Chapter 2157: Mirror God Technique

The two shared the spoils and quietly made their way towards the fierce beast's lair.

The fierce beast's trail was very obvious; they could sense a deathly aura swirling there from afar. They didn't need to risk getting close, as following the trail would lead them directly to its lair.

Here, mountains stood tall and rivers flowed ceaselessly.

Qin Sang and Young Master Shao did not approach the lair rashly. They landed on a distant peak and observed from afar.

Even from a distance, they could see the gray mist, emitting an aura of decay and decline. This mist must have lingered there for a long time; it wouldn't dissipate quickly, even after the fierce beast had left.

Places where fierce beasts hid often had similar strange phenomena, which cultivators could avoid by spotting them from afar.

"This fierce beast..." Young Master Shao's gaze flickered as he saw the gray mist. He seemed to recall something and fell into deep thought.

Qin Sang kept a close watch on the direction the fierce beast had left. The beast was no longer in sight, and he couldn't sense its oppressive aura. However, it could return to its lair at any time, so they still needed to be careful.

They stopped here not only to observe the fierce beast's movements but also to see if any competitors might help scout ahead.

After a long deliberation, Young Master Shao shook his head slightly. "This fierce beast's previous lair shouldn't be here," he said. "Someone once saw a similar phenomenon in the Holy Land, but unfortunately, there's no detailed information, so I don't know if it's the same one."

After waiting for a long time, everything remained normal. The two decided not to wait any longer; they would leave immediately, hoping for a swift return.

They left the mountain and quietly approached the lair. Halfway there, Young Master Shao summoned his Eight Extremes Diagram.

The treasure diagram slowly unfurled, and wisps of profound yellow energy seeped into the earth. A subtle ripple spread across the surrounding mountains and rivers, then quickly subsided. They set up the diagram in advance as a precaution, then continued towards the fierce beast's lair.

As they neared the gray mist, a putrid stench assailed them. Within the mist were black, lifeless mountains, and at their base lay foul-smelling, decaying swamps. No trace of life could be found here.

They stopped at the edge of the gray mist and scanned their surroundings. The mist obscured their vision and senses, but they spotted a broken peak among the mountains and, with a flash, entered the mist.

Surrounded by the gray mist, they immediately sensed something strange. They exchanged glances and swiftly circulated their true essence to defend themselves.

The moment they touched the gray mist, it seemed to come alive, attempting to invade their bodies. The mist wasn't composed of dust or water droplets; instead, it resembled extremely fine, hair-like fibers, as if seeking fertile ground to take root and sprout.

The gray mist possessed powerful invasive and corrosive properties. Should it enter a body and gain the upper hand, it would usurp everything from its host, turning them into hairy monsters, leading to death and decay.

"It's not a living creature," Young Master Shao transmitted.

Qin Sang nodded; he too could see that these fibers were not living creatures, nor were they even tangible. When they tried to grasp them, they caught nothing. This was a force they had never encountered, and the fibers were its manifestation.

*Swish!* Qin Sang summoned his Gray Oriole Sword and silently unleashed a sword beam. The beam sliced a momentary gap in the gray mist, which instantly closed.

In his perception, some fibers were obliterated by the sword beam, but the effect was not as good as anticipated, considering this was merely the residual power of a fierce beast at the Integration Stage.

Given their strength, completely clearing the gray mist here would be very difficult, and they didn't have much time to spare, so they could only focus on defense. However, this meant constantly resisting the mist's invasion, and they couldn't perfectly conceal their auras as they had before.

Fortunately, there were no other cultivators nearby. Qin Sang and Young Master Shao both activated their protective secret arts, and Qin Sang even summoned his Bright Mountain Armor.

As they proceeded, the gray mist grew stronger, which was within their expectations and couldn't halt their advance.

The scenery around the broken mountain gradually became clearer, but Qin Sang had already seen it using his Heavenly Eye divine ability.

Deeper within the broken mountain, the ground was a mess, with collapsed peaks everywhere, and the muddy swamps were filled with rubble. It was clear that a major upheaval had occurred here.

Qin Sang and Young Master Shao surmised that this was likely not the fierce beast's lair. They continued deeper, reaching the innermost part, where the sight before them made their hearts tense.

This was a vast black muddy swamp. There were no mountains within the swamp; they wondered if the fierce beast had leveled them, but some traces could not be hidden by the mud.

They discovered a deep pit beneath the muddy swamp. The bottom of the pit was covered in bottomless, crisscrossing ravines that tore the earth apart.

All signs indicated that the fierce beast's lair should be nearby, but it was undoubtedly completely altered; the deep pit and ravines were all new.

"This should be the source of the rosy light," Young Master Shao deduced based on Ji Qiong's description, looking around. He couldn't help but exclaim, "It looks like a battlefield!"

Qin Sang nodded in agreement.

He noticed something unusual about the ground beneath the muddy swamp; it was covered in a spiritual material called Turtle Shell Stone. Once Turtle Shell Stone formed a lode, it was extremely hard. It was very likely that several Turtle Shell Stone mountains had once stood here, their hardness such that even Void Refinement cultivators would find it difficult to destroy them during combat.

"Only the fierce beast's aura can be found here," Qin Sang said.

Young Master Shao nodded. "Unless the fierce beast suddenly went mad, there's another possibility: it fought with an unseen enemy."

This speculation was somewhat incredible. Young Master Shao explained, "Things that defy common sense often appear in the Holy Land, without any pattern. This is also part of the trial. If those rosy lights are part of this trial, we need to be careful from now on."

If the rosy light could drive the fierce beast from its lair, how could they dare to be overconfident?

Qin Sang and Young Master Shao meticulously searched the muddy swamp, inside and out, but found nothing unusual. All signs pointed to the fierce beast suddenly going mad, destroying its own lair, and migrating elsewhere.

"The rosy light left no trace, and its source is unknown," Qin Sang said with a frown.

"If it's related to the secrets of the trial, it's unlikely we can easily decipher it," Young Master Shao said. "To understand the full story, we probably need to find that fierce beast, or even kill it, and see if it took anything special." He then said, understanding that this was impossible, "There's also another possibility: a passage out of the Holy Land is hidden here, but the time isn't right for it to appear yet."

Their search yielded no results, and they made various guesses that couldn't be verified. After some discussion, they decided to follow the fierce beast's departure route to see if they could find other clues; otherwise, they would have to give up.

Qin Sang and Young Master Shao left the muddy swamp, following the trail until they soon reached the edge of the gray mist.

Just as they were about to fly out of the gray mist, Qin Sang seemed to sense something, his expression shifting slightly. He abruptly looked towards a mountain peak ahead and simultaneously transmitted a warning, "An ambush!"

Young Master Shao also immediately detected the abnormality, but he was a step slower than Qin Sang. Had Qin Sang not warned him, he might only have discovered it upon approaching the mountain peak.

Their figures suddenly halted, then they heard a burst of silvery laughter.

"What keen spiritual senses you two possess!"

The next moment, the void above the mountain peak distorted, and an oval mirror appeared. Its surface was made of water, with a continuous stream of clear water flowing within it, like a Water Curtain Cave.

Young Master Shao said gravely, "Mirror Divine Art! It's the Merfolk!"

Qin Sang's heart tightened. He hadn't expected to encounter a Merfolk expert so soon after entering the Holy Land.

During his time at Yuanjiao Sea Market, he gained a clearer understanding of the Winged Human tribe's strength. The Merfolk, as the rulers of the Water Division, were comparable in strength to the Winged Human tribe!

This Mirror Divine Art was quite profound; his Heavenly Eye Butterfly only detected the anomaly upon close proximity.

Behind the water curtain, a blurry shadow emerged. A delicate jade hand lifted the curtain, revealing a figure with a human upper body and a fish tail, who swam out from behind the curtain. Her movements were elegant and graceful, a pleasure to behold, as if welcoming guests.

Among the Merfolk, women were revered, while men were merely dependents of low status. It was said that this custom arose because the Merfolk's innate divine abilities were more compatible with women, hence most of the strong individuals in their tribe were female.

The person before them was indeed a Merwoman. Her slender fish tail, covered in blue scales, shimmered with rippling light. Her upper body was no different from a human woman, but her skin was exceptionally fair, and her face exquisitely beautiful. With blue hair and blue eyes, her gaze flowed like gentle waves, at times alluring and captivating, at others pitiful and delicate.

Qin Sang and Young Master Shao were both resolute individuals; they naturally wouldn't be tempted by her appearance. As the Merwoman appeared, a warning sign rose in their hearts.

*Clang!* Qin Sang had never lowered his guard. He immediately activated his sword art, causing sword light to burst forth before him.

At the same time, Qin Sang and Young Master Shao both felt a drastic change in the surrounding aura; the world turned a shimmering blue.

In the blink of an eye, the void transformed into a body of water. They found themselves unwittingly at the bottom of the sea, yet the seawater was eerily strange, rippling like clusters of blue flames.

"Be careful, Senior Qin, this is the Merfolk's divine ability, Ever-burning Fire!" Young Master Shao urgently transmitted. "This fire is said to burn for ten thousand years without extinguishing. Once it clings to you, it's like a maggot in the bone, impossible to remove, burning straight through to the marrow."

Young Master Shao urgently transmitted his voice. At the same time, he tossed out a silver ray from his right hand. The ray split into small silver rings, each containing a powerful yet distinct aura.

These auras all came from his companion beasts; evidently, this was a sophisticated method of utilizing their power.

The small rings spun rapidly, surrounding Young Master Shao. Waves of fluctuations rippled outwards, causing the blue flames to recede, unable to harm him.

Seeing Young Master Shao's grave tone, Qin Sang dared not be careless. He abandoned the idea of using a sword formation to trap the Merwoman, and his Gray Oriole Sword suddenly unleashed a sword beam.

The sword beam was like a rainbow, and the Ever-burning Fire quickly retreated.

Qin Sang pressed his advantage without mercy, his sword beam slashing through the air towards the Merwoman. Young Master Shao also reacted swiftly; four beastly shadows leaped from the silver rings, roaring like thunder, and pounced towards the mountain peak.

*Splat!* The Merwoman allowed the sword beam to pierce her, and her entire body burst apart like a cluster of clear water.

Immediately afterwards, a delicate laugh echoed from another mountain behind the Merwoman. A cluster of clear water condensed, transforming into the Merwoman's likeness.

The Merwoman smiled broadly. Her beautiful eyes fell upon Qin Sang, and she asked in surprise, "Are you a human cultivator, Your Excellency?"

Then she delicately scolded Young Master Shao, "You are Young Master Shao, under Emperor Si, aren't you? How dare you bring an outsider into the Holy Land without permission? What crime is this?"

Young Master Shao sneered, not bothering to argue with her. He scoffed, "Which princess of the Merfolk are you, daring to ambush this old man!"

The Merfolk had an Empress, the supreme ruler of their tribe. Whenever a talented junior appeared in the tribe and received the Empress's approval, they would be bestowed the title of princess. Princesses who passed the Empress's trials could receive fiefdoms and be crowned kings.

Young Master Shao knew the names of all the current Merfolk kings. The Merwoman before him was not renowned, yet she was also a late-stage expert, no weaker than the kings, and at least a princess.

The Merwoman said disdainfully, "Do I need a reason to ambush people from your Heaven Division? It's a pity this princess underestimated you. Leave behind what you obtained from inside, and this princess will let you go! Otherwise, you don't think that with a Mid-Void Refinement cultivator, you can be a match for this princess, do you?"

While Young Master Shao and the Merwoman exchanged words, Qin Sang remained on high alert.

He sensed an unfamiliar aura constantly locking onto him, waiting for an opportunity; another expert was hidden near the Merwoman!

This person's aura was erratic; even his Heavenly Eye Butterfly couldn't accurately pinpoint it. Qin Sang suspected the opponent also used the Mirror Divine Art and was even more cautious.

"I don't think it's wise to get too entangled with them, Brother Qin. What are your thoughts?" Young Master Shao transmitted.

Fleeing without a fight would be a loss of face, but face was secondary. Continuing to entangle with the Merwoman was not in their best interest.

They had originally thought there was a great opportunity here, but their search had yielded nothing.

Once they engaged the Merwoman, it would be difficult to determine a victor quickly, and obtaining any opportunities would become even harder. Moreover, they weren't guaranteed a win. Emperor Si's matter was more important; they didn't have much time to waste here.

Handing over the fierce beast's lair was a bit regrettable, but in Qin Sang and Young Master Shao's view, continuing the search might not yield anything and would more likely be a waste of energy.

The pros and cons were clear, making a choice wasn't difficult.

In fact, even if the Merwoman hadn't interfered, they would have given up if their search had yielded no results after a while longer.

Just as Qin Sang was about to speak, a glint suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he looked beyond the battlefield.

A wisp of vibrant red smoke rose from the distant horizon and was moving towards them.

Wherever the red smoke passed, the ground became covered with red mushrooms of various sizes. The larger caps unfurled like small mountains, while the smaller ones were as tiny as ants, countless and dense.

Young Master Shao's expression changed slightly. "It's the Mycelial people!"

The Mycelial people, one of the superior tribes of the Water Division, were said to be even smaller than the Jiao Jiao tribe, a diminutive race within the Water Division. They possessed very unique divine abilities; wherever they were, one could usually only see various mushrooms, but not their true forms.

The red smoke's speed greatly increased; the ground seemed to unroll a carpet of fungi, spreading rapidly towards them. They could only see countless red mushrooms growing wildly, unsure where the Mycelial people were hidden.

Unexpectedly, they had encountered three waves of Water Division experts here in succession, yet not a single Heaven Division expert was seen. There was no longer any reason to stay.

Qin Sang memorized the lair's location and the direction the fierce beast had left. He immediately joined forces with Young Master Shao, and beastly shadows and sword light charged forth.

The Ever-burning Fire flared and immediately mounted a stronger counterattack.

The Merwoman, seeing the Mycelial people arrive, felt her side now held the advantage and tried to keep Young Master Shao and Qin Sang. But Qin Sang and Young Master Shao cooperated closely, never giving the hidden person an opportunity to strike. They fought while retreating, successfully withdrawing to the vicinity of the Eight Extremes Diagram.