Chapter 262: Fleeing for Life (Requesting Subscriptions)

"A fourth-rank spiritual treasure must possess sentience to be called a treasure!"

Fang Xing stared at the scorched-tail qin before him, lost in thought: "Or perhaps this is the true spiritual treasure... the Qingyang Demon Lamp was incomplete—all along, its sentience was erased by the Great Sun Tathagata Palm during my battle with the Master of the Wind Division?"

This is highly plausible.

He had long tried to subjugate the scorched-tail qin, but had never succeeded.

It was far harder than removing the seal from a storage pouch—it was as if the entire treasure resisted him utterly.

Even brute force might not work.

Even if it succeeded, it would permanently diminish the treasure's power, something many cultivators could not bear.

"The sentience of a spiritual treasure is intimately tied to its master... this scorched-tail qin may well have been the life-treasure of the Mu family's Nascent Soul ancestor, naturally loyal to Mu bloodline... perhaps even requiring a specific alchemical incantation passed down through generations..."

"For outsiders to seize it would be more trouble than it's worth..."

"This also explains why neither the orthodox nor demonic sects moved to seize it..."

A spiritual treasure paired with an array only possesses the power of a fourth-rank strike—nowhere near the might of a Nascent Soul True Sovereign wielding one directly.

And for a Nascent Soul True Sovereign, a single spiritual treasure is still considerable wealth.

Their failure to forcibly take it was not from unwillingness—but from inability!

Now, Fang Xing gazed at the scorched-tail qin, equally troubled.

He felt his cultivation avatar truly had no way to subdue this treasure.

Even if he spent a hundred years slowly burning it with Nascent Soul fire, the end result might be mutual destruction—both sides ruined.

"The sentience of a spiritual treasure is rigid... it's like artificial stupidity from my past life..."

Fang Xing probed further and reached a conclusion.

If its sentience were lively, flexible, like a human's, it would be easier to handle.

Threatening the entire Mu family's lives might force the spirit to compromise.

But... it had no such sentience at all—it was simply stubborn.

Only someone with Mu bloodline and the oral alchemical incantation could earn the scorched-tail qin's favor.

Fang Xing thought for a moment, then pulled out the Qingyang Demon Lamp.

At this moment, the fourth-rank spiritual lamp bore a pea-sized flicker of "Soul-Extinguishing Demon Flame" and "Qingyang Demon Fire" devouring and merging each other—gradually taking on a faint ink-green hue, as if transforming into an entirely new flame.

"This lamp seems originally designed to absorb other celestial flames and upgrade its core..."

"After absorbing the Soul-Extinguishing Demon Flame, the Qingyang Demon Fire's power has surged—it no longer deserves its original name..."

Fang Xing pondered: "Perhaps it should be called... Soul-Devouring Demon Fire?!"

He mused briefly, then brought the Qingyang Demon Lamp close to the scorched-tail qin and threatened: "See this? If you refuse, I'll erase your sentience completely. If you submit, I might, like with this Qingyang Demon Lamp, seek out celestial treasures to upgrade you..."

But...

The scorched-tail qin remained utterly still.

Fang Xing gave a wry smile: "Of course—had it been susceptible to threats, I'd have succeeded long ago..."

"So I must either kill a direct Mu descendant, force the alchemical incantation from them, then use the Nine Nascent Soul Pearls to mimic Mu bloodline energy and attempt subjugation..."

"Or simply strike it with one Great Sun Tathagata Palm and erase its sentience outright..."

Because the scorched-tail qin was so inflexible, Fang Xing openly described his schemes right before it—and it remained completely unmoved.

"Indeed, only the wisest and the most foolish are hardest to deceive..."

Seeing no reaction from the scorched-tail qin, Fang Xing gloomily stored it away, his true body vanishing in a flash of silver light, carrying all the spiritual items with him.

Several hours later.

At the heart of the blessed land, a thunderous roar erupted, sending a terrifying shockwave across the entire realm.

"What is this...?"

Fang Xing's cultivation avatar's eyes widened in shock; his form vanished in an instant, disappearing from the blessed land...

Outside Gui Xu Mountain.

Fang Xing had barely appeared when he immediately formed hand seals, sacrificing his essence, spirit, and vigor with a forbidden technique, transforming into a crimson rainbow that shot into the sky.

One knows one's own affairs best.

If you do it, you must bear the consequences.

He had shown no respect to the orthodox and demonic sects—being hunted by their Nascent Soul True Sovereigns was only natural.

A man must admit his mistakes, and stand firm when beaten.

He didn't want to be beaten, so he chose to flee!

"The Linlang Blessed Land randomly teleports cultivators within a hundred li of Gui Xu Mountain..."

That range was not safe—it lay within the spiritual sense range of powerful Nascent Soul True Sovereigns.

Fang Xing would flee far enough, then teleport to Blue Star, hide for a few days, and wait out the storm.

Whoosh!

At that moment, his spiritual sense detected the Gui Xu Mountain, once resembling a void-sea vortex, suddenly trembling.

Its once voracious, all-consuming aura abruptly contracted—then violently erupted outward!

Amid the terrifying rain of meteoric fire, dozens of jade tablets seemed to be flung into the air.

"Linlang Tokens?"

"After the Linlang Blessed Land ends, new Linlang Tokens are ejected and scattered across the cultivation world... Indeed, a fine opportunity—even if one must wait five hundred years..."

Fang Xing murmured to himself.

At that moment, his spiritual sense also caught several Nascent Soul True Sovereigns using unique techniques to intercept most of the Linlang Tokens.

Yet simultaneously, multiple Nascent Soul aura trails surged toward him in furious pursuit.

"Who are you? How dare you kill one of our demonic sect's Nascent Soul seeds?"

A blood-robed elder's voice pierced the air, his speed astonishing.

He appeared to be a Nascent Soul True Sovereign of the Blood God Sect.

Beside him was an ordinary green-robed woman whose spiritual sense was so vast it could cover a hundred li.

"Friend, please stop!"

The green-robed woman stepped forward, each step blooming lotus flowers—she moved even faster than the Blood God Sect's Nascent Soul True Sovereign.

"Are you a Nascent Soul True Sovereign from the Hanhai, or do you carry a spiritual item that obscures heavenly fate? With my fourth-rank divination skill, I cannot detect your aura..."

The green-robed woman calmly transmitted her spiritual sense into Fang Xing's ears.

Fang Xing paid no attention—he focused solely on fleeing.

"Female cultivator, Nascent Soul True Sovereign... she must be the Blind Seer of the Profound Heaven Sect..."

"This woman is cunning beyond measure—do not provoke her."

Fang Xing said nothing; his crimson aura accelerated another third.

Yet the distance to the two Nascent Soul True Sovereigns remained stubbornly unchanged.

Once the forbidden technique ended, he would surely be caught—and forced to fight.

"I'm not stupid enough to fight two Nascent Soul True Sovereigns... Wait—if those orthodox and demonic Nascent Souls collect the Linlang Tokens and learn the truth from their disciples, they'll come after me too..."

"Dare to chase me? If my true body were here, I'd give you both a taste of the Great Sun Tathagata Palm—let you feel the cost of pursuing me..."

Fang Xing's hand flashed with spiritual light, revealing a bronze lampstand—the Qingyang Demon Lamp!

In his Lower Dantian, the Ten-Thousand-Demons Nascent Soul opened its eyes; twin crimson beams emerged, and the sun wheel on its brow turned slowly.

A torrent of Nascent Soul power surged into the Qingyang Demon Lamp.

On the lamp's wick, the ink-green "Soul-Devouring Demon Fire" flickered at his fingertip, then flicked backward.

Whoosh!

The ink-green flame exploded into twin massive fireballs, hurtling toward the Blood God Sect's Nascent Soul True Sovereign and the Blind Seer.

BOOM!

The twin ink-green flames detonated, like twin lotus blossoms slowly unfolding.

Where the fire waves passed, even space rippled as if scorched; two deep craters appeared on the ground.

"Damn it!"

A flash of blood light—the Blood God Sect's Nascent Soul True Sovereign reappeared, furious: "The Purple Sun Sect's Soul-Extinguishing Demon Flame... how did that man get it—and now it's turning against me?!"

Soul-Extinguishing Demon Flame counteracts righteous qi—and it also counters the Blood God Sect's techniques!

Not to mention the newly evolved "Soul-Devouring Demon Fire," now enhanced by both Qingyang Demon Fire and Soul-Extinguishing Demon Flame—its power had clearly risen another tier.

The Blind Seer summoned a jade scepter-shaped treasure; a pure aura descended, shielding her entirely.

She stared at Fang Xing's retreating form, her face filled with confusion.

She had barely resisted that ink-green flame for a single breath.

But even that momentary delay caused her to lose all spiritual sense of him.

She even suspected Fang Xing was the one who had slain Hu Huo Moqing—hence her divination was useless.

"Fourth-rank... Void Talisman?"

The Blind Seer murmured.

"So he used one of these talismans—rare even for us—no wonder he had confidence in escaping."

The Blood God Sect's Nascent Soul True Sovereign scowled and nodded, seemingly agreeing with the Blind Seer's assessment.

"Brother Xue, we should return and discuss this."

The Blind Seer flew back toward Gui Xu Mountain—and unsurprisingly, saw the orthodox and demonic factions facing off.

"I won't accept this!"

The Supreme Elder of the Jiuying Sect sneered: "How could there possibly be a Nascent Soul True Sovereign in the Linlang Blessed Land? This is surely a trick by your orthodox sect!"

"We all swore the Heart Demon Great Oath."

The Nascent Soul True Sovereign of the Borena Sect was an old monk in red robes with kind features; upon hearing this, he clasped his hands: "I, this humble monk, can attest that our side never sought outside aid... otherwise the oath would have already turned against us."

"Now our orthodox side still has four Golden Core cultivators left, while your demonic side has been utterly annihilated... it seems this wager is won by our orthodox side. Remember your agreements," said Chu Chu Kuangtu, glancing at Fu Fu Hongyi with a chuckle.

The ceasefire between orthodox and demonic sides had been reached with great sincerity.

At the very least, every Nascent Soul True Sovereign had sworn a binding oath; breaking the pact would bring severe backlash, enough to cripple them and require a century of recuperation.

Even the major spoils had already been divided; only minor details remained.

Thus, the victor was decided in jest—by who gained more from the Blessed Land.

Who could have foreseen such a wild variable as Feng Shangren, nearly leaving both orthodox and demonic sides bloodied and broken?

The demonic side, needless to say, had gained nothing but for the Lone Marquis.

Worse still, the Lone Marquis was a lone cultivator!

The orthodox side barely retained four Golden Core cultivators, yet not a single Divine Nascent Fruit... future efforts to aid cultivation into the Nascent Soul, or to nurture the next generation of True Sovereigns, will face great difficulties.

Even exhausting their foundational reserves may not guarantee success.

At this thought, every Nascent Soul True Sovereign, whether orthodox or demonic, longed to tear Feng Shangren apart and devour his flesh!

"Cough... we accept our loss."

The Wan Gu Zhai Nascent Soul True Sovereign was an old woman in a black-blue cloth dress and headwrap; upon hearing this, her eyes flashed with light as she agreed: "But unless we kill Feng Shangren, this old woman cannot find peace!"