Chapter 9: Evil Shadow

"Let's go!" Cross's gaze swept over Captain Lei, and he decisively retreated. Beside him, Luan Ya and Man Gui did the same, quickly backing away.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, watching Captain Lei approach the wolf pack. He saw the surge of spiritual energy emanating from Captain Lei, creating a deterrent effect on the wolves.

He remained still, his iron skewer slightly raised, a cold glint flashing at its tip.

"Kid, do you know why Captain Lei is the captain?" Cross's voice drifted from afar as he leaped away.

"It's not just because Captain Lei's cultivation is far superior to ours, at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. It's more about his responsibility and judgment as a captain when facing a crisis."

As Cross's voice reached them, a roar echoed from his location.

A large tree, two hundred zhang away, was snapped by Cross with his bow, crashing to the ground.

Man Gui did the same, and Luan Ya followed suit. Trees fell one after another, forming a blocking barrier. After leaving a gap as an exit, Cross and Luan Ya didn't pause, continuing to sprint.

Only Man Gui, holding a shield in one hand and a spiked club in the other, remained. He leaned against a large tree, like a small mountain, guarding the spot.

Meanwhile, Captain Lei's side also erupted. His hands glowed with dazzling light as he charged into the wolf pack.

Wherever he passed, any wolves that came into contact with him would suffer gruesome deaths, their bodies mangled.

However, there were too many wolves, and Captain Lei's figure was quickly swallowed by them.

Only roars and wolf howls continuously emanated. Cross, in the distance, now let out a low growl.

"Kid, come and meet up with us! It's your turn to act!"

Xu Qing realized this was the Thunder Squad's battle plan, so he no longer hesitated and ran directly towards Man Gui.

Man Gui grinned, pointing to the gap exit behind him. Xu Qing glanced at him, passed through the opening, and pursued Cross and Luan Ya in the distance.

Soon, he saw Luan Ya busy in an area that had been cleared and barricaded with trees.

She took out many powders from her person, spreading them around. She even bit her finger, drawing patterns on the ground with her blood, patterns that outsiders wouldn't understand.

Upon noticing Xu Qing, she had no time to speak, signaling with her eyes for him to hurry.

Xu Qing's gaze swept over, and he swiftly passed without hesitation. Two hundred zhang behind Luan Ya, he saw Cross crouching on a tall tree.

The tree was extremely tall, like a vantage point offering a panoramic view of the battlefield. Cross, crouching there, watched Xu Qing quickly approach and spoke in a low voice.

"Two hundred zhang behind me, that's your responsibility!"

Xu Qing nodded heavily, having fully grasped the Thunder Squad's battle plan.

He leaped forward, and upon reaching the two-hundred-zhang mark, he immediately scanned his surroundings. Instead of altering the environment, he hid in the mud beneath a bush.

He remained motionless, just as he did when hunting in the ruined city.

The moment he concealed himself, a stronger roar faintly came from the distance.

Trees blocked his view, so Xu Qing couldn't see what was happening eight hundred zhang away, but he could feel the intensity of the battle.

Indeed, at that moment, Captain Lei's figure burst out from the wolf pack eight hundred zhang away. Even though he was at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, he couldn't avoid looking disheveled, as he couldn't expend too much energy.

Fortunately, his control over his spiritual energy was keen; he had preserved half of his strength and was now retreating towards Man Gui, pursued by the black-scaled wolves.

Man Gui grimaced, sharply raising his spiked club. The moment Captain Lei leaped past him, he swung the club forcefully at the pursuing black-scaled wolves.

Cross, from his high vantage point, also focused his eyes at that instant, abruptly drawing the string of his powerful bow.

Arrows of spiritual energy, with sharp whistling sounds, streaked through the air, leaving trails of wind as they flew towards the wolf pack, assisting Man Gui.

As piercing roars echoed once more, Captain Lei had already left Man Gui's position and was approaching Luan Ya. Behind him, Man Gui stood alone, like a mountain rooted to the earth, blocking everything.

Thus, the first person Xu Qing, hidden in the mud, saw returning was Captain Lei, who swiftly passed by Luan Ya and Cross.

Captain Lei sped past Xu Qing, his peripheral vision catching his hiding spot. Without time to speak, he merely nodded, then immediately moved two hundred zhang away, sat cross-legged, swallowed a white pill, and began recuperating while preparing for his next move.

This was the Thunder Squad's retreat plan.

Captain Lei, as the strongest, would be the first to block. Man Gui would be the second wave of interception; when he was nearly exhausted, he would withdraw, and the task of blocking the wolf pack would be continued by Luan Ya, followed by Cross.

This cycle would repeat, allowing each of them time to rest.

This was the most suitable method for coordinated team combat in areas with high concentrations of heterogeneity.

Among them, Captain Lei and Cross were the most exhausted.

The former blocked for the longest time, killed the most wolves, and bought a significant amount of time for his teammates behind him.

As for the latter, besides being part of the wolf pack interception, he also had to ensure the safety of his teammates during their retreat from a high vantage point.

It could be said that everyone's role was crucial, but most important was their mutual understanding and trust!

"So this is a Scavenger Squad..."

Xu Qing's gaze was resolute as he remained hidden. As time passed, he soon saw Man Gui's panting body approaching.

A moment later, he saw Luan Ya, pale-faced, clutching her chest.

The last person to speed past him was Cross.

His expression was grim, seemingly normal, yet Xu Qing could still sense the near-exhaustion of spiritual energy emanating from him. Behind him, dense masses of wolves howled in pursuit.

As he passed Xu Qing, Cross seemed to hesitate slightly.

"I can handle it," Xu Qing said deeply, understanding Cross's unspoken meaning.

Cross said nothing, disappearing in a flash. In an instant, the wolf pack howled closer.

The stirred wind brushed Xu Qing's face, carrying a foul, bloody scent. Especially the dozen or so wolves at the very front, completely black with blood-red eyes, exuded ferocity and madness.

Clearly, the Thunder Squad's first round of combat had inflicted considerable casualties, and the bloody stimulus had made these black-scaled wolves incredibly frenzied.

At this moment, they seemed not to have noticed the hidden Xu Qing, intent on pursuing Cross.

But the instant they arrived, a dagger suddenly flew out, whistling as it approached, directly piercing the forehead of the foremost black-scaled wolf.

The force was so great that it pierced clean through in an instant.

The black-scaled wolf let out a piercing shriek, dying suddenly. As its body fell to the ground from momentum, Xu Qing's figure blurred into a streak, erupting like thunder.

The black iron skewer in his hand gleamed with cold light as he violently stabbed it into the eye of a black-scaled wolf. After it pierced through the head, his body swayed, and his left hand clenched into a fist, forcefully smashing the third wolf that lunged from behind, attempting a sneak attack.

The wolf's head instantly shattered, splattering Xu Qing with blood.

Killing three wolves in an instant, Xu Qing's figure swayed again.

His speed was perfectly displayed at this moment.

He was incredibly agile, like a slaughtering Rakshasa, moving and weaving through the wolf pack, his gaze cold, his actions decisive.

As the black iron skewer flashed, the screams of the black-scaled wolves before their deaths echoed in all directions.

More and more wolf blood covered his body, and his hands were stained crimson. Though sticky, his grip on the iron skewer remained firm, and the skewer's color had now turned reddish.

However, due to the spread of the wolf pack, some still managed to leap past him.

And some claws and teeth left wounds on his body.

Yet, with Xu Qing's speed, he barely managed to burst past the former obstacles. As for the latter... the terrifying regenerative power of his purple crystal performed wonders in this battle.

All superficial wounds healed rapidly within a few breaths, and even more severe injuries stopped bleeding.

This scene was not clearly visible to outsiders because his entire body was covered in wolf blood.

However, compared to his wounds healing, his physical stamina recovery was even more astonishing. His continuous combat capability was extended remarkably.

Gradually, wolf carcasses littered the ground around him. The cold sharpness in his eyes grew, and he lasted longer than everyone else, to the point where even the surrounding wolf pack showed signs of being intimidated by him.

From a distance, sunlight penetrated the dense leaves, falling sporadically on his body. The light reflected from his blood-soaked form made him seem like a crimson streak.

This sight was observed by Captain Lei, two hundred zhang behind him, and by Cross at the vantage point even further away.

Both felt a ripple in their hearts, clearly shaken by Xu Qing's ruthlessness and tenacity.

"Kid, retreat!" Captain Lei suddenly called out.

Xu Qing still had strength, but he also felt a severe depletion of his spiritual energy.

Although the purple crystal could restore stamina and heal injuries, it couldn't replenish spiritual energy.

Fortunately, he was a body refiner, unlike Luan Ya, who would be unable to fight without spiritual energy.

Still, there was some impact, forcing him to absorb the spiritual energy in the surroundings, which was mixed with dense heterogeneity. The stinging sensation from the aberrant points on his arm grew stronger.

So, upon hearing Captain Lei's words, Xu Qing didn't hesitate and immediately retreated.

But the moment he retreated, a black-scaled wolf from the pack, its eyes not entirely red but one black, leaped up and pounced on Xu Qing.

A cold gleam flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. The iron skewer in his hand became a bloody streak, suddenly piercing through its head. His body was just about to continue retreating, but right then...

Under the dappled sunlight, he wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but the shadow of the falling black-scaled wolf's corpse seemed to twist.

It actually spread rapidly across the ground towards Xu Qing.

The sunlight here was sparse, not dense, so this made it impossible for him to immediately confirm what he was seeing. The next instant, that shadow touched his body.

Xu Qing's body jolted violently.

An indescribable evil essence instantly sought to invade his entire body.

But at that very moment, the purple crystal embedded in his chest, which had shown no unusual activity besides its regenerative power throughout, suddenly vibrated, and a cold current burst forth from within.

With the burst, the sensation of being invaded by evil instantly vanished.

The cold current came and went just as quickly, disappearing without a trace in a flash. The purple crystal also returned to normal, remaining motionless as before.

Xu Qing was startled, but he had no time to ponder. After his body recovered, he swiftly retreated. The previous scene had happened in an instant, so neither Captain Lei nor Cross in the distance noticed anything amiss.

As Xu Qing retreated, Captain Lei stepped forward to meet him, a lingering shock evident in his eyes.

"You did very well. Go rest at the back."

"Black-scaled wolves living deep in the forbidden zone prefer areas rich in heterogeneity, but the outer regions have considerably less than the deeper parts. So, regardless of why they appeared, they don't like it here. If they can't break through quickly, they'll eventually leave on their own."

After speaking, Captain Lei, with spiritual energy surging through his body, strode forward, charging towards the black-scaled wolves pursuing Xu Qing.

Man Gui's figure also arrived swiftly. He had evidently waited a long time behind, feeling anxious due to the prolonged delay. Seeing Xu Qing covered in blood and the countless wolf carcasses nearby, he took a breath and stepped forward, about to help Xu Qing.

"I'm fine," Xu Qing said, not allowing himself to be helped. He glanced back at Captain Lei, then quickly departed under Man Gui's gaze of admiration.

As he passed Luan Ya, she seemed to have received the news as well. Her expression was one of shock upon seeing Xu Qing. After a moment's thought, she took a leather pouch from her person and threw it to him.

Xu Qing caught it, and feeling the shape of pills inside, he knew what they were. He thanked Luan Ya and swiftly moved away under her gaze, until he saw Cross.

Cross remained silent in the treetop, nodding towards Xu Qing, his approval evident in his eyes.

Xu Qing also said nothing, giving a slight nod in acknowledgment. Only when he reached the very back did he find a spot to sit down, exhaling a murky breath and taking out three white pills to swallow.

As the pills dissolved, he began absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy to recover.

Time passed. Half an hour later, Xu Qing opened his eyes. His mental fatigue had eased, but confusion appeared in his gaze. He realized that the heterogeneity within his body seemed... not very much.

He rolled up his left sleeve to look, and the confusion in his eyes instantly turned into surprise and doubt.

One of the aberrant points on his arm was actually... gone!

Yet, his cultivation was clearly still at the second level of Body Refinement, and after the previous intense fight, not only had it not weakened, but with his current recovery, it seemed even more advanced than before.

Moreover, he remembered clearly that both aberrant points on his arm had experienced intense stinging pain due to passively absorbing spiritual energy during the earlier battle.

As for the white pills, Xu Qing had taken them before, and their effect wouldn't be this astonishing. But at the moment, there seemed to be no other explanation.

Except for... the sudden burst of cold current from the purple crystal.

"Shadow, evil essence, crystal bursting with cold current..."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, recalling that strange scene from before.

He was certain that what he saw—the shadow touching him—was absolutely not an illusion or a trick of the dappled sunlight.

So he carefully replayed the scene of the crystal bursting with the cold current. It seemed that at that instant, the evil essence that had invaded him was swept away by the cold current and absorbed into the crystal.

"It ate it?" Xu Qing speculated with some surprise and doubt.