Ahead was the unbreakable array light curtain blocking the way, behind was Tang Xiaoqi's massive palm imprint merging purification origin and Four Symbols majesty enough to split mountains and crack rocks, and on the flank was Liu Yun's tricky, ruthless sword qi that cut off all hope of survival! Phantom Shadow had fallen into a true ambush from all sides, with no path to heaven and no door to earth! However, that he could become the Shadow Snake Pavilion's Assassination Hall Master, striking fear into countless hearts, was no ordinary opponent! Under this absolute desperation, his dead-water-like heart instead gave rise to the most ferocious counterattack!
"Shadow Devour!" He let out an inhuman, sharp shriek. The shadow power condensed to the extreme around him no longer served for concealment or defense but erupted outward like boiling ink, madly expanding and exploding! Countless twisted, malevolent shadow tentacles extended from his body, baring fangs and claws as they met Tang Xiaoqi's palm imprint and Liu Yun's sword qi, actually intending to use his own origin power to forcefully withstand the combined attack of two experts! At the same time, that pale, slender hand of his that had delivered the fatal sword strike, now formed finger-sword, a point of darkness condensed at his fingertips, deep enough to seemingly swallow all light, recklessly stabbing toward the silver light curtain circulating with star runes before him!
He would concentrate all his power to forcibly tear an opening in that solid array barrier! "BOOM—!!!" Tang Xiaoqi's palm imprint containing purification power first collided with the erupting shadow tentacles! No earth-shaking boom, only a muffled sound of energyfrantically canceling each other! The purification power was the natural nemesis of shadow power—wherever the palm imprint passed, shadow tentacles dissolved like ice encountering fire, turning into wisps of black smoke that dissipated!
However, Phantom Shadow had burned his origin to erupt. Those shadow tentacles were endless, continuously generating, while Tang Xiaoqi's palm imprint was constantly being consumed. For a moment, the two forces were actually locked in a stalemate! But this stalemate was only for an instant! Liu Yun's sword qi arrived!
That sword qi, though sent casually, contained her profound sword dao comprehension. It bypassed the area where palm imprint and shadow tentacles clashed, piercing straight toward Phantom Shadow's waist and abdomen with a strange arc! Phantom Shadow's main attention was on breaking through the array ahead and resisting the palm imprint behind. Facing this sword qi from the side, he could only forcibly twist his body to dodge the vital point!
"Poof!" The sword qi pierced his waist and abdomen, bringing a spray of black blood! Though it didn't hit a vital spot, the injury further weakened his already origin-burning body! But he didn't pause in the slightest! Enduring the severe pain, his finger-sword condensed with deepest darkness power finally stabbed into the silver light curtain's connection point!
"Break for me!" His finger containing origin power madly injected darkness into that tiny gap, attempting to corrupt and tear the star runes' circulation! The silver light curtain indeed violently fluctuated at that point, countless runes flickering unsteadily as if about to collapse! Phantom Shadow's eyes behind the mask revealed a trace of frantic joy! Success was at hand!
However, just as that gap was about to completely collapse— A translucent, faint green sword light suddenly shot from somewhere, precisely piercing through the gap Phantom Shadow had created, embedding itself into his right shoulder! "Ah!" Phantom Shadow let out a muffled groan. The sword light carried special destructive power that his shadow energy couldn't rapidly heal, and more importantly, his right arm's movement was affected, the finger-sword's destructive power instantly weakening! This sword light came from Tang Xiaoqi's left hand—he had been prepared!
The gap in the silver light curtain was repaired under the array's self-healing ability. Phantom Shadow's hope of escape was thus shattered! "End it." Tang Xiaoqi's indifferent voice sounded as his right palm's power erupted once more, finally completely dissipating the shadow tentacles and heavily stamping on Phantom Shadow's back! "Poof!" Phantom Shadow sprayed a mouthful of black blood, his entire body shot forward like a broken kite, heavily crashing into the silver light curtain, then rebounding to fall to the ground, blood continuously flowing from his mouth and nose.
His aura instantly withered, dropping from late Golden Core to early Golden Core! The black mask on his face cracked, revealing a pale, bloodless face with eyes full of unwillingness and despair. Simultaneously, the five assassins who had been trying to self-destruct were completely suppressed under the combined efforts of Liu Yun and the star chains, their auras all falling to Foundation Establishment level, lying on the ground unable to move. The battle was essentially over.
Liu Yun walked to Phantom Shadow's fallen body, the Iron Ruler heavy sword pointing at his throat, her voice cold: "Shadow Snake Pavilion's Assassination Hall Master, Phantom Shadow. I've long heard your name. Today, it seems you're nothing special." Phantom Shadow struggled to raise his head, a trace of madness in his eyes: "Heh... nothing special? If not for your sect's grand array... if not for you joining forces... today, who lives and who dies is still uncertain!" "Perhaps." Liu Yun's expression didn't waver, "But now, you've lost.
Tell me, who sent you? All your plans." Phantom Shadow's cracked mouth curved into a cold smile: "Want to know? Dream on... Shadow Snake Pavilion's assassins, only know how to kill, not how to talk..." As his words fell, his body suddenly began to rapidly turn into black liquid! "Self-destruction!" Liu Yun's face changed, her sword instantly dropping to try to stop it, but it was too late!
However, just as Phantom Shadow was about to completely dissolve— A translucent green lotus phantom suddenly appeared out of thin air, enveloping his entire body! This was a secret technique Tang Xiaoqi had comprehended from the Green Lotus origin—using purification power to solidify the target's state, preventing any form of self-destruction or suicide! Under the green lotus phantom'senvelopment, Phantom Shadow's dissolving body was forcibly solidified, maintaining a half-dissolved grotesque state, neither able to complete self-destruction nor to return to normal! "I said, I won't let you die so easily." Tang Xiaoqi walked to Phantom Shadow's side, looking down at this once-terrifying assassin, his tone calm yet carrying an undeniable majesty, "There are some things I need you to tell me." Phantom Shadow's eyes were full of shock and fear.
He had never imagined that someone could use purification power in this way, forcibly interrupting a Shadow Snake Pavilion assassin's self-destruction! His last line of defense had been broken. The pouring rain continued to wash over the spiritual bamboo grove. Inside the silver light curtain, all enemies had been subdued.
The crisis that had descended on this rainy night was finally resolved, but Tang Xiaoqi knew this was only the beginning. The Shadow Snake Pavilion's fangs had been broken here, but behind them lurked an even greater darkness.