Chapter 991: Scales

"That little fellow has character; he's sure to achieve great things in the future," Bai commented, watching the two-headed *hou* vanish into the distance.

"Indeed, it's rare," Qin Sang nodded. Even spirit beasts that have consumed Emperor's Nectar and gained sentience might not possess the same temperament as the two-headed *hou*. It was sheer luck that they managed to capture it when it was injured.

"Let's go!" Qin Sang withdrew his gaze and set off. The two-headed *hou* fled south to draw away Old Devil Mu, while he headed east to find Yuan Zhu.

A streak of blood-red light cut across the sky, pausing every now and then before resuming its rapid flight. Old Devil Mu pursued, steadily closing the distance to his target. Yet, there was little joy on his face. For some reason, an inexplicable unease lingered in his heart. His previous misdirection had made him doubt the Fire Curse, and he wouldn't feel at ease until he saw his prey's true form with his own eyes.

*Whoosh!* The Netherwinter Frostflame surged, leaning sharply forward. Still, Old Devil Mu spat out a mouthful of vital blood, using its power to fully activate the Fire Curse and confirm the direction before he could feel at ease. After a prolonged period, even with his advanced cultivation, he began to feel the strain.

His Blood Escape secret art also consumed vital blood. Old Devil Mu's face was as pale as parchment, completely drained of color. To capture his prey as quickly as possible and avoid any further complications or unexpected events, he went all out. After this was over, he would likely need a long period of quiet recuperation to recover.

After breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, his reputation in the cultivation world was considerable. Even the Demon Lord and Spirit Pearl treated him with respect. It was rare for him to be in such a desperate state, especially when he held every advantage and his opponent was merely a Core Formation cultivator.

Old Devil Mu let out a sigh of frustration. Just as he was about to put away the Fire Curse, his expression suddenly changed. The frostflame, which had been leaning south, suddenly flickered and then swayed sharply towards the northeast. From then on, it veered erratically, sometimes south, sometimes east, wavering directly before Old Devil Mu's eyes.

"I..." Old Devil Mu's vision swam, and he nearly cursed aloud. His worst fear had materialized. The one ahead was very likely another decoy! His prey clearly understood curse arts, and their methods were getting stronger each time. Before, they merely concealed some fluctuations, but now they could perfectly block his perception even when he fully activated the Fire Curse.

"Wait..." Old Devil Mu's gaze sharpened. His rage flared, but he managed to remain calm. Which was real, east or south? Which was false? Was the one ahead truly a decoy? The prey was cunning. What if they had changed tactics, and the one heading east was the real decoy? He might be led astray, and by the time he realized something was wrong, it would be too late.

Old Devil Mu's expression shifted. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly cast a stream of frostflame downwards. The sea surface froze into ice. Old Devil Mu sat cross-legged upon it, his eyes tightly closed. After a long while, the frostflame before him gradually ceased its erratic swaying and leaned towards the northeast.

Indeed, the one ahead was another decoy. Seeing the direction his prey fled, Old Devil Mu instantly guessed their intention: they wanted to use the chaotic spiritual energy of the storm zone to shake off his pursuit!

Old Devil Mu knew well that once his prey escaped into the storm zone, the fluctuations of the Fire Curse would definitely be affected. Although the prey might perish in the storm zone, it wasn't their life he wanted, but the demonic flame on their person! Old Devil Mu's expression changed slightly. He abruptly stood up and shot off, transforming into a streak of blood-red light.

In the distance, the two-headed *hou* stopped abruptly. It held a high-grade spirit stone in its mouth, absorbing spiritual energy—a gift from Qin Sang, along with other items like a topographical map of the Azure Wave Sea. The two-headed *hou* turned its head, its demonic eyes flickering as it sensed its formidable enemy had gone far. It shook its head, concealed its aura, and quietly departed in the opposite direction, its steps light.

"After the two-headed *hou* broke through to the late-stage Demon Core, its Wind Escape art became much faster than a Body Incarnation. It managed to lure Old Devil Mu away so far, right until Bai was exhausted..." Qin Sang lowered his gaze to the corpse puppet pouch. Bai had exerted itself to the limit, enduring until now. After its strength was depleted, it returned to recuperate. Fortunately, the time they had bought was enough for Qin Sang to escape to the storm zone.

Another long pursuit and escape ensued. This time, Qin Sang couldn't seal the Fire Curse and could only flee headlong. He clutched a jade bottle tightly, ready to swallow the Three-Light Jade Elixir at any moment, having already consumed the second drop earlier.

On an unknown small island. *Boom!* The island trembled as a streak of blood-red light descended from the sky. Old Devil Mu materialized, his face ashen. His continuous Blood Escape had taken a tremendous toll, rendering him unable to persist. He had to stop and recover. Meanwhile, his prey was still full of vigor, fleeing relentlessly as if tireless, possessing an astonishingly deep reservoir of true essence.

How could Old Devil Mu not know that his prey surely possessed a supreme spirit medicine capable of replenishing true essence? Old Devil Mu swiftly set up a profound grand formation, sat cross-legged within it, stuffed various elixirs into his mouth, shut his eyes tightly, and seized the time to recover.

Qin Sang sensed that Old Devil Mu had stopped, but he felt little joy. Shaking off Old Devil Mu was only temporary; the crisis was far from over. Old Devil Mu would eventually catch up, and no matter what, he had to enter the depths of the storm zone.

He was escaping a dragon's lair only to enter a tiger's den. Qin Sang was well aware of the dangers in the depths of the storm zone. It was likely even more perilous than the spiritual tide in the ancient immortal battlefield, a perilous place even Nascent Soul Grandmasters feared. However, at least dying there would be quicker.

While lost in thought, he flew for a while longer. Suddenly, a black curtain appeared at the edge of his vision. Qin Sang's spirits lifted; he had finally reached the storm zone! The heavens and earth roared. Winds howled and waves surged.

The scenery within the storm zone was monotonous, a constant succession of identical hurricanes and towering waves. Qin Sang arrived near Yuan Zhu's cave dwelling. He looked around, but all he saw was the same repetitive scenery, with no sign of the cave dwelling itself.

Qin Sang took out the scale Yuan Zhu had given him from his Qianjun Ring. After infusing it with true essence, the scale emitted a faint glow, and the restriction was activated.

"Quickly! Quickly!" Qin Sang was consumed by anxiety, for Old Devil Mu was closing in rapidly, leaving him little time. His heart pounded with apprehension; he hoped Yuan Zhu had not left his cave dwelling.

Just then, faint white lights flickered in and out of sight amidst the waves. Qin Sang's heart lifted at the sight, but then he noticed Yuan Zhu was slow to appear. A thought sparked in his mind, and he vaguely guessed what was happening. He waited patiently where he stood.

The white lights drifted in all directions. After a moment, a pillar of light suddenly shot out of the sea, and from within it came Yuan Zhu's hearty laughter. "Haha, fellow Daoist, you've returned so soon! Don't tell me you missed me? Huh..."

At that moment, the Fire Curse flared up again. The Fire Curse runes appeared on Qin Sang's body, clearly visible. A phantom image materialized before Qin Sang—it was Yuan Zhu's illusory form. He noticed Qin Sang's distress. "What happened?" Qin Sang gave a wry smile and said, "I've been entrapped by a scheme, afflicted by the Fire Curse, and am being pursued by a formidable enemy. I had no choice but to come to you, fellow Daoist Yuan, for help. I hope you can lend a hand!"