Mirror Shadow Beast

The Extreme North.

The Elemental Team left footprints in the snow with every step.

Just then, a figure flashed before their eyes.

Feng Xiaoyuan looked closely.

"A three-thousand-year-old snow fox."

"That's the one."

The moment he spoke, the entire team rushed forward.

The Soul Hunting went smoothly.

Before long, they had the snow fox pinned down.

Shui Yue'er stepped forward and dealt the final blow.

A purple Spirit Ring slowly rose.

Shui Yue'er sat cross-legged and began absorbing her third Spirit Ring.

The others kept watch, not letting down their guard for a moment.

The team had developed an unspoken understanding.

Whenever someone absorbed a Spirit Ring, everyone else had to go on alert at once.

They could not risk anything appearing and disturbing the person absorbing it.

Yet just as everyone thought things were going smoothly,

something unexpected happened.

An ice wall less than five meters from Shui Yue'er exploded without warning.

Countless shards of ice shot in every direction.

The next instant, a silvery-white figure streaked out like lightning.

It lunged straight at Shui Yue'er as she absorbed her Spirit Ring.

Its speed was astonishing.

"Not good!"

"A Soul Beast is attacking!"

Almost the instant the Mirror Shadow Beast burst out, everyone on the Elemental Team moved.

A Spirit Ring beneath Lei Jie's feet lit up.

"Third Soul Skill!"

"Thunder Prison!"

A cage instantly formed between the Mirror Shadow Beast and Shui Yue'er.

Dugu Yan charged over and planted herself in front of Shui Yue'er.

"Fourth Soul Skill!"

"Jade Phosphorus Poison Dragon Roar!"

Two of Ning Rongrong's Spirit Rings lit up at once.

"Nine Treasures Divine Light!"

"Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda!"

"First: Strength!"

"Second: Speed!"

Ye Lingling also summoned the Nine Heart Begonia, ready to heal anyone who was hurt.

Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang kept unleashing Soul Skills at the beast.

Feng Xiaoyuan merged with the Sky Wolf as well.

The barrage forced the Soul Beast back several steps.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at their attacker.

It was a silvery-white Soul Beast.

Its entire body was covered in mirrorlike scales.

Every scale reflected its surroundings with perfect clarity.

Its silver-white eyes brimmed with cold killing intent.

Feng Xiaoyuan's eyes narrowed.

"A Mirror Shadow Beast."

"And it's at least ten thousand years old."

At the mention of its age, everyone's expression changed.

None of them had expected a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to be lurking here.

Huo Wushuang spoke up.

"Captain."

"We killed that ten-thousand-year-old Emerald Poison Dragon before."

"Now that Dugu Yan and Lei Jie both have their Spirit Rings, shouldn't this be easier?"

The others nodded in agreement.

"Exactly!"

Feng Xiaoyuan shook his head, his expression grave.

"It's not that simple."

"We also have to protect Yue'er while she absorbs her Spirit Ring."

"And this beast is nothing like the Emerald Poison Dragon."

"Mirror Shadow Beasts are notoriously cunning."

"Everyone, stay sharp. Don't let your guard down."

Meanwhile, when its first strike failed, the Mirror Shadow Beast's body began to twist strangely.

The next instant, it slipped into the ice wall and seemed to vanish.

Huo Wu's expression shifted.

"Where did it go?"

Just as Huo Wushuang started looking for it, the ice behind him exploded again.

The Mirror Shadow Beast had reappeared, still aiming for Shui Yue'er.

Feng Xiaoyuan reacted at once, firing the Thruster on his back.

He drove a fist toward the Mirror Shadow Beast.

But its body turned into a streak of light and vanished again.

Feng Xiaoyuan's punch missed, blasting a huge crater into the ground.

The next second, the Mirror Shadow Beast appeared on the other side, darting between ice walls and snow.

It moved like a phantom, impossible to lock onto.

Huo Wu gritted her teeth.

"Damn it!"

Huo Wushuang cursed too.

"That thing's too slippery."

Feng Xiaoyuan pursued it relentlessly, but each time he was about to land a hit, it melted into the surrounding ice.

As everyone searched for the real Mirror Shadow Beast,

three silvery-white figures suddenly appeared on the snow.

Then four. Five. Six.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen identical Mirror Shadow Beasts surrounded the Elemental Team.

They moved alike, gave off the same presence, and even had identical Soul Power fluctuations.

Huo Wu froze.

"So many Mirror Shadow Beasts?"

Huo Wushuang frowned.

"Which one's real?"

Feng Xiaoyuan descended slowly.

He studied the dozen or so beasts before him, his expression turning grim.

"This is trouble."

"It can hide inside ice walls."

"And it can create mirror-image doubles too."

The next instant, all the Mirror Shadow Beasts moved at once.

Every one of them lunged at Shui Yue'er.

Feng Xiaoyuan called out,

"Protect Yue'er!"

Huo Wushuang was the first to charge.

Flames erupted as he punched one of the Mirror Shadow Beasts.

But his fist passed straight through it.

"A fake!"

On the other side, Lei Jie rained down Soul Skills.

Thunder blanketed a vast stretch of snow.

One after another, the Mirror Shadow Beast's images dissolved.

Every one was an image. The real beast had yet to appear.

Feng Xiaoyuan spoke in a low voice.

"Don't scatter."

"I've noticed it's been targeting Yue'er all along."

"Close in around her first."

The moment Feng Xiaoyuan finished speaking, the rest of the Elemental Team moved.

They surrounded Shui Yue'er.

The whole team formed a circle around her.

The next instant, the ice beneath Shui Yue'er exploded.

A silvery-white figure burst out, its razor-sharp claws striking straight for her throat.

Huo Wu's face went pale.

"No!"

"Yue'er!"

Feng Xiaoyuan's eyes narrowed.

"Now that the real one's out, we can deal with it."

The Thruster on his back roared at full power.

Feng Xiaoyuan became a streak of violet-black light and slammed into the Mirror Shadow Beast.

It had barely sprung from the ice when the Sky Wolf sent it flying.

Its body hurtled backward and crashed deep into the snow.

The others reacted at once.

They unleashed a barrage of Soul Skills at the spot where it had landed.

The Mirror Shadow Beast's images vanished without a trace.

When the haze over the crater cleared,

there was no corpse inside, only a great deal of blood.

Feng Xiaoyuan switched his right hand to the Sky Wolf Hand Cannon and scanned their surroundings.

"Stay alert."

"The Mirror Shadow Beast isn't dead. It's only wounded."

Then Feng Xiaoyuan spotted movement inside an ice wall.

He fired the Sky Wolf Hand Cannon straight at it.

The shot pierced the Mirror Shadow Beast's chest.

Blood poured from the wound, but it still refused to fall.

It roared wildly, its eyes fixed on Feng Xiaoyuan.

Its gaze was full of spite and madness.

Feng Xiaoyuan did not hesitate. He fired the Sky Wolf Hand Cannon again.

The Mirror Shadow Beast let out one last, wretched cry.

Its body burst apart, then collapsed onto the snow.

A Spirit Ring as black as ink slowly rose.