The Never-Old Forest's highest-ranking assassins might have some means of concealing themselves in shadows, but the shadow beneath the tree was real. That left only one possibility: this was a projection from the Netherworld.
Over twenty years ago, in Emerald-Cry Valley outside Chaoge City, the Never-Old Forest assassins who failed to assassinate Zhao Layue had been silently killed by the projection of the Third Disciple of the Nether Master.
Whose shadow was this darkness that had appeared in Chaoge City tonight?
The shadow bulged slightly, as if about to detach itself from the ground. Illuminated by starlight reflected from the wall, it gradually took shape.
The figure was short and stout, its features indistinct. He seemed to be wearing colorful clothes, indicating an extremely high position in the Nether Department.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
The short, stout figure had a thin, ingratiating yet sinister voice, but also an immensely powerful presence and authority.
His pronunciation was somewhat strange; he probably seldom spoke the human language.
"I am the High Priest of the Lower Realm."
If one said that the Nether Master was the strongest in the Nether Department after the Nether Emperor's death, only one person was qualified to object.
The blood of the Netherworld's imperial clan flowed through the High Priest's veins. His power and cultivation realm were both extraordinarily high; by any measure, he was truly a great figure.
Any other cultivator, even an elder-level expert from one of the sects, would have had only two reactions upon suddenly discovering the High Priest of the Nether Department before them: either turn pale and scream in an attempt to raise the alarm, or turn pale and faint outright from fright.
Jing Jiu remained calm, as if he had met an old man asking for directions. "What is it?"