The two black-robed men had already thrown back their hoods, revealing two pale, long faces, like a pair of soul-reaping White Impermanences. One had a short beard, appearing older, while the other had a clean-shaven, fair face.
Their magical artifacts were quite unique. The older, short-bearded black-robed man held an abacus that was about two feet square. The abacus was entirely emerald green, and each bead on it was half the size of a baby's fist. With every swing, wisps of green smoke would rise from the beads. This smoke would transform into small, green snakes in the air. Their heads were pointed and shuttle-shaped, and in their mouths, only one tusk on the top and one on the bottom crossed and protruded outwards—one hooked down to the chin, the other pointed up to the nostril. Their wide-open mouths glinted with a faint light, and their eyes were a bloodthirsty crimson. They transformed into fine threads, darting straight for the old man opposite them.
As the man swung the huge abacus, each movement produced a strange "clattering" sound that disturbed one's mind. Looking at the purple-robed youth in the rear, it was clear to see. On one hand, he stood at the ready with a white jade vase; on the other, his face would flush red from time to time. Even when he circulated his Spirit Power to resist, it had little effect. As a result, the hunchbacked old man shielding him had to frequently turn back and shoot a stream of Spirit Power into him. Every time he turned to aid the purple-robed youth, the two black-robed men would take the opportunity to press their attack, often forcing the hunchbacked old man into a desperate defense.
Moreover, the hunchbacked old man clearly did not dare to move far from the purple-robed youth, and was thus bound to the spot, which greatly diminished his strength.
The younger, fair-faced black-robed man had conjured a wolf-tooth club in the air. The club had transformed into an enormous Azure Skywolf with a body wreathed in demonic flames. Following the incantations of the fair-faced black-robed man, it would let out furious roars and periodically spew long jets of green flame directly at the hunchbacked old man opposite, creating a truly imposing sight.
The hunchbacked old man, for his part, held a withered branch about a foot long that radiated a black light in one hand, while his other hand was constantly on guard at his side, tightly protecting the purple-robed youth behind him. The black light emitted by the withered branch was extremely domineering, forming a crescent-shaped wind blade that slashed outwards. Whether it was the dense barrage of countless green snakes or the long jets of flame spewed by the Azure Skywolf, they were all blocked by it. Moreover, the moment the green snakes and green flames touched the black light, they would be instantly annihilated. The black light even showed signs of expanding outwards, and each expansion forced the two black-robed men to retreat hastily, not daring to come into contact with the crescent-shaped black wind blade.
It was just that the withered branch looked extremely slender. Compared to the magical artifacts of the two opposite him, it seemed as if it could snap at any moment, yet it was surprisingly formidable.
"To think that the renowned Demondog Moonshadow would become a servant to a fallen, illegitimate son. Fellow Daoist Zhuo, as long as you hand over the boy behind you, how about my brother and I give you half of the reward for this secret assassination mission? Why must you stand up for a lowly illegitimate son? You should know, the reward offered by the master this time, even if we split it evenly, would be enough for our cultivation needs for the next ten years. Not to mention, there's also a Dustless Pill and a Netherworld Order. If Fellow Daoist Zhuo is willing to stop, that Dustless Pill will be yours. My brother and I will take the Netherworld Order, and we'll split the rest. How about it? The use of a Dustless Pill for a cultivator like you, who is about to reach the Pseudo-Core realm, needs no further explanation from me, does it?" During the fight, seeing how difficult the hunchbacked old man was to deal with, the short-bearded black-robed man gritted his teeth and spoke.
The short-bearded black-robed man addressed the hunchbacked old man as "Fellow Daoist Zhuo," which was completely different from the "Uncle Sang" the purple-robed youth used, but it was clearly the same person.
The moment he said this, not only did the purple-robed youth's figure tremble, but even the Lin-surnamed scholar hiding in the distant tree shuddered slightly, clearly shaken to the core. The purple-robed youth, for his part, stared nervously at the hunchbacked old man's back. This man was the last guardian his mother had left him before she died. But the black-robed man had mentioned a Dustless Pill, which held a fatal allure for any cultivator at the late stage of Foundation Establishment or above.
Earlier, after they had left the teleportation formation, they had circled around Linshui City several times before quietly leaving. Who would have thought that these two would still manage to catch up to them?
The fair-faced black-robed man, hearing this, became anxious and quickly said, "Big Brother, that Dustless Pill..."
"Shut up!" the short-bearded black-robed man snapped at his brother, annoyed. If he could kill the man before him, why would he be willing to offer up the Dustless Pill and half the reward? It was just that this man was truly difficult to deal with. Moreover, "Demondog Moonshadow" was a veteran Foundation Establishment expert. He imagined that if not for the boy in the back holding him down, the two of them, even with their combined attack technique, would not be able to last much longer. If this continued, there would likely be too many unexpected variables.
Being yelled at by his brother, the fair-faced black-robed man stammered, his heart filled with resentment. He changed his hand seal, and the Azure Skywolf materialized in mid-air instantly retracted the fierce green flames from its mouth. Its body arched, and with a powerful gust of wind and a sonic boom, the Azure Skywolf was behind the hunchbacked old man in an instant, lunging for the purple-robed youth's neck.
The hunchbacked old man seemed to have anticipated this. His lowered right hand suddenly shot up. Three points of cold light shot from his hand, heading straight for the Azure Skywolf's eyes and its open, bloody maw. The Azure Skywolf's soul seemed to retain some intelligence. Seeing this, it hastily shook its head and ducked, avoiding the vital points, but it was still hit in the waist by the three points of cold light. It immediately let out a furious roar, as if its ferocity had been provoked. It turned its body, and with a stomp of its four feet in the air, it seemed ready to attack again, but its movements were not as agile as before.
At the same time, the hunchbacked old man spoke faintly, "He Manzi, He Manhua, you two are considered prominent figures in the Demonic Path, yet you stoop to killing a Qi Condensation cultivator. Even when I was in the Demonic Path back in the day, I disdained to do such a demeaning thing. Although I also come from a demonic cultivation background, demonic cultivators are naturally of a resolute disposition, daring to act and take responsibility. How have you fallen to the ranks of evil cultivators? It's truly despicable."
"This boy's mother was an old acquaintance of mine. Let alone one Dustless Pill, what about ten, or a hundred?"
As his voice fell, his hands did not stop moving. He then looked to his side and behind him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and shouted in a deep voice, "I wonder if the fellow Daoist who has been watching for so long has seen enough."
The moment he said this, the He brothers were startled. They had not expected someone else to be in this remote place. They had pursued their targets all the way here, and only after being far from Linshui City and seeing how secluded this place was did they rush forward to attack.
Although the hunchbacked old man appeared calm on the surface, he was also anxious. It was only when the He brothers mentioned the Dustless Pill that he felt an almost imperceptible fluctuation of aura from a tree several dozen zhang behind him, which was why he had spoken out to expose them.
As the hunchbacked old man spoke, the He brothers also instantly withdrew their techniques and leaped back more than ten zhang, both looking towards the jungle behind the hunchbacked old man.
"Hehehe, so it is the renowned 'Demondog Moonshadow,' Fellow Daoist Zhuo. You are my senior, you know. When I was just a Qi Condensation cultivator, your great name was like thunder in my ears. Seeing you today, you are indeed formidable, discovering my hiding place so quickly."
With a clear voice, a figure flashed out from a large tree in the jungle and then slowly walked towards the center of the field. It was none other than the scholar, Bloodhand Flying Sickle.
Seeing that it was Bloodhand Flying Sickle, everyone in the field was stunned. But no one spoke; they just stared at him intently. Originally, although the hunchbacked old man had the upper hand, the He brothers' combined attack technique was quite formidable, and it was difficult to take them down in a short time. The sudden appearance of this third party, however, broke the temporary balance between the two sides. Bloodhand Flying Sickle was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he sided with either party, that side's disadvantage would be immediately apparent.
As Bloodhand Flying Sickle walked slowly, seeing all eyes on him, he smiled slightly and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhuo's words are a bit biased. Someone has issued a secret assassination bounty. The target can no longer be distinguished by cultivation level, but rather by who has the ability to take it. What we cultivators want are cultivation resources. If someone offers a reward, should we not take a chance? Cowering is not the style of a cultivator."
As he spoke, he had already reached the edge of the clearing. He then stopped, his gaze calm as he looked at the hunchbacked old man.
In fact, after Bloodhand Flying Sickle had left the Xuanqing Temple yesterday, he had gone east to visit an old friend. After reaching his destination, he had a long chat with his friend. During the chat, his friend unintentionally revealed something: he had obtained a secret assassination bounty. Such secret orders often circulated among the Demonic Path and evil cultivation sects. It was mainly that someone had entrusted the "Thorn-Shadow" assassination organization with a bounty to hunt down a young man. This young man was suspected to be heading to the famous "Huchen" family in the near future. The reward was so generous that it was jaw-dropping. Besides three hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, there were also a large number of medicinal pills, and especially, they had promised to give a Dustless Pill and a Netherworld Order. Such a lavish offer would tempt even a Golden Core cultivator.
"Thorn-Shadow" was a rather troublesome assassination organization. Its origins were mysterious; no one knew who founded it or where its headquarters was. It was only known that the organization appeared about four hundred years ago. They took on various assassination missions and had an extremely high success rate. Targets they pursued were almost certain to die. Its members were also mysterious and hard to find. "Thorn-Shadow" also had a very high reputation. As long as they took on a mission, nine out of ten were successfully completed. Even if the assassination failed, they would compensate the client.
Furthermore, if a mission was completed and the client tried to renege on the payment, there were countless examples of annihilated employers displayed bloodily for the world to see.
Due to their consideration for the four great sects, "Thorn-Shadow" never directly took on missions against them. And the attitude of the four great sects towards their subsidiary sects and families was that as long as it didn't involve annihilation, they would turn a blind eye. With so many vassals, if they were to manage every single one, the four great sects themselves would have no time to develop. So, "Thorn-Shadow," by maintaining a certain bottom line, had not been targeted for elimination by the four great sects for hundreds of years.
"Thorn-Shadow" usually completed missions themselves. Only when they were short-staffed or for other reasons would they send out the secret assassination order. If someone could complete it, they would receive half of the reward. But usually, only those from the Demonic Path or evil cultivators would take it on.
The secret order that Bloodhand Flying Sickle's friend had obtained this time was because time was tight—only nine days in total. After nine days, even if the boy was killed, no reward would be given. Moreover, the target was not locked down, only a general area was known, so "Thorn-Shadow" had released it in a hurry.
Although Bloodhand Flying Sickle had a fearsome reputation, his sect was a bona fide, so-called reputable and orthodox sect, so he had not received such a secret order. Hearing of it, how could he not be moved? It was just that even "Thorn-Shadow" could not locate the target, so it was undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack. After hearing his friend's words, he casually picked up the secret order's jade slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense. But in the next moment, his heart was shaken. However, he was such a seasoned person that his expression did not change in the slightest. He then smiled bitterly, shook his head, and returned the jade slip to his friend. That friend of his was also a sharp person. When he handed the jade slip to Bloodhand Flying Sickle, his eyes were fixed on him without blinking. But in the end, Bloodhand Flying Sickle's expression showed nothing but disappointment, without any other abnormality. This made Bloodhand Flying Sickle's friend sigh inwardly, thinking that the matter was hopeless. He had already been searching outside for three days, covering a range of nearly ten thousand li. After finding nothing, he had returned last night. At the same time, he had also sent out a large number of disciples from his sect to investigate, but so far, there was no news. He had originally hoped that with Bloodhand Flying Sickle's wide circle of friends, he might have some clues, but it seemed he had come up empty again.