Chapter 768: Chapter 768
The pack of ferocious beasts bared their fangs, glaring with wide violet eyes. Their savage aura surged, and they let out low growls in warning. They clearly hadn’t expected a demonic beast to try to seize the Purple Crystal from them. Even the leader appeared momentarily stunned, unable to react.
After all, in this region, only their own kind dared to consume the Purple Crystal.
But when they saw the phantom images of the Two-Headed Hou charge straight toward the crystal, the beasts flew into a rage.
The leader let out a furious roar, and the entire pack went berserk. Their fleshy wings spread like a tidal wave, blotting out the sky. Purple flames surged into a sea of fire, instantly engulfing two of the phantom images.
The Two-Headed Hou unleashed a storm attack, then immediately turned and fled, narrowly avoiding the purple flames.
Just then, a streak of evasion light shot out from a crack in the rocks, moving at astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, it reached the center of the lake.
Most of the ferocious beasts were still chasing after the Two-Headed Hou. Only the leader remained stationed at the lake’s center, lying in wait to capture the Purple Crystal.
Qin Sang’s sudden appearance caught it off guard.
It opened its mouth and spat a blast of purple flame.
But before the flames could hit him, they were scattered by the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells.
The Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, while not as refined as the beast’s innate fire due to Qin Sang’s limited cultivation, still held overwhelming power. After dispersing the purple flames, however, the ghostly fire began to flicker weakly, on the verge of going out.
Qin Sang prepared to summon the Yan Luo Banners of Ten Directions to press the attack and force the beast leader back.
To his surprise, the moment the leader saw the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, its face contorted in terror as if it had seen a ghost. It let out a distorted cry and instinctively retreated.
Qin Sang was taken aback. He hadn’t expected this reaction. The leader feared the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells to such a degree that its first instinct was to flee.
Though he didn’t understand the reason, this situation clearly worked to his advantage.
In the Purple Mist End, once ferocious beasts went berserk, they would usually fight to the death. Qin Sang had assumed that forcing the leader back would take considerable effort.
This was a golden opportunity, and he wouldn’t let it slip by. He gave up on pursuing the beast leader, flashed past it, and lunged straight toward the vortex at the lake’s center.
At that moment, the Purple Crystal was rising rapidly within the vortex. Two new cracks had appeared on its surface, and with a crisp shatter, it broke into three pieces and flew upward.
Qin Sang appeared above the vortex. True essence surged in his palm, condensing into a giant hand that reached out for the nearest crystal fragment.
The hand of true essence resisted the pull of the vortex and managed to grasp the Purple Crystal.
But in that instant, Qin Sang’s expression changed drastically.
The moment his true essence touched the Purple Crystal, a dense purple energy erupted from the crystal and flooded into the true essence. In the blink of an eye, all of his true essence was stained purple.
The poison spread rapidly upward, following the connection of essence, rushing toward his physical body.
"What a violent poison! Even more terrifying than the Purple Mist! It can even corrode true essence directly!"
Qin Sang was shaken. Only now did he understand why the ferocious beasts that dwelled in the Purple Mist End feared the Purple Crystal so deeply, and why they only dared to consume the smallest fragments.
He hadn’t expected something to happen the moment he tried to retrieve the crystal.
He absolutely couldn’t let such poison enter his body.
For a moment, Qin Sang couldn’t think of a good solution.
Left with no choice, he severed the connection with that strand of true essence and gave up trying to subdue the crystal.
Frowning, he muttered inwardly. This is troublesome.
If he simply waited for the Purple Crystal to rise on its own, most of it would end up dissolving into the Purple Mist before he could reach it.
The sealing barriers he had mastered so far offered very little against toxins, especially something this potent. Ordinary barriers had no chance of containing the Purple Crystal.
The only thing that might be powerful enough to counter it was the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells.
Back when he subdued the cold flame, Qin Sang had devised several sealing barriers that could harness the power of the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells. He wasn’t sure if they would work on the Purple Crystal, but it was worth trying.
The sound of something tearing through the air came from behind.
Qin Sang’s back tensed. He felt a fierce gust rushing toward him.
The leader had recovered its senses.
At the same time, the ferocious beasts that had been chasing the Two-Headed Hou also noticed Qin Sang’s actions. Furious, they turned and charged back. He didn’t have much time left.
Without turning his head, Qin Sang sent a blast of Devilish Flames of Nine Hells behind him.
As expected, the leader was extremely afraid of the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells and didn’t dare clash with it. With a sharp cry, it twisted its body and quickly dodged out of the way.
Qin Sang’s gaze stayed locked on the spinning Purple Crystal. Just as he was about to make another move, he suddenly noticed the fat silkworm arch its upper body and spit out a refined strand of seven-colored silk, which shot toward the crystal.
"How did I forget about it? The Purple Crystal was the very thing this little one wanted to eat. Clever thing, knowing to act on its own."
Qin Sang let out a self-mocking smile. It wasn’t that he had overlooked the silkworm’s ability, but rather that the silkworm wasn’t his life-bound insect gu. Communicating with it required a process, and in such urgent circumstances, there simply hadn’t been time.
The silk thread landed swiftly on the Purple Crystal and began coiling around it. In no time, it had formed a thin seven-colored cocoon.
Qin Sang followed up with a strand of true essence. With the cocoon as a barrier, the violent poison inside the crystal did not spread out.
He reached out, and the cocoon fell neatly into a jade box in his palm.
The crystal was about the size of a fist, but when held, it felt almost weightless.
He was extremely curious about how such a Purple Crystal could form, but the vortex ran deep, and the bottom was invisible.
Casting a glance at the lake’s center, Qin Sang swiftly stored the jade box into the Thousand-Jin Ring and looked toward the fat silkworm.
After releasing that highly refined strand of silk, the silkworm’s energy immediately weakened. Clearly, it had consumed far more energy than when producing the usual seven-colored halos.
Yet it gritted through the fatigue, forcing itself to continue spitting silk at the largest remaining piece of Purple Crystal, willing to give everything for the sake of its desired food.
In that instant, the entire pack of ferocious beasts went berserk.
They had watched helplessly as Qin Sang stole away one large Purple Crystal, the most precious treasure of their race. How could they not be enraged?
Seeing him attempt to seize another piece, every single beast lost control.
The Devilish Flames of Nine Hells could no longer keep them at bay.
The leader let out a thunderous roar that echoed through the valley.
Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly. There was something strange about that roar. It sounded like a call.
His suspicion was soon confirmed. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
From the depths of the valley came a response, rumbling like muffled thunder. The moment he heard it, Qin Sang felt his chest tighten, and his qi and blood roiled uncontrollably.
"There’s an even stronger leader hiding in the depths of the valley!"
His face turned grim as he sensed growing disturbance from below. A powerful force was barreling toward them.
He didn’t dare hesitate. He quickly retrieved the other Purple Crystal, still wrapped in rainbow silk. Then he spun around and struck with his sword, sending a surge of sword qi forward to block the claw swipe of the beast leader and carve open a path.
The rest of the beast horde had already arrived, filling the sky.
Qin Sang’s expression darkened. In the next instant, he slammed a palm toward the center of the vortex.
The last remaining chunk of Purple Crystal shattered under the blow, breaking into countless sparkling fragments that burst out like fireworks, scattering in all directions.
As the Purple Mist swept across, some of the fragments instantly dissolved.
The nearly crazed beasts, seeing this, turned red-eyed and instantly shifted their focus to the crystal shards.
With their attention diverted, the pressure on Qin Sang lessened significantly. But he felt no relief. Pouring all his strength into a charge, he broke out of the encirclement, recalled the Two-Headed Hou into the Primordial Unity Ring, and made his escape at full speed.