Chapter 9: Shiranui Illusion Shows Its Might, Spirit Sea Burned to Ashes
Deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, the vegetation grew increasingly lush, and the sky-covering canopy sliced the sunlight into fine, cold, and fragmented shadows.
Lin Sheng let out a long breath, stabilizing the ten-thousand-year spirit ring that had just formed within his body.
That deep shade of black pulsed beneath his feet, making him appear like an enchanted blade about to be drawn from its scabbard.
"Finding a suitable fourth spirit ring for you isn't easy," Lin Sheng said with a cold expression, the blood-red color in his pupils receding, as he teased Long Aotian beside him.
Long Aotian laughed heartily and patted Lin Sheng on the shoulder.
"Your monstrous leveling speed really puts pressure on me as your senior brother."
"Let's go. I remember a rocky valley over there where Spirit Beasts gather; let's go check it out."
Lin Sheng smiled and readily agreed. The two turned into phantoms, weaving through the jungle at high speed.
… At this moment, at the edge of a rift valley several miles away, the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme.
Zhang Lexuan was dressed in snow-white robes, though they were tainted by dust from days of continuous pursuit.
"Finally, I've tracked you down."
Her cold gaze locked tightly onto the canyon ahead, which exuded an aura of decay and blood.
She was not here for leisure; she was on a secret mission from the academy, having traveled thousands of miles to hunt down a team of Evil Soul Masters known for their elusive movements and bloodthirsty nature.
This team was extremely cunning, using the complex terrain of the Star Dou Great Forest to constantly circle around.
Had Zhang Lexuan not been tracking that specific aura, she likely would have lost them long ago!
Deep in the canyon, surrounded by jagged rocks, the mouth of a natural cave emitted a faint, fluorescent green mist, giving off an evil, rotting stench.
"Xiao Tao is still on the other side; I will strike first."
"I cannot let them get away again."
Zhang Lexuan snorted coldly, a sharp glint appearing in her beautiful eyes.
"Boom!"
Without the slightest hesitation, her spirit rings rose beneath her feet, and that bright, full moon appeared behind her once again.
The moonlight was no longer gentle; it was sharp and filled with judgment.
"Moon Blade, Judgment!"
Zhang Lexuan shouted. Countless crescent-shaped silver light blades poured toward the cave entrance like a meteor shower, instantly tearing the green poisonous barrier to shreds!
She transformed into a silver bolt of lightning, charging directly into the cave entrance with fierce sword energy.
"Who is it?!" the Evil Soul Masters roared.
What she did not know was that behind a pile of jagged rocks above the canyon, two pairs of eyes were quietly observing everything.
"Is that Zhang Lexuan?" Long Aotian crouched low, lowering his voice in surprise.
"It seems she is here to destroy the Evil Soul Master stronghold."
Lin Sheng stared intently at Zhang Lexuan's agile figure. The moonlight danced within his scarlet Sharingan.
"So, she came here chasing the Evil Soul Masters."
Lin Sheng's tone was flat, but his fingers curled involuntarily inside his sleeves.
"Shrek's Inspection Team is actually quite diligent."
Noticing the fluctuation in Lin Sheng's emotions, Long Aotian asked tentatively, "Should we go help? Although she is a Spirit Douluo, the methods of Evil Soul Masters..."
Long Aotian didn't care much for Shrek, but in other words... Evil Soul Masters were indeed a common enemy!
Lin Sheng watched the dreamlike moonlight surging around Zhang Lexuan, his expression appearing somewhat complex.
"Let's go take a look."
Lin Sheng moved, silently sneaking toward the bottom of the canyon. "The terrain of this valley is unique; it is cold and damp, with dense spiritual and shadow auras. We might actually find a suitable fourth spirit ring for you."
The two quickly approached, using the jagged rocks as cover.
Just as Zhang Lexuan was engaged in a direct confrontation with the Evil Soul Masters inside the cave, causing bursts of violent spirit power, Lin Sheng's Sharingan suddenly caught two eerie shadows.
"Boom!"
At an angle above the cave entrance, two men wearing tattered black robes and sinister expressions quietly emerged.
They did not participate in the melee inside the cave, but exchanged a glance and revealed cruel, savage smiles.
In their hands, each held two cylinders flickering with red light, which were clearly...
"Spirit Guidance Bombs?!"
These two Evil Soul Masters had clearly done this on purpose, left outside specifically to ambush the Shrek genius who had entered the cave.
If they detonated the bombs, the violent explosion would instantly cause the cave to collapse. Even if Zhang Lexuan was a Spirit Douluo, enduring a close-range bombardment of Spirit Guidance Bombs in such a narrow space would leave her dead or severely crippled.
"Despicable," Long Aotian cursed under his breath. Just as he was about to move, Lin Sheng pressed him down.
"Don't expose yourself; leave it to me. They are only Spirit Ancestors."
Lin Sheng's Three-Tomoe Sharingan became exceptionally eerie in the darkness, the red light contracting wildly deep within his pupils.
The two Evil Soul Masters were snickering, preparing to throw the Spirit Guidance Bombs into the cave entrance, when they suddenly felt the ambient air temperature rise sharply.
"Hm? What's going on?" One of them looked up in confusion, only to meet a pair of crimson eyes like an abyss.
Lin Sheng stood atop a dead tree, his second spirit ring flashing with dazzling brilliance beneath his feet.
"Second Spirit Ability, Shiranui!"
Without any warning, the vision of the two Evil Soul Masters instantly turned deep red.
They discovered with horror that a layer of fine, translucent red flames had coiled around their arms.
These flames did not burn their flesh, but instead drilled directly into their brains through their pores.
"Ah—!" The shrill scream was strangled in their throats before it could even escape.
In their consciousness... they were already in a boundless sea of fire, and the terrifying burning sensation seemed to tear their souls apart piece by piece.
The Sharingan hung in the high sky, observing and casting illusions!
They wanted to throw away the items in their hands and flee in terror, but under the control of the illusion, their bodies were stiff as stone, and they could only watch helplessly as the "flames" swallowed them whole.
In reality, in the real World... they were just standing at the edge of the cliff with dazed expressions, the Spirit Guidance Bombs in their hands having stopped charging, their entire beings like puppets whose souls had been extracted.
"This is the terrifying aspect of illusion."
Long Aotian watched from not far away, stunned. He had seen Lin Sheng use this move against Spirit Beasts, but against living humans, especially Evil Soul Masters with twisted minds... the effect was truly terrifying!
The two Evil Soul Masters had endured the agony of being burned by the Shiranui in the illusion, as if sliced by a thousand knives; in reality, their eyes had completely lost focus.
Blood flowed from their seven orifices!
Lin Sheng indifferently withdrew his gaze.
"Zhang Lexuan, I have repaid this life to you."
Inside the cave, a heaven-shaking roar of moonlight erupted; clearly, Zhang Lexuan had resolved the core battle.
As for the two corpses outside the cave, under the final impact of Lin Sheng's spiritual power, they silently tumbled into the bottomless abyss, disappearing completely into the thick fog along with the dangerous bombs.
"Boom!"
The Spirit Guidance Bombs blasted their corpses into ashes.
Lin Sheng turned his head to look at Long Aotian, the red light in his Sharingan gradually fading.
"Let's go. Before she comes out, let's go find your spirit ring."