198: Chapter 198 Mental Attack

Lin Tian sped along the small path through the dense forest.

Moonlight spilled down through the gaps in the branches and leaves, illuminating the road in a mottled pattern.

The basket was already empty, and the Breeding Technique was safely tucked away in his embrace; this trip to Yunzhou Prefecture had gone even more smoothly than expected.

The half-year agreement was fulfilled, the bait recipe was in hand, and from now on, he would no longer need to ask others for feed for his private fish pond.

Just as he was thinking about whether to Cultivate the Wanling Seal or study the Breeding Technique first after returning, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

A dozen figures emerged silently from the dense forest ahead, spreading out in a semicircle and surrounding him completely.

Everyone was dressed in black robes, wearing bronze masks, and their auras were all consistently at the Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm.

Directly in front, a Woman in Black Dress walked slowly out from the tree shadows.

She did not wear a mask, and the moonlight shone on her young yet cold and stern face; a faint bloodstain on her left cheek shimmered with a light red luster under the moonlight.

She looked at Lin Tian, the corners of her mouth slowly curving into a cold arc; that smile contained the patience of having waited for a long time, as well as the satisfaction of finally waiting for this moment.

"I've waited for you for half a year, and finally, I've waited for you."

Her voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the night wind, "Before, the Demon Sect was pursued by so many demon-hunting squads, and our strongholds in the Taixuan Mountain Range were uprooted one by one—the information was leaked by you, wasn't it?"

"Daring to oppose our Demon Sect, this time you are dead."

She waved her hand downward abruptly: "Kill him!"

The dozen black shadows moved simultaneously.

There was no probing, no one-on-one fighting; over a dozen people attacked simultaneously from all directions, with blades and swords flashing, and palm winds and claw attacks covering the sky as they descended upon Lin Tian.

The moment Lin Tian saw the Woman in Black Dress, his expression changed—he had not expected that the Demon Sect would actually lie in wait here for a full half-year just to capture him.

He had no intention of resisting head-on; with over a dozen Fifth-Grade Transformation Realm experts attacking simultaneously, even if he had the Dragon Roar Iron Shirt, he couldn't withstand it.

The Cloud Shadow Step under his feet suddenly erupted, leaving an afterimage in place, while his true body shot toward the dense forest behind him.

One step spanned over ten meters, and a few flashes saw him dash dozens of meters away; his speed was so fast that the blades and swords of the surrounding The Black-Robed Man all struck the afterimage.

A trace of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Woman in Black Dress.

She knew this person had good movement techniques—half a year ago, when he killed her Fifth-Grade subordinate instantly outside the black market, he had used an extremely bizarre Shadow Movement Technique.

But she hadn't expected that not only was his Shadow Movement Technique good, but the Cloud Shadow Step, when fully unleashed, was even faster and fiercer than the Shadow Movement Technique.

Seeing the blurred figure dash into the depths of the dense forest, she gritted her teeth and shouted sharply: "Pursue!"

The dozen black shadows swarmed after him.

But with the Cloud Shadow Step at the Major Achievement Realm, Lin Tian's speed was truly too fast; he darted left and right in the dense forest, constantly changing direction while using the tree trunks for cover, and soon left most of the pursuers over a hundred meters behind.

Only the Woman in Black Dress, relying on her deeper cultivation and not-so-weak movement techniques, clung tightly within thirty meters, but she could only barely follow and was unable to close the distance.

She fished out a dark red Medicinal Pill from her waist and stuffed it into her mouth—a Blood Evil Pill, which caused her Qi and blood to boil in a short time, doubling both her speed and strength.

The moment the Medicinal Pill entered her stomach, a layer of pale red blood mist rose around her; she stomped her feet, her speed surged significantly, and in two steps, she rushed behind Lin Tian.

Her right hand drew a slender soft sword from her waist, the blade wrapped in a layer of dark red Transcendent energy, and she thrust it fiercely toward Lin Tian's heart.

Hearing the sharp sound of air being torn behind him, Lin Tian's expression changed abruptly.

The Shadow Movement Technique at the Major Achievement Realm was unleashed at the critical moment, leaving a solid afterimage in place.

The soft sword pierced through the chest of the afterimage; the Woman in Black Dress missed her strike, and her sword momentum was spent.

Using the cover of the afterimage, Lin Tian had already circled to her side, backhanded a palm strike, the Great Strength Vajra Palm wrapped in pale cyan Transcendent energy aiming straight for her shoulder.

The Woman in Black Dress reacted extremely quickly as well, meeting him with a palm strike from her left hand.

The two palms collided solidly in mid-air with a muffled boom; Transcendent energy overflowed, and the surrounding shrubs were uprooted by the shockwave.

Lin Tian was shaken by this palm strike and retreated several steps, a trace of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Such strong power—this woman's cultivation was at least at the Fifth-Grade Middle Stage, and the Medicinal Pill she had just swallowed had given her Internal Energy a kind of bizarre corrosiveness; the moment the Transcendent energies collided, a cold, bloody, and evil breath surged straight into his Meridians along with his palm force.

The Woman in Black Dress was also shaken back half a step, but a trace of joy appeared on her face.

Only Fifth-Grade Early Stage, not worth a single blow, just a bit faster, that's all.

She steadied her figure, flicked her soft sword, and attacked Lin Tian once again.

At the same time, the dozen Demon Sect Martial Artists who had been left behind in the distance took advantage of the few moments she was entangling Lin Tian to approach rapidly; the closest one had already rushed to within about fifty meters, and in a few more breaths, they would be able to form a circle.

Lin Tian didn't need to turn around to hear the sound of wind being broken getting closer and closer behind him.

Three seconds, at most three seconds, and a dozen people would completely surround him.

He couldn't drag this out.

In a one-on-one, he could slowly maneuver with the Woman in Black Dress, but once surrounded and outnumbered, he would undoubtedly die.

He had to decide the outcome in one move.

His fist and palm techniques and sword skills were no match for the Woman in Black Dress—the opponent's cultivation was at least one small Realm higher than his, and she had swallowed a Blood Evil Pill, so he would be at a disadvantage in a head-on clash.

But he had a trump card that the other party would never expect.

A chilling glint flashed in his eyes; instead of retreating, he advanced, stomped his feet, and actively rushed toward the Woman in Black Dress, striking out with his right palm simultaneously.

The Woman in Black Dress sneered and met him with a palm strike without any hesitation.

The instant before the two palms collided again, Lin Tian's eyes widened suddenly; the Wanling Seal roared into operation within his Sea of Consciousness, and his Mental Energy at the Minor Achievement Realm exploded without reservation at this moment.

Two invisible mental shocks shot out from the depths of his pupils, like two red-hot daggers, stabbing fiercely into her Sea of Consciousness along the path of their locked gazes.

Just as the Woman in Black Dress's palm force collided with Lin Tian's, and she was about to use her blood-evil Transcendent energy to shatter his palm force, a sharp pain suddenly exploded in her Sea of Consciousness.

That feeling was something she had never experienced before—it was not the impact of Internal Energy, nor the vibration of Qi and blood, but a tearing sensation that struck directly into the depths of her Soul.

It was as if something had gouged deeply into her brain; the pain caused all her Transcendent energy to dissipate instantly, and she let out a shrill scream, dropping her soft sword, clutching her head with both hands, and falling straight to the ground.

Lin Tian was also bounced back by the counter-shock of the two palms colliding, but he forced himself to steady his figure after only retreating one step.

He raised his right palm again, the pale cyan Transcendent energy re-condensing on his palm—with just one more strike, he could kill this Demon Sect leader who had been chasing him for half a year on the spot.

But before his palm strike could be delivered, a dozen sounds of breaking wind had rushed to within thirty meters.

The Demon Sect Martial Artist rushing at the very front saw the Woman in Black Dress scream and fall to the ground; his eyes split with rage, and he roared sharply: "Stop, brat! Kill him!"

Several poison-tipped throwing daggers and sleeve arrows were fired at Lin Tian simultaneously, the sound of the hidden weapons piercing the air sharp and piercing in the night.

Lin Tian swayed his body to dodge the hidden weapons, looked at the Woman in Black Dress still twitching in pain on the ground, and sighed in his heart.

A dozen people had already rushed close; if he didn't leave now, he really wouldn't be able to leave.

He withdrew his palm, turned around, and left, alternating between the Cloud Shadow Step and the Shadow Movement Technique, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest in a few flashes.

The few Demon Sect Martial Artists who rushed to the front pounced to the side of the Woman in Black Dress; half of them continued to chase after Lin Tian, while the other half knelt down to investigate her injuries.

The pursuers chased for a while, but soon returned; the leader gritted his teeth and cursed: "That brat is too fast; we let him escape."

An old man kneeling on the ground extended his finger to probe the forehead of the Woman in Black Dress, and his expression suddenly turned extremely ugly—her Sea of Consciousness had suffered an extremely severe mental shock; although there was no danger to her life, it was absolutely impossible for her to fight again in the short term.

The old man stood up, his face gloomy: "Retreat for now. Carry Young Miss Situ back and wait for the Elder to decide."

Several people lifted the still-unconscious Woman in Black Dress and quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.