The basin had been far from calm. Waves of mist surged and scattered endlessly, shifting in countless ways.

Yet all of this had been normal. Even if there were abnormalities, they had been concealed beneath the blood mist and the ancient barriers.

The fat chicken waited for Qin Sang to decide. He knew very well that with his current cultivation, he was insignificant. If he went down alone, he would not make it far before losing his life.

Qin Sang looked at the blood sea, then at the message that had been left behind.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he brought the fat chicken into the basin. He chose the same general direction indicated in the message, but did not follow the marked route exactly, instead keeping a certain distance from it.

After entering, the sensation felt much the same as when they had been in the blood river, except that there were no blood shadows.

"So cold!" Surrounded by sinister power, the fat chicken could not help but shiver.

The deeper they went, the colder it became, even worse than the blood river. It could even begin to affect the intruder’s mind.

By the time they reached the bottom of the basin, the fat chicken could barely endure it. Only after Qin Sang shielded him with true essence did he recover slightly, still shaken as he looked at the endless blood mist around them.

"The ancient barriers here are not too troublesome. But if we go deeper, I may not be able to protect you at all times. Once we go further in, return to the Primordial Unity Ring. After each stretch, I will find a safe place to release you so you can activate the Lightning Thought Orb and sense your mother," Qin Sang said.

The fat chicken needed to use his innate supernatural ability, stimulating the lightning power within his bloodline to activate the Lightning Thought Orb. Only then could he establish a connection with his mother.

This ability was unique to the Lightning-Devouring Falcon. As long as his mother was not trapped within a grotto-heaven, ordinary ancient barriers could not sever the connection between them.[1]

Thus, the Lightning Thought Orb had to be used by the fat chicken himself. Qin Sang could not replace him. Though troublesome, there was no other way.

Qin Sang swept his gaze across the surroundings. Within the blood mist, broken rocks lay scattered everywhere, and the land was full of devastation.

This place had been just as desolate as the bottom of the blood river. Not a single blade of grass had grown.

The ground resembled a torn chessboard, crisscrossed with ravines. From within them, blood mist continuously surged out, spewing sinister energy.

That it had persisted until now without complete destruction had truly been a miracle.

There must once have been an incomparably powerful seal here. Now it had long since fallen into ruin. The fragmented ancient barriers had endured for countless years, yet still remained. They were extremely dangerous.

The fat chicken shrank behind Qin Sang, glancing at the surroundings and instinctively pulling his head in.

Too terrifying! Qin Sang shifted his gaze, glanced toward the route Qingjun and the others had taken, then stepped forward.

The ebony sword flew out from between his brows and hung inverted above his head. The eighteen devilish banners remained hidden within his sleeves, while lightning flickered across his wings, ready to strike.

After walking some distance, the ebony sword suddenly flashed, slashing out a curtain of sword light.

Immediately afterward, Qin Sang retreated swiftly with the fat chicken.

Whoosh! Just as they withdrew, a gust of yin wind appeared out of nowhere, reducing the rocks where they had just stood into powder. The remaining force was blocked by the sword curtain.

Situations like this occurred repeatedly.

Qin Sang moved through the gaps between the ancient barriers, dealing with various sudden dangers. Fortunately, though there had been many surprises, there had been no real peril.

They traveled for a long time. Aside from necessary adjustments, Qin Sang had scarcely paused.

The basin was vast, and dangers lurked everywhere. They had to slow their pace. Roughly estimating, there was still some distance to the center.

Despite having walked for so long, they had not encountered a single person.

Cultivators from both domains had already been inside for quite some time. Whether they had encountered anything remained unknown, but Qin Sang had sensed no disturbances.

The Lightning Thought Orb had also given no response.

Just then, Qin Sang seemed to sense something. He suddenly halted, his gaze shifting sharply as he stared toward the left.

The fat chicken followed his line of sight, but saw nothing except thick blood mist, unable to understand.

"Get in!" Hearing Qin Sang’s sharp command, the fat chicken quickly withdrew the Lightning Thought Orb and hid within the Primordial Unity Ring.

The next moment, an extremely sharp, ear-piercing shriek rang out. The sound was like a devilish tone drilling into the brain, causing Qin Sang to frown deeply.

Immediately after, a dense flash of blood-red light appeared within the mist. A figure emerged, like a person that had just crawled out of a pool of blood, floating in mid-air as it lunged forward with a vicious expression.

The shriek was piercing and filled with resentment. It was a bloodthirsty devilish creature.

"Not a blood shadow... it even has a human form. Could it be a blood soul formed within the blood mist?"

This blood soul was the first living thing he had encountered since entering. He had originally assumed it would be the same kind of blood shadow as those in the blood river, but it had taken on a humanoid form.

Whoosh! Qin Sang only saw a flash of blood light before the blood soul was already right before him. Startled, he immediately controlled his sword and slashed.

Slash! The ebony sword struck straight down, splitting the blood soul into two from top to bottom.

Yet unexpectedly, after the strike, the two halves began to writhe, each growing a new body, turning into two separate blood shadows!

"An undying body?" Qin Sang withdrew his spiritual sword and flicked his sleeve. A mass of demonic fire flew out, contracting and expanding before forming a net of flames that enveloped the two blood souls.

To his surprise, even this could not kill them. They screamed and struggled madly as the devilish flames surged.

Qin Sang immediately cast out two more clusters of devilish flames.

Just as the blood souls were about to be burned to death, Qin Sang intended to hold back and study them. However, the Sky-Eyed Butterfly suddenly issued a warning. More than a dozen blood souls had been drawn toward them.

Qin Sang made a decisive choice and incinerated the blood souls completely. After their deaths, nothing was left behind. His figure flickered as he quickly distanced himself from the area.

Those blood souls moved extremely fast and pursued relentlessly. In a place like this, it had been difficult to shake them off. Qin Sang could only fight while retreating, killing them one by one until all had been eliminated.

After dealing with the blood souls, Qin Sang looked toward the direction they had come from, a trace of hesitation appearing on his face. "It seems like only that area has blood souls. If I were to be surrounded, even I would be thrown into chaos. That place happens to be the route Senior Sister and the others chose... Did something happen to them?"

He had considered going to investigate. But if even Qingjun and Devil Lord Tongyou and the others could not handle it, then going alone would be like walking straight into a trap.

The basin was more dangerous than he had imagined. Qin Sang became even more cautious. Later, he encountered a few scattered lone blood souls, but they posed no real threat.

After pressing onward for some time, just as Qin Sang had killed another blood soul, he suddenly heard a human voice. "I wonder which Daoist has arrived?"

Qin Sang secretly activated the eighteen devilish banners. The voice sounded ethereal, making it impossible to determine its origin. The other party had clearly used some method to conceal themselves.

He quietly activated the Sky Eyes, yet still could not detect where the person was hiding.

However, aside from his Senior Sister and the others, only cultivators from the Sin Abyss would be here. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

"Daoist Si?" Qin Sang said, testing the waters.

"Hmm? Daoist Ming Yue!" The other party exclaimed in surprise, his tone filled with delight. Soon, the blood mist surged in the distance, and a figure broke through the air, flying toward him. It was Si Di, his long-time partner from Sandi'e Stronghold.

"We waited for a long time, but you never arrived. We thought you had run into trouble." From Si Di’s tone, it seemed he had entered together with Qingjun and the others. For some reason, he was now alone.

Qin Sang shook his head. "I should not have been much later than you. But traveling alone here is troublesome, so I fell behind. Why are you here by yourself, Daoist?"

1. Grotto-heaven is a type of sacred Daoist site. Grotto-heavens are usually caves, grottoes, mountain hollows, or other underground spaces. ☜