Chapter Fifty-Seven: Soul-Devouring Shadow

This thing was trying to devour his soul!

But then—

Something extraordinary happened!

The unknown entity that had entered Qin Feng’s mind suddenly acted as if it had seen a ghost; it desperately tried to escape from Qin Feng’s body. However, the twin-headed black serpent within Qin Feng chased it down and swallowed it whole.

Qin Feng almost burst out laughing. It wanted to consume his soul, but it couldn’t even get past the soul of his bloodline that had been assimilated by the mysterious tree, let alone contend with the tree itself.

When Qin Feng awakened, only an instant had passed.

He was among the second group to be affected, along with Qin Hu and Shi Yuan.

Of the remaining people, only Zhan Bai, Tu Zheng, and Hua Ruyan were still standing.

These three, however, were fully occupied, frantically fending off the shadowy, mysterious opponents. Qin Feng was the first to regain consciousness, which lifted everyone’s spirits. Though surprised, they welcomed another ally—one more chance to survive.

“This is bad! They are Soul-Devouring Shades—creatures that feed on human souls. They can even bypass the defenses of a Xuanqi shield!”

At that moment, Zhan Bai’s urgent voice rang out again, “Everyone left, gather together, back to back! We might be in serious trouble this time.”

Although Zhan Bai’s cultivation surpassed his own, he immediately recognized the Soul-Devouring Shades, clearly possessing a powerful primordial spirit. Qin Feng surmised privately that Zhan Bai, like himself, must also practice a technique to strengthen the primordial spirit.

As he spoke, Zhan Bai’s superior flying sword, Cloud-Cleaver, shot forth, pinning a Soul-Devouring Shade to the wall. A sizzling sound followed, and a plume of black smoke rose from the spot.

Gradually, a pitch-black humanoid demon solidified its form. Although Qin Feng’s eyes could not see it clearly, his spiritual sense probed its shape: there were no facial features, only a vertically split maw atop its head, filled with jagged teeth, from which disgusting liquid occasionally dripped.

The ghastly sight caused those present to retch uncontrollably.

The exposed Soul-Devouring Shade hissed in frustration, then opened its enormous mouth and spewed several sticky white threads at Zhan Bai. Zhan Bai sliced them apart with a finger-sword, then followed up by splitting the disgusting head of the Shadow Fiend with a burst of sword energy.

Sticky bodily fluids splattered over everyone.

Having struck true, Zhan Bai prepared another spell and targeted the next Soul-Devouring Shade.

Qin Feng knew of the Soul-Devouring Shades. In essence, they were a special kind of ghost. According to ancient records, such creatures only existed in primordial times, a variant of ghost born from filth in places of extreme darkness and demonic energy. They could hide within shadows, move with incredible speed, and were notoriously difficult to deal with. Heaven had gifted these creatures, spawned from darkness, a formidable attack—feeding on human souls.

Knowing his opponent, Qin Feng no longer fought passively. He simply closed his eyes, focusing his spiritual sense to track the enemy’s movements. When one approached, he flicked a small ball of flame along its path. These ghostly creatures feared yang fire most—once touched, they would immediately reveal themselves, become engulfed in flames, and turn to ash in an instant.

With this method, Qin Feng defended himself with ease.

Compared to Tu Zheng, his ability to remain standing owed mainly to the peculiar powers of a celestial cultivator. When a Shade drew near, Tu Zheng would explode his body into a puddle of mud, even hiding beneath the ground to set up mud traps that buried them.

Hua Ruyan, on the other hand, surprised Qin Feng. She was enveloped in a multicolored mist; any Soul-Devouring Shade that approached her was immediately bounced away. Clearly, this was the effect of some primordial spirit defensive treasure.

Each of the four showcased their abilities, slaying numerous Soul-Devouring Shades, but Zhan Bai and Qin Feng were the most efficient.

Qin Feng’s unusual performance left the other three astonished, but everyone was glad to see the Shades driven off as quickly as possible.

After repeated attacks failed, and having left behind several corpses, the Soul-Devouring Shades suddenly vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

From sudden assault to rapid retreat, it all happened in a few breaths.

Yet most of Qin Feng’s group was now lying on the ground.

As soon as the enemy withdrew, Zhan Bai hurried to Fang Xinyi, attempting to save her. But the cultivator surnamed Hu, lying nearby, suddenly leaped up, a savage look on his face. He opened his bloody maw and lunged viciously at Zhan Bai. Caught off guard, Zhan Bai saw flames ignite on Hu’s body, reducing him to ash in moments.

Qin Feng had acted.

“That’s no longer Brother Hu; his soul was consumed by the Soul-Devouring Shade. He’s just a puppet now.”

Zhan Bai’s face paled slightly. He turned to Qin Feng and nodded gratefully, then resumed his rescue efforts.

Now experienced, Qin Feng joined Tu Zheng and Hua Ruyan in closely watching the other motionless bodies, ready to prevent any sudden attacks.

Surprisingly, the next to rise was Qin Hu.

Qin Feng was about to strike, but Qin Hu shouted for him to stop.

“Not dead?”

Qin Feng was taken aback. This counterfeit Qin Hu truly had some tricks—able to survive the Soul-Devouring Shade’s attack. Though unsure of his methods, it was clear he had been prepared in advance.

The third to rise was Shi Yuan.

Shi Yuan had survived, though she looked unwell. Upon getting up, she released a dead Iron-Scaled Serpent from her beast pouch, gazing at it with tears of reluctant sorrow.

It seemed the serpent had taken her place in death.

Now, apart from the dead cultivator Hu, only Fang Xinyi and Sun Daoist remained.

Fang Xinyi was with Zhan Bai. Qin Feng cautiously checked Sun Daoist, finding her eyes wide open in a tragic death, already long departed.

“Dead?”

Qin Feng was deeply surprised and cast a sidelong glance at Qin Hu.

“This doesn’t make sense. The fake Qin Hu was clearly prepared—how could his accomplice not be?”

“Could it be Sun Daoist really isn’t one?”

This revelation shocked Qin Feng. If Sun Daoist wasn’t the accomplice, then among the remaining women, only—

Hua Ruyan!

“But…!”

Qin Feng’s brow furrowed.

At this moment, things weren’t going well for Zhan Bai. Despite his powerful spiritual sense, he couldn’t expel the Soul-Devouring Shade lingering within Fang Xinyi’s body.

Outwardly, Fang Xinyi wasn’t dead, but her soul was clearly badly damaged.

Zhan Bai’s face was pale, sweat streaming from his brow, yet he persisted without giving up. It seemed Fang Xinyi held a significant place in his heart.

Zhan Bai was rather straight-laced, keeping much hidden inside and not expressing himself, but the scene before them revealed his true feelings.

It was the first time Qin Feng had seen the elegant, handsome Zhan Bai so discomposed.

Tu Zheng tried to console him.

Zhan Bai was deaf to it all, attempting again and again.

Qin Feng shook his head.

Soul attacks were the most insidious; unless one endured them oneself, external aid was rarely effective.

Even if Fang Xinyi survived, her soul would be greatly diminished—at best, left in a stupor, or else never waking again.

“Brother Zhan, let me try.”

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