Chapter 248: Counterattack

This time, the Elder of Deficient Earth didn't directly assign Qin Sang a task. Strange fluctuations emanated from him, accompanied by a faint, eerie melody. Then, a roaring inferno materialized out of thin air. The stone steps, illuminated by the flames, glowed exceptionally bright, yet there was no trace of heat.

As the flames deepened in color, Qin Sang actually felt the surrounding temperature steadily rise.

This intense heat seemed to emanate from his very core; even with his cultivation level, he found it difficult to bear, and a fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead.

Looking back at the Elder of Deficient Earth, his appearance had dramatically changed.

His physical body had vanished completely, transforming into the likeness of a Flame Flying Monkey. There was no difference whatsoever in its form or aura compared to a real Flame Flying Monkey; even the golden glint in its eyes was identical.

A perfect replication!

The eerie golden gaze settled on Qin Sang.

Qin Sang felt a chill in his heart and covertly prepared himself. He had been racking his brain for a way to escape during this time but had yet to find an opportunity.

Next, the Elder of Deficient Earth unleashed a surge of Thousand Illusions Divine Sound power, placing it before Qin Sang. He then raised his hand and pointed towards the lava lake, commanding, "You go first!"

Qin Sang manipulated this surge of Thousand Illusions Divine Sound power but couldn't achieve the perfect disguise like the Elder of Deficient Earth. He understood that the Elder wanted him to be a decoy, clearing the path.

Qin Sang did not resist and immediately complied.

With a slight shift of his thoughts, a fiery cloak enveloped him. He resumed his now-familiar movements, his figure darting out like lightning, rushing into the lava lake at top speed. As the monkey horde spotted Qin Sang, the situation instantly devolved into chaos.

The Elder of Deficient Earth let out a sinister chuckle, then suddenly vanished from his spot, reappearing at the edge of the lava lake the next instant.

"Roar!" The Flame Flying Monkeys in the lava lake roared furiously, surrounding and attacking Qin Sang. However, they failed to notice an entity that appeared to be one of their own, quietly blending in amongst them.

Near the Elder of Deficient Earth, a few Flame Flying Monkeys noticed this 'stranger'. They casually glanced at him, then looked away, roaring as they charged towards Qin Sang, evidently having accepted him as one of their own.

Qin Sang struggled to cope, yet his gaze remained fixed on the Elder of Deficient Earth.

He watched as the Elder of Deficient Earth, like a wisp of smoke, weaved through the countless Flame Flying Monkeys, using the chaos to approach the Crimson Gold Vine without alerting any of them.

Qin Sang's heart sank. Initially, he had believed that the Flame Flying Monkeys, with their fiery golden eyes, could see through illusionary techniques, making the Elder of Deficient Earth's chances of success low, perhaps fifty-fifty at best, and very likely to have his disguise seen through.

To his surprise, the Elder of Deficient Earth's disguise was flawless; it hadn't alerted the monkey horde even now. The Thousand Illusions Divine Sound must possess abilities Qin Sang was unaware of.

At this moment, the Elder of Deficient Earth, with a clear objective, was mingling among the monkeys and heading directly for the golden fruit on the Crimson Gold Vine. He was rapidly approaching his target!

Witnessing this, Qin Sang's eyes flashed. He suddenly detonated the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound power within his body, holding nothing back.

Qin Sang had only recently entered the sea of lava, and only a small portion of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound power within him had been consumed. Now, as he suddenly detonated it, his surroundings seemed to transform into an infinitely deep vortex. The vast divine sound materialized into fire, instantly erupting from the vortex with Qin Sang at its center, spreading out into a sea of flames.

Ten million waves of fire erupted simultaneously! A conflagration that seemed to scorch the heavens!

The Flame Flying Monkeys caught in the sea of fire that had not yet merged were instantly annihilated, their very essence of fire element power extinguished along with them. The monkeys that had already merged and possessed formidable strength also couldn't withstand this sudden impact, their bodies cracking inch by inch.

"Roar!" These monkeys roared skyward, frantically swinging their massive clubs to bat away the surging waves of fire. They couldn't comprehend why they, creatures of flame who should have been in their element, now felt the terror of death.

Immediately, they suddenly abandoned their resistance, lunged at each other, and began a new fusion.

In the blink of an eye, only half of the hundreds of massive Flame Flying Monkeys remained, and the fusion had not stopped: one hundred, fifty...

Seeing the monkeys growing increasingly powerful after merging, Qin Sang felt as fragile as an ant, capable of being easily crushed by them. Yet, instead of fear, he felt delight!

This was a pattern he had discovered through repeated trials and explorations.

The fusion of the Flame Flying Monkeys was not a mutual consumption but merely a means to counter powerful enemies. Once the threat disappeared, they would revert to their original individual forms, their strength unchanged from before the fusion.

For this reason, the monkeys' inherent instincts did not include a strong desire to merge. They would halt the fusion process once they reached a point where they could eliminate the enemy.

Now, Qin Sang's immediate detonation of the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound was precisely to create the illusion for the monkeys that an extremely terrifying enemy had invaded, forcing them to frantically merge and enhance their strength.

Qin Sang's objective was to create several formidable enemies for the Elder of Deficient Earth.

The Elder of Deficient Earth was currently perfectly disguised, but once he moved to pluck the Crimson Gold Vine fruit, he would surely be discovered by the monkey horde. If the monkeys only began to merge after the Elder of Deficient Earth revealed himself, it would be too slow to stop him. So, Qin Sang was proactively preparing several "divine monkeys" for him. When the Elder of Deficient Earth became entangled with these divine monkeys, it would be Qin Sang's chance to escape!

The people outside had already begun to jointly break the seals. As long as he left this place and joined them, all being sect disciples, it should make the old demon hesitant to act openly against him. He had no grudge with the old demon, and he had even helped him steal the spirit fruit. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the old demon would likely not pester him relentlessly.

Qin Sang had never held any expectation for the so-called "thank you gift" from the Elder of Deficient Earth.

What Qin Sang feared most was that the old demon, having tasted success, would hold onto him and continually use him as a pathfinder.

The Elder of Deficient Earth was absolutely capable of such a thing!

Qin Sang had fought the Flame Flying Monkeys before and was very familiar with them. It was precisely because he had only faced one type of opponent, lacking variety, that he had been able to survive repeated trials.

What if the old demon ordered him to probe the forbidden areas throughout the ancient dwelling, facing unpredictable and infinitely varied restrictions? Even with the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound, Qin Sang couldn't guarantee he would be so lucky every time.

By then, even preserving his corpse intact might be a luxury.

Having realized this, Qin Sang was constantly thinking of ways to escape. This was the only opportunity he could see, and he had to seize it tightly!

After proactively detonating the Thousand Illusions Divine Sound, Qin Sang immediately merged with his sword and unhesitatingly flew out of the lava lake. He was not far from the lake's edge and quickly broke through the monkey horde's encirclement, heading directly for the stone steps.

While escaping, Qin Sang turned his head to glance at the center of the lava lake.

The Elder of Deficient Earth had already stealthily reached the Crimson Gold Vine. With one hand, he firmly grasped a fruit, applied gentle pressure, and instantly the fruit vanished, having been put away by him.

The moment the fruit was plucked, the Crimson Gold Vine suddenly withered, then shriveled at an astonishing rate, becoming a dried vine before finally turning to dust and dissipating.

At the root of the Crimson Gold Vine, a section of root appeared to remain.

Perhaps over time, the Crimson Gold Vine would regrow, but it would be difficult for it to bear fruit again in the short term.

The growth cycle for such Heaven and Earth Spirit Fruits is very long, not as long as the Nine Illusory Heavenly Orchid, but still measured in centuries.