After the hunchbacked old man spoke, his aura suddenly surged. The withered black branch in his hand immediately billowed with thick black smoke, like a lit beacon fire, far surpassing the wisps of black gas from before. The moment the black smoke appeared, the area around the old man instantly became hazy and indistinct, and it spread outwards at an extremely fast speed. Within the black smoke, low whimpering sounds could be heard, as if countless vicious dogs were hidden within, growling with bared, snow-white fangs. This black mist spread out with the hunchbacked old man at its center, and in the blink of an eye, it had occupied nearly forty percent of the clearing in the forest.
"We can't let him finish gathering power, or else once this black smoke spreads into the jungle, that kid will use the opportunity to escape!"
Seeing this, Bloodhand Flying Sickle spoke coldly. With a stomp of his foot, he shot towards the oncoming thick black smoke like a wisp of light smoke. At the same time, he fanned his folding fan forward. A dozen or so red threads flew out from the fan's surface, expanding in the wind. In an instant, they transformed into a dozen Flying Sickle Blood Mantises. Each one was as large as an adult man, their pairs of crimson eyes shining with a bloodthirsty luster. The pair of forelimbs in front of them, the size of two door planks, were as if they had just been dipped in fresh blood, their serrations sharp and crimson. As they rubbed their two legs together, they produced a sound of metal scraping, like two saws being dragged against each other in a thick pool of blood.
The moment these Flying Sickle Blood Mantises were in the air, they flapped their nearly translucent crimson wings and charged directly into the black smoke. The moment the scholar attacked, he used his signature ultimate skill, clearly not wanting to get entangled with the other party.
Seeing this, the hunchbacked old man just sneered. He stretched out a finger and tapped the withered wood. The withered black branch let out a "buzzing" tremor. Then, the surrounding black smoke began to churn violently. With a series of "swooshing" sounds, about twenty-some black shadows the size of calves shot out. A dozen or so pounced on the oncoming Flying Sickle Blood Mantises, while the rest pounced on Bloodhand Flying Sickle. These calf-sized black shadows were all ugly and ferocious-looking. Their heads were two feet wide, their ring-like eyes flashing with a fierce light, and their faces were covered in thick, layered skin, as if they were wearing a layer of black armor. Their bloody maws were filled with grotesque, upturned fangs, like sharp blades pointing to the sky and ground. Their bodies were covered in black fur like hedgehogs, and their five claws were like they were cast from refined iron. They looked like the most vicious beasts in the world. At first glance, they looked quite a bit like third-tier demonic beasts, the Hell Demondogs, but upon closer inspection, they lacked the Hell Demondog's overwhelming demonic flames.
Looking at the demonic dogs pouncing through the air, Bloodhand Flying Sickle's eyes revealed an unprecedented solemnity, a complete change from his previous nonchalant attitude. He couldn't help but let out a low cry, "He actually refined so many second-tier Black-Armor Demondogs." He wiped his folding fan with his long fingers and then drew it in front of him. Instantly, a bolt of silk-like energy flew out from the front of the fan. This bolt of energy formed a vast river in front of him. Within it, the stench of blood shot to the sky, and a bloody tide raged. As the bloody tide churned, it was like furious waves crashing against a reef, creating huge, bloody waves. These waves formed faces like fierce ghosts in the air, and with a screech, they opened their mouths and bit down on the incoming black shadows.
At this moment, the Flying Sickle Blood Mantises had already clashed with the other dozen or so Black-Armor Demondogs. For a time, roars and "pfft pfft" sounds filled the air. Fur and flesh flew everywhere, and many severed limbs of the Flying Sickle Blood Mantises fell to the ground, the twitching of their sinews causing the limbs to move on the ground.
The instant the fight broke out in the front, the He brothers had already swept past the hunchbacked old man's rear from both sides. The purple-robed youth was hiding in the back. Although he was shrouded in black smoke at this time, his figure could still be seen.
The purple-robed youth was looking around nervously. He was following the hunchbacked old man's instructions. When the black smoke expanded to the edge of the jungle, the hunchbacked old man would use the smoke to launch a large-scale attack. At that time, the purple-robed youth would use the cover of the black smoke to slip into the jungle. The hunchbacked old man would use a secret art to hold off the other party for half an incense stick's time, allowing the purple-robed youth to quickly flee the area.
The He brothers were also titans of the Demonic Path. They saw through the hunchbacked old man's intentions at a glance. The moment Bloodhand Flying Sickle launched his attack in the front, they also made their move. It was just that this black smoke was strange, and they didn't dare to risk entering it.
He Manzi took out two foot-long short spears from his storage pouch. With a hand seal, the two short spears had already shot towards the rear of the purple-robed youth and the hunchbacked old man, disappearing into the rolling black smoke in the blink of an eye. But in the next moment, the two spears vanished from He Manzi's Divine Sense, which shocked him. He repeatedly cast spells, but the two short spears were like clay oxen entering the sea, with no response. Although these two short spears were not magical treasures, they were top-grade spirit treasures. When used by Foundation Establishment cultivators, they had a certain killing power even against late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, this attack was also just a probe from He Manzi.
And just as he was shocked, he saw the hunchbacked old man seem to glance back at them, intentionally or not, a mocking smile on his lips.
The two brothers exchanged a look. They knew that this black smoke must be some kind of powerful divine ability of the hunchbacked old man. If they didn't deal with this black smoke, how could they kill the purple-robed youth? The younger brother, He Manhua, threw his huge wolf-tooth club into the air. The Azure Skywolf materialized again. Then he formed a hand seal. The Azure Skywolf immediately showed a hesitant expression. He Manhua's face sank, and his hand seal tightened. This time, the Azure Skywolf in the air did not dare to delay any longer. It opened its mouth wide, and a powerful suction force came from its mouth. The thick black smoke that was spreading forward was instantly gathered as if it were being funneled into its large mouth. It began to absorb the black smoke like a whale sucking in water. Although the Azure Skywolf was huge, it was insignificant compared to the large area of rolling smoke. But with this, the black smoke that was originally spreading towards the edge of the jungle was stopped in its tracks in his direction. This temporarily foiled the hunchbacked old man and the purple-robed youth's plan.
Although this move immediately disrupted the other party's plan, He Manhua was not having an easy time either. The Azure Skywolf's face showed pain. As it inhaled more and more black smoke, the green flames that were originally rising from its body continuously dimmed. Its skin began to be shrouded in wisps of black gas. The Azure Skywolf's whole body began to tremble, and it became more and more violent. He Manhua's forehead also had veins bulging high, and his aura began to fluctuate dramatically between strong and weak. This thick black smoke was clearly not something his beast soul could swallow at will, and even he had begun to suffer a backlash.
Seeing this, He Manzi let out a loud cry. The emerald green abacus in his hand shone with a dazzling light. Countless oily green snakes shot towards the hunchbacked old man's back and the purple-robed youth like a rain of arrows, as if they were free. He naturally knew that his brother couldn't last for long, ten breaths at most. Otherwise, he would be seriously injured by the backlash. Even if he could take the boy's life within ten breaths, his brother He Manhua would need at least half a year of recuperation to recover. Especially the refined Azure Skywolf soul, it was almost possible that it would be destroyed. If, after returning, the Azure Skywolf could refine the black smoke it had swallowed, it might be able to advance to the mid-stage of a second-tier demonic beast. Otherwise, its soul would definitely be annihilated.
Looking at the rain of oily green snakes that covered the sky, the purple-robed youth's face turned pale, but he bit his lower lip hard to keep himself from making a sound. He could already see that this rain of oily green snakes was different from when he and Uncle Sang were facing it head-on. It wasn't just a change in quantity; each snake's body was faster, and its eyes were more agile. It was clearly not a refined object of the same level.
The purple-robed youth's guess was correct. As these snakes shot out, the muscles on He Manzi's face twitched continuously. These snakes were the peak first-tier Green Phosphorus Snake souls that he had painstakingly collected over several decades. It could be said that each one had cost him a large amount of spirit stones to collect. One dead meant one less, and it was extremely difficult to replenish them. Although he was putting on a mighty display now, for every one he lost, his heart bled. But under these circumstances, knowing that his brother couldn't hold on for too long, he couldn't use his even more powerful techniques. That Bloodhand Flying Sickle was by no means a kind person. If he and his brother played all their trump cards, it was possible that they would be doing the work for someone else. It was even possible that the other party would take the opportunity to kill them while they were exhausted.
At this time, in the air in front, a dozen or so Black-Armor Demondogs were entangled with the Flying Sickle Blood Mantises. Amidst flying flesh and blood, dots of spiritual light flickered and then dissipated in the air.
One Black-Armor Demondog fiercely clamped its claws onto the back of a Flying Sickle Blood Mantis. No matter how this Flying Sickle Blood Mantis swung its terrifying pair of blood-red sickles, it couldn't reach the Black-Armor Demondog behind it. The Black-Armor Demondog's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and with a roar, it bit down on the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis's head. With a hard pull, it tore out the internal organs and dots of spiritual light from the neck cavity. Although they were all souls, after being refined, they all had some physical substance, but most were still composed of soul and spiritual light. If they were to completely transform into physical entities, their strength would have a qualitative breakthrough.
After this Black-Armor Demondog swallowed the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis's head, it tightened its hook-like claws, and the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis's body turned into a sky full of dots of spiritual light, which it then sucked into its belly. Then it turned and pounced on another battle group. It was only when it turned that it discovered that its calf-like body was only half left. Clearly, its battle with the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis just now had been a pyrrhic victory.
In this battlefield, in just a moment, only four Black-Armor Demondogs and two Flying Sickle Blood Mantises were left. On the other side, Bloodhand Flying Sickle was controlling the river of blood to fight with the remaining three Black-Armor Demondogs. And his river of blood had shrunk from several dozen zhang to less than three zhang, tightly protecting a small space in front of him.
Overall, it seemed that the hunchbacked old man had a slight upper hand. He was controlling the withered black branch with one hand, seemingly with ease, but that was not the case. He had to keep an eye on the He brothers at all times, so he could only use sixty percent of his combat power against Bloodhand Flying Sickle. This was clearly also under the condition that Bloodhand Flying Sickle was not going all out. Bloodhand Flying Sickle just wanted to attract most of his strength, which was enough.
Although the hunchbacked old man's cultivation was a small realm higher than Bloodhand Flying Sickle's, after being distracted by the purple-robed youth behind him, he was unable to move freely for a while. He did not have a Spirit-Storing Pouch to put the purple-robed youth in. This was a treasure that even the four great sects were relatively short on, not something a rogue cultivator like him could possess. Otherwise, how could this journey have been so constrained?
His Divine Sense detected the rain of oily green snakes coming from behind, and his black smoke was also being stopped from spreading by that Azure Skywolf. The hunchbacked old man couldn't help but frown. Although these three's cultivation was lower than his, when it came to combat experience, none of them were weaker than him. They could often see the other party's fatal weakness at a glance.
The hunchbacked old man couldn't help but snort coldly in his heart. 'Hmph, to actually abandon the advantage of a combined attack to forcefully stop me.'
Then his lips moved slightly, and he transmitted a message to the purple-robed youth. "Young Master, you drive the Jade Purification Vase to deal with the snake rain. Hold on for two breaths, and let me deal with that Azure Skywolf first." The hunchbacked old man had also seen the other party's weak point at a glance. That Azure Skywolf was clearly struggling to hold on.
Although he had a secret art that could hold off the three of them, it could only be used at the right time. Otherwise, if he used it too early and the purple-robed youth didn't escape, he himself would be exhausted and waiting to be slaughtered.