Chapter 1187: A Great Victory
Chapter 1187: A Great Victory
"Ah!" Jinglin’s primordial spirit throbbed with intense pain. His face turned deathly pale as he clutched his head with both hands and let out a shrill cry.
His entire body trembled. The divine light of the Wind-Summoning Bangle dimmed. The same scene unfolded before Qin Sang.
With the Jade Buddha protecting him, Qin Sang did not even fear the Spirit Slice, much less a mere Soul-Extinguishing Spike. However, the discovery he had just made forced him to think carefully.
Qin Sang did not want to reveal that he could resist primordial spirit attacks. Yet if he pretended to be injured, he would no longer be able to control the twelve devilish banners. The hard-won opportunity would collapse, allowing Old Devil Pei to escape.
Qin Sang had always been decisive. The moment he realized the Soul-Extinguishing Spike was unusual, he immediately changed tactics. His incantation shifted, and the sound of heavenly thunder erupted from within his body.
Crack! The round shield shattered.
The Soul-Extinguishing Spike plunged into Qin Sang’s forehead and, as expected, was blocked by the Jade Buddha.
However, Qin Sang’s performance appeared even worse than Jinglin’s. He screamed repeatedly as blood poured from his seven orifices. He staggered, nearly falling toward the ground.
Over the years, this kind of deception had become instinctive to him. He executed it with flawless skill, revealing not the slightest flaw.
The array formed by the twelve devilish banners collapsed on its own. The banners tilted and swayed as the devilish flames scattered in all directions, leaving gaps.
Old Devil Pei saw a glimmer of hope. But before the joy could appear on his face, a sudden bolt of lightning struck, plunging him into complete despair.
Divine lightning descended. The devilish flames scattered as the Nether Crystal Towers trembled violently.
In order to survive, Old Devil Pei had sacrificed himself to activate the Nether Crystal Towers. His vital energy was already greatly depleted. Before the Lightning Control Technique, he was nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter, utterly incapable of resisting.
Boom! Before countless eyes, Old Devil Pei was struck directly by heavenly lightning. His body turned charred black as the corpse fell toward the ground.
Everything happened in a flash.
Chanling and Old Devil Tan tried to save him, but before they could even rush out of the Cold Bell Array, they witnessed Old Devil Pei being struck dead by lightning. Even his Spiritual Infant failed to escape. He had completely fallen!
Both men were filled with shock and fury. Their opponents were clearly three early-stage Spiritual Infant experts whose strength was slightly inferior to their own.
Yet in a three-on-three confrontation, Old Devil Pei had been killed right before their eyes.
Even after sacrificing himself to activate the Nether Crystal Towers, Old Devil Pei still failed to survive.
Chanling was enraged and had no idea how he would explain this when he returned.
Old Devil Tan rushed toward the Nether Crystal Towers to prevent Qin Sang and the others from destroying the array, while Chanling chased after them.
"Let's leave!" Jinglin recovered slightly. When he saw Qin Sang kill Old Devil Pei with lightning, he felt both joy and deep concern.
Both of them had injured primordial spirits. If Chanling and Old Devil Tan intercepted them, the outcome would still be uncertain.
Suppressing his injuries, Jinglin quickly retrieved the Wind-Summoning Bangle and transformed into a stream of azure wind, escaping back into the Cold Bell Array from another direction. He specialized in controlling wind and had grasped the rudiments of the Wind Evasion Technique, so his evasion speed was naturally swift.
Qin Sang remained completely unharmed.
After advancing to the Spiritual Infant Realm, the consumption of the Lightning Control Technique was no longer as heavy as it had been during the Golden Core Realm. Qin Sang did not fear Chanling, but he still did not want to reveal that he had not been injured.
Of course, he did not forget to take his spoils of war. To kill Old Devil Pei, he had already used two of his strongest trump cards.
Qin Sang gathered the devilish banners and Old Devil Pei’s corpse. With no time to destroy the Nether Crystal Tower array, he transformed into a streak of lightning and sped away.
Chanling and Old Devil Tan attempted to intercept him, but Si Di entangled them desperately. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as Qin Sang and Jinglin escaped into the Cold Bell Array, once again flying into a furious rage.
"These are Jade Dew Pills. They can treat injuries to the primordial spirit. Please take them quickly!" Si Di flicked his finger and shot two pills toward them.
The pills were crystal clear, like two drops of jade dew.
"I have long heard that Jade Dew Pills are top-grade healing medicine. Their effects far surpass the pills refined by the Two-Domain Alliance. The required spiritual herbs are extremely rare, though. At last I have seen them with my own eyes." Jinglin swallowed the pill, his excitement impossible to hide. His gaze shifted toward Qin Sang, and the earlier hint of disdain had completely vanished. "We were able to succeed entirely because of Daoist Ming Yue! I thought we would return empty-handed."
Jinglin still felt lingering fear. After being struck by the Soul-Extinguishing Spike, he had thought it would be impossible to kill Old Devil Pei, but the result had completely exceeded his expectations.
"Yes! With Daoist Ming Yue’s supernatural abilities, if he had not been struck by the Soul-Extinguishing Spike, he would not even fear Chanling in a one-on-one fight. Old Devil Pei had been arrogant for many years. Who could have imagined he would fall into your hands, especially when you have only just advanced to the Transformation Realm!" Si Di exclaimed in amazement.
He had watched from farther away and seen the situation more clearly.
The assassination of Old Devil Pei had been filled with twists and turns. Qin Sang first deployed the twelve banners, then summoned heavenly lightning at the critical moment. Each was a top-tier supernatural ability.
Si Di silently warned himself never to become enemies with this person.
Unfortunately, such a remarkable figure does not belong to the human race. They both thought.
"You flatter me. Without the cooperation of the two of you, even if I possessed great abilities, I could not have used them. Now is not the time for conversation. Chanling must not be underestimated. Please be careful. I will return to oversee the Cold Bell Array." Qin Sang grasped the Jade Dew Pill and spoke in a deep voice.
"Yes! Yes!" Jinglin nodded repeatedly, already showing complete trust in Qin Sang. "One Spiritual Infant cultivator is dead, and their morale is in chaos. Let us see how long they can still endure. Brother Si Di and I will go meet Chanling!"
Qin Sang nodded and turned to fly back into the array. As they watched him depart, Jinglin and Si Di exchanged glances. A trace of awe appeared in both their eyes.
What followed was simple. After Old Devil Pei’s death, the morale of the Sin Abyss army collapsed. None had the will to continue fighting. Meanwhile, the Two-Domain Alliance’s morale soared.
Qin Sang took control of the array artifact and presided over the Cold Bell Array, unleashing its many transformations to provide support.
For a time, the Two-Domain Alliance advanced irresistibly. The Sin Abyss forces were routed in defeat. Even after Old Devil Tan regained control of the Nether Crystal Towers and Chanling personally took command, they could not reverse the situation.
More importantly, Chanling himself no longer had any desire to continue the battle. Old Devil Pei’s death had shaken him deeply.
At the same time, he secretly felt fortunate that Old Devil Pei, rather than himself, had been the one to test the enemy’s methods.
He now held deep caution toward that unfamiliar demon king and resolved to monitor him carefully in the future.
Chanling suspected that the exposure of his movements might also have been the work of that demon king. He needed to review the battle carefully to determine exactly where they had lost.
If that demon king truly became his nemesis, then he would have yet another opponent he must avoid in the future.
Leaving behind a battlefield littered with corpses, Chanling hurriedly withdrew his forces and retreated from Sandi’e Stronghold.
The battle ended abruptly.
The enemy still possessed the Nether Crystal Towers and two remaining Spiritual Infant combatants. Jinglin and Si Di chose to stop while ahead and ordered a retreat after pursuing only a short distance.
Although casualties had occurred, there was no doubt this had been a great victory. It had been a long time since the Two-Domain Alliance had slain a Spiritual Infant grandmaster of the Sin Abyss.
The low-level cultivators cheered in excitement. They would also benefit from the spoils and gain a considerable amount of battle merit.
After arranging personnel to clean the battlefield and establishing defenses against a possible counterattack from the Sin Abyss, Jinglin and Si Di hurried toward the tower.
Qin Sang had not joined the pursuit. He sat there with his head slightly lowered, lost in thought.
Sensing the auras of Jinglin and Si Di approaching, Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly as he turned his head toward the outside.