novelraw Chapter 236 : The Shadow Has Its Own Thoughts
Chapter 236 : The Shadow Has Its Own Thoughts
Bang—
The dungeon plunged into darkness.
Trouble, they've been discovered.
Everyone present was startled. In the darkness, two figures emerged from the endless shadows.
One was naturally the Shadow Beast King, his face grim, glaring at the unwelcome guests with murderous intent.
The other, with an ugly expression, was none other than Qin Xixue, unseen for a long time.
She glared viciously at everyone, especially Chu Sang at the forefront. The hatred in her eyes was almost tangible, as if she wanted to riddle her with holes. "You?" She gritted her teeth, "Why is it you people again?! This is like maggots on bones, a lingering ghost! I knew these demon cultivators were strange! I didn't expect it to be you!"
"You even dare to sneak into the Dark Domain, you truly aren't afraid of death." She said hatefully, then sneered, "Since you've walked into the trap, don't expect to leave here alive!"
The Beast King was a naturally gifted shadow demon. Wherever there were shadows, nothing could escape his eyes.
It could be said that the Dark Domain was his natural battlefield. Any place, any corner, was his eyes!
Even though these cunning cultivators had used some tricks to temporarily blind the Beast King's vision, Qin Xixue had several spiritual treasures for spying and tracking. Fortunately, she had heeded the elder's warning and remained vigilant, thus discovering that someone had secretly infiltrated this hidden dungeon beneath the altar, intending to rescue these sacrificial beasts.
She never expected it to be Chu Sang and her group again?!
If that's the case, she would settle both old and new grudges. She and these cultivators would never leave this place alive!
"Enough talk, attack!"
The Big Senior Sister was ruthless in both words and actions. Since they had been discovered, it was time to fight! Whoever was stronger would have the upper hand!
A hundred surging sword energies attacked, the sword technique was truly too fast and vicious. Even the Shadow Beast King didn't expect this person to strike so swiftly. His form quickly transformed into a void, hiding within the shadows. Even so, he couldn't completely avoid being pierced by a sword energy.
He frowned, glancing at the wound. With a wave of his hand, endless black qi immediately emanated from the wound, suturing it. In the blink of an eye, it returned to its original state.
Gathering a ball of black qi in his palm, the Beast King's figure instantly vanished, appearing behind the Big Senior Sister. He struck at her fiercely, but unexpectedly, Wu Wo's reaction speed far exceeded his imagination of human cultivators. As the Beast King approached, she kicked back fiercely, striking his abdomen, while a sword thrust towards his chest.
The Shadow Beast King's figure once again merged into the darkness and disappeared, somewhat embarrassed. The next moment, he coalesced behind her again, striking her back with a palm.
The power of a peak Divine Transformation stage Beast King was not to be underestimated. Though shadow demons weren't primarily combat or strength-based beasts, this palm strike from the Beast King was still astonishingly powerful. "Boom!" Wu Wo was sent flying dozens of meters away. Even a Divine Transformation stage cultivator would be half-dead and severely injured if struck by this palm.
Seeing this, everyone held their breath. Unexpectedly, before the dust could settle, a figure rushed out again. Wu Wo's assault hadn't slowed in the slightest due to injury, but rather became more fierce. Her face and body were stained with blood, which only made her eyes appear more excited and determined. Even the Shadow Beast King couldn't help but curse inwardly, these cultivators were truly tenacious!
He narrowed his eyes coldly, a long spear-like demon weapon appearing in his palm. He no longer held back his demon power and pressure.
After all, with his cultivation level, the Beast King still had the upper hand in battle.
After the disciples from other sects had worked together to free all the beasts in the dungeon, Shang Ziling also charged forward with her sword, "I'll assist you!"
Two Divine Transformation stage sword cultivators?
This wouldn't be easy.
The Shadow Beast King's face darkened. He temporarily ignored the other cultivators, wanting to quickly eliminate these two strongest sword cultivators.
Qin Xixue didn't think so. Her gaze was always fixed on Chu Sang, who seemed to be staying out of the battle, not making any moves, appearing obedient for now. However, her expression was far from relaxed.
After fighting for so long, she knew Chu Sang was definitely not as docile as she appeared! The two Divine Transformation stage sword cultivators seemed to be the main force of the team. Killing these two would naturally cause the other cultivators to collapse like ants from a broken nest... but in reality, these two sword cultivators were just a diversion, a smokescreen. The real hidden danger in every battle was Chu Sang!
She anxiously instructed the Beast King, "Forget about the others, that Nascent Soul stage female cultivator in red, kill her first, you must kill her!"
The Beast King frowned in displeasure. What was there to worry about a Nascent Soul stage cultivator? She was just an ant he could crush with a flick of his finger, incapable of causing any significant trouble.
Although displeased at being commanded by a human, he thought for a moment and still unleashed a wave of demon power.
Chu Sang helplessly tugged at her lips. How did the battle suddenly turn towards her, a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator? This was truly unsportsmanlike!
She had to stop the formation she was secretly laying and grasped the silver-white long sword in her palm. The long sword transformed into a long umbrella, perfectly blocking even the Beast King's attack, leaving not a single crack on the umbrella's surface.
The long umbrella then instantly transformed into a folding fan.
With a light wave, the light dissipated.
Centered on her, within a hundred-meter radius, the menacing shadows receded like a tide in fear.
A light-attribute spiritual weapon?
Even the Shadow Beast King was stunned for a moment.
No, this level of pressure wasn't from an ordinary spiritual weapon. Ordinary spiritual weapons, regardless of their attributes, would have turned into a pile of scrap metal under his full-force attack... Could it be an Immortal weapon? Or even a legendary Divine weapon?
The Beast King's face finally showed some displeasure. He clenched his fist, and seeing this scene, Qin Xixue's face alternated between green and white. Could it be that even the mighty Beast King couldn't handle this person?
How is this possible! She's just a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could even a peak Divine Transformation stage Beast King be unable to deal with her?!
"Hurry up and kill her, keeping her alive will lead to endless trouble!" Qin Xixue urged anxiously, thinking the Beast King hadn't used his full strength.
The Beast King felt a rise of irritation, his tone becoming even colder, "Shut up, I will naturally kill her!"
He hadn't expected this small human cultivator to be so troublesome. Indeed, he had underestimated her earlier, being careless.
However, no matter how troublesome an ant is, it's still just an ant!
He coldly curled his lips, his entire body once again merging into the darkness, silently approaching. Chu Sang's divine sense was extremely strong. In places others couldn't see, her divine sense had already spread out like a tide in all directions. Even if the Shadow Beast King hid in the shadows, she could still detect his position through subtle changes in aura.
The Beast King appeared behind her in the blink of an eye, but she quickly jumped back, successfully avoiding the attack. The next second, however, her body suddenly couldn't move...
That feeling wasn't like being held down by some force, she simply couldn't move, as if she had lost her body's connection to the world...
The Mystic Spirit Sword in her hand emitted light, illuminating a hundred-meter radius. It was precisely because of this that Chu Sang discovered a fact that even she found eerie and startling, causing her to draw in a sharp breath—
Her shadow... was gone?
It was really gone.
She seemed to be floating above the ground, with no shadow beneath her.
Did her shadow have its own thoughts and betray her halfway?
What just happened?
What's going on?
"Strange, what's wrong with Little Junior Sister? Why did she suddenly stop moving?!"
Tantai Ming noticed something was wrong with Chu Sang and became extremely nervous. His eyes widened, his palms sweating anxiously. The Beast King was still eyeing them fiercely not far away, why was Little Junior Sister not moving at all? Wouldn't this expose her weakness to the enemy!
He couldn't care about the danger and wanted to go help.
"Swoosh—"
An attack fell from above.
Tantai Ming thought it was some beast with poor eyesight ambushing him. He was about to slash with his sword when he suddenly sensed that familiar aura... Little Junior Sister?
No, no, how could it be Little Junior Sister, wasn't Little Junior Sister still over there? How could Little Junior Sister attack him?!
His body reacted faster than his mind, relaxing his attack. The person's sword fiercely pierced his shoulder. This level of injury was nothing to a cultivator, but what shocked Tantai Ming was that this person was... no, not Little Junior Sister, but Little Junior Sister's... shadow??
That's right, the "thing" attacking him was a shadow, a strange, three-dimensional, grotesque shadow?
This back and forth happened in just a few breaths. Si Kou Qiu and the others also discovered the strange situation. The shadow beneath Chu Sang's feet had disappeared. Without the shadow's connection to the world, her body could no longer make any movements.
Chengying, as a shadow guard, had exceptionally keen observation skills cultivated since childhood. He noticed that momentary change and turned to the others, saying in a deep voice, "I just saw it, the Beast King cut off her shadow..."
I don't know if using the word "cut" to describe it is accurate or not. Just now, Chu Sang reacted quickly and dodged a fatal sneak attack from the Beast King, but the Beast King took advantage of the close proximity to swiftly use a wave of demon power to sever her connection with her shadow.
"Cough... This is a special ability of shadow demons. Shadow demons that can cultivate to the level of Beast King have even more unfathomable power. Anyone or anything below his strength, as long as he gets close, he can easily tear apart and control that person's shadow... Be careful! Don't get close to him! Whatever you do, don't let that Beast King succeed!"
"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier! Then what should we do to rescue Little Junior Sister's shadow?" Tantai Ming said through gritted teeth.
"There are very few beasts qualified to have seen the Beast King. The information I obtained was only about the Beast King's plan to sacrifice beasts. I really don't know anything else..." the demon cultivator shook his head.
"Don't panic yet, have you noticed something? There are many... fine threads around the Beast King's body?" Wen Renyue forcibly pulled Tantai Ming back and pressed him down to prevent him from going over and dying in vain.
Fine threads?
The situation was chaotic and urgent, and the others really hadn't noticed. Now that she mentioned it, everyone looked over and indeed saw strands of threads so fine they almost merged with the air, barely visible, behind the Beast King.
For cultivators with divine sense, seeing these almost imperceptible dark lines wasn't difficult.
It seems the Beast King controlled Little Junior Sister's shadow through these dark lines.
However, there were too many dark lines. The other dark lines should be controlling the Beast King's subordinate beasts and demon cultivators, ensuring their loyalty and use.
But how could they determine which of these dark lines controlled Little Junior Sister's shadow?
"Cut them all, naturally one of them will be it," the Big Senior Sister said calmly as she retreated.
Hmm... good idea!
However, the Shadow Beast King was clearly an overly cautious person. He naturally knew that these dark lines were his weakness, so how could he allow them to approach the dark lines?
Moreover, this Beast King was a shadow demon who could merge into shadows and disappear at any time. This place was full of dark corners and shadows, they simply couldn't track the Beast King's whereabouts.
Not to mention there were so many beasts eyeing them fiercely nearby, launching wave after wave of attacks, attempting to exhaust their strength. Qin Xixue was also constantly watching the situation here. Perhaps due to the guilt of betrayal and fear of facing it, she still thought her identity hadn't been exposed, so she hesitated to take action, only daring to observe from afar, fanning the flames for the Beast King.
Shang Ziling and Mo Qingchen temporarily blocked the Beast King, but there was still a disparity in strength between the two sides. At most, they could only hold him off for a short while.
The Beast King could still manipulate Chu Sang's shadow through the dark lines, launching tireless attacks against them.
Chu Sang's shadow was just as elusive and troublesome as she was in person.
They finally understood how those demon cultivators and beast cultivators felt.
Tantai Ming and Cui Xiu used all their methods to temporarily hold off the shadow's attacks.
The remaining few frantically thought of countermeasures to end this situation.
"There might be another way," Si Kou Qiu had been silent, rubbing her chin. Suddenly, she had an idea and raised a finger, "Do you remember the small light orb the Light Beast King gave to Little Junior Sister? It contains one-tenth of the Light Beast King's demon power! As everyone knows, light spirit roots and dark spirit roots are mutually restraining, and it should be more or less the same in the demon realm. As long as someone can get close to the Shadow Beast King and make good use of the Light Beast King's power, they should be able to cut those dark lines!"
"The light orb is in Little Junior Sister's storage bag, and there are many beasts surrounding it outside. Who will go get it?"
"I'll go get it."
Wen Renyue and Shen Rufei spoke in unison.
The two glanced at each other without speaking, but with extraordinary tacit understanding. Shen Rufei used beast taming techniques to disperse the surrounding shadow demons, helping Wen Renyue successfully break through. After she dealt with several isolated beasts in three moves, she brought Little Junior Sister back and found the light orb in the storage bag.
"Find someone with fast speed to sneak attack the Beast King unnoticed. Quick, it must be quick!"
"Let me do it. I have a wind spirit root. Among all of you present, no one's speed is faster than mine!" If it weren't for Lou Qing's serious expression and humble tone, these words would have sounded somewhat boastful.
However, the others present knew her words were true. When it came to speed advantages, no one could be faster than a wind spirit root!
Lou Qing held the newly contracted wind-attribute divine sword, Shuo Feng Sword. As she activated her movement technique, she was as graceful as a startled swan. She stepped on a falling leaf and instantly flew over a hundred meters away. The shadow seemed to sense her intention and immediately shook off the others, closely pursuing her.
The shadow's speed was equally fast, catching up in the blink of an eye, reaching out to snatch from her.