There Will Be Plenty of Time in the Future

The deathly silence lasted only a heartbeat.

The old man's turbid eyes scraped over Zhao Hao, his mouth curling into a sneer: "...A little brat wants to wade into these muddy waters too?"

Zhao Hao did not respond, raising a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Li Tui, gripping his broken bone, remained motionless, his voice rising by half a tone: "Young Master Hao is here to eliminate a pest."

"Eliminate a pest?" A wheezing, grotesque laugh rolled out of the old man's throat. "You've taken my life's work, and you still call yourselves exterminators?" His tone turned sharp, his withered body leaning forward as a ferocious aura surged out. "Put down the Blood Bodhi, and I'll leave your corpses intact!"

"And if we don't?" Zhao Hao asked in a hoarse voice.

"You won't?" The wrinkles on the old man's face twisted into a knot, his eyes turning vicious. "Then I'll tear you apart first!"

As the words fell, his figure flickered, pouncing toward Zhao Hao like a ghost! His speed was unlike that of a living person, his five fingers sprouting black, elongated nails that tore through the air with a foul stench, aiming straight for Zhao Hao's heart!

Zhao Hao retreated rapidly, the claw wind grazing his chest and tearing a gash, drawing blood from his skin.

The old man's left palm struck silently toward his ribs.

A flash of cold light appeared from the side—it was Li Tui's short blade, the tip striking with cunning precision toward the pulse point on the old man's left wrist!

The old man flipped his wrist, his fingers hooking like talons to clamp onto Li Tui's wrist. Li Tui's web between thumb and forefinger split, and he stumbled backward.

In an instant, Zhao Hao regained his footing, advancing instead of retreating. A faint golden aura shimmered along the edge of his right palm as he slashed diagonally toward the side of the old man's neck! His palm wind carried a desperate, ruthless force.

The old man raised his palm to block it head-on. With a dull thud, a metallic, fishy taste surged into Zhao Hao's throat, and he retreated two more steps. The old man only swayed slightly, a fierce light flaring in his eyes.

He struck with both palms, his left claw aiming for the face and his right palm for the chest, sealing off all paths of retreat for the two.

The pair stumbled against the well wall before they could barely stand steady.

The old man stood in the center, licking the blood from his fingertips with a grimace: "Is that all the skill you have?"

He moved again, faster and more viciously. The claw wind tore through the air, every strike lethal.

Li Tui was forced back step by step, his back nearly pressing against the Blood Bodhi that hung in mid-air, pulsing on its own.

The claw wind reached his face once more.

"Attack his left rib!" Zhao Hao's low roar exploded.

An inexplicable intuition caused his peripheral vision to lock onto the area beneath the old man's left rib! That was the weak point.

In the blink of an eye, there was no time to think!

Hearing this, Li Tui's eyes lit up. Without a moment's hesitation, he maintained his momentum toward the old man, but his left hand, clutching the slippery broken bone, suddenly changed direction, stabbing with pinpoint accuracy toward the spot Zhao Hao indicated!

The old man's expression changed wildly!

This strike hit the exact location of an old injury from his early cultivation that had backfired!

In shock and rage, he abruptly diverted his right palm, which had been aimed at Li Tui's crown, to protect his exposed rib.

In that momentary hesitation, Li Tui crashed into his embrace. Although the force of the broken bone was largely blocked by the gray protective light, it still struck the old injury solidly!

"Ugh!" The old man groaned, his ribs feeling as if struck by lightning. A cold, poisonous energy was triggered from the old wound, surging upward! His entire internal energy fell into chaos!

The gray light flickered violently, dimming and brightening. The yin-corrupt energy and dark red mycelium at the bottom of the well sensed the disorder and began to move erratically, some of it curling back to entangle the old man himself!

"You little beast... you..." The old man was both shocked and furious, his eyes widening at Zhao Hao as if he had seen a ghost. Only now did he realize that this branch-family brat possessed something supernatural!

Zhao Hao had no time to spare. After shouting that command, the blood in his chest churned, and his vision went black. But seeing the old man's energy in disarray, he gritted his teeth, forced a breath, and followed his intuition. His gaze swept rapidly, locking onto the other side of the well wall where several blue bricks protruded with energy!

Without time to think, he threw himself toward it, pouring his remaining internal energy into his palms and striking down hard!

"Crash!" The bricks shattered and flew, revealing the Black Jade Casket beneath.

"How dare you!!" The old man caught sight of it, his eyes splitting with rage. Ignoring the poisonous energy surging within him and the mycelium wrapping around his body, he forced his energy to rise, transforming into a gray shadow as he pounced on Zhao Hao, his black, sharp claws aiming for the vital point between his shoulder blades!

Exploding with rage, his speed was even greater. Zhao Hao had just grabbed the icy Black Jade Casket when the lethal intent arrived behind him—there was nowhere to hide!

Li Tui regained his breath and threw the broken bone in his hand like a hidden weapon, aiming straight for the old man's neck, while hoarsely shouting a warning: "Zhao Hao!"

(If you can't find the book title, try searching for the author; perhaps the name has been changed!)

Zhao Hao didn't look back. Listening to the wind to discern the position, he swung the newly acquired Black Jade Casket backward, using it as a shield to smash against the claws!

"Bang!"

The black claws collided violently with the Black Jade Casket. The casket shook intensely, the twisted patterns carved upon it flickering, and a more sinister, malevolent aura surged out, spreading along the old man's arm!

Caught off guard, the old man was struck by this same-sourced but uncontrollable malevolence, and his clawing momentum stalled. Zhao Hao seized the chance to dive forward, rolling on the ground to escape the range of the claw wind, and threw the Black Jade Casket to Li Tui: "Catch!"

Li Tui caught it in mid-air. The casket was covered in twisted runes; the moment his fingers touched it, an icy, bone-chilling aura carrying a thick, bloody stench surged into his palm meridians, numbing his arm.

Almost simultaneously, the old man went completely insane. He abandoned the Blood Bodhi and ignored the mycelium wrapping around him. The gray light around his body flared like oil poured on a fire, rising with a "boom." He transformed into a blurred gray shadow and pounced on Li Tui! His five fingers formed claws, his nails black and gleaming with a ruthless intent to tear everything apart—he was clearly determined to shred Li Tui and the casket together!

This pounce was fueled by rage and was so fast it left only a shadow. Li Tui had just caught the jade casket; his old strength was spent, and his new strength had yet to form. The black claws were already at his face.

A figure flashed in from the side!

It was Zhao Hao!

He had been clipped by the shockwave of the old man's sudden burst, losing his balance and stumbling toward them.

The old man's enraged claw had already covered Li Tui's face, but Zhao Hao's collision caused Li Tui to graze past the edge of the claw wind.

"Pfft!"

The pitch-black fingertips still raked across his left shoulder, drawing a trail of blood and carving a wound deep enough to expose the bone. Zhao Hao let out a muffled groan; the intense pain made his vision go black, and he stumbled under his feet.

His ferocity was thoroughly ignited. Seeing the old man about to retract his claw for another strike, he knew that if he didn't act, both of them would be dead in the next instant! Instead of retreating, Zhao Hao gripped the old man's pitch-black wrist—which hadn't fully retracted and was still stained with his own blood—with a death grip!

His five fingers were like iron pincers, locking on tight!

Almost simultaneously, the Ink Jade Pendant at his neck suddenly turned scorching hot. A heavy, dark light erupted from it of its own accord; it wasn't dazzling, but it carried a heart-palpitating baleful aura that slammed fiercely into the old man's wrist!

"Sss!"

When the dark light touched the murky, filthy gray aura protecting the old man, it made a sound like a branding iron searing flesh! The gray light at the old man's wrist fluctuated violently, a gap was burned open, and a sharp, piercing pain drilled straight into his marrow!

"What?!" The old man was both shocked and furious.

What unsettled him even more was that the dark light from the pendant flashed and vanished, dimming rapidly as fine, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface. But that sudden interference and stinging pain caused his internal energy to falter, and the strength in his hand leaked away by thirty percent!

In that split second of hesitation!

Li Tui had just narrowly dodged the fierce claw wind, his cheek sliced by the residual force. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhao Hao locking onto the old man's wrist and the strange light of the pendant flashing and fading, causing the old man's movements to stall slightly.

Without a moment's hesitation, and not even waiting to steady himself, Li Tui used the momentum of his sidestep to swing the sinister, Yin-filled Black Jade Casket with all his remaining strength, smashing it hard against the sharp, hard corner of the well wall!

"No!!" The old man's eyes split with rage, and he let out a frantic, hoarse roar, trying to break free from Zhao Hao's restraint. But the stinging pain in his wrist and his chaotic internal energy made him half a beat too slow!

"Bang!! Crack!"

The Black Jade Casket shattered upon impact! A dark red, malevolent pill rolled out, and the moment it touched the air, it made a soft "pfft" sound, bursting into thick, foul-smelling black smoke!

The black smoke rolled and permeated the air.

At the bottom of the well, a sudden, strange transformation occurred!

Those dark red fungal threads that had been clinging to the demon corpse and slowly wriggling suddenly stiffened. Then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, they lost their luster, went limp and withered, rapidly turning black and rotting into puddles of foul-smelling sludge.

The dark red blood-light that had been faintly circulating on the ground flickered violently a few times, then, like an oil lamp being snuffed out, it dimmed completely and dissipated.

"Pfft!"

The backlash from the broken formation and the reversal of his own blood energy struck at the same time. The old man's entire body shook violently, and he spat out a large mouthful of thick, black blood. His complexion turned ashen in an instant, his aura withered, and he stumbled backward.

He looked up abruptly, first glancing at the now-dimmed and cracked pendant at Zhao Hao's neck, his eyes filled with uncertainty. Then, his gaze, as venomous as if it had been soaked in poison, nailed itself onto Li Tui's face. His hoarse voice sounded as if it were being squeezed out of a shattered throat:

"Good... very good..." With every word he spoke, a trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. "Kid... the Bodhi has already linked with your blood energy... since I cannot take it now, no one else shall have it either..."

A wheezing, grotesque laugh erupted from his throat, mixed with bloody foam: "Keep it... 'nurture' it well... let's see when it drains your marrow dry, ha ha... cough, cough..."

Before he could finish, his body convulsed violently, and black energy surged beneath his skin. Glaring at the two of them with one last look of venomous hatred, his form "poofed" and exploded, turning into thin, foul-smelling gray-black mist. Wrapped in his remaining evil energy, he "whooshed" into a crack in the well wall and vanished.

Only his hoarse, hate-filled final words echoed eerily in the damp air at the bottom of the well:

"We shall... meet again..."