Chapter 87: Seizure

Chapter 87 -0087: Seizure

From Duan Xiaolong’s alarmed shout to Chen Yu blocking the lethal strike from Ghost Shadow with the “Green Scale Armguard,” barely a moment had passed.

At the sudden appearance of the sword,

Duan Xiaolong’s heart clenched tight.

The Duan Family, a prominent family in Chu Country, had some understanding of various forces, including evil spirits and demon gods.

The current “Snake Ghost Shadow” was among the top assassin groups in Chu Country.

Snake Ghost Shadow consisted of two assassins, Snake and Ghost Shadow.

...

"Snake” specialized in controlling snakes, and the “snake offspring” he manipulated were a venomous breed adept at lurking.

Fed on potent toxins from birth and trained for years, sometimes even over a decade, their ambushes were nearly impossible to defend against.

Even with Chen Yu’s senses, he hadn’t detected the presence of the snake until the moment it struck.

Thanks to the formidable Copper Statue Technique, Chen Yu fended off Snake’s attack and ferociously killed a poison snake of Organ Refining Stage caliber.

This had already shocked Duan Xiaolong.

Because with “Snake Ghost Shadow’s” assassination attempts, more than ninety percent succeeded with just the use of their poison snakes. Even if one could evade the snake’s bite, the odor of the venom would cause dizziness—something most at the Organ Refining Stage could hardly resist.

However,

Chen Yu had not only blocked the poison snake but also the more formidable “Ghost Shadow.”

Ghost Shadow’s cultivation had reached the Late Stage of Organ Refining. His movement technique was so fast and unpredictable he was nicknamed after a ghostly shadow.

His sword was a custom-forged treasure sword, perfect for assassination, containing powerful poison refined over the years with the venom from Snake’s snakes.

That sword strike was meant to be an immediate kill upon touching blood!

Yet,

That strike had failed to penetrate Chen Yu’s defense, not even scratching the skin.

Ting—

The treasure sword sparked against the “Green Scale Armguard,” its scales dimmed momentarily.

The remaining force was naturally insufficient to penetrate Chen Yu’s Copper Statue Technique.

"How is this possible

Ghost Shadow’s withered face showed a flash of shock. In his years of assassination, he had never encountered such tough defenses.

Cloud Evil Fist!

Chen Yu let out a cry, his heart pounding heavily as he punched with gathered force.

He did not draw his Xuan Heavy Sword from his back; it would take time and wasn’t suited for close combat.

Whoosh—

That punch, a Killing Aura Fist Shadow the size of a water bucket, took on the vague form of a python, exploding with a booming roar that shuddered blood and soul.

It was the manifestation of a fist’s killing intent!

Now, Chen Yu’s inner breath martial arts were on a higher level, his heart could gather force and unleash a punch with killing intent concentrated within.

At such a close distance, even if Ghost Shadow was proficient at evading, he had no room to dodge.

No way!

Struggling to mobilize his inner breath, a faint black pattern emerged on the Half Treasure Armor he wore, blocking the punch.

He had thought: Chen Yu was just at the Meridian Passage Stage, and even if he was taken for an Early Stage of Refining Internal Organs, resisting with the Half Treasure Armor should not result in severe or fatal injuries.

Boom—

When the punch connected, and the aura of evil Qi inside burst, Ghost Shadow realized his mistake.

A tyrannical and chilling evil force surged into his body.

Crack—

What was more terrifying was the sheer brute force that, even through the Half Treasure Armor, directly broke several of his ribs.

Ugh—

Ghost Shadow spat out blood, his body curling and his complexion turning pale.

That strike seemed to come from a Fierce Beast King close to the Qi Transformation Realm. Without the protective layer of the Half Treasure Armor, he would have likely been burst with a single punch.

Bear in mind,

Chen Yu’s recent punch had gathered force in his heart. The power from the initial formation of Copper Bone and Cloud Evil Fist were both insidiously enhanced.

Thud—

Ghost Shadow fell under a tree, heavily injured, with several ribs broken and internal bleeding.

"Ghost Shadow

Snake from the other side uttered an astonished gasp.

This scene had caught him entirely off guard.

Beforehand,

When the two learned that their target was only at the Meridian Passage Stage, they scoffed at taking action. Only the exceptionally generous reward offered by the employer barely convinced them to accept.

Sword Form Solidifies into Gang!

A fleeting shadow dashed by, Chen Yu at his peak using Cloud Stepping closely followed, leaping to the base of the tree to close in on Ghost Shadow, swinging his heavy sword.

Swoosh—

The heavy sword dragged a crescent of sword energy along with a violent barrage of heavy sword shadows, covering a range of one to two zhang beneath.

"This is bad

Ghost Shadow, still in the air with unsettled blood and injuries, miscalculated again, not expecting his opponent to have equally exceptional movement techniques.

Chen Yu descending from above, with timing and terrain in his favor, launched an attack over a range outlined by the treasure heavy sword, leaving Ghost Shadow no chance to evade.

Leave!

In surprise and anger, Ghost Shadow managed to block with his short sword.

Clang—

The Xuan Heavy Sword, with its terrifying burden and great force, sent Ghost Shadow flying, along with his sword, disarming him.

The short sword could not match the heavy sword, especially not with the immense disparity in strength.

Moreover,

Chen Yu’s punch had severely wounded Ghost Shadow, who had yet to drift to the ground or catch his breath. Forced to resist in a hurry, Ghost Shadow couldn’t even muster up sixty percent of his peak power.

Guh—

Ghost Shadow’s body trembled violently as he spat out blood, a deep bone-deep gash appearing on his arm, causing his entire left shoulder and arm to go numb.

In an instant, he suffered a near fatal wound, his arm almost crippled.

Whoosh—

Chen Yu’s figure flashed, rapidly closing in, stepping onto the fallen treasure poison sword.

It seemed,

That losing the sword would be like a venomous snake stranded without its fangs.

"No—my sword!”

Ghost Shadow roared in horror and anger.

However, faced with Chen Yu’s subsequent oppressive strikes with the heavy sword, and the rebound of his internal injuries, he simply couldn’t resist.

"Retreat now, or we won’t make it out.”

On the other side, Snake, the gray-robed elder, called out lowly, his voice filled with resignation.

As a top assassin, if the first strike failed, they retreated a thousand miles.

Moreover, the assassination attempt by the two would alert the powerful members of the sect in the Beishan Spirit Garden.

Swoosh!

The shadowy figures, dressed in black, left a few overlapping afterimages in place and dodged Chen Yu’s heavy sword pursuit.

"Let’s go!”

The two turned into ghostly shadows, fleeing toward the deep mountains near the Beishan Spirit Garden.

Zing! Zing!

At that moment, Duan Xiaolong and Chen Yu joined forces. After chasing a few dozen yards, they were intercepted by suddenly emerging dozens of poisonous snakes.

Puchi puchi!

They took action, decimating over a dozen Meridian Passage Stage poisonous snakes.

But by that time, the figures of “Snake Ghost Shadow” were already blurred into the night, becoming indistinct.

"Forget the chase; see how the others are.”

Duan Xiaolong called out in a low voice.

It was already a stroke of luck for someone at the Organ Refining Stage to survive an assassination attempt by the “Snake Ghost Shadow.”

Over the past few years.

There had been almost no failures in the assassinations by “Snake Ghost Shadow”. Several at the Peak of Refining had died at their hands.

This pair, at one time, claimed that no one below the Qi Transformation Realm was unkillable.

"This sword can count as compensation for my emotional distress

Chen Yu examined a short dark gray sword, about a foot long, with a smile on his face.

Duan Xiaolong cast an envious gaze upon the sword.

"This ‘Ghost Shadow’s’ sword is called the ‘Dark Snake Sword.’ It’s forged with the poisonous fangs of the Poison Snake King and combined with thousand-year-old ironwood and other precious materials. The sword has been tempered with the venom of ‘Snake’ year-round, and it’s widely regarded as a lethally poisonous sword that seals the throat upon blood contact, certainly one of the best among lower-grade artifacts.”

That powerful?

Chen Yu was taken aback, safely stowing away the Dark Snake poisonous sword.

"Ghost Shadow must feel more pain losing this sword than if he’d lost an arm.”

Duan Xiaolong couldn’t help but sigh.

The two conducted a brief search nearby.

They discovered that the other two patrol groups had also been poisoned by snakes and were in a comatose and dying state.

Duan Xiaolong immediately fed them Detoxification Pills.

"The poison affecting them is just ordinary snake venom, not very deep. It seems ‘Snake Ghost Shadow’ had reservations, not wanting to offend the sect too much. They aimed specifically at you.”

Duan Xiaolong concluded.

"Aimed at me?”

Chen Yu thought about the harrowing near-death experience of the assassination.

If it had been a typical person at the Organ Refining Stage, they wouldn’t have had any chance to fight back and would have been easily killed.

"Have you offended anyone?”

Duan Xiaolong gave Chen Yu a glance and paused: “I suspect the person who wanted you assassinated is in collusion with members of our sect, or it might even be a member of our own sect. Otherwise, they couldn’t be so familiar with the geography inside the Spirit Garden and be able to easily target patrols and sentries.”

Chen Yu nodded, finding it plausible.

There were many suspicions.

The Beishan Spirit Garden was one of Yunyue Sect’s important locations, its geological layout unfamiliar to outsiders.

Furthermore,

To mobilize “Snake Ghost Shadow,” it must be the work of a major power, not just any ordinary individual.

Someone like Wang Lingyun didn’t have such influence.

"The Seventh Prince… or Kun Ling?”

Chen Yu momentarily recalled these two names in his mind.

The likelihood of Kun Ling was smaller.

This person had a sense of pride, and his conflict with Chen Yu wasn’t that significant, only displeased because Chen Yu had refused to trade the “Ice Heart Tears.”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

At that moment, some Yunyue Sect members rushed to the scene of the incident.

"What happened?”

A patrol captain at the Peak of Refining asked aloud.

When they learned of the attack by Snake Ghost Shadow and the failed assassination of Chen Yu, they were all taken aback.

…

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Two figures, under the cover of night, left the outer periphery of the Beishan Spirit Garden.

One of the ghostly shadows said bitterly and coldly, “My ‘Dark Snake Sword I must get it back.”

Losing that treasure of a poisonous sword, his strength had diminished by thirty to forty percent.

Just then,

Hoo~

Ahead in the night, a thin layer of dark fog emerged, blending with the dark, masking the churning dust behind it.

"Who’s there!”

Snake and Ghost Shadow, sensing slight ‘pitter-patter’ sounds, became alert.

Suddenly,

The thin dark fog expanded, revealing mounts of jackals over a yard tall, their pairs of green, ghostly eyes becoming faintly visible.

What was eerie,

Those jackals were not only robust in size, nearing that of tigers and leopards, but also emitted strands of black fog and carried an air of brutality and ferocity, unlike that of ordinary beasts.

"Demonized Jackals!”

Snake Ghost Shadow’s complexions changed drastically, a fear chilling them to the bone.

These Demonized Jackals themselves were only nearly at the Organ Refining Stage in strength, which wasn’t scary.

What was truly terrifying were the rumors associated with them!

Pitter-patter! Pitter-patter!

In the dark fog, each Demonized Jackal carried a stern, tall figure armed with weapons such as swords or scythes.

From their rough estimation, there were at least nearly twenty figures in the fog.

Run!

Snake and Ghost Shadow felt their scalps tingle as they hastily retreated in the opposite direction.

But unbeknownst to them,

The area they were in had already been enveloped by the dark fog.

Humph!

An alarmed low roar, like rolling thunder, carried an invisible sound wave over them.

The source of the sound was a towering, dark-skinned giant, sitting atop a massive purple-black tiger several yards in length, looking like an indifferent overlord.

Thud! Thud!

With just that one roar, the overwhelming pressure and sound waves caused them to fall prostrate to the ground, vomiting blood on the spot.