Ling Tian Sword God

Chapter 760: Chapter 758: Shadow_1

Ling Chen was light as a swallow, alighting on the rooftop opposite his target. Through the dim night, he could vaguely see a figure sitting on the rooftop in his line of sight. Indeed, the figure held a strange Wooden Qin. The figure frantically plucked the strings, and deeply demonic notes rapidly filled the courtyard.

Just as I suspected.

Observing the shadowy qin player, a glint of understanding appeared in Ling Chen’s eyes. His previous suspicions were confirmed upon seeing this figure; he had been right all along.

”Damn it! I’m going to slaughter that guy!” Xuan Yu exclaimed, clenching her teeth, ready to attack the figure.

”Don’t rush to interrupt him,” Ling Chen said. ”Let’s gauge his actual abilities first.”

Ling Chen didn’t act immediately. He wanted to observe how the man was using Illusion Techniques to murder people.

Soon, strange sounds echoed in the courtyard. One after another, doors opened, and about four or five Disciples from Hanmei Villa emerged from their rooms. They moved towards the shadow’s location like zombies—rigid and slow.

These Disciples had clearly lost their own consciousness. They were completely beguiled by the sound of the qin, controlled by it as they moved towards the back mountain.

The shadowy figure possessed exceptional Light Skill. Shifting his grip on the qin, he leaped across the rooftops, leading the group of Disciples towards the back mountain.

”Let’s go! Follow him!” Ling Chen urged, a sharp glint in his eyes. He, along with Xuan Yu and Ling Yin, quickly pursued them.

The back mountain of Hanmei Villa was vast, spanning nearly a hundred li. The terrain within was quite complex. Ling Chen, Xuan Yu, and Ling Yin tracked the shadowy figure and the few Disciples to the edge of a lake before losing their trail.

”Where did they go?” Xuan Yu asked, looking around in surprise. They had followed the tracks to this lake, but the shadowy figure and the Hanmei Villa Disciples had mysteriously vanished, leaving no trace.

”Let’s split up and search. Be careful,” Ling Chen instructed.

He didn’t believe the figure could have shaken them off so easily. They had to still be nearby.

”Alright,” the two women nodded, then darted off to the left and right respectively.

Ling Chen scanned the lake’s surface but saw no traces. After searching the surrounding area, he turned his attention underwater.

Without hesitation, Ling Chen plunged into the lake. His body moved like a fish, swiftly swimming towards the bottom.

The lake was far deeper than he had expected. In the darkness of the night, the bottom was nearly invisible. However, relying on his keen senses and the faint light emitted by peculiar, glowing stones underwater, Ling Chen could barely make out several figures swimming quickly and silently in the distance.

Ling Chen’s eyes narrowed. This man certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve. No wonder he could commit murders in Hanmei Villa so covertly.

Locking onto the trajectory of the silhouettes, Ling Chen followed them closely. He tracked them underwater for over ten minutes, navigating past dozens of submerged reefs before finally breaking the surface with a SPLASH.

The sky was already beginning to lighten. Before him lay a deep mountain range shrouded in dense fog. The terrain was rugged and complex, with countless twists and turns, making it easy to get lost.

At this moment, Ling Chen’s expression grew solemn. He hadn’t expected the shadowy figure to be hidden so deep, with their lair in such a place. The path ahead would likely involve considerable risk.

Ling Chen dashed into the foggy mountains. The mist parted silently as he moved like a specter. Each time his feet touched the ground, he glided dozens of feet forward, his breath long and pure.

Suddenly, a nearby section of the mountain moved—it was a Rock Puppet Beast, an Exotic Beast with a rock-like shell! It opened its cavernous mouth, and a red shadow, thick as an arm, shot towards Ling Chen as fast as lightning.

”Rock Puppet Beast!” Ling Chen exclaimed, his eyes glinting. His reaction speed was incredible. He drew his Thunder Shadow Sword, and its brilliant light clashed with the red shadow.

CLANG!

The red shadow was gashed, and yellowish-brown blood spurted out.

Upon closer inspection, it was a tongue, over ten feet long. Its base was still inside the Rock Puppet Beast’s mouth. Like a frog flicking out its tongue, it had tried to ensnare Ling Chen—a truly insidious tactic.

Having missed its first strike, the Rock Puppet Beast recoiled, intending to squeeze into a mountain crevice to evade Ling Chen’s counterattack.

But Ling Chen wasn’t about to let it escape. He thrust his Thunder Shadow Sword into the ground before him, and a beam of sword qi shot into the earth.

BOOM!

The Rock Puppet Beast was blasted out again.

As the sword qi flashed, the Rock Puppet Beast, renowned for its high defense, crashed to the ground. A large gash had been torn open in its abdomen, and its intestines spilled out, releasing an overwhelmingly acrid, earthy smell.

Uninterested in dissecting the Rock Puppet Beast’s corpse, Ling Chen darted back into the fog without a backward glance.

The mountain wasn’t particularly large, and Ling Chen soon reached the midway point.

The first thing that came into view was a stone bridge. Below it, clouds and fog churned, deep and unfathomable. Across the bridge lay a large, flat area. Behind this clearing, a massive stone door, three zhang and three chi high and two zhang and eight chi wide, was faintly visible. The door was tightly shut, with only a narrow gap from which light emanated, dyeing the surrounding fog with a hazy luminescence.

If one weren’t particularly observant, they would never notice the stone door’s existence.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ling Chen executed his Light Skill and landed on the stone bridge.

CLICKETY-CLACK!

Incredibly, the two statues flanking the bridge came to life. Their stone exteriors cracked and fell away as they advanced towards Ling Chen, one heavy step at a time.

”Unbeatable!” Ling Chen shouted, facing the multiple Stone Beasts. He unleashed the attack with the widest range from his Unbeatable Sword Technique. As he swung his sword, layers upon layers of incomparably sharp sword light spread out.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The Stone Beasts were shattered, their fragments littering the ground.

Just as he was about to proceed, Ling Chen witnessed an astonishing scene. The stone fragments twisted a few times, then dissolved into mist, merging with the surroundings and leaving not a single trace behind.

Bizarre, truly bizarre. Ling Chen’s eyes flickered as he pondered. Everything about this place exudes an eerie strangeness, completely incongruous with the natural environment, as if it were forcibly embedded here.

After a moment, Ling Chen took a deep breath, gripped his sword, and dashed towards the stone door.

The stone door is exceptionally thick, Ling Chen estimated. Even if I could break it, the chamber inside might collapse. The resulting commotion would be too great and would undoubtedly alert anyone inside.

Inserting his Thunder Shadow Sword into the crack of the stone door, Ling Chen gave a slight pry. With a RUMBLE, a gap large enough for one person to pass through appeared. With a light tap of his foot, he slipped through like a phantom.