Chapter 222: Reunion

Qin Sang darted out of the cave. He hadn't gone far when dozens of cloud beasts swooped down. Piercing screeches were everywhere, constantly assailing his eardrums like demonic sounds filling his mind, causing extreme irritation.

The cloud beasts violently flapped their wings, drawing upon spiritual energy that crashed down like a torrential storm. Although they hadn't yet seen Qin Sang, their close proximity allowed them to clearly sense a living presence, enough to drive them into a frenzy. They would tear up the ground three feet deep if necessary to drag Qin Sang out.

An overwhelming spiritual energy storm blocked Qin Sang's path in every direction. The sky rained spiritual energy, and the scene instantly became chaotic.

Just then, a crimson sword light, without warning, shot up from the ground. Its dazzling glow pulsed a few times before it soared into the sky, instantly piercing the center of the cloud beast swarm.

*Whoosh!* The spirit sword's aura suddenly surged dozens of yards. Then, the sword aura flickered, splitting into a new crimson sword energy, which immediately began to split again. In an instant, the spirit sword astonishingly split into thirty-two sword energies, fanning out in the air to form a circular sword formation that slowly rotated around the spirit sword's main body.

Over the years, besides rigorous cultivation, Qin Sang had also diligently practiced the Thousand Machine Sword Formation. He could now split his sword energy into thirty-two strands, a mastery no less than Wu Yuesheng's back then. Furthermore, he had gained insight into how to split his sword energy into sixty-four strands, though he couldn't execute it smoothly yet due to his current cultivation level. He believed that with a slight advancement in his cultivation, mastering the sword formation would naturally follow.

"Kill!" Hidden among the rocks, Qin Sang remotely controlled the Ebony Sword. Once the sword formation took shape, his eyes gleamed with killing intent, and he let out a fierce roar.

*Boom!* The Ebony Sword trembled, and its sword energy erupted. A pool of blood-red energy appeared around the Ebony Sword, and the sword energies seemed like waves splashing out from this blood pool. The killing intent was terrifying and exceptionally sharp! The sword formation transformed into a crimson grindstone, rapidly spinning as if to pulverize all enemies caught within it.

All the cloud beasts within the formation were annihilated. Only two cloud beasts, comparable to Foundation Establishment cultivators, survived, but they were flung away by the formation, suffering considerable injuries and emitting furious screeches.

Although Qin Sang had temporarily escaped danger, the battle had created too much commotion, alarming even more cloud beasts overhead. Hundreds, even thousands, of them immediately descended in swarms from high above.

Just then, a dark figure burst from the rock pile, fearlessly charging towards the cloud beasts. It punched a slightly weaker cloud beast, sending it flying, then changed direction and fled into the distance. This act was pure provocation. The cloud beasts instantly fell into a furious frenzy. The dense, dark swarm abruptly changed direction, catching up to and completely engulfing the dark figure in the blink of an eye, creating a horrifying spectacle.

By this time, Qin Sang had seized the opportunity to fly a considerable distance in another direction. The dark figure was a zombie he had sent out as a decoy. Most of the corpse puppets he refined were destroyed this way.

However, a single zombie could only attract a limited number of cloud beasts, merely buying Qin Sang a little time. The endless sea of cloud beasts in the sky meant Qin Sang couldn't escape their range before being discovered again, forcing him to repeat the same trick. After successively abandoning three zombies, Qin Sang finally flew out of the mountain range and saw the plains ahead. At the same time, he was fast approaching the edge of the cloud beast sea.

However, upon reaching this point, Qin Sang's expression grew even gloomier. The edge of the cloud beast sea was composed entirely of Foundation Establishment-level cloud beasts, and there might even be Core Formation-level cloud beasts lurking high above. At the end of his vision, a dark, dense mass of cloud beasts filled the sky. Every movement of these cloud beasts caused violent fluctuations in the world's spiritual energy. So many powerful cloud beasts gathered together made Qin Sang's scalp tingle.

"This celestial phenomenon is probably not simple!" Qin Sang sighed inwardly. Over the years, Qin Sang had gained a deep understanding of the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. The more terrifying the celestial phenomenon, the more active the powerful cloud beasts became. Sometimes, one could discern the strength of a celestial phenomenon from the movements of the cloud beasts and then decide whether to find shelter. Under these circumstances, he could not afford to remain exposed in the wilderness. He had to escape quickly and find a sanctuary.

Qin Sang was well aware of all the shelters around the Heavenly Crystal Secret Realm. He knew there was a very sturdy one not far away that could definitely withstand the celestial phenomenon's erosion, but the prerequisite was to shake off the cloud beasts' pursuit.

"It seems I'll have to lose another fiendish corpse." A pained look appeared in Qin Sang's eyes. After all, he only had three left, and losing one meant losing a powerful combat asset. However, compared to his life, a mere fiendish corpse was nothing.

Just as Qin Sang resolved to summon a fiendish corpse as bait, an unusual sound suddenly reached his ears. His heart stirred, and he paused his movements, continuing to urge the Ebony Sword to slay the approaching cloud beasts while turning his head to look towards the west. He saw that the cloud beast sea to the west had also become chaotic at some point. A massive sphere composed of countless cloud beasts was slowly flying towards him. Amidst the cloud beasts' screeches and roars, he could vaguely hear the clash of magical artifacts and the fluctuations of spiritual energy.

Were there others trapped by the cloud beasts? Qin Sang's eyes flickered, and he was about to consider inviting this person to cooperate and save a fiendish corpse when he heard a loud shout from within the 'sphere': "Fellow Daoist ahead, there are many cloud beasts here. Would you be willing to join forces with this old Daoist to escape this dangerous situation?"

Hearing the voice, Qin Sang let out a soft exclamation, his expression showing some surprise. On the Ancient Immortal Battlefield, it was common for two individuals encountering cloud beasts or celestial phenomena to cooperate and handle the crisis together. Whether they would turn against each other was a matter for after the danger had passed. This person's invitation to Qin Sang to join forces was normal, but what surprised Qin Sang was the voice, which sounded very familiar.

"Senior Yun Youzi, is that you?" Qin Sang called back loudly.

The person inside the 'sphere' fell silent for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh. "Brother Qin, we truly are fated. I never expected that after such a long separation, we would meet again in this place. This is no place for pleasantries. How about we first get rid of these cloud beasts, and then find a place to talk in detail?"

"Agreed!" Qin Sang immediately accepted.

Qin Sang was quite surprised to encounter Yun Youzi in the vast wilderness. Half a year ago, Yun Youzi had headed west, saying he was looking for a way to resolve a hidden danger. Had he only just returned from there now? Qin Sang wondered if he had succeeded.

With these thoughts in mind, Qin Sang changed direction, his sword pointing west, and swiftly approached Yun Youzi. Mid-flight, his hand subtly reached for his Mustard Seed Bag, discreetly clutching a Profound Yin Thunder in his palm. The two Soul Devouring Cones he had asked Shopkeeper Wu to refine before his journey were already used up, but this Profound Yin Thunder had lasted until now.

It wasn't that Qin Sang harbored any malicious intent; rather, it was simply wise to be cautious.