"Here, kid, the captive you wanted. This old man can only help you this much. This incarnation's power is nearly spent as well."
Xia Wuyou yawned, his tone returning to its usual laziness.
"Such a huge commotion must have alerted those old local monsters in the Southern Frontier. They're probably rushing over right now. You two brats should get the hell out of here while you can. Don't stay behind and wait to die."
With that, his figure rapidly faded, dissolving like wisps of smoke until he vanished completely from the room, as though he had never been there.
The terrifying pressure in the room vanished with him.
Only then did Situ Qingfeng feel the weight lift from his body. He gasped for breath and climbed to his feet with lingering fear, staring at the place where Xia Wuyou had disappeared, his eyes filled with awe and terror.
Gu Sheng bent down and checked the double's condition, confirming that his cultivation and consciousness had merely been sealed. He was not dead.
He stood and looked toward the blood-red sky beyond the window, which was gradually clearing. A profound glint flickered in his eyes.
"To wipe out ten thousand soldiers with a wave of his hand and split open the void with three strikes... Xia Wuyou's strength is probably close to an eighth-turn Venerable."
Gu Sheng pondered inwardly.
"However, while his aura was powerful, it faintly carried a sense of exhaustion. He must have overdrawn his potential in his early years and damaged his foundation. His body can no longer withstand a higher breakthrough. He will likely never have any hope of reaching the ninth-turn Supreme Venerable Realm... What a pity."
He shook his head and suppressed those thoughts. This was not the time to dwell on such things.
He turned