Chapter 109: Soul Shadows
Dashing after Sha Yun, Hui Yue ended up yelling some quick commands, “Deng Wu, now would be a good time for you to gain some bestial soul shadows.”
Having called out to the black-haired young man, Hui Yue focused on the road in front of him, his eyes narrowed and a slight sigh escaped his lips as he increased his speed, trying to catch up with Sha Yun.
Soul shadows were able to be made from anything living, whether it be humans, beasts, or plants. To refine a soul shadow one had to be a necromancer, however all kind of Metal affinity cultivators were capable of refining and using the energy within a soul shadow inscription.
There were many laws which forbid necromancers from creating soul shadows of humans. Only the very worst criminals got sentences to become a soul shadow and they were usually kept alive until a necromancer appeared who would buy their souls.
Within the entire Taiyang Kingdom only three such criminals could be found by the time Deng Wu took his first steps on the path of a necromancer.
The royal family had one necromancer whose job it was to create soul shadow inscriptions; Deng Wu had spent his life savings along with some money Hui Yue had lent him to purchase the hundreds of years old stockpile of soul shadows that had accumulated over the years.
The reason that many laws had been added about necromancers was due to the soul’s reincarnation. When something died its soul would be able to cross through the rift of the heavens and the earth and arrive within the Netherworld. There they would wander around, waiting for their memories to disintegrate before they once again would be reborn.
Everyone who died would be measured and weighted. The lives of thieves were likely to become a flower or a beast, the likes of a generous person was likely to be born into a wonderful family.
Everything was decided by the King of the Netherworld. He was the one who allowed for these souls to journey into his world. He did, however, have one rule and that was ironclad.
Souls which were not just died had no right to enter his world. This included souls which had been caught by the soul shadow inscription, forcing them to dissipate into the essence of the heavens and the earth upon destruction.
There were no rules about beast soul shadows, and Hui Yue felt little pity towards them. Pity was something which would likely turn into trouble later on. As long as Deng Wu treated his soul shadows with care, he was likely to keep them forever.
While rushing towards the beasts, Hui Yue heard the first agonizing howls and within seconds reached the area where Sha Yun was standing, her silvery eyes gleaming with a merciless look. She summoned multiple Earthen Spears, one after the other, and each and every single one of them shot out impaling the wolves which were running about.
Deng Wu looked at the area and stood to the side where he found one piece of parchment after another, before he bit his thumb and used his blood to scribble one inscription after another.
Hui Yue pointed to Wang Ju Long and her oversized poppy. The two instantly stood next to Deng Wu, protecting the young man as his entire focus was on the dying wolves.
Seeing that the two others were safe, Hui Yue joined the fray as he drew Black Blood and rushed at the first wolf which came into sight. Seeing it advancing towards him, the baleful aura burst out from within, and a red gleam appeared in his eyes, as he struck forward with decisiveness. He buried the dagger deep within the eye of the wolf, not allowing it even the slightest moment to react.
Hui Yue had long since activated Velocity Flow and his constant change in speed made it impossible to determine when or where he would appear next.
One wolf after another fell under the hand of Hui Yue and Sha Yun, while Wang Ju Long dealt with the few which appeared next to Deng Wu and herself.
Every time a wolf died, a blood red seal was seen appearing on its body. After which a tremor would run through its body before the seal floated through the air rushing towards Deng Wu, where it would settle down on clear pages of parchment.
The wolves had at first been thrown into disarray due to the unexpected and sudden attack. The leading male of the pack quickly howled and after a few moments the wolves who were still were alive all lined up next to the male.
During these first few moments a vast quantity of wolves died, but in spite of that around a hundred wolves were now moving in formation; they formed a line preparing to pounce at the young cultivators who were slaughtering their kin.
Hui Yue’s eyes locked onto the leading male wolf’s and vigilance could be seen within both of them, as neither wished to make the first move.
Seeing that the wolves pulled back, Wang Ju Long moved forward leaving the guarding of Deng Wu to her poppy flower.
Wang Ju Long’s combat ability was definitely above average and her assistance would greatly help them. She allowed for her Qi to rush through her body activating Qi Lightning.
Wind picked up within the tunnel and a worried expression appeared on the leading wolf’s face. Barking out loud, orders were obviously given as all wolves advanced at once causing tremors to run through the entire tunnel.
Hui Yue had Black Blood within one hand and a red flame within the other. Flicking his finger the flame grew in size as Hui Yue fed it his spiritual energy and slowly divided the large flame into multiple smaller Fire Orbs.
This entire procedure took less time than it takes to blink an eye, as all it required was but a thought, and by the time the wolves arrived next to Hui Yue the young man had a massive fire burning behind his head. This fire was constantly gulping down the spiritual energy it was fed by Hui Yue and smaller orbs of fire kept being produced by the massive flame.
Fire Orbs came to light one after another, and were constantly being flung towards the wolves, leaving behind one charred carcasses after another in their wake.
Unfortunately, this only resulted in the wolves behind the leader to pour forth, a wave of deadly wolves constantly flooding towards them.
The wolves were upon them and Hui Yue could not afford to hold back, releasing the red mist completely. Suddenly every wolf around him grew slower, and Hui Yue’s speed and strength increased; he then took out the Qi dagger wielding it in the hand that finished making the fire orbs.
The soaring flame behind Hui Yue dyed his white hair red and the red mist gave the beautiful icy eyes a blood shot and menacing aura.
A cold chill ran through every wolf close by, but before they could react they had been injured and were soon to be killed by either a slash of the daggers, or a Fire Orb from the large flame.
One wolf after another died at the hand of Hui Yue and every single one of them were sealed as soon as they had died, causing their souls to be reeled in by Deng Wu.
Sha Yun was busy with wolves of her own. Earthen Spears were erupting everywhere, constantly impaling the wolves with perfect aim while she, herself, was dancing through the wolves, her tail flashing here and there. Sometimes rolling around the wolves to strangle them, while other times using her strength to smash them.
Wang Ju Long was similarly holding her own against the wolves, which were attacking her unceasingly. Small scratches could be seen on her body as the wolves got slightly too close, yet none of these scratches were serious injuries and Hui Yue nodded with a stern expression on his face, none dared to approach him.
Looking at the wolves, Hui Yue let out a bestial growl, before he once more used Velocity Flow to rush after the fleeing wolves. His growl was answered by a terrifying howl as the leading male rushed towards Hui Yue.
Looking at the wolf in front of him a vicious smile appeared on his face, the red gleam within his eyes grew larger and his canine teeth once more grew out, his entire being emitting an aura of savageness.
Howling out loud, every wolf within the cavern finally stopped their frantic attacks and moved back, Sha Yun and Wang Ju Long did the same, as all eyes within the tunnel were focused upon Hui Yue and the leading male wolf.
Even Deng Wu opened his eyes and stopped his incantation, creating one last soul shadow inscription, preparing for the loser of the battle in front of him.
Red steam was emitting out from beneath Hui Yue’s skin and the steam all moved towards the flame behind Hui Yue, where it caused the already large flame to rage with energy. The flame looked as though it was trying to break free of some invisible constraints which were binding it.
The speed at which Fire Orbs were spat out from the flame increased as the steam was consumed rapidly. Hui Yue’s red eyes were glued to the wolf in front of him.
Pacing around each other, both the wolf and Hui Yue waited for the other to take the initiative, but when neither did Hui Yue was no longer able to hold back and with a thunderous roar he sped towards the wolf. Velocity Flow activated and a complete copy appeared next to him, both ready to send the wolf’s soul straight to Deng Wu.
The wolf, however, had no intention of staying still and instead dodged. While dodging its claws were clad in a dark shadow, which grew according to the wolf’s wish and the shadows slashed Hui Yue’s left arm.
Seeing that his attack failed, Hui Yue stopped his dash and stood still a cold and indifferent look was cast towards the wounded arm, before a layer of silvery light covered it. He used spiritual energy to stop the bleeding from troubling him in the future.
Seeing that his direct attack had backfired, Hui Yue growled slightly. His expression turning more and more like that of a wild beast, his skin turning more and more red.
A sneer appeared on Hui Yue’s face as he looked at the wolf which was no longer as confident as it had been earlier. Its face was filled with vigilance, but deep within those intelligent eyes was fear.
The aura shown by Hui Yue was so overpowering that it could not fight to the best of its ability. Howling the wolf made a mad dash towards Hui Yue, only to jump around him, aiming for the rest of its pack. Arriving next to the beautiful boy, a smile appeared on his lips as he swiftly stretched his arm, the dagger perfectly slashed the entire side of the wolf leader, yet not enough to kill it.
Limping and howling the wolf chased its pack away and vanished into the night itself. Hui Yue did nothing to stop them, instead manic laughter could be heard in the tunnel where he was still standing.
Hearing the laughter, shivers ran through the bodies of his friends and fear was appearing within their minds, as Hui Yue turned around, c*cking his neck, looking at them with the most sinister eyes they had ever seen.
Hui Yue looked nothing like his usual appearance. His mouth was showing a big smile, revealing fangs the size of wild dogs, his eyes were devoid of all empathy and care with only pure killing intent visible. Blood was pouring from his arm, as the rest of his body was sprayed in blood from the final slash to the dead wolf.
Looking at his friends, it seemed as though Hui Yue was about to attack, when suddenly the young man collapsed onto his knees. His hands gripping his head as agonizing screams were heard throughout the tunnels. The red mist which was emitted from his body was suddenly mixed with a blue steam and ever so slowly the previous changes to his body were undone.
The struggle seemed to continue, only to cause the young man to suddenly collapse on the floor. Only then did the friends dare to get closer.
“We need to find a safe location,” Deng Wu said as he kept an alert eye on their surroundings.