A streak of blue lightning as thick as a chopstick, carrying an astonishing aura, shot toward Ji Changsheng's left hand, which held the wooden box, with a speed that left no time to cover his ears against the thunder.
Ji Changsheng's face drained of color. He had never imagined someone would ambush him inside his own cave abode. With the lightning almost upon his hand, he barely managed to pull it back before darting aside with a thought. At the same time, he silently worked an incantation and raised a protective barrier. Only then did he have time to turn and look behind him.
The wooden box, released in Ji Changsheng's instinctive attempt to protect himself, had only just begun to fall when a black shadow flashed past and scooped it up. Then the shadow flickered again, charging toward the stone chamber's exit.
"Thief, how dare you!" Ji Changsheng had now recovered his wits. In a flash, he appeared at the doorway and took out a disk radiating powerful spiritual pressure, blocking the shadow's escape.
With his path blocked, the shadow retreated, revealing an old man dressed in black. Wrinkles crawled across his face, and a black mole on his left cheek sprouted three long black hairs. He looked utterly revolting.
"Red Flame Old Monster!" Ji Changsheng recognized the black-robed old man at once from his distinctive appearance.
Red Flame Old Monster had made his name long ago, and his cultivation had now reached late Core Formation, nearly at its peak. Many had declared that he stood an excellent chance of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage and becoming a mighty demonic overlord.
His Kui Water Demonic Cultivation Method was unpredictable in its transformations, and his ruthlessness and merciless betrayals had made him infamous throughout the Chaotic Star Sea. In