Chapter 38: Breaking the Shield

"This shield is interesting." Ji Chen narrowed his eyes, examining the translucent energy cover before him, which was like a giant soap bubble, wrapping the Black Cloaked Leader tightly inside.

He was eager to try, flames burning on both hands, and launched a Fire Fist straight at the shield.

"Bang!"

With a muffled sound, the moment the flames touched the shield, they were rebounded by an invisible force, carrying a scorching wind that almost singed Ji Chen's eyebrows.

"Holy crap, it even comes with Thorn Armor?" Ji Chen exclaimed, hurriedly retreating several steps, the flames jumping on his fingertips as if mocking his overestimation of his own abilities.

Ceng Yue's face was solemn, her eyes like ice. She raised her right hand, and countless ice needles swirled around her body, like a group of ice snow elves dancing; she gave a delicate shout, and the ice needles shot toward the shield like arrows leaving the bow.

"Clang-clang-clang-clang..."

Dense collision sounds rang out; upon hitting the shield, the ice needles shattered into slag one after another, turning into tiny ice chips and dissipating in the air, not a single bit able to penetrate the shield.

"This... this energy shield actually reflected the attack back!" Ji Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and the relaxed expression on his face faded; the energy shield before him was not as simple as a normal defense.

In the air, the energy fluctuations became increasingly intense, and the temperature around also began to become somewhat abnormal with these energy fluctuations; the surrounding flowers, plants, and trees also trembled under the impact of this energy.

The Black Cloaked Leader inside the shield emitted a harsh, mocking laugh. He folded his arms, his tone carrying a hint of teasing: "Hahaha, useless, useless! Your attacks are like tickling to me! This is my carefully crafted Absolute Defense; you might as well give up!"

Hearing the Black Cloaked Leader's arrogant laughter, Ji Chen felt a surge of anger rush to his forehead. He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly. He swore he would definitely drag this arrogant guy out of his turtle shell and let him know what true despair was.

"Don't be anxious, I'll handle it." Ceng Yue glanced at the Black Cloaked Leader coldly. The chill on her body became even richer, and the surrounding air seemed to be frozen. She gritted her teeth and said word by word: "I must... break it!"

The two looked at each other tacitly; they knew that next, they had to get serious.

"I seem to have... discovered something..." Ji Chen pointed to the edge of the shield, his eyes somewhat puzzled.

Ji Chen pointed to the edge of the shield, his tone carrying a hint of uncertainty: "This shield... seems to be breathing?"

Ceng Yue looked in the direction of Ji Chen's finger; at first, she didn't find anything unusual, but after observing intently for a moment, she also detected a trace of abnormality.

The edge of the shield seemed to be fluctuating slightly, like human breathing, shrinking and expanding, extremely subtle; if one didn't observe carefully, it was fundamentally difficult to detect.

"It's absorbing energy!" Ceng Yue's eyes narrowed, her tone carrying a hint of shock.

As time passed, the fluctuations of the shield became increasingly obvious, and the surrounding air also began to twist; visible energy streams were continuously pouring into the shield, like light snakes swimming, sizzling.

"Holy crap, this thing is a Charging Treasure!" Ji Chen couldn't help but curse, a strong sense of unease rising in his heart.

If the shield were allowed to continue absorbing energy, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The consumption of the two's supernatural ability also became increasingly large, and their originally relaxed and comfortable expressions now became solemn.

Beads of sweat the size of beans slid down Ji Chen's forehead, and Ceng Yue's face also became somewhat pale.

"Can't drag this out any longer!" Ceng Yue let out a low drink, gathering ice needles again. However, this time, the attack seemed somewhat powerless; the power of the ice needles was significantly weakened, hitting the shield and only stirring up a ripple before dissipating without a trace.

Ji Chen also realized the urgency of the situation, but he didn't continue attacking; instead, he stopped his movements and began to search carefully on the surrounding ground.

The Black Cloaked Leader inside the shield saw Ji Chen stop attacking and couldn't help but be somewhat puzzled; his originally arrogant laughter gradually stopped, replaced by a trace of vigilance.

"What is he doing?" The Black Cloaked Leader narrowed his eyes, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

Although Ceng Yue didn't understand Ji Chen's move, she chose to trust him, silently guarding on the side, watching the movements around them vigilantly.

"Found it!" Ji Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground. This stone was pitch black, its surface covered with strange patterns, cold to the touch, emitting a strange energy fluctuation.

"What is this?" Ceng Yue asked curiously.

Ji Chen didn't answer, only gripped the stone tightly, a flash of sharp light in his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, revealing a mysterious smile: "Wait and see the good show!"

Ji Chen held the black stone, feeling the strange energy surging within it, the corners of his mouth curling into a confident arc.

He didn't explain, only held the black stone high, and an invisible force surged from his palm, rapidly wrapping around the black stone.

Visibly, the patterns on the black stone began to glow, emitting an energy fluctuation that made one's heart palpitate.

"It's coming!" Ji Chen let out a low drink and threw the black stone, whose energy had expanded to the limit, violently toward the shield.

This time, there was no rebound, no ripples, only a crisp shattering sound, like glass breaking; the originally indestructible Energy Shield disintegrated into countless light spots under the impact of the black stone, dissipating in the air.

"Holy crap! This... what's the situation!" The Black Cloaked Leader widened his eyes, the arrogant expression on his face instantly frozen, replaced by deep terror.

His Absolute Defense, which he was proud of, had actually been cracked by an unknown stone; this simply overturned his cognition.

Ji Chen grinned.

Seeing this, Ceng Yue's originally cold face also revealed a hint of excitement. She rushed forward and hugged Ji Chen, holding him tightly, her body trembling slightly, her eyes full of admiration and love.

"You... you always give me surprises." Ceng Yue's voice carried a hint of tenderness that was hard to detect.

Ji Chen also hugged her tightly, feeling the warmth coming from her body, a sense of tenderness surging in his heart.

"You... how is it possible!" The Black Cloaked Leader's tone was full of panic; he roared hysterically: "I'm going to kill you!"

With his frantic roar, a powerful black energy erupted from his body, like churning ink, instantly shrouding the space around him. The power of darkness continued to expand, and the air became viscous, making one feel suffocated.

Ji Chen and Ceng Yue simultaneously felt the pressure of this dark power, and their supernatural abilities also began to run crazily.

The flames on Ji Chen's fingertips jumped, and the ice needles around Ceng Yue began to rotate. The two stood ready, their gazes locked firmly on the Black Cloaked Leader shrouded in darkness.

The Black Cloaked Leader emitted a roar like a beast, his figure appearing and disappearing in the black mist, seemingly wanting to choose someone to devour.

"Be careful..." Ceng Yue just wanted to remind him, when she saw the Black Cloaked Leader suddenly disappear from where he was.

Ji Chen's face changed, and he hurriedly protected Ceng Yue behind him, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

They only heard a sinister cold laugh echoing in the air, making one shudder. ===== CHAPTER 39 =====