"Hahaha!" Qu Shen's harsh laughter rang out as he hovered in the air. "He Zicheng, drop your bullshit hypocrite act. You knew this day would come when you stole the fox from me."
"Old crow! What fox? Do you have proof? All I see is you coming after my son's life, you're no better than a beast."
"You!" Qu Shen was simmering with fury. Who had betrayed who first, both of them were clear about it. But it still did not feel good to hear shameless garbage being spewed in one's direction. He extended his wings and four crimson beams of light shot down towards He Xinghan.
Bang! Bang!
He Zicheng moved in the way and blocked it only with his spiritual aura. He grunted in pain from the impact but stood his ground. He responded in kind and swiped his right arm upwards. A powerful phantom claw seemingly cleaved apart the sky towards Qu Shen.
Woosh!
Qu Shen wasn't a glutton for punishment like He Zicheng and deftly dodged the strike. But what alarmed him was not the attack but that it was more powerful now than two months ago when they had killed their elder brother. He was furious that He Zicheng could have improved so quickly.
The two of them stared at each other as if trying to wipe the other from existence with their eyes.
"He Zicheng! You were the first one to betray elder brother. You came up with the plan. You were the one that personally ended his family line. Do you admit it?"
"That's right!" He Zicheng was shameless and didn't deny it, "But you went along with my plan, didn't you? What right do you have to criticize me?"
If there were spectators, they would have fallen over in laughter at these two treacherous old farts. It was like two thieves arguing over who deserved the gold they stole. Perhaps they had lived for too long. Perhaps their greed blinded their common sense. There was no longer any trace of their past bonds, only the desire to destroy the other.
Qu Shen changed into his half beast form with eagle talons instead of legs and two wings sprouting from his back. He then withdrew a massive red blade that seemed to be made of feathers and pointed it downwards, "This is your last chance, tell me where you hid the fox or hand over your son's life. Otherwise, the Sky Lord's Claymore will show no mercy!"
"Hahaha, since when have you ever beaten me in a fight?" He Zicheng sneered, taking out his own weapon of choice which was an impressive halberd that matched his half lion physique. "Let's see if your butter knife can stand up against my Gilded Vanguard, come!"
Qu Shen screeched in rage and charged down. He Zicheng didn't hesitate and also leaped forward. Blades clashed and blood flowed. The golden lion aura crashed into the crimson eagle's in a explosion of power.
He Xinghan, who was still clutching the unconscious Comet Lynx, could do nothing as he hid under his father's protective aura, watching the fearsome battle. He had never seen any of the lords go all out like this and their power was astonishing. It was simply incomprehensible to normal people just what a Spirit King could do. One Spirit King could hold off ten or more Spirit Lords without issue. In a one on one, there was no chance for a Spirit Lord to survive.
He Zicheng had to spare some power to protect his son but his managed as the Armored Lion Transformation Art specialized in defense. It was the complete opposite of Qu Shen's abilities which brought supreme speed and attack power.
Qu Shen was becoming more and more frustrated with each passing second as he fought. Did he really not have enough to beat his former elder brother? Zhuge Kang was the eldest of the three while He Zicheng was the second oldest. Qu Shen suffered from little brother syndrome as a result.
They had all been around the same strength until recently when the two of them noticed that Zhuge Kang made great leaps in his cultivation after Jasmine became an immortal. This was one of the main reasons they had to kill Zhuge Kang and take Jasmine for themselves. But instead of the plan, He Zicheng stole the fox and had gotten stronger than him as well. What if He Zicheng had already planned to betray him from the beginning? How could Qu Shen accept this?
"Bastard..." Qu Shen gnashed his teeth in fury, he gathered his energy to the highest level and unleashed his most profound attack. "Crimson Wing Domain!"
The entire land for hundreds of miles became dark as the sky was covered by a blood red cloud. Qu Shen's aura increased by one-fold and bore down on He Zicheng and He Xinghan. The cry of a eagle resonated across the sky, shattering the will of all living things. Everything became Qu Shen's domain, where he was god and could control life and death.
He Zicheng was no slouch and countered with his own domain of absolute defense, the Bulwark of Fortitude. The small golden sphere that encompassed him and his son was his strongest defensive art, it could deny any attack in the Spirit King Realm!
The two supreme moves clashed in a titanic explosion. Boulders larger than buildings were cleaved from the mountain. Lakes and streams evaporated from the raging spiritual energy. Entire forests were destroyed in an instant. What used to be a vibrant mountain range was quickly being reduced to a barren wasteland...
The sky returned to its original color and the dust settled, but Qu Shen and He Zicheng were still locked in combat. Their ultimate arts had been expended and they resorted to a close-range melee. Punches flew and claws struck, feathers and fur were ripped apart and blood rained. The brawl continued on and on with no clear victor.
When the two finally separated again, He Zicheng was sporting many deep and bloody cuts on his golden armored body while Qu Shen's wings looked ragged and were missing many feathers. They both looked miserable but still full of fighting spirit.
"Enough of this shit!" He Zicheng bellowed, breathing heavily, "I know you were planning to kidnap my son. But I'm here now and you can't beat me. So, what are you going to do about it?"
"..." Qu Shen hesitated for a few seconds, before an evil glint appeared in his eyes. "I know that you would know about my attack."
"Oh really? That still isn't going to help you."
Qu Shen didn't respond and instead sent off a message talisman.
He Zicheng's eyes followed the trace of spiritual energy as it shot into the air and disappeared to the south. His suspicions were soon realized as not one, not two, but three immortal auras emerged and quickly arrived above their battlefield.
"Are you crazy!" He Zicheng roared at Qu Shen, "Are you so desperate?"
Qu Shen's face relaxed as his three Spirit Lord subordinates flanked him. Now, he could finally capture He Xinghan. It was indeed a crazy and desperate move to call his three immortals here but it was worth it to finally defeat his former brother.
"Why don't you give up? You don't want your son to suffer too harshly do you?" Qu Shen mocked. "I really have to thank you for figuring out how to bypass our oath. But in the end, you reap what you sow... Hahaha!"
He Zicheng glanced at He Xinghan whose face was ashen after the three immortals appeared. He chuckled and patted He Xinghan's shoulder, who was shocked his father could still be so lighthearted in such a situation. Qu Shen also became alert at He Zicheng's alarming demeanor.
He Zicheng looked up at Qu Shen and shook his head, "You're too young."
"What?" An angry vein popped in Qu Shen's forehead, that was his most hated phrase!
"So, you've brought your men, so what?" He Zicheng smirked as he pulled out his own message talisman. "I know you know that I know."
"What!?" Five pairs of eyes watched in shock as the spiritual message shot off towards the north.
"Impossible!" Qu Shen muttered in disbelief as another two immortals soon arrived.
They joined He Zicheng on the ground, already transformed and ready for battle. They were, of course, the two remaining immortals under He Zicheng's command, Immortal Berserk Ox Ji Tiangu and Immortal Tempest Badger Qiu Chuyi.
Both sides were evenly matched once again. It was the last thing Qu Shen would have expected. He Zicheng was just as crazy as he was. The result was that the entire Beast God Sanctum was arrayed against each other in a desolate wilderness while their city was completely unprotected!