Undead

Let's rewind to the moment when Shadow Fiend jumped down from the tree to challenge Chu Lian.

Because of the Yaksha clan's tradition, even though they surrounded Chu Lian, they took turns to fight her one-on-one. Although this still had the semblance of a "wheel battle," it at least appeared more honorable.

Therefore, Chu Lian didn't hesitate. With the Void Greatsword angled, she activated her super-speed movement and appeared before Shadow Fiend before he could react, slashing horizontally.

Ming Ying extended his left hand, blocking her strike with the ancient scabbard of his sword, causing his body to wobble but successfully parrying the attack.

Chu Lian frowned. With her strength at 38 points, enhanced by the Void Greatsword to 57, she should be able to easily withstand a head-on collision with a car without pressure. To block her strike without injury would require a strength of over 70 points. It was clear that Shadow Fiend couldn't possibly possess such high strength.

This wasn't just her assessment based on the system's mission difficulty but also her understanding that the three world-class experts, with only a tenth of their power remaining, were the true formidable opponents of this mission. The others were merely lackeys. If Shadow Fiend's strength approached theirs, it would be blatantly unfair, making the mission nearly impossible.

She also knew from Ayase that transmitting a strong entity through a sealed temporal rift to the present world required enormous cost and effort. The strongest among them, Ghost Sha, had attributes barely ranging from 20 to 30. Therefore, Shadow Fiend, who was inferior to Ghost Sha, couldn't possibly withstand her attack.

Thus, it wasn't a matter of high attributes but of using his combat skills to neutralize her attack.

After all, the Yaksha clan was a warrior race, their harsh world ensuring that from childhood, they walked amidst mountains of corpses. Despite the inherent difficulty in gaining strength due to their nature, making their strength varied, their combat instincts and experience were incredibly formidable. "If you don't want to face death, you must break through with your strength," was their ancestral motto.

Chu Lian didn't know the Yaksha clan's ancestral motto nor their living conditions, but she could infer from various clues why Shadow Fiend could parry her strike.

With a cold smile, she looked seriously at Shadow Fiend, saying, "It seems your instincts and combat experience are very rich. I wonder if you can withstand my subsequent attacks?"

Her body began to circle around Shadow Fiend, striking unpredictably. Despite her efforts, Shadow Fiend easily deflected each attack, making her seem futile.

"Two strikes... Three strikes..." Shadow Fiend counted in a low voice, until after the third strike, he said, "Now, it's my turn. I hope you can last a while."

A cold light flashed as his sword was drawn, filling the forest with a faint killing intent. This blade, appearing ordinary, had claimed countless lives, radiating a palpable aura. Weak opponents would tremble in fear, while even strong ones might be hindered if not mentally resilient.

In her blackened state, Chu Lian ignored the killing intent, continuing to thrust her Void Greatsword methodically at Shadow Fiend.

Despite having only 25 agility points, Shadow Fiend could easily keep up with her attacks in his stationary state, using one hand to parry each strike and channeling the force into the ground, maintaining his unmoving stance amidst her furious onslaught.

With closed eyes, he relied on his keen hearing to fend off her blows. His ugly face, though serious, showed a faint smile as he felt the diminishing force behind her attacks. This girl, though strong, had little combat experience and poor stamina management, making her weaker.

As he prepared to counter, Shadow Fiend's eyes suddenly opened, a dark light flashing as he slashed diagonally at Chu Lian's shoulder, predicting her movement.

Surprised, Chu Lian hadn't expected the Yaksha warrior to predict her actions so precisely, slashing at the critical moment.

After all the patience and silent endurance, Shadow Fiend's first attack was a lethal strike. It must be said that this Yaksha clan member was indeed formidable, his combat experience far surpassing that of Chu Lian, who had just acquired her super combat skills.

However, just as the cold, long sword was about to slash her slender shoulder, the previously panicked Chu Lian suddenly shed all pretenses, a conspiratorial smile appearing on her lips.

At the same time, seeing the strange smile on Chu Lian's face, Ghost Sha's expression changed dramatically: "No! Retreat!" His tone was urgent as he leapt backward to gain distance.

Unfortunately, even the swiftest command requires a moment for others to react. Neither Shadow Fiend, who was at the center of the battle, nor the other Yaksha had time to respond and missed their chance to escape.

"Think you can escape?" As the sword slashed down, Chu Lian's figure suddenly vanished. She reappeared in front of Ghost Sha, blocking his path with the Void Greatsword.

"Boom~~" As Chu Lian disappeared, the accumulated spiritual power she had channeled into the ground through her agile footwork and super-speed movement suddenly erupted.

Chu Lian's spiritual power had reached level B, though much of it had been consumed in the fierce battle. However, she also possessed C-level magical power, mana, and inner strength. Although she didn't know how to use these hidden energies effectively, she saved them for a crucial moment, converting them into spiritual power to deliver a fatal blow.

Clearly, she had directed the majority of her energy into the ground through her body. These spiritual energies had formed a mysterious pattern underground. When Chu Lian activated her spatial ability, it signaled the explosion of this spiritual power.

Behind her, a massive spiritual explosion erupted, creating a ten-meter diameter spiritual energy turbulence that obliterated the remaining monsters and Yaksha clan members. The shockwaves from the explosion even caused Ghost Sha to groan in pain. Even with his strength, he sustained significant injuries from the residual shockwaves. The sheer power of the spiritual energy turbulence was terrifying.

Despite her pale complexion and the sweat dripping slowly from her forehead, Chu Lian's delicate, perfect face wore a satisfied smile. Although her spiritual power had been reduced to level C+, combining it with the three C-level energies created a fusion power that barely reached level B+.

What does level B+ damage entail? It equates to a full-power attack from someone with 120 in all attributes, capable of demolishing an office building. This powerful spiritual turbulence had been concentrated within a ten-meter radius.

The smaller the area, the greater the intensity of each inch. Moreover, these otherworldly creatures had extremely low resistance to spiritual energy, resulting in instant kills.

Had it not been her first time using this ability and not knowing how to control the power, she wouldn't have needed so much energy. A level B- spiritual turbulence could have killed them all without wasting so much energy.

"Where do you think you're going now?" Chu Lian's eyes were cold as she looked at Ghost Sha, her voice calm.

Though aware that Chu Lian had almost exhausted her spiritual power, Ghost Sha, wounded by the residual shockwaves, didn't believe he could overpower Chu Lian, whose physical condition was much better than his. He watched her warily, searching for an opportunity to escape.

The Yaksha clan was known for its warriors, but that didn't mean they were all fearless. Especially now, with the burden of three clans' dreams to break the seal, he couldn't afford to die here.

Ghost Sha regretted not breaking their ancestral code to attack Chu Lian together. Now, there was no remedy for his mistake. He had to bear the consequences.

To Chu Lian, these thoughts didn't matter. She believed Ghost Sha had to die, regardless of his burdens or responsibilities.

Without her blackened state, Chu Lian's combat power wouldn't match her current form. She usually struggled with taking lives. Facing the Night Demon clan's monsters, she had to convince herself they were monsters deserving death. But killing the human-like Yaksha clan required a different resolve.

This was the fundamental difference between Chu Lian in her normal and blackened states. The former was a somewhat kind-hearted, scheming girl, while the latter was a ruthless executioner. Who knew if she could handle this situation once her blackened state faded?

As Chu Lian prepared to end Ghost Sha, a ghostly figure appeared behind her, silently wielding a scythe towards her neck.

Ghost Sha's face lit up with barely concealed delight as he witnessed this.

Seeing Ghost Sha's expression, Chu Lian sensed danger. A chilling killing intent enveloped her, paralyzing her. The scythe descended towards her neck...