stop even by the divine ability illusions. As the Evil Wind brushed past his body, even with Qin Sang's powerful physique, he felt chills. The Vermilion Bird, riding the Fire Jade Centipede, was enveloped in rising flames and seemed fine, while Marquis Gui and Marquis Luo huddled together, jointly resisting the Evil Wind. The captive, whose cultivation was sealed, immediately shivered from the cold, his face turning pale, and his entire body quickly covered in a layer of frost. Only when the Vermilion Bird intervened to protect him did he recover slightly. At this very moment, cultivators elsewhere were also being affected by the Evil Wind, and the interior of the Fengju Jade Gate was in chaos. Some lost their lives in confusion.

Qin Sang observed the void through his dharma body. As the Evil Wind grew stronger, the black disk also became unstable. Ripples appeared on its surface, and at times, black jets erupted. Sensing the power of the jets, Qin Sang's dharma body grew solemn, retreating again and again. Finally, Qin Sang's dharma body's expression changed completely, transforming into a bolt of lightning and retreating madly. At the same time, Qin Sang witnessed a shocking sight: an overwhelming black tide swept over, engulfing the divine ability illusion closest to the black disk immediately.

Qin Sang watched as this divine ability illusion seemed to be subjected to external pressure, first compressing and deforming, then its front end protruded, elongated by the suction, turning into a slender band of light that spun and flew towards the void until it was completely swallowed. These illusions were formed from the divine abilities of ancient mighty cultivators, almost indistinguishable from reality. Qin Sang had seen scenes of illusions being destroyed before, but he had never seen anything that could swallow a divine ability illusion whole, and without any resistance from the illusion. As the black tide erupted, the area became extremely dangerous, yet Qin Sang's dharma body paid it no mind, staring intently at the void.

When the divine ability illusion was swallowed by the void, the conflict and eruption Qin Sang had anticipated did not occur; the illusion simply vanished silently. The divine ability illusion also contained great power; if it had been torn apart by the void, it shouldn't have been so calm. "Could it be that the void truly leads somewhere else?" Qin Sang's dharma body no longer lingered, flying away. Upon reaching the edge of the divine ability illusion gathering area, he found a ball of light slowly drifting from the void, which was a solitary divine ability illusion existing in the void. "Could it have been sucked over by the void?" Qin Sang vaguely understood: when the black disk erupted, the void would swallow nearby divine ability illusions, but at the same time, surrounding illusions would be drawn in to replenish the consumption, which was why the void was always surrounded by divine ability illusions. "What a gluttonous fellow!" Qin Sang sighed in his heart, marveling that both the Fengju Jade Gate and the Jushan Zhizhi Altar contained too many existences beyond common sense.

His dharma body merged with his true self. After waiting for some time, the Evil Wind showed signs of weakening until it receded. Qin Sang returned to the area and found that the black disk had reverted to its original appearance. Since even the divine ability illusions couldn't fully probe the void's depths, he decided not to exhaust his thoughts further. He memorized the location and departed with the Vermilion Bird and other demons.

This time, the Evil Wind did not cause significant destruction. Afterward, Qin Sang continued to travel around as before. Unbeknownst to them, it was already their seventh year since entering the Fengju Jade Gate. Venerable Tianyue had not yet appeared. Qin Sang diligently sought escape routes for himself, identifying several locations and attempting to open paths for retreat. With the addition of the mysterious void, he now had three preliminary options. However, he still felt it wasn't enough. These options were sufficient to escape Void Refinement cultivators, but against mighty cultivators of the Integration or even Mahayana stages, no one knew how effective they would be. He had never stopped. Gu Ya, after recovering to full strength, had also come out to assist the Vermilion Bird. Su Nü had been in seclusion healing, while the Xin family had yet to find their objective. It's worth mentioning that he had asked the Xin family to search for the Earth Splendor Jade Vine, and they had indeed found several ambiguous clues. However, Qin Sang's focus was not on this, so he had not gone to verify them.

On this day, it was time for their scheduled meeting again. Qin Sang rushed to meet the Xin family. As expected, all the search parties had found nothing. He wondered what exactly the Xin family was looking for, hidden so deeply. Just as everyone was discussing whether to change their strategy, a streak of light suddenly flew swiftly towards them. Judging by its direction, it seemed to be coming from outside the Fengju Jade Gate. The light landed before the ceremonial carriage, revealing a Nascent Soul cultivator, who appeared to be a young man.

"Xin Ming, why are you here? Has something major happened outside?" Steward Luo stepped forward and asked. The Xin family had not brought all their personnel into the Fengju Jade Gate, leaving some outside. Xin Ming hastily saluted the ceremonial carriage, then, isolating their voices, urgently said, "Reporting to Young Master and Uncle Luo, something has happened at Yumen Pass!"

At these words, Steward Luo's heart trembled. Xin Ming's spell couldn't block Qin Sang and Enshriner Pei, who immediately turned their gazes towards him. Yumen Pass had stood for many years; what could have happened? Could someone dare to attack the city?

"Not long ago, mighty cultivators battled near Yumen Pass. The entire city was alarmed. Their divine abilities collided, and the aftermath spread throughout the world, instantly turning the sky dark and filling it with flying sand and stones..." Recalling the scene that day, Xin Ming's eyes widened in horror. He swallowed, "Yumen Pass activated its city-protecting grand array, but under the impact of the aftermath, the ground still shook violently, as if it could be destroyed at any moment. With a sudden clap of thunder, a massive crack actually appeared in the western city wall, nearly causing it to collapse..."

Listening to Xin Ming's description, Qin Sang and Enshriner Pei's expressions changed instantly. Yumen Pass had stood before the Fengju Jade Gate for many years, effectively being the western gateway of Duizhou. The strength of its city-protecting grand array was beyond doubt. The array Qin Sang saw when he entered the city, even displaying only part of its power, left him without the slightest thought of forcing his way through. Merely the aftermath of the battle, protected by the grand array, nearly destroyed the city wall. Were the combatants at the Integration or Mahayana stage? What did the sudden appearance of two mighty cultivators near the Fengju Jade Gate signify? Was it a coincidence, or had an unknown change occurred? Qin Sang frowned tightly, feeling somewhat uneasy. Could one of them be Venerable Tianyue, who had been entangled by an adversary?

"Who were the combatants?" Enshriner Pei asked the question Qin Sang also wanted to ask.

"I don't know," Xin Ming shook his head. "From beginning to end, the two mighty cultivators never showed themselves. People in the city could only see storms howling and radiant light shooting across the sky. Finally, the two mighty cultivators left, and no one knew who won or lost."

Having left, would they come towards the Fengju Jade Gate? Qin Sang and Enshriner Pei exchanged a glance.

"What's the situation at Yumen Pass now?" Qin Sang pressed further.

"After that battle, rumors spread that a major war was about to break out here. The people in the immortal city were panicking, fearing being caught in the crossfire. Many left the city, fleeing to the heartland of Duizhou. It is said that a similar situation occurred when the Sword Pavilion fragments were first discovered, but the impact was nowhere near as significant as this battle between mighty cultivators, which affected almost the entire city. Outsiders, rogue cultivators, prominent families, sects, and major trade guilds were all evacuating, creating utter chaos..."

Xin Ming's words made everyone's expressions more solemn. They were deep inside the Fengju Jade Gate, even closer to the eye of the storm than Yumen Pass.

"Have the Five Elements Alliance people also left?" Qin Sang frowned.

"Well..." Xin Ming hesitated. He knew Qin Sang was an elder of the Five Elements Alliance and a helper invited by the Young Master.

"Why are you hedging! Speak directly!" Young Master Xin rebuked. It was the first time he had spoken, and his tone revealed little emotion.

"When I passed by the Five Elements Alliance's gate, I found they had closed their doors to visitors, but I don't know if they've completely evacuated everyone. Yumen Pass is almost deserted, with many sects that have been established there for years also sealing their gates and fleeing the city for refuge. The city is very chaotic right now," Xin Ming quickly replied.

Qin Sang thought to himself, it seems the Five Elements Alliance has evacuated. Being a trading organization, avoiding danger was their instinct. Given the Five Elements Alliance's scale, there was no need for them to take risks. The Five Elements Alliance was secondary. The crucial matter was why those two mysterious mighty cultivators had come and where they were now. Even before Venerable Tianyue arrived, troubles had already begun.

The news Xin Ming brought was earth-shattering. Steward Luo was deeply worried. "Young Master, I fear the Fengju Jade Gate may also become unstable. Should we perhaps leave first and avoid the storm..."

Young Master Xin was silent for a moment, then simply said, "Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back!" Steward Luo sighed deeply.

"We will continue to observe for a while," Young Master Xin said. "But we can no longer disperse our forces as before; we will merge into three groups..." While the master and servant discussed, Enshriner Pei's expression fluctuated, seemingly weighing something.

"This news is too alarming, I shall take my leave first," Qin Sang said, cupping his hands in salute before preparing to depart. Noticing Young Master Xin's gaze, Qin Sang added, "Young Master Xin, please rest assured. Your Xin family has helped this old man search for so long; even if there's no merit, there's been hard work. Unless absolutely necessary, this old man will not go back on his word."

"Thank you, Elder Qin." Young Master Xin rose and bowed solemnly. Enshriner Pei's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Qin Sang's retreating figure, remaining silent.

After bidding farewell to the Xin family members, Qin Sang considered his next arrangements. It seemed he should summon the Vermilion Bird and its companions back to his side to avoid unexpected incidents. And Su Nü, he wondered about her injuries. This was not a good place for seclusion. Qin Sang quickly found the Vermilion Bird and its group. Considering that he didn't want Gu Ya and Su Nü to meet for the time being, he went alone to Su Nü's cave dwelling. Upon seeing Su Nü again, her complexion was much rosier, though still faintly tinged with paleness, indicating she hadn't fully recovered.

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Qin. It seems I must leave first and consider my next actions after my strength recovers. Will Brother Qin not join me in seeking refuge outside?"

Qin Sang shook his head. "I still have unfinished business. If I sense anything amiss, I will immediately leave to meet you."

Hearing this, Su Nü didn't ask further questions, only urged, "Brother Qin, please be extremely careful!" The two agreed on a meeting place, and Qin Sang took his leave.

As Qin Sang's streak of light vanished in the distance, a man suddenly emerged from behind Su Nü. The man's figure was ethereal, enveloped in a faint, elusive aura that made him appear profound and unfathomable. He gazed in the direction Qin Sang had departed, seemingly able to see his retreating figure through the void. After a moment of silence, he said, "From now on, you shall remain by his side."

"Yes." Su Nü bowed in obedience.