Chapter 983: The Blue Jade Bead

Qin Sang struck like thunder, killing two enemies in an instant. The shocking display of power subdued everyone present, leaving the surrounding cultivators too frightened to make a move.

The long street of the market had become a scene of devastation. The riverbank had collapsed, debris scattered everywhere.

Two corpses lay sprawled on the ground, fallen leaves soaked in blood, a grim and dreadful sight. Only three remained on Vice Commissioner Zuo’s side.

Qin Sang, Bai, the incarnation, and the Two-Headed Hou encircled them from four directions. Fei You shuddered, finally waking from his daze. He wanted to help but realized his strength would only get in the way, so he stayed on the perimeter to guard the flanks.

The two middle-stage Core Formation cultivators were completely terrified. They had come with full confidence, yet within moments had fallen into a living nightmare. At this point, they could only wish for someone to intervene, but the shops lining the street were silent. The other guilds clearly had no intention of involving themselves in this disaster.

Vice Commissioner Zuo was the only one who remained calm. His face darkened as he grasped the situation. Capturing his target was now impossible, and instead he himself had been trapped.

"Friends of the merchant alliance, help me slay this fiend, and I will offer all my wealth as reward!" Vice Commissioner Zuo shouted repeatedly, promising one enticing reward after another.

For a moment, some were tempted. But reason quickly prevailed. No reward was worth dying for.

More importantly, the opponent’s strength was terrifying. Someone capable of such power clearly had a formidable background. To make an enemy of a great power for the sake of the Qiongyu Merchant Guild would be a fool’s choice. The shops remained silent.

"Retreat!" Vice Commissioner Zuo barked, losing all hope.

The two Core Formation cultivators pressed close to him. Retrieving their astras, they swept their gazes across the battlefield, locating the weakest point in the encirclement, which was the direction of the Two-Headed Hou.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The dragon-headed stone staff turned mid-air, swinging diagonally as it crashed toward the Two-Headed Hou.

A torrent of black light poured out like a waterfall, a roaring black dragon descending from the sky.

The defensive arrays of nearby shops flared to life under the shockwaves, trembling violently. The entire street shook as if an earthquake had occured, sending waves of fear through the onlookers.

For a moment, the daylight dimmed. At the center of the storm, Qin Sang, Bai, and the incarnation struck simultaneously.

Corpse qi, blood light, and the sword light of the ebony sword intertwined, their combined force surpassing even that of the dragon-headed staff. Their radiance surged like waves, merging together and drowning Vice Commissioner Zuo and his men.

The two middle-stage Core Formation cultivators looked terrified but followed Vice Commissioner Zuo in a desperate charge, summoning their astras to block Qin Sang and the others’ attacks.

Yet they were weaker in both strength and numbers. There was no way they could withstand such overwhelming force. They knew this clearly.

A flicker of grim resolve appeared in their eyes. Without hesitation, they poured all their true essence into their astras, forcing their power to the limit. Their faces turned deathly pale as they shouted, "Explode!"

Crack! Boom!

The two astras detonated at once.

The ice-blue chain shattered into countless fragments, while the moon-white flying dagger disintegrated into dust. The simultaneous explosions briefly blocked the enemy’s assault.

The two cultivators spat blood from the backlash, but dared not hesitate. Slapping spirit talismans onto their bodies, they boosted their speed dramatically.

At the same time, Vice Commissioner Zuo used his dragon-headed staff to force the Two-Headed Hou back, opening a path for escape.

In truth, it was because Qin Sang had ordered the beast not to block them with its full strength. Leaving one side open was part of his plan to wear down their resistance bit by bit.

He wanted to capture them alive to uncover why the Qiongyu Merchant Guild had turned against him and who the true mastermind was. His confidence came from his unmatched evasion technique. None of them could truly escape his grasp.

The Two-Headed Hou retreated, and Vice Commissioner Zuo seized the opening. Hope flared in the three men’s eyes as they rushed out of the encirclement. But before they could even reach the end of the street, a shadow flickered before them. Qin Sang appeared out of thin air, standing directly in their path.

He looked at them coldly and flicked his sleeve. Six small devilish banners unfurled, and three black arrows condensed from the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells shot forth. Before so many witnesses, Qin Sang did not wish to expose the true nature of the devilish flames, so he disguised their appearance, suppressing their aura.

The black arrows streaked straight toward the three men’s faces. At the same time, Bai and the incarnation closed in again, sealing off their escape. Vice Commissioner Zuo’s anger turned to despair, his heart sinking into darkness.

Earlier, Qin Sang had used only seventy percent of his power. Now, when his full strength and terrifying evasion technique burst forth, all it brought to Zuo and his men was hopelessness.

In that moment of despair, Vice Commissioner Zuo hurled the dragon-headed staff from his hand. A deafening explosion followed as the staff detonated.

The other two men, faces twisted with ferocity, summoned new astras and unleashed their final strength, all aimed at Qin Sang.

This was their only chance. If they could kill him, the others might falter, giving them a chance to escape.

The dragon-headed staff was Vice Commissioner Zuo’s life-bound astra, refined and nourished over many years. Its close-range explosion was terrifying. The devilish banners trembled violently, almost torn apart, and the black flame arrows were swallowed by the blast.

A surge of black light erupted, like a black sun devouring everything in its reach, including the three black arrows.

Although Qin Sang had been on guard, the sight of the dragon-headed stone staff’s explosion still made his eyes narrow slightly. Fortunately, he had maintained a degree of vigilance in his heart. He immediately retracted the devilish banners and retreated at full speed.

The surrounding spiritual qi turned chaotic as sword qi and spiritual power intertwined, forming a violent storm.

Reacting swiftly, Qin Sang brandished the ebony sword while retreating, slashing again and again to disperse the waves of force that followed the blast.

Just then, Vice Commissioner Zuo’s face twisted into a vicious grin. Ignoring his own safety, he suddenly lunged forward and flipped his palm, tossing something out. A faint blue light shot out from within the storm.

The light’s source was a tiny blue jade bead, no larger than a grain of rice. The bead shot straight toward Qin Sang.

Compared to the overwhelming force of the dragon-headed staff’s self-destruction, the blue glow looked insignificant.

Yet for some inexplicable reason, the moment Qin Sang saw it, his heart skipped violently. A deep sense of dread surged within him, as if the bead carried a danger capable of threatening his very life.

His pupils contracted sharply. Trusting his instincts, he commanded the sword wheel to slash toward the blue bead while simultaneously retreating at full speed.

The sword wheel struck true and yet felt as though it had cut through nothing. An astonishing sight followed.

The blue jade bead remained completely unaffected, phasing through the sword wheel effortlessly. Though it seemed to move slowly, it reached Qin Sang in the blink of an eye.

With a muffled bang, the bead exploded into a brief flash of flame that vanished instantly. Then, an eerie ripple burst forth from its center before fading away into the void.

Before Qin Sang could react, the strange ripples engulfed him, drilling into his body like bone-burrowing parasites and vanishing from sight. He had activated both his enchanted robe and his spiritual armor, yet neither provided the slightest protection.

Qin Sang’s expression changed drastically. He immediately examined his body, sweeping his spiritual consciousness from head to toe, but found nothing unusual. Bai and the incarnation rushed over.

"What happened?" Bai had also seen the jade bead and, noticing Qin Sang’s grim expression, quickly asked.

Qin Sang frowned deeply and shook his head. Lifting his gaze toward the direction the three enemies had fled, he said coldly, "Capture them!"

The three fugitives exhausted every ounce of strength to escape, but it was all in vain.