Chapter 1431: A Battle of Supernatural Abilities

Bang! Bang! The swastika runes across the surface of the mountain pass bulged again and again.

As the Chaotic Devil Elder and the others tore at the barriers of the golden roof and the pagoda, the seal had come to the brink of collapse. Strange phenomena erupted one after another, and not only in the herb garden.

The purple flowing fire drifting through the void careened everywhere, worsening the chaos. Pavilions and towers collapsed or exploded, the noise unending, dust and smoke billowing up. Scenes like it played out across Pure Sea Sect in turn.

Amid such apocalyptic ruin, the upheaval in the herb garden seemed far less remarkable and drew no immediate suspicion from the Spiritual Infant cultivators.

Rumble... Endless purple mist surged out and bled across the sky, filling nearly all of that space. It was impossible not to notice.

As the mist swelled, Buddhist barriers of every kind flared and collided, setting the surrounding mountain ranges shaking violently.

Through it all, glimpses of the herb garden's interior flickered into view, blurred somewhat by the mist yet not enough to block the Spiritual Infant cultivators' sight.

Stretches of scorched earth. Spiritual trees withered and dead. It was enough to make anyone grieve. Then, all at once, their gazes locked.

Amid all that desolation, a flash of vitality appeared, an intact plot of the herb garden. The spiritual herbs looked wilted and listless, yet they had clung stubbornly to life beneath the scorching crimson flame qi.

"Night God Flower!"

"That's a Dark Yin Epiphyllum, the primary ingredient of the Dark Longevity Pill!"

The newly arrived Spiritual Infant cultivators jerked to a halt, cries of astonishment breaking out among them.

The Dark Longevity Pill was a precious pill capable of extending one's lifespan, and among all comparable pills ever to appear in the world, its effects ranked among the finest. The value of a Dark Yin Epiphyllum needed no explanation.

Several of the other spiritual herbs flickering into view in the garden were worth no less, and the rest were all herbs that could stir the heart of a Spiritual Infant cultivator.

The Dark Yin Epiphyllum and the others had all appeared in the world of immortal cultivation before. Qin Sang had read about them in old texts and had Tan Hao conjure their images. He hadn't chosen the legendary immortal herbs of peerless renown. Their effects would have been greater, but they would also have invited suspicion far more easily.

These were more than enough to set the cultivators outside racing.

"The herb garden!" someone called out under his breath, suspecting nothing.

The scorched earth told its own story. Most of the herb garden had already been destroyed by the crimson flame qi, and only the most precious herbs, shielded by the strongest barriers, had survived this long.

Judging by the might of the sect's protective array and the seal, this sect must have been staggeringly powerful in its day, and a collection of herbs at that tier was entirely in keeping.

Before the pagoda, the Precept-Keeping Sage faltered in his barrier-breaking when he saw the garden, and the Spiritual Infant cultivator to his left wore a look of bitter regret.

Had he known, he would certainly have chosen the herb garden. Whatever treasures lay inside the pagoda and the golden roof might not measure up to those spiritual herbs!

Before the grand hall beneath the golden roof, the barrier's power had reached its last gasp.

The Chaotic Devil Elder and the Feathered Robe Primordial Lady proved no more immune than anyone else. The herb garden startled them, and their attention wavered.

The Dark Yin Epiphyllum and the rest held enormous appeal for the Chaotic Devil Elder as well. His gaze locked onto several of the herbs within the purple mist, and when he saw some of the newly arrived Spiritual Infant cultivators change course and rush toward the garden, a deep murderous intent erupted in his clouded pupils.

The Feathered Robe Primordial Lady felt the killing intent radiating off him, and a chill ran down her spine.

The Chaotic Devil Elder seemed to notice something. His expression went rigid, his eyes turned into pitch-black devilish pupils, and he whipped his head around, his face filled with fury. "Who!"

Only after hearing his roar did the Feathered Robe Primordial Lady realize something was wrong.

The barrier over the hall was fluctuating strangely, and the fluctuation hadn't come from their own efforts. It came from another direction entirely! And the barrier's power was draining fast.

The next instant...

Crack! A splintering sound burst from behind the mysterious stone statue. A fissure opened in the hidden door, and a mass of black flame crawled out through the gap, taking the form of a fiery serpent that lunged straight for the treasures in the Buddhist hall.

Qin Sang had judged his moment and struck without hesitation.

What was more, having learned part of the pattern behind the golden roof's barriers from Tan Hao and having watched his rivals work at breaking them, he could control his own actions, minimizing the damage to the barrier as a whole while forcing open a single gap.

Add to that the herb garden's distraction, and the two constraints together meant his rivals couldn't cut him off immediately, buying him precious time.

Seizing the astras wasn't the finish line. Only escaping whole counted as success. Otherwise Qin Sang would be facing five Spiritual Infant cultivators alone, one of them a great cultivator!

A thief! The thought flashed through the Feathered Robe Primordial Lady's mind, and recalling how perfectly timed the herb garden's disturbance had been, she understood at once and was seized by shock and rage.

Crack! The Chaotic Devil Elder's withered hand clenched. The black bamboo staff erupted with black light, and he drove it forward hard, sharp as a spear, punching clean through the wall of light the barrier had formed.

At the same moment the Chaotic Devil Token appeared in his other hand, though no one had seen him draw it, and he slammed it viciously against the golden roof's barrier.

Boom! The golden roof shook tremendously, as if about to cave in. Countless cracks spread across the wall of light with the token at their center, and it was clearly on the verge of failing.

But by then the fiery serpent had already shot into the hall and was streaking toward the offering table, its target unmistakably the pure pearl that the Chaotic Devil Elder and the Feathered Robe Primordial Lady had both coveted.

Between experts, victory and defeat were decided in an instant. By the time they broke through and entered, even a moment's delay would be enough for the serpent to sweep every astra in the hall away.

The Chaotic Devil Elder let out a cold snort and split his attention two ways. Even as he drove the Chaotic Devil Token, the black light at the tip of the bamboo staff twisted like a living thing and shot forth. Partway there it writhed and took the rough shape of an enormous hand.

The Feathered Robe Primordial Lady understood the crux of the matter just as clearly, and she made the most correct choice available to her.

Her figure flashed, pressing flat against the wall of light. Her five fingers extended, nails lengthening rapidly into crimson demonic claws, and she drove her hand into the wall with force, tearing out a shrill, piercing screech.

At the same time the Red Luan Malevolence drew abruptly inward. The souls of the men pressed forward one after another, heedless of the barrier's retaliation, and battered a crack into the wall of light by brute persistence. Through it the Red Luan Malevolence seeped soundlessly inside, a shade slower than the Chaotic Devil Elder.

A great cultivator indeed... Hidden in the secret passage, Qin Sang sensed everything outside through the gap and sighed inwardly.

He had laid so much groundwork, yet the effect fell short of his expectations. The Chaotic Devil Elder had reacted faster than anticipated, and any hope of sweeping up every astra was now out of reach.

***

The Buddhist hall, silent for who knew how long, now held three uninvited guests. Three supernatural abilities, more precisely.

The Devilish Flames of Nine Hells, shaped into a fiery serpent. Black devilish light, condensed into a devilish palm. The Red Luan Malevolence, still in the form of red silk.

Three forces entered the hall from three different directions, and their targets were identical to a startling degree. All of them went for the pure pearl!

Qin Sang had seized the initiative after all, and the pearl sat on the right side of the offering table, near the stone statue. The fiery serpent coiled around it first.

Right before the Chaotic Devil Elder and the Feathered Robe Primordial Lady, half the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells split away, tore through a layer of light shielding the pearl, wrapped around it, and shot back the way it had come!