Chapter 25: Ghostly Shadow

Shi Yan held a dagger, first carving crude butterfly patterns on two large trees. He then quickly climbed one of the trees, using the dagger to cut off an arm-thick branch, dividing it into five sections, sharpening them, and haphazardly coating the tips with "Seven Snake Saliva."

This series of actions took him two minutes.

Two minutes later, as expected, Tumu and Jinmo, members of the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group, arrived.

Tumu and Jinmo didn't take him or the two women seriously. As they moved through the forest, they talked with lecherous grins, discussing how they would soon defile Diyalan.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sharpened branches, like stubborn sunlight, pierced through the leaves, aiming at Tumu and Jinmo.

Tumu, unconcerned, casually swung his battle axe, knocking two branches to the ground. He laughed, "These people are really poor. They actually use branches to greet us. That's really disrespectful."

"Poor guys," Jinmo also sneered.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three more branches shot over stubbornly.

Tumu, growing impatient, swung his battle axe in a half-circle, and the three branches fell to the ground again.

Shi Yan slowly emerged from the leaves, coldly watching the two men. "Gentlemen, do you want to come one at a time, or together?"

Tumu squinted, looked up at Shi Yan, shook his head, and said uninterestedly, "Just a snot-nosed kid, probably just entered the Innate Realm. You talk big, but your strength is limited. I'm not interested."

With that, Tumu turned and walked away, his voice fading into the distance, "Jinmo, it's up to you. Finish it quickly so you can catch up. If you're late, I'll have the woman a second time, hahaha!"

Jinmo snorted, then slammed his massive war club into the ground, embedding it deeply in the soil. "Come down, kid. I won't use a weapon, and you don't make me climb the tree to chase you. I'm in a hurry, so hurry up."

"Sure, I'm in a hurry too," Shi Yan said, his eyes calm and indifferent to life and death. He leaped from the ancient tree, and his dagger shot into the ground next to the war club.

"Bang!" Shi Yan stood ten meters in front of Jinmo, raised his empty hands, and said, "I won't use a weapon either."

"Heh, you've got some guts, kid," Jinmo said, his face contorted with lumps, his eyes glowing with ferocity as he charged at Shi Yan.

Jinmo's hands suddenly swelled, veins bulging on his fists. As he swung his fists, the air whistled, and fist imprints appeared in the air, growing stronger as he advanced.

After five steps, dozens of fist imprints were visible in the air in front of Jinmo.

"Earth-level martial technique, Chaotic Star Fist!"

Shi Yan's eyes narrowed, focusing his essence, clearing his mind of all distractions. All he saw were the fist imprints, and his only thought was to kill Jinmo!

"Boom!"

A thunderous shock in his mind, like a sudden enlightenment, brought him into a wondrous state.

His eyes, ears, and body's sensitivity increased several times. Everything around him became crystal clear. He could clearly sense the flow and frequency of essence in Jinmo's arms.

The sky full of fist imprints vanished instantly, all illusions dispelled. In his eyes, only Jinmo's two fists remained, their trajectories clear.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Yan suddenly roared, his arms visibly tightening and withering, white mist swirling around them.

At the same time, his skin from his neck down began to petrify, turning into a gray-brown rock-like substance, hard as iron.

A dark light also emerged from his body, enveloping his lean form.

Jinmo's iron fist, carrying a force that could shatter stone, slammed into Shi Yan's chest.

The dark light shield distorted, breaking into pieces under Jinmo's iron fist. Jinmo's fist, slightly weakened, struck Shi Yan's chest heavily.

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

The sound of the impact and the sound of bones breaking were almost simultaneous.

Jinmo's face turned incredibly ugly.

The excruciating pain in his fist made him realize that the broken bones were not in Shi Yan's chest but in his own fist!

Grimacing, Jinmo looked at the cold, stone-like Shi Yan in horror, suddenly remembering something. "The Shi family's 'Petrification Martial Soul'! Are you from the Merchant Alliance's Shi family?"

"Very smart," Shi Yan said, his smile icy and cruel.

Jinmo realized it was too late to dodge. Shi Yan's hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Jinmo's neck. The white mist on his arm, filled with fear, madness, violence, and despair, instantly seeped into Jinmo's body.

Jinmo, as if falling into an endless hell, screamed in terror, his body trembling. "No! No! No!"

As if he couldn't see anything, Jinmo screamed, his fists swinging aimlessly, as if trying to fend off some terrifying ghost.

Shi Yan had already let go, the white mist on his arm disappearing, his expression returning to normal. He silently counted the time.

One, two, three, four, five...

Counting in his mind, Shi Yan calmly walked to where the dagger was embedded, pulled it out, and tiptoed to Jinmo's side.

By the time he counted to seventeen, Jinmo seemed to have adapted to the fear, gradually stabilizing his emotions. His eyes were clearing, and he was about to regain consciousness.

Seventeen seconds was enough to kill someone dozens of times.

Nodding slightly, Shi Yan knew it was time. He suddenly lunged forward, the dagger in his hand slicing accurately across Jinmo's neck.

As blood spurted out, Jinmo's eyes finally cleared, glaring at Shi Yan with hatred before falling backward, unwillingly.

Shi Yan squatted down, first wiping the blood off the dagger with Jinmo's clothes, then searching Jinmo's body. He found some food, several hundred purple crystals, and two sharp fangs of a "Fire Cloud Python."

Putting these items into his backpack without hesitation, Shi Yan took a deep breath, feeling Jinmo's essence flow into his acupoints. He stood up and muttered, "In the Innate Second Heaven Realm, even under the negative influence of 'Rage,' it takes seventeen seconds to lose control. This martial technique is indeed bizarre. The more negative energy gathered, the stronger its power might be..."

After a moment of self-reflection, Shi Yan composed himself, focused his mind, and sprinted in the direction Tumu had gone.

...

"Damn woman, you're really spicy! Haha, but I like it!" Tumu laughed, swinging his battle axe against Diyalan.

Mu Yudie's eyes flashed with cold light, holding her ancient zither, her expression uncertain, as if making a difficult decision.

Tumu's heavy battle axe, in his hands, seemed as light as a feather.

As the axe shadows flickered, Diyalan's short sword struggled to keep up. Every time her sword met the battle axe, her body trembled, clearly showing that Tumu's essence was much more substantial than hers.

Tumu's battle axe, like a wheel, trapped Diyalan in a whirlwind of axe shadows. The sharp axe glinted, and Diyalan's long hair flew, her short skirt torn, revealing her legs and hips.

"Damn woman, now you know my strength, right? Don't worry, I'll show you that my greatest strength isn't just martial skills, hahaha!" Tumu laughed, not intending to finish Diyalan quickly, but to toy with her.

Diyalan was so angry she could spit blood, but she couldn't respond, struggling to defend herself.

"Big sister, need help?" Shi Yan's lazy, teasing voice suddenly came from the forest.

The next moment, Shi Yan, holding a dagger, appeared. His eyes glanced at Diyalan's exposed beauty, and he whistled, "Smooth and full, firm and round, very good, very good."

Diyalan's face lit up with surprise. She stepped back, shouting, "You bastard, you're still alive?"

Tumu's expression changed, becoming serious. He didn't press his advantage against Diyalan but turned to look at Shi Yan, saying, "Is Jinmo dead?"

"What do you think?" Shi Yan held the dagger, smiling as he walked closer.

As he moved, Shi Yan's arms withered again, and a mist of negative energy emerged from his pores, swirling around his arms, refusing to dissipate.

Jinmo's essence, though not purified, surged out of Shi Yan's acupoints when he activated "Rage," forming a vivid, fierce shadow of Jinmo in front of him.

"Jinmo!" Tumu's face was horrified, his strong body trembling.

It was too bizarre!

In front of Shi Yan, Jinmo's shadow was like a vengeful ghost, clawing and gnashing its teeth, its eyes filled with deep hatred, as if it wanted to destroy everything.

Diyalan and Mu Yudie were also horrified, their bodies trembling, and they screamed, "What is this thing!"

Not only were they stunned, but Shi Yan himself was also shocked, staring at the shadow in front of him, unsure what to do.

"Jinmo! Jinmo! What's wrong with you?" Tumu stepped back, shocked, "We're partners! Your enemy is behind you!"

Tumu's shout woke Shi Yan up. His mind focused on killing Tumu, and the negative energy on his arms shot out like a pale, strange snake, wrapping around Tumu.

Jinmo's shadow, seemingly driven by the negative energy, also floated over, clawing at Tumu like a vengeful ghost.

"Kill!" Shi Yan roared, suddenly charging forward. Diyalan, startled, also raised her sword and slashed at Tumu.

---

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