Chapter 994: Fire Curse Seed

Qin Sang cautiously investigated, then swiftly descended, diving into the deep sea.

The source of the light column was at the seabed. This area was also turbulent; the storm's power extended downwards, creating dangerous undercurrents, making it no less perilous than the surface. Qin Sang barely managed to stabilize himself and looked towards the source.

The unusual light was dazzling. Using his Heavenly Eye ability, Qin Sang saw a vast curtain behind the strange light. Beyond the curtain lay a desolate land and several ancient halls. He surveyed the scene behind the curtain, finding it lifeless and devoid of vitality. Everything was visible, and there appeared to be no immediate danger. The vast curtain was the core of the ancient restriction.

To his surprise, Qin Sang discovered that the curtain was incomplete; one corner was fractured, suggesting the ancient restriction had been forcefully broken. Seeing this, Qin Sang immediately moved to the front of the curtain. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly fully activated its innate ability. Although Qin Sang had never encountered such an ancient restriction, with the Heavenly Eye Butterfly's assistance, he gradually analyzed its power and eventually found a way to break it. Using the pre-existing fractured corner, Qin Sang was confident he could breach it. He did not rush to act, waiting a while to confirm there were no hidden dangers behind the curtain before attempting to break the restriction.

Six demonic banners formed a formation, and the Nine Nether Demonic Flame transformed into a spear of fire, fiercely striking a corner of the ancient restriction. The vast curtain remained unshaken. The light column only rippled slightly. However, something unusual appeared where the fire spear struck. Cracks already existed there, and the fire spear precisely hit one of them, immediately causing that part of the curtain to emit even more brilliant light and manifest various phenomena.

The Heavenly Eye Butterfly spread its wings straight, and a pair of true Heavenly Eyes materialized on its wings, staring intently at the curtain. Seizing the opportunity, Qin Sang rapidly changed his hand seals, casting one restriction after another like flowing water, which then merged into the vast curtain. His initial attempts failed. After repeated refinements, Qin Sang finally succeeded. The crack in the corner of the curtain suddenly dimmed, and Qin Sang's figure flashed, successfully passing through the crack and entering the area behind the curtain.

The space here was not large. Qin Sang summoned his spirit sword and demonic banners for protection. He swiftly circled the area, arriving in front of the halls, where he discovered traces of broken restrictions.

"Empty!" Bai suddenly exclaimed.

Qin Sang's face lit up with joy. "Have you recovered, fellow Daoist?"

Bai emerged from the corpse puppet bag and nodded. "By tomorrow, I should barely be able to break the Fire Curse." He looked around. "I didn't expect you to find this secret realm! However, these restrictions seem to have been broken by someone; it appears to have been visited before..."

"Among both the human and witch races, there are countless ancient powerful cultivators. It's certainly not uncommon for predecessors to have explored the storm zone, so it's normal for this place to have been visited. As long as it's safe enough to shelter us for a while, I'll be content. Since the escape began, my physical and mental energy have been almost completely depleted; I've been running on pure willpower." Qin Sang remarked, his voice unable to conceal his deep exhaustion.

"I haven't had the chance to thank you properly! Without your help, I would have been annihilated long ago." Qin Sang sincerely bowed in thanks to Bai.

Bai looked deeply at Qin Sang. "To find a sliver of hope in a death trap and escape from a powerful Nascent Soul enemy, most of the credit belongs to you, fellow Daoist! If it were anyone else, even with me present, they would have simply surrendered to fate."

After a brief discussion, the two each chose a hall and focused on recuperating. Qin Sang longed to sleep without a care in the world, but it was not yet time. He sat cross-legged in meditation, his mind and soul completely detached.

Several hours later, Qin Sang recovered some energy, then walked out of the hall and looked up at the vast curtain above. The phenomena of the ancient restriction were too conspicuous. Qin Sang flew closer to the curtain and studied it for a long time, finally finding a way to conceal the light column phenomenon and reinforce the damaged area of the curtain as much as possible. By the time he finished, Bai had been waiting for a long time.

Inside the hall, Qin Sang summoned the demonic flame. He had learned the Demonic Flame Curse Seal technique from Bai and now worked with Bai to break the Fire Curse. Bai focused on the Fire Curses in Qin Sang's limbs, while Qin Sang himself handled the curses that had penetrated his internal organs and Purple Mansion. It was unclear if Old Demon Mou had given up, as the Fire Curse showed no unusual activity. Although the progress in breaking the Fire Curse was slow, it was proceeding smoothly.

During a break, Qin Sang pondered for a long time, then suddenly said to Bai, "What if we leave one Fire Curse and use it to pinpoint Old Demon Mou's location, or lure him here?"

Bai was startled by this. "You're not thinking of..."

Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, then said, "I suspect Old Demon Mou might still be looking for me."

"I still underestimated you. To say you're incredibly audacious wouldn't be an exaggeration!" Bai shook his head repeatedly. "If Old Demon Mou only had early Nascent Soul cultivation, with your powerful thunder art, there might be a ten percent chance. But Old Demon Mou is cunning; how could he easily put himself in danger? If he dares to stay in the storm zone, it's certain he has trump cards to save himself or even counterattack. Even if we rest and recover to our full strength, it would be difficult to gain any advantage against him."

"Don't worry, fellow Daoist," Qin Sang sighed, "I was just thinking aloud..." He understood this truth perfectly well. The power gap between them was too vast for schemes to be effective.

"However..." Bai suddenly changed his tone, speaking thoughtfully. "What you said reminded me. Curses are a double-edged sword. I could try to manipulate the Fire Curse, leaving behind a Fire Curse seed. Later, when your strength surpasses his, it wouldn't be impossible to hunt Old Demon Mou down." After a slight pause, Bai looked at Qin Sang. "If the Winter Nether Cold Flame is truly as powerful as you say, after subduing it, Old Demon Mou's strength would likely surpass others of his rank, second only to a grand cultivator of the late Nascent Soul stage. It might be very difficult for you to seek revenge then... If you feel the chances are slim, it might be better to simply abandon the thought to avoid it becoming a heart demon."

Qin Sang remained silent. Even if Old Demon Mou made no further progress, Qin Sang didn't know when he would be able to break through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and by then, he might have already left the Canglang Sea. If Old Demon Mou were to suddenly become a grand cultivator, revenge would be an even more distant prospect.

Being relentlessly pursued by Old Demon Mou, Qin Sang had suffered severe losses. He had very few high-grade spirit stones left, and most of his pills were consumed. Furthermore, the self-detonation of his avatar and the release of the two-headed Hou were akin to severing his own arms, significantly weakening his strength. Crafting a new avatar in the future would take at least several decades. Recapturing other spirit beasts would undoubtedly result in lower spiritual intelligence and strength compared to the two-headed Hou. What pained Qin Sang the most was the Three-Light Jade Liquid; he had used a full three drops! This grievance was indeed hard to bear, but he had to endure it. He had to bide his time and endure.

Qin Sang slowly let out a breath and stated resolutely, "Please leave the Fire Curse seed, fellow Daoist! I have experienced many ups and downs on my journey, and similar situations are not new to me; it's not easy for a heart demon to form."

"Alright!" Bai said gravely, "To condense a Fire Curse seed that can't be detected by Old Demon Mou when you encounter him, I will need to think carefully."