Chapter 488 Slaying the Jiao and Seizing Its Soul

Endless Valley.

Qin Sang entered the valley alone, returning to a place he knew well.

The Endless Valley was vast and boundless. The areas where cultivators usually moved about were only a minuscule fraction of it. Having trained here for over twenty years, Qin Sang was intimately familiar with its landscape.

With an astra by his side, he had ventured into many dangerous areas where others dared not tread, reaping considerable rewards.

Most of those rewards, however, had been used to purchase artifact refinement materials and to improve his artifact refinement skills. He had even gone so far as to deplete his reserves of Cold Gold, forcefully elevating his proficiency in artifact refinement.

After smoothly entering the second zone of the Endless Valley and crossing the White Stone Wasteland, a desolate expanse unfolded before Qin Sang’s eyes.

Here stretched a sea of gray rocks, densely packed together. The deeper one ventured, the larger the rocks grew; some of the colossal stones in the deepest part rivaled mountains in size.

Around the outskirts of this sea of rocks, scattered groups of demonic beasts could still be seen. But deeper within, not a single demonic beast appeared. The interior seemed to be a forbidden zone, a place even demonic beasts dared not cross.

Such places were not rare within the Endless Valley; they were usually lairs of demonic beasts. This particular territory, claimed by the Black Jiao, was actually not especially large, considering that the creature was only at the peak of the Demonic Spirit Realm.

Concealing his presence, Qin Sang sped silently across the sea of rocks, eventually climbing atop a towering boulder and looking downward.

Two massive stones were nearly fused together, leaving only a narrow gap between them. At the bottom of this gap lay a hidden abyss, where the Black Jiao made its den.

From the surface, there was no eruption of demonic qi, no strange lights or heavy mist. It appeared utterly unremarkable.

"Surely it hasn’t broken through to the Demonic Core Realm by coincidence?"

Qin Sang muttered to himself, narrowing his eyes at the abyss. He opened the Corpse Puppet Pouch, and in the next instant, a black figure appeared silently beside him—it was the flying yaksha.

Its speed was astonishing; the naked eye could not even catch its movements, lending it an eerie, ghostlike quality.

By now, the flying yaksha had fully merged with the corpse core, its strength at its peak. The Black Jiao would serve perfectly as its trial by fire.

"Go," Qin Sang whispered.

The flying yaksha bowed its head. Its black pupils glinted with a deep, almost sentient light, adding to its uncanny aura. Then, without warning, its figure vanished.

Qin Sang himself did not descend. Instead, he sat cross-legged atop the stone, took out the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions, and quietly set up a great array. He also prepared his other astra.

Of course, his greatest reliance remained the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman.

The talisman floated in Qin Sang’s palm, the dragon souls within it sending waves of fawning thoughts. Qin Sang grasped it tightly, lowering his gaze to the abyss, silently waiting.

Inside the abyss, darkness reigned, so thick one could not see their fingers. Ancient barriers were layered within.

The flying yaksha dove quickly into the depths. Although Qin Sang was familiar with the barriers, he could not match the Black Jiao's understanding. Before long, the flying yaksha inevitably brushed against a hidden ancient barrier, exposing its presence.

Roar!

From deep within the abyss came an enraged roar.

Splash!

The cold waters of the dark river churned violently. Out of the once-placid current, a colossal shadow emerged. The creature’s body was long and sinuous—just the part visible above the water spanned dozens of zhang.

The Black Jiao lifted its upper body upright, its triangular, snake-like head rising high. A blood-red tongue flickered between its fangs, and its vertical pupils gleamed with murderous intent, cold and deadly in the dim light of the abyss.

Unlike the Jiao Qin Sang had encountered before, this Black Jiao had a noticeable bulge on its brow. Its horn had already begun to emerge.

Its scales, dark as obsidian, were tightly packed and tougher than the finest metal, glinting with an uncanny luster. As the Black Jiao rose from the water, the river swiftly slid off its body.

With its warning roar having failed, and the intruder advancing ever closer, the Black Jiao's eyes burned with towering rage.

Crash!

A huge wave surged up from the dark river. A long, sinuous tail shot out from the depths, whipping up a black whirlwind that carried with it a pungent, bloody stench.

The whirlwind was chilling to the bone, freezing the surface of the river into thick ice at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Even the water splashed into the air instantly turned into shimmering ice crystals that shone with a blue light and were razor sharp.

The wind was no ordinary wind; it was demonic wind, and the ice was mystic ice. Twisting together, the whirlwind and the deadly shards surged toward the intruder with terrifying speed, driven by the whip of the Jiao's tail.

It looked as though the overwhelming assault would engulf the flying yaksha completely. Yet sitting atop the stone, Qin Sang revealed a faint smile.

The flying yaksha gazed coldly at the oncoming storm. A dark light flashed in its eyes, and it suddenly threw a punch.

Before the enormous storm, the flying yaksha seemed pitifully small.

But that punch carried earth-shattering force.

Boom!

The terrifying force of the punch blasted a gaping hole straight through the whirlwind.

The flying yaksha shot through the storm, emerging completely unscathed.

This astonishing sight made the Black Jiao's eyes bulge in disbelief. The ferocity that once filled its gaze was shattered by that single punch, replaced instantly by overwhelming fear.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

In the Black Jiao's vision, that dreadful fist expanded rapidly, and it could only manage to tilt its head slightly in time.

Bang!

The punch struck it squarely. The Black Jiao's massive body was sent flying like a ragged cloth, crashing heavily against the side wall of the abyss.

It let out a miserable shriek but before the sound could fully escape its throat, the flying yaksha had already reappeared behind it. With a ghostly claw, it easily pierced through the Black Jiao's scales and ripped off a massive chunk of flesh.

The Black Jiao howled in agony and fled in panic.

However, it was still a peak Demonic Spirit demon. Though it appeared wretched, it was far from helpless. The abyss quickly descended into utter chaos, with human and Jiao shadows flying wildly through the darkness.

Outside the abyss, Qin Sang remained seated calmly atop the giant stone, listening to the occasional screams coming from within. His mind was linked with the flying yaksha, closely monitoring the situation.

He was not aiming for the flying yaksha to kill the Black Jiao, only to drive it out while sealing off all other escape routes, forcing the Black Jiao to flee upward.

After all, the Nine-Dragon Heavenly Chariot Talisman required extracting the Jiao spirit from a living creature.

The chaos inside the abyss intensified. Qin Sang even felt the giant stone beneath him shudder violently from the commotion.

Suddenly, an intense surge of demonic qi shot into the sky. Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. His gaze sharpened, staring intently at the abyss. Moments later, he saw a battered Jiao figure stagger up from the darkness.

Below the Black Jiao, the flying yaksha surged after it like a violent storm, refusing to relent.

By now, the Black Jiao was in a pitiful state, utterly stripped of the majesty expected of a peak Demonic Spirit Realm demon. Its body was covered in numerous deep wounds, each cut to the bone and dripping with blood. One of its eyes had been gouged out by the flying yaksha, leaving a long, savage gash across its head.

After such a brutal battle, the Black Jiao had lost all will to fight. It only wanted to escape.

Seeing the Black Jiao being driven out, Qin Sang waved his hand. With a loud

whoosh

, the Yan Luo Banner of Ten Directions unfurled. The ghostly banner array instantly enveloped the abyss’s exit, sealing off every path of retreat.

Whoosh...

Endless waves of ghostfire surged out, raining down from above, forming a pincer attack together with the flying yaksha from below.

The Black Jiao was trapped. There was no escape!