With a flash of movement, the old man crossed dozens of zhang in an instant, appearing right before Xue Po.
Xue Po was startled and immediately shot backward.
Two Integration stage puppets nearby sprang into action at once. One drew its bow, and with a sharp hissing sound, countless golden rays of light shot out in a frenzy.
The other puppet flicked its spear, and with a flash of cold light, the spearhead conjured a massive blue flower about a zhang in diameter that swept down over the old man from above.
The spear appeared crystalline and translucent, but the moment it descended, a wave of extreme cold swept downward first, causing the void around the old man to congeal as if it were about to freeze solid on the spot.
At that moment, the golden rays closed in from every direction.
The coordination between the two puppets was virtually flawless.
The tall old man let out a cold snort. A layer of crimson lightning arcs flickered across his body, shredding the surrounding cold aura. The golden rays, which had seemed so formidable, were similarly deflected with ease once they reached him.
At the same time, the old man extended one hand and grasped at the giant flower through the air.
With a muffled bang, the blue flower vanished abruptly, and the old man caught the blue spearhead in his claw-like fingers as if it were nothing.
The spear-wielding puppet's arms trembled violently as it tried to wrench the weapon free, but it remained rooted in place, not budging an inch.
Meanwhile, the bow-wielding puppet's eyes flickered with crystalline light as an astonishing aura erupted from its body. Its bow blazed with radiance before a golden rainbow shot out with a piercing shriek, spiraling toward the old man.
The tall old man laughed heartily, merely blowing a puff of crimson thunder-fire at the incoming golden rainbow. It swelled in the wind, instantly growing to the size of a water vat.
With a deafening boom, the two collided and detonated.
The crimson lightning surged and swallowed the golden light, then rolled back in a torrent, striking the bow-wielding puppet with perfect accuracy and reducing it to ashes.
As for the spear-wielding Integration stage puppet, it was struck by a massive crimson hand that materialized from thin air and smashed into a heap of scrap on the spot.
The tall old man shifted again, appearing right behind Xue Po in the blink of an eye, and rudely thrust a massive hand toward her: "Little girl, hand over the key and the treasure now, and I'll grant you a quick death. Otherwise, heh heh..."
As the tall old man spoke, a ferocious expression twisted across his face.
"Senior must already possess a Heavenly Cauldron Palace key to have entered this place. Why bother coveting what this junior carries?" Xue Po's face was deathly pale as she spoke, retreating slowly.
"Hmph, do you take me for a fool? Certain areas within the Heavenly Cauldron Palace can only be accessed with specific keys. This old ancestor possesses only a counterfeit key, so naturally I need to collect a few more as reserves. Since you refuse to hand yours over voluntarily, don't blame this old ancestor for being ruthless." The moment the tall old man saw that Xue Po still refused to submit, he snorted coldly, flipped his outstretched palm with a sudden twist, spread his five fingers, and lunged directly at her.
The grab appeared utterly ordinary, yet Xue Po felt herself completely enveloped by his five fingers from every direction — front, back, left, and right — giving her the eerie sensation that there was no escape. Her heart seized with terror.
Just as the old man's fingers tilted slightly, about to seize Xue Po by the shoulder, a ripple of spatial disturbance appeared above her head. A beam of crystalline light materialized from nothing and lashed down toward the old man like lightning.
The attack came without the slightest warning. Even the tall old man — a Mahayana cultivator who had held that realm for countless years — was caught off guard and had no time to dodge.
With a muffled thud, the old man's outstretched arm was engulfed by the crystalline light and exploded into seven or eight pieces on the spot.
However, the tall old man himself blurred and reappeared in the void dozens of zhang away, glaring at the space above Xue Po with fire in his eyes as he let out a sharp shout: "Which fellow Daoist is here, daring to resort to such underhanded tactics against this old man?"
Even as he spoke, a burst of blood mist erupted from the severed stump. Countless blood threads wove and writhed together as a fresh, pale new arm regrew before his eyes.
Such limb regeneration was a trivial feat for cultivators of the Blood Sky Continent, whose techniques centered primarily on blood arts.
But after the old man's furious demand, the surrounding void remained utterly silent, and no one revealed themselves. Only Xue Po's expression had regained some composure, though she continued to retreat slowly backward.
Seeing this, the tall old man's face turned as dark as a storm cloud. After casting one more venomous glance at Xue Po, he abruptly raised his intact arm and pointed at her with a swift jab.
A muffled boom.
A pinpoint of crimson light shot from his fingertip, flickered once, and vanished into the void without a trace.
The next instant, a crash of thunder erupted about a zhang in front of Xue Po. The crimson light materialized from thin air and transformed into a foot-long crimson shuttle that stabbed straight toward her chest.
Its speed was so great that it was little more than a thought's worth of time.
Given Xue Po's cultivation, even if she had wanted to summon a defensive treasure or dodge, there simply wasn't enough time.
Even though she was normally composed, her face drained of all color in an instant.
At that very moment, a flash of golden light appeared before her, and a golden figure roughly a foot tall materialized. It flicked one arm casually, and the crimson shuttle was sent flying with a sharp deflection.
It was none other than Gold Child, the Gold Devouring Beetle King.