Arrow Grass Spirit

Huo Qubing's world was completely different from Zhang Xuezhou's.

As he trudged through the palace ruins, Zhang Xuezhou searched for the array formations set up in the secret area.

Just as Huo Qubing stopped and stared blankly at a corner, Zhang Xuezhou also gazed intently in that direction.

It was a skeleton, and phosphorescence had already appeared on the bones.

Even if the opponent was once a powerful cultivator with an extremely high level of physical strength and skill, when phosphorescent flames appear on their bones, it means that the last traces left behind are also decaying.

The skeleton held a bow in its left hand. The bowstring was broken, and the bow itself was rotten like decaying wood. Only the animal bones at both ends of the bow that held the bowstring were white jade-colored, and one could vaguely see the former glory of this bow.

But in the skeleton's right hand, the arrow was so new that it made Zhang Xuezhou extremely wary.

He looked at the main shaft of the arrow, which resembled a spiral bar, and then at the two tender leaves growing from the tail feathers.

In a hazy, dreamlike state, Zhang Xuezhou felt as if his body was being pierced by an arrow, giving him a sense of being penetrated.

It was as if the arrow would fly and strike him if he made the slightest movement.

"There are no traps here, and the skeletons have no remaining magical Law Power, so how did this arrow lock onto me?"

There should have been a chair and a table where the skeleton was located.

But the chairs and tables had rotted away and were crushed into pieces as the palace collapsed.

Zhang Xuezhou could even see bronze cups used for drinking on the ground.

This secret place is desolate, with nothing but this skeleton. If the person had sat at the table a thousand years ago, sipping wine, it would have been an unimaginable life of ease, or perhaps an unimaginable loneliness.

Zhang Xuezhou scanned his surroundings, searching for any factors that might be advantageous to him.

"It seems we have no choice but to take one arrow?"

There was nothing unusual about the collapsed palace. Even though Zhang Xuezhou could see some blurry characters on the bronze cup, he didn't recognize them.

Of course, even if Zhang Xuezhou knew ancient characters, he didn't think the inscription on the cup would save him from this attack.

The Qi and Blood, and magical Law Power within his body began to vibrate, and the golden light of the physical body technique floated across his body. Zhang Xuezhou also used the Halt Warfare Formula.

The moment he moved, Zhang Xuezhou felt a black light flash before his eyes, and the intense pain of his chest being shattered surged into his heart.

What is this?

Zhang Xuezhou's physical abilities couldn't keep up with the speed of his mental perception. He could often see every move his opponent made, but his body couldn't react in time.

There are very few situations where Zhang Xuezhou can't see clearly, and he was surprised by the speed at which a black light flashed past his eyes.

But what surprised Zhang Xuezhou even more was that the feathered arrow in the skeleton's right hand was still in place.

"This can't be a hallucination!"

The excruciating pain in his body was real; even though Zhang Xuezhou used his physical body technique to tightly lock his body in place, he could still see the bloody hole in his chest.

Despite experiencing such intense physical pain, Zhang Xuezhou did not believe he was still in a hallucination.

Zhang Xuezhou found it hard to believe that his physical body technique, which had reached the level of Divine Ability, had been pierced by an arrow; he hadn't even noticed the attack.

Moreover, he was still locked on, able to injure him instantly and return to his original position. Zhang Xuezhou didn't think he could catch the arrow when he reached out.

He frowned and focused intently, his physical functions rapidly waning.

The Grain Avoidance Instruction block out life force remained as effective as ever; even though Zhang Xuezhou was still standing, he could feel the feeling of being locked up gradually fading.

As if believing he had already killed Zhang Xuezhou, the feathered arrow in the skeleton's right hand began to appear harmless, no longer posing a fatal threat to Zhang Xuezhou.

"Little Huo?"

Zhang Xuezhou let out a soft cry, but Huo Qubing, who was standing in front of him, did not respond and remained standing as if he were in a hallucination.

Zhang Xuezhou felt a sense of unease.

This unexpected event happened so quickly that he was almost caught off guard.

Let alone asking him to rescue Huo Qubing at this moment, Zhang Xuezhou is in dire straits himself.

Although he had released the arrow from its lock, Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou knew that if he regained his strength and moved around, or tried to figure out why the arrow had killed him and thus moved the arrow in the skeleton's right hand, he would inevitably be shot again.

He looked at the small hole in his chest; it wasn't big, only about the thickness of a chopstick.

It seemed as if he had been pierced by a sharp blade; the hole pierced through his chest and down to his back.

The golden light protecting his body from the Body Technique was completely ineffective, offering no protection whatsoever. Even after Zhang Xuezhou's body was pierced, he could still see the unbroken golden light protecting him.

"What do we do?"

Zhang Xuezhou felt he had run out of ideas.

He pondered the ability to perceive reality and illusion that he had obtained from Zhu Jiuyin, and felt it was somewhat unreliable.

Having already used the fast and slow mental abilities twice in the real world, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't possibly use them normally again anytime soon.

He stood amidst the palace ruins, not daring to move, and could only quietly observe the arrows.

Time passed slowly, and the sky began to lighten.

This secret place is almost in sync with the outside world, and the sunlight shines on this mountain-shaped secret place in the same way.

The forest, which was like a phantom at night, becomes lush and green during the day, no longer as menacing as it was at night.

These strangely shaped old leaves trembled, absorbing the Spiritual Qi of the secret place, and began to breathe in and out of the sunlight.

As Zhang Xuezhou's gaze swept across the scene, he noticed that the feathered arrow in the skeleton's hand also faced the sunlight, seemingly delighted by the arrival of the morning light.

"A demon? Could it be that the arrow has transformed into a demon... or a grass spirit!"

Looking at the two small leaves at the tip of the arrow, Zhang Xuezhou finally remembered what had happened to him.

It was during a chance encounter with Daoist Ran Deng that Zhang Xuezhou heard Daoist Ran Deng mention that arrow grass could become demons, and that top-tier arrow grass demons could even shoot three thousand miles.

Zhang Xuezhou initially thought this was bizarre, until his body was pierced through and he couldn't even catch a glimpse of the arrow, at which point Zhang Xuezhou came to his senses.

On the Qingzhou Cauldron, the arrow that Ying Fusu used to kill Zhu Jiuyin was made of ordinary arrow grass, yet it brought Zhu Jiuyin to the brink of death.

"So you're a living spirit! No wonder you can still hurt people even without traps, formations, or a master!"

Having figured out the reason for the arrow's fatality, Zhang Xuezhou breathed a sigh of relief.

He slowly moved his fingers toward the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag in his abdomen.

With a flick of his Law Power, the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag opened, and Zhang Xuezhou saw the arrow grass spirit's leaves stand up instantly.

As a black light flashed by, Zhang Xuezhou found himself holding a cyan staff.

"Deterrence!"

The most frequently used and fastest suppressive ability also erupts instantly. It doesn't lock onto the Arrow Grass Spirit, nor does it need to lock onto it; its area-of-effect suppression can suppress everything.

The oppressive and suffocating aura of power erupted, and a piercing pain shot through Zhang Xuezhou. He saw an arrow lodged in the center of his forehead.

His speed was still a little bit slow.

This time, however, the arrow-like spirit failed to pierce his head, nor did it return to its original position.

The arrow in the center of his forehead trembled incessantly, clearly resisting his intimidation and suppression, and even trying to continue to penetrate and pierce through his skull.

Zhang Xuezhou remained frozen for a few seconds. He felt a blue light emerge from the staff he was holding in his right hand. The arrow-grass spirit had been suppressed and stood upright, no longer displaying the violent force that had killed it instantly before.

"Pinch off those two leaves!"

Huo Qubing's voice, as if waking from a dream, came through. Zhang Xuezhou reached out with his left hand and snapped off the two leaves at the end of the arrow.

The straight, spiral-shaped arrow bent in an instant.