Pengluo Captured!

The aura surging from the old man was terrifying beyond measure beneath the bloody halo enveloping him. His body underwent a drastic transformation. Both arms bulged with immense girth, eerie blood-red totem patterns squirming across the skin of his forearms! His aura rose to rival the very peak of the Body Integration Realm!! Pengluo scurried out from who knew where, clutching a mouthful of emerald-green spirit plant leaves. Clinging to Meng Wanshu's hair as it stood on her shoulder, it widened its eyes and muttered, "Totems? Such things exist even in the Human Spirit Realm?" "Mistress, be careful! The blood-rune totem on him can channel the power of great demons." "Right now his physical strength is terrifying—more terrifying than that of a pure rank-seven martial artist!!" Meng Wanshu's gaze sharpened, her delicate brows knitting slightly. She, too, clearly felt the old man's sudden surge in power—and the bizarre nature of that elevation. The old man licked his chapped lips, bloodshot veins spiderwebbing across his eyes. It was as though he craved nothing more in this moment than a mouthful of fresh blood. Li Guanqi's heart tightened; he had been silently monitoring their situation the entire time. The instant he felt the old man's power skyrocket, a tremendous, unstoppable force erupted from within Li Guanqi's own body. His climbing speed exploded. Using hands and feet together, he weathered the full, crushing brunt of the waterfall as he hurtled toward the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower on the cliff face. Layer after layer of lightning armor shattered over Li Guanqi's skin, and his head was already battered into a mangled pulp of bloody flesh by the torrential cascade. Blood trickled down into the misty waterfall, yet staring at the Seven-Colored Glazed Flower nearly within reach, Li Guanqi remained remarkably calm. On the other side of the mountain col, Meng Wanshu's face was grim—she was actually being thoroughly suppressed by the old man!! Thud! As her figure was sent flying, a cloud of frost mist cushioned Meng Wanshu securely, but before she could catch her breath, a violent blood-red sword beam was already upon her! Swish! No sooner had Meng Wanshu left the spot than a sword flash clove downward. Swift though Meng Wanshu was, the residual force still sent her flying dozens of zhang away. Pengluo shifted its shape and pulled Meng Wanshu along in flight. Meng Wanshu glanced down at her torn palm; her entire arm had gone completely numb. As they ran, Pengluo chattered in rapid-fire panic, "The power of his blood-rune totem must be the Blood-Pact Barbarian Bull!" "That beast possesses monstrous physical strength! Even back in antiquity, that great demon was an absolute nightmare to deal with!" "In a pure contest of raw strength, a pureblooded Blood-Pact Barbarian Bull would dare to challenge even a dragon!" "Ninth Brother! Get him!!" As its shout rang out, Jiuxiao's silhouette soared into the air, shrinking down to ten zhang in length—a size that granted it far greater speed! Boom! Its dragon tail whipped violently around, sweeping toward the old man. The void fractured into long, jagged rifts along its path, the sweeping dragon tail descending like an axe forged to cleave the heavens. The old man gave a cold snort, his knuckles popping around the sword hilt as disheveled hair veiled his crazed gaze. Seeing this, Pengluo immediately sensed disaster. If the old man's strike landed now, empowered by the blood-rune totem, it was very likely to gravely injure Jiuxiao in a single blow!! Pengluo let go of Meng Wanshu and flickered, plunging into the void in an instant. Reappearing a zhang tall, it slammed headlong into Jiuxiao! "Hahaha, die!!" Slash! The blood-imbued sword strike crashed down, sparks flying in all directions, brutally cleaving straight through Jiuxiao's defenses to sever a section of the dragon's tail!! Pengluo's body was sliced in half at the waist! If Pengluo had not appeared so abruptly, Jiuxiao might well have had half his body cleaved off! Roar! Seeing Pengluo injured, Jiuxiao unleashed an earth-shattering roar of fury, rearing up to blast a breath attack straight at the old man!! Yet the old man seized Jiuxiao's severed tail and squeezed with one hand, letting the dragon blood splash into his mouth. Boom! His thick, bulging arm punched out with savage force, outright shattering Jiuxiao's lightning breath. Though the blast burned his entire fist down to the gleaming white bone, the old man's face grew visibly younger and younger. Moreover, the crimson patterns upon both arms faintly shimmered with a dark golden sheen. Now looking like a middle-aged man, he thrust his hand through the void and seized Pengluo right by the neck!! Half of Pengluo's body was already slipping into the void, yet the man dragged it out by main force. "Hahahaha, where do you think you're going?" Panic flashed through Pengluo's eyes. Channeling all its power, it threw a punch straight toward the man's face!! Yet having absorbed Jiuxiao's essence blood, Pan Ji's strength had surged even higher. As their fists collided, Pengluo's arm shattered inch by inch! "Aargh!!!" Under the crushing pressure of that terrifying power, Pengluo's body shrank to the size of a palm. Pan Ji clutched Pengluo's body, opened his jaws, and bit half of it clean off!! Agonizing pain tore a shrill shriek from Pengluo. Boom! Boom! Two explosive blasts echoed as Pan Ji's palm surged with bloody light, pinning Pengluo's remaining half beside him in a binding grip. Watching Jiuxiao and Meng Wanshu converge on him from left and right, his lips curled into an eerie, bloodthirsty grin. That massive swallow of true dragon essence blood had stoked an unprecedented greed and euphoria within him. Savoring the surging vitality coursing through his veins, Pan Ji's eyes brimmed with voracity. He licked his lips with sadistic relish as the pair charged at him. His gaze locked onto Meng Wanshu's slender, snow-white neck, seized by a feral urge to sink his teeth into her veins! Shifting his left hand from a fist into a palm, he leveled his sword at Jiuxiao with his right. Blood light surged, and in an instant, ferocious battle erupted! Rumble! Deafening detonations shook the air. Roar! Jiuxiao's enraged draconic roar reverberated through the heavens! The Snow Shadow Sword in Meng Wanshu's hand carved out a blinding flurry of sword flashes as she pressed the attack. Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang-clang! Shing! Furious, rapid-fire clashes of steel resounded, the immense power of meeting blades distorting and rupturing the void. Pan Ji proved surprisingly adept in palm techniques, somehow utilizing the power of his blood-rune totem to disperse Jiuxiao's concussive impacts. Yet Meng Wanshu's sword was simply too lethal and sharp; even Pan Ji found himself struggling to ward it off. Pengluo exerted its special abilities to the utmost in a desperate bid to escape, but Pan Ji's power was far too sinister and bizarre. It forcefully suppressed Pengluo's spatial power. Slash! Meng Wanshu's sword swept across in a horizontal slash, nearly cleaving Pan Ji in two at the waist! The grisly wound was sealed in ice, its flesh frozen into fine icy powder. Pan Ji was ruthless to the core. Forcing Jiuxiao back with a ferocious palm strike, he retreated in midair and used his sword to gouge out his own mangled, frozen flesh without hesitation. Then, amid Pengluo's furious curses, he turned his head and bit off another piece of its body. A sinister grin touched his lips as his wound began to regenerate at blinding speed. Glaring at the heavily battered pair, he said in a chilling voice, "I can't wait to taste your blood!!"