Chapter Fourteen: Wolf Demon's Illusory Form

In the eerie and mysterious mountain cave, a mysterious azure light emanated from Lu Yun's body, enveloping him securely. Above his head, a long sword quietly flickered with a red radiance, continuously spinning and dancing. The alternating blue and red light flickered mysteriously, slowly approaching the black mass as Lu Yun's body moved.

At this moment, a sinister voice echoed from the black mass, "Cultivator, I didn't expect you to be a master from Yi Garden. Quite surprising. However, it's a good thing. We've been trapped here by Yi Garden for so many years, and today, you entered. Don't expect to leave alive. This is your hiding place, and I will ensure there's nothing left of you, slowly consumed. Hehe, hahaha." The sinister laughter echoed, particularly grating.

Lu Yun stopped and looked at the monstrous creature, sneering, "Monster, spare me the big talk. If you have the ability, show it. Judging by your appearance, you haven't even achieved a human form. Your cultivation is far from sufficient."

The voice coldly responded, "Ignorant cultivator, do you think achieving human form guarantees strength? How laughable! Let me tell you, while achieving human form indicates strong cultivation, some other spirits do not pursue taking human form. They possess profound cultivation and leave no trace, that's true mastery. Now, prepare to meet your end, pitiful cultivator." With these words, the surrounding gloomy wind roared, and layers of black gas gradually formed a black barrier, closing in on Lu Yun.

Lu Yun smiled arrogantly, "Come, I've been cultivating for so many years. Today is the first time I unleash my full power. Let me see how formidable you are. Let's see if I can force out your true form and annihilate your essence." Lu Yun's hands gestured, and the azure protective true energy dispersed like waves. Soon, it came into contact with the black gas, creating eerie sounds in the air. The black gas and the blue light crazily corroded each other, initiating a battle in mid-air.

At this moment, the black gas suddenly transformed into a wolf head within, several yards in size, with gaping jaws and fierce features. Two black wolf teeth, one on each side, danced intertwined with black radiance, exuding a powerful demonic aura. In mid-air, a deafening wolf howl erupted, as if tearing through the heavens and the earth, and the ferocious wolf head descended upon Lu Yun. It appeared like a black cloud pressing down, giving him no chance to evade.

Lu Yun's eyes instantly turned icy, and a domineering aura erupted around him. The long sword above his head slightly trembled, and a burst of intense crimson light suddenly exploded at ten times the speed. The entire cave trembled slightly at that moment, and countless dust particles floated in the air. The solid stone walls were shattered three inches deep from the subtle tremor, turning into dust that slowly drifted down.

The giant black wolf head, about to press down on Lu Yun's head, saw the crimson light of the sword dim, sinking three feet instantly. Lu Yun's expression turned cold, and the "Yi Tian Twelve Techniques" suddenly burst into the eleventh technique. Immediately, the red light reappeared above his head, rising three feet again, resisting the black radiance. Lu Yun's hands gestured, and the sword technique was activated, saying, "Six Techniques of Transcending Heaven - Fifth Technique: Transcendental Spirit Exchange!"

Lu Yun's hands interlocked slightly, and the azure true energy around his body suddenly started rotating. In just a blink of an eye, two tornadoes, resembling two azure dragons, spun and flew rapidly, wrapping around the giant black wolf head, rapidly rotating. The dragons spun faster and faster, carrying the indignant howls of the wolf head, creating a spectacle in mid-air. At the same time, the crimson sword above Lu Yun's head flickered with an incredibly dazzling red sword aura. It gradually destroyed the layers of protection around the black mass, corroding its essence.

The giant black wolf head, under the rotation of the azure true energy, gradually dimmed and reduced in size, revealing its true form. The terrified and angry voice became particularly harsh at this moment. The wolf demon's two wolf teeth had lost their radiance, being completely neutralized by the red sword aura, and in a flash, they returned to its original form.

Lu Yun looked proudly at the wolf demon, slowly revealing its true appearance. Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a wolf, but with a pair of sharp and long fangs that were very prominent. The peculiar thing was that one fang was red, and the other was black, extremely strange, as if they were artificially embedded rather than naturally occurring.

At this moment, the wolf demon's eyes showed a trace of horror. It suddenly howled to the sky, and its body instantly turned into a black smoke. Following closely, a figure suddenly flashed out, hands forming claws, pouncing straight towards Lu Yun. It was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties, with a narrow and ferocious face.

Lu Yun noticed a powerful spiritual light above his head, but unfortunately, that light exuded a very obvious evil aura. Lu Yun sneered, "I didn't expect you to cultivate into a human form. Earlier, you were hiding your true strength. Quite cunning. Now let's see who is more formidable." With that, Lu Yun's long sword emitted a flash of red light, shooting towards the wolf demon.

The wolf demon roared, "Kid, I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to be so powerful. Now, come on, let's fight!" The wolf's ferocity was fully revealed. The wolf demon's hands shone, and a red and black pair of three-foot-long wolf fang-shaped weapons suddenly appeared. The wolf demon's figure was incredibly fast, and countless shadows suddenly appeared around him, surrounding Lu Yun. Due to the speed, the red and black shadows formed a continuous halo, trapping Lu Yun inside.

Lu Yun remained calm, swaying slightly on his feet. The long sword in his hand resembled a red flame, trembling nine times in a row. With each tremor, the red light intensified. After nine tremors, a tremendously powerful sword energy burst out, sweeping horizontally with a destructive sword qi that seemed to split mountains and crack rocks, instantly sweeping outward.

A loud noise shook the entire cave. Lu Yun's sword was full of power, unleashing the full potential of the Flame Sword Technique. A sword strike shattered the wolf demon's offensive, and relying on his miraculously powerful mental waves, Lu Yun easily sensed the demon's movements, appearing in front of it in an instant. With a sneer in his eyes, Lu Yun's right hand swung the sword lightning-fast. This sword, with ten times the power, suddenly appeared above the wolf demon's head, leaving it no chance to escape.

The wolf demon sensed the imminent danger, suddenly lowering its body, and in an impossible situation, began rotating at a speed of one hundred and twenty times per moment. With the wolf demon's rapid rotation, a shining black light pillar burst forth, meeting Lu Yun's slash head-on. Two powerful air currents collided instantly, causing a devastating explosion. The surrounding stone walls were shattered by the shock, and the entire cave

 seemed on the verge of collapse, a truly astonishing sight.

A flash of azure light surrounded Lu Yun, disintegrating all the incoming flying debris. His mental waves continued to monitor the wolf demon's movements, leaving it no chance of escape. At the moment of the explosion, Lu Yun clearly felt the wolf demon's aura weaken significantly, indicating it was severely injured. Yet, the wolf demon was exceptionally formidable; even such a powerful sword strike failed to claim its life, truly extraordinary.

The black radiance surrounding the wolf demon dimmed instantly, and its entire aura suffered severe damage, rendering it powerless to continue the fight. At this moment, the wolf demon transformed once again into a wisp of black gas, swiftly escaping towards the depths of the mountain cave. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace.

Lu Yun's body swiftly turned, and a streak of azure light flashed by, making him vanish as if he had employed the Flowing Light Escape Technique, a mystical technique. Within the cave, Lu Yun soared on his sword, relentlessly pursuing the scent of the wolf demon. However, the wolf demon ahead sensed Lu Yun's presence and its aura suddenly vanished.

A slight change crossed Lu Yun's face, and he murmured to himself, "Cunning wolf demon, actually capable of immediately altering its frequency to escape detection. Quite impressive. However, this time, you've encountered me, Lu Yun, and your fate is sealed." After saying this, Lu Yun immediately sent out three waves of mental waves with different frequencies. Soon, he detected the wolf demon's aura, accelerating his pursuit.

During the pursuit, Lu Yun realized that the cave was incredibly deep, with numerous branching paths that made it impossible to discern the entrance he had taken. It resembled an underground maze with countless tunnels crisscrossing each other, making it difficult to find a way out.

Since flying underground was highly perilous, Lu Yun found it challenging to catch up with the wolf demon. He began to understand this as time passed, but he was unwilling to give up easily. After chasing for a considerable period, Lu Yun lost track of how far he had come. Eventually, he decided to change his approach and use a different method to defeat the wolf demon.

Lu Yun stopped and raised the frequency of the mental waves he had been following, increasing it tenfold. At a rate of 19,600 times per moment, the waves struck the wolf demon instantly. Lu Yun felt the wolf demon's aura weaken tenfold, indicating a fatal blow. The wolf demon had stopped fleeing and was now located in a cave sixteen passages away.

Lu Yun swiftly moved towards that location. After a while, he appeared in front of the wolf demon. Observing the critically wounded wolf demon lying on the ground, Lu Yun proudly said, "As I said, you cannot escape, can you?" Coldly looking at the wolf demon, a cruel expression flashed in Lu Yun's eyes.

The wolf demon, now in its original wolf form, lay on the ground, its fierce green eyes glaring at Lu Yun. In a weak voice, the wolf demon asked, "Who are you? How did you unleash such a powerful true energy wave with incredible speed? It's impossible!"

Lu Yun sneered and said, "You don't need to know all that. Everything between you and me ends now, with your death. You've cultivated into human form, indicating decent spiritual cultivation. To truly destroy you, it seems I'll need to exert a bit more effort. Let's see what else you have."

Lu Yun remained motionless as his sword above him moved to the wolf demon's head, rotating ceaselessly, emitting a dazzling red radiance as if it could devour everything. As the sword descended, a six-foot-square red aura formed, gradually engulfing the wolf demon and refining its demonic energy and spirit.

A faint smile appeared on Lu Yun's face as a bright green light emanated from his body, illuminating the surroundings within ten yards. Even the dim stone walls glowed with a faint green light. Simultaneously, the sword above the wolf demon's head intensified its radiance. The red aura transformed into a beam of light, its power increasing tenfold.

Within the light pillar, the wolf demon struggled, alternately transforming into human and wolf forms. Its mournful howls echoed continuously. Gradually, the wolf demon's body shrank, and it seemed on the verge of being completely refined. However, in a sudden twist, red and black lights burst from its eyes, creating a peculiar and eerie sight. The wolf demon's body faded away abruptly, and two lights, one red and one black, erupted with dazzling brilliance, breaking through the red light column and escaping into the void.

Lu Yun's expression changed slightly, and he muttered to himself, "Unexpectedly, those two red and black wolf fangs are not just weapons; they conceal two different spirits inside. No wonder when I first investigated, I sensed a trinity. Well, today, I'll see how far you can escape." Saying this, Lu Yun extended his right hand, and a black radiance instantly appeared, capturing the faint black demonic energy in mid-air.

Watching the faint black gas in his hand, Lu Yun smiled and said, "Wolf demon, you're clever, but I won't be easily deceived. Now, it's time to end this." He then used the black radiance in his hand to absorb and refine the black gas. In the air, the wolf demon's final trembling voice reached Lu Yun, "Impossible, how can you, a Ghost Sect disciple, use the Soul Refinement Technique? No—?" Unfortunately, before it could finish its sentence, it vanished.

Lu Yun's lips curled into a faintly inscrutable smile, and a mysterious glow surrounded his body as he disappeared. When he reappeared, Lu Yun found himself in another passage. His mental waves remained tightly locked onto the two lights, one red and one black. He was currently pursuing one of them, but upon reaching this cave entrance, he lost the signal.

Standing quietly at the entrance, Lu Yun carefully observed the interior. The cavern was vast, over ten yards wide, shrouded in absolute darkness, possibly untouched by sunlight for thousands of years. Lu Yun sensed that something within the cave was preventing his mental waves from exploring further. Whatever it was seemed peculiar, but Lu Yun couldn't fathom its nature.

The cave had three passages in total, and Lu Yun stood in one of them. From his earlier investigation, both the red and black lights had lost signals upon entering this cave. At this moment, Lu Yun's mental waves seemed ineffective, unable to discern anything within.

After some contemplation, a green light emanated from Lu Yun's body, and the sword above his head radiated a dazzling red glow, protecting him from above. Simultaneously, he deployed seven rapidly fluctuating mental waves to safeguard himself. Once everything was prepared, Lu Yun cautiously ventured inside.

In the darkness, Lu Yun acted like a beacon, illuminating his surroundings. Upon entering the cave, a serious expression appeared on Lu Yun's face, and his eyes showed a hint of vigilance. Within six feet of walking, he sensed countless invisible forces aggressively eroding his protective true energy. Astonishingly, these forces were not formidable individually, but their sheer number exceeded tens of thousands, surprising Lu Yun.

As he approached the center of the cave, the myriad unseen forces around him surpassed fifty thousand. This was an alarming revelation. The previously radiant green light gradually dimmed, and the surroundings became increasingly dark and mysterious.

Lu Yun's face turned serious, and black light flickered in his eyes. With a low shout, a black radiance emanated within the cave, casting an eerie glow. Suddenly, a crack appeared in the center of Lu Yun's forehead, revealing a vertically positioned eye. Upon closer inspection, it was a "Desire Devil Eye," a tool from the Demon Sect, useful for detecting hidden demonic beings in darkness.

With the "Desire Devil Eye" activated, Lu Yun saw the countless previously invisible forces, but to his surprise, they were all just energy fluctuations, not actual demonic beings. These energy fluctuations, however, carried a sinister aura, leading Lu Yun to believe they were creatures of some kind.

Why were these energy fluctuations automatically attacking intruders? This remained a mysterious question that was hard to explain. Lu Yun's Devil Eye emitted a black glow, and he slowly focused on the central area of the cave. Trying to use his mental waves to probe the mystery, he found that as soon as they approached, the revolving demonic energy around the black light column would divert them, preventing any exploration.

Lu Yun's expression became slightly grave. The green light surged around him, and he once again brightened the surroundings. Gazing at the black light column, Lu Yun realized that even the "Desire Devil Eye" couldn't penetrate the black light wave, leaving the contents shrouded in mystery. This heightened Lu Yun's curiosity, and the more challenging something was to understand, the more he wanted to unravel it.

Lu Yun slowly circled around the black light column, his eyes filled with contemplation as he pondered how to break through the energy barrier and explore the secrets within. After a while, the "Desire Devil Eye" on his forehead gradually disappeared, replaced by a sudden burst of golden light. A radiant golden glow emerged from Lu Yun's third eye, the "Great Asura Eye," a technique from the Buddhist tradition, illuminating the cave like a sun suddenly appearing.

In the intense golden light, Lu Yun, now resembling a golden Buddha, stood calmly three feet above the ground. The Buddhist "Heart Zen Immortal Art" was employed for the first time, transforming the cave into a radiant space. Lu Yun's eyes, fixed on the black light column, released mental waves at a frequency of 36,000 per moment, fully exploring the aura within the black light column.

Lu Yun's eyes flickered with light, and his body turned into a golden streak, disappearing instantly. Although Lu Yun's powerful attack didn't completely destroy the light column, it created a gap. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Yun transformed into a golden streak and entered the gap. At the same moment, the black light column reverted to its original state, concealing itself in the darkness.

In the darkness, the red and black lights suddenly appeared, glaringly bright in the obscurity. The red light spoke, "I didn't expect this one who came back to be as formidable as the one sixty years ago. Truly terrifying."

The black light chimed in, "Indeed, considering the two techniques he displayed just now—the 'Desire Devil Eye' from the Demon Sect and the 'Great Asura Eye' from Buddhism—it's incredibly bizarre. To think that someone in this world can simultaneously practice three different techniques is truly unimaginable. Luckily, we escaped quickly; otherwise, we would have been in trouble. I hope he doesn't cause the chaos he did last time. Let's hide for now and return when the coast is clear."

The red light responded, "It's hard to say. However, this time, he entered the most mysterious and dangerous Black Domain Secret Realm within the Absolute Yin Valley. Whether he can come out unscathed is uncertain. There's no need for us to escape; we'll just stay here and observe." With that, the red light flickered and disappeared, followed by the vanishing of the black light.

The mysterious and dim cave gradually returned to calmness, appearing eerily silent. As Lu Yun ventured into the enigmatic Black Domain Secret Realm, what challenges would he face? Would he emerge unharmed? What encounters awaited the other three outstanding disciples of Yi Garden?