Free Web NovelChapter 1171: The Gap
The Snake King looked around, then pointed toward two distant peaks and drew a circle in the air. "The battlefield will be limited to the open ground between those two mountains. Whoever flies out of the boundary will be considered defeated."
Qin Sang and Demon King Qianji both had no objections.
After the rules were set, the Snake King flashed to a mountain peak at the edge of the battlefield to observe the fight, while Qin Sang and Demon King Qianji flew into the arena.
Between the two mountains lay a wide open stretch of land, resembling a dueling platform.
They stood at opposite ends of the battlefield, gazing at one another from afar.
The aura of the most powerful beings in the immortal cultivation world spread outward. The terrifying pressure caused the birds and beasts in the surrounding mountains to panic and flee in terror.
The ebony sword had not yet been completed. Qin Sang could only choose another spiritual sword as a substitute.
He had already activated the Heavenly Demon Transformation. With his other hand, he secretly formed hand seals, ready at any moment to summon the devilish banner.
The opponent had come prepared, so Qin Sang naturally intended to go all out.
Demon King Qianji’s eyes, like those of a snake, were vertical pupils. His gaze was cold and sinister. Without any extra expression, anyone stared at by him would feel waves of chill rising in their heart.
Whoosh! Qin Sang’s mind moved slightly. With a flick of his sleeve, a streak of sword light flew from his fingertip.
The spiritual sword circled around him, spinning and dancing, releasing sharp, piercing sword cries. Brilliant light filled the space around Qin Sang as countless strands of real and illusory sword light interwove.
For a moment, Qin Sang’s figure was completely concealed by the sword light, making it impossible to distinguish him with the naked eye.
This was the first time he had truly faced an opponent at the Spiritual Infant Realm. He remained extremely cautious. Rather than attacking first, he planned to respond to the opponent’s moves and first measure his capabilities.
Demon King Qianji had long known that Qin Sang excelled in sword techniques. Seeing this scene, he showed no surprise.
He glanced coldly at Qin Sang. Suddenly, a layer of black qi spread across his face. Then he opened his mouth wide and spat out clumps of black mist.
The black mist was exceptionally dense. The moment it appeared, it rapidly spread outward.
The mist was not directed specifically at Qin Sang. Instead, it first expanded rapidly in all directions, then merged together, quickly covering the entire battlefield.
In an instant, the battlefield became pitch-black, where one could not see even one’s own fingers. The black mist closed in around Qin Sang as well, surrounding him completely.
At the same time, Qin Sang smelled a faint sweet fragrance. His expression changed slightly as a surge of vigilance rose in his heart. Without hesitation, he sealed his mouth and tongue and shook his true essence, isolating himself from the black mist.
He attempted to disperse the mist, but it was continuously replenished.
Demon King Qianji was a snake demon. This black mist was very likely a supernatural ability he had cultivated for many years, containing potent poison that could not be underestimated.
If only the fat silkworm had been awake. No matter how fierce the poison in the black mist was, it would not have been much stronger than the three great poisonous lands of Seven-Kill Hall. Wearing the Poison-Warding Armor, there would have been nothing to worry about.
After breaking through to the Spiritual Infant Realm, Qin Sang had tried many times to communicate with the Mute Girl and the fat silkworm but there had been no response. The Mute Girl seemed to be sleeping even more deeply than before.
Previously, with the fat silkworm as an anchor, Qin Sang could still sense fluctuations from the Mute Girl’s soul. Now the anchor had also fallen asleep, and inside the Mute Girl there was only complete silence.
Fortunately, there was the Soul-Nourishing Wood. Otherwise, it was hard to say whether the Mute Girl could still hold on.
Qin Sang worried about the Mute Girl, but for the moment he could do nothing. It was unknown how long it would take Bai to refine the Corpse Soul Orb. For now, he could only follow the clues left by Tan Hao and investigate the Heavenly Corpse Sect.
Sizzle... The black mist had indeed begun to corrode the spiritual armor on his body.
Qin Sang nodded inwardly. This level of consumption was still acceptable. In a short time, it would not pose too great a burden.
Although the black mist blocked his vision, it could not block the Sky Eyes.
Qin Sang glanced around and discovered that the entire battlefield had been covered by the black mist. He silently noted that Demon King Qianji had clearly come prepared. Even the limitation of the battlefield had been part of their plot.
With such effort spent, it was unlikely that the mist existed merely to drain a little of his true essence. It probably had other unknown uses.
As this thought flashed through his mind, Qin Sang’s expression sharpened. He discovered that Demon King Qianji had moved.
A figure silently approached him. Within the black mist, Demon King Qianji concealed himself extremely well, emitting no fluctuations at all. Unfortunately, before the Sky Eyes, such concealment was destined to fail.
Clang! A loud sword cry rang out as a streak of sword light suddenly slashed deep into the black mist.
The mist shook violently, and a dark shadow flickered into view.
Demon King Qianji was still some distance from Qin Sang. When he realized his movements had been exposed, a fierce expression flashed across his face. He released a low roar, then his speed surged as he lunged forward like a bird spreading its wings.
The speed displayed by Demon King Qianji surprised even Qin Sang. freewёbnoνel.com
Swish! Qin Sang’s figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.
A bolt of lightning pierced through the black mist. Qin Sang’s first reaction had been to use Lightning Evasion to temporarily avoid the attack.
Immediately afterward, his suspicion was confirmed. While flying through the black mist, he felt as if some kind of restriction was affecting him, producing an inexplicable sluggishness.
In contrast, Demon King Qianji moved several times more nimbly than before. The moment Qin Sang moved, Demon King Qianji immediately judged his direction and chased after him.
At the same time, the black mist around Qin Sang suddenly seemed to come alive. It twisted into indescribable shapes that tangled around him. Though they were quickly shattered, they still managed to impose a certain level of restriction.
The mist surged as the two began to chase each other through it.
Demon King Qianji’s evasion technique was actually inferior to Qin Sang’s. However, within the black mist he moved like a fish in water, incomparably agile.
The battlefield’s range was limited. Qin Sang could not unleash Lightning Evasion to its fullest, and the black mist further restricted him. As one side weakened and the other strengthened, he could not shake off Demon King Qianji.
Qin Sang knew that if this dragged on, it would only be disadvantageous for him, while Demon King Qianji would gladly welcome it.
With this thought, Qin Sang suddenly halted and turned around to face Demon King Qianji pursuing him relentlessly. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. Instead of controlling the spiritual sword to defend himself, he lunged straight toward his opponent.
Qin Sang arrived in a flash of lightning and met the attack with a heavy punch! The fist shadow rapidly became bigger in Demon King Qianji’s field of vision. It carried the force of lightning and struck directly toward his face.
Demon King Qianji’s expression shifted slightly. Then a cold smile appeared on his face. His right hand shot forward as the surrounding black mist continuously gathered around his arm.
In the blink of an eye, his arm seemed to transform into a black serpent. With several strange twists, it clamped onto Qin Sang’s fist.
Boom! The sound was not particularly loud, yet the collision contained no tricks or flourish.
The two figures separated at the instant of contact, flying back several zhang.
Qin Sang clenched his fist and felt a strand of soft, sinister force enter his body. A wave of numbness spread from his fingers to his shoulder. He quietly circulated his true essence to dissolve it.
He had not gained any advantage. In fact, he was even at a slight disadvantage. A demon king’s physical body was indeed extremely powerful. Demon King Qianji was especially skilled in close-quarters combat techniques.
By comparison, throughout his cultivation, Qin Sang had mostly relied on sword techniques and astras to fight. He had rarely engaged in pure hand-to-hand combat. This single exchange revealed the gap between them.
Demon King Qianji shook his arm and looked at Qin Sang, a trace of ridicule curling at the corner of his mouth. He had already noticed how ordinary Qin Sang’s combat techniques were.
"Condense!" Demon King Qianji gave a low shout. The demonic mist gathered once again, forming black armor over his body. Then his arms crossed as he flashed forward toward Qin Sang.
Qin Sang saw only two snake shadows, each containing countless possible transformations!
