Where would the Blood Ape Ghost King heed Long Qiangu? He believed that in terms of strength alone, he wasn't much weaker than Long Qiangu. But Long Qiangu wielded the power of the Ice Phoenix, inherited through Great Qi's countless generations—something neither he nor Xun Hong could withstand. Even if they killed Luo Qing, what good would it do? The Dragon Essence would still end up in Long Qiangu's hands.
The Blood Ape Ghost King and Xun Hong weren't foolish enough to do something so stupid. Xun Hong cursed his bad luck. First, Little Fire Crow had appeared as an unexpected variable, and now Long Qiangu had shown up right after.
"Retreat!" Xun Hong barked. The Silverthread Demon Mouse abandoned Luo Qing and reluctantly followed him as he hurried back. "Are we really going to stand by and watch Long Qiangu of Great Zhou take the Dragon Essence?"
"Even if Long Qiangu hadn't come, we still couldn't have dealt with that feathered beast and those two women. We would've had to withdraw sooner or later. Once Long Qiangu kills these people and takes the Dragon Essence, we'll spread the news. I refuse to believe the other races' experts in this ice cavern will let him leave unscathed. Long Qiangu may be powerful, but that doesn't mean he'll make it out of this ice cavern alive." Xun Hong gave a cold snort.
"I'll deal with you later." Long Qiangu muttered a curse, spreading his wings. Two frigid gales swept up Little Fire Crow and Xiang Qingcheng.
Little Fire Crow cawed incessantly. The seven flames of Brahma's True Fire surged fiercely, shining with gorgeous blue-white light as Buddhist chants rang out. Long Qiangu was startled to see the Ice Phoenix's origin power melt away before the Brahma's True Fire. He had relied