Chapter 1023: The Ancient Devil

Chapter 1023: The Ancient Devil

"Have her display the transformation of her devilish wings." Bai transmitted his voice.

Qin Sang followed the instruction. Su Nu was quietly surprised, unable to fathom why Qin Sang seemed so fixated on her devilish wings, as if he was quite familiar with them.

She dared not disobey his order. Steadying her breathing, she activated the devilish wings. At times, they turned into evasion light as she sped through the air; at other times, they folded around her body like bone armor.

"I remember now. Among the enemies who sealed me, many possessed similar wings. They were known as devils, not devilish cultivators, but true devils.

"For them, true devilish qi was what spiritual qi was to immortal cultivators. Devilish barriers and devilish flames were both remnants of the devils. Devils were our greatest enemies.

"To fight against them, human cultivators once analyzed and experimented with the devilish arts they had captured. It was discovered that a small number of human cultivators with special constitutions could directly cultivate devilish arts. However, I do not recall any art called the

True Devilish Art

. Perhaps my memory is incomplete, or the name was distorted over time."

Bai’s tone grew heavy. After a brief pause, he continued, "However, the ancient devils have long vanished from the present world, so those arts no longer matter. This girl likely possesses a unique spiritual body that allows her to cultivate devilish arts directly using true devilish qi. My mind is in turmoil... I need to sort through it carefully..."

With that, Bai’s voice faded away. After breaking the devilish barrier, Bai’s memories had gradually returned. By now, he had finally recalled the enemies who had sealed him long ago.

"Ancient devils..." Qin Sang fell into deep thought.

Throughout all his years wandering the immortal cultivation world, he had rarely heard any mention of the ancient devils. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly remembered something.

The Sin Abyss! When I entered Ziwei Palace, the Sin Abyss ambushed us from the shadows. A terrifying six-armed devilish shadow appeared. Its size was enormous, its power astonishing. Could that have been an ancient devil?

The thought sent a chill down Qin Sang’s heart, filling him with unease.

Is returning to the Small Cold Domain a blessing or a curse?

The ancient immortal cultivation world was far beyond what it was now. There were even legends of Mahayana cultivators transcending tribulation to become immortals. The strength and power of cultivators from that era were unimaginable by today’s standards.

Since the ancient devils had existed in Bai’s time and had been powerful enough to become the greatest enemies of cultivators, so much so that one devilish barrier alone could seal Bai and his subordinates for eternity, their strength must have been terrifying.

If the Sin Abyss had truly allied with the ancient devils, then with only the Small Cold Domain and the Tianxing Alliance, could they possibly resist the Sin Abyss? What if, upon returning, he found both domains already destroyed?

Under a collapsed nest, how could any egg remain intact? If disaster befell the Small Cold Domain, his old friends and companions would likely share the same grim fate.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Even so, Qin Sang knew he had to return, if only to retrieve the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid. With his current strength, as long as he stayed low-key and focused solely on self-preservation, he should not encounter too much danger.

He would first observe the situation before deciding whether to remain in the Small Cold Domain or return to Canglang Sea.

With a silent sigh, Qin Sang set aside his thoughts and noticed Su Nu standing before him, her posture stiff and cautious.

"You..." Qin Sang started to speak, but his brow suddenly furrowed as he turned toward the distance.

The next instant, two streaks of light appeared at the edge of the ice plains. Two cultivators were rapidly flying toward them. Judging by their speed, both were late-stage Core Formation cultivators.

"It’s my senior brothers!" Su Nu exclaimed joyfully. But when she saw Qin Sang’s silent frown, her heart clenched. She quickly composed herself and said, "Please don’t worry, Daoist. They are my senior brothers and have always treated me with great kindness."

Members of the Dongji Alliance.

Qin Sang cast Su Nu a deep look.

Their direction was too precise, they were clearly heading straight toward her. It seemed the girl had something on her that allowed them to track her position.

Now that Bai had recovered part of his memory, there was no reason to remain here. If he wished to learn more about the origin of this devilish art, he would likely need to speak with the Dongji Alliance's leader himself.

Qin Sang had no intention of meeting them. Without another word, his phoenix wings flickered slightly, and his figure transformed into a streak of evasion light, darting away in the opposite direction.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Sang became a faint azure dot and vanished into the endless ice plains.

Su Nu had not expected him to leave so abruptly without a word. She stared blankly in the direction he had gone, blinking with a strange expression in her eyes.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two figures descended beside her, one to her left and one to her right.

One was a tall, broad-shouldered man, the other an elderly cultivator who looked to be around fifty, his chin adorned with a long beard.

Phew!

The burly man exhaled heavily, his breathing slightly unstable. Complaining, he said, "Junior Sister, you really gave us a hard time. Didn’t we tell you to find a safe place and wait for us? Why did you run off so far?"

The bearded elder narrowed his eyes, gazing in the direction where Qin Sang had disappeared. His tone grew serious. "Junior Sister, who was that man just now? Did he harm you in any way?"

"Senior Brother, you misunderstood. If not for that Daoist’s help, I would have lost my life to the beasts," Su Nu replied softly.

After listening to her explanation, the two men finally understood. The burly man still looked shaken. "That was close. I wonder which sect that brother came from. When we return, we should inform the master and the alliance leader so they can properly thank him."

Su Nu shook her head with a trace of regret. "He was unwilling to reveal his identity. I have no idea who he was."

"In the trial realm, we are all competitors. It’s only natural for him to be cautious," the bearded elder consoled her. Then, as if recalling something, he asked, "Wait, where is Third Junior Brother?"

That third junior brother was the handsome young man whom Su Nu had personally slain.

Her expression remained calm as she replied evenly, "I was chased by ferocious beasts and fled all the way here. I haven’t seen Third Senior Brother since then, perhaps he was delayed by something."

Neither of the two suspected anything. They glanced around for a while but saw no sign of anyone.

The bearded elder finally said, "The three of us should be able to move freely across the Mystic Ice Plains now. There’s no need to linger here. Let’s continue onward while keeping an eye out for our junior brother. Junior Sister, focus on healing. We’ll keep watch."

"Yes." Su Nu responded obediently, then cast one last look toward the direction Qin Sang had vanished before quietly following after them.

***

After flying for some distance, Qin Sang summoned the ebony sword to clear the path ahead and released the white crane as well.

The deeper he went into the Mystic Ice Plains, the more difficult it became to move forward.

Even so, Qin Sang managed to traverse the ice plains smoothly, thus completing the second trial.

Ahead, a faint, almost transparent light screen blocked his way. Qin Sang halted, recalled the white crane, and dispelled the Heavenly Demon Transformation before stepping forward.

As he passed through the light screen, the biting cold vanished completely. Qin Sang found himself standing in a square courtyard, where stone benches and tables were neatly arranged. Several cultivators were sitting cross-legged, meditating and adjusting their breathing.

Sensing his arrival, a few of them opened their eyes and examined him briefly before closing them again to resume their recovery.

These people must be the first group to arrive...

Qin Sang silently observed them. As expected, every one of them had a powerful aura and was among the elites of all the cultivators who had entered.

No Spiritual Infant grandmasters in sight. It seems like the trials for the two groups of cultivators are separate. That makes sense, otherwise, who would dare compete with a Spiritual Infant cultivator?