Chapter 33

Gao Yu's face was grim, his eyes cold, and a murderous aura enveloped him as he stepped toward Qin Lie.

His shoulder was drenched in blood, his clothes tattered, and he looked wretched and miserable, clearly having suffered greatly.

The Gao family warriors accompanying him were also covered in blood, appearing as if they had just been through a fierce battle.

Of the nine Gao family members, only three remained, including Gao Yu. The casualties were extremely heavy, which was why his eyes turned red at the sight of Qin Lie.

"You made us stay behind to draw fire so you could have time to escape. What a cunning plan!"

Gao Yu gritted his teeth, black smoke swirling in his palms, the smoke eerie and sinister, like floating vengeful spirits.

"What are you planning to do?!" Ling Xin shouted, suddenly stepping in front of Qin Lie, glaring at Gao Yu. "If our young lady hadn't informed you, you would all be dead by now!"

"Get out of the way!"

Gao Yu waved his hands, and dark smoke, like ghostly faces, rushed toward Ling Xin.

Ling Xin, at the sixth level of Body Tempering, was no match for Gao Yu, who was at the eighth level. As soon as the dark smoke surrounded him, he felt a chill all over, as if invaded by evil spirits. Ling Xin's mind was filled with terrifying illusions, his eyes wide with fear, and he screamed as he retreated.

Qin Lie noticed that Gao Yu was wearing a pair of ghost-faced rings on his hands, and the dark smoke was emanating from these rings.

Clearly, these rings were extremely rare spirit artifacts.

"Whoa!" A graceful figure suddenly stood in front of Qin Lie. Before he could react, Ling Yushi said softly, "Gao Yu, the decision was mine. If you want to vent your anger, come at me!"

"You?" Gao Yu sneered, his eyes mocking. "With your character, you wouldn't make such a ruthless decision without being provoked. The Ling family wouldn't dare to sacrifice the people of the Star Cloud Pavilion so easily!"

As he spoke, more dark, ink-like smoke spewed from the ghost-faced rings on Gao Yu's hands, rising and forming ghostly, cold shapes that drifted toward Ling Yushi.

A chilling, icy aura spread, and the faint sound of ghostly wails could be heard, as if spirits were floating in the darkness.

This startled Ling Yushi, and soon, like Ling Xin, she saw numerous illusions rushing at her, causing her to frown in pain as she struggled against the mental images.

Gao Yu had obtained the ghost-faced rings by chance. They contained a sinister cultivation technique, and by practicing the spirit technique within, Gao Yu had rapidly advanced, gradually unleashing the rings' power.

To this day, Gao Yu and his family had not determined the spirit artifact level of the ghost-faced rings.

Gao Yu was still exploring the rings and found that by combining the spirit technique with the rings, he could form ghostly, sinister black smoke that could directly invade an enemy's mind. Even those slightly higher in cultivation found it hard to break free immediately.

Ling Yushi, at the same cultivation level as Gao Yu, showed signs of confusion and struggle as soon as the black smoke invaded her, immediately falling victim to it.

Gao Yu let out a cold hum, stepped over Ling Xin and Ling Yushi, and continued toward Qin Lie, mocking, "Are you only brave enough to hide behind women?"

Ling Ying, Ling Feng, and others, seeing the situation turn bad, hurriedly moved to help Qin Lie.

Unfortunately, they were too far away and didn't expect Ling Xin and Ling Yushi to be defeated so quickly, so they couldn't offer immediate assistance.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

More dark smoke spread, gradually forming ghostly spirits that drifted toward Qin Lie.

Liu Yan, standing nearby, had not intervened. He was also annoyed by Qin Lie's strategy and wanted Gao Yu to teach him a lesson, so he just watched with narrowed eyes.

As the cold, dark smoke approached, Qin Lie felt a chill all over, as if surrounded by spirits about to pounce.

At the same time, a sinister force quietly seeped into his mind...

Spiritual energy!

Qin Lie sensed it and immediately understood. He knew that Ling Xin and Ling Yushi had suddenly become confused because of the spiritual energy invasion!

The spiritual energy seeped in, suddenly transformed, and condensed into countless vengeful spirits and demons, rushing at him!

The terrifying scenes shook his mind, and like Ling Xin and Ling Yushi, he had to struggle to resist the mental invasion!

"Huh?"

Suddenly, a cool sensation emanated from the soul-calming bead in his forehead, instantly clearing his mind!

In the next moment, he found that the spiritual energy invading his mind had completely disappeared, and all the illusions had vanished.

Qin Lie's expression changed, and he immediately activated the Heavenly Thunder Punishment, covering his body with the power of thunder and lightning.

"Rumble! Sizzle!"

The sound of thunder and lightning echoed, and the cold, dark smoke rushing at him was quickly dispelled by the thunder's power, disappearing in an instant.

Even Ling Yushi and Ling Xin, who were nearby, saw the thick fog around them rapidly dissipate as he approached.

"What happened?" Ling Xin suddenly woke up, looking around in confusion.

Ling Yushi didn't speak, her eyes showing a hint of doubt as she looked ahead.

Gao Yu's face turned even paler, his eyes flashing with horror as he stared at Qin Lie and shouted, "You, you actually... can counter my attack?!"

"Master Gao! That's enough!" At this moment, Liu Yan finally walked over, patting Gao Yu's shoulder to calm him down. He then looked at Qin Lie with surprise and said, "It's rare to see someone cultivate the power of thunder, which can destroy all evil spirits. It's no wonder Master Gao's usually invincible technique failed against you."

Hearing this, Gao Yu also realized the situation, his face turning even more grim.

The spirit technique in his ghost-faced rings mentioned this, stating that the "Nine Nether Floating Souls Record" was immensely powerful, sinister, and bizarre. As one's cultivation advanced, it could gather floating souls and vengeful spirits, invade an enemy's mind, and destroy them both physically and mentally. However, it also mentioned that the "Nine Nether Floating Souls Record" was most afraid of those who cultivated the power of lightning.

Lightning cultivators were the nemesis of the "Nine Nether Floating Souls Record," as lightning specifically targeted and destroyed vengeful spirits and floating souls. It was best not to use the "Nine Nether Floating Souls Record" against such people, or it would be self-defeating.

"Let's put the past aside. When we return to the Star Cloud Pavilion, I will report to the higher-ups and let them decide," Liu Yan said, looking at Ling Yushi and Qin Lie. "For now, we should work together to deal with the pursuit from the Ice Shatter Manor and the Feng family. What do you think, Ling Yushi?"

"The Ling family will follow the Star Cloud Pavilion's orders," Ling Yushi nodded slightly, glancing at Gao Yu and added, "I hope you can better control the Gao family members next time to prevent them from acting rashly."

Seeing Gao Yu about to get angry again, Liu Yan quickly patted his shoulder to calm him down and said, "I'm glad you're willing to follow my lead. We've been fleeing through the forest, suffering heavy losses. We've encountered several spirit beasts, and several brothers were killed by them. Fewer died at the hands of the Ice Shatter Manor..."

"Not just us, the Ice Shatter Manor also lost seven or eight people, all to spirit beasts. This forest is full of powerful spirit beasts, and a single encounter can be hard to escape."

After speaking, he paused, looking deeply at the Ling family members and said, "I'm curious why you only lost one person. Did you only encounter a spirit beast once?"

Liu Yan and Gao Yu had been fleeing, and only two died at the hands of the Ice Shatter Manor, while most were killed by spirit beasts. Compared to the Ice Shatter Manor, the spirit beasts in the forest were a bigger problem. Seeing the Ling family's minimal losses, he was puzzled and wanted to understand the reason.

After his words, he noticed that the Ling family members all had strange expressions.

"What's wrong?" Liu Yan asked again.

"I'm sorry, I was too hasty and wronged you," Ling Xin looked at Qin Lie, lowering his head in apology.

"I'm sorry."

"We were just too foolish."

"Qin Lie, don't take it to heart."

The Ling family members who had previously mocked Qin Lie now looked ashamed. Through Liu Yan's words, they finally realized how fortunate they were to have Qin Lie leading them. It was laughable that they had complained and blamed him for delaying them and getting them chased by the Feng family. Now, they felt ashamed.

Qin Lie smiled, not saying much to avoid making them more embarrassed.

"It's good that everyone is safe," Ling Yushi comforted everyone, then smiled faintly and said to Liu Yan, "We didn't encounter any powerful spirit beasts, and no one was injured by them. The one who died was killed by the Feng family. However, we killed more Feng family members, only letting Feng Yi escape with two of his people..."

As she spoke, Ling Yushi's eyes swept over Qin Lie, her face filled with pride.

"Impossible!" Gao Yu shouted in disbelief.

"How, how is that possible?" Liu Yan was equally puzzled. "The forest is vast, with many powerful spirit beasts. How could you avoid them all while rushing? And how did you manage to kill so many Feng family members?"

After his words, he noticed that all the Ling family members were looking at Qin Lie.

Liu Yan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and smiled, "It seems this young brother is even more remarkable than I thought."

"Your spirit artifact seems damaged," Qin Lie looked at the hexagonal shield in Liu Yan's hand.

The shield was bronze-colored, hexagonal, with six sharp corners, each like a sword, clearly capable of attack. This showed that the hexagonal shield was both offensive and defensive.

However, the strange patterns on the shield's surface were now broken, like severed snakes, unable to connect.

Moreover, there were many dents on the shield's surface, indicating that the internal spirit array had been severely damaged.

"Yes, it was damaged in battle and can no longer be infused with spiritual energy. It's no longer... a spirit artifact," Liu Yan's expression was bitter, and he shook his head, sighing, "I've used it for a long time, and it's so convenient and familiar. It's awkward to switch weapons now, so I plan to continue using it. Sigh, this hexagonal shield is a fifth-grade mundane artifact, and it's a pity to see it damaged..."

"Can I take a look?" Qin Lie thought for a moment and suddenly asked.

...

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