Chapter 2354: The Vast Net

Strange…

The Tianmu Divine Ability, used for tracking, rarely failed. Now that the Tianmu Butterfly had broken through to the late stage of the sixth transformation, few at the same level could easily shake it off.

Qin Sang recalled the moment before the female demon vanished. The multicolored light beneath her suddenly flickered, then she disappeared along with it.

Could it be that she relied on a single treasure to evade the Tianmu Divine Ability? If this woman possessed such a treasure, her origin must be extraordinary.

Qin Sang scanned the entire jungle but found no trace of the female demon. After a moment of thought, he quietly withdrew from the jungle.

He had tracked the female demon to determine his current location and identify any major powers nearby, but her actions made him even more cautious. Continuing to track her was not a good option.

Qin Sang remembered the groups of demons fighting for ice crystals around the vortex, some of them at the Spirit Transformation stage and a few at the Soul Transformation stage. He decided to capture one to question.

Unexpectedly, just as Qin Sang was about to turn back, he sensed an unfamiliar aura emerging from across the jungle. This aura was rapidly approaching his position, moving at an extremely high speed.

"Someone else is coming!"

Qin Sang confirmed that this aura did not belong to the female demon. "Did that female demon sense the approaching people and intentionally hide? Does this mean they aren't working together?"

With this thought, Qin Sang plummeted rapidly, once again vanishing into the snow.

A moment later, the aura flew overhead. Qin Sang saw a lavishly decorated flying carriage, gliding through the wind. On either side of the carriage were ten-zhang-long golden wings, resembling real wings. Each layer of golden feathers, forged from metal, rattled loudly with every beat.

The flying carriage's speed was comparable to Qin Sang's Lightning Escape Art. Of course, Qin Sang could surpass it by activating the True Azure Luan Thunder, but the carriage might also conceal other powerful abilities.

"What are the origins of these two groups?"

Qin Sang was secretly startled. The two treasures they displayed alone were enough to make Qin Sang wary. During his time in the Witch Tribe, Qin Sang had wielded immense power, extorting various clans. However, he had primarily dealt with clan elders, never truly engaging with the shamans of those great clans. He never underestimated the heroes of the world, nor did he believe himself unrivaled among his peers, yet he hadn't expected to encounter such formidable individuals one after another immediately after leaving the Witch Tribe.

Fortunately, they were not a team...

Qin Sang glanced at the jungle, then quietly followed the flying carriage as it headed towards the vortex.

The momentum was clearly weakening. Ice chunks sporadically fell from the sky, but the beastly struggle had not yet ceased.

The flying carriage made no attempt to conceal its presence, boldly flying towards the vortex, its powerful aura fully exposed. The beasts, engaged in their struggle for ice crystals, noticed the carriage and immediately showed fear and panic. They hastily gathered their ice crystals, intending to flee in all directions.

*Whoosh!*

A golden light suddenly shot out from the bottom of the flying carriage, forming rings of golden ropes that ensnared a group of demon beasts. These demon beasts froze in place, only their eyes able to move, their terror intensified. Even the strongest among them, a leopard demon, was completely powerless to resist.

Two streams of light then flew out from the carriage, revealing a male and a female cultivator. They both appeared very young, but their extremely high cultivation levels told outsiders that they were certainly not mere young talents. The two hovered before the vortex, scrutinizing it with expressions of delight.

"Two more demon cultivators!"

Qin Sang, hidden in the snow, murmured to himself as he watched the man and woman. It now seemed that the Void Butterfly had sent him deep into the desolate lands, into demon territory, otherwise there wouldn't be so many powerful demon cultivators here. Furthermore, with the prevalence of Six-Day Old Qi, this was likely the edge of demon territory, as it was doubtful any demon race would willingly cultivate in a place ravaged by the Six-Day Old Qi. Therefore, the purpose of these demon cultivators' presence here was quite intriguing; it appeared they were drawn by the vortex.

"Is there really some supreme treasure beneath?"

Qin Sang felt no regret that he had spent three hundred years diligently cultivating only to hand it over to others. His concern was whether he should take this opportunity to flee far away, or wait here, allowing these demon cultivators to scout ahead for him and then reap the benefits.

Regardless, he needed to first understand where he was...

Just as he was thinking this, Qin Sang heard the female cultivator exclaim with delight, "Cousin, this must be it! We've been searching for so long, and we've finally found it..."

The man grunted in affirmation, then shifted his gaze to the imprisoned leopard demon below. The leopard demon had an ice crystal in its mouth, just about to swallow it. The man summoned the ice crystal into his hand and concentrated on sensing it.

At this moment, the female cultivator also fixed her gaze on a demon beast. Her eyes suddenly turned golden-yellow, and her sharp gaze pierced the demon beast's eyes. The demon beast's eyes gradually became hazy, until it finally died. The female cultivator blinked, her eyes returning to normal. Her lips moved slightly as she transmitted something to the man. The man nodded repeatedly, and then the two separated, circling the vortex from left and right, collecting all the ice crystals they found.

After rejoining, each of them had a small handful of ice crystals. The female cultivator raised her hand and gestured towards the flying carriage. With a few *clanking* sounds, the flying carriage disassembled, its metal walls spreading out to form a square platform. They landed on top of the platform, sat down cross-legged, and, holding the ice crystals, performed some unknown secret technique. A faint chill rose from the ice crystals in their hands, transforming into a wisp that drifted into the vortex.

Qin Sang watched for a while, understanding nothing. After pondering for a moment, he quietly retreated and flew for a while in another direction, just in time to spot a charging bear demon. This bear demon, still in shock, galloped to the foot of a snowy mountain and burrowed into a cave, only to suddenly see a person inside, smiling at it.

The bear cave became quiet. Qin Sang and the bear demon sat facing each other, the bear demon's face filled with confusion. As Qin Sang removed his finger from the bear demon's forehead, a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes.

Through the bear demon, Qin Sang had roughly understood some things, but he still didn't know exactly where he was. This bear demon's cultivation had reached the late Spirit Transformation stage. In other places, demon cultivators of such cultivation, even if they couldn't transform into human form due to their bloodline, would have intelligence comparable to humans. This bear demon, however, not only couldn't transform but also possessed a rather dull intelligence, with a hidden violent instinct in its nature.

By reviewing fragments of the bear demon's memory, Qin Sang realized that the bear demon had been affected by the Six-Day Old Qi, which caused it to become this way, similar to the ferocious beasts in the Abyssal Plains of the Talisman Realm. The demon beasts here were constantly subjected to the invasion of the Six-Day Old Qi. Even if the Qi was very thin, it would subtly affect them, becoming deeply ingrained over time. Furthermore, three hundred years ago, the Six-Day Old Qi here was much denser than it was now.

Under normal circumstances, the bear demon should have lost its sanity and turned into a savage beast long ago due to the influence of the Six-Day Old Qi. Yet, there was a gift from heaven for them here: the ice crystals spewing from the vortex. The nearby demon beasts discovered that these ice crystals could restore their sanity. Although not highly intelligent, they understood that this was definitely a good thing. Since the bear demon was born, it remembered its parents taking it to stake out the vortex, waiting for the ice crystals to erupt. After becoming independent, the bear demon gradually grew from a small demon to a regional overlord. Every time the vortex was about to erupt, it would go there. As its strength grew, it acquired more and more ice crystals, but it couldn't completely eliminate the influence of the Six-Day Old Qi. It would still occasionally go berserk, especially when enraged, always losing its awareness.

It wasn't until three hundred years ago that it spent more time conscious and less time berserk. Qin Sang compared this with the bear demon's memories and concluded that the Six-Day Old Qi here must have begun to thin out around that time, naturally lessening its impact on them.

Three hundred years—that was precisely the time he had fallen into the depths of the vortex. This was no coincidence; the vortex had indeed begun to change three hundred years ago, growing larger and larger, gradually engulfing entire mountain ranges from its original thousand-zhang radius, becoming as vast as it was now. During its growth, the vortex's eruption frequency increased, and the ice crystals it ejected became purer. The intelligence of nearby demon beasts had made significant progress compared to three hundred years ago; they even began forming factions and learned to employ schemes. The vortex had both large and small eruptions, and this current one was the only major eruption in three hundred years.

Qin Sang examined the ice crystal in his hand. This type of ice crystal could help demon beasts regain their sanity. No wonder he hadn't detected the Six-Day Old Qi below; it seemed there was a power in the depths of the vortex that could block the Six-Day Old Qi. Qin Sang's arrival had triggered the vortex's anomaly, and the three demon cultivators outside were likely drawn by this change as well. In the bear demon's memory, there were no super-powers nearby. It never dared to stray too far from its territory; outside, there were not only terrifying enemies but also denser Six-Day Old Qi, making it more prone to madness.

Clearly, the reason the Six-Day Old Qi was sparse here was due to the vortex's protection.

Qin Sang walked out of the bear cave and gazed towards the vortex. With the Jade Buddha and Talisman Altar protecting him, he had no urgent need for treasures that could resist the Six-Day Old Qi, but he was curious about what was actually in the vortex that attracted these powerful demon cultivators. Recalling his experiences in the depths of the vortex, Qin Sang suspected that the ice beasts that formed in the ice tide were all demon beasts swallowed by the vortex, leaving some kind of imprint in the ice tide. What was worth pondering was that Qin Sang had also seen various divine beasts like dragons and phoenixes in the ice tide. Could the vortex have once swallowed them? The bear demon's memory contained no record of ever seeing dragons or phoenixes. Perhaps the vortex had swallowed dragons and phoenixes from elsewhere, then by some accident drifted here, remained dormant for countless years, and was accidentally awakened by him.

If the bear demon was this limited, he likely wouldn't learn much from other demon beasts. His only remaining targets were the three demon cultivators of unknown origin.

"Should I disguise myself as a demon cultivator and try to befriend one of them? Or should I wait for them to excavate the treasure from the depths of the vortex, then seize the opportunity to profit from their struggles?"

Qin Sang gently rubbed his chin, pondering silently. Ultimately, he decided to observe for now. He quietly left the bear cave, preparing to return to the jungle to see what the vanished female demon might do.

Unexpectedly, as he flew, Qin Sang felt a vague sense of unease.

*Whoosh!*

Qin Sang instantly vanished and reappeared high in the air, surveying his surroundings. The blizzard showed no sign of stopping, growing increasingly intense, with the snowflakes almost turning into clumps of snow as they fell to the ground with muffled thuds. Dark clouds covered the sky, and snow filled the air. The distant vortex was clearly visible, and with the Tianmu Butterfly's eyesight, he could still see the two demon cultivators, still sitting beside the vortex, performing their secret technique. Everything appeared perfectly normal, except for the missing female demon.

Qin Sang frowned, looking towards the jungle. A moment later, he suddenly thought of something, closed his eyes slightly, connected his mind with the Tianmu Butterfly, and fully activated the Tianmu Divine Ability. The Tianmu Butterfly first stared at the vortex for a while; the two people showed no unusual movements. Then, its gaze shifted from the vortex to elsewhere.

Vast snowy mountains, the world entirely white.

Qin Sang suddenly let out a soft exclamation. He changed direction and flew outwards. His face turned extremely grim as he stared intently at the dark clouds above his head. The Tianmu Divine Ability had indeed uncovered something. At this moment, above him, it seemed a vast net was being woven! An invisible, enormous net covered this entire region, enveloping both him and the vortex. The two demon cultivators by the vortex were naturally also caught, but their minds were completely drawn to the vortex, leaving them oblivious to it. The owner of this all-encompassing net was likely the missing female demon.

What exactly did this woman intend to do? What was the purpose of this net? Qin Sang couldn't guess for a moment, but he felt a strong threat from the all-encompassing net. Once the net fully formed, it would completely seal off this region, trapping him and the other two demon cultivators. What if, after the all-encompassing net was formed, its owner had no intention of retracting it? Qin Sang's biggest worry was not even these things. Such a method should not be something a normal Void Refinement cultivator could achieve. One possibility was that the female demon had helpers hidden in the shadows; the other possibility was even more terrifying...

Qin Sang knew he absolutely could not be trapped here, but the all-encompassing net had already taken shape. If he forced his way through, he would be exposed. In his urgency, Qin Sang thought of a plan. His figure flickered, and he quickly captured two Soul Transformation stage demon beasts nearby. He controlled the two demon beasts with his divine sense, making them fight each other while rushing towards the edge of the all-encompassing net. The two demon beasts fought desperately, their shrill roars echoing incessantly. They quickly inflicted severe wounds upon each other. At this critical juncture of the net forming, the female demon would not deliberately pay attention to them; these two minor demons could not possibly affect the all-encompassing net.

Qin Sang watched the two demon beasts approach the edge of the all-encompassing net. A sharp light flashed in his eyes as the two demon beasts ferociously lunged at each other, then simultaneously detonated their demon cores.

*Boom! Boom!*

The self-detonation of Soul Transformation stage demon cores created a considerable commotion, which the two people by the vortex subtly noticed. As expected, these two demon cores alone would not have shaken the all-encompassing net in the slightest, but it was different with Qin Sang's intervention. As the demon cores detonated, a subtle power erupted within their bodies, striking the net along with them.

*Boom!*

The all-encompassing net vibrated, sounding like a resounding bell. In the snow layers beneath the jungle, the female demon abruptly opened her eyes, her face filled with shock and anger.

At the same time, the man and woman by the vortex finally discovered the all-encompassing net, their faces instantly turning pale with fright. They hurriedly interrupted their secret technique.

"Damn it! That bitch actually dared to ambush us!" the man gnashed his teeth.

They simultaneously conjured two identical treasures: two purple rhinoceros horns, carved into trumpets.

*Whoo-woo...*

As the two played the trumpets together, a gigantic purple rhino illusion appeared in the sky. It strained its head, raising its single horn, and fiercely pierced a hole in the all-encompassing net.