Who Was the Real Hunter?

While Hu Liena was still thinking, a hoarse laugh suddenly came from deep within the mist.

"A brat without a Soul Ring is a little smarter than I expected."

Hu Liena's expression changed drastically. Almost instinctively, she stepped in front of Gu Changsheng. Her Demon Fox Spirit instantly possessed her body, and a faint Pink Light emerged in her eyes.

A Demon Fox Phantom vaguely floated behind her.

"Who? Who's there?"

The mist churned as three Black Shadows slowly emerged from behind the Ancient Tree. They were all dressed in black, their faces covered by masks, their auras deliberately suppressed.

But that cold Killing Intent was impossible to conceal.

The leader was taller, and his Soul Power fluctuations were clearly much stronger than those of the other two.

Gu Changsheng merely glanced at them, and the Myriad Heaven Book instantly opened deep within his soul:

[Target One: Soul Sect

Martial Soul aura: Shadow Blade Tool Spirit.

Danger level: High.

Target Two: Soul Elder.

Target Three: Soul Elder.

Killing intent locked onto: Gu Changsheng.]

Seeing the final line, Gu Changsheng truly could not hold it together. His eyes blinked lightly, because these people had not come to kill Hu Liena.

Their target had been him from the very beginning.

Hu Liena clenched her teeth and said coldly:

"Do you know what you're doing? My teacher is the Pontifex of the Pope Palace!"

The Man in Black at the head gave a faint smile:

"Of course I know. If I didn't, we wouldn't be standing here."

Seeing the Man in Black's arrogant demeanor, Hu Liena's heart sank. They still dared to act despite knowing her identity, which meant this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

As she pondered, the Man in Black looked at Gu Changsheng, his voice gaining a trace of chill:

"But this person—this brat—is something that should not have appeared in the Pope Palace. As long as you're alive, many people won't be able to sleep peacefully!"

"Who are these 'many people' you speak of?"

Hu Liena's gaze turned even colder:

"Are you people from Spirit Hall?"

Faced with her questioning, the Man in Black did not answer. He simply raised his hand and said coldly:

"Attack!"

As soon as the words fell, the other two Soul Elders in black rushed out. One went straight for Hu Liena, while the other circled around from the side, targeting Gu Changsheng.

Hu Liena's expression changed as she prepared to use Charm, but Gu Changsheng's voice sounded behind her:

"Senior Sister, don't forcefully control him! Trick him—trick his judgment."

Hearing that, pink light flickered in her eyes. This time, instead of forcefully striking at the other man's mind as before, she released an extremely delicate thread of mental guidance.

At that moment, the one charging toward Gu Changsheng was also a Soul Elder.

He had clearly seen Gu Changsheng standing still, yet in the next second, Gu Changsheng's position shifted half a foot to the left.

That half-foot was enough to make his attack miss completely.

The short blade stabbed down beside Gu Changsheng, narrowly passing him and stirring up a gust of cold wind.

Hu Liena immediately seized the opportunity. Her body flashed as she kicked the Soul Elder's wrist.

It worked!

The false Charm had truly proven effective in real combat.

But unexpectedly, the leading Man in Black gave a soft, cold snort, endless Killing Intent shining in his eyes:

"Cheap tricks!"

In an instant, his Fourth Soul Ring faintly lit up, and sinister Soul Power spread outward.

Countless black Shadow Blades slowly emerged from the mist and shot straight toward Gu Changsheng.

"Junior Brother, be careful!"

Gu Changsheng did not panic. The Myriad Heaven Book rapidly flipped before his eyes, and the flow of the surrounding mist, the trajectories of the Shadow Blades, and the Soul Power fluctuations of the Soul Sect in black all transformed into clear lines at that moment.

"Take two steps back. Lower your head."

The next second, three Shadow Blades grazed past Hu Liena's hair and struck the Ancient Tree.

With a crack, the bark exploded.

A layer of cold sweat seeped across Hu Liena's back. If not for Gu Changsheng's warning, she might not have been able to dodge that attack.

The Soul Sect in black narrowed his eyes slightly:

"This brat has no Soul Ring, yet he can see through my attack paths? This cannot be allowed!"

Gu Changsheng quickly scanned the surroundings and said in a low voice:

"Senior Sister, go! Head deeper into the forest!"

"Are you crazy? Isn't it more dangerous the farther in we go?"

Hu Liena's expression changed.

Gu Changsheng looked toward the outside and replied calmly:

"The outside is the dead end. Yan Xiu left us here because he wanted to stop us from escaping. The retreat route must have been Sealed there."

In that urgent moment, Gu Changsheng grabbed Hu Liena's small hand and turned, charging deeper into the mist.

The Soul Sect in black leaped forward, leading the other two men in black in swift pursuit.

But the mist grew heavier and heavier. The shadows of the trees twisted wildly in every direction, constantly disrupting their sense of direction. Even Spirit Masters at the Soul Elder level would struggle to remain completely clear-headed here.

This was where Gu Changsheng came in. Under the Myriad Heaven Book's analysis, the mist was no longer mist, but streams of flowing gray lines.

Some chaotic lines represented danger, while some steady ones represented safety.

And deeper within, a silvery-white ripple was continuously devouring the lingering Mental Power around it.

That aura was extremely well-hidden. Without the Myriad Heaven Book, he would never have discovered it.

In an instant, his eyes lit up, because this was the true Phantom Bookworm.

"Senior Sister, I think I really found the Phantom Bookworm. Over there!"

Following the direction Gu Changsheng pointed, Hu Liena's expression instantly turned cold. If this one was real, then the one Yan Xiu had chased was fake.

She had never been foolish. As the Pontifex's disciple, she completely understood Yan Xiu's problem now.

At that moment, the men in black behind them drew closer and closer.

"Don't let them get away!"

A Soul Ring lit up on one of the Soul Elders, and his speed suddenly surged as he lunged straight at Gu Changsheng from the left.

"Senior Sister, three steps to the left. Lead him onto the tree root!"

Hu Liena already trusted Gu Changsheng completely. She immediately did as he said.

The pink gleam in her eyes released false Charm once more. The Soul Elder only felt his vision blur slightly, but Hu Liena's figure shifted to the right for an instant.

He instinctively adjusted his direction, but that half-step difference made his foot slip, and he stepped directly onto a wet tree root.

Just as his body tilted, Hu Liena seized the chance. The Demon Fox Phantom flashed, and she struck his chest with her palm.

With a bang, the Soul Elder grunted and staggered back several steps.

"Damn it, I was predicted again!"

At that moment, there seemed to be no path ahead, only a gigantic Ancient Tree. This tree was thicker than every other tree around it.

Its trunk was hollow, its surface covered in rings of silvery-white patterns, like unfurled pages of a book.

The surrounding Spiritual Mist was slowly gathering into the tree hollow.

"We're here!"

Gu Changsheng looked up at the pitch-black tree hollow as the three men in black caught up to them.

Seeing that there was no path forward, the leading Soul Sect sneered:

"Why did you stop running? A brat without a Soul Ring actually thought he could survive with a little cleverness! It's time for you to die, isn't it? Hmph!"

Just as the two Soul Elders behind him were about to attack, the surroundings shook violently. A white Spirit Beast, its back covered in leaf-like patterns, slowly crawled out of the tree hollow.

In an instant, all the surrounding Spiritual Mist fell silent. The three men in black, who had just been about to charge forward, suddenly felt splitting headaches.

It was as if countless things had pierced into their brains. The pain was unbearable—their Mental Power was under attack.

"Damn it... it's that Spirit Beast! It's it... kill it, kill it now!"

The Soul Sect in black knew that they had to deal with the Spirit Beast before them first. Otherwise, all three of them would become trapped prey!

And that was exactly the effect Gu Changsheng wanted. When the snipe and clam fought, the fisherman profited. With the Myriad Heaven Book, he could now remain unaffected by the Mental Power attack.

In an instant, the leading Soul Sect roared and leaped forward, the Shadow Blade in his hand attacking the Phantom Bookworm directly.

Gu Changsheng looked at the violent Soul Power fluctuations above the Spirit Beast's head, then at the two Soul Elders charging toward him. He knew this was his only chance.

"Senior Sister, hold them off for three breaths! I only need three breaths!"