A look of shock and fury instantly spread across the Blood Crow City Lord's face, his body trembling slightly. He tried to dodge the streak of golden light, but with his spiritual sense being violently wrenched by that silver vortex, his movements were inevitably a fraction slower than usual.
A crisp "clang" rang out!
The golden light slashed down at the Blood Crow City Lord's neck, but a burst of blood-colored light suddenly erupted, easily deflecting it.
Within that crimson glow, a blood-red jade pendant was faintly visible, pulsing between bright and dim as it expanded and contracted.
The Blood Crow City Lord actually possessed a top-grade demonic artifact capable of activating its protective barrier on its own, and it had blocked the golden light's fatal strike at this critical moment.
Even so, the Blood Crow City Lord broke into a cold sweat. With a mighty roar, a blood-mist whirlwind swept across his body's surface, his spiritual sense surging back with force. In the same instant, his figure flickered and vanished, reappearing on another massive boulder over ten zhang away.
The golden light emitted a sharp shriek and flickered as it gave chase.
By now, the silver-eyed elder had recovered. Without the slightest hesitation, he opened his mouth and spat out a pitch-black ghost head, which spewed blood-colored beams and engaged the golden light in battle.
Just then, a tremendous boom erupted from the other side.
Second Brother Yang stumbled and tumbled from the ghost claw strike, but he too seemed to have a special treasure for protection. After a layer of silver light flashed across his body, he immediately conjured seven or eight phantom duplicates that shot off in every direction, managing to evade the ghost hand's ambush.
A soft gasp of surprise was heard!
Spatial ripples surged from where Second Brother Yang had stood, and seven or eight black beams pierced through the air like parasites clinging to bone, shooting straight toward the phantom duplicates. Then a mass of dark qi billowed forth, within which stood a figure in dark robes, slowly withdrawing one hand.
The figure's face was deathly pale, but its features were identical to those of the Blood Crow City Lord, as though they were twin brothers.
A thunderous boom!
Most of the middle-aged man's fleeing phantom duplicates were pierced through by the black beams and shattered into nothingness. Only one phantom suddenly spat a burst of green light backward, colliding with the pursuing black beam and annihilating each other in a flash of spiritual light.
The blurry phantom stabilized in place, its body becoming clear once more. Fixing a cold, sinister gaze upon the figure within the dark qi, it spoke, enunciating each word: "A clone! So this is why Fellow Daoist Bing's cultivation hasn't advanced all these years — you poured all your heart and soul into refining this second clone."
"Without this backup, do you think I would have followed you here?" The Blood Crow City Lord glanced at the golden light, then lowered his gaze and spoke slowly. "Now that things have come to this, you might as well call out your hidden companion as well. The Secret Treasury of the Weeping Spirit is fated so that only one of us can obtain it — there's no way it could ever be split between us."
"Hmph, since things have come to this, I have nothing more to say." Second Brother Yang's eyes flashed with vicious intent, all pretense now gone. "Brother Ya, show yourself! Even if he has a second clone, its cultivation is still a step below the main body. If you and I join forces, there's still a good chance we can claim what we're after."
"I knew from the start that the Secret Treasury of the Weeping Spirit wouldn't be easy to obtain — after all, Fellow Daoist Bing was the one who managed to steal the Sacred Brick right from under the noses of the Seven Killers of the Thunder Sea and Tianfang Mountain." A soft sigh drifted from the void where the golden light had first bounced off.
The golden light flashed, and a tall, barefoot, ugly man materialized in midair.
The man's hands were empty, yet he carried a golden gourd half as tall as himself on his back, and he gazed at the Blood Crow City Lord in the distance with a half-smile.
"Golden Gourd Demon Lord!" The Blood Crow City Lord's expression shifted slightly as he recognized the ugly man's face and the enormous golden gourd behind him.
"I didn't expect that someone of my modest renown would be known to you, Fellow Daoist." The Golden Gourd Demon Lord smiled faintly and gave a slight bow. "I've long heard of Fellow Daoist Bing's reputation. To exchange blows today would be a wish fulfilled."
Despite his crude and ugly appearance, the Demon Lord spoke with refined composure, carrying not the slightest hint of coarse temperament — the very image of a transcendent expert.
"Fine then. As long as I eliminate you two today, the Secret Treasury of the Weeping Spirit will be mine." The Blood Crow City Lord looked at Second Brother Yang and the Golden Gourd Demon Lord in turn, then suddenly let out an eerie laugh. "I won't have labored for centuries in vain."
"What do you mean by that?" Second Brother Yang was startled, his wariness surging.
The ugly man's eyes also flickered with a strange glint.
But the Blood Crow City Lord only sneered and said nothing more. Instead, both of his hands simultaneously slapped the pouches at his waist.
Two muffled "pfft" sounds — one black and one crimson — as two leather pouches flew out, circling in the air before their openings inverted. A cascade of blood-colored radiance and a swarm of black insects poured forth.
The blood-colored light appeared ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was divided into seven layers of varying intensity, emitting a low, droning hum.
And the insects in the cloud — each the size of a thumb — were entirely black as ink, with white markings across most of their backs that faintly formed the shape of skull patterns, making them appear utterly sinister.
"Not good — it's the Seven Kill Blood Fiend and the Black Bone Demon Worms! Fellow Daoist Yang, we need to retreat!" The Golden Gourd Demon Lord, who had been maintaining his composure, turned pale the moment he saw the insect cloud in the distance. He shouted in alarm, then slapped his palm backward. The golden gourd on his back instantly soared into the air, expanding into a sheet of golden light that enveloped him. With a piercing howl, he shot backward in retreat.