Chapter 396: Swallowed by the shadows

A Soul Obsidian Nian Fish was a 7-core demonic beast. Although its cultivation was higher that the Five Bloods Pheasant, it wasn't as powerful. However, it was way more dangerous. Indeed, as its nickname suggested, the Soul-Sucking Catfish could literally extract the soul out of someone's body.

As such, even a powerful Mortal Warrior had almost no way of fighting against that creature. Only a Spirit Warrior could face it head-on. Even then, the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish was extremely talented when it came to soul attacks. Thus even an early Spirit Warrior could have their soul sucked out of their body. Even though an early Spirit Warrior had a Soul Embryo, it wasn't fully awaken at first and then they had to strengthen their Upper Dantian.

Cao Yun had realized what kind of demonic beast it was thanks to the substance left behind and the shape he was seeing in the underground lake. Indeed, the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish was using a strange substance secreted by its body to lower the resistance of its victims. Most likely, the mortals who had inhabited Luozhi had been killed in an instant. Before they could realize what was going on, their souls, both Po and Hun, had been ripped away from their bodies.

But then, what had happened to their souls? The Soul Obsidian Nian Fish was known to rip out the souls. But its goal was to devour the flesh. So it explained what had happened to the bodies of the mortal. Once their souls had been extracted, the demonic beast had probably swallowed them whole. By now, their flesh had obviously been digested. But the traces of Death Energy and Ghost Energy suggested that the beast had taken the souls as well. However, it didn't make sense for that beast.

Then, Cao Yun was certain that someone was behind that demonic beast. First of all, its mere presence here didn't make sense. Such a powerful demonic beast should have been detected fairly easily. Even the three 6-core demonic beasts in the Yunling Forest had not felt its presence. However, Cao Yun had detected several array formations all over the place. Some of the luminescent crystals on the walls had clearly been positioned by someone. They were forming a great array formation that was concealing the very existence of the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish.

There was another reason for Cao Yun to deduce that the beast wasn't acting on its own. In all the books he had read about that demonic beast, the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish was not taking the souls with it. As such, it was obvious to know that someone had specifically ordered it to do so.

Thinking about that, Cao Yun was wondering whether he should really kill this demonic beast or not. Another question was whether he could kill it or not. Most likely, he wouldn't be able to slay him with a single strike, even by using all of his strength. But once awaken, the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish would unleash its soul attack. Despite his mind cultivation, Cao Yun couldn't be sure whether he would resist his attacks or not.

Then, he had to think about Yong Ke. First of all, he didn't know her actual strength. And fighting together would be difficult as they didn't know how each other fought. Besides, as much as he was confident in his mind cultivation, he didn't know how Yong Ke would fare with her weimao. No matter how resistant it was, there had to be weaknesses to it. And if it was blown away, she would be defenseless against the demonic beast.

As he was thinking about all the possible outcomes, Cao Yun was also planning ahead. If he were to kill that demonic beast, Gu Song would probably know about it as it was most likely obeying his orders. Did he really want to warn Gu Song of his presence right away? But then again, Cao Yun wanted to be more decisive now. As soon as he could take down Gu Song, he would. He merely had to find out the best way to take him out while obtaining the information he wanted from him.

Before Cao Yun could make a final decision, Yong Ke touched his shoulder. Although he couldn't see her face, he sensed a strong killing intent from her. There was no emotion behind it, she simply wanted to kill the beast. And Cao Yun had to admit that he was feeling the same way. If left unchecked, that demonic beast could kill many people. Until now, it was being kept under check by Gu Song who didn't want it to be discovered.

But that meant that if Cao Yun killed Gu Song, the beast would be unleashed. But even worse, Gu Song might have a way of controlling the beast to try and defend himself. Cao Yun knew that Gu Song was an alchemist, but he wasn't sure whether he was a beast tamer too. Maybe he had been using another beast tamer to help him control the beast, or maybe another way altogether. Now that he was thinking about it, Cao Yun was feeling like he knew the answer but he wasn't positive yet.

All of Cao Yun's thoughts took only an instant as he was using his mind cultivation. Now he was ready to fight alongside Yong Ke.

Cao Yun circulated all of his mind cultivation, ready to face the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish's soul attack. His Five Agents were engulfed in the flames of Shen the Fire Spirit and the bones around his Po character were spinning intensely around the character. Finally, his seven stars shined through the infinite sky and reverberated on the surface of the clear ocean. Dian Mo was watching as the Drop of Wrath was slowly turning to flames. The blood was now liquid fire and there was a black character engraved in it. It looked similar to the Flying Poison characters mixed together. But it now was closer to the Nuhua language. Cao Yun was slowly getting full control over the Drop of Wrath but it had an impact on his impulses as well.

From his spatial ring, Cao Yun took out his 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar'. On the other hand, Yong Ke took out a long sword. The blade was as thin as a blade of grass and it was so long that it was even a tiny bit longer than his spear. No one could sheathe that sword unless they had someone's help or could use Qi to move objects through the air. In fact, Yong Ke was never sheathing her sword. It was always stored in her spatial ring. Although Cao Yun did not recognize the amalgam used, the metal of the blade seemed dangerous and there was undoubtedly Divine Ice Steel within.

The moment she took out her sword, the temperature around Yong Ke lowered. Cao Yun could also feel that she had reached the level of Sword Aura. In fact, by her disposition, she even looked like she was close to forming Sword Intent. Just by watching her with a sword in hand, Yong Ke was giving off a tyrannical air. At that moment, Cao Yun wasn't sure whether he could win or not against her.

Until now he had been convinced that he was invincible within the Mortal Warrior realm, but this girl would be able to push him past his limits. As much as he didn't think he would lose, he might be forced to really go further than ever before. Fighting her would be like fighting an early Spirit Warrior. Yet, he wasn't afraid or wary of her at all. Right now, he was feeling something even more familiar from her stance. Maybe he had seen her martial arts before...

Without speaking or even looking at each other, Cao Yun and Yong Ke instinctively went to either side of the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish. Cao Yun had given a quick map to Yong Ke to show her where the array formations were. He had also added a few points to it in order to prepare for the fight. Since they had never seen the other one fight before, fighting side by side could prove a real challenge. In fact, it might even reduce their overall strength instead of being an advantage. Still, they were both certain of the course of action they were taking. That demonic beast had to be killed to protect the people.

Cao Yun was ready to attack. Behind him, reality broke into glass. There were seven shining stars in his back that were forming the ethereal shape of a large dragon. Although he didn't want to reveal his identity in public, he didn't think much about showing it to Yong Ke. Within his sea of consciousness, Dian Mo was surprised by so much trust. But he had to admit that taking on a 7-core demonic beast without unleashing all of his strength would be suicidal.

In his sea of consciousness, several small shining dots appeared around the Horn Star. They were still very vague but Dian Mo could clearly see them. Cao Yun was slowly forming the constellation around the Horn Star.

On the other side of the cave, Yong Ke was completely surrounded by a mist of frost. The very blade of her sword had been covered by a thin layer of blue ice. Over her arms, there was now a thin veil falling in her back. She looked like the statue of a goddess with ethereal silk around her figure. Despite all the books he had read, Cao Yun could not recognize this art. However, he was feeling something very familiar from her posture. It wasn't her martial art though. Despite his mind cultivation, he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

That piece of silk behind her seemed to contain dim stars. In fact, Cao Yun was also feeling a strong presence within this silk. Both extremities were as sharp as Yong Ke's blade but they were not covered in ice at all.

As though they had always trained together, they attacked at the exact same moment. Both of them knew the target, the catfish's heart. Cao Yun knew enough about the anatomy of the demonic beast to discern precisely where they had to strike to target the place where he was most vulnerable. On the map, he had showed it to Yong Ke as well. And she was targeted the same spot on the other side of the demonic beast.

'The Pillar Piercing the Sky'!

'The Goddess Splits the Water'!

Using both Qi Manifestation and Martial Aura, the two of them attacked with their full strength. Behind Cao Yun, the shape of the Azure Dragon coiled itself around his 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar'. It turned into a literal firestorm and pierced through the heart of the catfish.

On the other side of the cave, the exact opposite was happening. Yong Ke's silk that was levitating on her arms and in her back spread forward. Yong Ke jumped forward as the surface of the lake was turning to ice under her. She then plunged her sword forward. The silk also coiled around her sword as it pierced through the flesh of the demonic beast. The wound around the weapon got frozen.

On one side, the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish was being burned while he was being frozen on the other side. Instead of clashing with one another, the two extremes were assaulting the demonic beast and strengthening the damage caused by one another.

Of course, the demonic beast finally woke up in horrendous pain. Its very heart was being attacked on both sides. The two weapons had stabbed through gaps in its scales and had targeted between its ribs. They had almost only pierced through fleshy parts of the demonic beast. Unfortunately, there were powerful muscles around its heart and it didn't go down so easily.

As soon as it woke up, the catfish splashed the lake. All the ice created by Yong Ke was blown apart and a huge wave went toward her. On the other side of the cave, there was a wall of hot steam going straight for Cao Yun. The two of them were forced backward. But they were pleased to smell a thick odor of blood. Their target had been hurt deeply. And they could feel in his attack that it was both weakened and desperate. That was a dangerous combination.

Still confused, the beast might not be able to unleash her most powerful attack straight away. At least, that was what Cao Yun was counting on.

Unfortunately, he was proven wrong immediately. The vast shadow of the Soul Obsidian Nian Fish spread farther and farther. It even spread beyond the lake. The entire floor of the cave was now made of shadow. The moment Cao Yun and Yong Ke touched the ground, as they couldn't fly, they felt a powerful suction. Each one was being swallowed by the shadow beneath their feet. If they didn't react they would be devoured by this intangible maw. But worse than that, this suction was affecting their souls way more than their bodies.

Within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness, the Flying Poison he was working on was spinning like crazy around his Po character. Under the effect of this suction, its rotation sped up and it was slowly getting away from the Po character's influence. Immediately, Cao Yun activated the Po character within the Drop of Wrath to try and grab on it. As the two characters were connecting, the force that was pulling on Cao Yun's Po of Jing was now applied on the Drop of Wrath too.

Of course, it wasn't powerful enough to budge the Drop of Wrath. However, the Flying Poison wasn't too pleased by the attempt. Cao Yun could feel his rage increase within himself. This time, it wasn't his anger that was activating the Flying Poison but his Flying Poison that was stimulating his anger.

The bones forming the Po of Jing Cao Yun was working on were changing in front of Cao Yun. They were looking more and more like Bone Demons. Some green patches of moss were appearing, like green rotten hair. Without any delay, Cao Yun activated his Shen more and more. The flames it was producing were mixed with the blood of the Drop of Wrath. The Rune of Fire also got activated and poured its heat toward the green bone fragments.

Finally, Cao Yun was able to get his anger under control. When he came back to reality, he saw that Yong Ke was also getting sucked in the shadow below. Her clothes were fluttering but her face was still hidden and she didn't seem to be particularly shaken by the soul attack. For now, she was probably protected by her clothes but it wouldn't last too long.

Cao Yun had to find a way to disrupt the soul attack. Luckily, he had been smart enough to think of it before attacking.