124: past

The battle between the two was extremely fierce; even Ancient Saint City, located far below on the ground, felt the invisible pressure, like a majestic heavenly might.

Everyone was inwardly horrified, looking up with confused expressions. With their cultivation, they naturally couldn't clearly see what was happening in the sky.

Only a few powerful Divine Emperor Peak experts could barely make out the scene above the firmament.

"Great Void Hand!"

Huangfu Xiong's palm was like immortal gold, each finger resembling a colossal pillar reaching to the heavens. An incredibly profound aura swirled in his palm as he suddenly struck at the Black-robed Man.

Sensing the power of this killing move, the latter dared not be negligent.

"Spatial Blade!"

The spiritual energy within his body surged frantically into the scythe in his hand. He abruptly raised it and swung several void-piercing blades towards the giant palm. Each blade was capable of slicing Ancient Saint City below into two halves.

Boom!

Like divine thunder descending from the nine heavens, a deafening roar erupted. Energy poured out, space was annihilated, directly forming a void black hole capable of devouring an early Venerable Realm expert!

The figures of the two were also impacted, like kites with broken strings, flying backward to either side. Faintly, scattered blood could still be seen in the void.

The scene was utterly silent. Everyone watching was terrified by the horrifying display, not daring to even breathe.

Cough, cough!

The Black-robed Man let out a light cough, raised his hand to wipe away the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, and looked at Huangfu Xiong opposite him with a gloomy gaze.

At this moment, the black robe covering his head had been torn by the energy, revealing his true appearance.

It was a scrawny young man with a tender face, but his complexion was devoid of color, extremely pale.

After Huangfu Xiong slightly regulated the chaotic spiritual energy within his body, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise when he saw the other party's appearance.

"How did you become like this?"

The few onlookers also showed expressions of shock, staring blankly at the Black-robed Man's true form.

The existence who could call Elder Patriarch Huangfu his sworn brother was actually a young man. This was not an appearance changed by cultivation, but rather akin to rejuvenation.

Huangfu Xiong's heart was also extremely unsettled at this moment. It was one thing for the other party to possess strength comparable to his, but this appearance seemed very strange.

"What, are you very surprised?"

Seeing Huangfu Xiong's astonished expression, the Black-robed Man seemed to enjoy it, scoffing.

After pondering for a moment, Huangfu Xiong also thought of something and asked, "Is it perhaps because of this that you were able to achieve such cultivation?"

Upon hearing this, the Black-robed Man praised, "As expected of Elder Brother Huangfu, still as smart as ever. That's right, if I hadn't paid some price, I would have probably died long ago!"

"Alas!"

Hearing the resentment in the other party's tone, Huangfu Xiong sighed softly and whispered, "It wasn't that I didn't help you back then, but that thing was tainted with ill omens!"

Back then, Huangfu Xiong, the Black-robed Man, and another expert became sworn brothers. Huangfu Xiong was older and also the strongest, thus becoming the eldest brother.

The bond between them deepened with the passage of time, to the extent that they would go through fire and water for each other.

But fate is unpredictable. During a crisis in the cave dwelling of a Venerable Peak expert, the few of them almost all perished.

It was also during that incident that the few of them fell out. The reason was the Black-robed Man, whose character was both righteous and evil, wanted to acquire a treasure emanating a strange aura within.

However, Huangfu Xiong could clearly sense the strangeness and ill omens emanating from that thing, knowing that it was definitely not good, and thus refused him.

After all, as the eldest brother, he had to consider the safety of his two brothers. The other expert also did not want to touch that item.

Their opinions diverged. As they were about to leave, the Black-robed Man found an excuse to return the way they came, intending to secretly take that item.

But Huangfu Xiong discovered him in time, and thus the relationship between the two completely broke down. Even so, he forcefully suppressed the other party and brought him out.

Because that thing was truly too strange, and no one knew what the consequences would be.

In the days that followed, the Black-robed Man seemed to have completely turned evil, acting without restraint, committing many heinous acts, and finally even injuring his other sworn brother who tried to stop him.

Upon discovering this, Huangfu Xiong was immediately furious, severely injuring the other party with a single palm strike. He even declared that if he did not repent, their friendship would be severed forever!

The Black-robed Man naturally did not listen. After severing their ties, he never appeared again.

"My dear Elder Brother, it's too late to say anything now. If you really want to help your brother, then offer up your life!"

"You!"

Huangfu Xiong was utterly disappointed, losing the last shred of hope for the Black-robed Man before him.

"Can you tell me where you went after you left?"

Huangfu Xiong seemed to want to give himself a reason, a reason to abandon his emotions!

"Later?"

Upon hearing this, a trace of confusion flashed in the Black-robed Man's eyes, then turned cold. He muttered to himself, "Later, I offended an irresistible expert and was saved by an Elder of the Dark Alliance, joining the Alliance."

His voice was not loud, but everyone heard it clearly.

Dark Alliance!

Huangfu Xiong's expression changed dramatically. With his status and position, he had naturally heard of the Dark Alliance.

It could be said to be a powerful and evil organization. If it weren't for the rumor that its Alliance Leader was a Saint Realm Expert, it would have probably been annihilated countless times over.

The Zheng Family Head and the Zhao Family Head, on the other hand, looked confused, not understanding its meaning.

Lin Yan's eyes slightly lifted. It was this so-called Dark Alliance again. Previously, during the Qingxuan Grand Competition, that cultivator named Ghost Emperor had even used his status as a Dark Alliance Elder to threaten him.

Big Yellow Dog didn't react much. Since he hadn't heard of it, it was naturally a small fry!

He naturally wouldn't care about these obscure forces, mainly because their timelines of existence were different.

The Dark Alliance had only gradually risen in the past few millennia. The most mysterious among them was the Alliance Leader, who was also considered a legendary figure.

"You joined the Dark Alliance?"

Huangfu Xiong's tone contained hidden anger. Those who could join the Dark Alliance had almost become the antithesis of righteous cultivators, and their end was self-evident.

Even though the Dark Alliance's influence was vast now, and ordinary people dared not easily offend them, he believed that evil would not triumph over good, and what the other side did would eventually be settled.

"The Alliance bestowed upon me strength and status, so I came here this time for your head, to exchange your vital blood for contribution points!"

The Zheng Family Head and the Zhao Family Head felt a chill upon hearing this. Although they hadn't heard of the Dark Alliance, they could tell from this sentence that it was definitely not a benevolent force.

Using a cultivator's vital blood to exchange for so-called contribution points – wasn't this clearly the act of an evil cultivator?

At this moment, Huangfu Xiong completely abandoned his thoughts. The other party had already gone astray, making it difficult to turn back, and was ultimately heading towards destruction.

"You are not my opponent. If you want to take my life, I'm afraid you won't succeed!"

His tone no longer carried any emotion as he spoke to the Black-robed Man.

He calmly adjusted his robes and said indifferently, "Therefore, I am not the one who will truly take your life!"

His words stunned everyone, including Huangfu Xiong, who didn't understand what he meant.

The void suddenly began to shatter, continuously spreading outwards, and an extremely terrifying aura abruptly appeared.