In the withered wood, the battle had reached a stalemate.
Feng Zimo moved like a ghost, weaving ceaselessly through the shadows. His target was not Shang Shuyi, who was confronting him head-on, but rather the battered rogue cultivators who were powerless to defend themselves.
The Divine Might Manor disciples were giving their all to repel the fierce onslaught of the Pestilence Manor demonic cultivators, stretched to their absolute limits. Thus, the heavy burden of protecting the rogue cultivators fell entirely upon Shang Shuyi's shoulders.
【Senior Sister, let us strike,】 a Return to Origin Sect disciple urged from the shadows, unable to watch any longer. By all appearances, their side was at a disadvantage. If they intervened, even if they couldn't capture the two enemy commanders, taking down the remaining demons would be a certainty.
【Don't rush. There are no casualties yet, and everything remains under control. Young Manor Lord Su's words made it clear that he isn't concerned with the demonic sects' small fry—his target has always been the enemy commanders,】 Shang Shuyi replied via voice transmission, holding back the Return to Origin Sect disciples.
If the Return to Origin Sect disciples revealed themselves, the enemy would definitely flee, making it impossible to capture them!
【If I fall, strike immediately. Ensure you keep the Divine Might Manor disciples and the other cultivators safe!】 Shang Shuyi added, as though still uneasy.
Truth be told, without the burden of these cultivators, she was confident she could subdue her opponent. But Feng Zimo refused to engage her directly. As someone who cultivated both archery and spells, she was forced to rely on her weaker close-quarters combat skills to shield the rogue cultivators, leaving her feeling utterly overwhelmed.
“Tsk, tsk. Since when did Divine Might Manor produce someone like you?” Feng Zimo’s voice drifted from the shadows, laced with mockery and curiosity. “Give me your name. My blade does not slay the nameless.”
Shang Shuyi’s gaze was cold. The bowstring vibrated faintly as a flash of azure light forced back the shadow threads creeping toward her. “Why should a dead man need to know my name?” she replied chillingly.
“Impudent brat, you’ve got guts! Let’s see just how long you can protect these scum!”
Her words thoroughly provoked Feng Zimo. The shadow attacks instantly grew denser and more vicious, surging from all directions like a raging dark tide toward the vulnerable rogue cultivators.
Shang Shuyi had no choice but to keep moving, her azure wood spiritual energy forming barrier after barrier as she struggled to hold out and shield everyone.
Right then, a blood-soaked rogue cultivator with an exceptionally resolute gaze looked at her and transmitted, 【Fairy, your righteousness is deeply etched into our hearts! But this cannot go on forever! Please, Fairy, do not waste your focus on us anymore. Gather your spiritual energy and seek an opportunity to slay the enemy!】
Before his voice had even faded, the surrounding rogue cultivators who still possessed some strength forced their spiritual energy to surge. They drew close together, forming a crude yet sturdy defensive formation.
Clearly, fearing that Shang Shuyi would refuse, they had already devised this plan in advance.
Shang Shuyi’s heart jolted, and she hesitated no longer. The battlefield changed in the blink of an eye; hesitation and pretense would only squander the fleeting opportunity.
She immediately took half a step back. The radiant glow of the ancient greenwood bow in her hand turned inward, and her spiritual energy converged toward the bowstring like a hundred rivers rushing to the sea. A palpitating, razor-sharp aura began to permeate the air.
Feng Zimo instantly sensed something was amiss. The shadows rippled as he attempted to disrupt her, only to be desperately blocked by the rogue cultivators putting their mortal flesh on the line.
“You scum really aren't afraid of death!”
Blade shadows whirled in his grasp as he sought to sever the rogue cultivators' heads. However, a flash of Geng Metal sword qi cut him off.
“Who goes there?!”
Feng Zimo roared in fury, only to catch sight of a slender figure among the Divine Might Manor disciples not far away. Gripping a rapier, her white hair fluttering in the wind, she saw that her strike had successfully thwarted him and had no intention of clashing head-on; twisting her body, she slipped back into the chaotic fray, the swirling figures preventing Feng Zimo from getting a clear look.
“Tsk, damn it!”
In the moment he was dazed, the spiritual light upon Shang Shuyi’s bowstring grew increasingly concentrated. Not daring to be careless any longer, his body blurred, melting completely back into the shadows and vanishing without a trace.
The rogue cultivators' hearts sank. Just as they were about to recklessly throw their bodies into the shadows to drag him out and force him into the open, a voice interrupted them.
“Fall back!” Shang Shuyi shouted sharply.
Hearing her command, the crowd retreated swiftly to both flanks without hesitation.
Whoosh—!
The first arrow tore through the air like an azure meteor, plunging straight into the shadows! Yet the shadows merely twisted as the arrow passed straight through, clearly missing anything solid.
Seeing this, Shang Shuyi’s face darkened slightly. If the rogue cultivators hadn't stepped forward earlier and forced her to call out a warning, the battle might have already been decided.
‘Improvised cooperation simply lacks coordination after all...’
Now, the spiritual energy she had just condensed was only enough for two more arrows. If these two shots failed to severely wound him, any hope of capturing him alive would be lost.
Holding her breath, she focused her mind.
The second arrow left the string, its trajectory even trickier!
Yet the shadows seemed alive, twisting once again at the razor's edge of a hairsbreadth, narrowly dodging the strike.
“What?!” A chorus of despairing gasps broke out among the rogue cultivators.
Within the shadows, Feng Zimo sneered inwardly. ‘A bunch of fools. Without seasoned experience, there’s no way anyone can predict this Evil Shadow Technique. Those opposite me are clearly greenhorns dealing with demons for the very first time.’
‘Unless Shang Shuyi has someone by her side who knows the Evil Shadow Technique inside out. But how could that be possible?’
‘They’re all barely in their twenties; could they have started learning it in the womb?!’
‘No matter, let’s plunge you into utter despair!’ Feng Zimo gave a wicked smirk. The shadows accelerated sharply, feinting an attack toward the rogue cultivators on the left with a fierce burst of qi.
Sure enough, the tip of Shang Shuyi’s arrow shifted to the left.
‘Heh, you fell for it,’ Feng Zimo sneered in his heart. Under the cover of the shadows, his true body made a bizarre pivot, darting back toward his original position on the right!
‘I bet you never saw this turnaround coming!’
Yet before his smugness could last even a second, an icy, stinging sensation struck viciously from behind!
He whipped around in horror, only to see that the emerald arrow, which was supposed to shoot toward the phantom on the left, had carved an impossible, sharp arc through the air! The Yi Wood spiritual energy condensed upon it had not dissipated; instead, it flared with even more brilliant radiance, striking directly at the center of his true body's back like a long-dormant viper!
“How is that possible?!”
At the same time, a calm male voice cut clearly through the din of the battlefield, falling into his ears.
“Sorry. As a veteran gamer with ten years of PvP experience, I don't fall for pressure.”
Rate on N.U.
