Pan Yong was already prepared, his figure instantly flew backward, and in mid-air, he drew his right hand from his waist, causing a chaotic clatter. His soft sword flashed in front of him, with the sword light flickering and dazzling the eyes.
Though the cave was narrow, both fighters had extraordinary body techniques. Inside the cave, within a breath, they had already exchanged several moves.
Duan Rong’s tiger’s mouth was faintly trembling. Although he had practiced diligently, in the end, his true qi was still a step below Pan Yong’s.
Duan Rong’s Duster Mountain-Cracking Saber was sometimes delicate and intricate, sometimes fierce and powerful. When attacking, it often left the opponent struggling to respond.
Yet Pan Yong’s soft sword technique nearly turned his entire body into an impenetrable defense, and Duan Rong’s strong attacks were effortlessly blocked.
The two engaged in a bout, then separated.
Both gripped their weapons tightly, not only was Duan Rong’s tiger’s mouth faintly aching from the impact, but Pan Yong’s was as well.
Pan Yong looked at Duan Rong not far away and sneered, "Junior brother, do you think killing me will be easy?"
Duan Rong smiled and said, "Of course not. But I still need to kill you. Because, brother’s life, I have a use for it."
Although Duan Rong was smiling, his eyes were clear and serious, causing a slight tremor in Pan Yong’s heart. He saw that Duan Rong would stop at nothing to kill him.
"Junior brother, if you really kill me, how will you explain it when Master Shang returns?" Pan Yong fixed his gaze on Duan Rong, asking sternly.
Duan Rong sighed slightly and said, "Brother, Master Shang will not return."
"What nonsense are you speaking!" Pan Yong said angrily.
Duan Rong said, "Brother, having stayed by Master Shang’s side for a long time, you must have noticed his hands are aged, full of wrinkles, and his head full of silver hair..."
"Master Shang is poisoned. But he has already expelled the poison, there are just residual toxins remaining."
Duan Rong sneered and said, "He has the condition of Origin Exhaustion."
"Origin Exhaustion?" Pan Yong’s gaze was bewildered, as if recalling something.
Duan Rong said, "Yes. This condition is impervious to medicine!"
"Impervious to medicine?" Pan Yong’s eyes began to wander, and past signs made him feel that Duan Rong was telling the truth.
Duan Rong said, "The elixirs he made could only slow the symptoms’ spread. And after the first furnace exploded, he used his own brother’s blood to barely create the second batch. But in this world, he has no blood relatives left, so there will never be another Blood Spring Pill."
Pan Yong’s expression shifted, "Since there won’t be another Blood Spring Pill, where could he go after leaving?"
Duan Rong’s eyes sparkled, but he pressed his lips, remaining silent. He didn’t want to tell Pan Yong about the Filthy Blood Divine Skill.
Pan Yong could see that Duan Rong didn’t want to say it. His eyes suddenly focused; he finally understood why Duan Rong wanted to kill him. "Master Shang won’t return, and we are both afflicted with the Insect Gu. Junior brother wants to take my Gu Worm Medicine to live a few more months, then try to find a method to resolve the Gu. Isn’t that right?"
Pan Yong suddenly flipped his left hand, and a porcelain bottle appeared in his grasp. "If you make another move, I will immediately crush this bottle."
Pan Yong fixed his gaze on Duan Rong, true qi surging in his left palm, ready to crush the porcelain bottle at any time, which contained the Poisonous Insect Pill.
"If I say I didn’t take the Insect Gu, would you believe me, brother?"
Pan Yong sneered slightly, saying nothing. He naturally did not believe, having seen with his own eyes Duan Rong swallow the Gu Worm Medicine in the crimson alchemy cave.
At this moment, Duan Rong suddenly cast a sympathetic look at Pan Yong, then swung his saber towards him.
Pan Yong felt a chill all over; Duan Rong’s previous glance stung him, and he attacked directly without any hesitation. "Could it be... he really didn’t take the Gu Worm?! How is that possible?!"
Just as Duan Rong moved, Pan Yong crushed the Poisonous Insect Pill in his hand with a wave of true qi. The porcelain bottle, along with the pill, turned into powder, forming a small cloud of black mist.
The two once again engaged in battle.
Duan Rong knew, without using the Divine Soul Technique, it would be difficult to take down Pan Yong.
He glanced at Pan Yong with the flashing sword in front of him and said, "Brother, when you get there, please greet Yin Cong, Chen Hu, and the others for me. After all, we are all fellow sufferers, just Master Shang’s puppets."
Pan Yong’s lips curved with a mocking sneer, "Junior brother, you speak well, but I think you should deliver the message yourself."
As Pan Yong spoke, he suddenly flipped his sleeve and clasped the trigger of a cold iron box with one hand, appearing ready to press it towards Duan Rong.
At the moment he grasped the cold iron box, Duan Rong’s divine sense already detected it. Before Pan Yong could lift his hand, the Divine Soul Needle in Duan Rong’s divine soul space suddenly shot out!
A divine soul attack, mysterious and unpredictable, its speed like infinity, striking the moment it is unleashed!
Just as Pan Yong was about to raise his hand, his head suddenly erupted in intense pain!
Like having his tendons pulled, he shuddered, then screamed miserably, clutching his head while the hidden weapons and soft sword in his hands fell.
But at this moment, Duan Rong had already swung his saber, with the killing move of the Withered and Flourishing Wisdom Saber, true qi surging through it.
At the instant Pan Yong clutched his head and screamed, Duan Rong beheaded him with one slash.
Pan Yong’s screams echoed within the cave as his head flew off...
As the scream abruptly stopped, Pan Yong’s consciousness ceased to exist, and right at that moment, his severed head landed on the hammock...
Duan Rong held his saber, twitching his nose, not only smelling the scent of blood but also the strong stench of excrement and urine...
As Duan Rong looked closely, he saw that beside him, in the crotch of Pan Yong’s headless corpse lying on the ground, there was a damp stain.
"This..."
Pan Yong, struck by the Divine Soul Needle, instantly lost control of his bowels.
Duan Rong’s expression revealed a hint of astonishment.
Duan Rong estimated the power of the Divine Soul Needle to surpass that of the Divine Soul Wave but didn’t expect it to be so potent.
It actually caused Pan Yong to lose control like that directly.
This Divine Soul Needle, although its condensation process is rather tedious. However, its violent power was indeed somewhat shocking to Duan Rong.