Chapter 765: Chapter 765

In the blink of an eye, the roles of attacker and defender had reversed.

The two figures, one pursuing and the other fleeing, sped through the dense Purple Mist.

Losing sight of the young man in such an environment could mean losing him for good. Qin Sang ignored the strain on his true essence, continuously activating the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman, clinging to his target with relentless pursuit.

Although Qin Sang’s consumption of true essence was high, the young man’s was even worse.

The deadly poison had already infiltrated his body, and the effects were quickly becoming apparent. Not only did it bring excruciating pain, but it also caused his true essence to stagnate. Like rot clinging to bone, it spread deep into his organs and was almost impossible to expel.

Failing to kill Qin Sang in one strike had placed him in an extremely passive position.

Qin Sang pressed harder with each moment, forcing him to fight while retreating.

The exit from the Purple Mist End was still a long way off.

Qin Sang and the Two-Headed Hou took turns launching swift and fierce attacks, allowing the young man no room to breathe. The Devilish Flames of Nine Hells and ebony sword struck in alternation. Before long, a sword wound appeared on the young man.

Soon after, more wounds followed.

Blood flowed freely from his body as his defenses grew disordered. The poisonous mist was simply too overwhelming.

The moment his jade bangle had been destroyed, he had known that if he couldn't kill Qin Sang quickly, then dragging things out would only lead to his defeat.

And now, that prediction had come true!

Qin Sang was unlike any other Core Formation Realm cultivator he had encountered. His evasion techniques were sharper than even most Spiritual Infant Realm cultivators. There was no way to shake him off once he was locked onto a target.

Unfortunately, he had failed. Even the surprise self-destruction of his astra had done nothing.

A short, anguished cry was cut off mid-sound.

The storm faded. Qin Sang slowly emerged from the Purple Mist, his eyes cold as he stared at the corpse on the ground.

After the previous battle on Duyan Island, Qin Sang no longer dared to show mercy to any enemy. Since there was no opportunity to capture him alive, he chose to end it swiftly and completely.

In the end, the young man tried to self-detonate his Golden Core, but was incinerated by the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells before he could succeed. He died with his primordial spirit burned away. His Golden Core had shattered, now nothing more than a useless lump.

Qin Sang appeared beside the corpse, retrieving the young man’s belongings with a wave of his hand. Then he conjured a flame and incinerated the body, leaving no trace behind.

His greatest gain was naturally the golden ring astra.

He extended his spiritual consciousness into the astra and erased the young man’s mark.

As expected, the ring possessed the power of restriction. Its name was Golden Jade Lock, forged from a rare golden material. It could expand or shrink at will and contained a unique binding force.

The ring could not only suppress astras but, if used unexpectedly, could even directly entrap an enemy.

Only an astra like the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, empowered by the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, could suppress the Golden Jade Lock. Most astras, when faced with it, would become clumsy and restricted.

Qin Sang’s body wavered, and he quickly sat cross-legged.

The impact from the gray sword’s self-detonation had caused serious internal injuries. He had been holding it back all this time, but now the damage erupted in full.

He glanced around and noticed that he was already near the valley.

On his way here, he had been fortunate not to encounter any ferocious beasts or other immortal cultivators blocking his path. Qin Sang instructed the Two-Headed Hou to stand guard, then confidently entered meditation to recover. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on N0veI.Fiɾe.net

Before long, his aura stabilized. He finished his recovery, stood up, and examined the Golden Jade Lock once more before storing it in his dantian for refinement and nurturing.

A middle-grade astra could provide tremendous support.

If the Golden Radiance Armor had not been damaged, this battle would not have been so taxing.

After that, Qin Sang opened the young man's Mustard Seed Pouch, but most of the pills and talismans inside had already been consumed before his death.

What intrigued Qin Sang the most was the young man's identity. However, after going through all the items, he found nothing that confirmed which sect he belonged to. There were a few jade slips, but they only contained anonymous arts and Dao Techniques with no source noted.

"He didn’t deny it earlier, so he was likely from the Xiyou Alliance, but I’m not sure which merchant guild. Still, since he dared to oppose the Dongji Alliance’s leader, he might be like Xiang Yi, a trusted agent of the Xiyou Alliance's leader. But what was he doing following me out here..."

Qin Sang turned his hand and took out a spirit talisman.

This talisman was unusual. It was inscribed with intricate patterns that Qin Sang couldn’t decipher. When he attempted to infuse it with true essence, it showed no reaction.

It didn’t seem to be a problem of insufficient energy, but rather that specific conditions were required for activation.

"What is this thing? It’s the only item I can’t understand... Is it related to that ancient divine platform?"

Qin Sang flipped the talisman over and studied it carefully, but found no clues. In the end, he could only put it away for future research.

"This trip really has been full of unexpected twists." Qin Sang gave a wry smile. Then he suddenly recalled a moment during the earlier battle and hastily summoned the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions once more.

The Devilish Flames of Nine Hells surged forth, but this time, there was no reaction.

"It must be because I'm still too far. That would mean the Purple Mist has nothing to do with the mysterious spiritual fire."

Qin Sang felt quietly reassured. He did not put the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions away, and instead brought it along as he returned the way he had come.

He wanted to test whether the spirit talisman had any effect on the ancient divine platform. However, when he arrived back at the platform’s location, he froze in place. At some unknown point, the ancient divine platform had vanished completely.

The ground had sealed shut, smooth and seamless. Aside from the marks left by his battle with the young man, there was no trace that the ancient divine platform had ever existed.

"The platform clearly rose from underground. Xiang Yi must have triggered something within the three stone halls to awaken it. I can’t even break through the ancient barrier outside the stone halls, let alone awaken the platform."

Qin Sang walked to the place where the platform had disappeared.

He took out the spirit talisman and tested it repeatedly, but there was no response. He knew then that the opportunity had already passed.

"This means the young man’s desperate self-detonation wasn’t just to kill me. It might have also been tied to the ancient divine platform. Now that the platform has shut down, his mission has failed too."

Qin Sang didn’t have enough information, so all he could do was guess.

In the end, he gave up and tossed the spirit talisman into the Thousand-Jin Ring, deciding to put the matter behind him.

He had no interest in getting involved in the power struggle between the two alliance leaders. If there had been some immediate benefit to be gained, it might have been worth the risk. But now that even the ancient divine platform was sealed away, there was no point dwelling on it.

It was a pity. Qin Sang had placed great hope in the platform, which was why he had been willing to eliminate the young man at any cost.

This was a mysterious divine platform from ancient times. Once a treasure emerged from it, it would surely be extraordinary.

Now that he had used up the Blood Defilement Divine Light, and the only worthwhile trophy seemed to be the Golden Jade Lock, it was hard to say whether he had profited or lost.

Qin Sang shook his head and cleared his mind. He summoned the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells once more.

The reaction reappeared, clearly pointing toward the depths of the Purple Mist.

Qin Sang hesitated briefly, but after estimating the time, found he still had plenty. He decided to go check it out immediately.

He mounted the Two-Headed Hou, ordered it to move forward, and focused on refining the Golden Jade Lock, determined to master this astra as quickly as possible.

Before long, they arrived before the third stone hall. Qin Sang tested the barrier and confirmed that he could not break it alone, so he pressed on.

After walking for some distance, the terrain remained steadily level.

Suddenly, the Two-Headed Hou came to a stop and gave a low growl to alert Qin Sang.

Qin Sang jumped to the ground, quickly stepped forward, and stood at the edge of the valley.