Chapter 688: Killing Intent

Qin Sang remained silent, seemingly oblivious to the other party's presence, and continued his flight forward.

The other party grew bolder, making no attempt to conceal his intentions. He trailed them from a distance, never getting too close, always maintaining a set distance.

Qin Sang suddenly halted, hovering above the water, and turned to gaze at the other party.

The other party immediately ceased his flight, facing them across the wide expanse of the sea. He showed no impatience, instead appearing rather pleased with the situation.

"You go first," Qin Sang instructed. Then, he suddenly moved, merging with his sword, and surprisingly turned to pursue the other party.

The other party turned and fled without hesitation, his escape light moving at a speed comparable to Qin Sang's. This indicated he was at least a Core Formation cultivator.

But Qin Sang did not give up. His sword light shone with blinding brilliance, and amidst rumbling thunder, it shot through the air like a bolt of lightning. He had unleashed his Sword Qi Thunder Sound ability.

The distance between them rapidly closed.

Startled, the other party, despite fleeing with all his might, still couldn't escape Qin Sang. He hastily pulled an item from his mustard seed bag and slapped it onto himself. His speed immediately surged, becoming no slower than Qin Sang's Sword Qi Thunder Sound.

Seeing this, Qin Sang halted his pursuit. He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

Qin Sang had just observed the man, in a moment of desperation, activate a spirit talisman on himself. The fact that he needed the talisman to achieve a speed comparable to Sword Qi Thunder Sound suggested his cultivation level wasn't exceptionally high.

Qin Sang, already having formulated a plan, feigned a lack of power to continue the chase. He turned his sword light and returned to catch up with the old couple and the others.

"Senior," the old man said, his voice trembling with alarm, "he must be waiting for reinforcements to ambush us." Seeing Qin Sang return empty-handed and their pursuer turn back to follow them with blatant disregard, the old man was terrified. He had never encountered anyone so brazen as to commit murder for treasure near Duyan Island.

Qin Sang had already considered this, even without the old man's reminder. But his thoughts ran deeper.

The Duyan Island master, a Nascent Soul Grandmaster, was the undisputed ruler of the nearby waters, and no one dared defy his rules. The current anomaly suggested a definite underlying reason.

"Could something have changed on Duyan Island or in the demon sea since I haven't been back in years?" Qin Sang mused. He had been so single-mindedly focused on cultivation that he hadn't returned to Duyan Island, meaning even if there were changes, Ran Luo wouldn't have been able to contact him.

Duyan Island had remained peaceful for many years, and its master was far from the end of his lifespan. For trouble to arise at this specific time was completely unforeseen by Qin Sang.

Under such circumstances, a hasty return to Duyan Island might plunge him into a chaotic vortex, an outcome Qin Sang wished to avoid.

As this thought crossed Qin Sang's mind, his peripheral vision caught sight of the relentlessly pursuing figure. Perhaps he could extract information about the situation from this individual.

With only five Foundation Establishment cultivators accompanying him, they would be a hindrance rather than a help. Even with the Nine Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman, Qin Sang wouldn't dare place himself in a besieged situation, as it might leave him with no chance of escape.

The other party's accomplices were surely nearby, and any further delay would worsen their situation significantly.

Since the other party harbored malicious intent, Qin Sang wouldn't hesitate to be ruthless.

A thought sparked in Qin Sang's mind. Without moving his body, he sent a telepathic message: "Take my illusion and keep moving forward. Don't show any unusual behavior. I'll go confront him again. Once you see us engaging, either return directly to Duyan Island for help, or find a place to hide after escaping his sight. Don't worry about me; I have my own ways to escape."

After a quick discussion and finalizing their plan, the group suddenly activated their escape lights with full power. The other party, seeing this, immediately accelerated as well.

What the pursuer failed to notice was that, at that very moment, Qin Sang, utilizing the cover of the old man's and others' escape lights, activated a Daoist technique. He summoned a lifelike illusion of himself while stealthily vanishing and submerging into the seabed.

Such an illusion would be of little use against cultivators of the same realm, as it could be easily seen through.

However, given the significant distance to the other party, the illusion was sufficient to deceive his vision.

The others continued their flight, carrying Qin Sang's illusion without a backward glance. Meanwhile, Qin Sang activated the "Spirit Evasion Art," lurking beneath the water's surface, awaiting the pursuer's approach.

Soon after, the pursuer caught up. He was a young man in his twenties, clad in a strangely cut black robe. His gaze was fixed intently on the figures of the old couple and the others, utterly oblivious to the trap lying beneath the water's surface.

Just as the black-robed youth was about to pass Qin Sang's hiding spot, the calm, unblemished water surface suddenly shattered like a mirror. A lightning-fast sword light shot forth from the fragments.

In an instant, a spiritual sword, imbued with the power of thunder, materialized before the black-robed youth, radiating potent killing intent!

Having just confirmed that the black-robed youth's cultivation was comparable to Du Han's, Qin Sang attacked without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, the black-robed youth's face showed no trace of panic. Instead, he suddenly smirked and scoffed, "I saw you coming a long time ago!"

"Golden Radiance Armor!" the black-robed youth roared softly. A blinding golden light instantly erupted from his body, transforming into a golden armor at the last possible moment, encasing him entirely.

The black-robed youth appeared supremely confident in his golden armor. Instead of dodging the spiritual sword, he sneered, "Sword Qi Thunder Sound... it seems you're an elite of the human race..."

In a flash, as the golden light surged, the Ebony Sword also flew in, aiming for a strike.

But even faster than the Ebony Sword was a strangely captivating crimson light.

The golden armor proved utterly useless against the crimson light, which pierced through it and splashed onto the black-robed youth's body.

"What is this?!" the black-robed youth shrieked.

Upon contact with the crimson light, the inner armor he wore instantly lost much of its spiritual essence, and the formidable golden armor formed by the golden light rapidly grew dim. Horrified, the black-robed youth completely lost his composure, attempting to dodge, but his movements were far too slow for the Ebony Sword.

The Ebony Sword, closely following, shattered the golden armor, but encountered an obstruction just as it was about to pierce the black-robed youth.

A crisp 'crack' echoed as the black-robed youth's outer robe was shredded by the sword energy, revealing a golden inner armor beneath.

A distinct crack now marred the inner armor!

Qin Sang was somewhat surprised by the inner armor's exceptional durability. While the Blood Filth Divine Light could defile a magic treasure's spiritual essence, it had no effect on the treasure's physical composition.

This inner armor must have been forged from an exceptionally hard spiritual material.

The Ebony Sword, momentarily obstructed, paused briefly before immediately striking again at the golden armor's crack. This time, the sword's shadow flickered, generating another sword light so lifelike it could easily deceive.

Greatly alarmed, the black-robed youth rapidly retreated. Simultaneously, a green light suddenly erupted from his dantian, manifesting before him as the illusion of a spirit insect, nearly a person's height.

This spirit insect possessed an enormous proboscis, lined with sharp teeth. With a wide snap of its maw, it bit down on both the Ebony Sword and the sword light.