Chapter 1030: Escape

After escaping from the stone apes and ferocious beasts, Qin Sang became even more cautious than before.

However, these stone spirits hid deep underground. When motionless, they were indistinguishable from the surrounding rock. Neither his spiritual consciousness nor the Sky-Eyed Butterfly could detect them, making it nearly impossible to spot them beforehand.

Qin Sang glanced back at the chaotic forest behind him but did not linger. He flew straight toward the body of water he had seen earlier. Soon, he crossed several mountain ranges, and his view opened up wide.

Before him stretched a vast expanse of water, far larger than the small mountain lake he had imagined.

Seeing this, Qin Sang faintly guessed. "This must be the border between the Yang Earth Region and the Spiritual Water Region. If I follow the boundary, I should be able to find the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion. But which direction should I take?"

The four regions were positioned to the east, west, south, and north. The Yang Earth Region was to the west, and the Spiritual Water Region to the north. As long as he headed southeast, he would reach the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion.

Qin Sang’s figure flashed as he landed by the shore. The entire Spiritual Water Region was covered in marshes and lakes. It was said that creatures similar to the stone apes dwelled within. Those were water spirits shaped like three-legged golden toads, known as Spiritual Water Toads. Of course, the waters also teemed with ferocious beasts.

As Qin Sang entered the water region, everything around him appeared calm. Seeing no sign of Spiritual Water Toads, he did not stop and continued flying deeper toward the heart of the spiritual water region.

It was not long before the surface beneath him began to ripple violently despite there being no wind.

Moments later, a series of strange croaks echoed through the air. Several Spiritual Water Toads, each the size of a calf and completely translucent, suddenly burst out of the water without warning.

They opened their enormous mouths, inhaling great waves into their bellies. Their throats bulged, and then they spat out high-pressure jets of water that transformed midair into countless icy arrows.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Qin Sang remained calm under attack. Sword light enveloped his body as he shattered the incoming ice bolts. Before the ferocious beasts could encircle him, he relied once again on his superior evasion technique to outmaneuver them and leave them far behind.

A faint smile appeared on his face. When the Spirit Water Toads had attacked, the Sky-Eyed Butterfly had sensed the anomaly in advance.

When these creatures were startled and prepared to reveal themselves, faint ripples would appear on the water’s surface. They were imperceptible to the naked eye.

As long as the Sky-Eyed Butterfly could detect these subtle fluctuations, Qin Sang could respond in time. Traveling through the Spiritual Water Region was far easier than traversing the land.

Without hesitation, Qin Sang ordered the Sky-Eyed Butterfly to keep watch over the waters while he rode his sword, flying swiftly toward the direction of the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion

***

Within another part of the trial realm, yellow sand swept through the air. The atmosphere above the dunes shimmered with heat, and even the wind itself felt scorching.

The dunes occasionally bulged as ferocious beasts moved beneath the sand. In this endless desert, a remote section of empty sky suddenly distorted, and the figure of a woman appeared out of thin air. It was Su Nu.

Like Qin Sang, she remained still upon arrival, scanning the surroundings carefully. Once she confirmed there was no immediate danger, she descended onto a tall sand dune to observe the area.

"This is the Heavenly Fire Region." Su Nu’s understanding of the trial realm far surpassed Qin Sang’s. At a glance, she recognized where she was and quickly determined the direction of the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion.

"Those people aren’t here. We’ve been separated. This may be my only chance to escape. If I can reach the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion before they arrive and seize a treasure, I can be transmitted out of the trial realm and into the inner hall, temporarily beyond the Dongji Alliance’s control. Once I remove the bloodline imprint from this command token and wait until the inner hall begins to close, I can slip away and finally regain my freedom..." Her voice dropped to a whisper as her expression hardened.

She had never abandoned hope. Yet all her enemies were overwhelmingly powerful. When she was still at the Foundation Building Realm, she had been controlled by Granny Yue. Now, even after reaching late-stage Core Formation Realm, she faced the Dongji Alliance's leader and several Spiritual Infant cultivators from the merchant alliances.

Su Nu had no choice but to endure, pretending to be naive and obedient, waiting patiently for a chance like this.

She did not know what the Dongji Alliance intended to do, nor did she care about the Soul-Cleansing Liquid. All she wanted was to escape from their grasp as soon as possible.

From the moment she learned the Dongji Alliance's leader would bring her into Seven-Kill Hall, a faint unease had lodged in her heart, and now that unease had only grown stronger.

She opened her palm, revealing two items. One was the command token that clung to her like a curse, serving as a locator for the others.

The other was a small black square seal, no larger than a thumb, carved in the shape of a ghost’s head. Its surface gleamed with a dark luster, and the ghostly face seemed to grin wickedly, eerie and lifelike.

"I hope it won’t come to this." Su Nu sighed softly, murmuring in despair, "But if it does... who can I still trust?"

With a flip of her hand, she put both items away. Without further hesitation, she spread her devilish wings and sped toward the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion.

However, just as she crossed a nearby dune, the sand suddenly split apart without warning.

A surge of blazing heat erupted from below, its faint crimson hue forming a pillar of fire that shot straight toward her.

Her expression shifted. With a swift beat of her wings, she angled her body and dodged aside. The fiery blast missed its mark, but the attack did not end there.

The crimson energy abruptly halted mid-air, its shape twisting before condensing into several humanoid fire spirits.

These fire spirits were hazy and insubstantial, yet their power was formidable. Like the stone apes and Spirit Water Toads, they were guardians of the Heavenly Fire Region.

"I hid my aura completely, and they still found me. So that old wretch was right, these fire spirits have an incredibly sharp sense of perception..." Su Nu’s heart sank. Her carefully laid plans had already begun to fall apart.

The fire spirits were hidden deep within the dunes, merging seamlessly with the underground flames. It was impossible to detect them in advance. She could only fight her way through, which would inevitably slow her down. Reaching the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion before the others now seemed unlikely.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bulges of varying sizes erupted all around the sandy ground.

As the fire spirits lunged toward Su Nu, they opened their mouths and released silent signals, awakening the ferocious beasts slumbering underground. The situation was far worse than she had imagined.

Even so, Su Nu refused to give up. She spread her devilish wings and transformed into a streak of black evasion light, darting toward one of the fire spirits as she struck out with a blast of devilish light.

Puff!

The fire spirit shattered into wisps of smoke that sank back into the ground, only to re-form moments later.

By then, Su Nu had already broken through their encirclement. She swung her devilish saber, cutting down several ferocious beasts and fleeing before they could close in again.

Though she had escaped immediate danger, her expression remained grim. Her premonition had come true. Along the way, she encountered ambush after ambush. Her evasion technique was not as refined as Qin Sang’s, leaving her unable to anticipate danger beforehand. She had no choice but to force her way through each attack.

To save time, she rarely paused to recover, and her true essence was gradually being depleted.

She had no idea how far she had traveled, nor how much farther she needed to go before reaching the Hundred-Treasure Pavilion.

Just as she pushed forward with all her remaining strength, the sound of air being torn apart suddenly came from the distance. Moments later, two streaks of evasion light raced toward her, trailed by several pursuing fire spirits.

"Junior Sister, over here! Junior Sister Hong is with me too. What a coincidence! Looks like all three of us ended up in the Heavenly Fire Region!" The voice calling out was that of an elderly man.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Su Nu’s eyes darkened.