Chapter 985: Crisis Approaches

“Sensing…”

Qin Sang was startled.

Just then, the Fire Curse runes flared up again, and the fluctuations they emitted seemed stronger than before! Qin Sang's expression changed drastically. He spun around abruptly, but the sea surface was empty.

***

Dayu Island.

North of the market, towering mountains were exclusively occupied by a sect, and the market itself was their property. Clouds and mist shrouded the deep mountains.

A streak of light pierced through the air and entered the mountain gate. Immediately, a young man, holding a spiritual talisman and looking anxious, flew rapidly towards the main peak on his sword. A moment later, the young man landed before a grand hall on the main peak. Suddenly, a deep voice emanated from within the hall, “What is the urgent matter that causes such panic?”

The young man quickly bowed and saluted, “Reporting, Martial Uncle Sect Master, an urgent message arrived from the market.”

Inside the grand hall, a dignified old man held a black chess piece.

Clack! The piece landed.

The old man slightly raised his head, extended a hand, and drew the spiritual talisman into his grasp, closing his eyes to examine it. The man playing chess with him glanced over and asked curiously, “Third Junior Brother is personally overseeing the market. Is there something he can't handle?”

After reading it, the old man let out a soft “Oh?” and said, “The Deputy Envoy Zuo of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild from the East Pole Alliance tried to ambush and kill an unknown cultivator in the market. He was no match for the opponent and was instead killed by him. Including Steward Liu, a total of six Core Formation cultivators were wiped out without exception…”

The other man was greatly alarmed upon hearing this, “How many people did the opponent have to be so powerful?”

“It is said the opponent might have been alone, with others being either avatars or refined corpses. He single-handedly killed Deputy Envoy Zuo and the others without suffering any harm…” the old man said gravely.

“Hiss…”

The other man took a sharp breath, “Even if you and I personally intervened, we might not be able to apprehend Deputy Envoy Zuo, let alone with so many helpers. Did they provoke some Nascent Soul Ancestor without realizing it? The Qiongyu Merchant Guild has lost so many people; they probably won't let this rest. Is Third Junior Brother perhaps asking Master to intervene…”

The old man shook his head and firmly said, “It was the merchant guild's people who died, not our righteous cultivators. It's merely a dog-eat-dog situation; how could we disturb Master over such a trivial matter? There's no need to wait for the Qiongyu Merchant Guild to come knocking. The man named Zuo dared to openly declare that all losses would be borne by him and even summoned helpers in the name of the East Pole Alliance. As expected of a major merchant guild, they are indeed wealthy! I was planning to rebuild the market anyway, and now someone is paying for it. I'll send someone to demand compensation…”

***

An unknown distance southwest of Dayu Island.

The sky was cloudless. On the vast, empty sea, a streak of escape light suddenly appeared. The escape light was as swift as a meteor; even Qin Sang would have to admit his inferiority.

Whoosh!

The escape light suddenly halted, revealing a figure: none other than Old Demon Mu, the Master of Tianfeng Island. He had been lingering near Dongmen Island and immediately rushed over at full speed upon receiving the news, drawing closer and closer to Dayu Island.

He seemed to sense something, stopped his escape light, glanced towards the northeast, and then a blue light flashed between his eyebrows, from which a blue flame emerged. Under the sunlight, the blue flame appeared incredibly ethereal, gently swaying.

Old Demon Mu's lips moved slightly, and his hand seals changed repeatedly. Runes merged into the blue flame, which then shook and became more solid before suddenly tilting towards the northeast. Seeing this, Old Demon Mu's gaze narrowed slightly, “The Deputy Envoy of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild in the East Sea seems to have strong cultivation; he's a top-tier Core Formation master. Even if he couldn't win, he shouldn't have misdirected the Fire Curse…”

Thinking of this, Old Demon Mu's expression brightened. He flipped his hand and took out a strangely shaped small drum. The strange drum was actually a top-grade magical artifact.

Old Demon Mu cackled strangely, “He dares to forge artifacts with demonic flame! If I hadn't found this artifact on someone during soul-searching, you might actually have escaped…”

When Qin Sang first arrived in the Demon Sea, he was recruited by the Qiongyu Merchant Guild and agreed to forge artifacts for them. At that time, his forging skills were far inferior to what they are now. To gain trust and importance, he used the Nine Nether Demonic Flame to refine some top-grade magical artifacts, and the strange drum was one of them. Because the strange drum carried a faint trace of demonic flame aura, a Core Formation cultivator accidentally discovered it, mistook it for a treasure with hidden brilliance, and bought it from the Qiongyu Merchant Guild. Later, he realized it was merely flashy and threw it aside. Through a strange turn of events, the strange drum fell into Old Demon Mu's hands.

Old Demon Mu put away the strange drum, extended his hand, and the blue flame floated into his palm. With a thought, the blue flame tilted once more. Old Demon Mu let out a strange laugh, and his escape light flared up again, streaking through the air.

***

After first entering the Seven Kills Hall and learning that it also contained the Nine Nether Demonic Flame, Qin Sang worried that someone with malicious intent might notice something, so he had never used the Nine Nether Demonic Flame to forge artifacts for others. Even when battling opponents, he would always try to suppress the fluctuations and hide the demonic flame's presence whenever he used it. The only batch of artifacts he had forged using the power of the demonic flame was actually very small in number. Moreover, they were all magical artifacts, not magical treasures, and the demonic flame aura was hidden within them. Generally, high-level cultivators wouldn't deliberately investigate a mere magical artifact.

Unexpectedly, precisely these artifacts caused problems.

Across the vast sea, Qin Sang transformed into a green rainbow, fleeing north at full speed. Nearly half an hour had passed since he was entangled by the Fire Curse. Just then, the Fire Curse flared up again. Qin Sang's gaze darkened as he stared at the Fire Curse runes on his arm. After sensing the fluctuations emanating from the Fire Curse, the gloom in his eyes deepened, and his heart was filled with alarm and fury.

Just as he and Bai had previously expected, Deputy Envoy Zuo had sent a message to Old Demon Mu before arriving. The repeated flare-ups of the Fire Curse were clearly Old Demon Mu's doing. Except for the first two times, afterward, the Fire Curse would flare up every fifteen minutes at most, or as little as a few dozen breaths. And with each flare-up, the Fire Curse's fluctuations would grow stronger, indicating that Old Demon Mu was rapidly approaching him.

Old Demon Mu could locate Qin Sang through the Fire Curse, and Qin Sang could also vaguely determine Old Demon Mu's direction using the curse's fluctuations. By comparing the fluctuations each time, Qin Sang confirmed that Old Demon Mu was getting closer and closer. The good news was that Qin Sang still hadn't seen Old Demon Mu's shadow. However, even at such a great distance, Old Demon Mu still found a way to trigger the Fire Curse. The strangeness of the curse and the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator made Qin Sang anxious and utterly horrified.

Old Demon Mu could sense his location at any time, rendering any change in direction pointless. As danger approached, Qin Sang could only flee north relentlessly. His enemy was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if Qin Sang used every trick he knew, it would be difficult to even scratch the opponent. However, for Qin Sang to surrender meekly and hand over the Eighteen Demonic Banners was absolutely impossible. He didn't believe Old Demon Mu would kindly spare his life after taking the Eighteen Demonic Banners. Demonic Patriarchs were never short of torturous methods. If he fell into Old Demon Mu's hands, he would likely be unable to live or die.

“Fellow Daoist Bai, have you remembered anything yet?” Qin Sang glanced at the corpse puppet bag and couldn't help but ask. During his flight, he had tried countless methods but remained helpless against the Fire Curse, so he could only place his hopes on Bai.