Chapter 1239: Blood Shadow
Chapter 1239: Blood Shadow
After Dongyang Bo followed Gong Liangyu inside, Qin Sang also moved to a position above the blood river.
So that's the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace. It truly lives up to its reputation. Qin Sang thought.
Even from a distance, Qin Sang had still sensed a clear threat from that Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet.
The puppet itself had been immensely powerful, and since it felt no pain and feared no death, it would not be easy for Dongyang Bo to subdue it in a short time.
What surprised him more was that Gong Liangyu had actually managed to bring out a Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet and, despite the vast gap in strength, had been able to control it alone without suffering backlash.
This time, Dongyang Bo had likely miscalculated.
Qin Sang sneered inwardly. The stronger Gong Liangyu was, the better. If he and Dongyang Bo fought fiercely and forced each other to reveal their trump cards, Qin Sang could take the opportunity to gauge Dongyang Bo’s true strength.
Seeing this, Qin Sang had already begun to lean toward rescuing Gong Liangyu.
Setting aside the backing of Shangyuan Tranquility Palace, the mere fact that Gong Liangyu could control such a powerful talisman puppet proved his value. He was worthy of becoming an ally.
However, the timing of intervention required careful consideration. Qin Sang did not know Gong Liangyu well and was uncertain about his courage and judgment.
At the very least, he would wait until Dongyang Bo revealed his true intentions and the two completely fell out.
Ideally, he would step in only when Gong Liangyu showed signs of defeat, rescuing him at the most critical moment and earning his gratitude.
After all, the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet was merely a dead object. As its controller, Gong Liangyu’s cultivation had been far inferior to Dongyang Bo’s. This gap was not something a single puppet could fully compensate for.
Dongyang Bo clearly held the same confidence. Even after seeing the puppet, he had still followed without hesitation.
Moreover, Qin Sang was also curious about what treasure Gong Liangyu had discovered that could tempt Dongyang Bo into turning on an ally.
As for bullying the weak, Dongyang Bo had done it countless times before. He had long since stopped caring about honor.
While thinking through all this, Qin Sang used the Sky Eyes to observe the interior of the blood river. Gradually, he noticed certain clues, and his expression grew more serious.
No wonder Gong Liangyu summoned the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet... Qin Sang thought.
As the two ventured deeper into the blood river, Qin Sang could no longer wait. He quietly prepared the eighteen-devilish-banner array and entered the river.
Whoosh, whoosh... The moment he entered, what he felt was not gentle water flow, but a violent gale crashing into him. The surface of the blood mist appeared calm, yet inside it constantly collided with itself. Turbulent currents surged in utter chaos.
Along with the impact of the blood mist came an extremely dense evil yin force.
This force felt almost tangible, like blades scraping bone and millstones grinding flesh, continuously battering the protective spiritual armor Qin Sang had condensed with his true essence, threatening to grind him into blood.
Hiss... To resist the invasion of this evil force, Qin Sang had no choice but to increase his output of true essence, rapidly increasing his consumption.
At the same time as the evil force surged, dozens of snake-like blood shadows silently appeared within the mist. The moment they sensed Qin Sang, they lunged at him.
These blood shadows had no physical form. Some stretched several zhang in length, while others were only about three chi long.
Amid the chaotic blood mist and the omnipresent terrifying evil force, they moved as if in their natural domain, swimming freely and comfortably.
What Qin Sang had stirred were only an insignificant fraction. Within the entire blood river, the number of blood shadows was beyond count, numbering in the millions. Avoiding them entirely was impossible.
These blood shadows were a kind of evil spirit born from the accumulated blood mist over countless years. They had grown here, feeding on the yin force, and naturally feared no corrosion from it. In other words, they were the true masters of the blood river.
Disturbed by Qin Sang, all the blood shadows rushed at him without hesitation. They possessed almost no intelligence. Their only instinct was to devour the intruder.
Before the blood shadows could approach, Qin Sang’s figure paused slightly. A fire lotus seed appeared at his brow, and several tiny, flower-like flames drifted out. They precisely locked onto the positions of all the blood shadows and arrived first, landing upon them.
These spiritual flames had been refined by Qin Sang, their fluctuations suppressed to the minimum. When they reached the blood shadows, the latter had not even sensed danger, remaining dazed and sluggish.
By the time the flames touched them and they reacted, it was already too late. The flames rapidly spread across their forms. In mere moments, the blood shadows were burned completely away, leaving not the slightest trace.
Immediately afterward, the flames returned to the fire lotus seed.
Everything had happened extremely quickly. Neither the blood shadows nor the fire lotus seed had produced any noticeable disturbance. Moreover, the chaotic blood mist provided excellent concealment, so neither Gong Liangyu nor Dongyang Bo ahead had noticed anything.
Although the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells are not specifically meant to counter evil spirits, these spirits are at most at the Qi Refining Realm. Killing them is effortless. Qin Sang thought to himself.
However, these few blood shadows were merely the weakest. The deeper one went into the blood river, the stronger they became. If thousands or even tens of thousands were stirred at the riverbed, even a Spiritual Infant cultivator would suffer heavily.
After a moment’s thought, Qin Sang cautiously spread out his spiritual consciousness. Immediately, more than a dozen blood shadows were drawn in and swiftly eliminated by him.
"As expected. These blood shadows are similar to the blood lightning. They are extremely sensitive to spiritual consciousness. It is best not to extend it too far here. No one knows what kind of monsters might exist at the bottom of the river. Still, this works in my favor. The chances of being discovered by Dongyang Bo are even lower." Having grasped the nature of the blood shadows, Qin Sang continued descending.
However, he deliberately slowed his pace, widening the distance between himself and Dongyang Bo.
This had been unavoidable. There were simply too many blood shadows in the river. Even without using spiritual consciousness, it was impossible to avoid them all.
In the upper layers, it had not been a problem. No matter how many there were, they could not cause much disturbance.
But the deeper he went, the stronger the blood shadows became, and the harder they were to kill. Qin Sang did not know what methods Dongyang Bo possessed, so he dared not follow too closely.
Meanwhile, Dongyang Bo’s sole target was Gong Liangyu, so he did not face the same concern and continued pursuing closely.
Qin Sang lagged far behind, maintaining only enough of his Sky Eyes to barely track Dongyang Bo’s movements. With the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet at his side, Gong Liangyu could hold out for a while, long enough for Qin Sang to arrive.
The Sky-Eyed Butterfly not only kept a tight watch on Dongyang Bo, but could also see through the movements of the blood shadows.
Qin Sang deliberately chose paths where the blood shadows were fewer, making his presence even more negligible.
The blood river seemed bottomless. Gong Liangyu had traveled for the time it took an incense stick to burn, yet still had not reached the riverbed.
Unlike Qin Sang, he lacked the Sky-Eyed Butterfly’s ability to distinguish dense from sparse regions of blood shadows. He could only rely on the Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet to force his way forward.
Countless blood shadows surged toward him in waves, surrounding them completely.
Boom! Boom! The Spiritual Infant Talisman Puppet displayed overwhelming might, as if venting all its resentment toward Gong Liangyu onto the blood shadows. Runes flashed across its body as it moved like lightning, its heavy punches striking like thunder and leaving afterimages in their wake.
The blood shadows here were far stronger than those above, yet they still could not withstand a single punch. Their bodies shattered instantly, unable to reform. All the blood shadows were blocked outside, unable to approach.
Behind Gong Liangyu, Dongyang Bo was also entangled by blood shadows. However, since Gong Liangyu had drawn away a portion of them, and although more continued to drift over from elsewhere, the number he faced was noticeably smaller.