Shadow Valley

The night wind blew in from the Azure River. An stood on a cliff above the riverbank, watching Elena disappear into the northern night sky.

The Dark Church's plan to sacrifice a million lives lodged like a thorn in his heart. A million human lives were more than a number. An was no saint, but he could not stand by and do nothing when he knew what was happening.

At the very least, I need to find out where the formation is, An told himself.

He took the black token Elena had given him from inside his clothes. It was proof of a Dark Church elder's status. Throughout the Luo'ao Empire, its bearer could freely enter most Dark Church strongholds. No one would dare stop him.

An put the token away, turned, and headed northwest.

Three days later, An entered the western borderlands of the Luo'ao Empire.

The land grew barren and desolate, with sparse vegetation and the occasional abandoned village or collapsed house. Although the Luo'ao Empire did not prohibit the Dark Church, this stretch of its western border had effectively slipped halfway out of imperial control and fallen entirely under the church's influence.

An stopped at a small town called Blackstone Town.

The town had few inhabitants. Most people on its streets were Dark Church followers in black robes, with an occasional armored dark warrior among them. An took a black robe from his Interspatial Ring and draped it over himself, hung the elder's token prominently at his waist, then strode brazenly into town.

No one dared stop him.

At the sight of the token, the ordinary followers lowered their heads and stepped aside, not daring to give An so much as a second glance.

An found a Dark Temple in town.

The temple was modest, only three stories tall. Two Guards in black armor stood at its entrance, both Eighth-level Warriors. When they saw the token at An's waist, they immediately dropped to one knee.

"My lord!" they said in unison.

An nodded slightly and walked straight into the temple.

The temple was far more spacious inside than it appeared from outside. A long corridor led to various rooms. Eerie green magical lamps burned on the walls to either side, bathing the entire space in sinister light.

He headed toward a hall at the end of the corridor.

Two middle-aged men in black robes were speaking quietly inside. Silver patterns were embroidered on their collars, and their strength was around the ninth level. They froze when An entered, then their gazes fell on the token at his waist, and their expressions immediately became respectful.

"Honored elder!" Both bowed at once.

An waved a hand and sat in the seat of honor. He deliberately lowered his voice to a deep rasp. "I have orders from the pope to inspect the branch temples along the western border. How are preparations for the sacrificial formation progressing?"

The two deacons exchanged glances. The one with graying hair stepped forward and said quietly, "Honored elder, the core formation has already been set up in Shadow Valley. Lord Moulton is guarding it personally, assisted by six honored angels. The collection of sacrifices in the surrounding areas is seventy percent complete. We expect everything to be ready within six months."

An's heart jolted, but his expression remained unchanged. "Where exactly is Shadow Valley? Has Lord Moulton taken adequate measures to protect the formation?"

The other deacon hurried to answer. "Shadow Valley is roughly three hundred li northwest of Blackstone Town. The terrain is treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Lord Moulton is a peak Saint-level dark warrior, and the six honored angels form the Fallen Angel Formation, whose power rivals that of a peak Saint-level combatant. Even if someone discovers Shadow Valley, they cannot breach its defenses."

The gray-haired deacon added, "Moreover, His Holiness has declared the area within a hundred li of Shadow Valley forbidden ground. Anyone entering without permission is to be killed on sight."

An nodded and stood. "Very good. I will go to Shadow Valley myself to inspect the formation's progress. Continue with your duties. There is no need to accompany me."

"Yes, honored elder!"

An left the temple, and his expression immediately darkened.

Shadow Valley, Moulton, six two-winged fallen angels, and the Fallen Angel Formation. He had thought the sacrificial formation was merely a large magical array. He had not expected the Dark Church to station such powerful defenders there. A peak Saint-level dark warrior, together with six fallen angels capable of combining their strength to reach the same level, was a force he had to take seriously.

For An, three hundred li was only half an hour's flight.

The closer he came to Shadow Valley, the denser the dark elements in the air became.

An could already feel a heart-tightening pressure. The earth had turned grayish black, and vegetation had vanished completely, replaced by bare rocks and dry riverbeds. Heavy clouds filled the sky, blocking even the sunlight, as though some force had cut this region off from the world.

Several powerful auras were gathered twenty li ahead.

An stopped. Golden dragon scales emerged beneath his skin and rapidly covered his entire body. Dragon horns sprouted from his forehead, spikes rose along his back, and a dragon tail swished behind him. His dark golden slit pupils gleamed coldly in the darkness.

He drew the Azure Divine Sword, Azure Frost, from his waist.

An rose into the air and streaked toward Shadow Valley in a trail of golden light.

Shadow Valley lay between two steep peaks. Its narrow entrance admitted only ten people abreast. Beyond it, the valley opened out like an overturned bowl. At the center of the valley floor, an enormous black formation slowly revolved, dark red light flowing through its patterns.

Six two-winged fallen angels hovered around the formation in a hexagon. Each had a pair of black wings, an indifferent face, and hollow eyes, like a killing machine devoid of emotion. Dense dark auras coiled around them. All six were early Saint-level, but with the Fallen Angel Formation, their combined strength could reach peak Saint-level.

At the very center of the formation stood a bald, muscular man nearly two meters tall. He wore pitch-black full plate armor covered in dark runes and held an enormous two-handed sword. Black flames flickered faintly along its blade.

Moulton, a trusted subordinate of the Dark Church's pope and a peak Saint-level dark warrior.

An landed on a rock at the canyon entrance, his golden dragon scales gleaming faintly in the darkness. All six fallen angels turned at once, their hollow gazes locking onto him. Moulton looked up as well. Surprise flashed in his eyes, only to give way to a sneer.

"A Dragonblood Warrior?" Moulton's voice was deep and rough. "Interesting. Are you from the Baruch Clan?"

An did not answer. He simply stood with sword in hand, his dark golden slit pupils fixed coldly on his opponent.

Moulton burst out laughing. "Whoever you are, anyone who dares trespass in Shadow Valley dies!" He swept his hand forward. "Fallen Angel Formation, activate!"

The six two-winged fallen angels spread their wings simultaneously. Each pair spanned roughly two meters, every feather gleaming like metal. They formed seals with their hands and chanted obscure dark incantations. Black light poured from their bodies and linked together, forming a black, six-pointed barrier. It swiftly expanded to envelop all of Shadow Valley.

An felt his body grow heavy, as though an invisible mountain pressed down on his shoulders. The Fallen Angel Formation's gravitational suppression had reduced his speed by at least thirty percent. Worse, the dark elements inside the formation grew intensely active, while wind elements were repelled and suppressed. An tried to draw on the surrounding wind elements and found it several times harder than usual.

A peak Saint-level formation? An thought. It really is formidable.

Moulton raised his greatsword. Black battle qi gathered along its edge, becoming a blade of black sword energy dozens of meters long that cleaved down toward An's head.

An darted aside, evading the sword energy. It struck the rock face behind him, and the entire wall collapsed with a thunderous crash. Rubble flew and dust billowed. Dozens of rocks the size of millstones tumbled from the mountainside and slammed into the ground with heavy booms.

Moulton pursued him, swinging his greatsword with tremendous force behind every blow. He was not fast, but his strength was immense. Each downward strike split a deep trench in the ground. Black flames surged from the blade in curved waves of slashing force. An dodged repeatedly. The greatsword passed close to his body several times, scorching marks into his dragon scales.

The six fallen angels moved simultaneously.

The Fallen Angel Formation activated, firing six pillars of black light at An from different directions. An dodged again and again, but the barrage was too dense. One beam grazed his shoulder, shaving a thin layer from his scales. Black energy seeped through the wound, bringing searing pain. An grunted, and his Dragonblood Warrior constitution quickly expelled the dark energy from his body.

This can't go on, An calculated. I have to break the formation first.

He stopped avoiding Moulton's attacks and charged straight toward the greatsword. The instant it came down, An ducked beneath it and slipped past, appearing before a fallen angel. That angel occupied one point of the six-pointed star, a crucial node in the formation.

A flicker stirred in the fallen angel's hollow eyes as An suddenly appeared before him. Instinctively, he swept his black wings forward, their knife-sharp edges slashing toward An.

Azure Frost thrust forward.

Wind Profound Mystery, Spatial Afterimage!

The blade left a string of afterimages in the air, as though thrusting in several directions at once. The fallen angel could not tell which strike was real. His wings swept through one afterimage while the true sword point was already driving toward his chest. Azure wind elements gathered at Azure Frost's tip, forming a sharp drill of wind.

Shhk-

The sword point pierced the fallen angel's chest. Azure Frost's sharpness, coupled with the penetrating power of the wind dimension profound mystery, easily broke through his dark armor. Black blood gushed out, and his wings shuddered violently.

The other five fallen angels reacted with incredible speed. They adjusted the formation simultaneously, sending five pillars of black light blasting toward An.

An withdrew his sword and retreated, Azure Frost pulling free of the fallen angel's chest in a spray of black blood. He twisted sharply, trying to evade the beams, but the formation's blockade was too tight. One struck his back, blackening a patch of dragon scales. Scorching energy pierced his armor and left a bloody hole in his back. An staggered forward two steps, gritting his teeth against the pain.

The fallen angel whose chest had been pierced dropped from the air and was already lifeless when he hit the ground. A gap appeared in the previously intact six-pointed formation, and the black barrier immediately dimmed.

Moulton's expression twisted when he saw a fallen angel slain. With an enraged roar, he seized the opportunity to charge. His greatsword swept sideways, fierce black flames burning along its dark blade as it slashed toward An's waist with enough force to split mountains and shatter stone.

An neither flinched nor dodged. Holding his sword in his right hand, he blocked the greatsword. Azure Frost collided with it in a piercing metallic clang. Moulton's immense strength numbed An's arm and drove him several meters backward. More dangerous, however, were the black flames on the greatsword. They spread along Azure Frost's blade, seeking to burn An's arm.

An reached out with his left hand and seized the greatsword's blade. His Dragonblood Warrior strength erupted in full. The muscles of his left arm swelled, veins bulged, and a faint golden glow appeared over his dragon scales. His fingers clamped tightly around the blade, the scales scraping against metal with a shrill screech.

Moulton's expression changed dramatically. He tried to wrench his greatsword free, but An's strength far exceeded his expectations. The weapon did not budge, as though caught in iron pincers.

"Get lost!" An growled. His left hand surged with strength, flinging the greatsword and Moulton along with it. Moulton flew like a cannonball and smashed into the mountainside, gouging out a deep crater. The rock face shattered, and tumbling rubble half buried him.

But An had no time to pursue. The remaining five fallen angels had already repositioned themselves, skirting their dead companion's place to form an irregular five-pointed formation. Though weaker than the complete six-pointed array, it was still formidable. The Fallen Angel Formation activated again. This time, countless tiny points of black light appeared within the barrier and shot toward An like a torrential downpour.

The black points of light were packed so densely that they blotted out everything. They filled the entire canyon, leaving almost no room to dodge.

An retreated several steps and held Azure Frost across his body, wind-element battle qi surging wildly inside him. The azure glow on Azure Frost grew brighter and brighter, like an azure sun.

Wind-Cutting Formation!

He swung Azure Frost fiercely. Countless azure wind blades flew from his sword and collided with the black points of light. Wind blades and light annihilated each other in an unbroken series of explosions, like thousands of strings of firecrackers going off together. Violent energy turbulence filled the air. Craters blasted open in the ground, and rubble swept into the sky before raining back down.

The Wind-Cutting Formation covered an even wider area, engulfing the whole canyon. Azure wind blades tore through everything indiscriminately like a raging tempest. They shredded the black points of light, reducing them to wisps of black smoke. The five fallen angels were caught in the barrage as well.

Two fallen angels had their wings severed by the wind blades, sending black feathers swirling through the sky. Their wings broke off at the roots, blood gushing as they fell and struck the ground with heavy thuds. The other three hurriedly contracted the formation, concentrating the black barrier around themselves and barely withstanding the wind blades' assault.

An seized his chance and closed in.

His movement reached its limit in that instant. The Fallen Angel Formation's gravitational suppression remained, but it had weakened considerably. An left an azure afterimage across the canyon, appearing before a fallen angel almost the instant the wind blades faded.

Azure Frost became a streak of azure light and plunged straight into the formation's weak point. It was the gap left by the two fallen angels' fall, where a clear crack marred the barrier. Wind Profound Mystery, Storm Spear!

An concentrated all his battle qi at the sword's tip and unleashed it through the wind dimension. The azure light along the blade abruptly became blinding, transforming into an enormous azure spear that pierced the Fallen Angel Formation. Wherever the Storm Spear passed, it tore the air apart with piercing sonic booms.

Boom!

The formation collapsed completely. The shock wave hurled the remaining three fallen angels away. One struck the mountainside, his skull shattering and brains splattering as he died on the spot. Another was caught by the Storm Spear's aftershock. Half his body burst into bloody mist, flesh flying everywhere, leaving only half a corpse to fall to the ground. The last suffered displaced organs from the shock wave, coughed up black blood, and dropped to the ground barely alive.

Of the six two-winged fallen angels, four had died on the spot and two lay gravely wounded, near death. All had lost the ability to fight.

Moulton crawled out of the rubble, drenched in blood. Most of his armor had shattered, exposing his wounded body beneath. His left arm twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken. His greatsword had snapped in two as well, and half its blade remained embedded in his waist. But a peak Saint-level dark warrior possessed tenacious vitality. He could still fight.

"Dragonblood Warriors... truly deserve their reputation." Moulton's voice was hoarse, but there was no fear in his eyes, only madness. "But do you think this is over? The sacrificial formation has already activated. If I detonate it, every living creature within a hundred li will become a sacrifice! You, me, and everything in this canyon will die!"

An frowned and looked at the black formation in the center of the valley floor. Its dark red light was circulating faster and faster with a humming sound. It was a sign that the sacrificial formation was about to activate. The dark energy at its center had already condensed into a fist-sized black sphere, radiating destructive fluctuations. If Moulton truly detonated it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"You won't get the chance," An said.

He vanished from where he stood.

Moulton spun around and raised his broken sword to block. His reaction was undeniably swift. He held the broken blade across his body and stopped An's first thrust. But An was too fast. A second strike followed immediately from another angle. Azure Frost pierced Moulton's back and emerged through his chest. Black blood dripped from its azure tip.

Moulton looked down at the sword point protruding from his chest, disbelief on his face. His lips moved several times as though he wanted to speak, but only a muffled gurgle emerged. Then his body slowly fell, the light fading from his eyes. However tenacious a peak Saint-level dark warrior's vitality might be, it could not withstand the fatal wound of a pierced heart.

An pulled Azure Frost free. Wind elements blew the black blood from its blade, leaving it pristine once more. He walked over to the sacrificial formation.

Black runes spread across the ground, forming an enormous circular array nearly fifty meters in diameter. The layered runes were intricate and precise, dark red light flowing through every line. The black sphere hovered at the formation's center, steadily swelling until it was already the size of a human head. An could sense that the formation had accumulated vast quantities of dark energy. If it detonated, as Moulton had said, everything within a hundred li would become a realm of death.

An took a deep breath and plunged Azure Frost into the formation's core node. It was the intersection of the central runes, where the dark red light shone brightest.

"Wind Dimension, sever."

Azure sword energy erupted from the blade and spread along the formation's patterns. Like little azure snakes, it slithered among the runes, cutting their connecting lines one by one. The severed dark red light hissed, like a beast struggling in its death throes. Rune after rune collapsed, and the dark red radiance swiftly dimmed.

Freed from its restraints, the formation's energy began to disperse chaotically. The black sphere trembled violently, countless cracks appearing across its surface as dark red light leaked through. An gripped Azure Frost tightly and drove his wind profound mystery to its limit, cutting the spreading energy into fragments with successive wind blades. Without a single detonation point, the energy ultimately dissipated into the air, becoming a black wind that swept through the canyon.

The core of the sacrificial formation had been destroyed.

An withdrew Azure Frost, and the azure glow along its blade gradually faded. His breathing was slightly labored, and several patches of dragon scales had broken, but overall, his injuries were not serious.

The bodies of the six fallen angels lay scattered about, while Moulton's massive body rested in a pool of blood. Shadow Valley, once the Dark Church's central stronghold for sacrificing a million lives, had become a field of ruins.

An looked up at the sky. The dark clouds gradually dispersed, revealing the moonlight that had long been absent. It spilled into the canyon, illuminating the bodies and ruins in a ghastly white.

The Dark Church won't let this go, An told himself. But at least I've delayed their plan by six months.

He turned and walked toward the canyon exit.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped. Information from the Wind of Perception revealed several powerful auras rapidly approaching from afar. They were Dark Church reinforcements, and they were coming with hostile intent.

An frowned and chose not to confront them head-on. He moved swiftly, blending into the wind, and left Shadow Valley without a sound.

In the night sky behind him, several streaks of black light cut across the heavens toward Shadow Valley. From far away, An heard furious roars from the valley and saw black light surge into the sky.