At the brink of death, the space in front of the Candle Bearer slowly warped. A withered arm reached out from within and struck the corpse of the Closed Door Old Man at point-blank range. The next second, the corpse exploded with a bang, and the enormous force sent Wu flying backward.
The dark blue Underworld Butterfly shot toward the Candle Bearer, but something was faster. The withered hand snatched the butterfly out of the air, then crushed it in a single, brutal squeeze.
A lethal move that even Wu and the Water Lord had treated with caution was wiped away as casually as if it were nothing, without leaving a trace.
To cover the River Goddess's retreat, Wu drew a breath and swung his blade hard at the Old President, who had already appeared halfway. His layered waves of sword light were terrifyingly powerful, yet the withered arm caught every last one.
Still, they had achieved their goal. The River Goddess took the opportunity to pull away and return safely to the group.
The Candle Bearer, who had narrowly escaped death, wore a savage expression. He knew that if the Old President had acted even a moment later, he would have been done for. "President, Old Man Quan is stubborn and beyond reason. There's no use keeping him alive!"
The Old President finally appeared, though most of his body remained shrouded in thick black mist. Only his hands and feet were visible, and the gray robe and old-fashioned black cloth shoes with white soles he wore could just barely be made out. His exposed ankles and hands were a livid blue-green, covered in ugly livor mortis.
Under the Candle Bearer's savage gaze, the Old President slowly raised a hand and pressed it against Old Man Quan's head. Old Man