Chapter 666

The shadow crept inch by inch from Shankou Pavilion, and Pan Yun looked down to see her own shadow swallowed, lost in utter darkness, indistinguishable from the chaos.

She looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds blotting out the sun, thick black clouds hiding every trace of sunlight.

The heroes sitting on the ground polishing their weapons froze, all raising their heads: "Why is it dark?"

"Such a huge cloud—Seeing Miao Zhen, didn't you say today was clear and perfect for killing?"

Seeing Miao Zhen looked up at the sky as she replied: "Didn't you kill today?"

"I did kill, but this clear weather is too short—it's barely past Shen Hour. Will we still launch a night raid? Might as well attack the city now—it's already dark."

Seeing Miao Zhen had no intention of answering him; she hurried to Pan Yun's side: "Little Master, this…"

Pan Yun raised a hand to stop her words, a faint smile on her lips: "It's finally here."

Pan Xiaohei spoke weakly: "If it doesn't come soon, the Merit Points in the Spirit Realm will be fully deducted—you've killed too many people these past days."

Pan Yun ignored it, thought for a moment, then said to Seeing Miao Zhen: "Find Zhang Weiyi and the others. Tell Take da Kun'na to withdraw the army."

Even without Pan Yun's reminder, Take da Kun'na had immediately ordered the army to break camp and retreat the moment he saw the sky-obscuring black clouds.

Seeing Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing He rush over to warn them, he remembered he'd forgotten to inform these foreign heroes.

"Seeing Miao Zhen, this is Divine Way magic—Oda clan has deep ties to the Divine Way. We can't defeat them. Retreat quickly!"

Seeing Miao Zhen: …

She took a deep breath and nodded: "Fine. We retreat. Set up camp fifty li back."

"Fifty li? The Divine Way can cover a thousand li in a day. Isn't fifty li too short?"

"We're not even sure Japan has a thousand li in total," Seeing He snorted. "How can we abandon hard-won ground so easily? Fifty li it is!"

Seeing Miao Zhen said: "You retreat fifty li and hold your position. We'll handle these Divine Way practitioners."

Take da Kun'na reluctantly agreed, then turned to urge Shanming Xiuqi to flee—preferably taking the entire army with him.

Fortunately, Shanming Xiuqi was both foolish and overconfident; not only did he refuse to retreat fifty li, he didn't even want to leave this spot: "We're just one step away from storming Shankou Pavilion. Why run?"

His eyes gleamed: "The moment my Mountain Name clan restores its glory is upon us—no one leaves now!"

Take da Kun'na gave up on him and went to Yida Xintai.

Yida Xintai and he knocked Shanming Xiuqi unconscious and carried him off.

All the heroes retreated with them, leaving only the Daoist Priests of Long Hushan behind.

Xue Shao also stayed behind. He entrusted Xi Jin to Hu Jing: "Please, Hu Daxia Hu, watch over him for me."

Hu Jing warned: "Young Master Xue, their methods are devious. Why not come with us?"

Xue Shao smiled: "Their methods are devious, but I have the Eyes of Qi-Seeing—I can perceive auspicious and ominous signs. So I can stay and lend a small hand."

Hu Jing said no more and withdrew with Gao Zhiming and the others.

Pan Yun and the others stood by Tian Geng, watching them leave.

As darkness deepened, soon even their silhouettes vanished.

Tao Yan Bai worried: "So dark—won't they get lost?"

Everyone turned to stare at him, eyes hostile.

Wang Cong: "Take back what you just said."

Tao Yan Bai shrank back: "How do you take back words already spoken?"

Pan Yun remained calm: "Let Qu Le follow them?"

Zhang Weiyi nodded: "He can't use spells—I had him go with them."

Pan Yun: "With Qu Le there, even if they get lost, there won't be serious danger. It's fine."

No sooner had she finished speaking than her body stiffened. Without expression, she turned her head toward the rice field beside her.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw the rice swaying—Qu Le stood up, rice leaves clinging to his head, offering them a pleading smile.

Pan Yun immediately turned to look at the vanished group and sighed deeply: "Forget it. All the heroes carry protective talismans—if they're caught, they won't die."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "If Take da Kun'na dared leave, he must have a way out."

That was all they could think.

Zhang Weiyi also felt they'd be fine: "They're moving toward the edge—your shadow may not be that fast."

Qu Le interrupted quickly: "How much longer are we standing here talking?"

Wang Cong, knowing Qu Le had nearly become his junior brother and was currently being used as a test subject by Little Master, spoke gently: "Wait for them to approach. The shadow hasn't reached our shadows yet—we're at the edge. We must wait."

"Oh." Qu Le plucked the leaves off his head, stepped out of the field, and squeezed beside Pan Yun: "I've started cultivation. I've learned both spells you taught me. I'm a disciple of the Learning Palace now!"

Pan Yun: "Stay close to me. If you can't keep up, stick to Xue Shao."

Qu Le glanced at Xue Shao, disdainful: "Why him? His martial arts might even be lower than mine."

Pan Yun: "I don't know if his martial arts are higher than yours, but I know his mind is sharper than yours. Here, the sharper the mind, the longer you live—and his luck is better than yours."

Qu Le fell silent, knowing he couldn't keep up with Pan Yun, and quietly moved to Xue Shao's side.

Xue Shao smiled kindly at him, then glanced at Pan Yun.

Darkness deepened—not like nightfall, but as if a vat of ink had been poured over heaven and earth, turning all into ink-black.

All were cultivators, deeply curious about the Divine Way of Wa Country. They stared intently, opened their senses and Yuan power, waiting for the next move.

But as they waited… nothing happened.

Zhang Weiyi couldn't even see Xue Hua, who stood pressed against him—unless he held his hand…

Oh, no—he didn't need to hold hands to sense people nearby; their breathing was still audible…

Breathing?

Strange—if we can hear breathing now, why didn't we hear Qu Le hiding in the rice earlier?

If we didn't hear him because his cultivation improved and his breath-control grew stronger, Pan Yun is a First Marquis—she shouldn't have missed it…

Zhang Weiyi's body turned cold; he unconsciously tightened his grip on Xue Hua's hand.

Xue Hua: "... What's wrong?"

Zhang Weiyi: "Are everyone still here?"

Qu Le: "I'm here."

Wang Cong: "I'm here."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "I'm here."

Pan Yun: "I'm here."

Zhang Weiyi's heart turned icy cold; Xue Hua also jolted in shock, gripping Zhang Weiyi's hand tightly, driving the sword scabbard into the ground and drawing the blade, stabbing fiercely toward the spot where Pan Yun had just spoken.

Pan Yun groaned in pain and cried out: "Are you insane? Why are you trying to kill me?"

In the instant Xue Hua drew his sword, Zhang Weiyi formed a hand seal with one hand, summoning a fireball—a massive sphere of flame erupted, illuminating his brows and eyes, and the three-meter-square space around him; with a boom, a fire dragon surged toward Pan Yun's face... (End of Chapter)