Chapter 708: Cold Flame

Rain hit the bluestone.

It seemed as though something had exploded.

Qin Sang's heart pounded violently, a suffocating feeling in his chest. His escape light flickered for a moment before stabilizing, and he turned to look behind him, his face filled with dread.

Such a massive disturbance couldn't have been caused even by a great demon in the late Demon Core stage!

Moreover, immediately after the thunderous sound, a great demon's roar echoed, filled with intense pain.

At this moment, the sun was setting in the west, a sliver of twilight glow remaining as darkness descended.

On the eastern sea, a tiny, crystalline blue light first appeared, strikingly visible where the water met the sky.

The blue light grew brighter and expanded, then suddenly erupted.

In an instant, the dazzling blue light illuminated the sea as if it were daytime. Qin Sang was forced to squint, yet he stared unblinkingly at the glowing mass.

A slender blue ray shot out from the light mass, soaring straight into the sky!

A moon shadow was visible in the sky, and the light ray seemed to head directly towards it.

At this moment, Qin Sang felt the surroundings grow even darker, and his mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time.

Gigantic waves rose one after another, and the entire sea surface trembled.

Before long, the light ray exhausted its power and slowly fell back, casting scattered remnants like starlight that faded with the wind, beautiful like fireworks from a previous life.

Qin Sang finally saw clearly: the blue light was actually a type of blue spiritual flame, and the scattered remnants were individual flames.

"Could it be the spiritual flame hidden deep within the cave? The spiritual flame was fine deep in the cave, with no signs of activity. Why would it suddenly erupt? Either the great demon inadvertently triggered the cave's restrictions, or the cultivators caused it, intentionally releasing the spiritual flame. It was wise of me to leave early; that cave must be more than just a Nascent Soul cultivator's dwelling..."

Qin Sang swallowed, secretly alarmed and feeling fortunate.

Qin Sang gazed at the spiritual flame. After the eruption, a layer of blue light still permeated the eastern night sky and the sea. The spiritual flame had retracted to its original orb-like size, but it was still violently shaking, alternately expanding and contracting, clearly unsettled. It was obviously extremely volatile, not as serene as it appeared.

It was then that Qin Sang noticed a layer of ice had formed on the sea surface around the spiritual flame. He saw waves freezing solid the moment they surged, turning into icy lumps.

The sea breeze blowing from that direction also turned into a bone-chilling cold wind.

"It can freeze the sea surface and affect a large area of the ocean – what terrifying power! This confirms my earlier guess: the spiritual flame must be a type of cold flame. The cold mist was related to the spiritual flame, carrying its aura, which is why the Nine Nether Demonic Flame reacted unusually."

Qin Sang murmured to himself, comparing the cold flame to the Ancestral Holy Flame of the Qingyang Demonic Sect in his mind.

Among the spiritual flames he had seen, the Nine Nether Demonic Flame was sealed by a magic treasure. The Southern Brightness Disassociated Flame was merely a portion of leaked demonic fire power; its true form was said to be very small, and he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.

Only the Ancestral Holy Flame, which danced wildly on Shengang Peak, had he seen most clearly.

Due to the great distance, he couldn't accurately sense the cold flame's aura, but judging by the magnitude of its eruption, it was probably no less powerful than the Ancestral Holy Flame.

This indicated that the cold flame possessed astonishing power, at least at the Nascent Soul level!

"Did Reverend Dong Ming build his dwelling here just to subdue the cold flame? He suddenly vanished, unable even to take his treasures. Could it be that something went wrong while he was subduing the cold flame, and he suffered a backlash and died inside?"

With limited knowledge, he could only make wild guesses.

Qin Sang hovered in mid-air, gazing in the direction of the cold flame.

"Besides that shriek, the great demon made no further sound, nor did any cultivators appear. Could they have all died the moment the cold flame erupted?"

Qin Sang hesitated, unsure if the cold flame had truly settled down. What if another explosion occurred just as he approached, dragging him into it?

But he was greatly tempted by the cold flame.

Back then, Old Ancestor Kuiyin subdued the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, forged the Ten Directions Yama Banner, and became renowned throughout the Lesser Han Domain.

After learning the history of the Nine Nether Demonic Flame and the Ten Directions Yama Banner, Qin Sang was filled with envy, always hoping he could emulate Old Ancestor Kuiyin and subdue a spiritual flame himself.

If he could control the cold flame, his strength would immediately leap countless levels.

Qin Sang's own strength was meager, and he wasn't sure if he could contend with a Nascent Soul cultivator even with the cold flame. However, proclaiming himself the strongest below the Nascent Soul stage would be no problem at all.

Could such a terrifying cold flame be controlled by someone like himself, merely at the Core Formation stage?

Qin Sang had no confidence whatsoever. Old Ancestor Kuiyin's method of subduing the demonic flame was difficult to replicate. He had happened to find a treasure that could suppress the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, and it had taken him over a hundred years, even with his cultivation, to thoroughly study it and devise that method.

Even if he could find a treasure to counter the cold flame, Qin Sang lacked the confidence to refine a magic treasure comparable to the Ten Directions Yama Banner.

"Just a distant look, to broaden my horizons, should be fine. Even if I can't subdue it now, perhaps I can find a way later. With the spiritual flame hidden here, the chances of other cultivators discovering it are small..."

With this thought, Qin Sang's figure flickered, and he turned to glide back along his previous path.

Unexpectedly, he hadn't flown far and wasn't even close to the cold flame when Qin Sang's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly stopped.

His eyes, sharp as lightning, scanned the area before fixing on a patch of ice.

An unusually faint 'crackling' sound emanated from there, growing increasingly distinct. Then, the entire ice surface suddenly exploded, sending ice shards flying everywhere, as a colossal figure broke free.

The great demon wasn't dead yet!

Qin Sang was shocked and about to retreat when he strangely noticed that the great demon's body was much smaller than before.

Upon closer inspection, a large portion of the great demon's body had vanished, almost as if it had been severed at the waist like a human. Even its remaining upper body was riddled with wounds, its flesh torn and mangled.

Blood-red ice shards erupted from its wounds, falling onto the sea surface and spreading into pools of bloody water.

'Roar!'

After breaking free, the great demon roared in fury.

Despite such severe injuries, it was still alive, though its aura was much weaker than before. It glanced at the cold flame with terror, then swung its upper body and fled without hesitation towards the distance, returning to its lair.

Witnessing this scene, Qin Sang's eyes flickered repeatedly.

Apart from the great demon, no one else was in sight. However, seeing the demon's miserable state, the power of the cold flame's eruption was clear, and the cultivators' chances of survival were minuscule.

If he couldn't subdue the cold flame, obtaining a late Demon Core stage demon core would also be an astonishing gain.

Although the great demon appeared severely wounded, its strength was still not to be underestimated. Qin Sang quickly assessed his own capabilities and decided to make an attempt.

With this in mind, he immediately changed direction and pursued the great demon.

The Bloodfiend Divine Light ability was not very effective against demonic beasts, so Qin Sang did not summon his Ebony Sword. Instead, he opened his palm, and three Ten Directions Yama Banners silently slid into his grasp.

Concurrently, two Flying Yakshas were also on standby.

Fighting demonic beasts in the sea allowed no room for carelessness.