Shadow Devil is even more difficult.
It suddenly sprang out from the shadow of the trees when the two were walking through a dense forest. It had no shape or outline, only a vague black mist that flew across the ground, as fast as a ray of light leaking from the gaps in the leaves, and disappeared in a flash.
Qin Tiexin almost relied on instinct to turn sideways - the chill brushed past his left rib, and there was a silent crack in the armor. The inner cassock flashed with inspiration and could barely withstand it. He didn't even see clearly which direction the attack was coming from.
"Back!" Duan Xuan shouted, and the two instantly stood back to back, each guarding a half of the court. They were surrounded by layers of trees, and the ground was full of swaying shadows. Shadow Devil could shuttle through any shadow, but their eyes couldn't keep up.
The sound of breaking wind started again. This time it was from the right side. It was too late for Qin Tiexin to draw his sword. His right shoulder was brushed by a very fast black shadow, and another hole was added to his armor. Duan Xuan's long whip chased him. With the black shadow whipped away, the tip of the whip split the air, but only tore a few falling leaves - Shadow Devil had already disappeared into the shadow of another tree, so fast that it was like water droplets falling into the water, and even the ripples could not be seen.
There was another soft sound. The cassock on Duan Xuan's left forearm lit up with aura, and a shallow mark ran across the fabric, so shallow that it was almost invisible. However, Duan Xuan's pupils suddenly shrank - Shadow Devil's attack angle was very tricky, and the speed was so fast that even her Divine Sense perception could only capture the afterimage of it for a moment.
There was only the sound of wind and their own breathing in the dense forest. Shadow Devil was lurking in the shadows, ready to take action at any time.
Duan Xuan took out two protective charms from the storage ring and stuck them on the two of them. The light flashed, forming a light shield to protect the two people. Every attack of Shadow Devil would be blocked by the light shield, causing ripples.
Shadow Devil couldn't break through this layer of light in a short time, and the two of them couldn't attack Shadow Devil's body, so the two sides were in a stalemate.
The two of them were "trapped" here by Shadow Devil.
Suddenly, Qin Tiexin noticed something unusual. He just saw that Shadow Devil was holding a short knife in its hand. The handle was rough in shape, but it was clearly that of the human race Law Artifact.
He no longer tried to follow the swaying tree shadows with his eyes, but closed his eyes.
[Spirit Material Sense] is on.
The whole world changed in perception. The scattered ore underground was like blue star points, the dagger and whip buckle at Duan Xuan's waist shone like cold flames, and Edgeless behind him was even more scorching with light. And in this intertwined scene of auras, a very weak, iron-gray aura was--it stopped four feet behind and to the left.
Shadow Devil stopped. It was gathering momentum and choosing the angle of its next attack.
The moment Qin Tiexin opened his eyes, four Profound Ice Spear had shot out of the void! The sound of Cold Qi breaking through the air was sharp and harsh, and the four ice-blue tracks did not all shoot to the same place - they blocked the left, right, rear, and diagonal directions respectively, like four walls closing at the same time, completely blocking Shadow Devil's retreat.
Shadow Devil was forced to eject towards the only front that was not blocked by the javelin. The black shadow was as fast as an ink mark blown away by Gale.
But Duan Xuan's bullwhip is already waiting for it.
The whip body almost followed the movement trajectory of Shadow Devil, and it was so fast that Duan Xuan knew it would be forced in this direction before Qin Tiexin opened his eyes.
The whip tightened suddenly, and the tip of the whip accurately pinched Shadow Devil's waist and abdomen. Duan Xuan used both arms to pull hard - Shadow Devil was forcibly pulled out from the package of shadows. Come, the black mist-like body suddenly appeared in the light, letting out a sharp, almost hissing roar, struggling desperately, but the speed plummeted to the bottom at this moment, like a snake being pulled out of the water, no matter how hard it twisted, it could not regain its weird agility.
Qin Tiexin didn't give it a chance to break free. The second wave of three Armor-Piercing Spear shot close to the gap between Duan Xuan's whip. There was a muffled sound, and the first shot penetrated. Shadow Devil's left shoulder, the second nail penetrated its right leg, and the third nail penetrated its chest, nailing it to the tree trunk behind it. Black mist surged violently from the wound, and a shrill roar echoed in the forest, shaking the leaves to rustle down.
Qin Tiexin strode forward, Edgeless unsheathed his sword and slashed horizontally. The black light swept across, and the roar suddenly stopped. The black mist dissipated, leaving only a rough-shaped short knife that clattered to the ground and stopped among the gravel, without any movement.
The forest was Return to Stillness quiet, with only the breathing of the two of them and the rustling of the leaves in the wind.
Qin Tiexin put away Edgeless, bent down to pick up the short knife on the ground, and looked up at Duan Xuan: "How do you know I will force it to the front?"
Duan Xuan put away the long whip, rubbed his sore shoulders, and answered nonchalantly, "You have stood up straight and closed your eyes. Who doesn't know you are going to end it?"
On the fifth day, the two demon hunting rhythms have reached a tacit understanding. No need for extra words, one look can determine who is attacking and who is supporting. Duan Xuan is to contain and consume, Qin Tiexin is to seize the flaw to end it, or do the opposite - Qin Tiexin to attract attention, Duan Xuan to quickly kill behind.
At dusk that day, the two of them were cleaning up the corpse of a recently killed Ice Devil General. Qin Tiexin was squatting on the ground, dissecting the skull and taking out the core. Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound came from the distance, echoing repeatedly over the forest.
Duan Xuan paused and looked up in the direction from which the voice came. "Jade Talisman for help. North by east, less than twenty miles away."
Qin Tiexin quickly put Devil Core into his bag, stood up, and exchanged a look with Duan Xuan.
"Let's go!"
The two of them used the Turning Step method and rushed towards that direction. Duan Xuan was in front to explore the way, and Qin Tiexin was behind. That direction was very close to their planned route, and it wouldn't take long to get there.
The journey went smoothly, and when they were about to arrive, the two of them restrained their breath and moved quickly along the shadow of the trees. When they approached a valley, there was a faint smell of blood in the air.
The pace of the two slowed down. The smell of blood was not strong, but it had already spread to the edge of the valley. He walked half a circle along the bushes on the edge of the valley, stopped about two feet away from the entrance of the valley, and saw the scene inside the valley through the intertwined branches and leaves.
In a trampled forest clearing, four corpses were scattered among the snow and gravel. Judging from their clothes and equipment, they were four Rogue Cultivator who went deep into the team. Body Refining's cultivation level was approximately between the seventh and eighth levels of Body Tempering. One of them was still holding the broken jade charm for help.
Qin Tiexin squatted down and glanced at the corpses. One person's chest armor was torn to pieces, and the edges of the fracture were ragged; the necks of the other two corpses were twisted, and their expressions were frozen in final shock - the attack came so fast, they didn't even have time to take a defensive posture Exit. The last person's fatal injury was on his back, and his spine was directly broken. Qin Tiexin checked the surroundings for traces of the battle - there were almost none. There was no large-scale burst of spiritual power, and there were no obvious signs of struggle. This means that this team was completely wiped out in a very short period of time.
"It's Blood Devil, high-end!" Qin Tiexin stood up and judged that the Blood Qi on several people was almost sucked dry, leaving only an empty shell. Only Blood Devil would do this.
Qin Tiexin stood up and silently gathered several corpses into an empty Storage Bag, with Duan Xuan assisting. The two quickly completed the gathering and did not stay here for a long time. The smell of blood might attract more Devil Race, and it was already getting dark. They quickly left the valley and found a hiding spot nearby to spend the night.
The sixth day passed peacefully.
The seventh day is also the last day of the assessment. Qin Tiexin and Duan Xuan have collected enough Devil Core, and their rankings based on points will not be too bad. But on the way back, Qin Tiexin suddenly stopped.
Duan Xuan took two steps before realizing that he hadn't followed, and turned around. "What's wrong?"
Qin Tiexin said nothing and frowned slightly, as if confirming something.
After a moment, he spoke, "The number of Devil Race has been decreasing in the past few days. From the fifth day to now, we have only encountered four Demon General, all of which are low-level and mid-level. We have not encountered one high-level Demon General."
Duan Xuan thought about it for a moment, "You said that... it's true. When I went on a mission before, the density of Demon General on this route was much higher than it is now. Even if there are more teams on the periphery, it's not possible to clear out all Demon General."
"Devil Soldier is also decreasing." Qin Tiexin said, "When we passed here on the first day, the frequency of Devil Soldier's patrols was about four or five teams a day, and now it is one or two teams a day at most."
Duan Xuan recalled it and found that it was indeed the case. He couldn't help but admire Qin Tiexin's carefulness. "You mean, Devil Race is shrinking?"
Qin Tiexin shook his head, "I don't know, I just don't feel right."
There was silence in the darkness at the end of the forest, and no unusual noise could be heard. Duan Xuan followed his gaze and nodded. "Go back and do business first."
The two of them changed directions and returned to Wind and Snow Pass along the way they came.
When walking out of the border of the forest, Qin Tiexin took one last look back. The depths of the forest were as dark as ever, and nothing unusual could be seen.