Chapter 762: Fierce Battle

He had mistakenly believed that Qin Sang was involved in the secrets of the ancient divine platform and suspected other forces were hidden behind him. This made him hesitant, as he wanted to investigate the situation thoroughly.

After realizing it was all a misunderstanding, the young man no longer held back and stomped his foot firmly.

*Ssssss...*

The ground suddenly cracked open. From beneath the young man's feet, a fissure rapidly spread towards Qin Sang's location.

A dense green light emanated from the fissure, and a green vine, resembling a giant python, rapidly grew within it. Its target appeared to be not Qin Sang, but the Twin-Headed Hou!

The Twin-Headed Hou's body tensed, its head lowered as it snarled, fixating its gaze on the fissure.

*Boom!*

The vine burst free from the fissure with a *whoosh*, launching itself forward. Qin Sang only caught a fleeting glimpse of a green blur before the vine lunged directly at the Twin-Headed Hou.

The Twin-Headed Hou's fur bristled. Without hesitation, it unleashed its Shadow Clone ability, its body blurring as it instantly split into several figures that darted in all directions.

To its surprise, the vine suddenly swayed, and from its tip, several branches split off. They moved with the agility of spirit snakes and the swiftness of lightning.

*Thwack, thwack, thwack...*

The Twin-Headed Hou's illusory forms were caught and shattered by the vine, but its true body successfully evaded the attack and escaped.

The vine was relentless, continuing its pursuit.

Suddenly, a flash of sword light appeared, severing the vine.

Qin Sang swiftly retreated alongside the Twin-Headed Hou. The Ebony Sword, like a soaring dragon, darted forth; merely severing the vine was insufficient. In a flash, it plunged into the fissure, effortlessly slicing the vine into multiple segments and pulling it out by the roots.

However, Qin Sang felt no joy; instead, his heart tightened.

The vine's power was considerable enough to force the Twin-Headed Hou to use its Shadow Clone ability to evade. It couldn't have been severed so easily, unless the young man had intended it.

Realizing this, a strong sense of alarm rose within Qin Sang. His gaze sharpened as he noticed something unusual about the young man standing still in the distance. Without hesitation, he activated the Nine Dragon Sky Chariot Talisman.

Flood dragons coiled around his body, and Qin Sang was enveloped by their souls. His speed surged instantaneously, allowing him to vanish from his spot and reappear several yards away.

The very moment Qin Sang vanished, the ground where he had stood suddenly exploded, and a flash of green light erupted skyward.

At the heart of the green light was a strangely shaped spirit sword. Its body resembled a grey sword carved from a piece of old tree bark, incredibly rough in texture, yet it pulsed with a vibrant green light that symbolized vigorous life.

The grey sword appeared without any warning, having lain dormant beneath the ground before suddenly erupting.

Had Qin Sang remained in his original position, he would likely have been cleaved in two by the grey sword.

The young man let out a soft exclamation of surprise, looking at Qin Sang with a hint of astonishment. "It seems your escape technique is stronger than I imagined, but it's still not enough!"

Before his words had fully faded, the young man continuously cast several hand seals. The grey sword trembled, emitting a dull, howling sound, and the green light it radiated became even more dazzling and intense.

As the green light intensified, the grey sword's physical form became ethereal, eventually vanishing completely.

Astonishingly, green grass and small trees began to sprout from the barren ground.

In an instant, the space surrounding Qin Sang transformed from a purple mist-shrouded desolate land into a verdant wilderness.

Of course, these were all mere illusions.

The grey sword's true form had vanished, concealed within the wilderness. However, every blade of grass and every phantom sword within this wilderness pulsed with sword qi, potentially manifestations of the grey sword itself, making it incredibly difficult to defend against.

If his Heavenly Eye Butterfly had completed its third metamorphosis, Qin Sang could have easily seen through these illusions. However, at present, he could only brace himself for the incoming attack.

This type of illusion, composed solely of sword qi, actually contained significant flaws, being more flashy than practical, unless the user possessed extremely high attainments in swordsmanship. However, the cultivation gap between Qin Sang and the young man was too vast, preventing him from breaking the illusion with brute force and leaving him completely restricted.

The vegetation grew wildly, progressively constricting his space for movement.

Knowing he couldn't simply wait for death, Qin Sang pointed his Ebony Sword. Instead of recalling it for defense, he commanded it to strike directly at the young man's true body.

Simultaneously, Qin Sang retrieved a scroll. With a gentle toss, it unfurled, scattering illusory flowers and leaves that perfectly blended with the surrounding vegetation within the illusion.

Qin Sang's figure shimmered, then vanished into thin air.

The reason he could perfectly integrate into the illusion with the scroll, hiding in the most perilous area, was precisely because, like the young man, his primary cultivation focused on wood-element spiritual energy.

Losing sight of Qin Sang and sensing no fluctuations of his presence within the sword qi illusion, the young man realized he had outsmarted himself. He immediately roared, "Explode!"

*Boom!*

The entire sword qi illusion shattered simultaneously. The seemingly real vegetation revealed its true nature as mere illusions, breaking apart into countless fragments like a shattered mirror.

These fragments swiftly converged, re-forming into the grey sword's true body.

As the illusion shattered, the scroll was impacted, causing the illusory fallen flowers to tremble. Qin Sang's true body was simultaneously revealed. The grey sword quivered and, seizing the opportunity, slashed towards the back of Qin Sang's neck.

Feeling the chill on his neck from the rapidly approaching grey sword, Qin Sang had no choice but to flash away again.

From the beginning of their engagement until now, Qin Sang had been almost entirely suppressed by the young man. His only recourse was to react to each move, unable to directly confront him, a clear demonstration of the vast difference in their cultivation levels.

If he couldn't devise a way to break this stalemate, he would merely be worn down until his defeat.

While Qin Sang dodged the grey sword, the Ebony Sword had already flown to the young man's front, and the Twin-Headed Hou also seized the opportunity to charge at him.

The young man's relaxed expression stiffened for an instant as the sound of thunder reached him.

"Sword Qi Thunder Sound..."

The Ebony Sword, like a bolt of lightning, thrust directly at the young man's throat. Reacting with extreme speed, the young man stomped his foot, his figure sharply retreating, while simultaneously waving his arm and unleashing a golden light from his palm.

The golden light was, in essence, a golden ring, initially the size of a finger ring. After the young man released it, the ring rapidly expanded to the size of a bracelet, then spun quickly as it flew directly towards the Ebony Sword, seemingly intending to ensnare it.

"Another mid-grade magic treasure!"

Qin Sang's expression subtly hardened. The grey sword the young man had just manifested was likely his vital spirit sword, and given his cultivation level, it was not unusual for him to have refined a vital magic treasure to the mid-grade level.

However, the casual display of yet another mid-grade magic treasure underscored just how formidable this individual was.

Unaware of the golden ring's abilities, Qin Sang dared not allow it to make contact with the Ebony Sword. His hand seal shifted, and he hastily employed the Sword Light Division ability.

As the golden ring approached, the Ebony Sword abruptly halted in place, then suddenly split into two.

The young man, caught off guard, found that the golden ring had only ensnared the sword light, while the Ebony Sword's true form continued its relentless advance.

"Sword Light Division!"

The young man exclaimed in surprise, an expression of envy and jealousy flickering across his face.

He had immersed himself in the Way of the Sword for many years, yet he had never been able to grasp the Sword Light Division technique. Although Qin Sang had only divided his sword light once, it represented a chasm that the young man had consistently failed to bridge.

Despite his surprise, the young man remained unperturbed. The vast disparity in their strengths was not something a mere sword technique could overcome.

The Ebony Sword was now dangerously close.

The Twin-Headed Hou also recognized this as an opportunity. Its vertical pupils widened, and it exerted its full power, unleashing a barrage of swift wind blades that coalesced into a surging vortex, sweeping out towards the young man.

In their ongoing exchange, it was surprisingly the young man who first found himself caught in a pincer attack between the Ebony Sword and the Twin-Headed Hou.