Chapter 72: Blood Bag

人间世

Gazing at the quiet, silent jungle below, Qin Sang pondered for a moment. He chose not to descend directly, but instead pretended to look around, searching for a path down the mountain.

Then, as he passed a section with protruding rocks, he instantly used his spiritual power to create a clone. His true body remained hidden on the mountaintop, imbuing the clone with the Art of Flight and controlling it to glide down the cliff.

Qin Sang’s clone rapidly leaped between the protruding rocks and trees on the cliff. Just as it landed on the branch of an ancient tree, a sudden change occurred.

Without warning, a green light burst forth from the forest, and within the light was a vivid green vine.

The vine twisted like a spiritual snake, coiling and extending, instantly shooting towards Qin Sang’s clone and swiftly wrapping around it, tying it securely.

“Haha!”

A burst of wild laughter echoed from the forest. The scruffy Daoist flew up to the treetops, his hair disheveled and his body covered in blood, rotten grass, and leaves. Several broken ice spikes were still embedded in his arms and legs, making him look extremely disheveled. However, his injuries were not as severe as Qin Sang had imagined.

The scruffy Daoist glared furiously at the 'Qin Sang' bound by the vine, and said menacingly, “You dared to ambush me! Now, taste the power of the Spirit Lock Art!”

Then, the scruffy Daoist looked up at the mountaintop and mumbled something. Suddenly, a sound of rushing air erupted from the mountaintop, and three black lights shot out. They were fragments of the Ruyi Shield.

At this moment, Qin Sang, hidden on the mountaintop, was filled with shock and anger.

If he hadn't been so cautious, and had carelessly gone down to examine the body or had been greedy and picked up the shield first, he might have fallen into the scruffy Daoist's trap, and would surely have met a grim fate.

“Transform into a sword!”

The scruffy Daoist roared. With two 'bangs,' the Ruyi Shield fragments, with an imposing momentum, combined in mid-air like three sharp swords.

The Ruyi Shield was no longer in its shield form, but had transformed into three strangely black, prism-like swords. The three ferocious blood grooves sent chills down one's spine, and their sharp tips gleamed with a cold light, as if carrying sword auras. They showed no sign of being damaged; instead, they erupted with power far exceeding that of a mid-grade magical artifact.

Looking at the transformed Ruyi Shield, the scruffy Daoist’s face was filled with heartache, and his gaze towards 'Qin Sang' intensified with hatred. He raised his hand and pointed, and the black prism-sword immediately changed direction, piercing into 'Qin Sang's' body like lightning.

'Splash...'

The black iron spike passed through, embedding itself into the ancient tree, causing water to splash.

The scruffy Daoist's pupils suddenly constricted, and his expression drastically changed. A sudden jolt of alarm went through him, and he hastily looked up, only to see a dazzling electric light, like a bolt from a clear sky.

The scruffy Daoist was greatly alarmed and tried to flee in panic, but his speed was no match for even a fraction of lightning. He had barely taken half a step when the Yin Thunder struck him on the head.

'Boom!'

The full power of the Yin Thunder erupted, breaking off the huge branch beneath the scruffy Daoist's feet. After a tremendous crash, a large pit appeared out of nowhere on the ground, with a charred person lying inside.

Still not at ease, Qin Sang conjured several more ice spikes and thrust them into the pit. Seeing no movement from the scruffy Daoist, he finally relaxed. He pushed off with his foot and flew down the cliff.

As he reached the edge of the large pit, Qin Sang suddenly stopped, a hint of surprise appearing on his face. The scruffy Daoist was in such a state, yet there was still a faint breath remaining.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Sang put away the spiritual stones in his hand, took out the Yama Banner, summoned Yama, and commanded it to devour the scruffy Daoist's soul.

He was very curious about the scruffy Daoist's beast-taming abilities. The yellow warbler had escaped when Qin Sang first attacked, and he didn't know where it had flown off to. Although it had no combat power, it could be used for reconnaissance.

Yama could not hide from the eyes of cultivators and struggled to get close. Moreover, it was timid and utterly useless when fighting cultivators.

If the scruffy Daoist hadn't been on the verge of death, it wouldn't have dared to rush in and devour his soul.

Qin Sang couldn't understand why Yama's ferocity, when it had previously turned on him, had vanished.

Unexpectedly, when Yama flew out from the scruffy Daoist’s body, it did not bring out a soul, but only held a tiny bit of green light.

Qin Sang was greatly surprised. Taking the green light, he saw it was merely a wisp of primordial spirit power.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Sang suddenly remembered that when he had previously commanded Yama to extract the soul of Monk Yuanjue, it only lasted for half the time. Monk Yuanjue was a congenital master, and his soul should have been more solidified than that of a mortal. As for cultivators who refine their souls into primordial spirits, their souls are even more powerful.

Unexpectedly, Yama was useless against cultivators. Qin Sang felt a wave of disappointment. His gaze swept over, and he saw the scruffy Daoist's Sumeru Pouch still intact and hanging at his waist. He reached out, summoned the Sumeru Pouch, and cast a flame to incinerate the scruffy Daoist's body.

Without rushing to examine the contents of the Sumeru Pouch, Qin Sang flashed over to an ancient tree, dug out the deformed Ruyi Shield from within its trunk, and flew to the treetop to cautiously scan the surroundings.

His struggle with the scruffy Daoist had created considerable commotion, and he wondered if anyone else had been attracted. He had continuously used several magical spells and artifacts, and his spiritual energy was more than half depleted. If he encountered a strong enemy again, he certainly wouldn't be a match.

Seeing no signs of anyone approaching, Qin Sang performed a遁法 (Dunjia,遁法 - escape technique), chose a direction, fled far away, and found a hidden spot to conceal himself.

The two jade tablets, placed together, showed no change. Qin Sang examined them for a while before putting them into his Sumeru Pouch.

Besides these, the scruffy Daoist's Sumeru Pouch contained nothing useful except for a basic wood-element cultivation technique and a few mortal martial arts manuals. There were no beast-taming methods, not even a single spiritual stone.

What caught Qin Sang's attention the most were over a dozen large bags of blood, stored in bladders of an unknown animal. The transparent bladders had been thoroughly cleaned, with no trace of a腥臭 (xīnɡchòu - pungent smell).

Blood bags...

Looking at these items, Qin Sang was speechless for a long time.

In his previous life, his family was not well-off. After diligently finishing his studies, his first job was incredibly demanding. He worked conscientiously, not daring to relax in the slightest. At most, when he was close to breaking point, he would find a "fist-to-flesh" movie to clear his mind, one of his only ways to relax.

Now, seeing these props that would only be used in movies, he couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia.

There was also a jade slip containing information about the Ruyi Shield. After reading it, Qin Sang's expression shifted, and he cursed silently for a long time.

He had thought that, besides the jade tablets, the Ruyi Shield was his greatest gain. To his surprise, the Ruyi Shield was already destroyed!

It turned out that, in addition to automatically protecting its master, the Ruyi Shield had another function: it could change its form into a flying sword, instantly concentrating the power of the three Ruyi Shield fragments to unleash power comparable to a high-grade magical artifact, making it incredibly sharp.

This transformation could be completed in an instant, taking enemies by surprise, and was truly extraordinary.

However, this opportunity was only available once. After transforming into a sword, all three Ruyi Shield fragments would collapse.

Qin Sang picked them up and examined them. Sure enough, the three black shield fragments were covered in cracks and unusable.