Betrayal

The Shadow-devouring Leopard struck again. This time, under the glow of the demon king blood restriction, Qin Sang could faintly make out an illusory shadow lunging toward Yunyouzi with astonishing speed. The leopard's stealth ability had failed here. Not only that, its speed was noticeably slower than before, as though a great mountain weighed upon its back. "Strike its abdomen! It's heavily wounded!" Yunyouzi shouted urgently, driving the Flawless Pearl with all his might. Qin Sang understood at once. The Shadow-devouring Leopard must have been injured when shattering the Lesser Beichen Star Element Formation at the Sin Abyss, and such a wound would not heal easily. Its abdomen was its weak point. Dashing behind Yunyouzi, Qin Sang swept his hand outward, unleashing every shred of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and commanding the Flying Yaksha to intercept. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire coalesced into a fire dragon, shooting forward to bar the leopard's path. Sensing the aura of the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, the Shadow-devouring Leopard's eyes narrowed. It could tell this eerie flame was extraordinary, seemingly capable of threatening it. What absurd misfortune was this! Two cultivators who had not even reached the Core Formation stage possessed magic treasures capable of threatening it and could even manipulate a demon king blood restriction. A flicker of regret surfaced within the leopard. Had it known, it would have quietly disposed of these two while concealed in the dark. Whoosh! Whoosh! Even as regret stirred within, the leopard's movements did not falter. With a furious roar, thousands of claw shadows materialized, carrying an earth-shattering aura that seemed capable of tearing everything apart. Unexpectedly, when the claw shadows collided with the Nine Nether Demonic Fire, the anticipated one-sided rout failed to occur. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire was shredded and scattered by the leopard, only to swiftly reconvene, completely unyielding. At the same time, the Flying Yaksha burst from the flames without warning. Striking from a viciously awkward angle, it threw a brutal punch straight at the leopard's abdomen. Roaring repeatedly, the Shadow-devouring Leopard twisted violently, not daring to take the blow head-on. There truly was an injury there! Only after dodging the ambush did the leopard swat the Flying Yaksha away. Boom! The Flying Yaksha was flung back. Several claw marks scarred its body, looking severe, yet its core origin remained unharmed. Working in tandem, the two had actually managed to hold back the Shadow-devouring Leopard! Witnessing this, Qin Sang was astonished as well. The Ten Directions Yanluo Banner was merely a low-grade magic treasure; the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and the Flying Yaksha had no business matching a creature of that caliber. There was only one possible explanation: the leopard was suppressed by the demon king blood restriction, and its strength had plummeted! Qin Sang could not help but glance at Yunyouzi, only to see the old Daoist's hands moving faster and faster, blurring through incantation gestures in uncounted succession. Meanwhile, the light on the stone hall's walls grew increasingly brilliant, pressing down on the leopard layer after layer. Recalling Yunyouzi's earlier voice transmission, Qin Sang urged the Nine Nether Demonic Fire and the Flying Yaksha back into the fray, concentrating attacks on the beast's wounded area while quietly priming the ebony sword, his attention completely locked onto the leopard. Just then, a startling scene unfolded. Though the leopard tore through the Nine Nether Demonic Fire again and again and batted back the Flying Yaksha, it could not close the distance to Yunyouzi. When it tried lunging toward the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit, it was driven back once more, and the weight bearing down on it grew heavier by the second. Then, casting a cold glare at Yunyouzi, the leopard made a decisive turn and bolted toward the exit. Qin Sang's thoughts raced, immediately grasping its intent. The demon king blood restriction existed only within this stone hall. Once the leopard left its range, they would be unable to borrow its power. Stripped of their greatest reliance, they would be lambs to the slaughter. The leopard knew all too well how terrifying the blood restriction left behind by a Transformation stage demon king could be. If Yunyouzi unleashed its full might, slaying it would be effortless. Unsure of the depth of Yunyouzi's capabilities, the leopard was unwilling to risk its life any further. So long as it waited at the waterfall entrance to ambush them, Qin Sang and Yunyouzi would have nowhere to run. Qin Sang had not expected the beast to be so decisive, giving up on the Crimson Cloud Purple Fruit the moment the tide turned. It could not be allowed to escape! Yet the leopard moved with absolute resolve and blistering speed, leaving no time to cut it off. "Brother Qin!" Yunyouzi barked suddenly. Qin Sang had kept Yunyouzi's instructions firmly in mind. Hearing the call, he acted almost without thinking, instinctively unleashing the ebony sword. Merging into a streak of sword light, he shot forward. Rumbles of thunder reverberated deafeningly through the stone hall. The flying sword streaked like an astonishing rainbow, unstoppable. Yunyouzi did not disappoint Qin Sang. He reached out and tapped the Flawless Pearl. At that moment, the stone hall abruptly dimmed. In a single breath, Yunyouzi unleashed every ounce of the blood restriction's power he could muster, directing all the light down upon the Shadow-devouring Leopard and causing the crushing pressure on it to skyrocket. The Flawless Pearl trembled, loosing an exotic arrow of light that overtook the leopard even faster than Qin Sang's sword flight, pinning the beast beneath its glow. The instant the light arrow engulfed it, the leopard froze mid-stride, locked into a bizarre posture, trapped in place. Yunyouzi's earlier words were no lie—the Flawless Pearl truly could restrain demon cultivators. Even one as formidable as a mid Demon Core stage Shadow-devouring Leopard had been pinned where it stood. A lightning-fast sword light followed close behind. Just as the leopard was ensnared by the Flawless Pearl, a longan-sized gray bead flew out from the sword light. Ash-gray all over, silver-white light occasionally flashed across its surface. Shooting clear of the sword light, it drifted toward the leopard, seemingly slow yet deceptively swift. Spinning gently, the bead gave the illusion of sluggish movement, yet the silver light dancing across it grew increasingly dense. This tiny gray bead now radiated an intensely violent power, growing stronger by the moment until it sent shivers through the soul. In the distance, Yunyouzi narrowed his eyes. The ebony sword came to an abrupt halt, then retreated furiously. Even as the one who had unleashed it, Qin Sang was terrified of the Xutian Thunder, dreading being caught in the blast. "Roar!" The Shadow-devouring Leopard finally tore free of the Flawless Pearl's binding, only to be confronted with the horrifying Xutian Thunder. It let out a roar of shock and rage. Silver light erupted, blindingly magnificent. It was as though a miniature sun had appeared inside the stone hall. Yet the radiance was tightly contained, spanning less than a zhang across. From detonation to dissipation took merely an instant, unfolding in utter silence before the silver light vanished. Aside from a few rounded craters in the ground and the surrounding stone pulverized into powder by the shockwave, no other trace remained, as if nothing had ever existed there. The Shadow-devouring Leopard was gone as well, seemingly swallowed whole by the silver light. The next instant, an unexpected turn of events occurred. The air warped, revealing the silhouette of the black panther. It was in a wretched state. From its neck downward, its entire left foreleg was completely gone, leaving gory viscera exposed, its aura faint and frail. Yet it was still alive! Springing forward with a sudden burst, it bolted for its life, leaving a trail of blood behind! Qin Sang watched the fleeing beast with cold eyes. He had long prepared for this. The reason he had kept the corpse core sealed was partly because Yunyouzi's plan had not required his direct combat strength, and partly because he was waiting for an opportune moment like this to deliver an unexpected blow. Qin Sang drew his focus inward, enveloping the corpse core. Just as he was about to unseal it, alarm bells suddenly rang in his mind. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a dark figure lunging straight at him. It was the Flying Yaksha!