Chapter 988: Choice and Sacrifice

For most people, tonight was no different from any other. Yet in a place unknown to the world, someone was struggling desperately to stay alive.

"Have you found a solution?" Qin Sang watched as Bai once again condensed a Fire Curse seal. Each time, the shape of the seal changed slightly.

No one knew how many times he had already failed. In the end, it was no longer even a seal. It became a web, woven from interlacing lines of flame. The fiery web fell upon Qin Sang’s body and merged into the skin of his arm.

Before long, the Fire Curse flared again, sending out ripples of strange energy. Only this time, the wave from his arm was noticeably weaker, and the Fire Curse runes there had grown dimmer. Seeing this, both Bai and Qin Sang were filled with delight.

"It worked! Though it only masks part of the Fire Curse’s fluctuation, according to your plan, it might be enough to mislead him. Unless he grows suspicious and fully activates the Fire Curse, this should deceive him for some time," Bai said.

Bai withdrew the net of devilish flames, exhilarated yet exhausted. He had racked his brains trying to suppress the Fire Curse’s fluctuations; it had drained his spirit.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Qin Sang cheered aloud, then immediately awakened his external incarnation.

Crack!

The Heavenly Corpse Coffin opened, and his external incarnation floated silently before him.

"I must trouble you to draw out a strand of the Fire Curse and pass it into the incarnation’s body," Qin Sang said solemnly.

This was his plan. He wanted to conceal the Fire Curse’s trace on himself, deceive everyone, lure Old Devil Mou away, and buy time to return and find Yuan Zhu.

He still had a few malevolent corpses in the Corpse Puppet Pouch, but they lacked intelligence and moved far too slowly. Old Devil Mou would catch up to them in no time. If the plan was exposed, there would be no second chance.

The net of devilish flame could only weaken the Fire Curse’s fluctuations. Once Old Devil Mou exerted his full power, he would still find him.

The external incarnation had been cultivated by Qin Sang over decades, nurtured with his own blood and essence. His strength rivaled that of a peak Core Formation cultivator, an accomplishment any other cultivator would dream of.

But now, Qin Sang had to abandon him and use him as bait. Though it pained him deeply, he had no choice in such peril.

A trace of reluctance flickered in his eyes before resolve took its place. He pressed his palm against the incarnation’s Qihai.

The incarnation seemed to sense danger. His eyes turned crimson in an instant as he glared at Qin Sang, his aura surging with ferocity and bloodlust, intent on devouring his master.

Two figures appeared beside him. Qin Sang invoked a secret art, and Bai together with the Two-Headed Hou acted in unison, suppressing the incarnation’s rebellion.

The incarnation roared toward the sky, unwilling and furious, but Qin Sang ignored him. His true essence poured into the incarnation's Qihai, striking at his Golden Core.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The incarnation’s Golden Core had been refined from a corpse core; he had rendered Qin Sang great service in the past. But now, he too had to be sacrificed.

True essence crashed against the corpse core. The incarnation’s dantian quaked violently, his Golden Core shattered and leaked energy. His cultivation fell from the peak of the Core Formation Realm to the middle stage. Because he was born from Qin Sang’s own blood, and the corpse core had once been his, Qin Sang could do this effortlessly.

As his cultivation fell, the incarnation’s resistance weakened until it was nearly gone. With a cold gaze, Qin Sang activated another secret technique, erasing the devilish thoughts completely.

Then, Qin Sang removed key fragments of his memory and instructed him to fly north with all his strength. Once Old Devil Mou caught up, he was to self-destruct immediately.

His primordial spirit had been forged from Qin Sang’s sword soul. According to Senior Qingzhu, the sword soul born from cultivation arts was of great importance to the practitioner. If it fell into Old Devil Mou’s hands and was controlled, the consequences would be dire.

"This incarnation had the strength of a peak Core Formation cultivator. If you and he both reached the Spiritual Infant Realm, your strength would double instantly. You might even contend with veteran Spiritual Infant masters..." Bai couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.

"When my cultivation and body both advance, I won’t need an incarnation to dominate my peers. I’ll face grandmasters of the Spiritual Infant Realm directly. Besides, his cultivation was raised through the blood refinement, by devouring others’ essence and blood. It’s riddled with flaws and almost impossible to form a Spiritual Infant. In time, he would only become a burden." Qin Sang had already made peace with his choice.

If he ever needed another incarnation, he could simply refine a new one; it would only cost him a few more decades.

Then he laid a series of barriers upon the incarnation to prevent any mishap. Without another word, Bai began working again. The Fire Curse seal appeared once more, denser than before.

Bai drew out a wisp of the Fire Curse and sent it into the incarnation’s body, then wove another massive net of devilish flames over Qin Sang, concealing the Fire Curse’s fluctuations.

The curse flared again. A faint blue glow spread from Qin Sang’s body.

At the same time, the Fire Curse sealed within the incarnation ignited, but it was unstable. He had to use the secret technique Bai taught to stabilize it, or it would collapse.

"Success or failure, all depends on this," Bai said gravely, looking at Qin Sang.

The sea was vast and silent. Qin Sang and his incarnation stood facing each other above the waves.

He understood his mission. He cupped his hands toward Qin Sang, then turned resolutely and flew north, carrying the Fire Curse.

For the moment, free from devilish thoughts, he would obey every command from his main body.

The night wind was cold. Waves surged endlessly.

As the incarnation vanished into the darkness, Qin Sang withdrew his gaze and murmured softly, "It’s time for us to go too."

He summoned his evasion light and, together with Bai, headed east to find Yuan Zhu.

The net of devilish flames required both of them to sustain it. Bai watched the incarnation’s departing figure and sighed in admiration at Qin Sang’s decisiveness. "Your external incarnation should be able to buy us a good amount of time... I can try to completely seal the Fire Curse’s fluctuations."

"How confident are you?" Qin Sang’s eyes brightened. If the Fire Curse’s fluctuations could be fully sealed, he would no longer need to flee into the depths of the storm belt like a stray dog just to cling to a sliver of life.

He could simply take this chance to distance himself from Old Devil Mou, head for another sea region, find a secluded place to hide, and calmly work on unraveling the Fire Curse.

Bai shook his head. "It’s hard to say. My understanding of the Fire Curse is still very shallow. Most of what conceals its fluctuations comes from the devilish flames. However, I’ve started to grasp a few clues and can try again. You should focus on maintaining your evasion light and stay as far from Old Devil Mou as possible."

"Alright!"

***

In the sea behind them, Old Devil Mou’s flight speed did not lessen in the slightest. His expression remained relaxed.

Activating the Fire Curse once more, he let out a faint chuckle. "So, you finally can’t hold on anymore?"

He had sensed that his prey’s speed had noticeably slowed. In truth, the prey’s astonishingly fast escape had already surprised him. Now it seemed the man must have used some secret technique that couldn’t be sustained for long.

***

The next morning...

They had fled for an entire day and night. To Qin Sang’s relief, he could feel that the distance between himself and Old Devil Mou was growing wider and wider. The incarnation had successfully lured the devil away.

However, the danger had not disappeared. Once Old Devil Mou caught up to the incarnation, everything would return to where it began.