27 Shadow Arts

The moment He Ping saw those blood-red eyes snap open in the mirror, cold sweat began to crawl down his spine, and a chill seeped into his limbs and bones.

The shadow on the white wall behind him had come to life; its bloodshot eyes were fixed intently on He Ping, and a wave of evil, icy aura instantly flooded the secret chamber.

Every hair on his body stood on end.

Evil! Truly evil!!

This "Soul-Calling Shadow-Binding" technique was indeed as sinister as rumored. Cold sweat beaded on He Ping's forehead as he felt an inexplicable psychological pressure.

The phantom shadow with the blood-red eyes was staring at his back from the wall, its gaze filled with a sharp, malevolent, and deeply hostile intent.

Hoo...

He Ping let out a long breath, steadying his racing heart.

"The awakened 'Shadow Deity' harbors immense malice toward its host. The first Shadow Deity, 'Right Emperor,' is manageable enough, but the risk will increase significantly with each subsequent one I awaken..."

Once a Shadow Deity is awakened, it can be commanded at will by the shadow's master, moving with sudden, ghostly speed. If supplemented with techniques like curse-killing, its power would reach an even higher level.

Furthermore, because it is merely a mass of shadow, it is difficult for enemies to defend against. If one refines this forbidden technique to a higher level, one can even call names to bind shadows, using effigy-cursing methods to kill invisibly with a mere gesture.

However, there is a drawback: the shadow will constantly seek an opportunity to kill its original master and seize their body. Beyond that, there is another flaw—once the "Soul-Calling Shadow-Binding" technique is initiated, even if only one Shadow Deity is awakened, the remaining eight will inevitably follow in succession.

One must understand that this process is irreversible and endless. Unless the practitioner can subdue all nine Shadow Deities, or is consumed and killed by them, there is no other path.

At this moment, with the shadow staring at his back, He Ping felt as if needles were pricking his skin. He hurriedly reached out with his spirit to communicate.

Suddenly, the shadow with the crimson eyes reacted; it was as if an invisible thread had connected his spirit to the shadow on the wall.

"It is done."

He Ping felt a surge of relief, knowing the "Soul-Calling Shadow-Binding" had taken effect.

The "Right Emperor," one of the nine Shadow Deities, had been revived.

"Let's test it out!"

Not daring to be careless, he quietly extended a hand toward the eerie red glow of the oil lamp and silently formed a shape.

—It was the shape of a beast.

Using the method of a child playing shadow puppets, he formed the shape of a dog with his hands.

The shadow of a dog appeared on the wall. Suddenly, the shadow began to twist; even though He Ping's hand remained still, the dog on the wall moved on its own, sniffing the air like a living beast.

Then, the mass of shadow began to split into two, then three, then a fourth... The shadows multiplied rapidly, each one sniffing the surroundings, their mouths opening and closing incessantly.

The shadow of the "Right Emperor" summoned by the technique had vanished, and now the shadows cast upon the wall seemed to have been imbued with life.

The scene was deeply unsettling. The shadow dogs gathered together, touching noses as if playing and frolicking.

He Ping's gaze deepened, and he pointed toward the birdcage hanging in the air.

"Go!"

Swish. It was as if an invisible wind had blown past; the black cloth covering the birdcage slid off, revealing a lively, multicolored parrot inside.

Suddenly, the shadow dogs lowered their heads and moved silently across the wall toward the reflection of the birdcage.

The cage was hanging above He Ping's head, and due to the oil lamp, it was projected onto the wall, showing every detail of the parrot and the bamboo bars of the cage.

The shadow dogs sniffed the cage and began to circle it. The parrot in the air seemed to sense the danger, jumping frantically inside the cage.

The cage shook violently, and the shadows on the wall became somewhat distorted. The shadow dogs carefully closed the distance; despite being mere shadows, they approached their prey with the caution of real beasts.

Slowly, the shadow dogs shortened the distance between themselves and the parrot in the cage.

Crunch!

The shadow dogs opened their strangely shaped mouths and lunged at the reflection of the parrot and the cage on the wall.

The dog-mouths formed by his hands bit into the reflection of the cage. With a crisp snap of breaking bamboo, the birdcage in the air shattered, and the parrot let out a terrified shriek.

Its flesh seemed to be torn apart from all sides by something unseen, and feathers drifted everywhere.

On the wall, the shadow dogs were tearing at the parrot's shadow like ferocious beasts.

In the blink of an eye, the parrot in the cage was bitten to death, left with its entrails spilled and its flesh mangled, lying motionless in the cage.

"Enough."

Feeling that the shadow dogs had consumed enough blood essence from the living creature, He Ping formed a seal. The next second, the shadow dogs ceased their attack and, as if summoned, returned to their original positions. The distorted, shifting shadows gradually dissolved, returning to their normal state.

Looking into the mirror, he noticed that among his nine shadows, the one that had awakened was swaying slightly, giving off an unstable feeling.

"Good, as long as the shadow is fed with blood, it will stabilize..."

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, He Ping's tense expression gradually relaxed. Through his spirit, he could sense that something had been added to his own shadow, and he could trigger it at any time by driving it with his mind.

"Cultivating this forbidden technique is high-risk; the more one refines it, the more dangerous it becomes. In the later stages, it is like walking on thin ice. But its power cannot be underestimated. Even mastering just one Shadow Deity, the 'Right Emperor,' provides formidable lethality, and each subsequent awakening of the nine shadows will bring even more changes."

Click, click, click...

Just as he was deep in thought, an abrupt sound echoed in his ears—the "click" of a wooden puppet's joints twisting.

He Ping reacted quickly, his eyes darting upward. His gaze locked onto something—a bizarre human face with no eyes, ears, or nose, save for a mouth, was dangling down from the ceiling like a human-shaped spider.

No, this was not a spider, but a human-shaped puppet—a spider-like puppet.

It had no human face, only four arms and four legs, all folded backward and tethered by a single thread from its abdomen, sliding down from the ceiling in an inverted posture.

This was a "Wood Demon Puppet." Unlike the fully refined "Paper Doll Spirit Puppet," it was a semi-finished puppet crafted by He Ping.

The Paper Doll Spirit Puppets suffered heavy losses dealing with the Screaming Soul Blood Silk Array in the Ghost Stockade a while back and haven't been repaired yet; I'll need to bring out these 'Wood Demon Puppets' to handle the situation for now...

He Ping sighed inwardly.

The Wood Demon Puppet was not yet fully crafted and could not unleash its full combat power.

However, even as a semi-finished product, it possessed impressive capabilities.

At this moment, the four-armed, four-legged Wood Demon Puppet, resembling both a spider and a human, leaned close to Su Ping's ear. With a soft "click," the puppet's jaw moved, and its mouth opened slightly, as if whispering something to him...

"What? He Fusheng sent a message an hour ago... You say... such a thing has happened."

A cold sneer appeared on He Ping's face.

"This Prefect Lord certainly has a grand sense of official authority, daring to move against my He Family without even a shred of evidence in his hands!"