Chapter 239: Cooperation

This unexpected encounter, while startling the other party away, completely disrupted Qin Sang's plan. As he fully activated the Ten Directions Yama Banner, he felt his spiritual energy rapidly depleting, and Qin Sang sighed inwardly.

The Five-Colored Glaze above his head suddenly burst forth with dazzling rainbow light. Endless threads of rain, like steel needles, revealed their lethal intent, instantly clearing away a large number of the flying monkeys around him.

Unreservedly allowing the Five-Colored Glaze to erupt significantly reduced the pressure on Qin Sang. However, knowing the Five-Colored Glaze couldn't last long, he seized the opportunity to close the distance to the next stone platform as much as possible.

After proceeding for a certain distance, Qin Sang heard a crisp cracking sound.

The auspicious cloud formed by the Five-Colored Glaze instantly shattered. Its remaining power transformed into a violent storm, which ultimately helped Qin Sang carve out a path before completely dissipating.

It was truly a pity that the Five-Colored Glaze's power was completely depleted in this trial. However, this also greatly eased Qin Sang's burden. When he saw the outline of a stone platform emerging from the mist ahead, he noticed that despite his spiritual energy being severely drained, he was completely unharmed.

With the flying monkeys blocked by the barrier behind him, Qin Sang, looking slightly disheveled, swept onto the stone platform. His figure suddenly stiffened slightly: there was actually a person on the stone platform!

This person's aura was restrained and their figure concealed as they meditated and recovered on the stone platform.

Qin Sang hadn't noticed anything beforehand. Only after breaking free from the flying monkeys' encirclement and ascending the stone platform, when he was closer, did he realize the other party's presence.

Fortunately, he had hidden the Ten Directions Yama Banner in advance.

Qin Sang stood at the edge of the stone platform, his ebony sword hovering around him, as he vigilantly watched the other party's hidden location.

A moment later, the other party's figure became visible, looking at Qin Sang with a surprised expression.

"Junior Brother Qin, is that you?"

"Senior Brother Yu?"

Qin Sang was also somewhat surprised; this person was actually Yu Daiyue.

Yu Daiyue's condition seemed poor. His aura was clearly somewhat chaotic, and his left arm hung limply by his side, bearing countless marks from fire sticks. Qin Sang estimated the bones in his arm were completely shattered.

His body was covered in bloodstains; judging by his bruised and battered appearance, all this blood was his own.

It seemed Yu Daiyue had also just passed the previous trial. He hadn't even had time to treat his injuries and had been meditating to recover, as restoring spiritual energy was the most crucial matter in such a place.

Yu Daiyue was far more disheveled than Qin Sang. Therefore, upon seeing Qin Sang pass the trial without any obvious injuries, he couldn't help but be greatly surprised. His eyes flickered as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"I never imagined Junior Brother Qin's strength had reached such a level, to face those terrifying flying monkeys with such ease. I was entangled by them and nearly lost my life there, ultimately having to sacrifice an arm to barely escape. Compared to Junior Brother Qin, I am truly ashamed!"

The person he had encountered earlier was likely not Yu Daiyue; it was probably one of the cultivators in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Thinking these thoughts, Qin Sang listened to Yu Daiyue's words and gave a wry, helpless smile. "Senior Brother Yu, you overestimate me," he said. "Don't you know my true circumstances? I also had to sacrifice a top-grade artifact to barely escape the flying monkeys' entanglement. Comparatively, I'd much rather have injured an arm, as an arm can always heal, but acquiring a top-grade artifact requires an immense amount of effort and resources. Especially in a place like this, losing a top-grade artifact greatly affects my strength, and the path ahead will likely be much more perilous..."

Qin Sang shook his head from side to side and let out a long sigh, his expression deeply dejected.

Upon hearing this, Yu Daiyue's expression softened slightly, and he concurred. "That is indeed a pity!" he said. "However, Junior Brother Qin, this spiritual sword of yours possesses an extraordinary aura. It must be your true essence spiritual sword, correct? With this sword, you should have no worries... To be honest, Junior Brother Qin, recalling my experiences in the previous three trials, I still feel a chill. The trials in this Ancient Immortal Vestige are far more difficult and dangerous than I imagined. I don't know how many more trials lie ahead, and I have little confidence in passing them alone. Since we've coincidentally met, why don't we join forces? We should be able to go much further together. What do you think, Junior Brother Qin?"

"I would be delighted," Qin Sang replied. "I will rely on Senior Brother Yu from now on!"

Qin Sang feigned delight as he agreed, having already weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Traveling with Yu Daiyue meant he couldn't use the Ten Directions Yama Banner, and it was best not to use the Thousand Mechanism Sword Formation either, lest Yu Daiyue connect it to anything.

But Qin Sang hadn't wasted these past twenty years; he had accumulated several decent artifacts. Though their power was far inferior to the Ten Directions Yama Banner, they were sufficient for combat, and he also had the Jade Ruyi Talisman-treasure.

If the situation became critical to the point where he had no choice but to use them, he could simply find an excuse to get rid of Yu Daiyue. When disaster struck, it was perfectly normal for everyone to go their separate ways.

He had cooperated with Yu Daiyue once before, and as fellow disciples, they were more trustworthy than others. Even if Yu Daiyue truly harbored ill intentions, Qin Sang was no pushover; his hidden methods would definitely give Yu Daiyue a hard time.

Seeing Qin Sang readily agree, Yu Daiyue smiled contentedly. "I still need to heal, and Junior Brother Qin, you should also recover your spiritual energy quickly," he said. "Once we've recovered, we'll set off immediately. Presumably, those senior brothers with profound cultivation have already passed the trials and entered the vestige. If we delay any longer, we won't even get a share of the spoils."

Qin Sang had already been greatly satisfied after acquiring those demonic artifacts and cultivating the Ten Directions Yama Banner to grand completion. However, if he could gain more, he wouldn't refuse, so he sat down on the edge of the stone platform, immersing himself in meditation and circulating his cultivation technique.

Yu Daiyue gave Qin Sang a deep look, swallowed a healing pill, and closed his eyes.

The stone platform fell silent.

During the time they were recovering, no one else ascended. Yu Daiyue suddenly awoke from his meditation and said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother Qin, my injuries have stabilized; we can set off now."

Yu Daiyue moved his left arm slightly, feeling a little discomfort, but it wasn't a significant hindrance.

Qin Sang had already recovered to his peak strength. Upon hearing this, he immediately stood up, summoned his ebony sword, and after a moment's thought, took out the Sky Poison Veil he had obtained from the black-robed old man. He also secretly held the Dark Yin Thunder and Jade Ruyi Talisman-treasure in his palm.

The poisonous mist enveloped Qin Sang, emitting bursts of chilling aura and a peculiar scent.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator active in the Ancient Immortal battlefield, possessing two or three top-grade artifacts was not strange. Yu Daiyue glanced at it and didn't ask further.

After a brief discussion, the two quietly entered the mist.

Unexpectedly, after entering the mist for a certain distance, they didn't see any familiar red clouds flying past, not even the shadow of a fire spirit beast. It seemed there were no fire spirit beasts present here.

Qin Sang and Yu Daiyue exchanged glances, both extremely puzzled, yet simultaneously more vigilant.

An anomaly signals danger.

Perhaps there was something even more troublesome than fire spirit beasts.

Just then, Qin Sang suddenly felt a strange sensation at the edge of the poisonous mist, as if it had touched something.

Yu Daiyue also realized something was wrong and abruptly shouted, "Watch out!"