Zi Yan's Might
The Old Man Black Snake transformed into a thick cloud of blood mist, permeating the air. Even his soul, which attempted to escape, was pulverized and utterly annihilated by the spatial ripples that followed.
A Peak Three-Star Dou Venerate expert, infamous in the Southern Region, was annihilated, leaving no trace of his body or soul.
With a wave of his hand, Lin Ming collected all the Storage Ring of the Old Man Black Snake and the other few Dou Zong. His gaze calmly swept over the ashes on the ground and the blood mist in the air. Then, he looked up at the continuous Mountain Forest on the other side of Black Wind Ravine, which was faintly visible in the Bone-Eroding Black Wind and was even more deep and dark. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.
"It seems that there are more people eyeing the Fallen Phoenix Abyss than we imagined, and their methods are even more despicable," he said calmly, his voice revealing neither joy nor anger, but carrying a chilling insight into the ways of the world.
Xiong Zhan then walked up to Lin Ming and said in a deep voice, "Sect Master, kill as many of these villains as they come!"
He exuded Sectarian Qi as he spoke.
Zi Yan skipped over, clapped her hands as if she had just finished something fun, and pouted, "So fragile, gone before even warming up."
After this brief but bloody encounter, all three clearly realized that the allure of the Fallen Phoenix Abyss not only brought opportunities, but also countless wolves and venomous snakes lurking in the shadows. The journey ahead would undoubtedly be even more bloody, cruel, and fraught with danger at every turn.
The Black Wind Ravine, stretching before us, is like a hideous scar on the earth, bottomless, with only endless Black Mist churning and surging within.
The bone-chilling Black Wind howled out from within, carrying a sharp wailing sound, as if countless vengeful spirits were crying. The Wind Blade swept across the rock walls on both sides, leaving marks of varying depths, and some withered bones hanging on them swayed in the wind, making a teeth-grinding clanging sound.
Those massive iron chains spanning the bottom of the ravine are the only path to the other side. The chains are as thick as an adult's waist, and their material is unknown. Despite being covered in rust and weathered by countless years of wind and rain, they remain indestructible.
They swayed and twisted violently in the gale, like struggling black Giant Python. Gravel was constantly being shaken off the rock face where the iron chains were fixed, falling into the endless darkness below without a sound.
"Let's go, cross the bridge."
Lin Ming didn't look back again, and took the lead in walking towards the ancient Iron Chain Bridge that hung above the abyss, swaying constantly in the howling, bone-chilling Black Wind, making a teeth-grinding sound.
"This wind... can erode Dou Qi and soul."
Xiong Zhan stared solemnly at the surging Black Mist. His powerful body could withstand physical attacks, but he had to be cautious about this kind of direct erosion of energy and soul.
Zi Yan, however, was eager to try. She had experienced a similar situation when she went to the Barbarian Race Power with Lin Ming last time. This made her realize that the Primordial Void Dragon bloodline in her body seemed to have a natural adaptability to such harsh environments.
So Zi Yan, with the air of a big sister, said, "What are you afraid of? Let's just charge in!"
Unlike Zi Yan, Lin Ming extended his Soul Power forward, carefully sensing the situation in Black Wind Ravine.
Besides the omnipresent, Bone-Eroding Black Wind, he also sensed that deep within the Black Mist lurked some extremely subtle Life Aura, full of greed and violence, which must be the "Shadow Bat" mentioned in the intelligence.
"Stay close to me, and don't stray more than ten feet from my side."
Lin Ming said in a deep voice, and took the lead in stepping onto the middle, which was also the thickest-looking iron chain.
The moment his foot stepped onto the iron chain, a strong swaying sensation came over him. At the same time, the surrounding Black Wind seemed to have found its target, becoming even more violent, like countless invisible files, frantically cutting and eroding his Protective Dou Qi.
The sound of the wind entering his ears could cause a slight disturbance in his internal Dou Qi, and even a chill that penetrated straight to his soul.
The Space Power around Lin Ming rippled slightly, forming an invisible force field that twisted and deflected the most violent Black Wind.
At the same time, a trace of the Source Qi of the dark purple New Purple Extreme Annihilation Flame lingered around the three of them. When the Black Wind containing strange corrosive power touched this aura, it was as if they had encountered their nemesis, and their power was greatly reduced.
The iron chains swayed violently beneath my feet, below lay a dark abyss that swallowed everything, and the howling wind filled my ears; every step forward required considerable effort.
However, this wouldn't require much effort from Lin Ming and his two companions.
The group walked as if on flat ground. But when they reached the heart of the ravine, where the wind was strongest and the Black Mist was thickest, a sudden change occurred!
"Squeak--!"
A sharp, piercing Sound Wave, powerful enough to penetrate the soul's defenses, suddenly erupted from the Black Mist below! This Sound Wave was not a physical attack, but rather acted directly on the soul's Consciousness Sea, instantly causing dizziness and even halting the flow of Dou Qi.
Immediately afterwards, countless dark figures shot out from the Black Mist like ghosts!
"They've arrived."
Lin Ming's voice was extremely low, yet carried an undeniable gravity. Before he finished speaking, a crimson glimpse first appeared from the shadows on the left side of the plank road.
Those were eyes, like blood-stained rubies, gleaming with a chilling light in the boundless darkness.
Then, the second, the third... countless red lights shone from the cracks in the rock wall and behind the withered branches of the trees, like blood-red stars that suddenly descended, illuminating the entire area with a faint red glow.
They are small, only about a foot long, and are completely black as if soaked in ink. Even the patterns on the edges of their wings blend perfectly with the surrounding rocks and shadows. If you don't look closely, you might mistake them for the folds of the night itself.
Only those eyes, always flashing with a bloodthirsty red light, seemed to pierce through flesh and peer into the soul of their prey. Their wings were as thin as cicada wings, and when spread, one could see the fine silver-gray veins beneath the wing membrane, yet they vibrated silently, with only the extremely high-frequency, deadly Sound Wave constantly spreading through the air.
The Sound Wave are invisible to the naked eye, yet they can penetrate the brain through the ear canal, like countless fine needles repeatedly probing the soul's defenses.
And this is the Shadow Bat!
These Shadow Bat might not be particularly strong individually, mostly around the Fourth-Order or Fifth Order, equivalent to the human Dou Ling or Dou Wang realms. But at this moment, their sheer number was terrifying.
Thousands upon thousands of Shadow Bat converged from all directions, their flapping wings creating invisible vortexes that shrouded the entire space in shadow.
What's even more terrifying is their attack method: although the soul Sound Wave emitted by each Shadow Bat are weak, when thousands of Dao Sound are superimposed, they are like a raging torrent, enough to crack the soul barrier of Dou Zong powerhouse, and even cause Dou Venerate level expert to lose his mind and spirit for a short time!
Moreover, they are incredibly fast; each flap of their wings transforms their bodies into a black afterimage, allowing them to move freely through the howling Black Wind as if unimpeded by the air currents.
Most deadly of all, their teeth and claws are infused with a potent neurotoxin, a pale green substance that corrodes Dou Qi barrier like a strong acid, creating tiny holes that effectively break through all types of Dou Qi defenses.
"Watch out for the Sound Wave!"
Lin Ming let out a low shout, his voice carrying a tremor of Soul Power, instantly drawing Xiong Zhan and Zi Yan's attention back.
The Soul Power within Lin Ming surged forth like boiling spring water, transforming into a semi-transparent, invisible barrier around the three of them. The surface of the barrier shimmered with a pale golden halo, like the surface of a lake shrouded in the morning light.
The most intense Soul impact crashed against the barrier, instantly creating ripples. The pale golden halo flickered violently, yet it never broke.
Although Lin Ming blocked most of the Sound Wave attacks, some noise still managed to get through. Zi Yan's face tightened, her brows furrowed, and her once bright eyes were now clouded with annoyance—she hated these soul-disrupting attacks; the fragmented Sound Wave made it difficult for her to even concentrate.
"Annoying flies!"
Zi Yan cursed under her breath, her small face full of coldness. She was not a patient person to begin with, and now, disturbed by the Sound Wave, the bloodline of the Ancient Void Dragon of the Void within her body instantly stirred.
Then, Zi Yan suddenly opened her mouth, without uttering any sharp roar, but a dragon's roar originating from the source of her bloodline suddenly rang out.
The voice was unlike anything that could be uttered by ordinary beings; it carried the majesty of a supreme being from the Magical Beast World, sweeping out of her mouth like a storm and crushing down upon the surrounding swarm of Shadow Bat!
"Sing--!"
The dragon's roar was formless and intangible, yet it carried a power that shook heaven and earth.
The air seemed to be torn apart by the sound, the eerie winds of Black Wind Ravine instantly stopped, and rocks beside the plank road shattered into pieces. Even more terrifying was the oppressive aura of bloodline, which enveloped every Shadow Bat like a mountain pressing down.
For these Magical Beasts that rely on Sound Wave and Soul Perception to survive, the pressure of the Ancient Void Dragon is no different from the roar of a natural enemy; it is a fear etched into their genes.
The swarm of Shadow Bat, which had been surging like a tide, were thrown into chaos by the pure Dragon Might's might!
The Shadow Bat at the forefront were the first to be hit. Their bodies stiffened abruptly, their wings stopped flapping, and the red light in their eyes dimmed instantly, like a candle Zhu Huo extinguished by a gale.
Before they could even let out a scream, they fell from the sky in droves, like puppets drained of all their strength, plunging into the bottomless abyss below like dumplings being dropped into a pot. Only a series of soft clattering sounds came from the bottom of the valley, and then there was no more sound.
The Shadow Bat behind them also felt the fear that made their souls tremble. Their originally sharp and orderly squeaks instantly turned into chaotic noise, and they ran around in all directions like a swarm of frightened rats.
Their offensive faltered, their wingbeats quickened noticeably, but they dared not approach Lin Ming and his companions again. They merely circled in the distance, their red eyes filled with apprehension and unease.
Seeing this, Xiong Zhan immediately seized the opportunity to unleash his fists. The violent battle Dou Qi, like a tangible Shockwave, crushed dozens of Shadow Bat that had dodged the Dragon Might and attempted to launch a sneak attack into minced meat.
Lin Ming seized the opportunity, his fingertips flicking with Dark Purple Flames as he flicked his fingers repeatedly. Each tiny thread of fire, like a living death sprite, precisely struck the densest part of the bat swarm.
"Puff puff puff..."
There was no violent explosion, only a series of faint sounds of energy annihilation.
Any Shadow Bat touched by the Dark Purple Fire Threads, regardless of its rank, was instantly reduced to ashes, without even having time to scream. The flames seemed to have an absolute restraint on them, clearing away everything in their path in an instant.
Under the suppression of Zi Yan's bloodline and the terrifying power of Lin Ming's Flame of Destruction, the massive swarm of Shadow Bat suffered heavy losses and finally felt fear. The remaining ones let out unwilling shrieks and retreated into the depths of the Black Mist like a tide, daring not to show themselves again.
With the crisis averted, the three quickened their pace and, after a short while, landed steadily on the solid land on the opposite bank.