Chapter 2026: A Cornered Beast

slowly closed his eyes."Cut away distractions, hold fast to your true self, contemplate the celestial demon...like a bright lamp suspended high, piercing through the clouds and revealing the path ahe...Black clouds covered the sky, and people fled in haste under the constant flashes of lightning.

As they crossed a certain threshold, the clouds and lightning vanished simultaneously behind them. The sky remained overcast, but the sea surface had returned to calm, and the danger seemed to have receded.

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As soon as everyone let out a sigh of relief and was about to continue their journey, the sky ahead grew darker and darker. The void trembled, ripples appeared on the sea surface, and suddenly, everything in front of them plunged into darkness.

...’Boom boom boom...’

Darkness descends.

All eyes turned to the scene before them. The black water was vast, covering the sky like a curtain and surging forward like an unstoppable tide.

Without a second thought, everyone rushed to battle.

Qin Sang wielded his Ash Sparrow sword, suspended before him. His attention was fixed on Young Master Xin. At Xin's command, the Xin family cultivators gathered around her.

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Immediately after, a shadow flickered behind Xin Shao-zhu. It had the shape of a human, with legs beside Xin Shao-zhu's feet and knees upwards pressed against a cultivator from the Xin family behind him. Like Xin Shao-zhu's back, the shadow moved with his steps, but this one was alive.

"This is the Myriad Spirit"

Qin Sang was secretly astonished. In his perception, the body of the Myriad Spirit was not a physical entity, but it wasn't like a common spirit either. Someone unaware might mistake it for a real shadow.

This shadow, named Meiling, possessed immense supernatural powers. It was unclear whether it was merely a shadow or a unique entity capable of merging with Xin Shaochu's back.

Some people believe that humans are born with shadows, not just simple changes in light and shadow. In some legends, shadows are even given mystical properties, giving rise to concepts like shadow gods.

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As the black tide surged, Mingling raised an arm, using her hand as a blade, and slashed down at the heart of the darkness!

Splash!

The black tide was split open, the Xin family working together to maneuver a flying treasure through the opening before it closed.

Whenever they were about to be swallowed by the Black Tide, the Mingshen would raise their arms and strike, using only simple slashing techniques to lead everyone forward through the waves. They did not display any more divine powers.

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Beyond the Black Tide, there are more trials ahead, one after another, relentlessly pushing forward without giving anyone a chance to breathe. Fortunately, these crises are only troublesome and their power does not exceed that of the previous Crescent Thunderbolts.

Pei Gongfeng, Qin Sang, and the spirit of the Xin family, equivalent to three Nascent Soul cultivators joining forces, effortlessly overcame numerous obstacles and finally arrived at a different scene in the next space.

Here, all the space, no matter what kind of danger it holds, is a monotonous black sea. The same goes for ahead, but in this boundless black sea, shadows rise from the surface one after another, undulating, and they are islands.

Islands stretched out endlessly, with hundreds visible to the eye alone. There were even more beyond that, too numerous to count. There were no buildings on the islands, not even a single blade of grass could be seen; they were all barren rock.

The island was dotted with pine trees, some large and others small, but the biggest was about the size of a mountain.

Facing this "sea of mountains," everyone who had just passed through numerous difficulties became secretly alert. After a while, they found that only these islands stood quietly ahead.

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Desolate, lonely!

Once they were sure there was no danger, the group carefully began to observe the island cluster.

After gazing for a while, Qin Sang felt a strange and inexplicable sensation welling up within him. It was as if this archipelago was alive, poised to spring to life at any moment, transforming into stone warriors that would charge towards the crowd.

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This feeling doesn't come from a single island, but from the whole archipelago. These islands seem to form an array.

He could be sure these islands were not ordinary and shouldn't be entered rashly, but some things remained unclear. He couldn't sense the fluctuations of spirit arrays on these islands, nor had he ever seen such formations before.

Qin Sang kept his hands behind his back, unmoved. He lightly rubbed the Qianjun Ring with his left hand.

Just moments ago, the fluctuation of the Qianjun Ring suddenly intensified. Qin Sang already had a clear perception that the thing causing the Qianjun Ring to move was deep within this archipelago.

“If it was just a simple psychedelic array, relying on the vibration of the Qianjun Seal alone should be enough to find my way back…”

Qin Sang secretly mused, glancing at Xin Shao and Pei Feng.

If he wants to leave the team and act alone, he needs to find a reasonable excuse first. And it's not clear what dangers are hidden inside yet, so it's better to be cautious for now.

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Qin Sang suppressed her curiosity and suddenly saw Xin Shaozu fly forward, his expression somewhat anxious.

"Is this the place" Pei Gong raised his eyes and asked as he hurried forward.

Miss Xin lightly nodded her head and took a deep breath, "This should be the place Father mentioned, we finally found it! But we still need to verify..."

Saying that, Young Master Xin swept his gaze across the islands, calculating silently in his heart. He fixed on one of them.

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Whoosh! Whoosh!

Everyone flew to the front of this island.

This island is one of the outermost islands, with rugged terrain that rises sharply like a sword drawn from its sheath, pointing straight to the sky.

Xin Shaozhu gazed at the island, his eyes gleaming with wonder. His figure flickered, about to fly toward the mountain behind, but suddenly remembering something, he confidently said to Qin Sang and Pei Gongfeng: "It can't be wrong, this is the place!"

Speaking of which, Master Xin took out a scroll and unfurled it slowly, revealing a painting. This scroll had clearly been remounted, the original artwork painted on an unknown animal hide that was definitely not from this era.

This picture is rough and simple, with only basic lines. It's difficult for ordinary people to understand, but in one corner of the image, a few strokes sketch out the shape of a mountain, very similar to the mountain in front.

After careful comparison, Qin Sang discovered that it wasn't exactly the same. The picture might be of the back side of this mountain.

Xin Shaozhu was indeed going to the back mountain to verify. He said in a low voice, "Once we cross this line, there may be changes. Senior Pei, Elder Qin, if anything happens, please help me!"

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"The rest is taken care of by us, you don't need to worry about it."

Qin Sang and Pei Gongfeng readily agreed, raising their spirit treasures to protect the numerous cultivators of the Xin family in the center.

Young Master Xin nodded and flew towards the back mountain first, with everyone else following closely behind.

As expected, when they flew over the island, the wind and clouds suddenly changed.

Suddenly, a howling wind raged, the sky turned dark as night, with rumbling thunder overhead and waves crashing upon the sea. Not only did the environment change dramatically, but the surrounding islands also became hazy and indistinct.

A sense of discomfort arose in everyone's hearts simultaneously. The sky above seemed to be shrouded in an invisible pressure, constantly suppressing them, causing them to instinctively lower their flight altitude and hug the sea surface. Then they realized that their consciousness and vision were also restricted.

The farther away, the harder it is to see the islands, shadowy and indistinct. Looking closely, the distant islands seem to be moving, the environment constantly changing, becoming more and more mysterious and elusive.

It was a good thing the large army didn't attack them. Everyone paused, flew to the mountain behind, and compared it to the painting. Sure enough, every detail matched up.

At this moment, comparing the surroundings to the painting, a completely different feeling arises. Those chaotic lines all find their corresponding positions, like a treasure map, actually an array diagram.

But Pei Guofeng soon discovered the flaw, frowned and said: "This picture seems incomplete"

Indeed, the area depicted in the image should not be too far outside of view. However, based on their accounts, these islands should be much more extensive. This map alone would certainly not lead to the very center.

Unless the core of the archipelago is not located in the center, there should be other maps, this is just one of them.

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"General Pei, there's no need to worry! My father said that as long as we reach here, there will be a way."

Master Xin pointed to a spot on the map, found his bearings, and eagerly set off. The others could only follow, moving between islands, battling the wind and waves.

This place is not as dangerous as they imagined. They walked for a long time and didn't encounter any danger, it seems like just a pure maze, and with the map guiding them, they know the changes in the maze and don't have to worry about getting lost here.

We are getting closer to the goal.

As everyone just passed through between the two islands, Young Master Xin furrowed her brows. Qin Sang and Pei Gong also sensed something, suddenly commanding a halt. The Gray Sparrow Sword and Jade Ruyi struck out simultaneously, azure sword light nearly hitting an empty space at the same time.

'Bang!'

The void twisted for a moment, followed by the sound of a dull thud like flesh being struck. A grayish figure then tumbled out.

The figure emerged, resembling a tiger or leopard. It was clearly badly injured and slammed into the mountainside, rolling around in pain, but it didn't utter a single cry. It turned over and immediately tried to flee.

Qin Sang and Pei Gong were not going to let it escape. The Gray Sparrow Sword split into four sword lights, *whoosh whoosh* trapping it in the middle, and the Jade Ruyi pressed down on top, firmly confining the monster.

To everyone's astonishment, a strange sight occurred. The monster struggled to break free but suddenly shattered like a bubble, leaving behind only a jade fragment the size of a fingernail, wrapped by the jade wishful thinking and brought back. Everyone was dumbfounded.

"What is this" Pei Guofeng frowned, holding the jade piece in his hand.

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Not like a living being.

Qin Sang recalled the monster's appearance, pondering for a moment.

The jade piece was slightly cloudy, and this tiny fragment emitted a desolate aura, as if it were a shard broken off from an ancient jade carving. It was truly strange that such a remnant of jade could take on a living form.

At this moment, Shao Zhu Xin took the jade piece. Her beautiful brows furrowed tightly, clearly knowing something, but she didn't explain, only quickened her pace.

Then there were no obstacles, and everyone arrived at their destination smoothly. Before them stood an island mountain, split in half, forming a deep canyon.

Everyone carefully flew into the canyon, seeing grass and trees here for the first time.

Only in the canyon, there was a stream with black spring water flowing from it and pouring into the sea. On both sides of the stream, grew a kind of peculiar spirit tree.

This spirit tree is only a person's height, but its trunk is extremely thick, like round wooden stools. Fine branches emerge from the top of the tree, and the palm-sized leaves are also black, with golden veins, like gold thread inlaid.

"Elder Qin, please take a look," young master Xin beckoned Elder Qin forward.

Qin Sang entered the canyon and focused on these spirit trees. "In the Jade Slips, the nameless spirit wood used to refine the ship's hull...was this kind of spirit tree"

"Not bad!"

Xin Shao nodded, "This tree only grows here. Elder Qin should just use the materials on-site to refine that boat."

"What Master Xin means is that if we ride this spiritwood-crafted ferry, we can reach the center of the archipelago" Qin Sang asked.

He gazed across the canyon, a sliver of sky visible between the peaks. In the distance, shadows of several islands could be seen.

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Upon entering the formation, Qianjun's reaction intensified. He didn't need any boat to pass through the maze; however, it remained unclear whether Qianjun was referring to the center of the archipelago.

“That’s how it should be…”

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Master Xin frowned and looked toward the source of the black spring.

The gurgling spring water bubbled up from the spring. She darted to the edge of the spring, her true essence transforming into a giant hand that plunged into the spring eye, but she only grasped a handful of sand and stones.

She was not convinced, and grabbed it a few more times. Finally, she sighed and said, "As I thought!"

"What's going on!" Pei Gongfeng shouted.

Master Xin took out a jade piece with a flip of his palm. "My father said that this place not only grows the spiritual trees used to make ships, but also houses a jade bi disk. When crafting the ferry, if the jade bi disk is incorporated into the hull, we can freely travel within this formation and reach our final destination. But the jade bi disk is gone..."

As soon as he said this, everyone looked at the jade piece in Xin Shao's hand.

It is obvious that the jade bi has shattered and undergone a transformation, becoming those eerie jade spirits.

"So, to forge the ferry boat, we need to gather all those jade pieces" Pei Gong and Qin Sang looked at each other, both feeling a sense of difficulty.

The jade bi was shattered into countless pieces, and on their journey they only encountered one jade spirit.

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Moreover, they only had a partial map in their hands. If Yu Ling wandered elsewhere, they couldn't just barge in blindly. Without obtaining the jade pieces, they couldn't forge the ferry, wouldn't that lead to a dead end

"This is the only way."

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Xin Shaozhu helplessly said, "I hope to find some jade pieces to create a prototype of the ferry and bestow some power upon it. Then we can use it to hunt for more Yuling until we gather all the jade bi. Elder Qin, you focus on refining the hull here, while we go searching for the jade pieces."

Pei Gong, the elder, disagreed with Xin Shao's opinion. He said calmly, "In my opinion, this place is full of strange occurrences and connected to the Wu clan. There might be dangers we haven't discovered yet. It's better not to separate. Elder Qin should accompany us to hunt for Jade Souls first, then it's not too late to refine the hull."

“We are afraid that the time left to us is not enough.”

Qin Sang shook his head, pointing to the Ling tree by the spring, "Didn't Pei Gongfeng notice The leaves of these Ling trees are withering, and their spiritual energy is being lost."

Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished and looked intently. As Qin Sang had said, the sheen on the leaves was indeed slightly dimmer than before.

"Why would it wither at this very moment" Pei Gong swept a fierce gaze towards Qin Sang.

Qin Sang was simply stating the facts, "Perhaps because we broke in, triggering some mechanism, the great formation has already begun to operate, but we haven't realized it yet."

After the elven trees wither, who knows what other changes will occur.

Xīn shǎozhǔ dared not delay any longer, “The Spirit Tree is withering soon, please, two seniors, take the materials as quickly as possible. This junior doesn't understand the way of refining artifacts, so I will lead people out to hunt for Jade Spirits.”

Pei Gongfeng frowned and looked at Xin Shaozhu's back, suddenly called out: "Wait! Qin Changlao is enough alone, leave two people to protect Qin Changlao, the old man and you go together."

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"Thank you, Senior Pei," Xin said happily.

Seeing the joy on Young Master Xin's face, Prefect Pei's gaze flitted between Qin Sang and Young Master Xin.

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Lord Xin left alone, but Qin Sang showed no reaction.

Pei Gong's heart became even more troubled, and for a moment he was at a loss of what to do.

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Please: m.lvsewxserved the other person's expression and hesitated for a moment before saying, "If fellow Daoist is finding it difficult, help Qin with a few things, and the conditions can be relaxed appropriately."...