Ly Tin's retreating figure, carrying the death-defying momentum of a peerless general, was swiftly swallowed by the dense, billowing fog. The sound of his footsteps vanished into the eerie, deathly silence of the forest, leaving not a single trace behind.
Tran Kien stood motionless amidst the ambush formation he had personally laid down. A chilling wind swept past, carrying the damp, pungent scent of rotting leaves. The mist swirled around him; it was an ally that concealed his form, yet simultaneously an enemy that obscured his line of sight.
He had no time to worry about Ly Tin. He knew that upon this chessboard of life and death, every piece had to carve out its own path to survival. His current mission was far more crucial—and far more perilous.
He took a deep breath, letting the frigid air fill his lungs. He did not rush to act. Closing his eyes, he circulated the Primordial Chaos Qi within his body—not to erupt with explosive power, but to harmonize completely with his surroundings.
He sensed the murmuring of a small, nearby stream. He sensed the wind whistling through the gaps in the foliage. He sensed the deathly stillness of the spike pits and the tripvines lying dormant beneath the decaying leaves. At this moment, the entire forest seemed to become an extension of his own body.
Then, he began to lay the formation.
"Ten Thousand Li Flying Crane Formation."
But this time, it was fundamentally different from his previous attempts. He did not merely condense his Primordial Chaos Qi into the shape of a crane. Having gained enlightenment from the sacred grounds, he now possessed a profound comprehension of the concept of "following the wind."
Primordial Chaos Qi surged out from his body. Instead of condensing, it transformed into hundreds, thousands of gossamer, invisible threads of spiritual energy. These threads did not fly about chaotically. They rode the air currents, weaving through the tree trunks, completely blending into the thick fog. They were not simply creating illusions; they were transforming this entire forest into a grand illusory formation!
Anyone who stepped within its perimeter would have their senses thoroughly deceived. The footsteps of one person would echo like the marching of ten. A single fleeting shadow would appear as an entire army. East would be confounded with west. This was no longer a simple diversionary formation; it was a true Soul-Bewildering Array!
Formation established, Tran Kien did not stop. He knew that relying solely on a Soul-Bewildering Array was not enough to kill heretical cultivators accustomed to slaughter. He needed a blade.
He drew his matte black saber. He did not unleash his Saber Intent—Thousand Hammers, Hundred Refinements. Its killing intent was too fierce and would be easily detected. He merely wrapped the blade in Primordial Chaos Qi, perfectly concealing all of its aura.
Next, he scaled the tallest ancient tree and settled onto its thickest, most densely foliaged branch. He retracted his aura completely, slowing his heartbeat to a crawl. His entire being seemingly merged as one with the tree trunk, becoming nothing more than an absolute shadow.
The most dangerous dagger was now in position. All that remained was the patience of a hunter.
Roughly one shichen later.
From deep within the mist, furious roars and the violent clashing of weapons abruptly rang out. It was Ly Tin initiating his challenge.
Shortly after, the blaring of warning horns and the wrathful bellows of countless enemies echoed outward. The venomous snake had been startled. The wolf pack was leaving its den.
Tran Kien remained utterly silent, not twitching a single muscle. He knew this was merely the prelude.
Not long after, a vanguard squad of about ten Black Dragon Stronghold members, led by a pockmarked vice-captain, appeared at the forest's edge—right at the entrance of the ambush formation.
"Careful!" the pockmarked man raised his hand to signal. "The fog here is exceedingly bizarre! Everyone, stick close together!"
They advanced with extreme caution. But the moment they crossed the boundary of the Soul-Bewildering Array, they immediately sensed something was wrong.
"Big Brother! There's a figure on the left!" one lackey cried out in panic.
"No! It's on the right!" another shouted.
The echoes of their own footsteps seemingly multiplied, transforming into the marching of hundreds of people surrounding them. The ambient fog appeared to writhe, forming grotesque black shadows that flickered in and out of existence.
"Calm down! It's just an illusion!" the pockmarked man roared, trying to steady his subordinates, though his own voice carried a distinct tremor.
Right at that moment, the man taking the lead suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream and pitched forward. He had stepped into a flawlessly camouflaged spike pit. Razor-sharp bamboo stakes pierced deeply into his legs, fresh blood gushing out.
This incident acted like a spark, instantly igniting panic throughout the entire squad.
"Traps! Save me!" "Over here! The enemy is over here!"
Their formation completely collapsed. They wildly swung their weapons, hacking blindly at the phantoms conjured by the mist.
Up in the ancient tree, Tran Kien remained perfectly still. He did not make a move. He knew this was merely a minor squad. The true big fish was still lagging behind.
As expected, a moment later, a far more powerful, yin-cold aura pressed down from behind. A man draped in black robes, bearing a long, centipede-like scar across his face, slowly strode forward. He was none other than one of the Hall Masters of the Myriad Snake Cavern, Serpent Scale. His cultivation base was already at the late Qi Condensation Realm.
"A bunch of trash!" Serpent Scale roared coldly upon seeing the chaotic state of his subordinates. "Thrown into such disarray by a mere low-grade Soul-Bewildering Array!"
He was not like those lowly minions. He closed his eyes, sweeping his powerful divine sense outward in an attempt to locate the formation's core.
But he had vastly underestimated Tran Kien. This Soul-Bewildering Array possessed no fixed core. It was controlled entirely by Tran Kien's Primordial Chaos Qi, shifting and transforming ceaselessly.
While Serpent Scale was focusing his entire mind on unraveling the formation, the dagger hidden in the shadows decided to strike.
Tran Kien did not jump down. He merely pulled five silver needles from his pouch in absolute silence. These were acupuncture needles he had purchased in town, heavily sharpened and coated with a paralyzing poison he had brewed himself from the sap of a local forest plant.
He did not need to aim with his eyes. He only needed to lock onto Serpent Scale's position using his divine sense.
SWISH!
The five silver needles, enveloped by faint wisps of Primordial Chaos Qi, pierced silently through the fog, hurtling directly toward five lethal acupoints on Serpent Scale's back.
Serpent Scale, who was deeply engrossed in breaking the formation, suddenly felt an icy chill run down his spine. Horrified, he hastily surged his spiritual energy, erecting a protective barrier.
Clang! Clang!
Four needles were deflected by the barrier and fell to the earth. But the final needle managed to slip through the weakest point in his defenses, sinking deeply into an acupoint on his shoulder.
"Ah!" Serpent Scale cried out in pain. His entire right arm instantly went numb, losing all sensation.
"Sneak attack! Up in the trees!" he roared, snapping his head up.
But it was too late.
In the exact moment he was distracted, a black shadow plummeted from the canopy, as swift as a bolt of lightning, without making a single sound.
It was Tran Kien.
His hand was not holding his saber. Instead, he gripped the half-broken longblade of Shadow Sparrow, which he had retrieved earlier.
Saber Intent—Thousand Hammers, Hundred Refinements!
A thrust. It was not a slash. It was a thrust that condensed the entirety of his strength and willpower into a single, solitary point. Much like a blacksmith's hammer striking directly at the weakest point of a block of steel.
Terrified, Serpent Scale desperately tried to retreat, but he was simply too slow.
SQUELCH!
The cold, razor-sharp broken blade pierced right through his weakened spiritual energy barrier, driving straight into his heart meridian.
Serpent Scale's eyes bulged. He looked down at the blade protruding from his chest, his eyes swimming with disbelief. He, a Hall Master of the Myriad Snake Cavern, was actually dying in such an incomprehensible manner.
Tran Kien afforded him no further chances. He ruthlessly yanked the blade out, causing fresh blood to spray wildly. Simultaneously borrowing the momentum, he kicked off Serpent Scale's corpse, his body shooting backward to seamlessly merge back into the thick fog, vanishing without a trace.
The entire sequence, from the throwing of the needles to the fatal strike, occurred in the span of a mere three breaths. Swift, clean, and utterly ruthless.
The Black Dragon Stronghold subordinates stared dumbfoundedly as their Hall Master's corpse crashed to the ground, an ultimate terror welling up from the depths of their souls. Within this fog, it was as if an invisible demon was lurking, capable of reaping their lives at any given moment.
The dagger had successfully slit the throat of the first venomous snake.