Chapter 719: Message

Qin Sang's figure flickered and disappeared.

He concealed his presence and quietly headed north, approaching Cold Flame Island.

Coincidentally, just like the first time he came to Cold Flame Island, it was now evening, with the setting sun a fiery red.

Calculating the distance, Qin Sang estimated that Cold Flame Island was not far ahead, so he stopped and flew higher.

When he vaguely saw the scene at Cold Flame Island, Qin Sang suddenly froze, rubbed his eyes, thinking he was mistaken. He subconsciously flew a bit further forward.

Once he finally saw clearly, Qin Sang couldn't help but gasp.

He recalled that when he was startled away by the demonic beasts years ago, the Cold Flame, though newly emerged, was already stable, occupying a deep pit in the center of the island. Although other parts of the island were affected, they weren't completely destroyed.

Now, Cold Flame Island had completely vanished!

At the original location of Cold Flame Island, blue flames still burned brightly, and around the former island, there were even small blue flowers formed by the cold flames, some floating in the air, others suspended on the sea surface, like river lanterns he had seen in the mortal world.

To the west, the setting sun was blood-red, and the rosy clouds resembled fire. To the east, the cold flames remained as before, surrounded as if by a blue starlit band.

A look of deep shock appeared on Qin Sang's face. The Cold Flame was still there, but it had shattered into pieces.

This was completely beyond his expectations.

He had thought the Cold Flame had been subdued by the shapeshifting demon lord, but it remained in its original spot, meaning even the demon lord had failed.

Why had the Cold Flame split? Why had Cold Flame Island disappeared?

Qin Sang gazed from afar, utterly perplexed. He strained his eyes, carefully examining the waters near Cold Flame Island, finding no anomalies. Moreover, the Primordial Concentric Ring showed no warning.

With the shapeshifting demon lord absent, even if there were other demonic beasts nearby, escaping shouldn't be difficult.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Sang boldly continued to approach.

Soon, Qin Sang was close to the Cold Flame, seeing it more clearly with his naked eye. After splitting, each flame maintained stability, floating in the air or on the water, never extinguishing or drifting.

"Unbelievable!"

Qin Sang murmured to himself, waited for a moment, and then continued to approach, this time even more cautiously and slowly.

Unexpectedly, after flying only a short distance, Qin Sang suddenly stopped. A look of surprise appeared in his eyes, and then he swiftly took out a mask from his Thousand-Jin Ring and put it on.

At the same time, a ripple of fine waves spread across the water surface next to the Cold Flame. Within the ripples, specks of golden light appeared, revealing a kind of restriction.

Through these restrictions, it became clear that the foundation of Cold Flame Island still remained. The entire island had not collapsed; rather, the part above the water surface had been erased for some unknown reason.

Even so, to destroy such a large island was a truly astonishing feat of power.

Then, a man in black armor emerged from the water. With a sweep of his gaze, the black-armored man accurately pinpointed Qin Sang's hiding spot and roared, "Get out here!"

In an instant, the black-armored man vanished from his spot.

A sudden chill struck Qin Sang's heart. Without hesitation, he exerted all his strength. A thunderous roar erupted, and a red and white escape light, like lightning, instantly shifted dozens of feet.

"Boom!"

The next moment, where Qin Sang had been standing, the sea surface suddenly splashed, and a deep pit exploded open. A spear shadow flashed and disappeared, and the black-armored man's figure slowly appeared at the edge.

The attack missed.

The black-armored man looked intently at Qin Sang's location. Once he saw Qin Sang clearly, surprisingly, the solemn expression on his face lessened somewhat.

"So it's a fellow cultivator..."

The black-armored man scrutinized Qin Sang, discerning that his cultivation wasn't high. However, due to the extraordinary escape speed Qin Sang had just displayed, he didn't underestimate him. He withdrew his spear, stood respectfully, and cupped his hands, saying, "This place is extremely dangerous, fellow cultivator. If you are unaware of the situation, please leave quickly. I, Lu, will let bygones be bygones."

Qin Sang naturally wasn't willing to leave just like that. What shocked him was the black-armored man's cultivation; the aura he had momentarily displayed indicated he was a late-stage Golden Core expert!

What surprised Qin Sang even more was the black-armored man's identity. Although he had never seen this person before, he recognized the origin of the black armor: it was the unique battle armor of the Hunyuan Island guards!

Had he not displayed such astonishing escape speed, this person would certainly not have been so polite.

He hadn't expected the Cold Flame to be guarded not by a demonic beast, but by a Hunyuan Island guard.

Could that shapeshifting demon lord have been driven away by the Hunyuan Island Master?

Qin Sang did not leave immediately. He secretly gripped the Ten Directions Yama Banner, returned the salute, glanced at the Cold Flame, and said, "No offense, fellow cultivator. I was merely passing through the Thousand Demon Sea, and upon seeing blue light flickering here, I thought some rare treasure had appeared. I didn't expect it to be this strange Cold Flame. Since this flame requires you to personally guard it, is it some extraordinary treasure?"

Perhaps being trapped here was too tedious, as the black-armored man didn't sternly drive Qin Sang away. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "It's not wrong to call it a rare treasure. This flame is called the Winter Nether Cold Flame, an unparalleled divine ability cultivated by the previous island master, Venerable Winter Nether. Venerable Winter Nether passed away here, leaving behind the Winter Nether Cold Flame, whose power is extraordinary, coveted even by shapeshifting demon lords. The Island Master drove the shapeshifting demon lord away and ordered me, Lu, to guard this place. However, this flame bears Venerable Winter Nether's imprint. It is said that Venerable Winter Nether was only a step away from the late Nascent Soul stage before his demise, so it's practically impossible for anyone else to erase his imprint and subdue this flame."

"Winter Nether Cold Flame?"

Qin Sang was truly surprised. He had thought it was some naturally formed wondrous flame that had attracted Venerable Winter Nether here, but unexpectedly, it was cultivated by Venerable Winter Nether himself.

That cave dwelling was originally Venerable Winter Nether's place of demise, no wonder it contained so many supreme treasures!

"A shapeshifting demon lord?"

Qin Sang feigned shock. "No wonder chaos frequently erupted in the Demon Sea in previous years. So, a shapeshifting demon lord was born."

The black-armored man scrutinized Qin Sang again, and asked with surprise, "Have you just returned from the depths of the Demon Sea, fellow cultivator?"

Qin Sang nodded. "I previously traversed the Thousand Demon Sea, hunting demons deep within. Later, I heard of the great war between the two races, and the sea routes were blocked by evil cultivators. Though I was anxious, I had no way out and was trapped inside. Some time ago, I fortunately obtained a sea chart and discovered this route, only then daring to attempt it."

"So, you entered before the great war between the two races and stayed in the depths of the Demon Sea for nearly twenty years?"

The black-armored man said, surprised, and gave Qin Sang a deep look. "Fellow cultivator, you concealed yourself too well; I, Lu, almost misjudged you! What you don't know is that the conflict between the two races ended five years ago. The evil cultivators blocking the path never amounted to much, and with your strength, there was no need to fear them. However, your caution wasn't entirely misplaced. That sea route has long been overrun by demon hordes, and the path is now cut off. The evil cultivators who were entrenched there couldn't escape in time and were also massacred by the demonic beasts, saving us the trouble of clearing them out."