Ying Ping stood on the white jade steps of Fountainhead Palace, overlooking this palace suspended in the clouds.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying wafts of cherry blossom fragrance, yet it couldn't mask the pervasive scent of decay in the air.
"Before going to find the Divine Dragon, let's harvest all the experience points here first."
A glint flashed in Ying Ping's eyes, "Shadow Legion, attack!"
At his command, black mist surged wildly from beneath his feet.
Gyobu Oniwa, Genichiro, Ashina Isshin, Corrupted Monk… all the shadow soldiers poured out, rushing like a torrent into every corner of Fountainhead Palace.
"Roar!"
The first to be encountered were a group of Fountainhead Palace Nobles.
These withered old men, with hunched backs and shuffling gaits, looked frail and weak.
But when they raised their wrinkled faces, eerie green light suddenly glowed in their hollow eye sockets!
"Fountainhead Palace Noble"
"Level: LV9"
"Abilities: Life Drain, Undying Trait."
"Watch out!"
Ying Ping immediately became alert. "These guys can drain life force from a distance!"
Before he finished speaking, a nobleman had already stretched out a withered arm and opened his toothless mouth.
A blood-red energy beam instantly connected to Ghost Kagebu's shadow!
"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."
A chilling sound rang out, and Ghost Kagebu's shadow visibly thinned, completely dissipating in less than five seconds!
"What?!"
Ying Ping's pupils constricted. "Even an undying, unkillable shadow, with such a huge level difference, can be drained to death directly?"
He immediately changed tactics: "Genichiro, lead the archers in a ranged attack! Isshin, attack from the flank!"
The Shadow Legion quickly adjusted their formation and began firing arrows. 26
Countless arrows swept across, pinning several nobles in place like targets.
Ashina Isshin, like a phantom, flashed behind the nobles, his katana precisely piercing their backs.
"[Killed Genichiro's Palace Nobles x 5, Experience + 9000]"
"[Soul fragments detected. Convert to Shadow Soldiers?]"
"Convert!"
Black mist surged, and the figures of five Genichiro's Palace nobles stood up again.
They stood hunched behind Ying Ping, their withered fingers trembling slightly.
"[Shadow Soldier: Genichiro's Palace Noble]"
"[Level: LV9]"
"[Abilities: Undying, Life Drain]"
"Excellent!"
Ying Ping clenched his fist excitedly. "With these guys lined up, draining life together, even the strongest enemy might be drained to death!"
Just then, a dog's bark came from deep within the palace.
More than a dozen giant dogs, pure white with golden eyes, came charging, golden lightning coiling around them, scorching the ground wherever they passed!
"[Genichiro's Palace Hounds]"
"[Level: LV10]"
"[Abilities: Golden Lightning Release, High-Speed Movement]"
"Golden Lightning Hounds?"
Ying Ping's eyes lit up. "Perfect, I'll take them all!"
He immediately commanded the newly subdued noble shadows: "Go, drain them dry!"
The five noble shadows slowly opened their mouths, and blood-red energy beams instantly connected to the several hounds charging at the front.
"Woof!"
The hounds let out a mournful cry, their strong bodies visibly shriveling.
But the hounds behind them had already pounced, golden lightning erupting from their mouths!
"Boom!"
A golden lightning bolt struck towards Ying Ping; he deftly dodged, and a scorched, deep pit appeared where he had been standing.
"The power of the lightning strike is decent."
Ying Ping drew the Mortal Blade and shouted, "Karmic Reincarnation!"
"Pfft!"
Red and black intertwined sword energy roared out, instantly cleaving three hounds in half!
The remaining hounds, seeing this, intelligently scattered, attacking from different angles.
"Clever beasts."
Ying Ping sneered, "But it's useless; they all have to die!"
He raised the Mortal Blade high and shouted, "Gate of the Underworld, open!"
The Mortal Blade suddenly vibrated violently, the spiral patterns on its blade spinning wildly.
After sacrificing some life force and a few days of lifespan, with a mournful ghost wail, five specters wreathed in black mist crawled out of the void and pounced on the Golden Lightning Hounds!
"[Summoned Creature: Yellow Springs Specter]"
"[Level: LV11]"
"[Abilities: Physical Attack Immunity, Grudge Erosion, Chance to instantly kill enemies]"
"My stats didn't drop much, but I still need to be careful with this move!"
Ying Ping knew in his heart that he would definitely not use such a life-consuming move easily in the future.
The hounds' golden lightning was a magical attack, which was indeed effective against the specters, but physical attacks were completely immune, so they were quickly torn to shreds by the specters.
After losing their targets, the specters wandered for a while before dissipating on their own.
"[Killed Genichiro's Palace Hounds x 12, Experience + 24000]"
"Convert!"
Black mist surged again, and twelve shadow hounds wreathed in golden lightning appeared before Ying Ping, obediently lying on the ground.
"[Shadow Soldier: Golden Lightning Hound]"
"[Level: LV10]"
"[Abilities: Golden Lightning Release, Undying]"
Ying Ping looked at his Shadow Legion with satisfaction.
Now, not only did he have close-combat masters like the Sword Saint and the General,
but also nobles who could drain life from a distance, and hounds that could release golden lightning; the lineup was perfect.
Just as Ying Ping was tallying his spoils of war, he suddenly sensed a disturbance from the direction of the lake.
He frowned, sensing that the number of his Shadow Legion was rapidly decreasing.
"What's going on?"
Ying Ping hurried to the lakeside and saw strange blood-red ripples on the water.
Through the clear lake water, several dark figures could be vaguely seen fighting at the bottom of the lake.
"[Genichiro's Palace Carp King]"
"[Level: LV12+]"
"[Abilities: Mighty Charge, Water Pressure Manipulation]"
"[Seven-Faced Samurai]"
"[Level: LV13+]"
"[Abilities: Mental Shock, Physical Resistance]"
"[Headless]"
"[Level: LV13+]"
"[Abilities: Fear Aura, Mist Teleportation]"
"So that's it..."
Ying Ping narrowed his eyes. "These troublesome guys are hidden at the bottom of the lake, no wonder they can kill my Shadow Soldiers."
He immediately ordered: "All Shadow Legion, immediately concentrate your attack on the bottom of the lake!"
Hundreds of Shadow Soldiers leaped into the water one after another.
But very quickly, Ying Ping discovered the problem—
Ordinary sword attacks had little effect on these enemies tainted with spiritual power.
Ghost Kagebu's spear piercing the Headless was like stabbing into air, while the Seven-Faced Samurai's mental shock could easily disperse Shadow Soldiers.
"It seems I still have to use this."
Ying Ping drew the Mortal Blade: Underworld Karma. "Isshin, catch!"
He threw the divine sword to Shadow Ashina Isshin.
The Sword Saint steadily caught the hilt, and the blade immediately glowed with an eerie red and black light.
"Go down and slay them."
Ying Ping commanded in a deep voice.
Ashina Isshin nodded, then plunged into the lake with a dive.
As the strongest Sword Saint in his lifetime, he displayed astonishing combat power even underwater.
The Mortal Blade's sword energy cut graceful arcs in the water, each strike causing the lake water to vibrate violently.
"Secret Art: Dragon Flash!"
The dark sword energy pierced through the water, directly hitting the Seven-Faced Samurai's mask.
Accompanied by a piercing shriek, the Seven-Faced Samurai's body began to disintegrate.
Ashina Isshin seemed to have a lot of combat experience against these kinds of monsters, knowing their habits and weaknesses.
Ashina Isshin continuously swung the Mortal Blade, unleashing sword energy that heavily wounded the bodies of two more Headless.
As for the giant Carp King, it was being held in check by the combined efforts of Ghost Kagebu, the Corrupted Monk, and the Seven Spears!
"Dragon's Heritage Devour!"
Shadow Ashina Isshin seized the opportunity, thrusting the Mortal Blade fiercely into the Carp King's flank, decisively activating its ability!
The blade vibrated wildly, greedily absorbing the Carp King's enormous life force!
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The Carp King thrashed in pain, its golden scales visibly losing their luster.
The moment the Mortal Blade was pulled out, this behemoth had already turned into a dried corpse, slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake.
And Ashina Isshin's aura became even stronger than before!
The remaining Headless tried to affect Ashina Isshin with their Fear Aura, but it had no effect on the Sword Saint.
"Secret Art: Isshin!"
Countless sword lights bloomed in the water, and several Headless were instantly cut into pieces!
"[Killed Genichiro's Palace Carp King, Experience + 15000]"
"[Killed Seven-Faced Samurai, Experience + 18000]"
"[Killed Headless x 2, Experience 993 + 36000]"
"[Experience full, Level increased to LV17]"
"[Acquired Magic: Soul of Fear]"
"[Effect: You can release an aura and vengeful spirits that cause fear in surrounding enemies, reducing their sanity and causing them to collapse]"
"[Consumes 5 magic points per second]"
"[Acquired Magic: Mist Lock]"
"[Effect: You can create a mist barrier, trapping enemies with you, and you can teleport within the mist]"
"[Maintains barrier consumes 10 magic points per second, each teleport consumes 1 point]"
"This upgrade actually gave me 2 new spells? Not bad."
"It looks like all the enemies have been dealt with."
Ying Ping then leaped into the lake.
As he swam towards the bodies, the system once again sent a notification.
"[Soul fragments detected. Convert to Shadow Soldiers?]"
"Convert!"
Black mist spread through the water.
The massive body of the Gyobu Oniwa began to move again, and the Seven Ashina Spears and Headless were reborn as shadows, silently hovering behind Ying Ping.
"[Shadow Soldier: Gyobu Oniwa]
[Level: LV12]"
"[Abilities: Underwater Overlord, Crushing Charge]"
"[Shadow Soldier: Seven Ashina Spears]
[Level: LV12+]"
"[Abilities: Mental Shock, Physical Resistance]"
"[Shadow Soldier: Headless]
[Level: LV12+]"
"[Abilities: Fear Aura, Mist Teleportation]"
When Ying Ping surfaced, the entire Fountainhead Palace was eerily silent.
All enemies were either eliminated or converted into his fighting force.
"Master, are you alright?"
Kokkoro trotted over, diligently offering a clean handkerchief.
Ying Ping wiped his wet hair, smiling, "Of course I'm fine. This time's harvest was huge."
Ilena gazed at the towering cherry tree in the distance: "Now, there should only be one last enemy left, right?"
Ying Ping nodded, his eyes burning with fighting spirit: "That's right, it's time to meet that Divine Dragon!"
The three, leading their mighty shadow army, advanced towards the Divine Realm!