PFC Chapter 522 Shadow Invasion
Chapter 522 Shadow Invasion
Elder Qingfeng's protective goggles suddenly emitted a piercing electric shock, which made my eardrums ache.
His calloused hands gripped the array plate tightly, his knuckles turning white: "The outer defensive array... can't hold!"
I looked in the direction of his trembling fingertips.
At the entrance of the valley, the bluish-white light membrane resembled the surface of water after being struck by a pebble, with dark patterns rippled in circles. A few wisps of black gas, emanating a fishy smell, were seeping in through the cracks in the light membrane, making a "sizzling" corrosive sound when they touched the grass and trees.
Wen Chen gently pressed his palm against the back of my neck, and the icy spiritual energy surged into my limbs through the Dazhui acupoint—he was helping me stabilize the turbulent blood and qi caused by tension.
"The deathly aura of the Void Realm." The ethereal immortal's voice was like bronze soaked in cold water. "Three hundred years ago, when Qingwei Palace suppressed the Heavenly Rift, I witnessed this kind of corrosion." His hand, stroking his beard, suddenly stopped. "Young friend, do you have your copy of 'The Chronicles of Otherworldly Realms' with you?"
I suddenly remembered the yellowed ancient book in my storage ring.
The moment my fingertips touched the ring face, the spirit crystal suddenly burned in my palm, and black mist seeped into my arm along my veins, making me gasp in pain.
Wen Chen immediately grabbed my wrist, and icy blue spiritual energy surged in like a stream, forcing the black mist back into his palm: "Take care of the most important things first." His voice was extremely low, and the corners of his eyes were red—a sign that he was using his primordial spiritual energy.
I gritted my teeth, took off my storage ring, and pulled out the book "The Chronicles of Otherworldly Realms".
The yellowed pages were lifted by the mountain wind, and the words "Void Realm: Shadow Demon Chapter" in vermilion ink came into view: "When the rift in the sky opens, the Shadow Demon emerges with the deathly aura."
It skillfully mimics the form and spirit of a cultivator, and its possession is swift and without warning; only the Heart-Cleansing Mantra can expose its deception.
"A disciple has been attacked!" Zi Ling's voice came from the east.
The coral beads in her hair trembled as she ran, and the short blade in her hand gleamed coldly. "Ah Zhu is with the patrol team; she said Junior Brother Zhou suddenly..."
Before he could finish speaking, a muffled groan came from the woods to the east.
Wen Chen and I rushed over almost at the same time, only to see three disciples surrounding a figure in a blue robe.
The figure had its back to us, its right hand gripping a disciple's throat, while its left hand pressed against the disciple's dantian—the vital point for a cultivator's spiritual power.
"Zhou Ming!" the disciple closest to him called out in a trembling voice, "It's me, Chen Er!"
The disciple, whose throat was being choked, kicked wildly, and the storage bag at his waist fell to the ground with a "thud".
Under the moonlight, I saw dark blue lines rising on the back of Zhou Ming's neck, like a twisted snake.
His eyes had an eerie, dark blue hue, exactly the same as the eyes in the crack before.
"Shadow Demon!" My mind went blank for a moment, and I quickly formed the hand seal for the Mind-Cleansing Mantra.
Wen Chen's sword was drawn at the same time, and the icy sword energy grazed Zhou Ming's ear and pierced into the tree trunk—he was buying me time.
"Clear your mind and understand your nature, break through illusions and return to truth!" The golden light bursting from my fingertips enveloped Zhou Ming, who suddenly let out a piercing scream, and the hand gripping his neck loosened.
A cloud of black mist billowed from his mouth, condensing into a palm-sized shadow in the air, baring its fangs and claws as it tried to burrow into the forest.
Chen Er clutched his neck and collapsed to the ground, his face ashen. "Junior Brother Zhou... he... he just said he wanted me to take a break..."
The black mist was pinned to the ground by Wen Chen's sword energy, emitting a hissing wail.
Zhou Ming collapsed to the ground, his forehead covered in cold sweat, clutching Chen Er's sleeve and trembling: "I... I think I just took a nap, and I dreamt that someone whispered in my ear...that there's delicious food here..."
Zi Ling crouched down to examine the back of his neck. A speck of black mist touched her fingertips; she immediately frowned and shook them off. "There's residual death energy." She looked up at me, the coral bead gleaming blood-red in the moonlight. "Is it the same kind of black mist as on the spirit crystal?"
Before I could answer, the ethereal immortal had already approached.
He stared at the dark lines on the back of Zhou Ming's neck for a moment, then looked up at the widening crack, his beard trembling slightly in the night wind.
A mountain breeze carrying the smell of decaying grass blew by, and I heard him sigh very softly: "He's been parasitized by the Shadow Fiend."
Before he could finish speaking, a crisp "crack" sound came from the direction of the crack.
I turned my head sharply and saw that the narrow cut, about the width of a finger, had split open to more than three inches. Amidst the surging blood, there seemed to be an even larger shadow writhing.
Wen Chen's sword suddenly hummed, and ice patterns spread along the spine of the sword—this time, the erosion was more intense than before.
Zi Ling helped Zhou Ming stand up, while Chen Er shakily went to pick up the storage bag.
Elder Qingfeng's protective goggles suddenly glowed green again. He pointed towards the crack, his voice strained: "The spirit crystal is burning faster..."
I clenched the spirit crystal in my palm, and black mist had already crept up my forearm.
Wen Chen grasped my hand, his body heat radiating through my palm: "I'll seal your arm with the Ice Spirit Lock, you continue searching the scriptures." His spiritual power was like an ice needle, piercing into the black mist along my veins, causing my eyes to sting with pain, but also clearing my mind—we must find a way to completely seal the rift before the Shadow Demons infiltrate on a large scale.
Suddenly, another exclamation came from the woods to the east.
Wen Chen and I exchanged a glance, then simultaneously drew our swords and charged forward.
This time, the scream was mixed with a sticky "splatter" sound, as if something wet and slippery was climbing down from the tree.
The moonlight was mostly obscured by dark clouds, and the shadows in the woods suddenly became very long, looking like... countless outstretched arms.
The screams from the woods to the east were like tiny needles piercing my eardrums.
The dark lines on the back of Zhou Ming's neck were still twitching. My throat tightened, and my fingertips had just touched the Purifying Flame Talisman at my waist when the ethereal immortal's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over my head: "Once this thing possesses someone, it cannot be removed unless the soul is burned away with purifying fire."
"Purifying Fire?" Chen Er's hand supporting Zhou Ming trembled violently, and cold sweat dripped from Zhou Ming's forehead down his chin onto his blue shirt, spreading out dark circular spots.
I paused as I took out the talisman—this talisman was drawn last month at the medicine shop using the core of Crimson Flame Grass and powder from the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn. It was originally intended to cure Zi Ling's cold poison, but now it was to be used to burn her soul.
Wen Chen's palm pressed against my shoulder, the icy chill seeping through the fabric: "When the Shadow Demon parasitizes, it devours the host's three souls and seven spirits. If it had been any later, Zhou Ming wouldn't have even been able to enter reincarnation." His voice was as light as a snowflake, yet it reminded me of the illustration I saw in "The Chronicles of Another World" yesterday—a cultivator devoured by the Shadow Demon would eventually become a walking lump of rotting flesh.
I bit my tongue, and the talisman glowed with a faint orange-red light on my fingertips.
Zhou Ming suddenly grabbed my wrist; his hand was as cold as if it had been dipped in an icy pool. "Senior Sister Xiao... I'm in pain." His eyes were red, like a little beggar being chased by stray dogs on the street when he was a child.
My throat tightened, and I shoved the talisman onto the back of his neck.
The pure fire suddenly burst forth, and the dark blue patterns emitted a sizzling scream. Zhou Ming groaned and fainted, but the sweat on his forehead dried instantly—the Shadow Demon was burned to ashes.
“Ziling.” Wen Chen drew his jade flute from his waist. The ice patterns on the flute climbed up his fingertips and onto the ground, forming a half-person-high ice wall around us. “Take Chen Er to the medicine hut and have Elder Qingfeng cast two Soul-Guarding Curses on him.” Ziling’s coral bead shimmered in the icy light. As she squatted down and carried Zhou Ming on her back, the short blade clinked crisply against her waist. “Understood, I’ll go right now.” As she turned, the ends of her hair brushed against the back of my hand, carrying a warm body temperature—like the coral pendant she always carried in her bosom.
Elder Qingfeng's protective goggles suddenly emitted a burst of green light. He ripped them off and smashed them on the ground, the lenses shattering into stars. "The array... the outer protective spirit array has been corroded!" He tugged at his beard with his calloused hands, blood seeping from between his fingers. "That crack just now... it's probably connected to the Shadow Demon's lair in the Void Realm!"
Wen Chen's sword suddenly hummed, and ice patterns crawled up the spine of the sword to his sleeve.
I noticed the red at the corners of his eyes had deepened—a sign that he was using his primordial spiritual power to suppress the attack. "Starting tonight, there will be patrols every three hours." He tapped the ground with his sword tip, and ice spikes shot up, forming a Big Dipper formation at the valley entrance. "Ziling, take ten disciples to the training ground and draw the Shadow Demon's distinctive features: the dark markings on the back of its neck and its blue eyes. Have everyone memorize them before dawn."
Zi Ling paused at the gap in the ice wall. As she turned back, the coral bead glittered: "Where is Senior Sister Xiao?"
“I taught them the art of spiritual perception.” I took out the “Records of Otherworldly Realms” from my pocket, turned to the “Spiritual Perception” section, and said, “Shadow Demons will corrupt the surrounding spiritual energy; this technique can detect the smell of decay.” As soon as I finished speaking, the crisp sound of breaking branches came from the woods to the east—it was the alarmed shout of the night patrol disciples.
Wen Chen's sword was drawn instantly, and he swept towards the source of the sound, enveloped in icy mist. I gripped the talisman tightly and followed, but Elder Qingfeng grabbed my sleeve.
“Young friend,” he said, his knuckles pressing against the array plate, the cracks on it spreading visibly, “that thing… I’m afraid it won’t last until dawn.”
When the moon was swallowed by dark clouds and only a silver edge remained, I finally finished teaching the incantation of spiritual perception.
Just as the last disciple finished reciting "Spiritual consciousness transforms into threads, discerning the purity and turbidity of qi," a cold laugh suddenly erupted at the entrance of the valley.
"Xiao Xianzi is indeed teaching very diligently." Xue Sha's voice was like a poisoned needle, piercing through the night.
When I turned my head, I saw him standing in front of the cracked light membrane, with a person in a black robe standing beside him—that person was shrouded in shadow from head to toe, even his face was hidden under the hood, but the moment his sleeves were rolled up, I saw a dark blue snake-shaped pattern wrapped around his wrist, exactly the same as the one on the back of Zhou Ming's neck.
"Defense array!" Elder Qingfeng roared, accompanied by the crackling sound of the array plate shattering.
As I rushed over, a black and red ball had already condensed in Blood Fiend's palm. The moment the ball hit the light membrane, the light membrane burst open with a "pop" like a punctured bubble.
The man in black robes raised his hand, and the black mist seeping from his fingertips condensed in the air into the outline of a Shadow Demon—the "Shadow Demon Nest" image I had seen in "The Chronicles of Another World".
Wen Chen's ice sword met Xue Sha's black sphere. Ice and poison collided in mid-air, exploding into a dazzling blue-black light.
I formed the Mind-Cleansing Mantra hand seal and rushed towards the man in black robes, but his figure suddenly became ethereal and reappeared standing in front of me.
He raised his hand, and I smelled a mixture of decaying leaves and rust—the same smell as the "person" who choked me in my dream.
"Who are you?" I swung my sword at his throat, but he grabbed the blade with his bare hands.
His palms were unusually cold, like a stone buried in the snow: "Xiao Yao, you really don't remember...?"
"Bang!" Wen Chen's ice spike pierced his left shoulder. The man in black robes released his grip in pain, and I took the opportunity to retreat three steps.
He chuckled softly, clutching his wound, blood seeping from between his fingers and dripping onto the ground with a sizzling, corrosive sound—the deathly aura of the void.
“Shadow Demon Forbidden Technique…” I stared at the black mist churning in his wound, cold sweat beading on my back.
Last night I saw this kind of blood in my dream, and the voice said, "You were meant to be my vessel," and it's still echoing in my ears right now.
Elder Qingfeng's exclamation rang out again: "Light membrane!"
The protective light membrane had cracked in three places! I turned my head and saw that the originally bluish-white protective light membrane was now covered with spider web-like cracks, and a fishy black mist was seeping out from each crack.
Wen Chen's ice wall melted in the black mist. Zi Ling led her disciples and rushed over with torches, but the torches went out with a "poof" as soon as they touched the black mist.
The man in black robes suddenly pulled the Blood Fiend back into the crevice. When he turned his head, his hood slipped down half an inch—I saw that his left eye was glowing with a ghostly blue, exactly like Zhou Ming before he was purified.
"Xiao Yao, next time we meet..." His voice mingled with the shrill screams coming from the crack, "I'll show you what the true Void Realm is."
Before they could finish speaking, their figures were swallowed up by the black mist surging from the crack.
I gripped the sword hilt tightly, my palms covered in cold sweat.
Wen Chen walked to my side, his spiritual energy automatically enveloping my trembling hands: "Go check the formation."
Elder Qingfeng knelt before the shattered array plate, his hand trembling as he pointed to the deepest crack in the light membrane—where a wisp of dark red was seeping out, like blood dripping into clear water, slowly spreading.
“That is…” My throat tightened.
"The Shadow Demon's Lair in the Void Realm." The ethereal immortal appeared behind us, his beard stained gray by the black mist. "They intend to tear open the heavens and allow the Lair to descend."
The night wind, carrying the stench of decay, swept into the valley, and I heard the "crack" sound of the light membrane tearing closer.
Zi Ling ran over holding a torch. In the firelight, her coral beads shimmered with a blood-red hue, like a tear hanging on her eyelashes.
"Senior Sister Xiao!" Her voice trembled with tears. "Zhou Ming from the medicine hut has woken up. He said... he said the voice in my dream, and just now... and that black-robed man, are the same one."
As I stared at the ever-widening crack, the spirit crystal in my palm suddenly began to burn.
The black mist crept along the blood vessels toward the heart, and this time, even Wen Chen's Ice Spirit Lock couldn't suppress it.
(Ending: More dark red seeped from the cracks in the light membrane, as if something enormous was squeezing in this direction.)
Elder Qingfeng's protective goggles suddenly emitted a piercing screech. He pointed in the direction of the crack, his lips trembling as he couldn't speak—the core spiritual vein of the defensive array had begun to emit black smoke.
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