Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Chill of Unexpected Turns

That impulsive action of Liena startled Ji Xuanyu and the others for a moment, but with Ji Xuanyu joining the fray, Liena could no longer harm anyone so easily.

Liena’s hands collided with the blazing flames; he instinctively withdrew them. Looking at Ji Xuanyu, who wielded the fierce flames in his grasp, a sharp gleam flashed swiftly across Liena’s eyes—so quickly that no one could catch it clearly. Liena then hid his hands behind his back, unwilling to let others see whether they were injured.

With Ji Xuanyu’s participation, the tide of battle reversed dramatically here. Yet, Gu Xinyu and Yin Su still fought with reckless abandon, as if they were locked in a deep-seated grudge unknown to outsiders.

Yinyao glanced over everyone’s condition and nodded with relief. Though she was puzzled when Ji Xuanyu suddenly joined, she trusted his judgment and believed he knew when to intervene.

Above them, a colossal bat flapped its wings, emitting low, humming sounds. These sounds gradually formed sound waves that rippled outward in circles.

This enormous bat was composed of countless normal bat corpses, its entire body dotted with numerous red eyes—the bats’ eyes.

Ji Muyu began to sense something amiss. The sound from the bat’s wings produced strange interference in his mind. What kind of sound could penetrate the eardrums and directly invade the brain?

Yet, it had no effect on Yinyao at all. This power of the sound was because the bat itself could emit ultrasonic waves. Yinyao had deliberately summoned it to disrupt others’ minds.

Ji Muyu swung his dual spirit hooks repeatedly, trying to sever the incoming low hums, but it was futile. The sounds simply would not disappear so easily.

Others nearby seemed to notice the situation with Yinyao and moved closer, eager to understand what was happening. Ji Muyu stood his ground, feeling a headache. He hadn’t expected this strange sound to be so difficult to dispel, especially without a quick solution.

Those approaching Yinyao, including Yin Su and others, soon realized something different—they could hear the sound too, a frequency completely inaudible to ordinary people.

However, Liena, Muye, and Aishuo lacked the strength to discern the sound clearly, so it had no effect on them—a blessing and a curse intertwined.

Liena continued fighting Muye and Aishuo, but for some unknown reason, his movements had lost the initial agility, and his judgment faltered slightly. Yet no one noticed this subtle change.

Muye and Aishuo exchanged quick glances midair and nodded. Their hands moved rapidly, but their motions were too swift to follow. Silver needles and plum-shaped blades flew from all directions, leaving almost no gaps, as if the encirclement was flawless.

Liena’s eyes, like stars in the night, fixed intently on the flying weapons. He refused to believe there was truly no opening. His gaze was sharp as an eagle’s.

While dodging and weaving, he desperately searched for a weak point. His eyes seemed unreal, unnaturally sharp—far beyond ordinary human sight.

When a gap finally appeared, Liena reached out and swiftly caught the incoming needles and blades, then hurled them back. Taking advantage of the clash between weapons, he broke through the encirclement and boldly stepped out of the trap set by Muye and Aishuo.

This frustrated Muye and Aishuo immensely. Who was this Liena? They had trained long and hard to perfect this tactic and ensure the encirclement had no gaps, yet Liena still escaped.

Once free, Liena hovered midair, momentarily stunned and unsteady. He shook his head as if trying to shake something from his mind, but couldn’t. With his right fist, he struck his own head. His hands were clad in black gloves, concealing any injuries.

“Boom!”

A loud explosion followed, and the bat vanished. Ji Muyu’s right hand was clenched in a fist, making it clear he had struck and annihilated the bat.

Gazing at the bat reduced to ashes, Yinyao bowed her head, burying her inner thoughts. She could feel the tremendous power contained in Ji Muyu’s strike; otherwise, how could he have wiped out the bat she had carefully prepared in one blow?

Of course, Ji Muyu was not without cost. That strike had consumed much of his spiritual energy. He had willingly suffered a temporary loss to free himself from the torment of the sound, hoping for normalcy afterward.

He believed Yinyao would not dare summon such a terrifying creature again so soon.

Indeed, Yinyao had no intention of repeating the summon. Although it seemed easy to conjure, it had drained much of her spirit. She dared not risk it again, fearing she would fall unconscious. Lately, she had become excessively fatigued.

Silently, she gave a signal indicating time was up to the allies in the air. Receiving their response, she nodded.

In an instant, the white fox merged with Yinyao, leaving only its thick tail flickering. The flaming dragon infused into Ji Xuanyu, entering his body as a red glow shimmered around him. The tiger king leapt up and fused directly with Gu Xinyu, a faint “king” character appearing on Gu Xinyu’s forehead.

This simultaneous fusion of their powers always strengthened them incrementally. At this moment, Muye and Aishuo withdrew from the battlefield, knowing the ensuing fight was beyond their capability. After fusion, their opponents’ power had risen to an entirely different level.

Seeing this, Ji Muyu instinctively thought it must be part of Yinyao’s plan. Nevertheless, he prepared to confront them head-on. In the next moment, the black dragon vanished, and a black dragon mark appeared on Ji Muyu’s forehead, his body exuding a dark aura.

The white phoenix also disappeared, and a pair of white wings sprouted from Yin Su’s back, giving her an almost angelic appearance. Quite peculiar.

Liena stood his ground, unlike Muye and Aishuo who had immediately retreated. His body showed no sign of change, baffling Muye and Aishuo who had moved to the sidelines. They wondered why he remained—surely he knew the difference between ordinary power and theirs, especially after fusion.

But they wouldn’t kindly suggest he retreat. It was his choice, and since he stood as an enemy, they preferred to stay out of it.

Yinyao, Ji Xuanyu, and Gu Xinyu stood shoulder to shoulder, preparing to execute the next move.

Three against three, or perhaps three against two and a half?

Liena’s power in this state hardly counted as complete.

Without further delay, Yinyao and Ji Xuanyu disregarded fairness and attacked together, rushing straight at Ji Muyu from the left and right, confronting his dual spirit hooks.

Gu Xinyu’s opponent remained Yin Su, but this time, Liena joined in as well. He could handle facing both simultaneously.

Unexpectedly, just as Yinyao and Ji Xuanyu were about to engage Ji Muyu, Liena charged forward, blocking Yinyao’s path. Yinyao swung her ice spirit whip fiercely.

Muye and Aishuo almost expected to see Liena severely wounded and falling, but once again, he surprised them. He grabbed the ice spirit whip with both hands, pulling it forcefully. Remarkably, the gloves on his hands remained intact. It seemed there was still much to learn about Liena—he was becoming increasingly enigmatic.

On the ground, Wanyou Xue watched this scene with a strange expression. If memory served, it had been Liena who led the massacre of the Wan family, though he mainly worked behind the scenes. The external missions were handled by his younger brother, Lin.

Back then, Wanyou Xue had been seriously poisoned due to her rigorous training and the medicines she had taken. Medicine is three parts poison, and compounded with her spiritual deviation, she had been like a person riddled with deadly toxins. To rapidly boost her strength, she had taken a tonic pill with bloodquince as the main ingredient—a highly poisonous herb.

When she collapsed before Ji Muyu, he was at a loss, but ultimately it was his suggestion that saved her, though he hadn’t anticipated her amnesia.

In her memory, Liena was a skilled healer, well-versed in various pharmacologies. He was elusive and mysterious, rarely showing any particularly remarkable martial skills.

Yet tonight, he managed to catch Yinyao’s ice spirit whip barehanded, casting doubts on what he truly was.

Wanyou Xue hurried to the spot beneath Liena, ensuring no one noticed her before she felt at ease. She scrutinized his every move, eager to understand the reason.

Yinyao, who directly confronted Liena, felt the impact deeply. After he caught her ice spirit whip barehanded, she was astonished. More puzzling was that his gloves remained unscathed, something she had never seen happen before.

Liena then tried to snatch the ice spirit whip from Yinyao’s grasp. Whatever his reason, his gaze was fearless, his eyes piercing like an eagle’s, observing everything around him.

Suddenly, Yinyao thought this mysterious Liena must also possess a similar power, or else he couldn’t remain so composed after their power fusion. Even now, he showed no sign of disadvantage.

Tilting her head, Yinyao smiled and silently whispered, “Ice’er, come forth.”

In the next moment, the ice spirit whip in Liena’s hands vanished, replaced by a small, pure white fox that appeared in his line of sight. The little fox leapt lightly onto him, clawing at his gloves.

Liena tried to shake it off, but to no avail. Yinyao watched and laughed—Ice’er was a spirited little creature, not so easily dismissed.

The fox bit at Liena’s gloves with its four tiny paws and mouth, struggling fiercely. Yinyao fixed her gaze, hoping to glean something from the scene.

Liena’s eyes darkened. Startled, Ice’er trembled and fell from his hands. Yinyao quickly transformed it back into the form of a long whip.

Just moments ago, she thought she had seen something peculiar.

Liena’s hand was completely unlike that of a normal person.