Chapter 972: Scales

The smoke and dust dispersed.

Brilliant seven-colored light flickered, revealing the Nine Phoenix King’s somewhat battered figure.

Judging from her state, the Nine Phoenix King’s injuries were not serious. Her gaze swept the scene, and all she saw were lingering clusters of blood flames, each marking the extinguishing of a life.

After a long while, the Nine Phoenix King turned and left. From the void came a faint, almost imperceptible sigh.

Qin Sang was caught in a raging hurricane. The world spun around him, and his body was tossed violently, leaving him dazed and battered as he struggled desperately to break free.

He no longer knew where the storm had carried him.

During the siege against the Nine Phoenix King, his Sky Eyes supernatural ability had detected a subtle shift in her expression. Qin Sang was always decisive; without hesitation, he abandoned his ebony sword and unleashed his strongest art, the

Lightning Control Technique.

As expected, just as he made his move, the Nine Phoenix King raised her jade flute, and calamity erupted.

Witnessing the tragic fate of Yuan Zhu and the other demons, Qin Sang realized it was impossible to kill the Nine Phoenix King. He had no wish to die alongside them. His mind raced, seeking a way out.

Secretly, he channeled his true essence, letting faint blood flames flicker over his skin, feigning that he too had fallen under the flute’s spell.

In the final moment, Qin Sang steeled his heart and hurled himself into a gray hurricane. It was the only escape he could think of, though it was little different from drinking poison to quench thirst.

Within the storm belt, entering a gray hurricane was perilously dangerous.

The hurricanes here carried the might of heaven and earth, their true bodies unimaginably terrifying, far beyond any storm in the outside world. Even if one survived within, breaking free was another matter entirely, and wherever one emerged was uncertain.

Lose one’s bearings in this storm belt, and only death awaited.

But Qin Sang had no choice. If captured by the Nine Phoenix King, even death would not come easily. Throwing himself into the storm, at least there remained a small chance of survival.

To prevent her from noticing a flaw, Qin Sang activated the Red Origin Gauze to mask his aura and feign death. Yet the gauze proved even frailer than he had imagined. Within a few breaths, it shattered.

Fortunately, before it did, he had already slipped into the true body of a hurricane as massive as a true dragon, and promptly swallowed a drop of the precious Jade Liquid of Three Radiances.

The liquid was priceless, but he had no choice but to consume it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Within the hurricane, Qin Sang was thrown about like driftwood, unable to steady himself. All around was a gray haze; nothing could be seen.

His head reeled, his body felt as though it were coming apart.

Terrifying pressure squeezed from every direction. Qin Sang had already summoned his external incarnation, clinging to it tightly so they could resist the storm together.

He had been prepared to sacrifice the incarnation, but thankfully, the Nine Phoenix King did not pursue. Clearly, his deception had worked.

Though little time had passed since he plunged into the hurricane, Qin Sang no longer knew where he had been swept.

Anxiety gnawed at him. He had to escape quickly. If he were drawn deeper into the storm belt, unable to find the way back, death was certain. Even Spiritual Infant grandmasters had been lost here.

The Jade Liquid of Three Radiances flooded him with spiritual power which coursed through his meridians.

Qin Sang left the incarnation to shield him from the pressure while he refined the liquid, quickly restoring his true essence. Once his strength returned, he wasted no time, sweeping his gaze around for any sign of weakness in the storm.

Using the ebony sword as a guide, Qin Sang and his incarnation forced their way forward.

Inside, chaos reigned. Buffeted from all sides by violent gusts, they could barely hold together. Were they separated, they might be flung thousands of li apart in an instant.

The hurricane cut like blades.

The armor formed from the Heavenly Corpse Coffin groaned, etched with deep marks by the Void Wind.

Qin Sang enveloped himself in sword light, yet wounds still opened across his flesh. Blood streamed down, leaving him nearly drenched red.

"Break!" he roared.

The sword wheel reappeared.

Sharpened by the path of swords, it was stronger than before he entered Seven-Kill Hall, yet against the fury of the hurricane, it was still but a cup of water on a burning cart.

Just then, Bai also emerged from the Corpse Puppet Pouch. With no time to complain to Qin Sang, he drove his weakened corpse qi into a spear, thrusting forward.

The Two-Headed Hou leapt out as well, shaking its Azure Shadow.

Together, the three men and one beast pressed forward, and progress became noticeable.

They forced ahead for some distance when disaster struck.

The blood sword wielded by the incarnation suddenly shattered. Damaged earlier in his duel with Qingzhu and further strained by the hurricane’s crushing power, it could endure no more.

At Qin Sang’s thought, the incarnation let out a muffled groan and detonated the blood sword.

Boom!

The self-detonation sent shards scattering, immediately swept away by the storm.

But Qin Sang used the opening to surge forward, feeling the pressure ease. At last, he had reached the hurricane’s edge.

The storm shifted unpredictably, and the moment to escape was fleeting.

The three and one beast burned through their true essence, throwing everything into a final charge. Suddenly, light burst before their eyes. They had broken free.

Crash!

A colossal wave struck them, flinging them far before they regained balance. Gazing around, they found the same endless apocalyptic wasteland as before, no different from what they had just left.

"You must be a calamity reborn, guilty of some monstrous sin in your past life." Bai fumed, jabbing a finger at Qin Sang’s face.

But his energy was gone. Having exhausted what little he had regained, he retreated back into the Corpse Puppet Pouch to recover, leaving Qin Sang to face the mess alone.

Qin Sang could only smile bitterly, muttering inwardly that none of those Spiritual Infant cultivators had been provoked by him.

Encountering them again and again, even he wondered if his luck had truly run out.

The Two-Headed Hou also retreated into the Primordial Unity Ring to sleep.

Qin Sang examined himself and his incarnation. His own injuries were manageable, but the incarnation had been heavily damaged, so he sealed it back inside the Heavenly Corpse Coffin.

Then, gazing out over the boundless storm and waves, he felt lost.

He had no idea where he was, unable to tell even the direction. Flying aimlessly, who knew how long it would take to find a way out? If danger appeared, he might perish here.

Hurriedly, he pulled out the jade talisman, only to feel a chill in his heart.

It gave no response, proof he was far from Seven-Kill Hall. Only by returning near could he rely on the talisman for guidance.

Yet the hall would soon close. Once the grand witch priest withdrew the spiritual array, the talisman would become useless.

With that thought, Qin Sang dared not delay. He picked a random direction and fled, leaving his fate to chance.

As he searched for Seven-Kill Hall, he drew out an item. It was an azure scale, like a dragon’s, though only the size of an infant’s palm.

This had been secretly passed to him by Yuan Zhu before they entered the cave dwelling.

Holding the scale, Qin Sang’s eyes flickered.

He recalled the final scene before he plunged into the hurricane.

Yuan Zhu, Gu Heng, and Fairy Caiyi had all been engulfed in blood flames, perishing before his eyes.

He had even seen a demonic beast torn apart by the storm for lacking the strength to resist.

Under such circumstances, Yuan Zhu’s survival was nearly impossible. Then what use could this scale he had given hold now?