Chapter 1133: Behind Spirit

It flexed its powerful legs, executing a remarkably sharp turn, and relentlessly pursued He Lingchuan.

The Winged Guards also charged forward, sending several crossbow bolts directly at Dong Rui, intending to skewer him. Dong Rui, as if having eyes in the back of his head, dodged them with several swift movements. He cursed, "Nangong Yan, have you gone mad? How dare you try to kill the envoy from Mou State!"

He still had to play his part fully. Then he nudged his chin towards the green-skinned monkey on his shoulder: "Kill them! If even one escapes, I'll hold you responsible!"

Finally unleashed to fight without restraint, the monkey chattered with glee, unable to close its mouth.

While the tiger-like beast pursued He Lingchuan, He Lingchuan sprinted directly towards Nangong Yan. He knew that Dong Rui, having spent years on the run, was exceptionally agile on his feet and could protect himself even against stronger opponents. There was no need to worry about him, especially since the rogue's skills were constantly improving.

The tiger-like beast's explosive speed was astonishing, yet it remained about three feet behind He Lingchuan, unable to close the gap no matter how hard it tried. The two-legged human was actually faster than its four-legged self!

Seeing its prey heading straight for its master and the Golden Winged Guards, the tiger-like beast simply turned to target Dong Rui instead. It understood the principle of picking the softer persimmon.

At this moment, the demonic ape leaped high from the horseback, transforming in mid-air. Its massive frame completely blotted out the daylight above the pursuers. Everyone was startled and scrambled to get out of the way, but when the ape landed, it was like a mountain falling, pressing two Winged Guards face-down directly into the dirt! Both men didn't even have time to scream before being crushed into a pulp by over two thousand pounds.

The tiger-like beast had just pounced, and the demonic ape, conveniently blocking its path, immediately pulled out its refined gold club and smashed it onto the beast's head. This time, Dong Rui finally didn't stop it. The two demonic beasts instantly engaged in battle. One was powerful, the other agile.

After the tiger-like beast changed targets, He Lingchuan also ran closer to the main body of Winged Guards.

As the two leading guards swung their swords, He Lingchuan suddenly raised the round shield in his hand and flashed it at them. Under the daylight, these two men saw their own reflections on the shield's smooth, mirror-like surface. Strangely, the reflections also screamed and shouted something at them... In a flash, another five or six guards surrounded He Lingchuan, and they too saw themselves in the mirror shield. These seven or eight men immediately slowed their attacks, stood in place muttering to themselves, and then suddenly turned to hack at their own companions!

Caught off guard, several Winged Guards were immediately struck and injured by their own comrades; the unluckiest among them had half his neck severed, suggesting a deep-seated personal grudge. With these few temporarily switching sides, the Winged Guard formation instantly dissolved into chaos, no longer able to maintain cohesion.

This was how the "Soul-Snatching Mirror" earned its name. However, He Lingchuan's previous opponents on the battlefield were protected by elemental power, limiting the mirror's effect to merely disturbing their minds and creating openings for its wielder. It hadn't achieved such a widespread and prolonged defection in a long time.

"Ah, hehehehe, it truly was a timeless treasure."

"Golden Flash Plains is truly a great place!" The weaker the elemental power in an area, the more it could wreak havoc!

While the Winged Guards were in disarray, He Lingchuan's body flickered, moving like a swallow darting through rain, bypassing four or five obstructors in an instant to close in on Nangong Yan.

He watched as Nangong Yan pressed his ring finger, and suddenly a hazy gray shadow emerged from behind him. The movements of over ten Golden Winged Guards around them accelerated the next instant, heading straight for He Lingchuan. Just as He Lingchuan raised his blade to force back one Golden Winged Guard, he heard a rush of wind behind him as three attackers simultaneously targeted his back, waist, and knee joints. He Lingchuan pushed off the ground with his toes, sweeping diagonally away, but the space in front of him was immediately filled by more Winged Guards.

Their movements were fluid, tight, and orderly. It felt as if the dozen or so Golden Winged Guards were a single entity, their offense and defense interdependent, their advances and retreats well-reasoned, their coordination seamless. Among past opponents, only Madam Zhu's small spider army could achieve this, as they were all controlled by the spider queen's consciousness, acting as one. Besides that, even Yu Zecheng's Baige demon-hunting squad, though composed of elites, couldn't achieve a level of coordination where they moved as one with their eyes closed. Otherwise, the battle against the Spider Demon Sisters and the Fierce Ape would have been even harder.

Could Nangong Yan accomplish this? Furthermore, these dozen or so Golden Winged Guards had another characteristic: their eyes glowed red, their faces were expressionless, but their strength and speed were astonishing. Their fighting style showed no mercy, clearly aiming to kill both He and Dong.

Why did Nangong Yan come to kill them immediately after they left Bo State? What had happened in Bo State?

He Lingchuan spoke up, asking, "Nangong Yan, you can't escape justice for murdering the Mou State envoy!"

Nangong Yan laughed loudly: "Don't you even know where you are?"

"Where?" He Lingchuan glanced towards the border gate, then realized. They had already left Bo State territory, which meant the other side dared to make a move? He then looked at Nangong Yan again and saw that his eyes were normal, but the shadow behind him also seemed to have a pair of glowing red eyes, fixed intently on his enemies.

"If you're thinking of silencing us, don't blame me for killing." He Lingchuan suddenly snapped his fingers, and immediately a colossal figure emerged from the valley pass, behind the Winged Guard army: The Golden-Armored Bronze General appeared!

As he ran through the mountain pass, he had left the automaton behind a rock. Now, with a single command, the Golden-Armored Bronze General immediately rose, blocking Nangong Yan and the Winged Guards' retreat. After all, there were a hundred and thirty to forty pursuers. He Lingchuan might have disdained their combat power, but he was wary of their sheer numbers. When the enemy swarmed, it appeared they had the upper hand, and it was indeed their most critical moment, so naturally, a behemoth was needed to break the siege.

As soon as it appeared, it snapped two trees as thick as water barrels and shoved them, trunks and branches, into the crowd, like a giant broom sweeping away leaves. The hundred or so Winged Guards, originally split into two groups to attack He Lingchuan and Dong Rui, had their formation thrown into disarray by the Golden-Armored Bronze General's interference. Many were trapped in the branches and couldn't break free, while others were pinned to the ground and rolled around by the bronze figure, their faces covered in blood.

Two Winged Guards on the side shot arrows at the Golden-Armored Bronze General's eyes, but it grabbed them, flung them high into the air, and they would fall from a height of about two hundred feet. Another successfully fired a flaming crossbow bolt at the General's knee. The oil on it ignited upon contact with metal, and with a whoosh, the Golden-Armored Bronze General's lower half was engulfed in flames.

This oil, called Earth Blood, was a specialty of nearby mines. After multiple refinements, it was more potent than some true fires, capable of eroding flesh and bone, and unquenchable by water. It was a frequently used and highly effective method by the Winged Guards for capturing rebels and demons.

If this had been the former Golden-Armored Bronze General, this attack might have burnt out several parts. However, the court craftsmen from Chiyan State who upgraded it were highly skilled. Its hundred-forged outer armor, besides being incredibly strong, also had special insulation layers and was embedded with a dozen arrays. As soon as the fire started, smoke billowed from the Golden-Armored Bronze General's body. The flames soon died down, but a large section of its knee's outer casing was charred. During this time, it also bludgeoned another dozen Winged Guards to death with wooden stakes, using the simplest thrusts, stabs, and slams.

The commotion it created was too great. Nangong Yan glanced over—or more precisely, the shadow behind him glanced at the Golden-Armored Bronze General and stirred twice.

Meanwhile, He Lingchuan suddenly swung his blade, severing a Golden Winged Guard's arm—

Although their coordination was precise, their advances and retreats followed a discernible pattern. He Lingchuan, being who he was, began to adapt to their rhythm after enduring a few rounds of attacks, subtly grasping the pattern of their moves. The Golden Winged Guards' coordination seemed fluid at first glance, but in reality, they had no independent techniques. To He Lingchuan, their movements were rigid and monotonous, repeating only a few set patterns. No matter how effective a set routine might be, once it was understood, it lost all novelty. Despite facing over a dozen Golden Winged Guards, He Lingchuan felt as if he were fighting only one person, albeit one with dozens of arms. The individual subjective capabilities of the Golden Winged Guards were completely unutilized.

The severed arm flew off, blood splattering, yet the Golden Winged Guard didn't even grunt, continuing its attack as if nothing had happened. It felt no pain, as if He Lingchuan had merely damaged a wooden puppet.

The Soul-Snatching Mirror exclaimed, "Hey, these Winged Guards are being controlled!"

He Lingchuan thought the same. The Winged Guards' attacks were mechanical and precise, as if they were executing unified linear commands.

As he fought, he asked Nangong Yan, "What is that ghostly thing behind you?"

To his surprise, Nangong Yan froze, his expression changing dramatically, and countered, "You can see it?"

Not far away, Dong Rui heard this and immediately looked up. "See what?"

Nangong Yan suddenly threw out a gray top, which landed and spun incessantly. As it spun, several eerie green lights emanated from its surface, causing the surrounding air to begin to swirl. First, it spanned three to five feet, then three to five zhang (about 10 to 16 feet)—in just three to five breaths, the top coalesced into a land-based tornado!

This tornado shot up into the sky, expanding its diameter to five zhang (about 50 feet) before stabilizing. At the same time, it wildly sucked in everything around it. The larger the diameter, the stronger the suction. When it fully formed, the affected wind field radius reached an astonishing fifty zhang (about 540 feet), effectively blotting out the sky and sun, turning the entire battlefield into a hazy gray, with daylight completely obstructed.

The sound of the wind was like the wailing of ghosts, and He Lingchuan even saw dark gray shadows within the whirlwind, appearing almost solid. But they didn't seem to be living creatures. People couldn't even stand steadily in the wind. Even the demonic ape, despite its massive weight, was unexpectedly caught by the hurricane and flung to the ground; the Golden-Armored Bronze General, with its large tree, was swept into a backward tumble.

Dong Rui's smaller frame naturally couldn't withstand it either; his face was distorted by the wind. He cursed as he was swept uncontrollably, needing to hug a large tree to keep himself from being carried away. But Nangong Yan and the Winged Guards radiated a hazy gray light and could move freely within the storm! The wind force seemed to have no effect on them at all; not even their sideburns ruffled.

"This is too much!" Seeing the Winged Guards charging at him with drawn swords, Dong Rui muttered, then let go, and was swept about twenty feet away by the wind. The demonic ape lunged and caught him perfectly.

Dong Rui, bracing against the storm, rummaged in his storage ring for a long time: "Where is it? Where is it? I distinctly remember putting it here!" At this point, the tiger-like beast arrived again. The demonic ape held its master on its back—it had four hands, after all—and continued to swing its club at the beast's head. But the storm greatly hindered its performance, so the demonic ape simply put away its club and fought bare-handed. It roared twice at its master, meaning that countless ghost shadows in the wind were attacking it.

As the Winged Guards and the tiger-like beast simultaneously attacked the demonic ape, Dong Rui finally found what he was looking for. He pulled an object from his storage ring and slammed it heavily onto the ground: "Come forth, Wind Lion Lord!"

It was a small stone stool, usually kept as a seat in his garden on Alfalfa Island, but its base was inscribed with a wind-fixing barrier. This technique was learned from the Ethereal Sect and had played a significant role in resisting hurricanes in the Yangshan Archipelago. Dong Rui carried this item even while on a mission for experimental convenience, never expecting it to come in handy like this.

As soon as the Wind Lion Lord appeared, the wind force within a five-zhang (about 50-foot) radius instantly diminished, turning into a gentle breeze. This device could even counteract the gale-force winds from underground, let alone the tornado generated by the top.

The tiger-like beast lunged to bite the demonic ape's neck, but unexpectedly the ape, unsteady a second ago, had now regained its footing. Its palm, larger than a millstone, directly seized the beast's head and slammed it to the ground, grinding it furiously.

Only then did Dong Rui have time to worry about He Lingchuan. After all, his companion was directly facing Nangong Yan and the Golden Winged Guards, bearing all the pressure. "Hey, He..." He intended to ask if He Lingchuan could hold his own, as He Lingchuan was outside the Wind Lion Lord's barrier. But when he turned, he saw He Lingchuan fighting the Golden Winged Guards quite well. Although his clothes fluttered, his movements were surprisingly unaffected by the gale!

"Huh? This kid always manages to surprise!"

The forest was dim, and the tornado was filled with debris, making the faint red glow on He Lingchuan's body quite inconspicuous. Elemental power! This top was merely a magic artifact, and the yin vortex was the supernatural ability it unleashed. But against the elemental power of the Great Wind Army, the tornado's effect on He Lingchuan became quite limited.

Daylight was obscured by the storm, and ghostly shadows flickered within the vortex, originally intending to rush at him with the wind. Ordinary people couldn't see them, but they would feel their bodies growing increasingly sluggish and difficult to move, as if hundreds of pounds had been added to their weight—that was the ghostly shadows gripping their limbs. But as elemental power manifested on He Lingchuan, the ghostly shadows shrieked and fled. How could they dare approach him?

Nangong Yan watched this scene, finding it utterly unbelievable: "Who exactly are you!" Could elemental power from Mou State manifest on an individual so far away? Although Bo State's elemental power was meager, he knew this was illogical!

He Lingchuan simply didn't bother to answer the question. He hadn't brought the Wind Lion Lord, so he couldn't use a barrier like Dong Rui. He could only channel his elemental power to reduce the wind's effect. If the yin vortex had been unleashed by Fu Shanyue's wind demons, then elemental power would have found it difficult to completely counteract its effects on He Lingchuan. However, this tornado was essentially driven by yin-evil forces, and elemental power not only reduced supernatural abilities but also suppressed evil spirits! Not to mention the damage that the Floating Life Blade Aura could inflict on entities described as formless and shadowless.

By sheer coincidence, the yin vortex's effect on He Lingchuan was negligible. However, he had, after all, released his elemental power, and any outsiders who knew this secret—must die! This Grand Supervisor Nangong truly sought his own demise.

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!" The Eyeball Spider was tucked into He Lingchuan's lapel; he didn't need to shout for Dong Rui to hear him.

"Got it!" With the yin vortex suppressed by the Wind Lion Lord, Dong Rui reached out and slapped his backpack. As the backpack moved, something darted out, vanishing with a "whoosh," too fast for the eye to discern.

Most of the Golden Winged Guards had gone to attack He Lingchuan, as Nangong Yan clearly disliked him the most. The remaining fifty-plus Winged Guards were attacking the fierce ape and Dong Rui. The demonic ape was busy beating the tiger-like beast and had no time for these "little men," so they poked at the ape's ankles, knee bends, and other areas not covered by its bronze armor with their spears, while also shooting arrows at Dong Rui.

As soon as this faint shadow emerged from the backpack, three Winged Guards immediately fell. One was blinded, another was pierced through the heart. As four more approached, the demonic ape suddenly lowered its head and sprayed a stream of blue flame at them. The Winged Guards' elemental power was weak, offering little resistance to the demon's supernatural abilities. Hit directly by the flame, they immediately writhed on the ground, wailing. The fierce ape's blue flame corroded flesh and bone and couldn't be extinguished with water; it couldn't be put out without literally scraping off a layer of skin.

Though this blue fire was terrifying, the Winged Guards were even more afraid of the untraceable, invisible shadow that killed without a trace. With that thing present, their attacks became hesitant and cautious. One Winged Guard leader roared in fury, "Kill this demon tamer! He's behind all this mischief!" No sooner had he spoken than he clutched his throat, for the shadow had darted into his mouth! Two breaths later, he collapsed, his weapon flung aside, howling in pain.

Without the Winged Guards' harassment, the demonic ape focused much more intently on dealing with the tiger-like beast. Its movements weren't as agile as the tiger-like beast's, so it simply adopted a brute-force approach, letting the monster lunge and bite as it pleased. It could withstand countless attacks, but the tiger-like beast could not. Soon, the opportunity the demonic ape had been waiting for arrived: after landing, the tiger-like beast stepped on a broken tree trunk, its hind leg slipped, and it couldn't jump away in time.

"Ah, an opening!" The demonic ape seized the chance and pressed down. Given its immense weight, this solid press on the tiger-like beast almost shattered its ribs. The latter's four legs furiously clawed at the ground, plowing deep furrows in the sand, but it simply couldn't break free from beneath the ape! Having finally pinned the tiger-like beast down, the demonic ape no longer held back. It grabbed its upper and lower jaws with its hands and pulled them sharply in opposite directions! The tiger-like beast knew death was upon it and fought with all its might, but it was no match for the giant ape's innate divine strength. Its mouth was pried open wider and wider, bit by bit, until there was a sharp "snap!"

"These few demons were truly formidable; they even managed to kill Lord Nangong's tiger-like beast!" Not to mention that in this short period, the invisible gray shadow had killed another ten or so people. "What in the world was that thing?"

The Winged Guards' elemental power was sparse, preventing them from clearly seeing its movements, only increasing their fear. Several Winged Guards at the back looked left and right, then quietly slipped away. "Why risk life and limb for a few coins as a guard?" With some fleeing, the rest lost their will to fight. In a flash, seven or eight Winged Guards had slipped away, all hoping to escape the mountain pass. Dong Rui blew two whistles, and the faint light emerged from the chest of a fallen corpse, swiftly pursuing the fleeing soldiers.

Having traveled far and wide for years, Dong Rui had dealt with many armies and was particularly familiar with the training of the Yangshan Guard. These Winged Guards before him, while not poorly disciplined nor lacking in morale, had combat power that Dong Rui found unimpressive, which surprised him. Normally, he fought opponents with abundant elemental power; this sudden "downgrade" was unfamiliar to him.

He patted the demonic ape's shoulder and pointed at He Lingchuan: "Go help him." He Lingchuan had said, "Leave no one alive."

Two Winged Guards managed to bypass the Golden-Armored Bronze General and were almost out of the pass. However, a person suddenly sprang out from the woods ahead, directly encountering them. With a swing of his blade, he instantly cut down both Winged Guards. Jin Bai had arrived.