44: The third shadow, the cuckoo takes over the magpie's nest.
Si Deng Elder was puzzled. He had already made a plan for a sneak attack, and everything was prepared.
However, the Su Family'sBoat (lou chuan, a type of large boat or ship) suddenly started moving, heading to the morning market in Beishan Village to buy groceries.
It was already starting to get light. If they forcibly made a move, it would expose the Shadow Demon's whereabouts.
They could only watch helplessly as theShip (lou chuan, a type of large boat or ship) flew away, and the sneak attack mission was considered a failure.
Si Deng Elder could only vent his anger on his subordinates.
[Si Deng Elder: A bunch of good-for-nothings! Who leaked the information?]
[Ti Deng Troop: Elder, we all stayed put, waiting for your command.]
[Ti Deng Troop: Maybe it was a coincidence? They just happened to need supplies, and the morning market in Beishan Village is quite famous.]
Hearing the words of his subordinates, Si Deng Elder fell silent.
Was it really just a coincidence?
Just as they were preparing to capture Su Chongyue, Su Chongyue happened to wake up and happened to drive theShip (lou chuan, a type of large boat or ship) away.
[Si Deng Elder: Forget it, we can only postpone the plan to capture the Su Family traitor until tomorrow.]
[Si Deng Elder: The Dharma Propagation Conference is currently being held in Mi Mountain City, so they won't be able to enter the city for a while. We still have many opportunities to catch them.]
However, what Shadow Demon Si Deng did not know was that Li Yan had already infiltrated this Shadow Net.
All their actions were taking place right under Li Yan's nose.
At this moment, another message caught Li Yan's attention.
[Si Deng Elder: The Venerable One is currently in seclusion, and we must not disturb him. As punishment for the failed mission, every Ti Deng must sacrifice half a year of their Cultivation and offer it to the Venerable One.]
It was also at this moment that a surge of Shadow Power flowed past Li Yan.
The System's voice rang out in Li Yan's mind.
[Detecting Yin Shadow Power in the Shadow Net. This energy has strong side effects on the human body.]
Side effects?
Li Yan tried to reach out and intercept the energy in the Shadow Net.
He only felt a rich power begin to surge into his body.
[Yin Shadow Power will corrode the host's shadow. Side effects are being converted to positive effects, beginning to absorb the energy contained within.]
The next moment, the Shadow Power began to transform into golden threads, flowing into Li Yan's body.
An indescribable power flowed into his Dantian, a truly wonderful feeling.
Li Yan, with his eyes closed, began to steal the energy flowing within this Shadow Net.
It turned out that what he had stolen from the sacrificial Formation before was this [Shadow Power].
A portion of the Cultivation offered by other Shadow Demons to the Venerable One was flowing into Li Yan's Dantian.
What does it mean to enjoy the shade under a big tree?
With such a huge Shadow Net, Li Yan stealing a portion of the Shadow Power from it was almost undetectable by anyone.
[Host absorbs Yin Shadow Power. Cultivation increases to Ban Xue Realm Fifth Layer.]
[Host absorbs Yin Shadow Power. Cultivation increases to Ban Xue Realm Sixth Layer.]
[Host reads Shadow Net information. Blood Shadow Immortal Art becomes more familiar, advancing from [Introduction] to [Minor Achievement] Realm. Congratulations, Host's sub-shadow limit has increased to two.]
Li Yan's shadows under his feet changed from two to three.
There was one main shadow and two sub-shadows in total.
The Moon Shadow Taoist's Shadow Puppet beside him quickly spoke, "Congratulations, Master! Congratulations, Master! Master's divine power reaching Major Achievement is just around the corner!"
Corpse Puppet Su Mo, who was standingstupid (sha, foolishly) by, also clapped happily when she heard the Shadow Puppet's words.
In her innocent world, as long as she saw her Master grow stronger, she would be happy.
"Master, more shadows, so amazing."
Su Mo's pure laughter was very pleasant to hear.
Li Yan slowly raised his hand, stopping the theft.
He also knew to be moderate, to know when to stop.
He couldn't absorb too much at once and alert the Venerable One.
The Venerable One's strength was still unknown.
But the fact that he could control so many Shadow Demons clearly indicated that the Venerable One's strength was definitely not weak.
"The Venerable One is currently in seclusion, which means he's not in charge right now."
"While he's in seclusion, if I just steal some Shadow Power every day, I shouldn't be detected."
Li Yan made up his mind to fleece them thoroughly.
From this flowing Shadow Net, he could not only steal shadow Spells but also pilfer the Cultivation offered to the Venerable One.
The bold thrive, the timid starve. It's easy to operate under the cover of darkness.
After tasting the pleasure of stealing Shadow Power, a bolder idea emerged in Li Yan's mind.
Using Shadow Puppet Art, he could replace the outer Shadow Demons with his own people, slowly hollowing out the Shadow Demons of Mi Mountain City, and perhaps even pull off a cuckoo's nest!
However, he had to take things one step at a time and not act too hastily, or he would expose his existence.
Li Yan had been monitoring the information in the Shadow Net. From what he could tell, no one had noticed him stealing Shadow Power from the Shadow Net yet.
Just then, a message flashed by.
[Si Deng Elder: It's getting light. All Shadow Puppets return to their main bodies. No exposure allowed.]
[Ti Deng Troop: Yes, sir!]
Seeing a large number of shadows returning to the Taoist temple, Li Yan hooked his finger: "Moon Shadow Taoist."
The dark shadow immediately came before Li Yan: "Master, your servant is here."
"Erase the memories of all the Taoist acolytes' shadows in the Taoist temple and replace them with my imprint."
"Your servant understands." The Moon Shadow Taoist's dark shadow lowered his head and slowly exited the room.
He saw his dark shadow extending infinitely, stretching outwards.
Before long, all hundreds of Disciples in the entire Guan Yue Taoist Temple became Li Yan's Shadow Puppets.
Just then, a rooster's crow came from outside the Taoist temple.
The Moon Shadow Taoist's shadow immediately retreated into the room and returned to the Taoist's body.
At this moment, the Moon Shadow Taoist was rubbing his eyes in a daze, sitting up.
He squinted, looking at Li Yan who appeared before him.
"Who are you?"
The Moon Shadow Taoist was a little confused. He seemed to have never seen this young man before, had he?
Why was this young man in his bedroom?
After a while, the Moon Shadow Taoist suddenly realized: "Oh, it's my grand-nephew! Hey, your father is my Junior Brother, I remember now."
"Oh dear, Senior Martial Uncle was confused from sleep."
The Moon Shadow Taoist patted his head, laughing dryly.
He had no idea that his memory had been tampered with by the shadow.
He had clearly never seen Li Yan before, nor did he know Li Yan's father.
But under the modification of the Shadow Puppet, the Moon Shadow Taoist only felt that he had been confused from sleep and had forgotten about his grand-nephew, Li Yan.
"Oh dear, grand-nephew, you just arrived yesterday, and I haven't even arranged a separate room for you."
"Senior Martial Uncle will take you around the Taoist temple first to get familiar with the environment."
"And who is this?"
The Moon Shadow Taoist looked at Corpse Puppet Su Mo, who was wearing a veil and masked.
Li Yan replied calmly, "This is my personal maid."
The Taoist stroked his goatee and smiled slyly.
"You rascal, hey! Your old man spoils you too much, even arranging a beautiful maid for you when you're out and about."
The Moon Shadow Taoist had no suspicions, as if everything was natural.
He did not know that the Shadow Puppet had quietly modified his memory.
It also showed how terrifying it was for a Shadow Demon, this strange creature, to parasitize a Cultivator!
They would never know what their shadows did behind their backs in the middle of the night.
Just as the Moon Shadow Taoist was about to take Li Yan to get familiar with the Taoist temple.
A Taoist acolyte rushed in, speaking in a panic, "Master! Si Deng Elder has arrived!"
Si Deng Elder?
Li Yan frowned. The visitor did not bode well.