Qin Ming's blood manipulation was already powerful, but now it was paired with his mutated arm.
The fusion of the two amplified his strength to an extraordinary level—his strike sent the Silver-Horned King flying on the spot.
By the time he crashed to the ground, his chest was gushing blood, the flesh mangled and torn.
Kneeling on one knee to barely stabilize himself, he looked up only to see his enemies already charging toward him. With no time to rise, the Silver-Horned King abruptly raised his Seven-Star Sword to block.
As light flashed above, seven golden rays arced like lightning, shooting straight toward Qin Ming and Mai Shiranui.
Qin Ming raised his arm and turned it into a shield, attempting to block the attack by force—but to his shock, as the starry light hit, his entire arm exploded.
The Seven-Star Sword, imbued with stellar energy, was pure yang and absolute rigidity—the ultimate bane of all monsters, ghosts, and demons!
Even with Qin Ming's defense, he still couldn't take a direct hit!
His arm shattered. Pain made Qin Ming's brow twitch, and as the other star rays closed in, he quickly dispersed into a mist of blood.
The blood mist scattered in all directions, but the seven rays of light chased after it like guided missiles with tracking systems, relentlessly hunting him down.
On the other side, Silver-Horned King—still kneeling—continued to control the sword and its chasing rays with fierce determination in his eyes.
With the power of the Seven-Star Sword, he forced both Mai Shiranui and Qin Ming to scatter and flee, keeping them completely at bay.
He was holding off the two of them successfully—but there was still another person left on the field!
Kasamoto Eri, having stowed away the Banana Leaf Fan, now charged forward wielding a demon sword.
Hearing the sound of wind behind him, Silver-Horned King turned in alarm and swung his sword to clash with the oncoming demonic blade.
Sparks flew as the two weapons collided, the exchange ending in a draw.
Kasamoto Eri slashed again, and Silver-Horned King raised his sword repeatedly to block while launching a series of counterattacks.
The body Kasamoto Eri currently occupied was just that of a minor demon. Even with the boost from the demonic sword, her strength was mediocre—no match for the Silver-Horned King.
Within less than a few dozen exchanges, Silver-Horned King slashed off one of her arms and kicked her flying on the spot.
But even as she tumbled through the air, Eri paid no attention to her severed limb. She simply reached into her inventory, pulled out a corpse, and plunged the sword into it.
As black mist spread, the corpse rapidly came back to life.
With a new body, Kasamoto Eri let out a roar and charged in once more with her sword.
Meanwhile, Qin Ming and Mai Shiranui finally managed to shake off the pursuit of the Seven-Star Sword. Now that it lacked a controller, its accuracy had dropped drastically, allowing the two to regroup and launch a flanking assault from another direction.
The three of them attacked in unison, overwhelming Silver-Horned King, who found himself completely outmatched and scrambling to respond.
In just a matter of seconds, he was already covered in wounds.
Just as he seemed about to die at the hands of the trio, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed through the tunnel.
Everyone turned their heads in surprise—and in the next instant, their pupils contracted sharply.
From the far end of the tunnel, amidst flying debris, came a surging torrent of water!
That's right—floodwaters!
A roaring current like a writhing dragon filled the entire tunnel, drowning everything in its path!
They were inside a mountainside cave—and it was flooding!?
"Not good!"
Kasamoto Eri's expression changed drastically at the sight. She rushed forward, pulled out the Banana Leaf Fan, and swung it with all her might.
As the power of the Banana Leaf Fan activated, roaring flames erupted inside the cave, surging forward like a blazing tide.
Fire and flood—colliding head-on in the heart of the cavern!
But the outcome was clear: the fire lasted less than ten seconds before being overwhelmed and broken through by the floodwaters.
Qin Ming and the others were hit by the incoming torrent and sent flying, carried away by the rushing current.
The flood came quickly and receded just as fast. Within moments, it was gone.
And as the water dispersed, a figure swiftly appeared at the far end of the tunnel.
He held in his hand a white jade bottle, his entire body gleaming with golden light.
The newcomer was none other than the Golden-Horned King!
Caressing the white jade bottle in his hand—capable of holding all the water under heaven—the Golden-Horned King wore a faint sneer on his face.
"I had hoped to lure out some big fish, but I didn't expect it would be you that showed up. No wonder you were selected as reserve candidates. Even the Golden Binding Rope couldn't hold you down—impressive."
Seeing the Golden-Horned King appear, the Silver-Horned King's face lit up with joy. He quickly clutched his wound and moved over.
"Big Brother!"
"Second Brother, go get some rest. Leave them to me."
He gave Silver-Horned King a pat on the shoulder, then fixed his eyes sharply on Qin Ming and the others.
He had hidden in secret while putting Silver-Horned King out in the open precisely to draw out their enemies.
After all, the opponents this time weren't ordinary. If he didn't eliminate them completely, he couldn't rest easy.
He just hadn't expected the ones to show up would be Qin Ming and his group—the ones who were supposedly already captured! Golden-Horned King had long suspected they had some kind of special trick, but he never imagined they could break free of the Golden Binding Rope!
If he'd known earlier, he would've killed them outright instead of keeping them as scapegoats.
No matter. Killing them now isn't too late. Although they managed to steal the Banana Leaf Fan, that was a trap he intentionally set.
The Banana Leaf Fan might be powerful, but it had a fatal weakness—it was completely countered by the White Jade Purity Bottle! Taking it only meant they'd die faster!
After all, through the aura of the treasure, he could lock onto its exact location. The fan was always meant to be a tracker disguised as bait!
With a cold laugh, he looked at the people standing opposite him. They had already climbed to their feet, watching him with vigilance. Suddenly, Golden-Horned King raised the jade bottle and pointed its mouth directly at them.
"Have the three of you ever heard of the 'Three Thousand Weak Waters'?"
Buzz!—the treasure activated, and black water shot forth like blades. Wherever it passed, stone and iron shattered into fragments!
The Golden-Horned King wasted no time unleashing the bottle's killing move!
Among the five treasures the Golden-Horned and Silver-Horned Kings brought with them this time, the most powerful was undoubtedly the Purple-Gold Red Gourd.
But the second strongest wasn't the Golden Binding Rope or the Seven-Star Sword—it was this White Jade Purity Bottle!
Because while its main ability was merely to hold water, it was no ordinary bottle—it belonged to the Grand Supreme Elder Lord [Tai Shang Lao Jun]! And the types of water it could hold were terrifyingly vast!
Among them were plenty of deadly and destructive liquids!
Which meant, out of the five treasures, this bottle actually packed the highest offensive power!
As the black liquid surged toward them, blotting out the sky, Qin Ming and the others froze for a beat before quickly leaping away in panic.
Seeing them burst apart into blood mist again, Golden-Horned King let out a cold chuckle. The liquid in the bottle began to emit a frosty chill, transforming into a bone-piercing mist!
So you like turning into liquid, huh? Then let's see you stay that way—forever! No turning back this time!
Pure yin, pure cold—water drawn from the underworld itself, from the River of the Dead—
Water of the Yellow Springs!
(End of Chapter)