Chapter 212: Blood and Flesh Flying Everywhere

Working together, the two quickly slew the human-shaped cloud beast.

Qin Sang sheathed his ebony sword and asked in return, "Is Fellow Daoist Yun Qiong willing to leave?"

Leaving the Great Rift Valley required everyone to work together to operate the astrolabe. If the Rogue Cultivator Yun Qiong was unwilling to depart, Qin Sang couldn't leave either.

"Junior Brother Qin guessed correctly..." Mu Yifeng said with a helpless expression, "Fellow Daoist Yun Qiong insists we must go in and search. We can't abandon Yin Xingge like this; otherwise, we won't be able to explain ourselves back at Skull Pass. However, he also wanted to hear Junior Brother Qin's thoughts on the matter."

Qin Sang calmly observed Mu Yifeng, thinking to himself that this was likely not solely Rogue Cultivator Yun Qiong's wish; the two of them had probably already reached an understanding.

Mu Yifeng's gaze had been fixed on the Yang Core Crystal the entire time.

While Rogue Cultivator Yun Qiong might genuinely wish to rescue him, Mu Yifeng's true objective was likely not to save Yin Xingge, but rather, he might even prefer to see Yin Xingge's corpse.

Qin Sang neither directly agreed nor refused. Instead, he shifted his tone and asked, "Were the human-shaped cloud beasts Senior Brother Mu encountered also cloud beast spirits possessing the corpses of demonic cultivators, evolving into that form?"

"That's right!" Mu Yifeng nodded. "Junior Brother Qin, there's no need to be surprised. The situation in the Lesser Cold Domain is unpredictable, and over the years, Seven Heroes Pass has changed hands multiple times. When the Demonic Sect was powerful, Skull Pass fell into their control on numerous occasions. As Junior Brother Qin can see from that vast space outside, this was originally a mine for Yangstone Quartz, excavated by cultivators. It was later abandoned when the Yangstone Quartz was almost depleted, as it was no longer worth the resources to continue extraction. When the Demonic Cultivators occupied Skull Pass previously, they certainly wouldn't have overlooked such a valuable location, so encountering their remains here is quite normal."

As they spoke, Rogue Cultivator Yun Qiong and the others caught up, urging them with an anxious tone, "The astrolabe's power is already showing signs of instability; it won't hold out much longer. We must find Senior Brother Yin as quickly as possible."

Mu Yifeng addressed Qin Sang, "Junior Brother Qin, if all eight of us fully activate the astrolabe and confine its power to a small area around us, we can, with sufficient caution, evade cloud beasts comparable to Core Formation cultivators for a short while. Taking a quick look inside shouldn't be an issue. Fellow Daoist Yun Qiong is also a sensible person; he won't insist on proceeding if it's clearly impossible. Besides, including this latest one, Fellow Daoist Yun Qiong and I have already slain four of them, and their strengths were all comparable. There might not be exceptionally powerful human-shaped cloud beasts inside. It's more likely that Senior Brother Yin was simply overwhelmed by their sheer numbers..."

Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and agreed.

He wasn't entirely swayed by Mu Yifeng's words; he also had his own ulterior motives. Firstly, with the fiendish corpse secretly scouting ahead, he would be able to detect any danger immediately. A fiendish corpse wasn't a living entity; it could be refined from the corpse of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the ancient immortal battlefield, cultivators' bodies were not rare, so he wouldn't be too distraught if it were destroyed. Secondly, he hoped to collect more soul-refining demonic artifacts to quickly enhance the power of the Ten Directions Yama Banner.

After reaching an agreement, everyone immediately sprang into action. Qin Sang, while partly concentrating on activating the astrolabe, also subtly controlled the fiendish corpse to scout ahead.

The fiendish corpse carried no aura of life; concealed within the demonic energy, the cloud beasts would ignore it as long as it didn't make a move. They swiftly advanced deeper into the passage, encountering three more human-shaped cloud beasts along the way. None of them were particularly strong, and the three of them—Qin Sang and the others—joined forces to quickly dispatch them with decisive strikes.

To Qin Sang's disappointment, only one of the human-shaped cloud beasts possessed a magical artifact, and it wasn't a soul-refining demonic artifact.

As they ventured deeper, they encountered even more human-shaped cloud beasts. Qin Sang and the others no longer dared to act rashly, instead doing their best to avoid the creatures and proceed as silently as possible.

"Just ahead..." At this point, they were nearing the location indicated by the jade talisman. Suddenly, a chaotic commotion erupted ahead, sounding as if someone was locked in intense combat within the passage.

"Senior Brother Yin is still alive!" Rogue Cultivator Yun Qiong exclaimed with surprise.

Qin Sang and Mu Yifeng exchanged glances, their expressions unusually grim. All they could hear were the guttural screeches of cloud beasts; Yin Xingge's voice was conspicuously absent.

Yin Xingge's Cloud Thunder Golden Net allowed him to command the power of lightning. If he were using it at full strength, there would undoubtedly be an unmistakable roar of thunder. Yet, not a single thunderclap could be heard.

Rogue Cultivator Yun Qiong was no fool; seeing the expressions on Qin Sang and Mu Yifeng's faces, he quickly caught on, his own expression growing increasingly grim.

"I'll go take a look!" Mu Yifeng couldn't contain himself and immediately moved to infiltrate invisibly, but Qin Sang quickly grabbed his arm.

"We don't know the situation inside, Senior Brother Mu. Don't be rash; let's first probe with a sound mimicry spell..." Qin Sang channeled spiritual energy and formed a small incantation. Mu Yifeng had no choice but to wait patiently for Qin Sang to cast the spell.

This was a crossroads where several passages intersected. Qin Sang cast the incantation into one of the passages, and moments later, his own voice echoed from within:

"Fellow Daoist Yin?"

"Fellow Daoist Yin?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it startled the cloud beasts ahead, instantly causing a commotion. They scrambled out of the passage, surging forward.

Everyone fully activated the astrolabe and ducked into another passage. They watched as the human-shaped cloud beasts swarmed frantically towards the source of the sound. Upon seeing the sight of these cloud beasts, everyone's expressions turned pale, and they collectively gasped in horror!

While holding back Mu Yifeng and simultaneously casting the sound mimicry spell, Qin Sang was multi-tasking, subtly controlling the fiendish corpse to painstakingly avoid the cloud beasts and stealthily infiltrate the area.

Perceiving the horrifying scene through the fiendish corpse, Qin Sang couldn't help but feel a chilling dread.

Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and shattered bones littered the ground.

The human-shaped cloud beasts were covered in blood, their hands and mouths dripping. They were frantically vying to gnaw on pieces of fresh flesh and blood. Whose remains these were was horrifyingly clear.

Yin Xingge's flesh and bones had been utterly torn apart, making it impossible to distinguish any specific body parts.

Yet, these human-shaped cloud beasts weren't terrifyingly powerful. Could it be that someone else had killed Yin Xingge?

The fiendish corpse quietly ventured deeper into the passage, discovering a bottomless chasm dug out within. Demonic energy surged ceaselessly from it, accompanied by strange roars, as if a terrifying fiend lurked deep within the fissure.

Witnessing this sight, Qin Sang was even more hesitant to expose the fiendish corpse. Just as he was about to quietly retreat, he noticed a spirit beast pouch lying neglected in a corner beside the fissure, while the human-shaped cloud beasts were savagely fighting over the flesh and blood.

Qin Sang's heart stirred. He controlled the fiendish corpse to retrieve the spirit beast pouch, then had it meticulously search the area around the fissure.

All the human-shaped cloud beasts were stained with crimson blood.

Witnessing this sight, everyone concealed beneath the astrolabe turned pale. Although they hadn't yet seen Yin Xingge's body, they all knew in their hearts that Yin Xingge was likely doomed.

"If he's alive, we'll find him; if he's dead, we'll find his body!"

Mu Yifeng scanned the group and said in a deep voice, "You all wait here. I'll sneak in for a look."

Qin Sang thought to himself, "As expected," realizing Mu Yifeng was still fixated on the Yang Core Crystal. He then said, "Senior Brother Mu, I'll accompany you and provide backup from behind."