"Not bad, not bad. Though this demonic body can't compare to my true form, surviving a single blow from me shows you're no ordinary low-ranked cultivator. I shall use your blood as a sacrifice first!" "Marquis Nanlong" said, his voice dripping with menace.
The black qi on his face grew three shades denser than before, while his silver-white eyes burned with glacial cold, fixed unblinkingly on the old man — like a corpse's stare. A chill shot through the old man's heart.
The instant he finished speaking, "Marquis Nanlong's" figure blurred, trailing a string of afterimages as he lunged at the old man, unwilling to waste so much as a single extra word.
The old man surnamed Lu was terrified out of his wits. He tried to break free from the stone walls, but there was simply no time. His opponent was far too fast — closing the distance almost instantaneously, like a specter. A claw wreathed in black qi was already plunging straight toward the old man's skull.
Desperation seized the old man. Gritting his teeth, he poured every last drop of his Magical Power into the fiery red gauze in one furious burst.
Instantly, the crimson light barrier before him surged upward, gaining half a foot in height. Under "Marquis Nanlong's" expressionless gaze, the black claw drove deep into it.
A strange hissing sound rang out. The light barrier blazed with blinding radiance. With the old man's heart in his throat, the ghostly claw sank about a foot into the barrier before finally stopping.
Seeing this, the old man let out a huge sigh of relief, some color returning to his face. Spiritual light flickered across his body once more as he prepared to activate his protective spiritual energy to break through the rigid, iron-hard sealed walls.
Across from him, "Marquis Nanlong's" lips curled upward slightly in a mocking sneer.
A thunderous boom erupted as "Marquis Nanlong's" other arm swung down and smashed into the crimson barrier.
The spiritual light the old man had just released from his body scattered by more than half on impact — for reasons he couldn't understand.
Before the stunned old man could grasp his opponent's intent, "Marquis Nanlong's" arm — the one embedded in the barrier — ripped free, then hammered down another lightning-fast punch.
The barrier shuddered again. Whatever remained of the old man's protective spiritual light was obliterated by this strike. At the same time, his body sank deeper, embedding itself several more inches into the stone wall.
"Not good!"
The old man surnamed Lu's face changed drastically as something finally clicked in his mind. He frantically shook the white magic flag in his hand, desperate to deploy it.
But "Marquis Nanlong's" fists rained down with calm, relentless precision, never giving the old man the slightest chance to bring out the flag. Each punch struck precisely when the old man managed to channel half his spiritual energy into the flag, forcibly scattering it — and the blows grew faster and harder with each strike, the thunderous impacts echoing without cease.
Horrified, the old man tried to activate other secret arts, but his Magical Power dispersed the moment he gathered half of it. He simply couldn't accumulate enough energy.
Thus, Lu Weiying — despite possessing vast Magical Power and formidable abilities — found himself helplessly trapped within the stone walls, unable to muster so much as a fraction of his strength. All he could do was watch the crimson barrier before him grow thinner and thinner, despair spreading across his face.
The old man's face had turned a ghastly shade of blue. After one more icy exchange of gazes with "Marquis Nanlong's" silver eyes, a violent shudder ran through his soul.
There was no doubt — if this continued, the barrier would shatter and his body would be pounded into a bloody pulp.
At this thought, the old man steeled himself and let out a thunderous roar. Above his head, white radiance flickered, and a Nascent Soul bearing a striking resemblance to the old man suddenly materialized above the crown of his skull. The Nascent Soul's face was tinged with panic, but its small hands clutched tightly to a small sword radiating an azure glow.
Almost simultaneously, the light barrier formed by the ancient treasure Haoyang Gauze emitted the sound of cracking.
The last shred of hesitation in the Nascent Soul vanished without a trace. It stamped its feet and vanished from its spot, reappearing at the entrance in the very next instant. It prepared to ride its sword into the tunnel and flee for its life.
But at that very moment, something bizarre occurred.
"Marquis Nanlong" still had his back to the entrance, seemingly not yet having reacted. However, the robes on his back burst apart in an instant, exposing his bare spine — and upon it appeared a ghostly face identical to the one on the Blood Curse Gate, its eyes tightly shut, looking utterly real.
The ghostly face suddenly snapped its eyes open, revealing the same silver-white pupils. At the same time, its mouth gaped wide, and a purple shadow flickered outward — as if something had been spat from within.
By this point, the Nascent Soul had just released the flying sword from its embrace and was about to merge with this life-bound magic treasure for a desperate escape. But it heard what seemed like a rush of wind, then felt a searing heat in its mind as something shot out from between its brows, extending a great length outward.
The Nascent Soul stared blankly at the elongated thing protruding between its eyes. A moment later, it let out a piercing shriek, then lost all strength and plummeted to the ground, where it lay completely motionless.
Had any other cultivator been present, they would have seen a purple, thumb-thick tendril extending from the ghostly face's mouth all the way to the back of the Nascent Soul's head, piercing through from between its brows and jutting out nearly a foot beyond.
It appeared to be the ghostly face's tongue. But of such extraordinary length — the sight was utterly grotesque.
Seeing the Nascent Soul fall to the ground, the ghostly face twisted into a savage grin. Its long tongue retracted, its jaws gaped wide, and in one swift motion it coiled around the old man's Nascent Soul, drew it into its mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it whole. Only then did the ghostly face show a look of satisfaction and slowly close its eyes.
Only now did "Marquis Nanlong" finally turn around. He regarded the ownerless blue sword with an expressionless face, a flash of menace crossing his eyes. He reached into old man Lu's body and tore out his heart. Then, with a gentle squeeze, the heart dissolved into a mist of blood.
The body's life force was severed.