"I really don't get it. Even you fell for it?"
Huo Yuhao looked up at the cocoon suspended in midair, genuine confusion filling his eyes.
From inside the cocoon came a cool, weak female voice, weary with the aftermath of survival. "Yuhao, you're finally awake."
"From the way you say that, you'd think I was fine." Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, helpless amusement in his voice.
"I'm all right for now, but I can't break out of this cocoon yet."
Gu Yue's voice abruptly sank, cold to the bone and heavy with warning. "But disaster is about to strike!"
A flicker of confusion had just risen in Huo Yuhao's heart. Before he could ask—
Gu Yue's urgent, icy shout exploded through the air. "Get down! Now!"
Mortal danger loomed over his head, leaving his mind no time to react.
Huo Yuhao's body dropped. He threw himself nearly flat against the ground, narrowly avoiding a killing blow from above!
Bzzz—
Chilling, viscous, blood-red sword energy skimmed over Huo Yuhao's back. It shredded the grass and trees, carved a trench through the soil, and left a piercing hum in its wake.
Huo Yuhao darted a glance sideways, his heart clenching.
At some point, a cloaked old man had appeared behind him, standing motionless. He was hunched, yet powerfully built.
A tattered, dark-red cloak hid most of his face. Dense, twisting blood-red patterns crawled over his exposed neck, wrists, and forehead, glowing dimly.
His scarlet eyes were dead and empty, devoid of any living emotion. Only ancient hatred and savagery remained. His aura was stiff and mechanical, as if he were a killing puppet driven by obsession.
Seeing his killing blow dodged, a rare trace of surprise surfaced in the old man's hollow eyes. His rigid facial muscles contorted into a sinister, twisted