parentshiftbook Chapter 121 Shadow Technique
Chapter 121 Shadow Technique
Chapter 121 Shadow Technique
Quan Xinguang retracted his wings and performed a precarious turn in mid-air.
Two ice arrows grazed his shoulders and ribs, the chill from the arrows freezing his robes into a thin, brittle layer of ice.
The third one is applied directly to the center of the eyebrows.
Quan Xin used his right hand to execute the Golden Wing Slash, slicing diagonally upwards. The golden energy blade collided head-on with the bluish-white ice arrow in mid-air.
The ice arrow shattered into countless fine ice crystals, and the golden blade of energy was also dimmed by the cold air.
The shattered ice reflected countless tiny rays of moonlight in mid-air, as if someone had scattered a handful of diamonds across the night sky.
Quan Xin landed without pausing, his right foot slammed into the ground and he launched himself out again, his wings of light unfolding behind him.
Instead of using the Golden Wing Slash for ranged attacks, he pushed the Golden Wing Technique to its limit, transforming himself into a golden streak of light as he approached Yu Qiubai's side.
The Golden Wing Slash is far more powerful at close range than at long range.
Golden light condensed on his right arm into a three-foot-long curved blade, which slashed diagonally down towards Yu Qiubai's left neck.
Yu Qiubai stepped aside, the blade grazing his earlobe and cleanly slicing a deep, bone-revealing gash into the artificial rock wall behind him.
Before Quan Xin could sheathe his sword, he clenched his left hand and conjured two more ice arrows, shooting them at Quan Xin's ribs at near-body range.
Quan Xinguang flapped his wings, lifting himself three feet upwards, the ice arrow grazing past his feet.
He somersaulted in mid-air, headfirst, and slashed down with his right arm, the Golden Wing Slash, towards Yu Qiubai's head.
Yu Qiubai clasped his hands together above his head, and a thick, hard ice shield materialized in his palms.
The Golden Wing Slash struck the ice shield, creating a visible shockwave of interwoven blue and gold. Countless fine cracks appeared on the ice shield, but it did not shatter.
Quan Xin used the force of the recoil to tumble backward, landing several feet away, his feet leaving two shallow grooves in the frozen soil.
Yu Qiubai also took a half step back, and the ice shield solidified again in his palm, the cracks being covered by a new layer of ice.
The two faced off several feet apart, while the Quan family members and Xuanmen martial artists around them had already retreated dozens of feet away, none of them daring to approach.
Quan Xin's Golden Wing Slash on his right arm was still flickering, while Yu Qiubai had a slowly rotating ball of bluish-white cold energy in each of his palms.
Quan Xin suddenly smiled, her voice soft but each word clear.
"Descendants of the Mystic Sect".
"A direwolf?"
"He has already reached the level of condensing qi into arrows. The leader of the Xuanmen Qingzhou branch truly lives up to his reputation as a master of Gang Jin."
Yu Qiubai did not respond.
The two balls of cold air in his palms spun rapidly, the chill spreading through the night sky, even freezing the mountain breeze.
The pair of golden wings behind Quan Xin began to flap faster, the golden patterns became brighter and brighter, and the number of golden air blades on the edge of the wings increased from a dozen to dozens.
The two moved almost at the same instant.
Quan Xin Guang spread his wings, while Yu Qiu Bai spread ice on the ground.
Then a dark shadow suddenly leaped out from the shadow beneath Yu Qiubai's feet.
The shape of the shadow was very strange, like a clump of flattened ink, which silently rose from the edge of Yu Qiubai's shadow and then suddenly expanded into a human shape in mid-air.
In its hand it held a thin, dark-colored short blade, the edge of which was coated with a faint layer of dark green liquid—a poisoned dagger.
It leaped out of Yu Qiubai's shadow without a sound, lunging straight at Quan Xin's back, the dagger aimed at the back of his neck.
Yu Qiubai grinned, for the shadow's dagger had already pierced Quan Xin's neck.
"Do you think he can stab me?"
Quan Xin appeared behind Yu Qiubai, his right arm slashing backward with golden wings. The golden blade of energy sliced through the body of the black shadow, cutting it in two without any blood or flesh splattering.
The shadow's remains fell silently, but before hitting the ground, they turned into a pool of inky liquid, splashing onto the frozen earth and emitting wisps of faint black smoke.
Yu Qiubai's smile froze on his face.
Quan Xin's voice came from behind him.
The shadow just now pierced only the illusory image of Quan Xin left behind.
The Golden Wing Technique is so fast that even the shadow's perception is fooled.
Quan Xin stood a few feet behind Yu Qiubai, his right hand still flickering with the Golden Wing Slash.
"Shadow magic isn't your style."
"Is someone willingly becoming your shadow?"
Yu Qiubai did not answer.
The dark liquid at his feet suddenly twitched, and then a black shadow silently slid out from the crack in the artificial rock wall, reforming into a human shape in mid-air.
He was a short, thin martial artist who had reached the Core Formation stage. He was wearing a tight-fitting dark gray short-sleeved tunic, with the cuffs and trouser legs tightly bound with strips of cloth, leaving only his eyes visible.
Those eyes were deep black, with the pupils almost filling the entire eye socket, and not a trace of white could be seen.
He crouched in the shadows, holding a poisoned short blade in each hand, like a wolf lying in wait for its prey.
"snort."
"Something that can't stand the light of day."
As Quan Xin spoke, a golden-winged slash came down.
The shadow merged back into the darkness, then emerged from the shadow of the old locust tree behind Quan Xin, the short blade aimed straight for his lower back.
Quan Xin didn't even turn his head. He swung his Golden Wing Slash backhand, severing the shadow in half, which turned into black liquid and splashed onto the tree trunk.
He emerged again from the crevice in the rock to the left of Quan Xin, was cleaved open again, turned into liquid again, and then floated up from the grass on the right.
He constantly merged into the shadow, emerged from the shadow, was slashed, and merged back into it. Every attack he made was just barely dodged, and every disappearance was silent.
Lin Mu lay prone behind the rocks, his eyes fixed on the dark shadow that kept flashing and disappearing at the edge of the battlefield. He held his breath and stared at it as wide as possible.
Each time the shadow merges into the shadow, the fluctuations transform the body into a very special inky liquid that flows along the texture of the shadow before re-condensing in another location.
This shadow technique is practically an essential skill for home, travel, murder, and robbery.
If it could be replicated, infiltration, assassination, and escape would all be greatly enhanced.
However, the shadow only appeared for a very short time, only three breaths each time, before being slashed by the Golden Wing Slash.
In this very brief interval, he could only catch a few blurry outlines, not even enough time for the martial arts techniques to react.
He needs to observe for a longer period of time, and he needs that shadow to be fully displayed once.
Then the shadow suddenly stopped.
After he was cleaved by Quan Xin for the last time, he turned into a jet of black liquid and spilled into the shadow of a clump of bushes, and then never resurfaced.
Is it dead?
Or have they gone even deeper into hiding?
Lin Mu lay on the back hill observing, seemingly having disappeared.
But while Yu Qiubai was still struggling with Quan Xin and even falling into a disadvantageous position, Shadow abandoned him and didn't care?
impossible.
Unless he has a more important task.
Lin Mu frowned, the whole story flashing through his mind.
wrong.
Yu Qiubai dragged the Quan family along.
Their plan was for the shadows to flee to the capital, carrying beast markings and primordial imprints.
Lin Mu's gaze was sharp as he looked beyond the battlefield into the distance.
In the shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach, an imperceptible dark shadow was silently sprinting along the ground, having already crossed the ridge of the back mountain, heading towards the outer city of Qingzhou Prefecture.
Its speed is comparable to that of the Golden Winged Kung Fu.