An extraordinary aura surged from the old man's body.
That aura carried the scent of deathly silence and decay, as though heralding the ebbing of his life.
And that ebbing life instantly made Hun Changqing think of self-detonation.
His expression changed at once, and he tried to dodge.
Although his strength had now reached that of a nine-star Dou Sheng, taking the self-detonation of an eight-star Dou Sheng head-on would still leave him in a bad way.
But the next instant, Hun Changqing discovered to his shock that some inexplicable force had pinned his body down, leaving him unable to move.
Nor did the old man's body emit the savage, surging energy fluctuations of a self-detonation, the kind that seemed ready to destroy everything.
He merely continued watching Hun Changqing calmly, then chuckled.
"I've clung to life for so long. If I can eliminate one last great enemy for the Gu Clan, it will have been worth it."
As the old man's words fell, ripples spread through the space around Hun Changqing, and three more aged figures emerged from the fluctuating space.
They took their positions beside the immobilized Hun Changqing, forming a triangle around him.
Without wasting words, the three formed hand seals, then pressed their hands against empty space.
A strange pattern immediately appeared in the space beneath Hun Changqing's feet, finally forming an odd formation sigil.
Seeing this, Hun Changqing understood everything.
The old man was burning his life not to detonate himself and drag Hun Changqing down with him, but to cast a secret art at the cost of all his strength, his life, and his soul. His sole purpose was to restrain Hun Changqing briefly, giving the other three enough time to lay a killing formation around him.
"Hmph. I didn't expect the Gu Clan