These two personal guards were both at the eighth level of the Heavenly realm, and they were clearly cultivators of the eighth level with formidable combat strength — just one step away, terrifyingly, from the ninth level.
As for Prince Huo's side, while there were a few at the seventh level of the Heavenly realm, the gap between the seventh and eighth levels might seem like merely one tier apart, but in truth, it was a vast gulf.
Three seventh-level cultivators might barely be able to contend with a single eighth-level one — and even that was being generous.
It was plain to see that these two eighth-level experts were both extraordinarily powerful, the kind who had clearly weathered countless battles. Either one of them could likely take on all four of their seventh-level cultivators single-handedly.
If it truly came to blows, Prince Huo's side, despite having over a dozen people, could hardly claim any advantage whatsoever.
If the other side had sent just two more guards, they could have easily steamrolled Prince Huo's entire group.
These two guards — one was broad-shouldered and barrel-chested, the other radiating killing intent.
It was obvious that an untold number of powerful cultivators had fallen beneath their hands.
The one wearing striped robes was presumably Qing Hu. He bared his teeth in a grotesque grin: "Kid, in all these years, you're the first fool dumb enough to try running your mouth in front of Master Han. Remember — in your next life, keep your eyes open and stop being so witless..."
As he spoke, Qing Hu's doppelgänger shimmered into motion, charging forward with the ferocity of an ancient White Tiger. His right hand rose into the void, manifesting as a colossal tiger claw that crackled with blinding light, slamming down toward Prince Huo's head.
In that instant of mortal peril, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept through the void.
Qing Hu's doppelgänger had barely surged halfway forward when some invisible force slammed into him like a wall. In the next moment, his hands instinctively flew to his own throat.
But surrounding his neck, a massive claw had materialized — a claw sheathed in dense, terrifying scales, noble and ancient.
The next instant, the void around Qing Hu shimmered and rippled, revealing the spectral form of a true dragon doppelgänger, half-hidden and half-revealed among the clouds.
Crack!
The great claw seized down with savage force. Qing Hu's neck twisted at an grotesque angle, his eyes bulging from their sockets and bursting open in a spray of blood.
Then the true dragon doppelgänger coiled once, and Qing Hu's doppelgänger vanished entirely into the clouded sky — devoured whole.
On the other side, Qing Niu was faring no better. Though he had charged somewhat slower, he found that countless spatial barriers had suddenly materialized around him, and no matter which direction he crashed into, he could never break through the wall of energy enclosing him.
Just as he was thrashing about wildly, a colossal golden bell descended from the void, radiating blinding brilliance. The patterns carved into its four walls shimmered with an uncanny, otherworldly luster, as if some ancient totem had been awakened — filling the air with an eerie, primordial dread.
The enormous golden bell trapped Qing Niu beneath it. Despite his towering, muscular frame, he could only spin helplessly in place, utterly unable to break free.
The one behind all this, naturally, was Jiang Chen.
Though Jiang Chen was only at the sixth level of the Heavenly realm, his cultivation, combined with his treasures, gave him combat power fully on par with the ninth level.
If Qing Niu had faced him head-on in a fair fight, he would have had every right to stand his ground against Jiang Chen.
But Jiang Chen had struck by surprise, calculating against the unprepared, and his sudden assault left Qing Niu completely off guard. By the time he realized what was happening, he was already trapped.
The colossal golden bell was a divine artifact, and under Jiang Chen's command, it was far beyond anything Qing Niu could hope to withstand.