Chapter 108: Every Spirit Hunter Is a Sneaky Old Fox

This burst of released vital energy crushed and destroyed everything around it, only fading after traveling fifteen zhang.

A long, wide gouge was left in the ground.

The group was scattered in an instant.

Li Lin, Su Huafang, and Bai Bufan were forced to the left, while the other four ended up on the other side.

Eunuch Qi looked at the four from Yan Han's side and smiled: "Leave them to me. The boy Su and that handsome young gentleman are yours."

The two men in black nodded.

At this moment, the white jade tokens of the seven Spirit Hunters once again glowed red.

The red glow had already vanished when they had entered the protective barrier's powder circle earlier.

Now Eunuch Qi's single released-vital-energy strike had shattered nearly half the protective barrier's powder circle, and the aberrations, catching the scent, naturally came running.

The black-clad man wielding the iron mace said: "Make it quick! Our vital energy won't hold out much longer."

The other black-clad man nodded.

Meanwhile Su Huafang shouted urgently: "Run! We're no match for Eunuch Qi!"

That single display of released vital energy alone proved Eunuch Qi was at a martial artist's level; as for exactly which rank, it was impossible to tell.

His strength was far too high—immeasurably deep.

The Spirit Hunters immediately turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.

The group split apart swiftly, fleeing into the nearby woods.

The black-clad man with the mace shouted: "Leave that pretty-boy to me. Brother, you go handle the other two."

"Got it."

As for Eunuch Qi, he watched the four fleeing figures, tapped his foot lightly, and gave chase.

Li Lin's lightness technique had already been honed quite well; he only needed a few breaths to slip into the woods.

Once sure no one was watching him, he crouched just outside a tree and entered a stealth state.

The aberrations lost his trail.

The red glow on the white jade token vanished at once.

The black-clad man with the mace chased into the woods, glanced left and right, and after losing Li Lin's trail, cursed loudly: "Pretty-boy, you coward indeed—hiding counts as what kind of skill? Come out and fight your grandpa for three hundred rounds!"

Li Lin had by now circled behind this black-clad man.

A red frame lit up.

Li Lin found it strange: the Spirit Hunters relied on their white jade tokens to keep the aberrations from approaching, but these martial men had no white jade tokens—how could they move about so freely in the dark?

Then Li Lin noticed that a layer of swirling airflow clung to the outside of this martial man's body.

And then he understood.

A martial man releases his vital energy to the surface of his body, creating a protective layer.

Vital energy is naturally able to block the erosion of yin qi, so for a short time it keeps the aberrations from detecting him.

But this behavior accelerates the drain of vital energy, so it shouldn't hold for long.

In other words, as long as he stalled long enough, the opponent would withdraw on his own.

But Li Lin was not the sort to keep skulking forever; he thought it over for a moment, and a plan formed in his mind.

He watched the red frame behind the black-clad man, let his short sword slide from his sleeve into his hand, then flung it hard.

The short sword shot soundlessly toward the enemy's right waist.

But the black-clad man spun sharply, and his iron mace swept the short sword flying.

He then lunged toward where the short sword had come from, yet saw not a single soul.

"Daoist concealment art?" This black-clad man was no fool himself; he snarled: "Let's see how much yin qi you have to keep it up… once you run out, you'll have to show yourself anyway—and you'll still die."

That had only been a feint, to test whether the enemy had any counter for ambushes—and it turned out he did.

So it paid to be cautious—a good habit.

Li Lin slowly circled to this black-clad man's flank.

He crouched behind a tree and pulled a small stack of pathfinding paper figures from his clothes.

Channeling yin qi into them, he had these paper figures, under the control of his divine sense, use the trees and bushes to approach the black-clad man.

And while that was happening, Li Lin once again slowly circled behind the black-clad man.

Several small paper figures had already reached the black-clad man's side, then suddenly leapt out and pounced at his feet.

At the very same moment, Li Lin burst out from behind the tree, his long spear thrusting straight at the black-clad man's waist.

The black-clad man reacted extremely fast; iron mace in hand, he smashed apart several of the small paper figures—he had been startled by these pink, big-eyed little things a moment ago.

Now that he saw they were only paper figures, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he suddenly felt a chill closing in from behind; he spun sharply, and his iron mace and Li Lin's spear clashed again and again.

The ambush had failed.

After a rapid string of clangs, Li Lin, despite the advantage of a long weapon, was still forced into close quarters by the opponent's swift advance.

He could only leap backward to retreat.

Seeing him try to break off the fight, the black-clad man immediately gave chase—but at that moment several paper figures flew at him again.

The black-clad man instinctively assumed they were harmful, so he stopped the pursuit, swung his iron mace, and smashed these little paper figures to pieces.

Then he looked again—and Li Lin was gone once more.

He flew into a rage and cursed: "Pretty-boy is pretty-boy—only knows these cheap tricks."

At this point he figured Li Lin was using these things to draw his attention, then launching his ambush.

And using these harmless little paper figures to fool his focus and slip away.

He wouldn't fall for it next time.

Li Lin hid behind a tree; he knew why his earlier ambush had failed.

Around this black-clad martial artist, a faint layer of Yuan Qi circled; if a spear thrust entered that Yuan Qi range, the opponent would be alerted.

However, this did not greatly affect Li Lin's plan.

He took another stack of small paper men from his chest, then another stack of Thunderfall Talismans.

Six of these small paper men emerged, carrying the Thunderfall Talismans.

Afterward, these small paper men scattered and quietly approached the black-clad man.

Meanwhile, Li Lin once again arrived behind the black-clad man.

The black-clad man walked slowly through the woods; he had a feeling that the pale-faced fellow was nearby, yet he could not find him.

Just then, he suddenly saw many small paper men charging across the ground again; very obviously, they were trying to draw his attention.

He stopped caring about these small paper men, spun around sharply, and saw that pale-faced fellow appear before him, still holding an ambush-ready posture.

Found you!

The black-clad man sneered.

Then he noticed that the pale-faced fellow was also smiling, and at this moment had already used the Light-Body Technique to leap backward quickly, putting great distance between them.

Very far.

Was this a feint?

At such a distance, why did he reveal himself? Why did he smile?

At this moment, the black-clad man shuddered all over; something occurred to him, and he suddenly lowered his head, discovering that the small paper men he had ignored had all thrown themselves onto his feet.

And on six of the small paper men, talisman papers seemed to be carried on their backs!

"No..."

The black-clad man's face twisted in terror.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

Six bolts of lightning fell almost simultaneously.

The green and red glow illuminated the entire small grove.

Li Lin stood behind a tree, rubbing his ears hard.

The sound of six consecutive thunderfalls was deafening.

Then, a pitch-black head fell not far to his right.

Li Lin stepped out from behind the tree trunk and looked not far away; there lay only a mass of pitch-black rotting flesh, the kind that is thoroughly cooked, blown apart everywhere, looking somewhat disgusting.

The Thunder Technique truly lives up to being the supreme offensive art; even such a powerful black-clad martial artist could not preserve his intact corpse.

At this moment, a scream suddenly came from not far away.

Li Lin ran toward the sound and quickly saw two red glows ahead.

Drawing closer, he discovered they were Su Huafang and Bai Bufan.

At this moment, Bai Bufan bore wounds all over his body, looking very severe, covered in blood, yet his face was smiling.

Before the two lay the black-clad man's corpse, already more than half rotted, emitting white smoke and carrying a heavy stench.

At this moment, Su Huafang and Bai Bufan also saw Li Lin; after all, the red glow emitted by the Bai Yu Token was too conspicuous.

"Inspector Li, excellent, you are unharmed as well," Su Huafang smiled and said, "Hearing those six thunderclaps, I knew you were certainly safe."

Li Lin looked at the corpse still smoking and asked, "What was that commotion!"

"My Bai family's poison arts are quite formidable," Bai Bufan laughed, "He really thought I only knew how to scatter lime powder!"

(End of this chapter)