Chapter 1746: Appearance of the Demon Shadow
“No!”
The thought had only just surfaced in the middle-aged cultivator’s mind when the space behind him blurred. Yet, no physical figure solidified there. Instead, a streak of dark light flashed, thrusting ruthlessly toward the small of his back from behind!
Under the pressure of being ambushed and wounded, the middle-aged cultivator had retracted his Divine Sense earlier to lure his enemy out, fearing he would startle them. Having just released his power to kill the female assassin, a momentary lapse had appeared in his mental fortitude.
By the time he sensed the anomaly, the spatial fluctuation was far too sudden. Though he reacted, he had already lost the initiative. Dodging was out of the question; in that spark of time, he could only gather a hasty surge of magical power and wave his hand behind him.
Bang!
A sphere of light erupted, expanding from a tiny point into a massive shockwave as the two forces collided!
Even though he was already poisoned, the middle-aged cultivator’s hasty defense should have been enough to deflect the attack of an ordinary Void Refining practitioner. In his mind, that was sufficient; he knew the strength of everyone within the array perfectly.
Yet, the moment they clashed, he knew something was wrong. His sweep failed to brush the attack aside. The dark light remained steady, pinning itself directly onto his hand!
The magical power enveloping his palm was forcibly shattered by an overwhelming, surging force. The middle-aged cultivator was horrified. He felt as if the person behind him was a mid-stage Void Refining expert, yet how could he have failed to notice such a presence during their entire journey?
Despite his shock, he was a veteran of countless battles. His ability to adapt was incredibly fast. He thrust his hand forward, intending to use the residual shockwave of his magical power to knock the attack away. Though his palm would certainly be injured, the recoil would propel him forward to safety.
However, the moment the dark light pierced the back of his hand, a heart-wrenching agony erupted from his very soul—a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced. It felt as if a pair of hands had seized his soul, tearing it in opposite directions while twisting it ruthlessly.
The middle-aged cultivator was a ruthless man, as merciless to himself as he was to others. Even if he were flayed alive or had his bones crushed, he would never kneel for mercy. But this irrepressible agony was more than he could bear. A tragic scream escaped his lips.
“Aaaah!”
The scream was muffled by the grand array. The moment he opened his mouth, his magical power buckled, leaving him unable to resist the dark light. The streak of obsidian radiance tore through the back of his hand, its high-speed rotation dragging his palm down with it. The dark light vanished into his side, piercing through his ribs.
Pfft!
A fountain of blood sprayed upward. It looked as if the middle-aged cultivator had slammed his own palm into his lower back. Simultaneously, a streak of golden light shot out from his body, flickering as it attempted to flee into the distance.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort rang out. One of the two men who had been sitting cross-legged nearby—the brawny Shi Ying—suddenly opened his eyes.
As he snorted, the golden light vanished into the void. Simultaneously, another streak of dark light flashed and disappeared. This dark light appeared with eerie suddenness, vanishing and reappearing in an instant. When the golden light emerged from the void again, the dark light was already skewering it from the other end.
“Aaaah!”
A shrill, wretched cry erupted from the golden light. The radiance dissipated, and a small, golden Nascent Soul fell to the ground. A transparent hole had appeared in its chest, and the golden light surrounding it flickered with a dim, dying luster. The Nascent Soul lay on the ground, its surface looking as if it had been coated in a layer of black ink.
“To think you would still try to teleport despite being poisoned to this extent… Your cultivation is truly profound, Great One!”
Shi Ying slowly stood up. He stared coldly at the Nascent Soul on the ground, two water-dividing spikes flickering with light in his hands.
“It… it was you… you did this… You dare to betray… betray…”
The golden Nascent Soul struggled to sit up. But under the weight of successive heavy injuries, its tiny hands gave way, and it collapsed back onto the ground. The Nascent Soul’s features were identical to the middle-aged cultivator who sat frozen and upright a few yards away!
Though its breath was ragged and its soul was consumed by agonizing pain, the Nascent Soul clamped its mouth shut, refusing to scream again. Its eyes were filled with venomous resentment and disbelief as it glared at Shi Ying. It was as if it wanted to etch this man’s image into its eyes to carry into hell.
To think that he, a man with heaven-reaching cultivation, would fall at the hands of a mere Spirit Transformation cultivator… He had never even considered such a possibility.
While he was meditating earlier, he had been constantly probing the outside world. But at a certain point, he suddenly felt a heavy drowsiness. His consciousness became muddled, and the flow of magical power within him slowed down without him noticing.
The middle-aged cultivator had wanted to drift off to sleep, but the instincts of a man who lived on the edge of life and death forced him awake at the last moment. A shiver of horror ran through him; he had been poisoned silently and without any warning.
He had been using his Divine Sense to scan the area constantly. How could he have been so oblivious? By the time he realized something was wrong, even his Nascent Soul could only mobilize about half of its power.
In his shock, he realized someone among them was a traitor. He had been guarding against the outside world, but his vigilance toward his own people had slackened, giving the enemy an opening.
But how could he have imagined that a subordinate who had followed him on countless missions—one he had always trusted—would turn on him? He believed he had treated these men well, and if they wanted to move against him, there had been many opportunities in the past!
Furthermore, this poison was far too overbearing. It had silently corroded his entire body. Even with his Divine Sense, he couldn’t identify its nature. Yet, he was a man of vast experience. He forced himself to stay calm and showed no outward sign of abnormality.
Secretly, he had activated the Haotian Soul-Locking Art to combat the toxins. This had finally suppressed the spread of the poison, ensuring his life for the moment. However, his physical flesh and meridians had already suffered irreversible decay. He had seen poisons more violent than this, but never one so insidious.
The traitor was a cunning one. If they intended to kill him, it was likely they had been bribed by Huangqi Valley or Xianhe Manor. He had kept them by his side since the mission began, yet they hadn’t acted for so long. Even when he was slaughtering the Huangqi Valley disciples, the traitor had remained patient. When had they struck? When had he been poisoned?
The middle-aged cultivator couldn’t recall. Because he didn’t recognize the poison, he couldn’t be sure if it had been administered today. If the enemy had been poisoning him bit by bit over several days to avoid detection, only letting it culminate now, it was entirely possible.
He didn’t reach for an antidote. He knew his medicines wouldn’t work on this poison for now, but if he could just leave this place, he would find a way. He also knew that the person who had backstabbed him would reveal themselves soon!
Of course, it was possible that the enemy was the subordinate who had been “killed” by the Huangqi Valley disciples in yesterday’s array. All sorts of possibilities raced through his mind, threatening to cloud his judgment, so he forced himself to stay calm.
Since the enemy had poisoned him silently, it meant they feared his strength. Their true cultivation was no match for his. Therefore, they must have further plans. Thus, he retracted his Divine Sense and let his aura vanish.
Sure enough, he soon saw the array distort slightly. Then, the female assassin suddenly appeared and moved against him.
‘It was her…’
This shocked the middle-aged cultivator. He had never suspected her; she had been with the organization for a long time and even shared an intimate relationship with him. It would have been easy for her to strike in bed, which made him think he had misidentified the culprit.
But when she snatched his storage artifacts and immediately attempted to kill him, he had no choice but to strike her down, even if he still couldn’t believe it.
He soon realized he had made a mistake. He had killed her almost instantly. She had no defense at all. Based on his knowledge of her, that was far too easy. Furthermore, as she hit the ground, her magical power vanished in an instant—a clear sign of being controlled.
In that heartbeat, his soul trembled. Every hair on his body stood on end as the attack from behind arrived before he could even react…
Though his Nascent Soul was heavily injured and weak, he glared at Shi Ying. He knew he was likely going to die here today. But he couldn’t understand why this loyal subordinate would kill them all. This man’s background within the organization was completely clean. And for this man’s mind to suddenly become so meticulous—layering schemes upon schemes—this was the true mastery of assassination.
The other young Spirit Transformation cultivator hadn’t moved once. Looking at him, it was as if he had entered a deep state of meditation. The leader’s Divine Sense had already swept over him; he had long since lost all signs of life.
“I believe for this mission, it’s better if you all just die. In the end, the merit reported will be mine alone!”
Shi Ying’s voice was devoid of emotion. Two streaks of dark light flew from his hands, shooting directly toward the Nascent Soul on the ground.
“You… you aren’t Shi Ying… Aaaah!”
The Nascent Soul had been quietly gathering magical power. He had laid this array himself and could have teleported out, but the poison had slowed him down. However, that was only one reason. A Nascent Soul’s teleportation was the ultimate life-saving trump card of a high-level cultivator; it was no idle boast.
The primary reason he had been intercepted was that agonizing soul pain, which had left his spirit incredibly weak. Consequently, the speed and spatial fluctuations of his teleportation had been flawed, allowing the enemy to discover his exit point.