"Senior Sister Shen, with your cunning mind and having obtained Senior Brother Yang’s jade token, why insist on dragging me into this?"

Qin Sang's face showed a contemplative expression, though he was actually stalling for time. Without pause, he absorbed the spiritual power from his spirit stones. Since Shen Jing wasn’t willing to leave, she wouldn’t be leaving!

He would never collaborate with Shen Jing again.

How can one expect to guard against a thief every day without fail?

He had to admit that, facing such a ruthless and calculating woman with exceptional acting skills, Qin Sang couldn’t help but feel a chill deep in his heart.

"To be honest, Junior Brother Qin, my original set of needle-shaped artifacts was destroyed by Yang Yuanzang's Chi Dragon Sword. The Golden Ring, Bewitching Mirror, Empty Wind, and even the Sand Mirage Spell I practiced can protect my life, but they lack sufficient power when it comes to killing enemies. I had no choice but to rely on you and Senior Brother Yang."

As Shen Jing spoke, her eyes flickered toward the ground between the two of them. The Chi Dragon Sword lay quietly there, with the ebony sword hovering above it.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Seeing Qin Sang ignore her, Shen Jing opened Yang Yuanzang’s Mustard Seed Pouch and took out four jade tokens, displaying them to Qin Sang. "Junior Brother Qin, here are four jade tokens. I’ll give you two, and I’ll keep two for myself. With the two I already have, we just need to seize one more, and then we can jointly control the jade tokens. There’s also that bottle of century-old Stone Milk. Once we join the Yuanzhao Sect, I’ll split half with you. How about that?"

Before Qin Sang could respond, Shen Jing decisively tossed two jade tokens toward him, waiting patiently for his decision.

Qin Sang hesitated for a long time. Since they were too far apart, he couldn’t examine them with his spiritual consciousness, so he sent a wave of spiritual power to lift the jade tokens. There was nothing unusual.

The jade tokens flew toward Qin Sang, and he raised his hand as if to catch them, but suddenly stopped midway, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He shouted, "Go!"

Without warning, the ebony sword suspended in mid-air shot out like lightning.

Unexpectedly, Shen Jing showed no signs of panic. Facing the attack, she neither dodged nor evaded, laughing softly. "I knew you wouldn’t agree!"

Before her words had even faded, the Golden Ring above her head shot up, releasing a dazzling golden light that accurately intercepted the incoming ebony sword.

With a loud clang, the Golden Ring encased the ebony sword. Brilliant golden light erupted, pressing inward and trapping the sword. For the moment, the ebony sword couldn’t break free.

Bang, bang, bang…

As the ebony sword continued its relentless assault, cracks began to appear on the Golden Ring. Shen Jing was willing to sacrifice this defensive artifact just to trap the sword for an instant!

At the same time, an enraged shout came from the center of the valley.

While Qin Sang was fully focused on controlling the ebony sword, two jade tokens suddenly emitted a blue glow, and in the blink of an eye, a blue sphere of light flew toward his face with lightning speed.

It was Yang Yuanzang’s primordial spirit!

When a cultivator’s physical body died, if the primordial spirit didn't escape in time, it would perish along with the body. However, Yang Yuanzang had been killed by Shen Jing, who had cunningly extracted his primordial spirit before finishing him off.

Seeing her plan succeed, Shen Jing was overjoyed. Wind rose beneath her feet as she swiftly flew toward Qin Sang. A flash of cruelty passed through her eyes as she raised her sword to stab at his head.

Just as she was about to succeed, the smile on Shen Jing’s face froze. She saw Qin Sang’s eyes suddenly open—clear and calm, even carrying a hint of mockery. There was no trace of fear or pain from someone about to be possessed.

"You!"

A deep unease surged within Shen Jing, and from the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red light in Qin Sang’s hand. He raised his hand and threw a stack of talismans at her.

Whoosh!

In an instant, all the talismans shattered, and the space between them was filled with swirling pieces of paper, transforming into endless fire feathers. These feathers filled the sky, shimmering like the plumes of a fire phoenix, with each one burning with ethereal flames. It was as if the area had turned into a sea of fire, the scorching and wild energy sweeping in all directions. Intense waves of heat surged skyward, and in mere moments, the plants and trees in the valley withered to ash.

Every fire feather pointed directly at Shen Jing.

Shen Jing’s hair stood on end as she screamed in terror, "No!"

Qin Sang sneered, and without hesitation, he fiercely waved his hand. All the fire feathers trembled slightly before shooting out in unison.

Poof, poof, poof…

At such close range, Shen Jing had nowhere to escape. When the smoke cleared, a charred corpse lay on the ground. Qin Sang had deliberately aimed at her head, obliterating it with a barrage of fire feathers. Her body was burned beyond recognition, and she met a tragic end.

At this moment, the danger was over. Though Qin Sang’s body throbbed with unbearable pain, he felt a profound sense of relief.

He cast a complicated look at Shen Jing’s corpse. This woman had truly taught him a hard lesson.

Fortunately, he had never let his guard down, keeping the Fire Feather Talismans hidden in his palm. When Yang Yuanzang's primordial spirit appeared, he could have immediately unleashed the Fire Feather Talismans, but he held back, trusting in the Jade Buddha and playing along with the plan. As expected, Shen Jing had fallen into the trap.

It might have seemed like a waste to use all twelve Fire Feather Talismans at once, but Qin Sang wasn’t sure if this deceitful woman had any other protective artifacts.

"There’s still one more thing…"

Qin Sang muttered to himself. Focusing inward, he entered his sea of consciousness and saw Yang Yuanzang attacking his primordial spirit with futile strikes of spiritual consciousness. The golden glow of the Jade Buddha remained unmoved.

Qin Sang immediately began to counterattack. As his power grew and Yang Yuanzang's diminished, his primordial spirit weakened rapidly. Terrified, Yang Yuanzang no longer dared to linger and quickly fled from Qin Sang’s sea of consciousness.

"Junior Brother Qin, spare me! I can help you—ah…!"

Yang Yuanzang’s plea for mercy echoed in Qin Sang’s mind, but he ignored it. Without hesitation, he directed the ebony sword outside and mercilessly shattered Yang Yuanzang’s primordial spirit.

Thud!

Just as Qin Sang was about to stand up from the ground, a wave of excruciating pain surged through his body, causing him to collapse, screaming in agony.

Earlier, the intense focus during the fight had helped him endure the pain.

But now that he relaxed, it felt like his entire body had turned into a tattered cloth, riddled with pain. Especially his Qihai and meridians, which felt as though they had been mercilessly stirred with a knife.

After absorbing four spirit stones in succession, it was a miracle that his meridians hadn’t burst from the excess spiritual power.

Qin Sang could only smile bitterly. He pulled out several jade bottles from the Mustard Seed Pouch. Most of them had been taken from the pouch of the straw hat swordsman, and Qin Sang didn’t recognize most of them. However, one bottle contained Water Dew Pills, which he was familiar with.

There were eight Water Dew Pills in the bottle. Qin Sang took out two and swallowed them. A cool medicinal energy flowed through his body, relieving much of the pain.

Struggling to his feet, Qin Sang stumbled over to search through the remains of Yang Yuanzang and Shen Jing. After looting their belongings, he burned the corpses. Not daring to retrieve the ebony sword, he endured the pain and used the remaining spiritual power within him to activate his evading method, fleeing from this perilous place as quickly as possible.

He crossed several mountain ranges in succession before finally hiding in a stone cave.

Qin Sang didn’t even have the energy to assess his spoils. He set up the Bewitching Mirror at the cave’s entrance and hurriedly activated the

Netherworld Scripture

to begin meditating.

It was unclear how much time had passed when Qin Sang finally woke up. Although his meridians and Qihai still throbbed with a dull ache, time didn’t permit him to continue meditating indefinitely.