Chapter 769: Magic Fire

Qin Sang's burst of speed left the ferocious beasts far behind.

Soon, the pack of beasts was out of sight. Even their leader lost track of Qin Sang, wandering the rift valley and emitting reluctant roars.

Having shaken off the beasts, Qin Sang still dared not stop. He kept an eye on his rear as he fled, and only when he could hear no more sounds did he find a hidden rock crevice to conceal himself.

Although he had only heard roars earlier, at such a distance, the mere sound had made his blood churn. Their strength, even if not comparable to a transformed great demon, was certainly enough to decisively defeat the young man he had just killed.

The depths of the rift valley were indeed dangerous; he wondered how many more similar ferocious beasts were lurking there.

Hidden in the crevice, Qin Sang remained vigilant, listening to the sounds outside for a while before looking down to check the state of the fat silkworm.

Emitting the seven-colored silk twice had greatly exhausted the fat silkworm. It looked listless and lethargic, giving the impression of being drowsy.

Nevertheless, the fat silkworm still looked at Qin Sang with eager anticipation, impatient to devour the purple crystal.

"I'll give it to you once we leave the Seven Kills Palace. Eat this for now."

Qin Sang took out a demonic core from a poisonous beast and allowed the fat silkworm to absorb it for recovery.

Previously, in the Bear Mountain region and on Red Leaf Island, the fat silkworm had immediately fallen into slumber after consuming the Thousand-Handed Spider Fruit and absorbing lightning from the Celestial Eye Butterfly. One instance was a transformation, the other a mutation.

Qin Sang didn't dare to feed the fat silkworm the purple crystal here. If it fell asleep on the spot, he would be doomed.

On this journey through the Purple Mist Forbidden Zone, the fat silkworm's utility had truly manifested itself, far exceeding expectations.

It might prove even more useful in the subsequent journey. He would definitely wait until they left the Seven Kills Palace and returned to a safe place before feeding it and observing the changes.

The fat silkworm clutched the demonic core and gave Qin Sang a dismissive glance.

Noticing the fat silkworm's disdainful look, Qin Sang's eye twitched.

This was a demonic core!

It was only fit to be this creature's snack, yet it still showed disdain.

Qin Sang felt like giving it a good smack, but considering the surroundings, he decided to endure.

As the fat silkworm devoured the demonic core, its aura somewhat recovered. Qin Sang paid attention to the sounds outside, waited for a while, and, seeing that the beast leader had not pursued them, cautiously stepped out.

This escape had brought him almost back to where he had landed.

Qin Sang returned to his previous route, continuing his search for the spiritual flame. This time, he was even more cautious, fearing an encounter with the beasts searching for him. He stopped almost every few steps, always ready to flee.

The Nine Nether Demonic Flame in his hand trembled violently, growing increasingly excited, indicating that he was getting closer to the unknown spiritual flame.

At this moment, Qin Sang noticed he had once again arrived at the foot of a cliff, unsure if it was the same cliff where the ferocious beasts resided.

The terrain in the rift valley was very complex.

The direction pointed by the Nine Nether Demonic Flame seemed to be straight ahead along the cliff.

Qin Sang hugged the cliff closely, not only needing to watch his sides but also guarding against beasts appearing from above. Fortunately, the journey was very smooth.

"Huh?"

Qin Sang suddenly stopped.

He found that two cliffs converged in front of him, forming a gorge at their junction. Ahead, purple mist still permeated the air, obscuring everything.

"There's such a unique terrain within this rift valley? This kind of place is perfect for a lair. Could the spiritual flame be hidden inside some ancient hall or ancient forbidden array, guarded by ferocious beasts?"

Qin Sang was suspicious, a sense of alarm rising within him. He stared ahead for a while but heard not a single sound.

He decided to press on.

Qin Sang composed himself, gripped the Ten Directions Yama Banner, and slowly walked forward.

The gorge was not wide, and it narrowed the further he went in.

After walking a certain distance, Qin Sang paused slightly, and a look of shock suddenly appeared in his eyes. Then, he abruptly sped up, rushing forward.

Between the cliffs, a ball of black flame floated in the gorge, blocking his path.

Qin Sang stood there, gazing up at the flame.

"Nine Nether Demonic Flame! It's actually the Nine Nether Demonic Flame! The Seven Kills Palace also has Nine Nether Demonic Flame! No wonder..."

Qin Sang muttered to himself, his expression shifting from shock to sudden realization, and then to wild ecstasy.

No wonder the Nine Nether Demonic Flame behaved so differently from the one on Cold Flame Island. This spiritual flame was clearly a demonic flame from the same source, their auras indistinguishable.

This was not merely the superficial control Qin Sang had through the Ten Directions Yama Banner, but the true essence of the demonic flame!

Back then, Patriarch Kuiyin encountered the Nine Nether Demonic Flame in Ziwei Palace. He racked his brains, refined a demonic banner, and subdued it, thus gaining renown across the Small Cold Region.

Qin Sang had learned of this secret and had always been envious.

Later, Patriarch Kuiyin and the subsequent generations of the Kuiyin Sect searched for a long time in Ziwei Palace and the Ancient Immortal Battlefield but never found the same demonic flame again, leaving their sect-guardian magical artifact damaged and irreparable.

He had never expected to see it today, in the Seven Kills Palace.

Furthermore, this ball of Nine Nether Demonic Flame before him was even larger than the one Patriarch Kuiyin had subdued!

Standing here, sensing the true power of the demonic flame, Qin Sang finally understood why Patriarch Kuiyin had been so obsessed with the Nine Nether Demonic Flame all those years ago.

The Nine Nether Demonic Flame burned quietly.

Qin Sang's eyes widened as he sensed the demonic flame's power.

Before, he had only learned about it through soul-searching Yi Tiannie, so he hadn't personally experienced the true power of the demonic flame.

Beneath its seemingly calm surface, the hidden power was as turbulent as volcanic lava.

Qin Sang had no doubt that if the demonic flame's true power were unleashed, he would instantly be reduced to ashes.

He couldn't help but compare it to the Nascent Soul Patriarchs he had encountered previously, feeling that the demonic flame possessed a terrifying power that even Patriarch Chifa and Old Daoist Zhenyi couldn't match.

Those two were at the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, just a step away from the late stage!

Patriarch Kuiyin, by utilizing only a portion of the Nine Nether Demonic Flame's power through the Ten Directions Yama Array, was able to become a top expert in the Small Cold Region.

"Such terrifying power. Can I truly subdue it?"

Qin Sang took a deep breath, unable to help but doubt himself.

Suppressing his excitement, he flipped his hand, and a profound iron pillar appeared in his grasp.

This profound iron pillar was spoils of war from when he killed Daoist Jiupao, and it was also the Kuiyin Sect's most prized treasure. The pole of the Ten Directions Yama Banner was forged by melting another piece of profound iron pillar.

If the Kuiyin Sect had been able to find the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, they would have long since refined new Ten Directions Yama Banners to repair this array of banners.

After Daoist Jiupao was severely injured, he had once attempted to refine it into his life-bound magical artifact.

Later, when Qin Sang obtained it, he studied it for a long time and found it impossible to achieve. Patriarch Kuiyin had merely used a clever refining technique without destroying the profound iron pillar's inherent restrictions, so Qin Sang had set it aside.

Qin Sang had never imagined he would see the Nine Nether Demonic Flame one day.

"Such a massive ball of Nine Nether Demonic Flame, even if I melted all the profound iron pillars to forge Ten Directions Yama Banners, it would be enough for at least fifteen or sixteen banners..."

Qin Sang caressed the profound iron pillar, analyzing the situation.

His eyes widened, "Doesn't that mean I can refine a banner array stronger than the original Ten Directions Yama Array?"

The original Ten Directions Yama Array, with all ten demonic banners deployed, could contend head-on with a top-grade magical artifact.

If he could successfully refine more demonic banners and meticulously devise a suitable array formation, he would undoubtedly possess the power of a top-grade magical artifact!