Chapter 232: Lava River

Crack!

The Ebony Sword transformed into a gigantic blood-red blade. With a single strike, it shattered the divine general's 'heart-guard mirror' and pierced through its abdomen. Through the wound, no internal organs or blood were visible; only a golden rune slowly rotated, profound and mysterious. A small portion of this rune had already been shattered by the Ebony Sword.

The divine general roared, and golden light surged frantically into its wound. Supplemented by the golden light, the shattered rune rapidly began to repair itself. Seeing this, Qin Sang didn't hesitate. He immediately channeled the Ebony Sword to reverse its sword energy, piercing the divine general's abdomen once more, causing another large chunk of the rune to crumble. After several consecutive strikes, the rune was finally shattered by the Ebony Sword. The divine general, which had been struggling and roaring, suddenly froze, motionless. Its golden armor began to dissolve, eventually transforming into a beam of golden light that flew back, reverting to a painting.

Qin Sang was currently wielding his black longsword, contending with another golden-armored divine general, while also dodging incoming sharp arrows. The fight was extremely difficult. Having finally dealt with one divine general, and with its portrait restored, no new divine generals descended. Qin Sang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the rune within the divine general was its weakness; as long as the rune was shattered, the golden-armored general would revert to a painting and not reappear. Otherwise, the trial's difficulty would be insurmountable for most cultivators.

Once the weakness was found, things became easier. Qin Sang didn't recall the Ebony Sword for support. With a thought, the Ebony Sword transformed into a streak of sword light and flew directly towards the two golden-armored divine generals wielding longbows. The Ebony Sword was incredibly fast. Its sword formation easily confined the two golden-armored divine generals. This time, Qin Sang deliberately narrowed the formation's scope to avoid triggering the restrictions on the walls. As the sword formation erupted, the divine generals were engulfed by countless sword energies. This revealed their weakness: it wasn't in the abdomen, but in the chest. It seemed that for different golden-armored divine generals, the rune's location varied. If he couldn't deal with his opponents promptly, being surrounded by a dozen divine generals would be overwhelming, making it impossible to pinpoint their weaknesses, leading only to defeat.

The Ebony Sword moved like a ghost, entangling the two divine generals, denying them any chance to shoot arrows. Qin Sang, multitasking, seized this opportunity. The black longsword in his hand swung even more furiously, its sword light raining down, completely suppressing the golden-armored general in front of him. Spotting an opening, he thrust his sword into its abdomen. "Break!" Qin Sang let out a cold shout, unreservedly channeling his Qi Sea. Instantly, a powerful surge of sword energy erupted within the divine general's abdomen, shattering the rune at once. Without glancing back, Qin Sang immediately activated his movement technique, rushing to aid the Ebony Sword.

With Qin Sang joining, the battle became clearer. These two golden-armored divine generals, using longbows, were not skilled in close combat and tried to create distance. But how could Qin Sang give them that opportunity? The Myriad Mechanisms Sword Formation expanded to its maximum extent without touching the restrictions. Each time a divine general vanished, its position was instantly pinpointed. Their elusive movement techniques were useless against Qin Sang, and he quickly cut them all down. Qin Sang recalled the Ebony Sword. The sword energy receded, revealing the sword's true form: its slender body circled his fingertips, crystalline and translucent like precious jade.

At this moment, Qin Sang looked ahead in the corridor. Golden light pulsed as two blade-wielding divine generals descended from the wall. Their cold gaze swept over and fixed on Qin Sang. Then their figures shimmered, and in the next instant, they appeared directly above Qin Sang's head. Long blades tore through the air, their blade intent imminent! The timing was perfect! Maintaining this rhythm, he should be able to handle the first trial stage without needing the Fiend Corpse. Qin Sang mused, wondering how many stages the trial had. Once a Fiend Corpse was damaged, it wasn't easy to repair. It would be better to save them for later, to be used in times of crisis. For now, he would just exert himself. Having made up his mind, Qin Sang flicked his finger. The Ebony Sword targeted one of the divine generals, while he twisted his body and personally swung his sword to meet the other. Qin Sang found that these two golden-armored divine generals were similar in strength to the previous ones, but two were much easier to handle than four.

Spears, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hammers, mirrors, pagodas… Qin Sang had seen all sorts of weapons in the corridor, both common and uncommon. If not for the fact that divine generals left no corpses upon death, Qin Sang could describe his path as "a step, a trail of blood." The further he advanced, the closer the portraits became, and the shorter the intervals between divine general appearances, making the battles increasingly fierce. At this point, Qin Sang had no leisure for other thoughts. Often, before he could kill the divine general in front of him, new ones would join the fray, putting him under immense pressure. Nevertheless, even now, Qin Sang had not summoned the Fiend Corpses for help. He was fighting his way through the corridor solely by his own strength, making steady progress!

Qin Sang's mind was fully immersed in the Kill Rune. The pressure from the divine generals made the situation precarious. However, under these circumstances, not only could it stimulate his potential, but it would also significantly accelerate his comprehension of the Kill Rune. What was even rarer was that the danger was manageable, allowing him to act without reservation, so he didn't want to miss this opportunity. The corridor was deep, with no end in sight. Time was irrelevant; there was only endless slaughter and roars. Qin Sang, sword in hand, moved with his sword formation, like a god of slaughter. Wherever he went, only the unwilling roars of divine generals were left behind, but he remained unmoved, his eyes filled only with endless killing intent.

Suddenly, Qin Sang was roused by a surge of heat, his mind detaching from the Kill Rune. He was pleasantly surprised to find that his mastery of his cultivation technique had deepened. The gains from this single battle were equivalent to dozens of previous fights, and he was not far from fully comprehending the second Kill Rune. Why was it so hot? Qin Sang suppressed the joy on his face and opened his eyes. He found that ahead, crimson light was breaking through the golden obstruction. Unbeknownst to him, he had already reached the end of the corridor. Was it firelight? Was there a sea of fire ahead? Qin Sang's nostrils flared. He suddenly caught a strong, acrid smell, and simultaneously heard a thunderous roar. Even the corridor was shaking as if from an earthquake; a great river seemed to be flowing there.

Lava! Qin Sang's gaze sharpened slightly. It was highly probable that a river of lava lay at the end of the corridor. Judging by the sounds outside, the river was likely quite large. Would the subsequent trials be conducted over the lava river? Foundation Establishment cultivators could use spiritual energy to protect themselves from high temperatures, but they couldn't swim in a lava river. If they fell into the lava and couldn't escape in time, they would still die. However, from this vantage point, the specific content of the trial was unclear. If it truly involved the lava river, he would have to be careful.

After a moment of thought, Qin Sang stopped pondering. He glanced at the portraits in the corridor. Only six remained before him, and the golden light on them was fluctuating violently. These six divine generals seemed about to descend together. It seemed this was the final test of the first trial stage. Qin Sang, deep in thought, no longer held back. With a sweep of his hand at his waist, three Fiend Corpses flew out of his corpse-puppet bag. The cold, sinister aura emanating from them instantly diluted the oppressive heat, and after a brief pause, they charged towards the divine generals.