A number of Gray Wing clansmen soon materialized where Shi Yan and the other had vanished, these Gray Wing members looking around expectantly, seemingly searching for something.
One of the Gray Wing clansmen took out a dark-green stone sphere and let a drop of his blood fall onto the green surface.
The sphere slowly emitted a soft green glow, and wisps of soul-essence originating from Han Long were gathered from the swirling ash everywhere, condensing into the stone sphere.
The Gray Wing clansman’s expression abruptly changed, and he gasped, “Han Long is dead!”
All the Gray Wing clansmen roared in unison and rapidly dispersed, beginning the hunt for the killer.
Beyond Yin Beast Mountain, within the territory of the Gray Wing clan.
On towering ancient trees, each a hundred meters high, strange wooden houses were built, and within every house, a Gray Wing clansman was cultivating.
Behind one of the ancient trees lay a valley where the wind howled incessantly.
Inside that valley, an elder of the Gray Wing clan, whose appearance bore a seventy percent resemblance to Han Long, stood with a grim expression, gazing at the fiery, alluring figure seated amidst the howling gale, a chilling, ** light flickering in his cold eyes.
The figure possessed a hot silhouette, clad in dark-red armor, and emanating an intense aura of Wind energy. She sat cross-legged in the valley, and the vast amounts of Wind energy surrounding her were rapidly converging, nourishing the Martial Soul within her body, making her entire being radiant and full of vitality.
“Miss He, cultivate well. The wind power in Skywind Valley is exceptionally dense. Normally, only I can cultivate here, but now I yield it to you.” The Gray Wing elder’s gaze was sharp as he stared at the enchanting body for a long while, murmuring to himself, “You are a gift from heaven to me. Your Wind Martial Soul is the finest crucible for my advancement in Wind power. When you have gathered enough Wind energy, I will harvest it, allowing my cultivation realm to advance further, surpassing those two…”
Within the valley, He Qingman, whose entire body was enveloped by swirling Wind energy, quietly opened her eyes. Her beautiful gaze flickered toward the elder from a distance before she immediately closed them again, a shadow of sorrow crossing her face.
“Jingle-jingle! Jingle-jingle!”
A peculiar sound suddenly emanated from the Gray Wing elder’s chest. He frowned, reaching into his robe to pull out a dark-green stone sphere, asking impatiently, “What is it?”
“Young… Young Master is dead!” An urgent, anxious voice spoke from the stone sphere.
“What?” The elder’s face contorted, veins bulging beneath his skin in sheer rage, his expression turning utterly savage. He immediately bellowed, “Say that again!”
“The Young Master is dead, his soul completely scattered! Clan Chief, spare me! We don’t know what happened.” The voice in the sphere was filled with terror and anxiety.
The Gray Wing elder bared his teeth and, unable to contain himself, let out a wild roar toward the sky within the valley. With the sound of his cry, astonishing energy fluctuations converged, surging toward the stone sphere.
The sphere suddenly shot forth a brilliant green light. This light continuously refined itself, gradually forming an image.
Within the ghostly green picture, Shi Yan’s slightly blurred, cold countenance was outlined by green threads. As more and more energy was injected, Shi Yan’s appearance grew clearer and clearer.
“A Human!”
The gray elder shrieked, unleashing a fierce gust of wind that uprooted the surrounding ancient trees, shattering them into splinters of wood that filled the air.
Startled by the elder’s violent outburst, He Qingman couldn't help but open her eyes, only to immediately see the image of Shi Yan’s face outlined in green light within the valley.
A flash of astonishment crossed her beautiful eyes; He Qingman almost cried out in surprise but quickly closed her eyes again, pretending she had seen nothing.
“Miss He, look closely and tell me if you recognize this human?” The Gray Wing elder, breathing heavily and with a hideous expression, barked at He Qingman.
Opening her eyes once more, He Qingman stared deeply at the phantom of Shi Yan revealed in the green light for a moment before saying faintly, “He is our target upon entering the Abyss Battlefield, but I do not know his exact location. Those who entered with me have scattered; none of us knows the position of the others.”
“I will make him wish he were dead,” the Gray Wing elder hissed, taking a deep breath, roaring in a low voice like an enraged demon beast.
You certainly know how to stir things up, He Qingman thought wryly, shaking her head gently, concern for Shi Yan’s fate beginning to weigh on her mind.
“Swish, swish!”
A delicate figure, carrying someone under her arm, darted rapidly through the dense forest, heading straight toward the direction of Giant Stone Ancient City.
“Cui Bi!”
Suddenly, a stern shout echoed from the direction of Giant Stone Ancient City.
“Father!” Yi Cui Bi exclaimed, quickly slowing her speed and moving toward the elder. “Did you sense the strangeness on Yin Beast Mountain?”
Yi Tianmo nodded, a strange glint flashing through his ash-white eyes. “Cui Bi, did this brat manage to capture any demonic beasts?”
“He killed three Ghost Infants,” Yi Cui Bi replied flatly.
“What?” Yi Tianmo’s expression changed, but he immediately regained his composure, looking deeply at Yi Cui Bi and asking, “What exactly happened?”
“He… he possesses Heavenly Fire, and moreover, he even killed Han Long, the son of the Gray Wing Clan Chief,” Yi Cui Bi said with a bitter smile.
Yi Tianmo’s lean body trembled slightly, the look of horror on his face impossible to conceal. He stared blankly at Shi Yan for a moment, his expression momentarily vacant.
“Heavenly Fire, Heavenly Fire… he is actually a Celestial Being…”
After a long pause, Yi Tianmo muttered softly before suddenly grinning bizarrely, “Brat, you actually possess Heavenly Fire. Very good, very good!”
“Father! Cui Bi shrieked… “Don’t kill him! He saved my life. If it weren't for him, I might have been killed by the Ghost Infants.”
Yi Cui Bi knew her father’s temperament. Yi Tianmo was known for his grim silence, and once he displayed that peculiar smile, it signaled that he intended to kill someone.
“Never mind that he saved your life; even if he saved mine, he must die,” Yi Tianmo said, shaking his head with a smile, his ash-white pupils fixed deeply on Shi Yan. “His very existence poses a fatal threat to our entire Shadow Specter Clan. We were banished here, and we possess no ice or cold divine treasures to defend ourselves. Once he grows to a realm where he no longer fears our soul attacks, his continued existence will be a disaster for our entire Shadow Specter Clan!”
“You cannot kill me!” Shi Yan suddenly roared.
“Oh?” Yi Tianmo maintained his bizarre smile, but his eyes grew increasingly cold. “Tell me, what reason do you have that should persuade me not to kill you? I know you are clever; you won’t mention trivialities like saving a life, which I wouldn't care about.”
“I can help you deal with the Yin Beasts.”
“That reason is insufficient. Your existence is a far greater threat than the Yin Beasts.”
“There is a change on Yin Beast Mountain; a large number of Yin Beasts can break free from it, including many Ghost Infants. They can destroy your entire Shadow Specter Clan,” Shi Yan said with a frown.
“As long as we hide within the Ancient City, the Yin Beasts will have little impact. After a while, the Yin Beasts will return to Yin Beast Mountain. You cannot convince me,” Yi Tianmo continued to shake his head, his smile unchanging.
“The restriction on Yin Beast Mountain is weakening; a major shift is occurring. The Yin Beasts emerging this time might be fiercer than any previous emergence!” Yi Cui Bi exclaimed involuntarily. “Father, we should wait a while and observe the movements of the Yin Beasts. If he lives, we have a means to deal with them.”
“This reason is still not enough,” Yi Tianmo continued shaking his head, the smile persisting, his intent to kill unwaning.
“I can also help you deal with other members of the Shadow Specter Clan. Hmm, I heard there are two other leaders in the Ancient City just like you. Consider this: if you can control me, you might gain unimaginable assistance in your conflict with those two leaders. This could help you suppress them,” Shi Yan blurted out, struck by inspiration just as Yi Tianmo was about to act.
The smile on Yi Tianmo’s face suddenly vanished.
Dots of strange light flickered in his eyes, his expression turning sinister as he rapidly weighed the pros and cons.
Shortly after, Yi Tianmo suddenly nodded, saying faintly, “I will not kill you for now. However, you absolutely must not reveal your Heavenly Fire to anyone again.”
“Understood,” Shi Yan quickly nodded.
“Swish, swish!”
From not far away came the sound of figures slicing through the air; it seemed more Shadow Specter clansmen were rushing over from the direction of the Ancient City.
“Cui Bi, take him back first; I will make a trip to Yin Beast Mountain,” Yi Tianmo suddenly commanded, frowning.
Yi Cui Bi nodded, dragging Shi Yan, and quickly moved toward the Ancient City. Along the way, Shi Yan secretly observed his surroundings, noticing that many powerful experts of the Shadow Specter Clan were heading toward Yin Beast Mountain.
Among them, two auras whose soul fluctuations were so powerful they caused Shi Yan to tremble flashed by, instantly vanishing from his spiritual sense.
“Leaders Kaba and Zhameng have gone too,” Yi Cui Bi explained to Shi Yan. “Those two are leaders of our Shadow Specter Clan, just like my father, and they are extremely powerful. The abnormality on Yin Beast Mountain has clearly alarmed them as well.”
“Aren't they afraid of attacks from the Yin Beasts by rushing there now?” Shi Yan asked, momentarily surprised.
“Kaba and Zhameng have profound cultivation levels. Unless it’s a high-level Ghost Infant, almost no Yin Beast can harm them. If they wanted to leave, even a Ghost Infant couldn't catch them,” Yi Cui Bi replied.
“I see.”
In Giant Stone Ancient City.
Inside a magnificent, imposing ancient structure, Cao Zhilan, Gu Linglong, Zhai Yanqing, Pan Zhe, and a group of warriors were imprisoned in a small, secret room. Periodically, one of the warriors would be taken away by Zha Ji’s people.
Soon after, piercing screams of agony could be heard echoing from nearby rooms.
At this moment, Cao Zhilan, Pan Zhe, and the other rising stars from the Endless Sea all wore expressions of deep gloom, their former radiance gone from their faces.
“Miss Cao, can’t even your Spirit God Martial Soul break through the soul restrictions?” A warrior from the Penglai Holy Land asked Cao Zhilan with utter despair.
Cao Zhilan sat cross-legged, shaking her head lightly with resignation. “These foreign races have a far superior understanding of the soul than we do. As soon as my Spirit God Martial Soul shows the slightest anomaly, any one of these foreign race members can react immediately. Forget that my soul is restricted; even if it weren't, I wouldn't dare make a move here.”
“So, we just wait here to die?” the warrior murmured.
“I have no solution for now. However, Shi Yan is not bound, perhaps… perhaps he has a way. After all, he possesses special power within his body; maybe he can survive here?”
“Him?”
Pan Zhe, Gu Linglong, and Zhai Yanqing all exclaimed involuntarily, their expressions strange.