Chapter 716: Corpse Pill

The Primordial Concord Ring tightened, causing the Azure Dragon immense pain. However, after receiving Qin Sang's promise, the Azure Dragon seemed to forget its agony. It stared intently at him, its fierce eyes filled with disbelief and hope.

Immediately, the Azure Dragon flicked its massive tail and pursued the direction Qin Sang indicated.

Qin Sang glanced around, then activated his secret talismans and Sword Qi Thunder Sound. His escape light flickered several times before he vanished ahead. After flying a few miles, Qin Sang spotted the Two-Headed Ferret galloping across the water from a distance.

Its front leg was injured, but with the aid of its wind wings, it could still speed across the water.

Given this Two-Headed Ferret's cultivation level, it could create up to six illusory duplicates, all indistinguishable from the real body and inheriting a small portion of its strength. Without actual combat, it was impossible to tell the fakes from the real one by sight alone.

If it wanted to escape, it would be almost impossible for an enemy to trap it.

Qin Sang was fortunate to have severely wounded the Two-Headed Ferret beforehand; otherwise, he would have long lost track of it.

Hearing the commotion behind it, the Two-Headed Ferret's two heads twisted, one to the left and one to the right, glaring fiercely at Qin Sang. Its vertical pupils suddenly gleamed, and two rays of green light shot out, transforming into two ominous azure wind blades.

They converged in a pincer attack, hurtling towards Qin Sang.

“This is real!”

Qin Sang’s eyes narrowed.

Facing these wind blades, he felt a stinging sensation on his skin, indicating their immense power. Illusions could not possess such strong attacks; this was the Two-Headed Ferret’s true body.

To Qin Sang’s surprise and delight, he noticed that after using this duplication ability, the Two-Headed Ferret’s aura weakened further. His strategy was finally bearing fruit.

Throughout this night of pursuit, Qin Sang had opportunities to intercept the Two-Headed Ferret. Had he used his secret talismans and Sword Qi Thunder Sound without reservation, the Two-Headed Ferret’s current speed would have been inferior to his.

But he chose not to. Instead, he kept a considerable distance behind the Two-Headed Ferret, not pressing too hard, allowing it to believe it had a chance to escape, yet giving it no time to rest.

Under Qin Sang’s repeated harassment, the already severely wounded Two-Headed Ferret was forced to overdraw its energy multiple times, using its abilities to avert danger. It was now truly nearing the end of its tether.

As the wind blades approached, Qin Sang remained calm.

‘Whoosh!’

The sword aura surrounding Qin Sang flashed and disappeared.

A rumble of thunder accompanied it.

The next moment, the Ebony Sword appeared in front of the wind blades. Its shadow flickered, splitting into two beams of sword light that moved left and right to meet the two clusters of wind blades.

At the same time, Qin Sang tilted his head back and let out a long howl, commanding the Azure Dragon and the Flying Yaksha to rush over.

The time was ripe; it was almost time to reel in the net!

However, the Two-Headed Ferret was a mid-stage demonic core cultivator, and its desperate counterattack would undoubtedly be extremely fierce. Qin Sang felt somewhat lacking in confidence on his own.

Furthermore, his goal was not to kill the Two-Headed Ferret, but to capture it alive.

At this moment, the Flying Yaksha had just engaged with a Two-Headed Ferret illusion. Hearing Qin Sang’s howl, it cleaved the illusion apart with a single palm strike and turned to leave. The Azure Dragon had just spotted a Two-Headed Ferret illusion itself. Hearing the command, it hesitated briefly before also choosing to return.

‘Boom!’

The wind blades collided with the spirit sword, sending countless azure fragments scattering. The wind blades gradually disintegrated.

The Ebony Sword trembled, letting out a sword hum as it broke free from the wind blades. Its aura flashed, and it shot back to Qin Sang’s front.

In this exchange, Qin Sang appeared to have a slight advantage.

To his surprise, after unleashing the wind blades, the Two-Headed Ferret didn’t flee. Instead, it turned to stare at him, its two vertical pupils flashing with menace. Its heads were slightly lowered, fangs bared, and it let out low growls.

Qin Sang’s heart tightened. He knew the Two-Headed Ferret was likely preparing a desperate struggle.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than the Two-Headed Ferret’s form blurred. Then, two illusions separated from its body and suddenly vanished.

Qin Sang inwardly cursed, realizing something was wrong, and immediately retreated.

The next moment, all three Two-Headed Ferrets pounced on Qin Sang’s original position. Had he not reacted in time, he would have been torn to shreds by them.

The Two-Headed Ferret, having missed its attack, became relentless.

Its wind wings vibrated lightly, then shattered, transforming into an overwhelming barrage of wind blades. Simultaneously, its true body and illusions charged forward again.

Unfortunately, by this time, the Azure Dragon and the Flying Yaksha had arrived one after another.

Qin Sang skillfully dodged the wind blades, identified the Two-Headed Ferret’s illusions, and ordered the Azure Dragon and Flying Yaksha to tear them apart. Then, the three of them jointly attacked the Two-Headed Ferret.

Its final desperate attempt failed, leaving the Two-Headed Ferret even weaker. It had even lost its wind wings and could no longer manage facing the encirclement. It was overwhelmed and increasingly in a dire situation.

The Two-Headed Ferret was consumed by anxiety. It repeatedly overextended its vital essence, launching several more counterattacks, all of which Qin Sang effortlessly neutralized.

Finally, the Two-Headed Ferret fell into despair, letting out a mournful wail towards the sky. One of its heads opened wide, and a ray of azure light shot out.

Within the azure light, a pill-like object was clearly encased.

A demonic core!

The azure light appeared incredibly poignant, and the demonic core vibrated ceaselessly. An exceptionally powerful aura emanated from within the light.

The Two-Headed Ferret was actually going to self-detonate its demonic core!

Facing this sight, Qin Sang showed no panic. With a wave of his hand, three streaks of eerie light shot out, landing with a ‘swish, swish, swish’ beside the Two-Headed Ferret. They instantly transformed into three massive ghost banners, fluttering noisily in the turbulent winds.

For the past fifteen years, Qin Sang’s life had been extremely monotonous, consisting only of hunting demons and cultivating.

He was intent on avoiding the chaos between the two races, so not only did he not return during these years, but he also ventured deeper and deeper into the Demonic Sea, relying on the early warning capabilities of his Primordial Concord Ring.

In fifteen years, he hadn’t encountered a single immortal cultivator.

Enduring this solitude was not difficult for him, given his unwavering dedication to immortal cultivation.

While cultivating, he had continuously pondered.

Before the next opening of the Seven Kills Hall, he should have no problem breaking through to the mid-stage of Core Formation. However, further breakthrough to the late stage would certainly be impossible.

If he couldn’t break through further, continued cultivation after reaching mid-stage Core Formation would have little effect.

How could he rapidly increase his strength to prepare for his future entry into the Seven Kills Hall?

The two most obvious paths were to simultaneously cultivate his physical body and to cultivate his nascent soul and strengthen his divine sense.

Among Qin Sang’s past spoils, he had fortunately obtained similar cultivation methods, but they were all mediocre, with debatable effectiveness. This included the techniques treasured in Shaohua Mountain’s Pagoda Peak, which offered little benefit to Core Formation cultivators.

Originally, had it not been for Lord Dongyang’s schemes, Qin Sang would have returned to his sect and successfully formed his core, gaining access to Shaohua Mountain’s most valuable treasures, and would surely not have lacked such methods.

Cultivation techniques for divine sense and body refinement were already rare, and top-tier ones were extremely scarce. Since Qin Sang was unwilling to join other sects and be restricted, his opportunities to obtain such methods were even fewer.

After much thought, Qin Sang had no choice but to turn his attention elsewhere.

For instance, the Corpse Pill.

After forming his core, Qin Sang had always kept the Corpse Pill as a reserve. When his own true essence was exhausted, he could unseal the Corpse Pill to gain greater stamina than other cultivators at the same level.

Qin Sang felt that simply using the hard-earned Corpse Pill in such a manner would be a waste. It should be utilized for a greater purpose to justify his efforts years ago.