Chapter 105: Uncanny

Yin Tianfang looked up at the towering figures before him, each one as immense as a demonic mountain. Cold sweat instantly streamed down his forehead.

In the brief moment of his distraction, countless figures surged toward him from every direction, their weapons swinging down at him.

Yin Tianfang swept out with the long sword in his hand. The figures rushing toward him were severed in an instant, their weapons shattered as sword qi cleaved their bodies in two. With a series of heavy thuds, they collapsed to the ground, their bodies dissolving into ashes.

“This…”

Shock filled Yin Tianfang’s eyes.

With that single sword strike, countless figures had turned to ash. He could see them clearly now. They wore ordinary clothes, and the weapons in their hands were not swords or blades, but the hoes, axes, and other tools commonly used by ordinary people.

They had merely been ordinary people—people who had no idea what they had gone through. Now, they were nothing more than walking corpses. An inexplicable force had preserved their flesh from decay, yet the moment they suffered a serious injury, they instantly turned to ash.

Yin Tianfang looked around at the lifeless figures that existed like puppets. Could all of them really have been ordinary people? What had happened here in the past? How had so many people become like this?

No one could give Yin Tianfang an answer. Countless figures moved like puppets, mechanically charging toward him. In life, they had been ordinary people, no more than ants before cultivators. Even after death, when they had become what they were now, they remained no more than ants before cultivators.

Sword qi surged in every direction. Countless figures were reduced to ash beneath its force. Though they had once been ordinary people, and though they remained weak even now, Yin Tianfang showed them no mercy.

Suddenly, Yin Tianfang’s expression tightened slightly. A strand of black mist seeped from one of the bodies he had destroyed and vanished into the surrounding fog.

“That mist…”

His thoughts stirred.

“Could it be because of that black energy that these people have retained their original appearance despite having been dead for so long?”

“Roar!”

A heaven-shaking roar rang out. The sound waves spread in all directions, churning the dense fog. Under the impact of that roar, countless figures exploded one after another.

Immediately afterward, Yin Tianfang saw the strands of black mist converge toward the mouth of the figure that had let out the furious roar, vanishing into its body as they were swallowed.

A terrifying aura radiated from the figure. Its vast power erupted like a mountain pressing down upon Yin Tianfang.

His pupils contracted slightly. After devouring the black energy, the shadow’s aura seemed to have grown even stronger.

Boom!

While Yin Tianfang was still thinking, the figure leaped into the air, descending like a mountain crashing down from the heavens.

Yin Tianfang tapped the ground with the tips of his toes and shot backward. The enormous figure landed where he had stood moments before, sending countless pieces of rubble flying. Under the terrifying force of its aura, they shattered one after another.

A fierce wind surged toward him. Yin Tianfang raised a hand to shield his face, his expression solemn as he gazed at the mountainous figure.

Only now could he clearly see its true appearance.

It was actually a human being—only one of enormous size. Moreover, it radiated a powerful aura comparable to that of a cultivator at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.

Though this person possessed no signs of life, it clearly had thoughts of its own.

“What kind of monster is this?”

Yin Tianfang was horrified. This was the first time he had ever seen a human being of such immense size. What other sinister things were hidden within this land shrouded in mist?

Just as Yin Tianfang stood in shock, strands of black mist from the surrounding area sank into the giant’s body. The giant’s aura grew even more intense, and it seemed on the verge of breaking through the Foundation Establishment realm.

If the giant truly broke through the Foundation Establishment realm and entered the Core Formation realm, Yin Tianfang would have no hope of survival.

“That black mist!”

Yin Tianfang’s eyes suddenly brightened. Looking at the giant continually devouring the black mist, he flicked a finger. A black ring shot from his fingertip and instantly transformed into a black demonic dragon wreathed in flames, charging straight toward the surrounding shadows.

Wherever the black demonic dragon passed, figure after figure shattered. From the bodies of those shattered figures, strands of black energy were devoured by the dragon formed from demonic flames.

Roar!

Realizing what Yin Tianfang was doing, the giant raised its head and let out an enraged roar. It extended one massive hand and viciously reached for Yin Tianfang.

Yin Tianfang leaped aside, evading the giant’s hand. He shook the long sword in his grasp, and the flying sword transformed into a streak of light that shot toward the giant.

At the same time, Yin Tianfang formed hand seals. Eight illusory figures separated from his body and rushed in different directions, surrounding the giant in the center.

The Nine-Shadow Body-Splitting Technique!

Back when he had still been in the Qi Condensation realm, Yin Tianfang had obtained this technique. However, cultivating it required him to reach the Foundation Establishment realm. Even then, the technique consumed an enormous amount of energy.

Yet, facing this giant at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, Yin Tianfang had no choice but to use it.

The nine figures each took up a position around the giant.

“Go!”

With a sharp shout, the eight illusory figures attacked simultaneously, charging straight toward the giant.

“Roar!”

The giant’s enormous arm swept across the area. One of the illusory figures was struck and instantly shattered.

As that figure collapsed, Yin Tianfang let out a muffled groan, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Yet there was no panic in his eyes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several other figures pressed both hands against the giant’s body. A vicious glint immediately flashed through Yin Tianfang’s eyes. He formed another series of hand seals and shouted without hesitation:

“Explode!”

The illusory figures instantly detonated themselves. A terrifying storm swept outward, churning the mist until the entire area became a vast expanse of white. Savage winds raged throughout the space.

Yin Tianfang shot backward, avoiding the terrifying storm, his eyes fixed on the center of the explosion. Though those figures had been only illusory manifestations, they had been formed from his cultivation and remained connected to his true body.

Their self-destruction had also affected Yin Tianfang’s true body to a certain extent. His face was now slightly pale, and the white lotus within his dantian appeared somewhat withered.

His spiritual power had been completely exhausted.

The storm gradually subsided, and the mountain-like figure once again emerged into Yin Tianfang’s field of vision.

Seeing that towering figure, Yin Tianfang’s already pale expression darkened further.

“It’s unharmed even after that?!”

The giant before him appeared not to have suffered any serious injury. Yin Tianfang felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss. He had detonated several illusory bodies at the cost of sustaining severe injuries, yet he still had not managed to kill the enormous creature.

“Roar!”

The furious roar echoed through the area, lingering without end. The giant’s bell-like eyes gradually turned crimson as it fixed its murderous gaze upon Yin Tianfang.