A Killer"s Night: Black Moon and High Winds
With the setting sun gone and night had fallen, the Forest of Scorching Flames was enveloped in total darkness.
Jiang Xiaofan stood on the branch of an ancient tree, and his lips curled into an icy smirk. He would no longer flee. A dark black, long sword appeared in his hand, and two glimmers of golden light flashed in the dark.
Slowly, he concealed his presence and quietly disappeared from the ancient tree.
Almost at the same time, the green-robed man suddenly shuddered and stopped in his tracks. He could sense that Jiang Xiaofan"s qi had vanished without any trace. His forehead emitted forth an intense, glaring blue light, but still, he could not sense any of Jiang Xiaofan"s qi fluctuations. It was as if Jiang Xiaofan had fallen off the face of Planet Ziwei.
"Ahhhh!"
All of a sudden, a shriek rang out from his side, and then all had become quiet again. Using the light from their spiritual energy, everyone noticed that their fallen comrade rested in a pool of blood. His chest had been pierced through, and his heart shattered.
The seven of them were thoroughly shocked. Instantly, they expanded the perimeter of their spiritual awareness. The green-robed elder was the most frightening among them. The blue light of spiritual awareness radiating from his forehead expanded to a radius of several thousand meters.
"Spread out. We must find him!" This was the first time that the green-robed elder had spoken.
Obeying his orders, the six guards hastily dispersed. As if they had undergone a long period of cruel, rigorous training, they rapidly soon stood at their designated areas and swept their spiritual awareness around for any signs of Jiang Xiaofan"s qi.
Their actions elicited silent laughter from Jiang Xiaofan; however, it was a laughter of death. They just made it more convenient for him to exact revenge!
With the a.s.sistance of his silver-colored bra.s.s piece, all of his qi was concealed. None of his life force fluctuations could be detected either. He was now the G.o.d of this pitch-black darkness. He was the G.o.d of death who harvested life!
"Ahhhh!"
Another scream broke the silence of the night. A streak of cold light flashed across the darkness. With a crack in guard"s armor, his chest had been pierced through with blood spurting out. With a look of unwillingness on his face, he collapsed to the ground.
One more ninth heaven Micro Realm cultivator had fallen, and it was a death blow, too. Like the one before him, his chest had been pierced through and his heart had been shattered. Again, they were unable to catch a glimpse of the murderer"s shadow. They couldn"t even sense the slightest wave of energy fluctuation.
Looking at another comrade lying in a pool of blood, the blank expressions on the guards" faces finally faltered. They weren"t afraid of death, but this inexplicable way of dying and the inability to detect any qi perturbed them.
"Those who desire to kill must equally be prepared to be killed!"
Under the cover of the darkness, Jiang Xiaofan coldly smiled. The Celestial Demon Sword within his hand emanated zero energy fluctuations, but its sharpness was absolute and peerless. It was an indestructible weapon. Even after killing those two, the blade was free of blood stains!
A full moon gradually appeared above the sky but was soon veiled by dark clouds, unable to beam its shimmering light downward. At the same time, frigid winds blew across the Forest of Scorching Flames. The ancient saying of "A Killer"s Night: Black Moon and High Winds" was the perfect description for tonight.
Jiang Xiaofan"s eyes glinted with ice-cold light. The sword in his hand was aimed at one of the remaining six figures. It wasn"t that he was a bloodthirsty killer, but that against his enemies, there was no need to show any mercy.
Showing mercy to his opponents was a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.tic tendency. Jiang Xiaofan wasn"t an idiot. In other words, he wouldn"t think about benevolence and let go of those who wanted him dead. That wasn"t an act of kindness but one of stupidity!
The sharp sword within his grasp had two uses. One was to protect everything dear to him. The other was to eradicate his enemies. The spilled blood wouldn"t make the mystical sword"s blade duller, but rather, it would only make it sharper.
"Ahhhh!"
A screech echoed into the sky, causing the remaining spiritual animals to scatter and the insects to tremble. Among the six, another one had fallen! His pupils widened in terror and chagrin as he fixed his gaze at the sky.
Other than the green-robed elder, the others quivered. They were ruthless and callous to the extent of nearly severing all emotions. Countless victims" lives had been taken away by their hands. These formed the foundation of the guards" cultivation and martial prowess. They had never feared death, nor did they know what fear was.
However, on this particular night, they finally understood what fear was and what it felt like. It was as if the G.o.d of death was standing behind them and poised to chop their hands off with a sickle. They couldn"t resist at all. They couldn"t even see what the G.o.d of death looked like, but rather could only wait to be slaughtered and plummet down the abyss of h.e.l.l. This psychological and spiritual pain was far more torturous than the pain inflicted upon the body!
"Show yourself at once!"
This was also the first time that the green-robed elder displayed any kind of mood swing. He roared at the night sky, and the air around him vibrated violently. Jiang Xiaofan"s heart rocked with fear once more. This old man was indeed terrifying. His cultivation level was at the ninth heaven of Phantom Saint!
Jiang Xiaofan hid behind a large tree from not far away. His heart surged with mixed feelings. Just who and what is Xia Fengming? How come the old man beside him has such frightening cultivation? What behemoth of power is backing him up? These were thoughts that Jiang Xiaofan didn"t dare to dwell further on.
However, after a while, he calmed down and coldly sneered. Xia Fengming, I don"t care who you are. I don"t care who"s behind you. Since you want to kill me, then take a seat and keep waiting. Enjoy your life while you can because, in the near future, I"ll make you regret being born into this world!
There were still five guards standing in the midst of the forest. Jiang Xiaofan raised his head and looked towards the night sky. None of these five could leave here alive. Since they were bold enough to challenge him, then he could only return the favor by using violence against violence. Death would serve as their last comfort!
Like a ghost traversing through the night, he lightly trod the ground with his Shadow Steps without leaving any marks nor sounds. Suddenly, Jiang Xiaofan appeared behind another victim, raised his sword, struck down, and sliced his enemy"s head off.
The Celestial Demon Sword was extremely sharp. During the whole time, not a single sound could be heard until shortly after Jiang Xiaofan"s retreat into the darkness. Another scream rang out. Right before he had lost all consciousness, the victim could feel his head separating from his body. The unparalleled, inexplicable horror led him to release the final call for his life.
Blood dyed the ground red again. Dead silence occupied filled the pitch-black atmosphere of the night. In just a brief moment, four people had already been slaughtered and rested in their own pool of blood. Still, they had discovered nor detected nothing until after the ear-piercing screams were sounded. It was only then that they knew the person hiding in the darkness had struck and taken another life away yet again.
"Monster! He"s a monster!"
Immediately after the fall of his comrade, one of the guards hollered with despair. He forcefully tugged his hair and wildly swung his spear around with bursts of the blue aura being discharged.
"Pathetic trash!"
After berating the guard, the green-robed elder personally ended his life with a palm strike.
Within the ancient forest, only another guard and the green-robed elder remained. There were a total of thirteen people in the company with the weakest being at the eight heaven of Micro Realm. To their dismay, Jiang Xiaofan had eliminated eleven of them. Half of them were ninth heaven Micro Realm cultivators. The result of this battle left the green-robed elder disconcerted but even more so incensed.
"You runt! If you"re brave enough, come forth!" The green-robed elder barked.
He sneered again in the darkness. Using such a low-handed method to instigate me? How can I possibly fall for it? Jiang Xiaofan picked up a stone from the ground, slyly smirked, and threw it into the distance.
*Boing*
After the sound of the stone landing on the ground was heard, a cold light flashed across the green-robed elder"s eyes. In a split second, he dashed towards the direction of the sound. Immediately after he left, another shriek cried out from behind him. The last guard had been killed!
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" He couldn"t control himself from bawling.
It was still dark, but the air gradually turned humid. Jiang Xiaofan knew that first light of day would soon dawn upon him. His gaze turned vicious. He needed to eliminate the green-robed elder before sunrise; otherwise, he wouldn"t have another chance to do so!
With icy winds blowing, Jiang Xiaofan bypa.s.sed the corpses on the ground and carefully approached him.
Others could not see nor sense his presence, but he, inversely, could. They didn"t have a hidden treasure like that bra.s.s piece of his. Therefore, they were unable to escape his spiritual awareness" detection. Like a fiend of the darkness, he silently crept towards the green-robed elder.
A murderous aura filled the air. Just as he was about to stab his Celestial Demon Sword into his opponent"s body, Jiang Xiaofan"s heart sank. The Celestial Demon Sword did not pierce through the green-robed elder"s heart, but rather, just when the tip of the blade was about to puncture his flesh, the old man slightly turned and avoided the coup de grâce.
Jiang Xiaofan quickly leaped backward. Suddenly, a blue sword qi slashed at him. Through the glimmer of the light, he saw the green-robed elder"s face contorted with savagery."
When the blue sword qi cut into him, sharp pain instantly radiated throughout his body. A mouthful of blood rose up to his throat but was forcefully swallowed back down his esophagus. The blood stains that were originally on his body had been cleaned. He was afraid that the smell of fresh blood would reveal his concealed position.
A ninth heaven Phantom Saint old dog! What a tough one! Jiang Xiaofan inwardly cursed as he withdrew into the darkness. It was a good thing that he was still chewing on the Immortal Spirit Root with its qi serving as a defense mechanism for his body. Otherwise, the pain from the sword qi that slashed into him would be even more unbearable.
It wasn"t until now that Jiang Xiaofan finally appreciated just how rare these prized herbs were. The kick that he had previously suffered from the old man nearly took his life. Even with his Buddhist Sutra protecting him, his condition was still dire. With half of an Immortal Spirit Root used, his life had been stabilized and the injury sustained from the attack was now halfway towards full recovery.
The Immortal Spirit Root is a primordial king of herbs. If this grade is already so potent, then what of a divine herb? Or the legendary saintly herb? The effects of the latter must be beyond imagination! It may even bring a dead person back to life!
The air in the forest grew more humid. Jiang Xiaofan clenched his teeth. He then picked up another small stone from the ground and gently placed it on top of a small tree branch. Afterward, he activated his Shadow Steps, limiting his movements to a minimum, and successfully maneuvered his way behind the green-robed elder with the help of the bra.s.s piece"s power.
Jiang Xiaofan didn"t instantly attack him. Instead, he concentrated all of his qi to its zenith and closed his eyes, aiming the sword in his hand right at the old man"s heart.
The green-robed elder was still unable to detect Jiang Xiaofan"s qi. He could only rely on his sense of hearing and touch. He stood in the same spot as before because he was confident that he would be able to dodge Jiang Xiaofan"s sword thrust in the nick of time before his skin would be pierced and in return, finish off his target.
As a result, neither party moved. The green-robed elder didn"t know where Jiang Xiaofan was. He just stood still and waited for Jiang Xiaofan to attack him. As for Jiang Xiaofan, he patiently stood behind the old man and waited for the opportune time to kill him!
Editor: Vis