Chapter 904: A Fierce Kill

"What is that!" A human Golden Core cultivator pointed at the ground and shouted.

Everyone saw stone steps exposed on the surface, steps that clearly had not been built recently.

They had coexisted with Landou Sect on Landou Island, and even Dongming Island had been discovered jointly by their ancestors and Landou Sect. Yet no one had ever known that the island still hid other secrets.

"What did those witch race people take away?" The crowd exchanged glances, then shouted in unison, "Chase!"

The two sides chased each other through the jungle. Sword light and saber qi flared again and again, striking with storm-like intensity, but all were blocked by the Beast King Banner.

Soon, everyone passed through the Dark Lightning Wood grove. The witch cultivators, seeing the array intact, felt a moment of relief, while the human Golden Core cultivators also noticed the array's edge, the banners, and the rolling black smoke.

"Crap, they sneaked in from there! That man is about to escape, stop him!" Someone pointed at the black-robed man and cried out urgently.

But between them still stood the Beast King Banner and the witch cultivators. It was already impossible to destroy the array and stop the black-robed man.

The black-robed man turned his head and gave a cold laugh.

The array was within reach. Once they entered the array, left through the passage corroded by the black smoke, and then withdrew the banners outside to cut off the passage, they could easily shake off their pursuers.

Bringing these people here might not even be a bad thing for the witch cultivators, as their eldest senior brother could then escape with ease.

By the time their enemies circled to the Dongming Island exit and gave chase, they would be long gone.

The only thing exposed this time was the Beast King Banner. But sects of the witch race possessing Beast King Banners were not few. Even if Landou Sect wanted to investigate, they would have nowhere to begin.

The black-robed man planned his next moves, confident of victory. His figure dropped sharply, diving straight toward the array.

Just then, an abrupt change occurred.

Beside the array, an ordinary-looking Dark Lightning Wood suddenly released a dazzling sword light without the slightest warning. The tree trembled and split down the middle, toppling to both sides.

The sword light rapidly enlarged within the black-robed man’s pupils like the scythe of a death god, bringing with it the aura of doom.

Caught unprepared, the black-robed man was shocked and enraged. He never expected someone to have lain in ambush here without them noticing at all.

The mantis strikes the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind[1]!

That thought flashed through his mind, but he could not figure out where their perfect, smoothly executed plan had gone wrong. There was no time to think.

"Senior Brother, be careful!" Cries of alarm rose behind him from his junior brothers.

The black-robed cultivator, seasoned in countless battles, suppressed his fear and anger. Swiftly forming a seal, he spat out a streak of blue light.

Inside the light was a command arrow[2].

The arrow rang sharply, flickered once, and at the last possible moment blocked the incoming sword light.

Unexpectedly, the sword light shimmered and split into more than a dozen brilliant sword lights. Each was equally sharp, indistinguishable from the real one. They bypassed the arrow with ease and shot straight toward him.

"Sword Light Division!"

Fury and dread surged together in him, a chill running down his spine.

Anyone who comprehended Sword Light Division was a peerless sword cultivator of the human race. He had encountered a lifelong nemesis.

Yet the black-robed man remained composed. With a thought, a gu insect flew out of his body. The dragonfly-shaped gu insect from before was in fact his life-bound insect gu.

Splat!

The moment it emerged, his face paled. He spat out a mouthful of blood and essence onto the insect.

The insect shrieked, its body flashing with blood light. In the next instant, it transformed into a massive phantom nearly twice the height of a man, shielding him completely.

Meanwhile, he retreated at full speed. He knew that as long as his life-bound insect gu could block the opponent, and he made it back into the Beast King Banner Array, this foe would never harm him again.

Though his life-bound insect gu might suffer injury, he did not hesitate. Forced with blood and essence, its potential was unleashed. If it suffered further damage, it might take decades of careful nurturing to recover, but compared to his own life, that was nothing.

The sword rays were just about to collide with the insect phantom when an unbelievable scene unfolded.

A faint point of blue light suddenly appeared, moving with shocking speed. It outpaced the sword lights and struck the insect phantom directly. It was the star turban!

Before the black-robed man could react, the insect phantom burst apart with a sharp sound. His life-bound insect gu was slain on the spot, shattered into a cloud of blood mist with no remains left behind.

As his life-bound insect gu perished, he felt a tearing pain in his primordial spirit. A scream tore from his throat, his complexion turning ghostly pale.

The death of a life-bound insect gu damaged the master as well.

"It's you..." Eyes bloodshot, the black-robed man pointed at the figure by the array.

He recognized it. The treasure that had slain his fourth junior brother in a single strike that day.

"It is me!" Qin Sang sneered.

The star turban that had destroyed the insect now streaked alongside the sword light, pressing down with unstoppable might.

The black-robed man, desperate to survive, still struggled madly. His body shot backward, hair disheveled, chanting frantically as if casting some life-saving Dao Technique. But just then, another sudden change struck.

As he passed by another Dark Lightning Wood, a stunningly beautiful butterfly appeared. With a flap of its wings, countless slender yet potent bolts of lightning shot at his exposed back.

The Sky-Eyed Butterfly, though small, was after all a spiritual insect that had undergone three metamorphoses. At full force, even someone as strong as the black-robed man dared not meet it head-on.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Yet he was already at death’s door, all his focus on countering Qin Sang’s assault. He never imagined another ambush would strike from behind.

And who could have guessed this butterfly possessed such a brilliant talent for concealment, shadowing them all along only to deliver a fatal blow at the last instant.

The protective light around him shattered beneath the lightning. His body froze, and the next moment the star turban pierced through him, killing him outright.

With effort, he twisted his head, wanting to see whose hands had claimed his life. All he saw was a butterfly’s shadow.

Sky-Eyed Butterfly! No... No... Not like...

That was his final thought.

The Sky-Eyed Butterfly fluttered swiftly, brushing past his waist to snatch his Mustard Seed Pouch, then dove into Qin Sang’s arms.

At last reunited with its true master, it radiated pure joy, as if it wished to dance. Meanwhile, the black-robed man’s junior brothers charged desperately to his aid.

The distance was not far, but Qin Sang had been utterly decisive. His strike was as sudden as lightning, life and death decided in the blink of an eye, leaving them no chance to intervene.

Calming the excited Sky-Eyed Butterfly, Qin Sang summoned the star turban back, then swung his ebony sword fiercely, unleashing a streak of sword qi. Under countless furious, despairing gazes, he stepped into the array.

With a flick of his foot, he turned and entered the black smoke passage.

1. This Chinese idiom describes a situation where someone, focused on a narrow, immediate gain, fails to recognize a greater, hidden danger or threat that is also pursuing them. ☜

2. A command arrow or arrow banner of command is a small banner with an arrowhead attached to it. It's used in ancient China as a token of authority. ☜