Gateway of Immortality-Chapter 349: Thundercloud Crown

After luring the snake out of its hole, Qin Sang proceeded with his plan. Using the Spirit Evasion Art, he disguised his cultivation as that of an early-stage Foundation Building cultivator, pretending to be unaware of being tracked, thereby baiting Liang Yan into making a move.

To his surprise, Liang Yan had remarkable patience, waiting until now to strike.

This had given Qin Sang ample time to prepare.

Feigning injury to his primordial spirit, he lured Liang Yan into the trap. First, the Yin-Yang Luopan interfered with Liang Yan’s Spirit-Binding Rope. Immediately after, the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions was deployed, successfully trapping Liang Yan within.

How could Liang Yan fail to recognize the signature artifact of Kuiyin Sect? His expression changed drastically as he exclaimed, "Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions!"

At that moment, Liang Yan realized he had been set up!

But by whom?

Why are they targeting me?

Why has the Heart-Devouring Insect failed?

Countless questions flashed through his mind, but he knew none of them mattered now.

He was well aware of the Yan Luo Array's terrifying power. His only thought now was to escape as quickly as possible—only by breaking free from this ghost array could he have a chance to counterattack. Otherwise, death was inevitable!

"Thundercloud Crown!"

With a low shout, Liang Yan’s head was suddenly engulfed in blinding silver light.

Beneath his hood, he had originally been wearing only a simple headband to tie back his long hair. But at this moment, the hairband underwent a dramatic transformation—it was actually an artifact!

The headband reshaped itself into an exquisitely crafted crown, its hanging silk ribbons resembling miniature rainbows, with auspicious clouds swirling around them.

Its radiance was dazzling, its elegance unmatched!

Crackle!

A thunderclap erupted from thin air.

The surrounding mountains trembled.

The auspicious clouds turned ominous, transforming into stormy thunderclouds brimming with pure, yang power of thunderclouds.

Sizzle!

Lightning surged, enveloping Liang Yan in brilliant arcs of electricity. Protected by the Thundercloud Crown, he strode through the storm as if bathed in lightning.

The Ghostly Threads were repelled by the thundercloud power, unable to reach his primordial spirit.

Qin Sang silently emerged from the marsh, his eyes flashing with astonishment at the sight. This Thundercloud Crown was no ordinary artifact—the thundercloud power it contained was the nemesis of evil and demonic forces.

Whenever the Ghostly Threads touched the thundercloud power, they were struck by lightning and severed, greatly diminishing their strength. They would likely be unable to break through the defense in a short time.

This meant that the Yan Luo Array's strongest method had been significantly weakened.

A countermeasure so precise—it was highly likely that Liang Yan had specifically prepared this artifact to combat the Yan Luo Array of Ten Directions. freёwebnoѵel.com

Qin Sang's gaze flickered, but he did not hesitate. With a swift motion, he reached for his waist, releasing the malevolent corpse that had been refined from Yu Dayue's associate from his Corpse Puppet Pouch.

This corpse had been a middle-stage Foundation Building cultivator in life, and now, as a malevolent corpse, it could still play a significant role in the battle.

The malevolent corpse shot into the Yan Luo Array, moving with lightning speed. In an instant, it closed in behind Liang Yan, launching a punch infused with a chilling surge of Earth Malevolent Qi, aiming straight for Liang Yan’s back.

Sensing the sudden attack, Liang Yan hurriedly sidestepped, raising a finger toward the malevolent corpse. A black stone spun violently from his fingertip, piercing through the air.

The stone was initially no larger than a fingernail, but as soon as it caught the wind, it expanded at an alarming rate—instantaneously growing into a massive boulder, hurtling down with the weight of a mountain.

The giant rock carried howling winds and rolling black smoke, truly resembling a ferocious black dragon. No wonder it was called the Black Dragon Stone.

Even from outside the array, Qin Sang could feel the sheer pressure emanating from the Black Dragon Stone—its immense weight was no exaggeration.

Seeing this, Qin Sang knew the malevolent corpse could not afford to take the hit head-on.

The malevolent corpse swiftly retreated, crossing its arms to block.

With a thunderous crash, the Black Dragon Stone struck the malevolent corpse, sending it flying backward. It barely managed to stabilize itself before being completely knocked out of the Yan Luo Array. Deep indentations marred its arms, nearly breaking them under the sheer force of the impact.

But Liang Yan did not relent. He continued to drive the Black Dragon Stone forward, using it to carve a path through the array in an attempt to break free.

The Black Dragon Stone surged ahead with unstoppable momentum. The malevolent corpse alone was no longer enough to restrain Liang Yan. Seeing this, Qin Sang immediately changed tactics. He left a portion of the Ghostly Threads entangling Liang Yan while simultaneously activating another segment of the array’s power, manifesting a ferocious, spectral evil spirit. The evil spirit emerged into the world, lunging at Liang Yan with reckless abandon.

At the same time, the malevolent corpse's Earth Malevolent Qi surged, instantly healing its injuries before charging forward once more.

Within moments, Liang Yan found himself besieged—attacked from both sides by the evil spirit and the malevolent corpse.

Both attackers struck swiftly and evasively, never engaging the Black Dragon Stone directly.

Liang Yan relied solely on the Black Dragon Stone to defend himself. Though the artifact was remarkably agile, he still struggled to fend off attacks from both sides. Meanwhile, the Thundercloud Crown atop his head was under relentless assault from the Ghostly Threads, rapidly depleting its thundercloud power.

Anxiety gripped Liang Yan’s heart. The Thundercloud Crown did not have infinite power—if he failed to escape soon, once its energy was completely drained and the Ghostly Threads broke through, he would be nothing more than a lamb awaiting slaughter!

With a low growl, Liang Yan channeled his spiritual power with all his might and urgently recalled the Spirit-Binding Rope.

Swish! Swish!

The Spirit-Binding Rope shot back like a bolt of lightning, weaving through the air before entangling the malevolent corpse. No matter how the malevolent corpse dodged and twisted, it couldn’t shake free—it was completely bound.

At the same time, the Black Dragon Stone locked onto the evil spirit and came crashing down.

Just as the Black Dragon Stone was about to pulverize the evil spirit, Liang Yan’s expression suddenly changed.

Behind him, a sword's shadow silently emerged—it had been lurking for an unknown period, waiting for this exact moment to launch a sneak attack!

By the time Liang Yan sensed the presence of the ebony sword, it was already too late.

In horror, he instinctively guarded his vital points with all his strength. However, the ebony sword was not targeting him—but the thunderclouds above his head!

Whoosh!

With a deafening boom, the thunderclouds shattered into countless fragments, and the Thundercloud Crown’s core structure was struck. Cracks instantly spread across its surface before it collapsed in ruin.

"No!"

Liang Yan screamed in terror, but Qin Sang paid no heed. Without hesitation, he unleashed the full force of the Yan Luo Array. In the blink of an eye, the Ghostly Threads swarmed forward, erasing the last remnants of thundercloud power that had been protecting Liang Yan. They broke through his defenses and began attacking his primordial spirit.

"Ahh!"

Liang Yan let out a desperate scream. He clutched his head as if driven mad, struggling to resist while frantically driving the Black Dragon Stone to crash around him.

Yet Qin Sang remained unfazed. Effortlessly weaving through the chaos, he dodged the Black Dragon Stone’s wild strikes before swiftly closing in on Liang Yan. With a flick of his hand, the Sky Poison Veil transformed into a thick cloud of poisonous miasma, instantly engulfing Liang Yan.

With the Ghostly Threads combined with the Sky Poison Veil, Liang Yan had no chance to resist.

The Black Dragon Stone and Spirit-Binding Rope both lost their luster. Their spiritual radiance dimmed before they fell to the ground, on the verge of sinking into the marsh. Before they could be swallowed, a surge of spiritual power swept down from above, retrieving them.

Qin Sang collected both artifacts and turned to gaze at his captured prey.

From the moment Liang Yan fell into the trap—lured out of Fengcang Market by the Heart-Devouring Insect—his fate had been sealed.

Not bringing Shi Hong with him had only worked to Qin Sang’s advantage, allowing Qin Sang to attack with full force, unrestrained.

The only unexpected variable had been the Thundercloud Crown. It had proven capable of resisting the Ghostly Threads, forcing Qin Sang to expend extra effort. But in the end, it had not changed the inevitable outcome.