Chapter 659: Captured Alive

Mortal World

As the bone claw, strangely aglow, lunged with immense force towards the ebony sword, Qin Sang immediately made a decision. He swiftly chanted a quick incantation, and the ebony sword lightly vibrated, suddenly transforming into two identical streaks of sword light.

Both sword lights appeared utterly real; it was impossible to tell which was the true sword and which was a phantom.

"Sword Light Split!"

Du Han's scalp prickled. He had never imagined that such a divine ability, one sought after by two types of sword cultivators, would be unleashed by the same person before him—especially someone who had clearly only recently formed his core.

The two sword lights flew side-by-side, deftly avoiding the bone claw. Even with his keen eyesight, he couldn't discern which was genuine and which was fake.

Du Han had no time to hesitate; he could only make a desperate gamble, urging the bone claw to snatch at one of the lights. Simultaneously, he slapped his storage pouch and pulled out a round mirror.

Crafted from an unknown material, the entire mirror was jet-black. Its surface and frame alike gleamed with an obsidian-like sheen, perfectly integrated. This was the artifact bestowed upon Du Han by the Li Witch Palace after he broke through to the Core Formation stage, named the Blackwater Mirror.

Originally, the Blackwater Mirror was merely a superior low-grade artifact. However, he later unexpectedly acquired a piece of top-grade ore and commissioned someone to refine it into the artifact. While it didn't advance to a mid-grade artifact, its power was now among the strongest of low-grade artifacts.

*Crack!*

At that moment, the bone claw successfully latched onto one of the sword lights. However, that sword light struggled for a moment before suddenly shattering into fragments; it was the illusory projection. The other was the spirit sword's true form.

*Whoosh!*

The ebony sword was now dangerously close to Du Han. The bone claw couldn't return in time to assist. Fortunately, Du Han had anticipated this. Ignoring the bone claw, he frantically channeled all his power into activating the Blackwater Mirror, interposing it before the ebony sword. Black currents seemed to ripple across the mirror's surface, surging and swirling, before coalescing into a black silken band that shot forth and coiled around the ebony sword.

Just then, Du Han suddenly cried out in alarm, stomped his foot, and instantly blurred away. The next moment, an eerie black claw pierced through where his chest had been.

Behind Du Han, the Flying Yaksha, having used the chaos to its advantage, closed in and finally found an opportunity to launch a surprise attack. Qin Sang had arranged for the Flying Yaksha to hide in the dark, originally intending for it to ambush Du Han's life-bound Gu worm. After discovering Du Han didn't possess one, he changed his mind and ordered a direct attack on Du Han.

This attack seemed to have succeeded. However, there was no trace of blood on the Flying Yaksha's hand, and Du Han's body gradually became illusory, finally revealing a small straw figure, woven from an unknown type of straw. The small figure was only palm-sized, with facial features identical to Du Han, frighteningly lifelike.

At this moment, the small figure's face contorted in pain before it suddenly shattered into dust. Du Han's figure reappeared out of thin air nearby, chest heaving but otherwise unharmed. His face was etched with shock, clearly terrified by the Flying Yaksha's ambush, and cold sweat streamed down his body.

"Seems like some kind of substitute puppet secret art?" Qin Sang's pupils contracted. He thought inwardly, this person is truly troublesome; his array of bizarre techniques is endless, allowing him to escape even certain-death situations.

Although his attack missed, Qin Sang felt no discouragement. He lightly pointed at the ebony sword. The sword's blade quickly became stained with a layer of crimson, then a blood-red light swiftly enveloped the Blackwater Mirror.

Qin Sang had saved the Blood Filth Divine Light until now specifically for the Blackwater Mirror. Although the bone claw was Du Han's life-bound artifact, its quality was inferior to the Blackwater Mirror, which was Du Han's strongest artifact and Qin Sang's greatest perceived threat. He had held back until now, waiting for the perfect moment to cripple the Blackwater Mirror. Without it, Du Han would lose his biggest reliance, and no matter how profound his cultivation, he wouldn't escape Qin Sang's grasp.

With his mind reeling, Du Han could only watch as the Blackwater Mirror was engulfed by the eerie blood-red light. Instantly, he felt his connection to the artifact grow sluggish. The Blackwater Mirror's spiritual light was incredibly dim; severely damaged and its spiritual power diminished, it wobbled precariously in the air.

Du Han was greatly alarmed. He hastily tried to retrieve the Blackwater Mirror to examine it when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a blood-red shadow from the corner of his eye. Having missed its initial strike, the Flying Yaksha casually killed Du Han's disciple, then hurled the corpse at Du Han before instantly closing the distance.

Du Han knew the Flying Yaksha's terrifying power well. He could only painfully abandon the Blackwater Mirror, hastily recalling the bone claw to strike at the Flying Yaksha.

Having successively lost the incredibly precious Straw Substitute Puppet and the Blackwater Mirror, Du Han's will to fight completely evaporated. His only thought was to escape with his life, abandoning any notion of killing Qin Sang. The series of treasures Qin Sang displayed gave Du Han the illusion of facing an ancient cultivator; even renowned cultivators who had been in the Core Formation stage for many years rarely possessed such an arsenal of terrifying methods.

"Is this truly someone who just formed his core?" Du Han wondered. "No wonder he didn't have a life-bound Gu; he clearly possesses a life-bound artifact!"

Du Han was filled with immense regret. While trying every method to escape, he also cursed his disciples for their idiocy.

But after all his meticulous preparations, how could Qin Sang allow him to escape?

Having crippled the Blackwater Mirror, Qin Sang didn't pause at all. He immediately recalled the ebony sword, and with a flick of his palm, three small pennants spun from his grasp, arranging themselves into a formation in the air. The Ten Directions Yama Pennants suddenly surged several *zhang* high. The surrounding temperature plummeted; even under the bright midday sun, the air grew eerily cold.

Qin Sang fully activated the Ten Directions Yama Formation. After forming his core, he had continuously practiced Sword Light Split and familiarized himself with the Ten Directions Yama Pennants. His Sword Light Split divine ability had already shown promising results, at least enough to thoroughly confuse an opponent. The Ten Directions Yama Formation, however, still required a moment to fully prepare.

"What kind of evil artifact is this?" The appearance of the Ten Directions Yama Pennants once again refreshed Du Han's perception. Skilled in formations, he immediately saw that this was a grand formation composed of three artifacts, whose power was undoubtedly extraordinary.

The fear in Du Han's heart grew stronger. He already felt the arrival of death, exerting all his might to desperately try to shake off the Flying Yaksha, even resolving to abandon his life-bound artifact. Talismans and Daoist spells flew forth simultaneously.

The Flying Yaksha, thick-skinned and resilient, completely ignored the attacks, clinging stubbornly to Du Han. Its formidable physical strength allowed it to withstand the bone claw's assaults, buying Qin Sang the necessary time to prepare the banner formation.

At the same time, Qin Sang's hand seals shifted rapidly, finally completing the grand formation!

*Whoosh whoosh…*

Strong winds suddenly rose. In an instant, eerie winds swept through, and the surroundings abruptly dimmed. On the banners of the three ghost pennants, there seemed to be a black hole. An intensely cold black flame surged forth from within, converging into a central mass that grew even deeper and darker!

"Go!" Qin Sang pointed at Du Han, his eyes icy cold. He had saved the Ten Directions Yama Pennants for last to ensure a foolproof capture of his opponent!

The Nine Nether Demonic Flame transformed into a fiery dragon and lunged at Du Han. Du Han, flustered, had to manage his ghost claw to simultaneously fend off the Nine Nether Demonic Flame and the Flying Yaksha's pincer attack, finding himself utterly overwhelmed.

Finally, with a loud *crack*, the bone claw shattered and was consumed by the Nine Nether Demonic Flame. Du Han fell into despair. Qin Sang didn't even leave him a chance to commit suicide.

Struck by the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, Du Han's consciousness blurred. When he next became aware, he found a hand clamped around his throat.