Chapter 516: Chapter 113: Traceless Silhouette
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Three Generals Camp.
The soldiers formed a battle formation, orderly arrayed, winding their way through the mountains like a robust python.
Liu Er rode a yellow steed, fondling the Xuanhuang Sword in his hands.
This treasured sword was thick and edgeless; its blade was an earthy yellow color, with black patterns distributed on the surface resembling the veins of the earth.
The hilt was black, with rings of earthy yellow circling it, at intervals filled with the essence of Earth Element Skill, implying a sense of sedimentation and protection.
Ning Zhuo had gifted the Xuanhuang Mother Stone to Liu Er, which the National Craftsman Jin Li had used, along with the weapon blueprint provided by Liu Er, to forge this piece.
This was not a Magic Treasure, but a weapon.
Magic Treasures are more focused on the casting of Spells, while weapons contain Military Art, which often influences people and objects, imposing positive or negative effects on them (them).
Spells and Military Art are hard to combine; one basically has to choose one over the other as the content of creation.
In terms of practical use, Cultivators also would not forcibly combine Spells and Military Art into a single Magic Treasure. The difficulty is too high, the cost too great.
With those resources, it would be better to create Magic Treasures and weapons separately!
Liu Er grasped the handle, feeling the weight and power of the Xuanhuang Sword; for a moment, he seemed to sense the pulsation of the earth itself.
“It’s truly a weapon personally crafted by Jin Li.”
Liu Er was enamored with this weapon, well aware that to make a name for himself in battle, he would largely depend on this treasured sword.
In the shadow cast on the ground by him and his steed, a pair of eyes quietly opened.
It was Wu Hen!
Wu Hen’s eyes were full of black blood veins, appearing sinister and gloomy.
Wu Hen observed Liu Er with a feeling of speechlessness.
Clearly, the Xuanhuang Sword, with its heavy blade and no edge, was a treasure for protection. With one hand on the hilt and one on the blade, how could Wu Hen launch a surprise attack?
There simply was no opportunity.
If Wu Hen were acting alone, he could have opted to continue observing, waiting for Liu Er to sheath his sword and reveal a weakness.
But now, Chen Lingfeng and many other Golden Core Cultivators were all waiting for him to make a move.
Wu Hen decisively gave up on Liu Er, leaping from one shadow to another and sometimes waiting for the moment when shadows of Cultivators touched those of the surrounding trees and rocks before transferring.
Ordinary Stealth Techniques could not achieve such excellence.
This was because soldiers of the Three Generals Camp were in formation while marching, with Military Power circulating and troops deploying, carrying the might of national defense.
Very few Stealth Techniques could infiltrate among them. Most cultivators skilled in such arts serving as scouts could only dare to approach a certain distance and observe warily from afar.
Wu Hen searched his way through and found a robust man in the middle of the troop.
This burly man was eight feet tall, with a short thick neck and a face full of black beard like steel needles; brimming with the aura of Golden Core, he was none other than Zhang Hei.
Zhang Hei rode a black steed, wielding a whip in his hand. He was not stealthily marching with the army but stood by the road observing the military formation.
At the sight of Cultivators acting slowly, being distracted, or slacking, he would whip them and curse loudly at the same time.
“Get moving!”
“Slacking off while in formation?”
“Hey! You dare glare at me?!”
Zhang Hei’s temper with disobedient soldiers was very volatile. His whip caused constant screaming from the soldiers, but it certainly made them more alert, and their movements quicker and more standard, maintaining the stability of the One-Line Long Snake Formation.
Wu Hen watched from a distance without approaching.
Seeing Zhang Hei continuously whipping the soldiers, he was quite speechless.
Zhang Hei was fuming with rage, his aura turbulent, not in a state conducive to being ambushed.
Then, just at that moment, Zhang Hei’s whipping abruptly stopped. Now he only pointed with his whip, cursing loudly, much more restrained than before.
Wu Hen, puzzled, saw a carriage making its way along the troop line.
When the carriage approached Zhang Hei, a small window on the coach opened, showing a young Cultivator with pale skin and bright eyes.
The young man said to Zhang Hei in a tone of helpless reproach, “General Zhang, your shouting and beating can be heard from a distance. Are you whipping soldiers again?”
Zhang Hei hastily denied it: “No, not at all. Ever since the military advisor reported me to the elder brother, I’ve hardly been doing such things.”
The young man shook his head: “From what General Zhang says, it seems like you blame me for reporting?”
Zhang Hei denied again: “How could that be!? The military advisor naturally has our army’s best interests at heart, and old Black always remembers the military advisor’s kindness. Look at my Black Snake Spear, without the treasure provided by the advisor, how could it ever be forged?”
“Sigh, may General Zhang take care,” Ning Zhuo let down the curtain and returned to being alone.
His carriage was equipped with an Array, the space was the size of a room, not as cramped as it appeared from the outside.
In the entire Three Generals Camp, he was the only person with such special treatment. Even the Golden Core Level Generals Liu, Guan, and Zhang all rode Foundation Establishment Level war horses.
Wu Hen’s mind stirred: “Is this Ning Zhuo?”
He confirmed his guess by slightly contrasting it with the information in his mind.
With a shift in thought, he quietly clung to the huge shadow of the carriage and surreptitiously climbed into the coach, unknown to anyone.
Wu Hen: !!?
Upon entering the carriage, he was shocked.
Ning Zhuo sat there, leaning against the coach wall, looking down at the Technique Classics.
To his left stood a Mechanical Monkey in heavy armor, exuding intense Blood Qi.
On the seat to his right sat a Mechanical Puppet in the form of an adult woman, with the aura of Golden Core.
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Whether it was the Mechanical Monkeys or the female puppets, they all made Wu Hen feel they were better not provoked.
And what concerned him the most was the hand of the female Mechanical Puppet, holding a long Mechanical Sickle.
From this Mechanical Sickle, Wu Hen sensed a path and principle that he was extremely familiar with.
That was the rationale concerning the “abnormal”.
“Night Rain Demon Soldiers?!”
“And they’re not ordinary Night Rain Demon Soldiers either!”
Wu Hen’s heart thumped chaotically and he could no longer remain calm.
He relied on his unique Cultivation Technique and Spells to sneak into the Three Generals Camp and to slip into Canglin Immortal City to scout for information everywhere.
This was because Cultivation Techniques and Spells related to the “abnormal” are very difficult to comprehend and even more difficult to cultivate.
Thus, the majority of Cultivators lack understanding of them, find them difficult to comprehend, and naturally find it hard to defend against such methods.
Compared to cultivating them successfully, a more practical and feasible approach is to collect related Magic Treasures for research and use.
Therefore, since the Night Rain Dynasty, numerous powerful Cultivators have been extensively collecting Night Rain Demon Weapons.
Wu Hen held his breath and carefully left the carriage.
With the female Mechanical Puppet exuding the aura of a Golden Core and wielding an extraordinary Night Rain Demon Weapon in hand, Wu Hen had no confidence in attempting to ambush Ning Zhuo.
Even if the ambush succeeded, the Spells he relied on would no longer have the advantage they used to have before the sickle.
Once entangled, with the entire army closing in, could Wu Hen still leave this place alive?
He sneaked in here to create military exploits, not to commit suicide!
Thus, Ning Zhuo was not a suitable target for attack.
Wu Hen left the carriage rather awkwardly, and continued down the line of troops until he reached the end and saw Guan Hong.
Guan Hong was sitting on a Red-maned horse, not caressing his weapon—the Blood Dragon Saber, nor scolding soldiers, but was instead… grooming his beard.
His beard was thick and long, reaching eight feet, and almost dragging on the ground as he moved.
Guan Hong would take time out every day to groom his long beard.
Seeing this, Wu Hen’s spirits lifted, and he finally found a suitable target to strike at!
He immediately submerged into the shadow of the Red-maned horse, silently preparing.
Spell—Traceless Silhouette!
In that instant, the shadow beneath Guan Hong swelled suddenly, and Wu Hen burst forth from it.
With a gaunt and pale face, disheveled long black hair, and clad in a tattered black robe, trailing edges and hair tips adorned with shadows, he connected his figure to Guan Hong’s in an inseparable link.
Mana surged from Wu Hen’s hands, converting into a pair of shears, aimed at Guan Hong’s neck and snipping fiercely.
If it truly cut, Guan Hong’s head would be severed just like the shadow.
At this critical moment of life and death, Guan Hong’s heart thudded wildly, seized by an overwhelming sense of impending crisis.
At the same time, the soldiers marching behind him saw Wu Hen and began to cry out in alarm.
Guan Hong didn’t have the time to turn his head, his Divine Sense coalesced, observing Wu Hen whom he previously couldn’t detect.
“Seeing” Wu Hen aiming at his neck, he instinctively raised his right arm and moved to intercept the shears.
Reflected onto the ground, the shadow of Guan Hong’s raised right arm touched the forefront of the shears.
Guan Hong felt a pain that pierced his heart!
Wu Hen, on the other hand, felt the shears sink into flesh, unable to withdraw them.
He had no choice but to keep at it, closing the shears forcibly.
Even a tough man like Guan Hong couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan, a tremendous wound becoming apparent on his right arm, almost severing it entirely!
With his rich combat experience, Guan Hong didn’t hesitate to draw the Blood Dragon Saber with his left hand, slashing towards Wu Hen.
Wu Hen let out a strange laugh and dived directly into the horse’s shadow.
Sword Skill—Hundred Yards Pursuit!
Blood-red saber light locked onto Wu Hen, following his path directly into the shadow of the horse.
The next moment, Guan Hong’s mount, the Red-maned horse, let out a mournful cry, suddenly exploding, with flesh and blood flying everywhere and saber qi wildly lashing out.
Guan Hong had clearly locked onto Wu Hen but had mistakenly cut down his own mount.
He suffered heavy injuries, failed to counterattack Wu Hen but instead caused the death of his own mount!
After striking, Wu Hen swiftly shifted through the shadows, fleeing madly.
A myriad of Spells striking the ground failed to harm him in the slightest.
Within a dozen breaths, he successfully escaped from the enemy forces, fully displaying the peculiar finesse of his strange path.
And because the soldiers were all attacking Wu Hen, the formation became chaotic, causing the Three Generals Camp’s One-Line Long Snake Formation to operate poorly and reveal significant flaws.
Seeing this commotion, several Golden Core Cultivators who had been waiting painstakingly outside took action at once!
In an instant, several Spells slammed into the soldiers of the Three Generals Camp from four directions.
The Three Generals Camp was always in an array formation and reacted instantly.
Liu Er and Zhang Hei took action at the same time, each intercepting a Spell in midair.
Guan Hong, injured, was slow to respond and only intercepted half of it.
Ning Zhuo ordered Yuan Dasheng to act, who also only bore the brunt of most of a Spell’s power.
Two or three Spells hit the soldiers, killing… more than thirty Cultivators on the spot.