Chapter 709: Escape

The formidable presence of the Nine Dragon Sky Chariot Talisman and the Sword Qi Thunder Sound was impossible to conceal.

Fearing detection by the great demon, Qin Sang immediately submerged himself into the seabed. He initially refrained from using his full speed, but as he drew closer, his speed suddenly erupted.

The flood dragon roared, and thunderous sounds echoed.

His escaping light, a silver-red bolt of lightning, streaked across the sky above the sea.

The moment Qin Sang moved, he was instantly discovered by the great demon.

The great demon twisted its body, its blood-red eyes fixed intently on Qin Sang.

Qin Sang finally saw the great demon's true form. Its body was extraordinarily thickset; had it not lost half its mass to the Cold Flame explosion, it would have been no less formidable than a flood dragon. However, it was clearly a fish-bodied creature.

Its head was also disfigured, though he could vaguely discern that it possessed a human-like face with features remarkably similar to a human's, making it eerily bizarre.

"So, it's a Human-Faced Boarfish," Qin Sang mused. As the Human-Faced Boarfish's blood-red eyes stared at him, Qin Sang felt a slight chill, yet also a subtle sense of relief.

The Human-Faced Boarfish had a long, slender body but lacked any flood dragon bloodline; it was a type of sea beast. The good news was that this Human-Faced Boarfish's cultivation wasn't as terrifying as he had imagined; it wasn't at the peak of the Demon Core stage.

Human-Faced Boarfish possessed astonishing water-element divine abilities, whose power was significantly amplified in the vast ocean. If it were a Human-Faced Boarfish at the peak of the Demon Core stage, even a Nascent Soul Patriarch would find it extremely troublesome. Even with this injured one, Qin Sang still had to carefully assess the situation.

This Human-Faced Boarfish was clearly highly intelligent. Upon seeing Qin Sang pursuing it, its blood-red eyes blazed with terrifying murderous intent and extreme ferocity, yet it made the correct choice, immediately sinking towards the seabed.

The next moment, Qin Sang appeared above the sea surface. He lowered his gaze, staring at the dark shadow in the water, and with a wave of his hand, unleashed a black tongue of flame, uttering a low command: "Go!"

*Hiss...*

The Nine Nether Demonic Flame showed no fear of the seawater, maneuvering effortlessly within it as it swiftly darted towards the Human-Faced Boarfish.

Sensing the aura of the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, the Human-Faced Boarfish, having just suffered a loss to the Cold Flame, showed deep fear in its eyes. It immediately wriggled its body, and with a 'boom,' spray erupted as it was forced to leap out of the water.

Simultaneously, two dark figures imbued with dense corpse qi suddenly cut through the waves, rushing forward from left and right with astonishing speed.

The next moment, the Human-Faced Boarfish's body violently swayed, generating massive ripples. It astonishingly used its own flesh and blood to actively collide with one of the Sky-Flying Yakshas.

The Human-Faced Boarfish's discernment was incredibly sharp; it had precisely chosen the weakest of the two.

*Thud!*

The Human-Faced Boarfish collided with the Sky-Flying Yaksha using its physical body. Surprisingly, that particular Sky-Flying Yaksha was sent flying, crashing heavily into the seawater. The Human-Faced Boarfish's flesh was also torn, leaving a wound with lingering corpse qi that, like gangrene, drilled deeper into its body along the laceration.

Seeing this, Qin Sang was inwardly startled. This beast could withstand the attacks of two Sky-Flying Yakshas and even send one flying. Could its injuries not be as severe as he thought?

Qin Sang hurriedly activated his divine sense to check the Sky-Flying Yaksha's condition. Soul-Guiding Grass was rare here, making it difficult to refine new Sky-Flying Yakshas. It would be acceptable if he could kill the Human-Faced Boarfish, but if he failed and lost another Sky-Flying Yaksha, it would be a double loss.

Fortunately, the Sky-Flying Yaksha had only experienced a shock from the corpse qi and was not actually injured.

After knocking back a Sky-Flying Yaksha, the Human-Faced Boarfish let out a long cry, akin to that of a giant whale. Its mouth opened wide, and a swirling cloud of white mist rapidly formed within it before flying out.

A cracking sound emanated from the white mist, which ultimately transformed into a cloud of ice mist. As the ice mist descended, the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, which had just caught up, was surprisingly blocked by it and failed to penetrate.

*Hiss...*

Qin Sang drew a sharp breath. This Human-Faced Boarfish had already comprehended ice-element divine abilities!

No wonder it looked so miserable but wasn't as weak as he had imagined; having comprehended ice-element divine abilities, its ability to resist the impact of the Cold Flame was certainly far superior to other demonic beasts.

Of course, even with its divine abilities protecting it, the Human-Faced Boarfish was still severely depleted. If he kept up the fight, Qin Sang felt his chances of killing it were high, but a quick decisive battle to slay it, as he had initially hoped, was now impossible.

Hunting demons in the depths of the demon sea always presented such awkward situations; whether to continue the entanglement was a decision one had to weigh oneself.

As Qin Sang pondered, he suddenly heard a bird's cry and sharply looked up. The bird's cry clearly came from afar, yet it possessed unparalleled penetrative power, reaching him even at this distance.

Qin Sang noticed that the moment the bird's cry reached them, the Human-Faced Boarfish also turned its head in that direction, its gaze exceptionally grave, apparently wary of the sound's originator.

"Another great demon at the Demon Core stage?" Qin Sang was startled, a bitter taste in his mouth.

He had long heard that the Thousand Demon Sea was teeming with great demons, and now he was truly witnessing it. Another demonic beast had been startled and was already rushing over so quickly.

"Wait!" Qin Sang's gaze swiftly swept the surroundings. From the direction of the bird's cry, a mass of red clouds was rapidly approaching. And in other directions, similar situations were unfolding: a black cloud in the west, and waves surging from the northeast, where a long white figure could faintly be seen.

Without exception, all these locations exuded towering demonic energy!

"The Cold Flame! They were drawn by the unusual phenomenon of the Cold Flame's eruption!" Qin Sang exclaimed in a hushed voice, finally understanding the root of the problem.

The Cold Flame's eruption had sent blue light soaring into the sky. Distant great demons must have seen this unusual phenomenon and been drawn here, and these were certainly not all of them. Great demons from the surrounding sea areas were likely all on their way.

Seeing this scene, Qin Sang broke out in a cold sweat. How could he dare to linger here? He abruptly waved his hand, collecting the Nine Nether Demonic Flame and the Sky-Flying Yakshas, then turned and fled.

The Human-Faced Boarfish stared at Qin Sang's retreating figure, hesitated for a moment, and then the malevolence in its blood-red eyes gradually receded. It chose not to pursue Qin Sang in retaliation, but instead slowly sank towards the seabed.

East, Northeast, West...

With great demons in three directions, Qin Sang could only escape south. He happened to pass by the Cold Flame, and in his haste, he cast a quick glance.

The original island was now unrecognizable. The central hill had become a deep pit, as if a gaping maw had been blasted open in its middle. The underground cave had naturally vanished, leaving behind only a single blue Cold Flame.

Viewed up close, the Cold Flame's tragic beauty was even more captivating. Experiencing the Cold Flame's aura firsthand, Qin Sang sighed inwardly, lamenting that such a powerful flame could only be admired, not touched.

He had initially thought the Cold Flame's presence here meant it wouldn't be easily discovered, and he might have time to devise a method for it. Now, with so many great demons drawn to the area, he wondered if any of them were rare species capable of collecting the Cold Flame.

Qin Sang was powerless to do anything about this; he could only ponder the possibilities. The immediate priority was to leave as quickly as possible, absolutely avoiding being caught in a great demon's encirclement.

He recalled the sea chart given to them by the short, stout cultivator; heading south from this location would also lead back to the shipping lanes. He could only choose to trust the sea chart now. Qin Sang set his direction and fled, maintaining utmost vigilance to detect any movement from great demons and evade them in time.