13: Chapter 13 Blood Shadow on the Return Journey

The Qingyun Mountain Range was shrouded in the chill of late autumn.

Ling Hao and his group left the ore vein and set off on the road back to the Ling Family. Although the ambush against the Wang Family had been a total victory, the Ling Family had also paid a price: five people were injured, and even Ling Xiao's left arm had been slashed open during the final chaotic battle with the Wang Family Cultivators, leaving a wound so deep the bone was visible.

"Cousin, your injury..." Ling Hao looked at Ling Xiao's left arm, which was still seeping blood even after a simple bandaging, and frowned slightly.

"It's nothing." Ling Xiao shook his head, pressing his right hand against the wound. Lightning flickered slightly, cauterizing the flesh to stop the bleeding. "With the recovery power of the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, it will heal in three to five days. But what about you, Brother Hao—you awakened that Ancient War Spirit today and then forcibly absorbed the Origin of War. Are you really alright?"

Ling Hao did not answer immediately.

He looked inward at himself—at his Dantian, that mass of crimson-gold Origin of War was pulsing slowly like a heart, pumping pure power into his four limbs and hundred bones with every beat. With the Battle Spirit Body newly formed, his Physical Body strength had indeed reached the level of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage Body Cultivator, perhaps even exceeding it. But just as the System had warned, the killing intent contained within the Origin of War had not been fully purified; it currently surged like an undercurrent in the depths of his consciousness.

Just now, while passing a mountain stream on the way back, he had seen his own reflection in the water—deep within those eyes, a crimson-gold fierce light was faintly glimmering.

"I'm fine." Ling Hao finally responded flatly, casting his gaze toward the mountain road in the night. "Let's speed up. I have a feeling... the road back won't be peaceful."

No sooner had he spoken than a sudden change occurred.

Swoosh—!

The sound of something piercing the air tore through the night.

It wasn't arrows, but something sharper and faster—three streaks of black light shot out from the dense forest on the left, aimed directly at Ling Hao's face, throat, and heart!

Too fast!

It was so fast that even a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator like Ling Xiao only had time for his pupils to contract; his body simply couldn't react in time!

But Ling Hao moved.

The Battle Spirit Body brought not just physical strength, but a near-instinctive combat intuition. The moment the black lights pierced the air, his body had already reacted before his consciousness—sidestepping, tilting his head, and twisting his waist. The three movements were performed in one smooth motion, and the three streaks of black light grazed past his green robes, pinning themselves into the trunk of an ancient tree behind him.

Chiii—

Three thumb-sized holes were pierced through the tree trunk. The edges quickly turned black and corroded, emitting pungent green smoke.

Poison!

And it was a deadly poison capable of instantly corroding spiritual wood!

"Enemy attack! Form a Formation!" Ling Xiao roared, his silver spear instantly in hand as lightning exploded with light.

The twelve Ling Shadow Guards reacted extremely quickly, forming a circular Formation to protect Ling Hao at the center almost the moment Ling Xiao spoke. The poison-coated short blades in the twelve men's hands glinted with a faint blue cold light in the night, their eyes scanning the surroundings like hawks.

However, the dense forest was deathly silent.

There was no second wave of attacks, no enemies appeared, and not even the sound of footsteps or breathing could be heard. There was only the rustling of the night wind through the treetops and the whimpering of some unknown beast in the distance.

"An expert." Ling You emerged from the shadows, his voice kept extremely low. "At least Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and skilled in concealment and assassination. I couldn't even lock onto the direction those three streaks of black light were fired from just now."

Ling Hao didn't speak.

He looked down at the marks left by those three streaks of black light—the three charred pits corroded into the tree trunk and the extremely stable and precise flight path of the hidden weapons.

It didn't seem like people from the Wang Family.

If the Wang Family had assassins of this level, they wouldn't have sent someone like Wang Teng to lead the team in today's battle for the ore vein. Moreover, this kind of concealment method and this kind of poisonous hidden weapon were more like...

"Professional killers," Ling Hao spoke slowly. "Not Family Cultivators, but the kind that does business for money."

Ling Xiao's face darkened. "In the territory of Qingyun City, those who can employ assassins of this level are none other than those few powers—the Wang Family? The Zhou Family? Or... the Nangong Family?"

When the last name was spoken, even Ling Xiao felt a chill.

If it really was the Nangong Family...

Then today's assassination wasn't simple revenge, but an attempt to pull up the roots and eliminate the source!

"No matter who it is," Ling Hao looked up, his gaze sweeping across the dark forest ahead, "since they've come, they shouldn't think about leaving."

He stepped forward, walking toward the dense forest.

"Brother Hao!" Ling Xiao said urgently. "The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. You mustn't advance rashly!"

"Don't worry." Ling Hao's footsteps didn't stop. "I know what I'm doing."

His green robes fluttered in the night wind, the youth's silhouette appearing slight yet upright. He walked step by step into the shadows of the forest, as if walking into a giant mouth that had long been open.

Ling You turned into a black shadow and merged into the ground. Nine Ling Shadow Guards followed closely like shadows, and Ling Xiao gritted his teeth, raising his spear to follow.

Deep in the forest, it was even darker than outside.

Towering ancient trees blocked the already thin moonlight, with only scattered silver light spilling through the gaps in the branches and leaves, casting mottled spots on the ground. The air was filled with the scent of decaying leaves and earth, and... a faint, almost imperceptible smell of blood.

"Stop."

Ling Hao suddenly raised his hand.

Everyone stopped instantly.

Ten zhang ahead, from behind an ancient tree that would take three men to encircle, a figure slowly walked out.

A man in black.

He was dressed in pitch-black from head to toe, with a pure black mask covering his face, revealing only a pair of eyes—those eyes glowed with a faint green light in the darkness, like a beast of the night. In his hand, he held a short sword; the blade was also pure black, non-reflective and showing no sharpness, yet it gave off a dangerous feeling like the fangs of a venomous snake.

"Ling Hao?" The man in black's voice was hoarse and dry, as if he hadn't spoken for a long time.

"It's me." Ling Hao responded calmly. "Who sent you?"

The man in black didn't answer; he just slowly raised his short sword.

The next second, he disappeared.

It wasn't that he was too fast to see, but a true disappearance—as if merging into the night, as if turning into a shadow, even his aura was completely hidden.

"Watch out!" Ling Xiao's silver spear swept out, lightning spreading out like a net in an attempt to force the opponent out.

But it was useless.

The man in black was like a phantom; the places the lightning swept through were empty.

"To the left!" Ling You shouted an urgent warning from the shadows.

Ling Hao jerked his body to the side. A black short sword silently stabbed out from where he had just been standing, only three inches from his throat!

Failing to hit with one strike, the man in black disappeared again.

"This concealment method..." Cold sweat broke out on Ling Xiao's forehead. "It's even more eerie than Ling You's!"

Ling You's expression was unsightly. Currently, his Shadow Origin could indeed merge into shadows, but it couldn't achieve such a complete disappearance. This man in black seemed as if he were a part of the night itself.

"It's not concealment." Ling Hao suddenly spoke, his gaze sharp as a knife. "It's a Formation."

He raised his right hand, his index finger tracing a faint line in the air.

Disintegration Dao Pattern, used for the third time, the last time today.

There was no target; he simply traced an invisible path toward the empty space ahead.

"Buzz—"

A slight vibration sound came from the air.