"Do not panic." Luohou transmitted his voice to Aozheng, soothing his state of mind.
At this moment, Aozheng was being crushed by a powerful aura, and the thought of fleeing had crossed his mind. After all, he was merely a Golden Immortal, while his opponent was a Daluo Golden Immortal. The disparity between them was vast; if they were to fight, it wouldn't even take a single move.
The next moment, an old Daoist appeared before Aozheng—it was the Ancestor Yuhua of Qingyun Mountain.
"Why have you not yet departed?" Ancestor Yuhua asked in a deep voice.
"Whether I choose to leave or stay is none of your concern," Aozheng replied proudly, though his heart was actually trembling.
"You crawling insect, you court death." Ancestor Yuhua flicked his horsetail whisk, and in an instant, ten thousand white filaments surged toward Aozheng, reaching him in the blink of an eye.
If this strike landed, Aozheng would surely be turned into a hedgehog. But Luohou was hidden nearby; how could he possibly watch Aozheng fall? Just as the filaments reached within a yard of Aozheng, a black lotus flower appeared beneath his feet.
Ten thousand strands of black energy rose up, forming a barrier that protected Aozheng within.
*Boom...*
The ten thousand white filaments struck the wall of energy as if hitting cotton; their power was neutralized, and they gradually dissipated.
"A Top-Grade Xiantian Spirit Treasure, the Twelve-Rank World-Destroying Black Lotus!" Ancestor Yuhua was instantly overjoyed. He never expected this Dragon Clan Golden Immortal to possess such a treasure. How could he not be excited?
Although the blow had been blocked, Ancestor Yuhua assumed that the Dragon Clan member was only relying on the defense of the Twelve-Rank World-Destroying Black Lotus. He believed that if he attacked with all his might, even the Twelve-Rank World-Destroying Black Lotus would be useless.
"Fellow Daoist, why must you trouble my mount? Could it be that you wish to become my enemy?" At this moment, Luohou lifted his restriction and appeared beside Aozheng. With a wave of his hand, the Twelve-Rank World-Destroying Black Lotus shrank into a palm-sized lotus pedestal and landed in his grip.
Seeing Luohou appear, Ancestor Yuhua’s expression darkened. It was a trap; no wonder the aura of the spirit treasure had leaked out. It was clearly done on purpose.
"Fellow Daoist, you lured me here—could it be that you intend to kill me and seize my treasure?" Ancestor Yuhua asked coldly.
Although Luohou was the Ancestor of Magic and acted in an eccentric manner, he did not resort to sneak attacks. Otherwise, had he struck from the shadows earlier, Ancestor Yuhua would have already been severely wounded.
The reason he revealed himself was to kill and seize the treasure openly and honorably. This was consistent with the Magic Dao; sneaking about was the way of a petty person, whereas the Magic Dao was meant to be practiced with unbridled freedom.
"Treasures in Honghuang belong to those capable of holding them. I see that you, Fellow Daoist, lack both fortune and karmic luck; you should not be the one to harbor such treasures. Therefore, I lured you here to claim the spirit treasure you possess," Luohou said, his tone suggesting that his words were the absolute truth.
"Hmph, it remains to be seen whose spirit treasure will be claimed," Ancestor Yuhua retorted. He struck directly, channeling the laws of heaven and earth into his Qingyu whisk to unleash a divine ability upon Luohou.
Suddenly, a violent gale erupted, and the Qingyu whisk transformed, expanding to ten thousand feet as it coiled toward Luohou.
"Such a petty trick, yet you dare to display it to disgrace yourself." Luohou remained unmoved, but a figure leaped out from him—it was a Magic Dao shadow of Luohou, possessing half of his true power.
Handing the Twelve-Rank World-Destroying Black Lotus to the shadow, Luohou stepped back from the battlefield. He wanted to see the power of this divine ability he had deduced.
The next moment, the Magic Dao shadow bypassed the coiling Qingyu whisk and arrived directly beside Ancestor Yuhua. It unleashed a bolt of magic lightning, causing dry thunder to crack across the sky as a bolt of dark, somber lightning struck down.
"You are the Ancestor of Magic, Luohou!" Seeing the terrifying demonic energy of the lightning, Ancestor Yuhua instantly recognized him. His expression turned solemn as he scrambled to defend himself with all his strength.
He transformed his whisk into a shield to block the descending lightning.
It was rumored that the Ancestor of Magic, Luohou, was a good man in Honghuang, helping cultivators and eliminating ferocious beasts—a truly benevolent existence. Yet here he was, setting a trap to scheme against him. This did not fit the image of the Ancestor of Magic at all.
Luohou did not waste words with Ancestor Yuhua. He had taken a fancy to the whisk in Yuhua's hand; while he might not use it himself, he could give it to his subordinates or disciples in the future.
Top-Grade Xiantian Spirit Treasures were not common goods; there were very few in all of Honghuang.
Immediately, another Magic Dao shadow emerged from Luohou. Combining forces, the two shadows battled Ancestor Yuhua, forcing him into a steady retreat.
"This divine ability does have some power. It is a pity that at my current cultivation level, I can only manifest three of them. If I could manifest ten thousand, how wonderful that would be."
Luohou spoke to himself. If he could manifest ten thousand, he could overwhelm his enemies with ten thousand Magic Dao shadows, each possessing half his power—it would be a true "human wave" tactic!
"Luohou! I have no grudge against you, why must you do this?" Ancestor Yuhua shouted.
At this point, Luohou had not even acted himself, yet his two incarnations had pushed him to such a state. Fear took root in his heart, and he began to plan his escape.
However, Luohou would not engage in dialogue. Instead, he formed hand seals to cast the Heaven-Net Killing Array. Once this array was cast, even if Ancestor Yuhua wanted to run, it would be difficult.
Aozheng watched the battle between Luohou and Ancestor Yuhua in total shock, his reverence for Luohou growing even deeper.
Without even needing to make a move, his master had driven his opponent into such a desperate position.
Luohou manifested a third Magic Dao shadow. The three shadows joined forces, instantly suppressing Ancestor Yuhua completely, though winning remained a challenge, let alone killing him.
After a while, Luohou nodded in satisfaction at his Magic Dao shadows, then retracted the ability and stepped forward to stand beside Ancestor Yuhua.
"Since you are so incompetent, you would die sooner or later in Honghuang. Let me see you off." Luohou extended a hand. Demonic energy gushed out, filling the sky from all directions before converging into a single point.
A magic sword appeared and struck Ancestor Yuhua directly in the chest, the sword dissolving into demonic energy that penetrated his body.
"The Ancestor of Magic, Luohou, is a villain, a ruthless man... how can he be called a good man?" Before the words had even faded, Ancestor Yuhua’s Primordial Spirit dissipated entirely.
Luohou watched Ancestor Yuhua fall without a hint of pity. To be so weak and yet end up dead—who could he blame?
"I have never claimed to be a good man." Luohou reached the corpse of Ancestor Yuhua and reached out to retrieve the Qingyu whisk.
He examined it carefully; it was indeed a rare find—a Top-Grade Xiantian Spirit Treasure—that could be bestowed upon his disciples later.
"Aozheng, did you understand? This is what it means to 'steal'," Luohou said slowly, looking at Aozheng.
"Master, then what about the Sages you mentioned?"
"Above the Daluo Golden Immortal is the Quasi-Sage, and above the Quasi-Sage is the Sage. Do you understand now?"
"This small dragon is dull; I only understand a little," Aozheng replied respectfully.
"That is already enough."