Ghostly Shadow

Shi Yan held his dagger and first carved crude butterfly patterns on two large trees. He then quickly climbed one of them, using his dagger to cut off branches as thick as his arm. He divided them into five sections, quickly sharpened them, and haphazardly smeared "Seven Snake Saliva" on their tips.

He spent two minutes on this series of actions.

Two minutes later, Tu Mu and Jin Mo, members of the Wolf Fang mercenary group, arrived as scheduled.

Tu Mu and Jin Mo didn't even spare him and the two women a glance. As they moved through the forest, they chatted with lecherous smiles, discussing how they would defile Di Ya Lan later.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sharpened branches pierced through the leaves, like tenacious sunlight, shooting towards Tu Mu and Jin Mo.

Tu Mu was unconcerned. He casually swung his battle axe, knocking down two branches, and laughed, "These people are truly pathetic. They actually use branches to greet us. They don't give us any face at all."

"Pitiful fellows," Jin Mo also shook his head and sneered.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Three more branches shot over stubbornly.

Tu Mu grew impatient. He swung his arm-length battle axe in a semicircle, and in a flash of silver light, the three branches fell to the ground again.

Shi Yan slowly emerged from the leaves, looking at the two men with cold eyes. He said, "Gentlemen, do you want to come one by one, or all at once?"

Tu Mu narrowed his eyes, looked up at Shi Yan, and shook his head. He said dismissively, "Just some wet-behind-the-ears brat, probably just entered the Innate Realm. He talks big, but his strength is limited. I'm not interested."

With that, Tu Mu didn't look at Shi Yan again and turned to leave. His voice drifted from afar, "Jin Mo, it's up to you. Deal with it quickly so you can catch up. If you're late, I'll have my way with the woman a second time, hahaha!"

Jin Mo snorted coldly and slammed his massive wolf-tooth club onto the ground. The club sank deep into the soil. "Kid, come down. I won't use a weapon, and don't make me climb the tree to chase you. I'm in a hurry, so hurry up."

"Mm, I'm in a hurry too." Shi Yan's eyes were filled with a calm indifference to life and death. He leaped down from the ancient tree, and the dagger in his hand shot out, embedding itself in the soil next to Jin Mo's club.

"Bang!" Shi Yan stopped ten meters in front of Jin Mo, waved his empty hands, and said, "I won't use a weapon either."

"Heh, you've got guts, kid." Jin Mo grinned, his face covered in bumps. Fierce light shot from his eyes as he charged towards Shi Yan.

Jin Mo's arms suddenly swelled, veins writhing on his fists. As he clenched his fists and swung, the air whistled. Dozens of fist imprints suddenly appeared in the void, growing stronger as Jin Mo advanced.

After five steps, dozens of fist imprints had appeared in the void in front of Jin Mo's swinging arm.

"Mortal Grade Martial Skill, Chaotic Star Fist!"

Shi Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. He condensed his Essence, casting aside all distracting thoughts. His eyes focused solely on the myriad fist imprints, and his heart held only the single thought of killing Jin Mo!

"Boom!"

A tremor shook his mind, like a divine revelation, plunging him into a wondrous state.

His eyes, ears, and sense of touch became several times more sensitive. Everything around him suddenly became incredibly clear. He stared at Jin Mo, able to clearly sense the speed and frequency of the Essence flowing through his arm.

The myriad fist imprints vanished in an instant, all illusion swept away. In his eyes, only Jin Mo's two swinging fists remained, even the trajectory of his fists was clear.

Taking a deep breath, Shi Yan suddenly roared. His arms tightened and thinned at a visible speed, wisps of misty white smoke coiling around them.

At the same time, starting from his neck, his skin began to petrify, turning a grayish-brown, rock-like texture, hard as iron.

A dark light also emanated from the surface of his body, enveloping his lean frame.

Jin Mo's iron fist, carrying immense power capable of cracking stone, slammed heavily towards Shi Yan's chest.

The Dark Light Shield twisted and shattered into dots of dark light under Jin Mo's iron fist. Jin Mo's fist passed through the Dark Light Shield, its power slightly diminished, and struck Shi Yan's chest heavily.

"Bang!"

"Crack!"

The heavy impact and the sound of breaking bones rang out almost simultaneously.

Jin Mo's expression turned incredibly ugly in an instant.

The excruciating pain in his fist made him realize that the sound of breaking bones wasn't from Shi Yan's chest, but from his own fist!

Grimacing and shaking his throbbing arm, Jin Mo looked at the stone-like, cold Shi Yan in horror. Suddenly remembering something, he shouted, "The Shi family's 'Petrifying Martial Soul'! Are you from the Shi family of the Merchant Alliance?"

"Very clever." Shi Yan grinned, his smile incomparably cold and ruthless.

Jin Mo cursed inwardly, realizing he was in trouble, and tried to dodge. However, he found that he was too close to Shi Yan, and it was too late.

Shi Yan's hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Jin Mo by the neck. The white mist on his arm, infused with negative emotions like fear, madness, brutality, and despair, instantly seeped into Jin Mo's body.

Jin Mo seemed to have fallen into an endless abyss, his face contorted in terror, his body trembling as he screamed, "No! No! Don't!"

As if he could see nothing, Jin Mo screamed there, flailing his two iron fists aimlessly, as if warding off some terrifying specter.

Shi Yan had already let go. The white mist on his arm disappeared, and his expression returned to normal. He silently calculated the time in his heart.

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

Counting in his heart, Shi Yan unhurriedly walked to where the dagger was embedded, pulled it out of the soil, and then tiptoed lightly to Jin Mo's side.

When he counted to seventeen, Jin Mo seemed to have adapted to the terrifying scene. He slowly stabilized his emotions, and his eyes seemed to be gradually clearing, appearing on the verge of waking up.

Seventeen seconds was enough time to kill someone dozens of times over.

Nodding slightly, Shi Yan knew what he had to do. He then suddenly moved forward like lightning, and the dagger in his arm accurately sliced across Jin Mo's neck.

As blood spurted out, Jin Mo's eyes finally cleared. He glared hatefully at Shi Yan and fell backward unwillingly.

Shi Yan squatted down. He first used Jin Mo's clothes to wipe the blood from the dagger, then searched Jin Mo's body. He found some food, several hundred purple crystal coins, and two sharp fangs from a "Fire Cloud Yao Python."

He casually put these things into his backpack, Shi Yan took a deep breath, feeling the Essence of Jin Mo surge into his Acupoints. Only then did he stand up and mutter to himself, "The Second Heaven realm, under the negative power of 'Berserk,' still takes seventeen seconds to lose one's senses. This Martial Skill is truly monstrous. Perhaps the more negative power it gathers, the stronger the power it can unleash..."

After muttering to himself, Shi Yan composed himself, held his breath, and suddenly sprinted in the direction Tu Mu had fled.

"Damn woman, you're really f*cking feisty! Haha, but this old man likes it!" Tu Mu roared with laughter, clashing with Di Ya Lan wielding his battle axe.

A cold glint flashed in Mu Yu Die's eyes. Holding her ancient zither to the side, her pretty face was a mixture of emotions, as if she were making a difficult decision.

Tu Mu's incredibly heavy battle axe seemed as light as a feather in his hands.

As axe shadows flickered, Di Ya Lan's short sword often couldn't withstand the blows. The moment it touched the battle axe, Di Ya Lan's delicate body would tremble slightly. It was obvious that Tu Mu's Essence was far more abundant than hers.

Tu Mu's battle axe spun like a wheel, its shadow rolling and encircling Di Ya Lan like a chariot. As the sharp axe gleamed, Di Ya Lan's long hair flew wildly, and her short skirt around her waist and hips gained several tears, revealing glimpses of her skin.

"Damn woman, do you know how powerful I am now? Don't rush, I'll let you know later that my most powerful aspect isn't my Martial Skill, hahaha!" Tu Mu chuckled sinisterly, seemingly not intending to finish Di Ya Lan quickly and deliberately toying with her this way.

Di Ya Lan was so angry she felt like spitting blood but was powerless to retort, struggling to defend herself.

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

The next moment, Shi Yan appeared, dagger in hand. He glanced at the alluring glimpses of Di Ya Lan's exposed skin, marveling, "Smooth and full, perky and round, excellent, truly excellent."

Di Ya Lan's face lit up with surprise. She couldn't spare the breath to argue now. She took a step back and yelled, "You bastard, you're actually still alive."

Tu Mu's expression changed, his demeanor suddenly turning grave. He didn't press his attack on Di Ya Lan but turned his head to look at Shi Yan and said sternly, "Is Jin Mo dead?"

"What do you think?" Shi Yan, holding his dagger, smiled at him and walked closer step by step.

As he advanced, Shi Yan's arms withered again, and wisps of aura mixed with various negative forces emanated from the pores of his arms, swirling around them, refusing to dissipate.

Jin Mo's Essence had not been purified, but when Shi Yan activated "Berserk," the despair and resentment from Jin Mo's dying moments surged out of his Acupoints, condensing before him into a ferocious and sinister phantom of Jin Mo, lifelike.

"Jin Mo!" Tu Mu's face contorted in horror, his sturdy body trembling involuntarily.

This was too bizarre!

Before Shi Yan, Jin Mo's phantom was like a vengeful spirit, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. It was as light as nothing, and its pair of dark, resentful eyes held bone-chilling hatred, as if it wished to exterminate everyone in the world.

Di Ya Lan and Mu Yu Die also looked astonished, their delicate bodies trembling, and they couldn't help but scream, "What is this ghastly thing!"

Not only were the others stunned, but Shi Yan himself looked bewildered, staring blankly at the phantom that had appeared before him, unsure of what to do.

"Jin Mo! Jin Mo! What's wrong?" Under Jin Mo's phantom's bone-chilling gaze of hatred, Tu Mu took a step back and exclaimed, "We're partners! Your enemy is behind you!"

Tu Mu's cry jolted Shi Yan awake. A thought flashed through his mind: the only goal was to kill Tu Mu. The various negative forces swirling around his arms suddenly shot out, like pale, monstrous snakes, eerily coiling towards Tu Mu.

Jin Mo's phantom seemed to be propelled by those negative forces, also drifting over lightly, clawing at Tu Mu like a vengeful spirit.

"Kill!" Shi Yan let out a cold shout and charged forward. Di Ya Lan, startled, also raised her sword and slashed at Tu Mu.